Portal Problems!

remco 2021-10-04 09:36

Ah, it's a sort of crossword in the form of an adventure-game! What made it enjoyable for me was that the descriptions, while a little bit easy, weren't _completely_ obvious, giving it a nice word-play kind of spin. (Also there are some objects left-over at the end --as red herrings I presume-- just a little bit of cleverness that I think should be noticed.)

That said, I'd hoped for a bit more, even for a compo game. (Also I'm surprised that anyone that can denoise their audio that well didn't put a _big_ reverb/pitch effect on a demon's voice ... but that's just me probably :slight_smile: By which I mean to say, I think the voice acting adds a lot, and if this where my game I'd definitely put the Audio category back on.)

P.S. Disclaimer: Due to browser being browsers, I could either play this with sound, but the spacebar would scroll the itch.io page instead, _or_ download it, but then it wouldn't play the intro narration (though it would play both the bad and the good endings).

P.P.S. Seems the single row of games shown on top of the main LDJam page are not ranked by # of ratings right now? Huh.

ladymistleaf 2021-10-05 00:03

@remco There are no "red herrings" per say, there is a description for every item, but the items "chosen" by the system are randomized for replayability. If you replay the game, they may ask you for different items, or the same items in a different order.

And I forgot to mention that there are actually multiple endings based on how many you got right/wrong! I will go modify the description to include that right now! Although I see you found the good and the bad ending, but did you find the perfect ending? :)

When it comes to sound, I know nothing! My "denoise" was just recording with my phone in my bed curled up under a comforter to stop any echo/other noises. Feeling like a sexy demoness is hard when your knees are almost touching you chin! I just put the audio in the game as is, I used no software to modify it, and I wouldn't know how to.

I didn't know about the spacebar issues, but I encountered issues with the up and down arrow keys. It's why I encouraged players to full screen the game, even though it looks weird, because I could not enjoy my own game if it wasn't :/

Thank you very much for your review!

commanderstitch 2021-10-06 00:47

aaaaand i believe i got it. At least I got something different to be said at the end. I figured out after a bit that the connection between the items were based on word-play. :-)

Great! :-)

bgdc 2021-10-06 14:28

not sure what's the intended gameplay, never touched a game made from javascript so i won't say much i guess

just figured out while writing this comment the game is submitted for Compo, looks decent for a game made alone in only 48 hours :thumbsup:

xeke-death 2021-10-06 15:37

Nice little game. Found the descriptions easy to match up, and when I tried to get them wrong by going for the closest items, they were always the right ones. But I both fixed and broke the portal.

devparty 2021-10-06 16:23

I like the game! It was hard for me though, because I’m not really that good at crossword puzzles. 8/10 nice game!

ghoulean 2021-10-06 16:25

There is no way to undo a move? I didn't understand the concept at first so I input a random item into the box, only later to see that the random item I put in was selected later as a required one.

But on my second playthrough I got it all. Cool take on a scavenger hunt game. I like how the hints are hints instead of "get this"

I would have liked to see a proper end screen as I sat at a blank screen for a short while before I realized the game was over.

xparker 2021-10-06 18:01

Funny idea with the descriptive task as to what you have to pass on. Sadly no intro what/how to do and no "game over" / restart screen.

rayredd 2021-10-07 01:18

Very good voice acting! It took me a couple of tries to figure out what the purpose of the game was but I eventually got it and it was fun matching the terms with the objects.

The corridors are too small to go into because the character is too big. I would recommend making them bigger. Adding some objects into them makes the scene a bit more dynamic. It would also be great to see WASD controls instead of just the arrow keys.

badbill 2021-10-07 01:26

Great voice acting!

kapricorn-media 2021-10-07 01:32

Pretty neat game! I think I'm gonna start calling wrenches "twist assists" now :) Just to throw some improvement idea - I had to go back and read the text instructions to figure out that the middle text was the "hint". Maybe you could have put the hint by the PC/drop box instead to make that clearer visually in-game. Good work on the voice acting! And well done overall

andidebob 2021-10-07 07:27

A fun little puzzle game, the story is a bit darker than I would have expected, reminding me of "I have no mouth and I must scream". The gameplay is very simple, but the hints and items you collect are clever. All in all a solid entry.

mathiouza 2021-10-08 02:20

It's surprising to have voice acting in a Ludum Dare game. A good surprise.

The game is quite simple but I like the fact that it is a sequel of your last Ludum Dare entry. I think it's cool to do something that x) It's a great idea x)

Great work!

yngvarr 2021-10-08 11:39

Yay, a small game with proper voice acting, I like it a lot! I love the idea to have two endings based on how well player performs and the uncertainty of which of them is actually good or bad. >_< I also like the idea of making a sequel for a previous jam game. Gameplay-wise, it was a fun little top-down game with a clever core and nice execution.

Here's a recording of my playthrough: https://youtu.be/7-f5Bzuj2Vo

gimbalock 2021-10-08 15:21

Nice simple puzzle, I like the simplicity. And works great with the voice over!

haematite 2021-10-08 18:42

Nice short little puzzle game, I found the clues a bit simple but the voice acting was a really nice touch! I did find the lack of any audio slightly jarring after the voice intro but otherwise enjoyed this!

denzil-gomes 2021-10-10 14:56

Cool idea, would've loved to see more, but I completely understand with jam times, especially compo. You sounded a lot like Cortana when delivering the line "We still have one last human.." I got the good ending and the bad. No idea how to get the 3rd one. It was fun, I'd play more if you ever make more levels with higher difficulties too

yikescloud 2021-10-11 14:55

Puzzle game with a simple mechanic. I love the mechanic that your item combine decide the final ending. And your voice is so nice!

steve7411 2021-10-11 15:25

I like this idea. It's a good, fun, simple puzzle.

stelios 2021-10-14 11:18

Good job, the voice was a nice touch

ladymistleaf 2021-10-19 01:55

@denzil-gomes Thanks for playing! The third ending is making exactly one mistake. None is good(?) and 2+ is bad(?)

ptsnoop 2021-10-20 12:05

Short and to the point! I found it quite tricky to deliberately get the exactly-one-mistake ending, since when I put a wrong item in the box, the next right answer would invariably be the item I just threw away - but that's just my luck...

rjmarzec 2021-10-21 08:06

A fun bit of wordplay! The voice acting was also wonderful - it really helped pull everything together. The artwork was nice too, through I would have loved to see some more overall! Still, great job!

evangreenwood 2021-10-21 14:28

Love it when jam games have voice acting.

I enjoyed solving the hints. Nice job.