rorybabory 2023-05-01 05:08
I really liked the dream like art style!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD53 → Strange Zoo
By khaotom
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 244 | 3.38 | 37 | |
| Fun | 334 | 2.87 | 37 | |
| Innovation | 142 | 3.52 | 37 | |
| Theme | 307 | 3.42 | 37 | |
| Graphics | 231 | 3.42 | 37 | |
| Audio | 36 | 3.98 | 36 | |
| Humor | 214 | 2.79 | 34 | |
| Mood | 20 | 4.27 | 36 |
I really liked the dream like art style!
This is so weird! The art style and sounds/music go together perfectly to create a certain mood. It feels like a dream.
Congratulations on finishing your game! I felt confused while playing and curious enough to explore what I think was the whole map. The itch.io description hints helped me understand some of what to look for. The audio seemed chaotic, so I was not sure if the sounds were animals calling in the distance or just synthetic background music.
You did a good job of having the camera follow the player. To give more player feedback it would be nice to have visual lines or waves coming from the edge of the screen to point to me where nearby animals are. Maybe the audio was already doing that, but having visual and audio cues working together would be even more clear.
The delivery mechanic was innovative, I was able to collect 600 points before acquiring a green toy gun that might have defeated an animal? I was not able to figure out how to drop what I was holding. Maybe visual or audio feedback of if an animal ignores your held item would be helpful, but the game still works by being snappy when an object does work.
Nice entry, loved the sound and concept!
Very dreamy-like experience, the music and sprites sets the mood very well! Couldn't understand how to interact with the creatures at first but figured it out after a while and got some points.
Well done with the game!
Damn, that was trippy. Wasn't sure if there was anything else to do except explore but after reading a bit on the page I stuck around a bit more and things start to progress. Controls are a bit janky but it somehow works with the rest of the weird unnerving aestetic, sound and where the game goes. I made it to the end..I think.. Cool!
I really liked the audio mood, it was like an electro synth space zoo vibe. I enjoyed the creeping sense of horror that slowly unfolds as you discover the secret of the circle of life.
That was very fun. I really liked the music/sound effects. I think I just about understand everything which I won't put here so as to not spoil it. The first time I beat the game with 6000 points. Then I went back and beat it again trying to do the minimum and got 3500 points. I suspect that is the minimum. MinimumScore.png
I love that it was a different approach to a game. More like art and atmosphere, you don't see that here very often I guess.
I had a nightmare that was exactly like that
I loved the art style, but I will admit I found it very difficult figuring out how to control the character. Nevertheless, great job!
I liked it a lot, especially the audio - that alien gibberish when you deliver incorrect food is a nice feedback. It got boring quite fast though.
I also enjoyed the mood! Very different feeling to any other LD games I have played. I was also quite confused on what to do, no matter what I try I can't seem to get a specimen from the creatures... The mouse control also felt a bit jarring, like delayed in a way. But a very solid entry overall!
Took me a while to figure out what to do, but I enjoyed the game once I did. The controls need a bit of work though, I actually got quite frustrated at times, especially with keyboard controls. All in all a good game though, probably one of my top 5.
really felt some yume nikki vibes from the art and music. so many delightfully strange creatures to peruse in this zoo ^^
i got really frustrated with both the keyboard and mouse controls though. it's really difficult to change directions and then i end up slamming into every wall. granted im not the most dextrous guy around... if that were improved, i think it would be easier to enjoy the atmosphere and narrative.
This was really interesting (in the good kind of way)! Had a lot of fun figuring out how everything works and enjoying the experimental music.
Some constructive criticism: - The movement feels a bit too clunky for this kind of setting. It would make sense in games build around precision movement (e.g. where collisions hurt the player), but here it leaves more of an impression of artificial difficulty. It'd be more satisfying if the movement was more straightforward. - During my run, it took quite a while for the first creature to die, so I had to wander around aimlessly for some time until I knew what to look out for. Maybe it was just a coincidence and they usually appear a bit faster, but either way, a scripted (and thus impossible-to-miss) first encounter would probably be a better way to ensure the player knows what to do. I did have fun figuring it out on my own, but sadly, my personal experience is that the majority of players is not that patient... - It didn't take me long to notice that some creatures are picky in what they would like to eat. And since the game told me to observe the creatures closely, I tried to look for clues about what each of them wants, but didn't really notice any (of course it's possible that I simply missed them). I believe visual cues would be a neat addition so that players don't have to resort to trial and error.
Very interesting. The art and music are perfect to create the mood. Good job!
Great work! Took me a while go figure out what I needed to do but it was nice exploring and figuring that out without hand-holding. The creature designs are fun and I really like the music changing in different areas.
I escaped the Zoo with 4100 pts without reading the instructions, hints, or spoiler.
Very cool to unwind the mystery. I was glad that hints were not on the LD page, and tucked away out of sight for those who wanted them.
Simply displaying "0" at the top-center was a smart move, it told me, "this game has a way to score and you should explore to find it."
Looking at the spoiler retroactively, the one thing I didn't figure out was the flashing/dying ones were how you got bling. I just kind of randomly happened to get some, fortunately. The little heart icon even on non-dying ones was key, as it let me know "yup that is good, do more of that."
The art was nice and made the critters have real character. I caught flashes of real animals but then they'd have a strange twist, worked really well.
Sound is a trippy otherworldly background that improves the experience a lot.
Nice job!
Surreal, in a good way! I honestly didn't really know what I was doing and first... and I didn't really care? I was almost getting more out of just wandering around and looking at the wacky creatures. Once I saw everything I looked at the hints and used those to finish the game. I really liked the different "biomes" and the graphical/musical differences really sold them despite the minimalism. Very weird and very good! I liked it a lot.
so strange game,game mood is nice
I love the mood of the game which together with the audio makes for a very interesting game! The player's mechanics are a little uncomfortable for me, but I think it's a game with a very special and personal touch. And that very few achieve it, congratulations!
This was so strange, you got weirdness exactly right. I liked the drastic shifts in the audio moving from area to area, and the creates "voices" as I moved around. I managed to escape, but I did use the first hint...
Really good game, at first it was really hard to understand what to do, but with the hints and some time I could figured out. Nice entry!
Very beautifle and stylish submission!