Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD60 → Sound of Night
By mikeware
| Percentile | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | LD60 | Ever | |
| Overall | 25 | |||||
| Fun | 25 | |||||
| Innovation | 25 | |||||
| Theme | 26 | |||||
| Graphics | 26 | |||||
| Audio | 25 | |||||
| Humor | 21 | |||||
| Mood | 24 | |||||
The tutorial for this game was really cool! I wasn't expecting to actually learn morse code, but it taught me a lot. I'm glad there was the option to repeat the phrase as many times as needed in the game - that was a huge help. Overall a very polished and neat game
Thanks so much for playing @wormkingboo! I spent the majority of the time on the tutorial and learned morse too. I threw the game portion together from that code in only a couple of hours in the morning... 😅 I definitely came around on the theme and had a blast putting this together, so need to think about my next step with it, a few ideas got left on the table with timing!
Hey! I feel we did the same old tech haha! Good job for this little game (almost a learning tool lol). I just had a problem in the tutorial and after: my "M" key didn't work. The visuals feel a bit light, but that's ok, at least it keeps you focused on the Morse code in a way. And I like Morse!
[20261018_bug_morse.gif](///raw/a3e/96/z/73cce.gif)
@mugule thanks for playing! Can you clarify what build you were playing, e.g. on the web? (And if so your OS/Browser?) Can you also clarify which part of 'M' didn't work for you? Did it not just type/display? I tried with shift/caplocks, etc... and haven't seen this anywhere before.
I liked the game, a quick snappy entry. I too wasn't expecting to learn morse code, but hey, now I know what SOS is in Morse Code. I felt the dashes mouse down detection a little inconsistent, but that may just be a skill issue lol.
@brimstone can you elaborate a bit on what you mean by the "dashes mouse down detection"? As the mouse only controls the dialog advancement.
@mikeware Oh my god, I am so sorry! There was another Morse code game, and I confused the two. I'll change my rating to what I think about **this** game. I couldn't get past the (SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T PLAYED) "TIME IS ETIOST"? level, but I actually did learn Morse code from this, and it was really cool.
Really enjoyed it and glad I stuck with it. Really effective at letting you learn as you go, enjoyed it quite a bit, well done!
Learning Morse code to unravel a mystery is a great fit for Old Tech, and I love that the game actually teaches it from scratch. I could only play the opening without sound, so I've left Fun and Audio unrated rather than guess. From what I saw, the tutorial text types out quite slowly; letting a click finish the line would make the first minutes snappier. Nice idea!
I really enjoyed the tutorial but after that was completely lost.
Kinda stuck here, this is what I keep hearing and I've checked it so many times. Must be some extra gap or unheard one but can't really figure it out.
Näyttökuva 2026-10-19 165706.png
So did a bit of googling. I think there is a flaw in your tutorial, you never thought the letter L. I guess that was the point too it seems but how could one figure it out without any prior morse knowledge really as it also matches other letters that were already thought?
Kinda smooth sailing after that. The N was a lot easier to figure out as it was just in the end of the word and I kinda knew to expect unknowns.
Näyttökuva 2026-10-19 172239.png
And I was just getting accustomed to it, hearing the difference in timing of for example `... . .`
Looks and sounds great. Plays well too. Only issue is with weird timing quirks when trying to skip messages or going too fast. Also managed to somehow fully restart the game when trying to erase. And it couldn't have been backspace registering to browser as it just restarted the game, not the whole page. And after that I tried to go too fast and weirdly somehow ended up in credits. Learnt my lesson there I guess. 😂
Anyways, fun proto. Dunno how long legs would a longer game evolving just on deciphering morse have but at least it'll teach you something. Could easily have gone a bit longer at least. I was just getting started. Good job! 👍
@gevernus clicking does advance the text, you don't have to wait for it.
@brimstone and @antti-haavikko this came up in testing but is intentional. It is a puzzle/mystery game too. The message on that screen hints at _something new_ and the tutorial at the end talks about the difference in the gaps between letters as important. The "ETI" bits are not all separate letters but a single one based on that fact. If you can make that deduction, then it becomes a "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle, what letter makes sense to put there (there's only a few), and thus you've learned a new letter.
I wanted to be able to clue the player into what parts they had right or wrong as they were going vs. as a whole but didn't have time to sort that out.
Yeah, I only started working on the game bits for the last couple of hours before I had to submit. All the time was figuring out the systems and the tutorial. But, I'll think about coming back to this for a post-Jam version that adds a few more helpers and expands upon this idea. Thanks for the feedback!
Cool concept! I wish there was a way to transcribe the dots and dashes in the game while listening to make translating a bit easier. The main mechanic is pretty difficult.
Really nice tutorial and I feel like I learnt some morse code from it. The sound design was really good, you clearly put a lot of thought into replicating those kind of morse code signals coming down a wire.
The text animation was a little slow and I found myself clicking to speed it up a lot. Perhaps having reveal the text being on a separate button to go to next text box would be nice.
Perfectly fits the theme and has a nice minimalist aesthetic, great stuff!
teaching morse code through a mystery game is such a clever idea, and the fact that the tutorial actually teaches you something real makes it feel much more than a jam game. the morse audio and the atmosphere fit the theme perfectly. how did you balance the tutorial so it doesn't give away the mystery? really nice work.
Really nice entry ... and of course... it fits the theme perfectly. My memory struggles with remembering all the codes, but other than that ... such a smooth execution with this entry. Good job 👍
I did it! Well, it's way harder than it looks/sound ^^ But it's quite pleasant to focus on the sound. This totally could become a way to learn the full morse alphabet.
I'm a bit disappointed however that... !> the credits were not in morse 🤣
The way you used the Old Tech theme to build the mystery is really clever. Integrating the learning of Morse Code directly into the narrative makes the final decoding feel genuinely satisfying. It's a unique take on a puzzle entry!
Thanks everyone for the great comments! This was going to be the theme I was least excited about, and then this spark came to look at Morse Code, and it just all flowed from there! I'm super happy to see so many folks being excited about learning Morse Code through the game, myself included! I definitely am looking at extending things further post-Jam. I already have some smaller fixes in mind, so I may update the Jam game soon after with those to make it a bit easier between the jump from the Tutorial to the Game. I only spent a couple of hours on the game bit after working most of my time on the tutorial and infrastructure. 🙈
@perrarancino the tutorial was where everything started and what I focused the majority of my main development day on. It felt straight-forward to start with all the 1-3 dot and dash letters, especially as I had in my mind the initial SOS as the common thing most folks think about when someone mentions Morse Code. From there, I just dug into thinking about what messages I could create from those letters. It's definitely something I want to spend more time on, and already within these first couple of days after I have just as many notes as I did when working on the game! I definitely intend to continue using the mystery/puzzle aspect as I continue to develop things.
@sevansevan I had wanted to incorporate the morse font for hints and things as a quick thought, but the credits roll was a 10-min add and is just a giant text block, but I can investigate re-working it and sprucing it up for a full game. Thanks for playing!
Thanks @eugenik! I'm glad you picked up that this is a twist on a puzzle game! It's something I definitely want to explore and lean into a bit more too. I'm glad tutorial and game seems to take about 30min to play, seems like a good length for a jam like this, probably a lot, but it's been fun to see folks get sucked into it and not realize they've been playing for so long. 😅 That's a good sign right?
.. / - .-. ..- .-.. -.-- / . -. .--- --- -.-- . -.. / -.-- --- ..- .-. / --. .- -- . .-.-.- / .. / - .... .. -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- / . -- -... .-. .- -.-. . -.. / - .... . / - .... . -- . / ...- . .-. -.-- / .-- . .-.. .-.. / .- -. -.. / .. / .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ... / .-.. --- ...- . / .-.. . .- .-. -. .. -. --. / ... --- -- . - .... .. -. --. / -. . .-- .-.-.- / ... --- / -.. .. -.. / -- -.-- / -.-. .... .- - .-.-.- / - .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- -.-.--
https://www.youtube.com/live/W1W3a8pfksM?si=dXyJdg2cFAIwPH3M&t=13958
Yeay, finished ! I had help with comments that some letter are not in the tutorial, and I took long time to get the last sentence, but I'm very happy to learn basis of morse :) It reminds me this video with all telegraphic message the night Titanic sink https://youtu.be/FxRN2nP_9dA Congratulations for your entry and thanks for the lesson !
Really enjoyed it and glad I stuck with it. Really effective at letting you learn as you go, enjoyed it quite a bit, well done! Great job
@sebbernery thanks for the feedback! I've got some ideas on making it easier to implement for the next iteration.
And great video find, that's an amazing piece of history. I still can't fathom getting good enough to process that signal speed of actual Morse communication. The game runs at like half the expected speed of someone who's proficient, but probably like a quarter of what an expert could do. (It was also because I generated the samples and couldn't make them any shorter, but seemed like a good starting point. I'll have to read up on some of the other teaching techniques, but it's also always interesting trying something new.)
I've played games in this LD where you have to enter morse code, but never listened. This game gave me a new experience. Great job and awesome entry. I like how much effort for tutorial and story behind it. Nice!
LD60 has had some particularly difficult games. Like others have said, the tutorials were great. I'm genuinely impressed I got through them and that's quite a compliment to their maker. 😅
Again, like others have already said, using audio instead of just text was a nice twist, but I feel like this game is too difficult for me... or like the game taught me: `· · · — — — · · ·`.
Interesting puzzle. Thanks for the tutorial, it's been a long time since I needed to know Morse code! 😆 Nice learning curve, clear sound and goals. Good work -- well done!
cute loading logo!! Really well made and thus helpful tutorials. I've always tried to learn morse code but usually just gave up midways, only remembering what sos is (like what might be possible if I ended up stuck somewhere horrible and desperately need help as if in a movie). Really helped me familiarize with all the morse codes. Took out my headset just to listen more carefully since the room is a bit noisy and roommates will start wondering what I spent so long beeping about (well I guess they don't know morse code and can't decipher, but will recommend those interest to play :P) thx for the game!! well made (will be nice if there is a keyboard short cut for repeating the phrase)
Nice game! I was a confused when the first new letter was introduced, but afterwards it all went smoothly. The difficulty curve is pretty gentle, and the bits of dialogue and choice of font give a pretty spooky atmosphere. A small note: it would be nice to have the option to change the keyboard layout (AZERTY user here). Cool entry!
Very coo, love the included tutorial. Only feedback is that the morse code sounds became a bit irritating.
Wow, Morse code isn't for me. 😝
The tutorial is well done, and I almost got it right without any mistakes, but then in the game, it wasn't the same at all.The game is well-made and well-polished 👍
