osterzone 2021-04-26 07:46
The talking noises and text boxes were really well done, the conversation theme is portrayed really effectively in a minimalistic way. With some more complex puzzles this could be a really nice wee game
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD48 → Associated Arguments
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 646 | 3.17 | 25 | |
| Fun | 733 | 2.82 | 25 | |
| Innovation | 314 | 3.45 | 25 | |
| Theme | 683 | 3.15 | 25 | |
| Graphics | 396 | 3.52 | 25 | |
| Audio | 210 | 3.58 | 25 | |
| Humor | 293 | 2.87 | 22 | |
| Mood | 574 | 3.04 | 24 |
The talking noises and text boxes were really well done, the conversation theme is portrayed really effectively in a minimalistic way. With some more complex puzzles this could be a really nice wee game
Very interesting concept. Loved the simulated voices/dialog. Very stylish. Would have been cool with some more levels and gameplay.
Love the abstract conversation audio, great way to do it. I enjoyed the way the puzzles were set up too. A little bit more layout, a few levels and this would have been top, happy to have spent a short time with your game!
The voice sounds were great. What a really interesting and weird concept but it was a lot of fun. Some more advanced challenges would help a lot and maybe some music to add to the mysterious mood. Overall loved it!
Neat game! Wish there was more puzzle difficulty, but as you wrote the game is more about conversation which is done in a cool way :smile: Well done on your first compo!
This was cool! I liked the talking noises and the whole dialog portraits part. The puzzleing was pretty easy, but very respectable for a gamejam. My only real complaint is that I felt like I was fighting the controls often. It seemed like my character would just get stuck moving randomly and I'd have to pickup a key and press it down again to keep moving in the same direction, even though nothing was in my way. Still, a nice game :)
As everyone said, the conversation audio is really good. I… have to admit I had no idea what was going on, or what the individual conversations were accomplishing other than occasionally opening a door or respawning me. I got to the point with two pairs of adjacent doors and got stuck—nothing I did seemed to cause anything to happen. I guess I was supposed to restart, but I’m not even sure what I did wrong to get into that state in the first place. Anyway—congrats on your first compo entry! It’s always intense but it can be a lot of fun.
@mahalis Thanks for checking out my little game!
To explain a little about what I was going for (probably not entirely successfully): I wanted to take "Deeper and Deeper" in the direction of "deepening a relationship", or getting "deeper into a conversation." It may have been more clear if I had actual writing, but I wanted the whole game to be a single conversation, where selecting any of the dialogue boxes is choosing a response to what the other person just said. My idea was that when you make it to a *new* option, you've managed to get a little closer to the other person (the dialogues get longer, and they rather literally let their walls down, giving a path forward to the next one). It, uh, was maybe a little heady for the minimal amount of art I was able to make haha
As for where you got stuck, it's not indicated well, but hitting the top button first locks you out from hitting the bottom button and reaching the end. It turns out having a compo be your first time making art&designing levels makes it quite a bit more stressful
@nick-rafalski Thanks for spending a little time with my game! I definitely noticed that happening every so often while I was developing the game, but I have absolutely no idea what could've been doing it. I'm not sure how such a simple movement-scheme and a bunch of box colliders could have any weird interactions like that. As I wrote this comment, I've realized I probably should've just used a circle collider on the player instead of the same box as everything else haha
Cool idea. I agree that there should be more challenges. The inventive way the conversation is done is appreciated. A lot could be done with this concept, and some very interesting puzzles could be made around it.
The graphics are really nice. I like the binary palette and art.
@mathemagician Thanks for the explanation! That makes sense.
This was really interesting, has a great mood to it. The game was at its best when there was a slight puzzle element, expanding on that would be really cool (as others have already said).
Good game! I love how you responded to the theme with the concept of "deeper and deeper" into conversation. The puzzle got me at one point before I realized I should start thinking about my moves, making me have to restart, but I think it was neat how it caught me off guard. The graphics are great, and the sound effects that play in place of the voices in the conversations was nice. It did get difficult at times to walk through doors (the player's collision box may have been a tad large) but overall, well done!
This a good for a first compo! I like the idea of turning a conversation to a puzzle, well done!
The game is really short, but I enjoy games that have a clear ending in contrast to some endless games. You did a very good job on the level design there, the puzzle was fun and the art is very consistent.
Congratulations on your compo entry!
The overall game concept is very unusual and interesting. It's refreshing to see someone taking risks to experiment with game design. The aesthetic is pleasing, cohesive and consistent. The sound and graphics work very well together to deliver an abstract narrative that will most likely be understood by everyone without requiring any explanation.
The only nitpick I have is that the player hitbox might be a bit too small, which leads to some awkward situations, such as bumping into corners or accidentally moving somewhere you didn't mean to. It might be a good idea to try tiled movement, as I believe precision is important for this sort of puzzle experience.
Please keep working on this game, I'd love to revisit it in the future once it has more content.
Overall, this is a great entry, congratulations :slight_smile:
I like how this game centers on the idea of conversation. I think that the word bubbles resetting your position, while simultaneously being sub-goals, is a very interesting puzzle mechanic, especially given that this teleportation feature has to be used to solve many of the puzzles.
I think the idea that you can lock yourself out of the conversation if you go down the wrong path is pretty clever. I certainly can relate to it in any case.
I will agree that the navigation around the map can be a little finicky due to apparent hitbox issues. The game would definitely be a bit smoother without that problem.
Overall though, this was a pretty nice puzzle game despite its short length. Good job!
I liked the ideas behind the game. A bit short and a bit too easy though!