Foon →
Ludum Dare Explorer →
LD47 →
WHAT I SAW
WHAT I SAW
By angela-he and Katsutoshii
View on ldjam.com
| Category | Rank | Score | Count |
|
|---|
| Overall | 335 | 3.85 | 30 | |
| Fun | 818 | 3.32 | 28 | |
| Innovation | 844 | 3.29 | 29 | |
| Theme | 1226 | 3.16 | 29 | |
| Graphics | 38 | 4.60 | 30 | |
| Audio | 136 | 4.01 | 30 | |
| Humor | 984 | 2.42 | 23 | |
| Mood | 35 | 4.37 | 29 | |
Comments
Angela,
You are my main creative inspiration for making games -- in fact, this was my first Ludum Dare, inspired by your frequent participation in the jam! As always, your gorgeous art, moody atmosphere, and honest writing made for an enjoyable playing experience. Your games take us smack dab into the drama, throwing us into whatever universe you've created, and I love that. I appreciate your constant emphasis on narrative, even when making a platformer. I especially loved the beginning of the game when the player looked into the mirror and saw a completely different version of herself -- that stark contrast in art was powerful.
I came across a couple of bugs, which I'm assuming you already are aware of, but just in case: There were certain times in the game where I would fall off the platform even though I shouldn't have. For example, I would fall off the stairs. There were also a couple platforms where I couldn't jump for some reason -- not sure if that was purposeful. Finally, I'm not sure how to end the game. I'm sure I'm missing some element, but I explored the nightmare platform area and cannot find where to progress. Furthermore, my friend played your game and came across this issue that didn't happen to me; when going through the dialogue, she came across an empty dialogue bubble.
Thank you for all that you do for the game development community.
Nice game! The graphics and music/sound effects are amazing, and there is surprisingly a large amount of content. I didn't finish it though, because at one point what I'm assuming to be a bug won't allow me to hide, which seems to be a vital and necessary action to continue. But definitely, good game nonetheless. Well done!
@emily-pitcher sadness lol I was definitely not aware of those bugs so thank you for telling me! There's for sure an obvious ending rip time to kill bugs xD I'm so glad I could inspire you and I'll be sure to check out your first (exciting!!!) jam game once I sleep xDD
@eoshadows i'll look into that bug!! And thank you!! :)))
The atmosphere of this game is incredible. The music right at the start drew me in. I couldn't figure out how to get past the middle school thoughts. I'm fairly sure I was supposed to jump somewhere, but the platform was too far. I really wish I could so I could see more of the lovely art and learn more about Anne! I've played your past games, and it's really cool to see you working in a different genre.
A few issues I had: I'm not completely sure how to describe it, but feel like I am moving the character through molasses. The controls feel a bit slow. In the room after the first floating, sometimes the character faces towards the door she came from instead of away from it, which gave the impression she came from the other door on that platform. Some of the floating heads aren't connected to their lights in the middle school thoughts area.
blueash
2020-10-07 00:50
I find that it's really easy to become immersed in the worlds that you create in your games. The music and graphics were amazing and established a haunting mood that reflected Anne's inner turmoil.
I couldn't quite figure out where to go; I tried multiple routes but they ended up leading to the same place, so I figured that the only way to go was to jump at the far right. The platform actually ended up being too far, so I could never make the jump, but that could also be because I suck at platformers haha.
Although I couldn't finish the game, I had a great time playing it! I hope that maybe in the future I can figure out where to go and get the full experience. Your games are some of the most emotional and impactful games I've ever played, and I know that "What I Saw" has the potential to be amazing too. You inspire many people (including myself), and I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next!
jusw85
2020-10-07 13:29
Amazing art and mood! I really liked what you did with the mirror effect. Platforming controls could've been tightened though. Also, the game only accepts W to jump for me, although the helper graphic showed arrow keys.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to complete the game. I got stuck in the wicked eyeliner section where you have to destroy mirrors. I destroyed four mirror in the corners and the wicked eyeliner mirror, but didn't know how to proceed :(
@jusw85 Thank you!!! How could the controls be tightened? And did you get stuck as in you couldn't figure your way off that island? You're supposed to jump off on the far right of the island; I wonder how to make that more clear..
jusw85
2020-10-07 15:07
@angela-he I uploaded a [gif](https://imgur.com/a/4MSig0w) of the location I got stuck. I tried jumping left/right off the island, breaking the mirrors in a different order, hiding in the cupboard, attempting to get to the unreachable mirror on top, but couldn't proceed.
By controls, sometimes I will be running down or jumping up the stairs, or jumping off a platform, and my character becomes abit floaty, or I'll try jumping and the character doesn't jump, or I'll get stuck on the shards of the mirror. Mainly things like reactivity to player input and improving precision. These things arent easy to get right though, especially within the timeframe of LD.
Thanks @jusw85. I think I found what you were talking about and fixed the bugs - about the controls, I'll have to think about how to make it less 'floaty' since there's so many ways to fix that and I want to get it right.. :P Thanks so much for the feedback!!
Wow this is an incredibly gorgeous looking game with a very nice story. I especially liked the plot twist in the middle with the music turning ominous. I didn't find anything very wrong with the controls like some others did.
vphyre
2020-10-09 19:30
Your game is incredible. The story behind it and all the issues involved are magnificent. I really liked the graphic style, the quality and inspiration that it was made is impressive. Congratulations on the production. A complete game would be great, please continue to work on that game.
Ps: I unfortunately still couldn't finish the game, because I believe I ended up suffering a softlock in a certain part, when I destroyed the mirrors. I'll try again.
This was an awesome experience. I really like how you have mixed the weird theme of the jam (stuck in a loop) with a pretty "real" and relatable story. The plot-twist in the middle really caught me of guard, I liked it a lot! I did encounter a weird bug where my "other me" came to say something and fell into her demise haha. Apart from that, I enjoyed it A LOT. Thanks for that and good job!!
@celuloide omg yeah RIP I need to figure out why that sometimes happens!! Thanks so much for your feedback and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much ^____^
@flying-dog-fish yay my post-jam bug fixing worked ^^;; Thank you!!
lereveur
2020-10-09 22:42
I try to test and rate each of your LD entries, and this time again as always I'm not disapointed : this is a melancholic poetry, this is beautiful and creepy at the same time, I've gone through emotions I could not describe precisely, this was again a unique and moody experience, and at the end of the game I can't tell if I understood or not what you tried to transmit, but I can tell this was intense. So, as always : good job, well done, and I will certainly try your next entry!
@lereveur lol thank you for liking my entries! I'm glad you got the beautiful and creepy vibes, that was what I was going for :P I'm interested in knowing what you thought it was trying to transmit?
aljon
2020-10-10 21:27
excuse me i wanna play your game but it requires a password?
lereveur
2020-10-10 21:30
Something like… People words can either help you to be more confident, or instead drive you into bad introspective, but what wich really count is the way you take it and the way you chose to follow by yourself - and, mainly, the ones you chose to trust, no matter you admire them or not at first.
A pretty stylish narrative game, with interesting story and fine art.
tino
2020-10-11 00:05
What a successful engaging atmosphere, I'm impressed!
Unfortunately it took us so long to learn our worth. Super impacting game, the art is beautiful the sounds, the message, everything was very polished and well done. Awesome entry. By the way I looked at your other games and ... your talent is just mind-blowing. You guys got another fan :)
Storytelling, great art and decent gameplay. It is amazing to achieve all of them in 72 hours! This is one of the best entries I have seen so far.
That drawings awesome its quite good game design as well. Thanks !
I really liked your game and the way you work with the story about self-reflection, congratulations for the art, I believe that in the future it will include new animations, I found problems regarding the collision example all the stairs it turns in the opposite direction when stopping, but nothing to stop the gameplay, a big hug.
I really liked your game and the way you work with the story about self-reflection, congratulations for the art, I believe that in the future it will include new animations, I found problems regarding the collision example all the stairs it turns in the opposite direction when stopping, but nothing to stop the gameplay, a big hug.
I made it to the "escape sequence" but then I got stuck where you have a sentinel just upstairs after the checkpoint mirror. The sentinels are quite slow and that can make the waiting phases a bit frustrating, especially if you die just after. Also it was not clear to me how the game fitted the theme (but maybe this is because I didn't get to the end ?)
But overall nice game with beautiful graphics and atmosphere ! Was this influenced by the game "Celeste" ?
Now this is high quality stuff. Those sprites and textures look great. Loved the mirror job. The game has bugs and I broke it twice, nothing serious tho. Bug Report: The player can jump and get stuck in the ceiling in the bathroom by the door, the same happens in the other corner, some actions also disable dialogues. plus, the ghosts moved too slow for me. good music and sound effects. loved the narration. goob job :thumbsup:
hakro
2020-10-11 19:17
Lovely game. The graphics are awesome, and the mood is very pronouced. The enemies are a bit slow, so I had to wait for them for a long time in the closet. But other than that, I really like the game. Great entry. Cheers.
@aljon the password is "ld".
@lereveur oh nice! thanks for sharing. I like that last phrase. the story we were envisioning was this girl gets stuck in her head more and more with low self confidence, trying to anything she can to look/be better, destroying herself in the process; before she destroys her friends too, she realizes she should turn back.
@francesco thank you! the part that fit the theme was supposed to be the looping of where mirrors send you. I guess it could be more obvious :P No, I haven't played Celeste; maybe I should.
@arad-hamidsamiee thank you :) Thanks for bug reports, will fix! Can I know which actions disable dialogues?
@angela-he I don't know the order, but in my first playthrough, I was just running around the bathroom and spamming all buttons and it disabled dialogues of the girl leaning on the right wall.
The art and audio really come together to set an amazing tone! I felt like it got a bit hard towards the end, which undermined the narrative a little - the mirror copies get less enigmatic when you're trying to lure them into pits just so you can progress. That said, I was certainly relieved when I finally got out; the mirror-hopping mechanic had sold the idea of getting lost in the mirror very well. Great job!
ryzy27
2020-10-16 15:21
Looks great. Mood got me into it pretty deep. Also that I was getting lost all the time, but that's more on me I guess. :)
You have implemented some very nice elements to the game. Main menu looks very nice, mirrors and shattered pieces look great, as well as the level as a whole.
Cheers!
This was incredible. From the start, I can tell you that the aesthetic and audio design are basically faultless.
I appreciate the ambition on this jam, and the levels were interesting to explore. That said, I wasn't a huge fan of the starting enemies as they were very unpredictable in movement. There was also a frustrating behavior of theirs where they could spot you the moment you exited a mirror and charge.
I'll get a little more into the things that I would have liked to see improved on in a bit, but I will say that I found the character designs and level layouts to be incredibly engaging and distinct. I can't say I've played a single jam entry like this one, and the mirror looping mechanic kept the game from feeling too linear without getting overbearing. It was a nice balance between difficulty and nonlinearity in an area where these games tend to fall short design-wise.
Most of my narrative complaints boil down to this; I found it slightly frustrating that with every major story beat, the player is mostly handheld and forced to take certain actions (e.g. ignoring the shriveled figure). I wish there was a little more open-endedness to how you respond to some of these events.
--
Aside from this, I do have a few bug reports that I hope to post screenshots for in a bit. I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
- I was able to break the story slightly by moving past the first major mirror without actually breaking it; the story didn't actually account for this, so I'm assuming it was supposed to be forced. - There is a section right before the "midpoint" of the game where walking into the wall will force you under the level. - A little bit after this midpoint, if you jump over a gap in the terrain with certain enemies chasing you, they will fall into the pit and continue to audibly jump in place for the rest of the section trying to reach you-- you may want to despawn any enemies that fall like this, similar to how player respawn is already treated for these gaps.
--
All in all, exceptional work.
Oo, is that Cymatics - Lofi Melody Loop 5 - 80 BPM F Min that I hear in the first song here? ;)
It's cool to see different kinds of works out of you, even though it's clearly a bit rough around the edges as I think the commenters above have already noted. Thematically I think the idea of hiding in closets and destroying the mirrors works well with the narrative, but I think mechanically it needed some work. A lot of this boils down to platforming physics and level design I think. Right now the closet hiding feels more like an afterthought rather than something symbolic; I think part of that is how it's possible to simply jump over the enemies, etc. I can tell that the platformer physics use physics-based inertia which leads to the "slidy/floaty" feeling. Also, it is nice sometimes to offer the option of pressing "jump" using a different hand than the one controlling horizontal movement, as that splits the controls across two hands.
The level layouts I found relatively confusing too, though eventually I stumbled my way through. Some of this is due to the mirror mechanic complicating things, and some of this is due to most of the areas looking visually similar, so it's hard for me to see a stairway and know whether it's the same one I just saw 5 seconds ago or not. There is also no sort of map feature and when a "goal" location is shown, the camera pans extremely quickly, making it impossible to know which direction to travel in in order to reach the goal.
Narratively I felt like this game was less nuanced and complex than your other works (missed messages!!)-- ironically the narrative is much more linear and direct despite the level design being nonlinear. But perhaps this is understandable given that you needed to build a platformer at the same time.
Some of the small visual touches were nice, especially the eyeball motif!
@ddrkirbyisq omfg Dr Kirby I didn't know you were in this jam, I have to play and rate yours before the day is up!
Thanks for all your good points, I also feel like the narrative is rushed and not as strong :( Hopefully when I flesh this out further for a public release it'll be better :) I'll try to make things less confusing as well. Lol yeah you can jump over enemies... I'm definitely gonna rethink the mechanics in 2.0!
PS Im honored you commented, your work is very impressive :)
Wow, this is unbelievable! The story is fantastic, the characters seem real, and you got some real good jumps out of me with the mirror jumpscares! At first I thought this would be yet another platformer. (Seriously, they're so easy to make. I made one, I played several dozen others...) And then, I got the horror vibes with those little floating guys. (AARRGGHH!! GO AWAY!!) And then you scared the life out of me when I learned that the slightly relaxed horror platformer ***happened TO HAVE A BOSS FIGHT!!*** 😱 Seriously, one of the best games I've ever played. You need to make a way longer version and get rich off of it.
Too bad I didn't know this existed until after the jam! I noticed you have four gold trophies already, just go ahead and get another for creating this. 5/5! Expect to find a "you were mentioned..." notification in a day or so.
(Still shaken from the boss fight. This is probably the second-scariest thing I've ever played/watched. I spent 10-20 minutes on the boss fight, and that much time later I'm still on edge.)
Here's a present as a congrats for making such a good game!
WHAT I SAW - Sketch.png