Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD48 → Memare
By jogo
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1390 | 3.23 | 21 | |
| Fun | 1528 | 2.89 | 21 | |
| Innovation | 970 | 3.15 | 21 | |
| Theme | 329 | 4.05 | 21 | |
| Mood | 202 | 4.13 | 21 |
Hey, that's a sweet little experience with a solid ending. The mood is great! But gameplay could use some streamlining. I think the hookshot is underutilized (to be honest I don't have idea what is it used for, even after completing the game), and I can see you've put effort into making it so it's a little bit sad.
Hats off to the choice of sound effects/underwater and breathing sounds, genuinely unsettling and really set the mood. The mood and atmosphere are just so strong! I agree with @whynot in that I didn't really understand the use of the hookshot, I think it might kill enemies after a while? Besides that, I actually think you nailed the movement and the speed of the hookshot, and the satisfying sound effect of it clunking. I also like that you can reel it back, I feel like you could expand on this as a hook/reel in treasure or debris and have it more exploration based (but that might not be what you had in mind/want to explore).
From the description it shows you've learnt a lot from this game jam so I would say this game is a success! Well done =]
@whynot thank you! I'm not sure if you've encountered any sharks, but in theory you can shoot them with it ^^ yes, the whole gameplay thing got quite lost in me geeking out on the mood / story elements, unfortunately.
@2bitcrook thanks :) it was really tricky though, because everytime I did something for the audio / mood, I knew that I'm actually just compensating gameplay here. majorly underestimated how much effort enemies would be. the rope not having physics that affect anything but itself (no collision, no real attachment to other object) didn't help either.
First of all, I love that you managed to set such a great mood with such minimalistic elements. The setting (boat alone in the open) together with the amazing sound effect choice and the long descent to the bottom do such a great job at communicating loneliness, mystery and the feeling of being lost in the ocean. Also, I like how the thoughts of the diver are not presented by dialog boxes, but instead are scattered out there in the ocean. I can't describe it well, but to me it conveys that interesting sense of immersion, also something about these thoughts never reaching the "light of the world", being lost in the ocean forever.
The hook mechanic is very well done, 10/10 rope physics. I actually shot a bunch of sharks with it and it feels very snappy. I would have liked some hit feedback though, because it was very hard to make out whether a shark got hit or not. Also the mechanic could be explored more (maybe it can function as a grappling hook or something).
When I landed on the bottom of the ocean I felt very immersed and I felt that anxious feeling and mystery creeping up (what will I find down here, why am I here in the first place). It is unfortunate that the game is finished right when the apex of the suspense hits you, but its a weekend-long game-jam and on top of that a one man show, so completely understandable!
All in all, I think this game demonstrates very well how even by having a minimalistic artstyle and effectively three inputs, it is still possible to set an incredible mood and immerse the player, taking them on an emotional journey. Great potential in this one, and seeing all the things you learned from this one weekend makes this a big success in my eyes (and shows why game jams are the best). Great job! :)
@robosatch thanks for the love, mate :D
As other people have said, the sounds were really good!
Now, I don't know if this is a glitch but I couldn't reel anything in, it just kind of reset my weapon...
I didn't really like how many styles there were, the diver, the boat, the rocks, they all had different styles clashing together
I still liked it tough
I could not be sure. Are sharks attacking us? I didn't take any chances and kept shooting them until they walked away. Sounds are really atmospherically and mood is great. Good job!
Funny short game, really cool atmospheric.
I really enjoyed this experience. The sound design created a really nice atmosphere and I really liked how the text shows when you fall. I think I did encounter a bug though when I reel in the hook it just stays on me in the same direction I reeled it in. Overall a nice experience good job!
Really nice and atmospheric game, especially the sound effects. Repelling the sharks was very nice as well. A bit on the shorter and easier side, but just having a few minutes of nice and calming underwater experience in a stressful world is a nice feature as well :)
Had a good time just chilling and sinking to the bottom. Thought I might lose a life if I hit the rocks but was a little disappointed when I tested it. Maybe its just for the sharks? Overall fun experience. Thanks for the game.
Woah, you fly to space when you pop out of the water at the end :laughing:.
Like others have said, this was a nice atmospheric experience. A bit short, but I enjoyed my descent and ascent.
Not bad. I liked the underwater mood, and the harpoon gun was nice and snappy.
There is not much, but the mechanics are here, and the ambiance is perfect :ok_hand: good job
As for gameplay, I went to the bottom while shooting some sharks and nothing really happening, then I found a chest and went back up. Is that all there was to it or did I miss something? :D Anyway, as people before me have said, the sound and the visuals are great, it felt a lot more like diving than other games I've tested so far, so good job on that!
I love the mood of it and the sounds are great. Can totally related to "lessons learned" part! LD is hard and we always need to cut corners, and you did well to cut the things that don't impair an overall experience.
I really loved the mood of the game. The sound was utilized well.
The problems I had were: * There really was no gameplay it was just going down. * The ocean was really empty there were a couple sharks that went after you then left * Not exactly sure what the spear gun is for, I tried attacking the sharks but it didn't do anything. * It left me confused as I lost one heart after a shark hit me, but didn't the next time another shark hit me
All in all it was a calming atmosphere and the mood was nice, but the gameplay was lacking. Also the spear gun was made really well so it was disappointing to see it not matter.
It's been said a number of times, but awesome work on the sound design! I feel like with a bit more context on the narrative, this could make for a powerful experience - in the form of something like a walking simulator. I guess it would be a diving simulator in this case? The use of the harpoon wasn't too clear for me, I just used it to shoot at sharks, but they didn't seem to want to attack me - that made me feel bad a bit. But I actually like it this way. The existence of sharks are enough to make me feel tense, but less combat (or less *chaotic* combat) made me more focused on the diver's story. What truth were they diving for? What happened in the sunken ship? It's a short but impactful experience. Well done!
Sound effects fit perfectly. You should include some screenshots on your entry page if you want more people to see this, because the game is good!
Nice game! Agree, great sounds and story. I really dived into it.
@crazybot thank you! The reel in was supposed to be a real animation, but well ... the whole rope has no physics, so that was a bit tricky. Totally agree with you on the different styles. This was the first time I did pixel art and I had a hart time figuring out how palettes work in Aseprite. In the end I just used the ones that are built in and things got mixed up majorly
@barisc thanks for playing :) yeah, the sharks are supposed to attack you and the harpoon is supposed to hit them. The whole combat system is a bit on the 'supposed-to' side, unfortunately
@kenforest glad you liked it! Atmosphere was what I was going for the most here
@birdbrain-studios thank you for giving it a shot (pun intended). Indeed, the harpoon is veeery buggy. I ran out of time on that one (among other things). Glad you enjoyed it despite it's shortcomings :)
@likirus thank you! At lot of people seem to have enjoyed the sounds :) I guess I was aiming more for an experience of sorts than a game. But it still could use more gameplay. Next time ;)
@trusty do you lose health when hitting rocks during the descent? Because that would be a bug. Have to check that. Anyways, thank you for playing!
@boxedmeatrevolution haha, yeah. The ending I originally had in mind was too much for the time I had left so I just made the diver ascent to who-knows-where. Thanks a lot for playing and rating it!
@jaco-van-hemert thank you! Mood was for sure the thing I spent most time on. I will try to make a better version of the harpoon in the future, with physics and all that jazz
@jogo Sorry, I edited my comment for clarity, had a typo that changed the meaning. I was saying the opposite, was hoping to take damage when I 'messed up' and hit a rock falling quickly.
@tomtomgome thanks! Absolutely, I started with an idea for a story / mood and just went ahead. Next time I'll start with main-mechanics first
@eta well, yeah, that's what I managed to finish in the time :/ I had great plans, but turns out that I underestimated AI, haha. But actually there is a bit more to it. The theme is not only represented in what you are doing in the game, but also in the narrative. Apparently I failed gloriously in communicating it though xD
@iovorobiev thanks for playing and commenting. Indeed, this was my first time doing LD and the end result only vaguely resembles what I had conjured up when I started ^^ Still glad I did it and already looking forward to the next one :)
@heyllopotato thanks for trying out my submission and the detailed feedback :)
- yes, I started with mood instead of mechanics. will do better next time ;) - yes again. I didn't find too much assets I liked and had no more time to make my own - the harpoon 'should' scare off the sharks. But it doesn't work all the time. It's not a feature, it's a bug - same goes for the shark attacks
@not-as-artistic heyo, thanks a lot for your feedback! Interesting take on the combat, most people seem to have been disappointed that it wasn't like combat usually is (and don't get me wrong, this is not by design, haha). Unfortunately I did a not so great job on communicating the divers story (which is a bummer, because it's what was the most fun to me). But I will polish this up in the coming weeks. If you're interested, I'll send you the final version, so you can find out the truth for yourself ;)
@bitlight ah, a man of puns, I sea ;) thank you for playing and reviewing it!
@kp-cftsz thanks for the feedback :) I actually tried adding some, but somehow they don't show :( maybe I'm doing something wrong, I'll try again
@jogo I think you just need to go into the game editor and hit "upload image" and it should embed on the page. Worst case you can probably just put in a direct link to the image somewhere on the game page using Markdown's image syntax
@boxedmeatrevolution oh no, I actually just realized that my webGL build is somehow broken :0 there *should* be a lifeline that is attached to the diver that in the end pulls you up. It works in the Unity Editor and the Windows build. I will fix this, please don't burn me at the stake
Great job using less to do more. I really liked the mood of the game, especially with the audio and text. There was definitely a claustrophobic feeling as you sink down to the bottom and all these inner fears and thoughts race by you on the screen. It's funny I felt relieved when I hit the bottom but it turned out the journey back up to the surface was the scary part, haha.
The speargun feels underutilized so that is something to look at, but I think it's more important to establish a mood and a feel for your game and you certainly did that here.
Great job!