FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD57 → Noesis

Noesis

By David05, Tiyah, jamie3721 and B.G.D.

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall6453.2532
Fun7332.8632
Innovation3753.3332
Theme5033.5832
Mood3333.7332

Comments

kwuwky 2025-04-08 10:06

I really like the drawing. It's really beautiful!

letmebeme 2025-04-08 11:21

i really like it, but how do you die by insanity? i didn't even realize you could make mistakes

zichemerr 2025-04-08 14:29

Игра — пушка!

david05 2025-04-08 15:26

@letmebeme so if you hit any death barriers (i.e. the walls in the maze level) or if you run out of time on the final level you lose a life. Lose 3 lives and you die which takes you back to the start of the game. So it is extremely possible to not make mistakes on a playthrough, when playtesting I accidentally chose the right way on the final level on my first attempt. Hope that answers your question :)

sofia-miglan 2025-04-08 15:51

I really like psychological horror games, you perfectly conveyed the atmosphere in the game.

infecsean 2025-04-08 21:57

really cool game. I know the painting mightve been generated since you opted out of graphics but it still really does a lot to set the mood, which is very sublime and atmospheric.

volkolak 2025-04-09 14:51

Interesting disclosure of the topic! I passed with pleasure, a little hung up on the second location - the walls of the labyrinth are very sensitive to touches. I figured out the stairs on the third try, just enough life reserves)

david05 2025-04-09 15:52

Thank you for your feedback @volkolak sorry about the labyrinth. Surprisingly enough that is after I made it easier. I had assumed that it was good but on the final playtest of the game I realised how hard it was, but sadly didn't have enough time to make it easier. If I had time I definitely would have increased the size of the path. Glad you managed to find the right path for the final level in the end :) sorry to have caused trouble for you in the labyrinth

volkolak 2025-04-09 16:52

@david05 It's okay, the labyrinth can still be passed with some skill, which even reminded me of a game from childhood, where you had to use a pen to draw a path through narrow drawn labyrinths on a piece of paper)

david05 2025-04-09 20:46

@volkolak thanks for the kind words. A friend of mine played the game today and he also had a similar issue with the level.

Sadly I can't make changes to it for the game jam, but if I make something similar in the future I will keep in mind his feedback and yours.

My general idea for what I could have done better is increase the size of the path a bit, changed the colours of the walls to make them easier to distinguish from the void and reduce the size of their hitboxes. The reduced hitboxes is so that the player can go slightly into the wall without colliding which makes it a bit more forgiving and allows the player to not have to do sharp 90 degree turns when going around corners.

Thank you for the feedback because after all a game jam is supposed to be about learning and improving and constructive criticism and feedback are the best ways to learn from mistakes. So again thank you :)

kveg 2025-04-10 03:13

Graphics are gnarly. Very cool idea.

breadstick 2025-04-10 03:32

This game does a great job of cultivating an uncomfortable vibe--the art and sound all work well together.

The gameplay itself is a bit unforgiving--the maze launches you back to the start at the slightest walltouch, and every time your sanity runs out, you're thrown all the way back to the beginning (needing to advance through the dialog cut-scene again). I know death/failure needs to have some sort of penalty, but a slightly more forgiving system might reduce player friction!

Either way, nicely done as a cool, moody piece of work

david05 2025-04-10 09:45

Thanks for the feedback @breadstick glad you enjoyed parts of the game! :)

Sorry that the game was unforgiving with the wall touches and death system. This seems to be a common issue, so in the next game I make I'll make sure to take that into account and I'm sure the other people in my team will too

oddmes 2025-04-11 11:46

Oh, guys you definitely should change the thumbnail to attract more players.

david05 2025-04-11 20:48

Thanks for the feedback @oddmes! I've changed the thumbnail to the brighter one that was saved on my system that I used for the Itch page. Hopefully this attracts more players

idos 2025-04-11 21:01

The game is really addictive, cool idea and good visualization, thanks for the game!

noagard 2025-04-12 16:40

Really loved the art style and the creepy atmosphere! The maze was tough, but it added to the tension. Great job!

whysguy52 2025-04-13 03:02

I've seen a game like this a while ago and it was so cool! so was this! nice implementation of the mechanic. For feedback, could you increase the horizontal sensitivity a bit? Maybe walls deal damage instead of also resetting the level?

jon-curtin 2025-04-13 20:59

Amazing art and a really interesting take on the theme. This was really well done. Thanks for making and sharing your game.

david05 2025-04-14 09:31

@noagard thanks for the kind comment, hope the maze wasn't too tough!

david05 2025-04-14 09:39

@whysguy52 changing the sensitivity rn is a bit difficult, because then I'd need to find a sensitivity that everyone would like, I tried to go for a sensitivity that would work the best on the most mice (idk if that makes sense). On the next game I make I will try to include a setting for mouse sensitivity tho :)

And sorry about the maze. So I'm the one who designed the maze, but I didn't design the lives system. The restarting when losing the life was more designed for the final level, but we decided to integrate it into the maze. I definitely should have designed the maze better. The difficulty of the maze combined with the restart system definitely makes it feel unforgiving so sorry about that.

I am glad that you did enjoy parts of the game tho! Thanks for the feedback! :)

roitchie 2025-04-14 17:52

The mood in this is off the charts. It's so creepy and unsettling. The take on the theme as the depths of your mind and insanity is a really interesting one. The maze section is super unforgiving but I think it's an effective metaphor for the futility and difficulty of dealing with mental illness. Really great entry. Well done!

xparker 2025-04-23 17:20

very cool art style. Had a few issues with the movement, always hitting the walls etc. Might just be me not understanding the game though.

I wish the player could skip the intro after first attempt.

david05 2025-04-25 10:27

@xparker thanks for the feedback! Yeah the movement ended up being a little janky especially in the maze section sorry about that. Next time I make a dialogue system I'll add a skip button. Idk why I didn't tbh, because I hate unskippable dialogue too. I think I just forgot lol. Glad you enjoyed some of the game tho