Blind Caver

sisuisa 2023-10-03 17:36

I started the game with the expectation that it would be too hard - I have hard time remembering spatial distances and so on - but in the end I liked it very much! It was definitely interesting and very strange to see that I did form some kind of a mental map of the level. Long corridors felt long. I first tried with my eyes closed but it was somehow easier with my eyes open?? Weird. Very near the end, my wireless earset notified that battery is running out, so I almost missed the ending because it was not written down - I think it would be nice to have that as text as well, in case someone is playing without a headset or is deaf. Other than that, it was perfectly sized and a very complete game, which I enjoyed!

tetrergeru 2023-10-03 20:11

Great game! I had fun trying to picture the level layout in my head. Even had to use pen and paper once! Great sound design. I am a bit confused how to rate this game's graphics, I guess it did its job!

silkworm-sweatshop 2023-10-03 20:27

Excellent take on the theme, loved it! Always cool to see some accessible stuff. I did appreciate the minimal visual touches even if even it feels like cheating a bit. A nice idea for some polish would be to have the sounds in stereo and play them with different directions in mind.

sudocoffee 2023-10-04 03:29

I played through the full game with my eyes closed, and it's neat thinking about game design with sound only. I had to really learn each of the level layouts to beat them (the cavern level was the hardest).

I thought the instructions were clear and easy to understand. Only things that were missing without visuals:

* I had no way to know what level I was on (I cheated and peaked). * I sometimes forgot which sounds were which. The sounds mostly work great, but only so much you can do with 8-bit noises.

In any case, the game was a lot of fun. Thanks for making!

blueman 2023-10-04 18:25

@sudocoffee Thanks so much for playing. You make good points. I fully admit the accessibility is no where near perfect and many improvements could be made on that front. If one is playing the game with audio only, I want to give them all of the information they need without overwhelming or confusing them, but I agree there are quite a few sounds you would have to memorize in a short period. Perhaps a brief vocal description like "pit" or "boulder" could play alongside the sound effects and "level 2", "level 3", etc. could play at the beginning of each level. Thanks for the feedback :smiley:

torte478 2023-10-05 18:33

An original and excellent idea. Thank you for an interesting experience!

brogolem35 2023-10-06 18:30

It has been while since I played a blind game. It has been a refreshing experience.

sevansevan 2023-10-07 19:47

That was an amazing experience, thank you.

I agree that I sometimes peaked at the level number to get a feeling of completion which was a bit lacking.

Another thing that you could add is a semblance of narrative design.

You could probably add to the experience by adding a little bit of "environmental design" with simple, concise sentences about the place. "You start feeling a hot breeze... You're probably approaching the deepest part" "The heat is now insufferable, but you need to continue" "The souls around you are screaming, you ignore them" "Here she is. Even as a ghost, you still love her" "You start the climb. Remember, if you look at her, she'll disappear forever."

Not necessarily every level, but from time to time, to do some rythm change.

About the fact that we may forget what sounds were for, I think it was part of the charm. If however that turn out to be an issue, I believe naming it everytime would break the immersion, but you could say at some point "press numpad numbers to hear sounds and their descriptions" like 1 would be wall, 2 would be door/key, 3 would be boulder, etc. Alternatively it could be "press space to have a reminder of all sounds you've heard so far" or something.

I'm telling all this not to disregard what you've done which really was a superb experience, but in the hope to contribute constructively to this!

blueman 2023-10-08 05:23

@sevansevan This is great feedback, thank you. If I were to expand on this idea and make this into a larger project, I would definitely incorporate your idea of adding a narrative to the levels. Some commentary from the protagonist about the surroundings and some ambient noise would really add to the experience, I think. I've given some more thought about how I could remove the potential for forgetting the various sound effects without assuaging the immersion. Perhaps you could hold shift while moving, and a one word description of the sound effect will play. With helpful feedback from you and others, I think there's a real possibility to make an extensive and engaging experience that the visually impaired could also enjoy.

powerofsin 2023-10-08 12:36

A very clever game both in execution and ways to get the most out of limited development resources xD

Levels are fairly simple but explore all the fun combinations of mechanics that have been added. I appreciate they are small enough and you reach end before it gets too much to memorize.

I do think the cave in shouldn't close if you hit a wall/door while on top of it (doesn't get a message either).

There is definitely room to expand this, as many others mentioned, but I quite like it's compact and limited nature.

konfekt 2023-10-08 20:52

I think it's neat!! As others have said, it would be helpful to be able to press a button to learn which level you're on as well as to repeat which sound stands for what. I found myself getting a bit frustrated from running into walls, which might be lessened if the sound was a bit more pleasant/maybe leaving out sound for the walls entirely? If you intend to expand on this game narratively, tying the sounds in with what's happening could work too ("You keep hitting the wall.. will you ever get out?" / "You step over the boulder to cross the pit" etc). Congrats on your entry!

anper 2023-10-19 04:27

Cool idea!

paul-nadan 2023-10-19 06:17

I really enjoyed this! The puzzle mechanics are pretty standard, but having to feel out the shape of the level made it very engaging. I think the sound effects (and the graphic effects) when moving into things were nicely implemented. The instructions were also very clear and the levels gradually added new mechanics in a really easy-to-learn way. Great work!

nan-kang 2023-10-19 07:36

A truly meaningful game! If you're thinking of expanding with more narrative layers in the future, I'd suggest exploring elements from interactive fiction games. They could complement this beautifully.

vfqd 2023-10-19 13:38

This was a really interesting one! I also played with my eyes closed. I would have like a sound when a new level starts :)

gilborn 2023-10-19 13:54

Pretty neat memory test!

All in all a very polished take on a innovative idea with a good learning curve.

darkwolf 2023-10-20 05:24

One of the more unique games I've seen this jam, not quite the top spot but very close. As a fully sighted person I was amazed at how much easier it was for my brain to process the game looking at the very minimalist (albeit nice looking) graphics than with just sound, even though it is the same information. There were a couple times that I felt very clever for correctly guessing the solution before exploring the whole level just based on sliding puzzle conventions, and an equal number of times I went "Wait what‽ Oh..." while exploring. I think your level design fits the feel you were aiming for very well. It felt slightly less connected to the jam theme, but more than made up for it with a unique concept and the right touches of polish. Nicely done!

bliny-lynx 2023-10-20 10:39

Very cool, not much insight to add to the comments other than that I like the spoken narration.

lastuck 2023-10-20 12:00

Wow that's a great idea! And the level design is perfect, I thought I would be lost but not at all, awesome game!

zimny11 2023-10-20 12:33

Really nice game! Interesting experience for sure. Cool narration too. Even through I breeze through most levels I go stuck for a while on level 12. Well done!