Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD45 → Dear Diary
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 297 | 3.70 | 69 | |
| Fun | 644 | 3.15 | 68 | |
| Innovation | 364 | 3.45 | 68 | |
| Theme | 629 | 3.22 | 70 | |
| Graphics | 275 | 3.97 | 70 | |
| Audio | 221 | 3.63 | 67 | |
| Humor | 777 | 2.23 | 58 | |
| Mood | 340 | 3.61 | 68 |
Great play on the theme! Didn't expect such ending. At first I thought this was a spin on The Sixth Sense's story. The controls were a bit wonky and I couldn't see the mouse cursor during the e-mail sequence which almost sent me into a rage but overall it was quite a nice little game. I like how you decided to go the narrative route.
The story was really well done for only a few days of work! It would be nice to see another story like this from you guys!!! Also, the voice acting sounded great! The visuals were simplistic, but really set a tone for this game!
Oh, I forgot to mention the voice acting, which was great. Laughed at the part where she read the text message.
This was neat! It was admittedly a bit tedious in the beginning with the way the door seems to direct you to the bathroom, only to find out you're first meant to go to the living room and then to the bedroom. The story certainly... escalated. I think what I appreciated the most about it was the voice acting. I also liked the idea of them all being faceless mannequins and things not appearing until mentioned. It gives the idea that we, the players, are visualizing only the things only written in the diary (even if gameplay-wise, it's the other way around.)
A small thing presentation-wise would be that the mouse cursor is visible and layered on top of the rectangle in the center of the screen.
I really liked the "wall-less" layout of the game. I have played quite a few of your previous entries and I think that this is my favorite. Everything just feels really coherent and fits well together. I specially appriciated the clever level design, for an example the safe password being the wedding date that was previously mentioned in passing.
Great job! :slight_smile:
The game itself was pretty laggy for me and I didn't know what to do. I included it in my Ludum Dare 45 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/Bucux0B4E5k
Hey great job on the art department, I love that you guys had that building plan for a house
a bit slow in my pc but I could enjoy the experience anyway, the voice over is very good, particularly for a game made in such a short time. The character being faceless added a mistery and kinda creepy vibe to it .... this reminds me a lot of a movie i love ... I must remember its name, it has a very similar scenario and I am glad you were inspired by it (if you actually used that as inspiration) because that is a great movie
Hi @dizzy-dalvin, thanks a lot. I'm glad you liked. I fixed the bug with the cursor. It appeared just when I compiled the final version.
@madeasterbunny thanks a lot!
Hi @dwam I'm glad you liked, You captured the ideia of the player just see what is mentioned. I think I accomplished this goal. Thanks a lot
Thanks a lot @simon-rahnasto I'm so glad you liked! I'm happy with this game too. It's difficulty to me to be happy with my own work, but this game made
Hi @el-fideo-rubio thanks a lot! The inspiration for the art style came from the movie Dogville, which I strongly recommend
Hey @velvetlobster At first I was trying to do something white and clean (like the Assassin's Creed loading screen) but then I remembered of the movie Dogville and decided that this kind of atmosphere matched with the story I was creating. It is a really great movie and I recommend to everyone!
Yes Dogville such a great reference, it was really clever that you decided to go that way
I really liked this game. I felt like scaring Nick was a very bad idea, and I was right. It all happened very fast, or at least it felt like it. Are you considering extending the gameplay into a larger project? If so, I'd love to see it! :slight_smile:
Alrigh so... first of all the take on the theme is perfect, you really start with nothing and you can clearly understand what happens trhought the appearing of the object, it's pretty simple, but it's well executed and works perfectly for a "story-driven" game, it also really adds to the dark atmosphere overall. The game itself is lagging a bit on my computer, I must admit I found it really annoying. Other than that, it's a great idea. The graphics are simple but good. Maybe a bit of music could have improved it but hey I'm not sure. Kuddos to the voice actress who made the game feel "real". Good job!
You've chosen a very interesting way of visualizing the story, I like it very much. The story came out to be a little bit predictable, and there was a little bit too much handholding throughout the game, but it's definitely better than some games that almost impossible to figure out :smile:
Congratulations for making this game ! Loved the art ! Loved the voice acting ! Loved the furniture rising effect ! The story was simple but effectuve. Maybe you could try a more creepy story, going along the spare (epurated) graphic style ! Overall one of my favourite game :D
I like the idea of this game and how the rooms and items materialize as the story unfolds. Nice voice acting too! I would have liked to be able to move slightly faster and I found the progression a bit too slow to maintain my focus, but that might just be my impatience so for people that are more into this genre of games it's probably not a problem =) Very nice effort though!
Personally, I'm a huge fan of this game. The direction choices reminded me of Dogville, with its outlines and two to three signifying objects per scene. The writing was concise and punchy, and the mystery definitely kept me up!
(I just saw you mentioned Dogville yourself, nice!)
Hi @sprotex thanks a lot. I'm currently working in another project, but I'm thinking in expand this idea in the future.
hi @entropy I'm glad you liked even with the lag. I was planning to add music too, but unfortunately I couldn1t manage this in the jam time.
@annie-owl hehehe... thanks! This is the best I could do with the jam time. I'm so glad you liked!
Thanks a lot @wakobu maybe in the future I get back in this game and work more in the plot.
@imphenzia thanks a lot! I had to slow down the character movements because it's a small space and I wanted to prevent audio overlapping, but I agree with you, the game is a bit too slow, at least in the beginning.
Hi @shess Dogville is one of my favorite movies and was a huge reference for this game. I'm so glad you liked!
An really interesting and sad story. I really love that you have chosen to use voice acting for this game. Overall is this a really good game. Well done.
This is a great game ! The gameplay is interesting and the audio is so good ! Congrats !!
Really well made, love the visual presentation. Having the house as a floor-plan is a really smart idea!
Really cool graphics with some original concepts cool and fun game to play.
Good job :) the movement of the camera was a little bit buggy when i look to the ground and move forward. but really great Mood and Graphic :)
Wow cool little game! loved the voice actng and the simplistic art. camera was a but buggy but it was not infuriating to a point of not completing this game! Great entry!
Good game.
Everything is very well done, even there is a full-fledged pure voice acting! Amazing! The characters move naturally and a very interesting idea with emerging furniture and overall figurativeness. The camera wagged a little, but it didn't spoil the overall impression. Great storytelling, great job!
Nicely done. The voice acting was amazing, really good job. I also liked the subtle ways in which you hinted at what the player had to do, with the room you had to visit next lit up and the rest in darkness. The story was also pretty good, but I felt it was a little over dramatic. Great job!
The reduction in detail makes it more realistic. In art class, I first learned this concept. And, it is enjoyable to see that applied here in this unique game.
Super awesome!
very impressive style and models nice job
very nice theme and artstyle and voice acting :)
A cool take on the theme, and on narrative games. I didn't really like the story, but the game is really cool.
Good job :slight_smile:
The aesthetics reminded me of the movies Dogville and Manderlay - very refreshing and works well with the theme! I loved the voice acting too, brilliant job there!
The story felt a bit bare-bones, but that's understandable given that this is a game jam entry. In a full version, I would love to have more agency over how the events unfold: currently, it feels like the game is sort of pulling the player along and telling them what to do (even if they may feel that the protagonist is making a terrible decision). I would love to have an alternate ending, either based on choices made during the playthrough or unlockable after getting the original ending. I also wish there was more stuff to explore: currently, the beginning of the game is basically wandering around the apartment trying to find the next area you can interact with; it would be cool if you could also unlock additional narrative clues about the couple's relationship. (E.g. why is Nick so secretive and doesn't tell the protagonist anything?)
There are a few minor technical things as well: e.g. you can type the password on your keyboard, but you cannot do the same for the safe combination; there is no way to close the drawer in the living room (so it can stay open FOR DAYS); and doors sometimes act up, either refusing to open on first try or getting the protagonist briefly stuck inside:
Clipboard02.png
I did enjoy the experience, though, and I would love to see you explore this aesthetic and approach to storytelling further -- either by making an extended post-compo version of this game, or a different, longer game with a similar feel!
Hi @xlomid thanks a lot for your comment. Dogville/Mandelay was indeed a huge reference for the aesthetic of this game.
Due to jam time, unfortunatelly I didn't have time to work more on the plot neither on the mechanics in this game. It was already a challenge to do this all by myself in such short time.
I'm planning to work on a full game on the future, so I'll have time to explore more the story, with sidequests, multiple endings, more characters, etc.
Thanks again!
all of this done by one person makes it even more impressive :)
Thanks a lot @picaboo I put a lot of effort in this :smile:
Impressive game!
That was a very dark story presented in a wonderful way. I like how the necessary pieces appeared as you needed them.
The walking had a lot of camera jitter/shaking though, which could be smoothed out. Good voice acting as well. Could definitely see this approach to story telling being fleshed out and made into a full game. It was very nice in a noir kind of way.
Things I didn't like: * Sometimes the voice was being played from a place at the room instead of centered on the main character, this made the sound change when I moved the camera or the player, breaking the immersion a bit. * I was not sure where to go at the beginning, so I randonly walked between rooms and nothing happened, it was a little frustrating, especially because of the slow walking pace. * The collision was not on point, the main character would enter on objects all the time, breaking the immersion again.
Things I liked: * Wow, voice acting!!! I think this is the first ludum dare entry that I ever saw with voice acting, and it was so well made! Astonishing! * Nice narrative! * Very good movement on the models, I was not expecting so much detail on a LD game.
Really nice game. I always like games with a Bastion-style narration and this falls into that category. The narrator could of course be more interesting -- for example, I had to go back and look at the wedding date, and it would be funny if the narrator said something about that, but for a jam game it's understandable why it isn't quite that complex... :smile:
The story is fine but I think would be a lot more impactful if you really developed the player's relationship with Nick. I'm not sure *how* to do this, precisely, but in my opinion narrative games are really effective when they are able to simulate a feeling for the player, as that's something that can only be accomplished through interactive media. If Nick functioned as a component in the gameplay that the player came to rely on, they would feel something based on how he changes throughout the story.
Of course that's just one idea and it may not really make sense in the context of this game. Just something to think about.
Interesting game, I loved how the scene came together as the story progressed. I did get stuck on the little protrusions by the doors of some of the rooms but it wasn't too bad. The story was dark, and a bit soap-opera-y, but I enjoyed it a lot haha! Good game!
Thanks a lot for all comments!!!
@eduardo-yukio thanks for your comment. The problem with the audio was not with the location where the audio is placed, it was with the audio file that was with some error, but I couldn't fix in the jam time. I agree with you that in the beginning is a little bit confusing what to do. I'll try to make it more clear and fix some bugs in a post jam version.
Hi @honey-pony thanks a lot! I liked a lot your suggestions. The story can be improved a lot. In the LD time is very difficult to develop all the story even more that I had to write all the lines to send to the voice actress and do all the 3d modeling, programming and design by myself. But I'm thinking in work in a full game in the future, so I'll be able to work more on the plot so all the feedback I received here is very welcome.
Thanks a lot @brokenmirrormedia :smiley:
This was very interesting, the animations were pretty smooth. I liked how it was layed out and the empty space helped with the mood. Nice job :)
Nice way of having an interactive story. I didn't know where to go for the first few triggers, but the rest of the game was very natural. The woman jumped all over the place during the confrontation cutscene; maybe try disabling her rigidbody or collision objects or something. The story itself kinda had the feel of a "like this if you cry everytime" story, so it wasn't for me, but I thought you brought it to life very well.
I think this is really a great game so I want to give you real feedback.
The story is really cheesy and dramatic. Who the f*** won't tell his wife about an event like that.
Walking and interacting with stuff was kind of boring, like having to walk back to see the weeding date, or the dogs name. It would be much nicer if once I read those things, they would be added to the "diary" so I could just scroll it on the spot and find what I need.
But oh my god dude, I love the visual style and everything else about the game. Even some small details like a room's light turning on so you know you'll have some interactions in that room, really good! I also loved the apartment layout with white lines on the floor, I think it's a good unique design choice. Would be nice to have had something similar when following nick in the streets.
I hope you will expand upon it by fleshing out the story and the mechanics a bit, you already nailed the visual style and that alone is sometimes enough for a game to really stand out and sell well.
Overall great game!
It's clear that some effort went into this! The controls and camera seemed a little janky, but it's cool that you were able to make a full movement system. The story seemed a little dry but at least it all followed and made sense. Nicely done!
Hi @madbarron thanks a lot. I never saw this error on the confrontation cutscene, but I think this could act different on each computer. I'll try to disable the collider or even use another model. I didn't had time to work more on the story, but maybe on the future I'll made another not “like this if you cry everytime”... hehe
Thanks @whiteseraph I really liked your idea of a notepad where the important things will be written. The story is really simple and dramatic indeed. I planning to make a full game of this story in the future, so I'll be able to work on a better plot. Thanks a lot for your suggestions.
@cole-and-jordan-studios The movement system is not the worst part, I think the most challenge is to program the interactable items and the animations. Thanks! I'm glad you liked my game.
This is a very well-done game. Nicely executed and a great idea, also. The voice acting was done really well and sounded pretty genuine. Ending was good, and honestly I would not mind seeing more games in this style.
The voice acting was great! Unfortunately, it lagged for me with the CPU, and even greater on the GPU, so it became unbearable to continue playing.
> But I really want to finish the story! :weary:
Is it possible to do a version where you can set the graphics of the game before launching? I know usual Unity games have that feature.
What a great game. Well done. I love the simple story and it is a interesting take on the theme. I just wish there were a bit of music or even ambient sounds to add to the great atmosphere. I loved the player feedback in the game in the game. I didn't feel lost at all. The controls are a bit clunky but hey this is a great entry for a jam. Well done.
Hi @dongle thanks a lot. I'm planning to expand this in the future!
Thanks @itsdanidre I made a huge mistake trying to use HDRP for the first time in this jam, that's why tha game is so laggy, and until now I didn't had time to change this. I'll try to do this soon and I'll let you know.
Hi @givit-game-studios thanks a lot! I was planning to add music on the game indeed. I already had an royalt free music selected, but unfortunately I didn't had time to put it on the game. It's true that it would make a huge difference in the game mood.
Opa, bom ver seu game por aqui! :) Gostei da sua ideia, eu confesso que tive um pouco de dificuldade em pensar em um bom jogo baseado no tema dessa jam. Mas você conseguiu fazer isso bem, meus parabéns! :)