FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD50 → just drive.

just drive.

By str0nkyk0ng

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall13592.6722
Fun14111.5522
Innovation12982.5022
Theme12562.9722
Audio6203.2821
Mood2503.9222

Comments

filipe-leal 2022-04-04 20:40

I didn't get what's going on here. Is playing the game optional?

It's very pretty, but the music and the lack of obstacles make it boring. (Or maybe I'm just sleepy)

I would love if I could drive it faster too.

chriiis88 2022-04-04 20:48

Wow. This was... interesting. Unexpected but not unwelcome. Not fun at all due to the lack of actual gameplay, but I'm very sure that it wasn't meant to be. Much like one of those melodramatic movies that you watch not because they're "fun", but because of the atmosphere and mood they put you in. If anything, this entry fully deserves 5/5 mood. Well done.

sir-syko 2022-04-04 20:50

Interesting idea with cool visuals but the lack of gameplay makes if very little engaging :disappointed: The audio and mood were ok but it would be more interesting if we could unlock the "lore" by driving ourselves :wink: Good work!

oleg-bone 2022-04-05 00:27

I totally get the vibe of the story. It's difficult to call a game, but it's a really cool cinematic project that I enjoyed a lot, because of its atmosphere. It would be nice, if we could drive a little after the narrator's monologue just to think about different stuff

midblue 2022-04-05 00:32

This is my jam (no pun intended). I love a narrative game, and executing something passive that conveys a feeling is every bit as valuable as something more mechanics-driven. Not everyone will get this game, but I liked it. Good work. One little thing -- are you properly despawning assets once you pass them? My computer heated WAY up with no reason to do so while playing.

coderaurus 2022-04-05 07:30

Liked the atmosphere! Just chilling and driving. But I wish you could actually do more in it and the game would engage the player more. Moving the car feels really heavy and I ended up doing nothing at all. I have to commend the menu you did, it's impressive.

Good job!

kongo 2022-04-05 07:31

I like the atmosphere and the story, but the gameplay is a bit lacking.

mikado 2022-04-05 13:56

There isn't much of a gameplay, but the story hit hard.

str0nkyk0ng 2022-04-05 19:01

@filipe-leal There are speed options in the main menu if you'd like to go faster :)

@sir-syko Interesting idea! Originally I wanted the player to be able to turn at forks in the road as a mechanic for choosing responses, but that sadly was a bit out of scope for a one-person team :(

@chriiis88 , @oleg-bone , @midblue Thank you, I'm happy you all enjoyed/understood it!

@mikado @kongo @coderaurus I think in general the game is more akin to a visual novel than the traditional definition of a "game", but I'm happy you enjoyed the atmospheric elements!

Thanks for playing y'all!

beebster-games 2022-04-06 11:44

So, the scenery was exceptional. Need obstacles on the road, a clear and defined goal, and got to be able to go much faster

maskrosen 2022-04-06 14:42

It looked nice :)

bohmann 2022-04-07 13:27

Visual, models and art looks very cool but it's not a game, just a short nice story without gameplay elements. But all atmoshere is quite relaxing and good. It's a nice startpoint to make a visual novel or something like that from this scratch. Anyway this is a nice made uncommon entry

doomshmuck 2022-04-07 22:48

Yeah, agreeing with the rest of the comments here... This can't really be considered a game, but it's definitely an interesting take on the theme, and the visuals and audio set the mood up very well.

steffo 2022-04-09 00:47

Would've been more fun if the left and the right lane branched to different dialogue lines!

ycb21 2022-04-09 00:48

Thank you for making this.

Though I'm sure they mean well please ignore comments that say this is not a game -- as someone who also likes slow & idle games I get that all the time too (for this jam as well). There shouldn't be such stringent boundaries to what a medium can be, and this is one of the best games I played this week.

Some suggestions though: 1. I don't think you have to explicitly mention the "delay the inevitable" in one of the dialogues -- for me how it hits the theme is strong and obvious enough. 2. At the end, maybe making the car accelerate and drive off the screen while the camera pans away/zooms out would be really cool (that's personal preference though).

Other than that -- again, it is amazing, please keep making more.

str0nkyk0ng 2022-04-09 06:43

@steffo That was actually the original plan! It was just a bit too much for one person to do though :(

str0nkyk0ng 2022-04-09 07:21

@ycb21

Your comment made my day! I'm interested in creating games that push the medium in one way or another, so it's always exciting to read people's reactions.

Interestingly enough, both of your suggestions were decisions I was on the fence about:

Initially, I didn't have the "delay the inevitable" line in the story. I added it last minute for emphasis. I was afraid the story was too subtle or undertoned. That if someone couldn't relate to the content, then they wouldn't understand its theme. I guess I was wrong about that, so I'll stick with my gut next time.

Regarding the ending, I really wanted to respect the space the game created for the player. I thought that by having the car idle I could give players the power to decide when they've processed the experience and were ready to move on. The slow-down ending does this, but at the expense of a less "cinematic" resolution.

Thank you for taking the time to play and your kind comment, I'm happy you enjoyed it!

And I promise there's a lot more to come.

mlho7 2022-04-09 12:10

We live in society, people need goals, people doing nothing need to lose...

Your submission is something else, and it's great this way.

Well done, that is some work.

daniel-username 2022-04-09 15:17

Cool aesthetic and atmosphere. It's a short jam and I know you mentioned it, but having more interactivity would have made this even better.