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The Zone
The Zone
By meskaline
View on ldjam.com
| Category | Rank | Score | Count |
|
|---|
| Overall | 513 | 3.00 | 23 | |
| Fun | 572 | 2.45 | 22 | |
| Innovation | 487 | 2.87 | 22 | |
| Theme | 536 | 2.87 | 22 | |
| Graphics | 229 | 3.59 | 23 | |
| Mood | 347 | 3.07 | 23 | |
Comments
I loved the graphics and although the Stalker inspiration is pretty obvious I enjoyed that as well. The game though is pretty frustrating. I finished the first level but gave up after that. Would have like if there was something more to it than just trial and error. You got me wanting to rewatch Stalker though so that's good!
@patetfisk Thanks for the comments. Yeah, would have wanted to elaborate the gameplay and the story more but had no time. Did you use the bolts? (press b to throw bolts, makes easier at least at the first parts of the puzzles).
Graphics are extremely my jam, especially the cover image, also found the world-building very intriguing. Unfortunately I also got too frustrated to continue on level two, I am very bad at memory games!
Nice graphics ans story.
pobix
2020-10-07 09:05
Loved the story and graphics but the font was a little hard to read and the gameplay itself was mostly frustrating.
Nice graphics ans story.
A really interesting concept but I wish there were some more landmarks on the floor to orient yourself on other than counting squares. I also wish that the place where a trap went off would be visible for a few moves, just so you have a chance to remember where you just died. Other than that this was a fun challenge for my memory. Nicely done!
You put an amazing story behind your game. As written above, I also want to rewatch Stalker again. The gameplay itself quite nice, but I have to take rest from the game in order to play more levels (for me it was hard to complete the first level).
tayfun
2020-10-07 09:13
reminded me mine sweeper. It is fun to play. Takes some time to understand mechanics. Great game for a compo.
mtabasco
2020-10-07 09:22
I really liked both the aesthetic and the backstory (I was really interested in it and that was the main reason I continued playing). But, as the others, I got frustrated when I got to level 2, which is a pity :(.
I also think some music could have helped setting the tone and would've even made the trial and error process more bearable, but being a Compo game I understand you didn't have the time to make your own music, so it's okay.
I read your comment saying that you can throw bolts with 'B', so I tried but nothing happened.
Anyways, you should be proud that you made this in Compo mode, the story and the graphics are really cool!
The art and story are very inspired by Tarkovksy's Stalker, which is a great idea! The gameplay works and represents the movie, where one character goes ahead to find a safe path for the others. Unfortunately, on lvl 3 I ran out of bolts before the half way point, after which the game became just trial and error.
Maybe you could have incorporated the different characters a bit more? A central part of the source material is how the different characters act in the zone. For example, the stalker has more bolts, the scientist could leave his backpack as a reference point/respawn point, etc.
Overall, a good homage!
I had a lot of fun playing this AND it made me feel smart. as simple as the game is, it did its job. I'm honestly amazed you made this in two days
I like the art! The game itself is pretty neat, great work!
Thank you all for the kind words. STALKER I my favorite movie and it is a slow and sometimes a frustrating movie so I tried to capture that here. Actually made the game in a day and still had some ideas to implement, I may do a post LD update. Thanks for the suggestions.
Love the story, The artwork is also pretty good, The gameplay is pretty fun too, I wish those different people had different abilities, but the risk vs reward system is very effective and cleaver! All the best for your future projects!
phlip45
2020-10-10 19:11
I have no prior knowledge of the Stalker movie, though I've seen some gameplay of the Stalker video games, not sure if they are related. I did manage to beat the game. The game definitely has a minesweeper type vibe to it. I really wish there was a way to make a mark on a tile that I know is a trap because my memory is pretty weak.
At first I just took a screen shot and was marking it down as I went along but that was getting to be tedious. I ended up just having all three of the survivors follow the same path to make it easier on my memory. In the third level I was able to get two people to the end but there wasn't room for the third, but once you are down to one character it is much easier to just brute force the level and remember where you have just been.
Graphics are good for a compo game, but I do have to agree with others and say the font on the story bits made it very difficult to read. I think some ambient sounds in the background and a few bleeps and bloops for moving would have really added a lot to this entry, as well as the previously mentioned marking the map.
Loved the art style. especially, the poster for this game. Rather sudden implementation of the Stalker theme at LD. Only problem for me - not so much variety in gameplay. But as a hommage to the film's character it's fitting. But maybe it's too fast of a gameplay for such movie)
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criobite
2020-10-27 19:57
Interesting submission! I'm not familiar with the subject matter, and had a hard time understanding the gameplay, but certainly interesting.