FoonLudum Dare ExplorerUsers → aaLN

aaLN

Games

YearLDThemeGameDivisionRankOvFuInThGrHuMo
202456Tiny CreaturesWhich animal are U?jam10672.502.442.193.443.413.002.75
202354Limited SpaceDon't squash the unicornjam6823.453.424.614.263.313.762.89
202251Every 10 secondsAnnoyingKeyboardPanicextra
202149UnstableEris'irecompo3843.233.213.023.453.583.573.15

Performance over time

overall score (left axis) percentile (right axis)

Scatterplots

Fun vs Overall

Innovation vs Overall

Theme vs Overall

Graphics vs Overall

Humor vs Overall

Mood vs Overall

Comments by aaLN

LD49 — Unstable

You won't believe your result from this personality test! by allthebees 2021-10-05T17:15:04Z

This sure is an interesting and eye-catching premise.

And it largerly meets expectations, being a funny parody of the questionary genre.

It does have a flaw, but this flaw is quite subjective. I'm the kind of player who wants to discover everything, so naturally I retook the test many times. Inevitably, it ends by inanely clicking answers without reading them, and it grows very frustrating. I would almost have preferred the monstruously lazy kind of test, where all the answers A correspond to a type of personality and so on. The results are more varied, and that's both a quality (in general) and a downfall (for me), moreover the answers are so absurd that I can't guess the other possible personalities. I was even hoping for *random results*, which would have spared me of finding new combinations.

It's a personal complain, and it doesn't change the overall fun.

BLAME IT ON THE RAIN by bellatrion 2021-10-19T21:52:18Z

A cute and straightforward game.

Incroyable, vous avez crédité les typographies.

C'est un concept simple, mais bien mené. Ce qui est bien, c'est qu'il y a une différence entre objet cassable ou pas. Le genre de petit détail (une vibration...) dont on ne se rend pas consciemment compte mais qui permet de savoir quand s'arrêter. Ainsi il n'y a pas la frustration "mais qu'est-ce que je n'ai pas cassé".

Les graphismes sont bien et collent bien à l'ambiance (tout colorée et adorable), mais peut-être qu'il y a une trop grosse différence entre le titre-intro-outro et les sprites en eux-mêmes ? Ça provoque un choc, et peut-être qu'il aurait fallu plus harmoniser (par exemple avoir un contour noir aux sprites).

La musique et les sons vont bien avec l'ambiance.

J'ai joué sur Web, mode facile. Je n'aurais probablement pas réussi sans. Un jeu sans prise de tête qui fait plaisir.

The Funny Farm by Matthew Roelle 2021-10-08T22:51:56Z

That's a fun and polished game. The cute art style is simple and there is only one music, but they fit perfectly together.

The concept is basic, and this is why it is so efficient: like someone said, it would look good as a mobile game, with new levels and animals.

At first I failed a lot, I'm not very good in strategy games, and I am impressed by those who design levels. However, it is a game only made in 48 hours, so the levels don't require an exact pattern (which would be vicious, and expected of the latter levels of a mobile game), and I sometimes won a level with plenty of space left.

It's satisfying to see the animals roaming around, close but without collision, all in perfect place.

Balancing Act by Madbeagle 2021-10-20T17:52:04Z

Nice game, visuals and music. You seem to have had too much fun on piano, it hammers so much a dramatic aspect even if it's not the the case.

Unfortunately, even if adding blocs takes time, I didn't feel really thrilled about balance and points. Maybe it would have been better to have more things at stake?

Also, you are super fast.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' by PatrickRMC 2021-10-16T12:54:32Z

Well, it's a fine game.

The graphics goes well with the WTF aspect. And also the random problems which happen too often for a normal computer, this person gets into crypto but doesn't manage to secure their computer, they're surely... unstable.

However, it's true it's unintuitive. Maybe it would have been best to have the computer occupying most of our screen, with the numbers inside. It's so small it is both hard to read and occupies all our attention. There's also nothing to incite why buying stocks (I'm not really aware I would get my share) or in the shop (which has not description). The minigames. Mining coins seems to be more trouble that it worths, and the Invader game is meant to be simple but I have the wrong keyboard, ha.

So I was focused on managing crypto, taking the gambit "if I quickly buy and sell, I would end to have income".

Well, I'm not a really good player so I quickly lost.

The Blue Bedroom by SplitPainter 2021-10-20T18:57:12Z

Maybe you like Van Gogh, I'm not suuure. More seriously, as usual, the end result only contains a fraction of what you, creator, know. Simple and straight-forward.

Nice point and click. I love this idea of art game: when you click it reveals another painting. (Van Gogh's are adapted since he painted objects.)

Unfortunately, the font of the letters (Times New Roman...) is too gaudy. At the same time I think this is what gives the old CD-Rom vibe, and it can be charming but in a cheesy way (and it's a cliché of educational games). You have to be in the mood of reading to read.

It may be excessive nitpicking, but I think it would have been great to not have plain text for the letters, since it's an important part. You already used bold, maybe you could have various colours and fonts to transcribe the mood (and some word motions but maybe it's too much). But it's true it's (historically) safer to keep the text as it is, because adding things might go too far in interpretation.

The peaceful music got stuck in my head.

So it's a sober game but it's nice, and its simplicity avoids possible bugs. Went straight to the subject.

Just a steelyard by gogu 2021-10-05T17:40:31Z

I was nice, even if it looks more like a demo, especially with the possibility to freely change material. Some would be fine with this simple but polished loop, others would prefer challenge and stakes.

Maybe it would have been best to increase the unstability: the more success you have, the more it is hard to find balance? (Well, maybe you did this, I can't verify.)

Now people have an idea of what is a steelyard (it is more original than the usual scales).

Download more ram (100% Legit) by NoelOskar 2021-10-05T18:24:06Z

This is the kind of games you need to replay a lot.

First time: being confused, roaming around.

Several next times: opening the folders to see the content.

Then: beginning to really play, failing miserably even when you always have your bin filled... and eventually discovering you can select because I'm a slow person.

Afterward: serious mode, locating code and closing all the other windows to not be distracted (like a real desktop).

It is hard. I lost with ten seconds left, *thrice*, but weirdly I was motivated enough to keep going and finally succeed (I was close the first time, but the game screen was a little bit wider than my window and these dastardly virus kept gathering below where I couldn't click).

This game is about space management: you always spend (I think) the same amount of Ram, you just need to have enough virus in a small place. I think Freeze is only useful for those with a good sense of management (which I don't), remembering where each virus is.

A fun experience.

Deck O' Discord by Bearacus 2021-10-19T21:11:18Z

That's a great game.

You may have lacked time to implement some mecanisms (especially about unstability, because here there's not this aspect much), but looks like a legit game you would download on a appstore.

The graphics are so cool and polished, with small animations. Well, since I am of those who don't really read instructions, I was a little bit lost but thankfully I quicky took the grip. It would have been better to have a starker difference between each phase instead of just been written in the top right corner, but I guess you didn't have enough time.

About time and score, I'm not really a performance player, so I quickly forget. But I can say I died many times on normal run (because I was curious, I'm not so bad I swear). I also died in Hard Mode, when I was on the last tile.

Meltdown Monday by Enad96 2021-10-10T12:28:19Z

A simulation of being overstressed and everything goes wrong aaaaaa. NOT a fun game, but I'm eager to watch someone else, more competent, playing it, and going where I couldn't go. (Update: yay I end it thanks to the keys, but I don't think I would go see the hidden content.)

The music, the graphics, all contribute to a bright, gaudy and tensed atmosphere. It's not a lot of gimmicks, but there are complex enough to send you to panic (I chose to forget you need to be fed and hydrated, not that I went far enough to be bothered).

I was lost at the colour bars. aaaaa

My criticism is that dialogues were too dense and they're not very visible. Sure it contributes to the stress but this and the tenseful situation made me read fast, and I didn't grasp all the details. It's a shame because they seem to be great and satirical. Also it would have been nice if what you grabbed was made clearer.

Thankfully, short enough to not destroy you, but you have to replay many times to not lost time.

falling flamingo by butterfly 2021-10-08T22:31:17Z

A fun game. Damn you Fred, you would be steady if you didn't have the urge to poop. Your poop propulsion doesn't even compensate that much, stupid Fred.

So I'm bad at this. 30 seconds.

But it is a polished, complete game. For the graphism my only complaint is that font: maybe a pixelated font instead of Arial would have been better (and more coherent with the art style).

Yay flamingo facts.

Split by Zeit 2021-10-09T17:24:13Z

Too an ambitious project gone wrong... this is the vibe I got. Even if your team was large... unless it was a case of "too many cooks"?

I don't think the art redeems the game. A game is a complete package and even if one part is stunning it doesn't work if the whole is starkly lacking and unbalanced.

In fact, the graphics are not that good. Too much incoherence (between the characters, the levels...). The character design is amazing, and it's a shame because no matter how good it is, it's forgettable. Because there is no context, no story, no tension backing it. There's so much work in it, so many hints of personality and content, but the way they are in the game doesn't do them justice.

The gameplay... strikingly irregular. The level 2 is difficult and luck plays a great part in it, compared to the super easy level 3 once you figured out the drawer... and there's a hitbox problem since you have to click next the shard to collect it.

Maybe you would have complete game later? From now it's not...

Unstable Spore by Shuimen 2021-10-20T17:35:44Z

A nice and completed game with a cool concept and adequate graphics and music.

It would have been better to have clearer sprites for each state, and to have a transition card when you finished the level (because it's abrupt).

Also, it's fun but it's too easy. Spores only cause damage when attacked (and angry). So there's no strategy needed, and you don't have to cautiously use the cards (and you easily gain more). It would have been better for the spores to have random reactions (which would bring it closer to the theme because it's not really the case). Maybe if they had their "own cards" (the same as ours) which would make them more threatening.

Aside from a few glitchs and this easyness, that was great.

Home Tripper by Lemonthunder 2021-10-08T21:54:36Z

I am playing and I really enjoy it, but it went out of hand after I got the first ending.

So I am on browser, Firefox to be precise. When I replayed again, I naturally went to smash the click button at the intro. The pictures get blocky and wavy, and I guessed it was normal when we speed up... however the pixel effect didn't stop and it still has blocs. It happened even when I refresh the page, so it is unreadable. bug1.PNG I review the ending I got with the button "Endings", and in this case it had no problem.

"Maybe it would be better if I download it." So I downloaded the Windows Zip, and just to be sure I put the file on VirusTotal, and this is what I got: bug2.PNG

I want to finish the game, so can this be fixed, or at least what can I do ?

Home Tripper by Lemonthunder 2021-10-09T16:44:18Z

Yay I could play on private windows, still a little bit buggy (there were notably not music anymore, which is a shame since it's really good).

(I don't know if it matter, but for other bugs: the background doesn't have the pixelated effect anymore, but the image when your click on a Xylene appliance is blocky. It doesn't happen when you view it from the ending page, and it didn't happen when I talked to the clock first. Also when you change location and you click to an object, the background can change back to that of the previous location. And sometimes there's these error messages which don't interrupt the game but are visually annoying.)

It's an interesting game with many things achieved from few images and musics, and many many dialogues. Aside from the bugs it's a well-rounded and polished-looking game. My criticsm would be that preferences are a little bit confusing (or it's just me who doesn't understand English and some VN expressions).

I like the point and click genre... but I almost never played these games, because they tend to be creepy. This game is not really an exception, with its sinister atmosphere, but at the same time it's so goofy - even at the spooky parts - I can play it. I was expecting (and fearing) a jumpscare at the General Ending, but it was surprisingly wholesome.

It's a simple game but it offers a lot of lore potential and questions. The game itself is satisfying, at least there's not real frustration at not getting all the answers (why the chip implant?). In spite of the explanation of the General Ending, I think it's still ambiguous: a simple dysfunction or really a dark conspiracy going on?

Can you help me ? by Pythorogus 2021-10-19T22:11:24Z

Interesting concept. Sad it doesn't have endings, or at least a general ending when you lose instead of a simple reset.

And in the case of an only "lose" ending, maybe when all your points are depleted in each domain (it seems weird to me to reset when you neglect "only one part".

Graphics are nice, easy to differenciate. Music... Well I get used to it but at first it seemed too... present to me? It sounds like the ambient music which fades in the background, but at the same time it seems to be too noticeable.

So it looked more like of a demo than a full-fleshed game, but nice concept (and easy to play with the keyboard arrows).

Eris'ire by aaLN 2021-10-05T17:25:54Z

@gdman I'm sorry. I was worried about the game being playable at all, and I was relieved it was. It's my first game so I don't know very much about optimisation (and make-it-works in general).

Eris'ire by aaLN 2021-10-12T17:24:46Z

@nekowei Thanks! When I learned about these errors I freaked out, because I was seeing the headache coming... I'm still afraid it doesn't work, since even if I copy your answer I'm not really aware of why, how, what happened. I'm also surprised because I think I downloaded Java 16 on Oracle for free... I must have forgotten. (By the way, how did you know the required version?) @fabula-rasa, @profugo-barbatus and @avi, does it work?

I'm a beginner, and when I began Java, I was seriously planning to make games with it. Then I learned it was not the most appropriate... this is why it's lagging. I guess I should move to another language, which can run on browser.

Thanks a lot!

Pepper Dealer by aslan 2021-10-09T16:00:40Z

*watching in dismay the wood plank pathetically falling in the left side.*

A fun game you play naturally for some time, as the different purchases are a strong motivator. I was planning to see how many employees you can hire, and then strive for moar money, but alas it was black screen after the first employee. You should have removed the scale icon when you buy it... it deceived me and I thought you could have an electronic balance with magic numbers.

I think it's a decent game, but it clumsily mixes two gameplays which would be fine fleshed out of their own.

- The Tetris part: what drew me in the first place. Tetris with unstability? Would be exciting and very different from classic Tetris, but still has its spirit of "despairingly packing the blocs". It's not the case in here, as I was not very focused of stacking neatly the peppers: a stable pile can be messy (and in worst case I can always press the Enter button). It did make more sense with the upgraded scales, as it is smaller, but still, this game could have had peppers of other shape.

- Weighing peppers: the main thing. Yeah, the comment of DaleP above: it would have been nice to have an indicator of how far you were from the order, and penalties. ...I thought the customers were quite laxist, but in fact they are real nasty: "So I will pay you the amount of pepper you give... unless it's more than my order, in this case I would consider the excess to be free, curse you, ha".

The graphics are adequate, but maybe the customers would have looked better if they were more detailled than two circles, without going into the "realistic" style of this kind of selling games with vibrant colour and too wide smiles. Still there's some cute peppers.

LD54 — Limited Space

Smash & Pack by pndaa 2023-10-22T15:29:35Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- Dubious of graphism but sound effects are hilarious - Sould not you have malus when breaking things? - I mean graphism is coherent, but personal dislike of how the character looks (unsmoothed capsule) - Nice of you to have put indication when it's impossible to finish

Pool Frog by notnasiul 2023-10-22T15:26:24Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing. (Okay, I didn't write a lot)**

- Awesome particles for limited medium - Fly mechanic looks superfluous (only because frog)

Shoot'n Trade by PatBGames 2023-10-20T23:43:16Z

longtemps.PNG

Dear person,

You made me lose a lot of time. I almost did fail to rate enough games. At first it was quite difficult to get the hang of, then it became one of the most addictive things.

longtemps2.png

Shoot'n Trade by PatBGames 2023-10-22T15:33:33Z

Well, I also wrote notes so here there are:

- ~~More shoot than trade~~ - Little bit overwhelmed by ennemies - ~~Unfair how you can easily lose your cannon but I'm not used to this type of game. Also not clear indication of it.~~ - Not clear of how your ship's parts are destroyed - What do you mean I can't rotate... Oh now I understand! - Pew pew pew pew! - Clearer way to indicate damage (with for example a list) because it's not obvious to look at the small icons - ~~Why can't I buy structure?~~ - Wait, ennemy doesn't make pew pew sound

Seagull Island | L'île aux Goélands by Seb_degraff 2023-10-22T15:18:24Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- Calm game, so sound could be even calmer - Add game detection to when you can't add anything anymore? - Remove +2 indication when you can't place element - Have small indications on what does the element need to be placed - Option to shuffle option at the cost of points or even buildings? It would defeat the point, yes, but you would be even more invested in the town - Limited space... oh no I understand

Flob the Bloing by Branquelo 2023-10-22T15:27:47Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing. Yeah, it's not much...**

- Cute, and charming - Nice display of mechanisms - WELP, I'M BLOCKED (I couldn't jump high enough.)

Deckit by Rewzu 2023-10-22T15:23:25Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- The premises is so absurd it's hilarious (push the other cars in the water) - Brutal to start directly without soothing (not so) useless instructions. And to start with a random colour on top of that! - A pause would be nice? But with the spirit of this (right of the bat), it's not too bothering - Ingenious way to refresh the place! But it means it would never end... (okay, I understand later how these percent work) - Lovely bobbing effect

Six Seats Left by F1Krazy 2023-10-22T15:25:24Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- I know Pico surely has limitations, but I would like other colours beside usual vivid. - Too high-pitched voice for women - Also Pico may not a right choice to tell the story since the sprites are not enough to convey how unique each person is... - Also having a number would be nice. It's a shame I forgot how many people I got on board. - Bug when arrow appearing above the personal - (Okay, I'm in rush and does not take the time to fully appreciate the game.) - Frustrating since the most important is the dialog, however you can't skip when you replay. And there are bonus dialogs with who you pick. (I know, it's weird to be completionnist at this kind of thing.)

Six Seats Left by F1Krazy 2023-10-23T14:53:49Z

It's not a big thing. When you go near someone, there is a white arrow/triangle appearing above them, since you can interact with them. However these triangles also appear with the NPCs standing near the stairs (well, there are not stairs but you understand).

Too Many Marbles by Thomas Volpato 2023-10-06T21:17:55Z

The idea is interesting, however the execution is rather player-unfriendly. And I don't talk about the wait time (not only).

It's rather disconcerting to be welcomed by a wall of text. There could be better way to communicate the controls ("left: move ball to left" is rather redundant, on top of that). In this situation, you either force yourself to read and understand, or you don't bother even if it means missing some info.

And well, the overall description is... dry. Games usually have stories even (especially?) for the most basic gameplay in order to engage the player. Not that every game needs story and lore, and the simplicity of pushing balls is enough, but the way you describe it... it's straightforward, but focus only on the technical side, like a boring instruction manual you don't really read. Heck, the title might be the most quirky aspect.

It's a shame, because the gameplay seems really interesting. I like the idea of selecting a different ball like a choice between random drawn cards.

I got the impression you especially worked on how it works: the physics, the computers. Not much on the graphics (except the 3D balls). It looks to me like a prototype with bare interface, waiting for the final assets. Mention of using a *slider* to choose the number of players (well, it is not that unsettling, but very unusual).

Realistic Falling Blocks by Flying Dog Fish 2023-10-22T15:12:48Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing. But I didn't play for long since I was in a rush: so here are the impressions of someone who rushed and who probably did not understand well.**

- The instructions follow the pixel artstyle. It's better than usual block of after-thought text, but sometimes, it is not very understandable (for example what is this a kind of toggle?) - I have the impression you have to align green blocks to score, but the fact that block becomes quickly red made me think it was impossible (I thought it was like Not Tetris 2, which seems to work with a percent of filled line).

Urinal Simulator by amirrajan 2023-10-06T21:48:08Z

Well, that was fun.

The size was longer than my screen height (was it meant for mobile?), meaning I have to scroll to see the bottom, but thankfully the text become green when a purchase is available. It became a little bit more of a pain when I had to shoot zombies. I now realize I could dezoom my window, so I cancel my complain "the game screen is too biiig".

Overall, I was not overwhelmed by these meeples. I would do great as a toilet manager.

The graphic style is simple, but expressive. I like how the cleaning machines moved in small nervous circles. My (nitpicking) remarks are about the font at the first screen on the itch.io page "click or tap here to begin" (but I don't even know if you could choose), and how nice it would have been to have a different sprite (ever so slightly) for the grunts. And nice music.

But my biggest issue is: the sudden black-out.

Take a Seat! by Retrisma 2023-10-22T15:07:20Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- Better file name? ("LD54" is not very explicit) - Oh no. Mercy for my non-qwerty keyboard! - Maybe irregularity in sounds' volume? - If the main purpose was strategy and not dialog, would have been more practical of knowing the informations (or items) you have - DEFAULT (when you talk a second time to the cat) - Does it have an end screen? Guess it's satisfying enough (without usual "ha! You reached your destination")

Super Low Memory Bot by LaserPanzerWal 2023-10-04T20:27:49Z

I'm commenting even if I am blocked at the second level with boxes. By the way, good job for the level design: to be short of only one move gives the right amount of infuriating (I was quite proud when I didn't use every move to clear one level.)

Thanks you, thanks you for the one-move redo. I didn't think of it much at the beginning, but later it was brimming with usefulness.

As for the game itself, it's a classical ice slide puzzle (I think there's a more official name I don't know), but with mandatory minimal number of moves. If I have to nitpick, it strays a little bit for the theme, since the moves are not quite the space. Okay, there is the setting with low space in memory.

About the setting, the sprites are really clear : the robot, the consoles. However, I think there could have been a better immersion in the context if it was about factory robots (the arms) and how they move to grab things. I find a little bit weird to have robots to turn on consoles. I know I should not take this at face value, and I don't even know if "robot arms" can be represented nicely in this aesthetic.

I'm a little bit upset to not have finished, but it was beginning to become "chore-y".

The Giant's Globe by Jvdwijk 2023-10-14T12:35:36Z

Hello I'm terrible at challenging platformer games, especially when you have to get the timing this right (but maybe it's normal difficulty here, I'm not a gamer), hence I will comment on what I could saw. Literally, since I will mostly write about the graphics. Before this, I'm saying right now how great is the music.

Cool artworks are double-edged: on the one hand there are swell previews catching the eye, on the other hand all the rest has to be on the same level, or at least coherent (I think it's frequent to have elaborate graphics and minimalistic interface, but combined in a natural way). So I felt a big contrast between the artwork and the main menu, which looks more appropriate to a game with simple graphics and few but vivid colours. I rather expected some background of a snowy forest for example instead of this shade of blue.

Granted, your artwork is visibly pixels, but the "refined-pixel" kind, so in comparison the font of the menu seems sludgy. Thankfully, the game style itself fits more, even if tile repetition is very visible. I was not expecting a plaformer, but with this artwork (yes, again with this artwork), I would expect more different tiles and some useless decorations. As it is, this game has all the technical elements, but it looks bare.

Advice: more feedbacks. For the use of abilities there are the nice woosh sounds, but it would also be a nice detail if there was sound when you land on a ground. And also sound when you pick up a module and when you lose them through these portals: it seems rather important to notice. So, it's about audio feedback, but you could also consider particle feedbacks: nothing fancy, but small specks appearing are strong at suddenly improving the visual.

For the dialog at the beginning, I strongly discourage various font sizes to fit the text box. This text box could really have improvements, even if it's not your priority. This is the kind of small details you think last (because it's more important to have a solid structure), but like a lot of things it may create a lot of differences in how we player perceive the game.

Finally, maybe my most important issue: the level-design is built around the module mechanism, but graphically the modules seem more a bug than a feature. The way there are shown is no different than if you could freely swap between your abilities. It bothered me so much that at first I did not understand it was the point. The icons, small and at the top of the screen, are not as visible as they should for a core mechanism. Maybe they should be somehow around the character? And I imagine links between them to give the idea of a succession you have to go through.

Level-design-wise there seems to be a lot of thought given (I noticed at the first level how platforms appear when you go back), but graphics have room for improvement. (Bias of mine? After all I didn't advance that much.)

Moneypit by Wouter52 2023-10-06T20:04:35Z

When I first read the description, I did not quite understand but it was more intuitive when I played, since the mechanisms are easy to grasp (classical "ennemies" to dodge and coins to collects).

Honestly, rather than stressed-out engineer, I had more the impression of some mishap happening, everyone panicking and your character taking advantage of the mayhem to raid the place. Maybe it's really a stressed-out engineer, but not struggling to keep working but giving up and leaving with the most money they can find.

At my first play I was almost always going down since it seems the only way to reduce anxiety. Then I understand how many people there are downstairs and how wiser it was to clear the first floor since there are easier to dodge. Too bad I was sucked into the stairs when I tried to not go in (is it voluntary ?).

I was disturbed by the lack of sound when you collect one immediately after another. I guess it is avoid having too many noise, but it's weird to not always have the sweet sweet coin sounds.

Then I decided to go the deepest I could, discovering that no one moves if you don't after going downstairs (not something obvious since your first instinct is to rush). This is when I really understood how useful was low anxiety since you could see more.

By the way, I really like the graphics, with the drawn blueprints style: hatched walls and all the small notes of what should be here. It really conveys a building site not ready to come in fruition since everyone goes around in useless circles. (Only nitpick is how you can't always tell the things apart at first glance, but I guess it's part of the chaos.)

Limited Spacebar by IngeniousPhoenix 2023-10-22T15:05:26Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

Limited spacebar

- music awkward pause

- better font? - maybe have anti-aliasing on graphism, in order to go from clumsy to voluntary minimalistic

- if you lose, you have to stop the bar, because otherwise "retry" won't work - be clearer about how dashes are limited

- be even more explicit about when the laser will go - when empty bar, sudden pause, so may clear all the lasers - Do you have a pause?

- have icons for upgrades, even if abstract symbols - Overall fun

invenStory by Roroto Sic 2023-10-22T15:31:42Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- Cool but at the beginning not very clear - Thankfully automated - Would love please please description. There sprites are not very comprehensible. - A shame so buggy. Too many times the items where sliding, or overlapping.

Gacha Fever by Falestress 2023-10-14T15:31:13Z

It was fun to play. I loved the concept of being very powerful early on, with projectiles flying around.

My first impression on the graphics (so when I arrived on this page) was that it was pretty, but it doesn't have the small thing making it WOW gorgeous. At first I thought it was because of an unbalance in the drawings: a difference between the sprites and the (awesome) VFX and the rest. But then I checked the post-jam version and I thought "why is the background dirty street when everything else is cute and colourful?". It's not even an obvious contrast between fantasy characters and dull city. It's not that it is badly drawn (well, this hopscotch looks shabby), but it's kind of out of place to me.

However, I think even with a different background, something will still look off to me. Maybe it's the sudden shift of the background when you end a wave, or a unsufficient padding on the buttons, or some colour looking weird next to another, maybe it's a combination of a lot of small details. This is why I will boldly go against the consensus, claming this game is not that polished (not entirely). It's beautiful and smooth, but there is something amiss.

Something else bothering me was the lack of a proper setting, or rather again there is something unbalanced, because there are all these references to anime, but no proper explanation. When you play this game, you directly fight out of the blue, no knowing why how what. There is no need, you could tell me, since most players could get the tropes (cute anime girls fighting cute monsters in a normal city with a touch of brutal violence? another tuesday), but it's not a reason to not have an introduction. The simplest story would be enough to flesh-up everything: the characters, the items. It would justify all the Japanese pop culture references instead of them just standing here.

Comments on the post-jam version as it is when I'm writing this: - You added icons to the stats, but it's still hard to pay attention to. I think it would be way clearer with column graphs for example. - Bug when you replay and you can't change character. - When you wait on the upgrades screen, the zone of the next level seems to already shrink, so if you want to have a pause next level your zone is very small (can you even pause?). - Does the pencil really increase the projectiles number?

I could say more but it could be summarised as "would be resolved by moar content".

LiGHTHOLDER by wolkp 2023-10-08T11:06:03Z

That's a great game, especially impressive in 72h. There is nothing strongly problematic, if not the lack of instructions at the beginning (a usual problem: for the creator it's obvious, but the players are always stupid and impatient).

**The graphics** - First impression: "it's a farm simulator" when I saw the screenshots, knowing you have to collect resources. The character with his strawhat looked like a farmer rather than a lighthouse guardian, and there is so much vivid green. Maybe have more sea-oriented colours rather than pretty but generic bright colours (it's like the default in toon-shaded 3d, I don't know why). The more subdued colours of the menu seemed more appropriate (albeit with the risk of being too dull).

**The controls** - First impression: I was disturbed by the mix keyboard-mouse, and disliked how you can do everything with the keyboard but have to select the upgrades with the mouse. - It would be useful to have a "control instructions" button on the menu, the kind no one really look at, but is reassuring and gives an idea of what keys you will need. - I first struggle to turn the beam of light on its left since it was indicated "press A or D", but with my not Qwerty keyboard, I had to press Q instead of A. Small detail, but useful to keep in mind.

**The interface** - The font is not bad, but I feel like it could be better. Maybe because of the constrast with the logo font, more blocky and with more personality. - Overall, the buttons are fine, but I feel like they may be too boring, like not even so-neutral-you-don't-see-it. Maybe it's the contrast with the more vivid colours of the game. It's better than hard-to-understand or hard-on-the-eyes, though. - Most of the time, there is the right amount of padding, but it was taken aback by the buttons on the pause menu (too squeezed with the text too big). I also got this impression with the "Continue" button when you win or lose (also, it seems a little bit out of place in this context, being the only element with this yellow background, and there could be better words than "continue"). - First impression in the game: too much things. These elements (day bar, resources amount...) are obvious when you get a hang of it, but at first it's kind of overwhelming. This is when you understand how soothing are these banal obvious screens (an arrow pointing a highlighted interface "this is your healthbar, keep it from reaching 0"). It could seem superfluous and is superfluous for the players 15 seconds later, but this is why "skip" buttons exist.

**The resources** - I really like how spontaneous the collect was, especially when you were conditionned by Minecraft (and because of it I was expecting tools to be made). Also the way you bring items with you. - It would be nice to know how many items you can further take (maybe with a "capacity bar"). - I did never use the "drop" option, and it seems superfluous, at least with how the game is right now, since you kind of need all the resources in a limited time. It may be more useful in further releases if these are more inequal. - Unlike others, I was not bothered by how much wood you have to accumulate. To me, it's normal to have a difference between easy-to-get (wood) and rarer (iron). However, I don't know if stone is meant to be equal or slower to get than wood. - To know how many time you have to stay, a life bar could be useful (also for the ennemies), or better yet: different images to reflect the state of the tree or stone.

**The upgrades** - A more detailled description would be helpful, for example with percentages ("you get 50% faster"). - It would also help to know how the "allies" (thunder, seagull, canon) work. At first I was afraid it were a new mechanism to take account of, but was relieved when I discovered they were autonomous (though for futur release it could be interesting to combine autonomous allies and new weapons).

LiGHTHOLDER by wolkp 2023-10-08T11:06:13Z

**Miscellaneous** - The fact I don't even notice the particles feedback is a testament of how good they are. Also the sounds. - It would be nice to have a day-evolution light, so you really feel the night coming. - The difficulty of the attacls. At first I thought "it's really easy", and then got killed. Monsters really do damage if they reach their destination, but once you are wary of this it is easy. - I did not immediately understand how red squares mean next destroyed. I thought than the attacks of the sea monster would be rising waters style. - I didn't feel very threatened by the missing space. Maybe there could be more missing chunks? Or have the missing zone deadly and you have to avoid it?

**Nitpicking** - In the menu, you can see aliasing between the 3D and the sea - At the night coming, you are rushing to the lighthouse, thinking being too late will be an immediate Game over. So it is funny how you can always collect resources, and how you can push the zombies. - Also I placed myself on the zone the sea monster will eat, telling myself it could be a good way to lose (but not expecting it since in the scope of the jam, this is a detail). Fortunately, I was not blocked. - Not really corresponding to the theme.

Well, very long comment this time. But it was so fun I was not bothered by testing and testing.

Sushi Puzzle Party by daniboygg 2023-10-22T15:20:26Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- An example of how seducing is the context - Oh no, this font - Makes me thing of this game with a cat eating sushi - Maybe with mouse would have been better? - Not very challenging shapes (this one-tile obviously made to complete). Maybe rather have a level and progression system when you have to pay more attention to your speed?

Single Circle by kanity 2023-10-07T13:24:13Z

Hello, this game is the kind where it's the same route but different choices let to different details. It has the inconvenient to quickly seem repetitive, but it can be a choice. Different images for different branches gives the impression of agency, and a single path is more "etched in stone", which in not uncompatible with the overall move.

But it would have been nice to have images to distinguish endings apart other than the "end picture", and maybe it would have been preferable to have less images in the main route. It's a colourful succession of creatures, but unfortunately you only pay attention to them at the first run, and then you tend to skip, especially when they have no choice attached to them (for example the artist jellyfish). I wonder if you planned different interactions but didn't have the time to implement them all? Well, overall, it would have been more impactful to have less creatures and more alternative states of a same creature, to better mark a different choice instead of indicating in text-only (for example I did not immediately notice that the final choice with the queen was different when you are not insane).

The music is nice. Sure, it does not really convey a "deep and mysterious ocean" impression, but it's whimsical and sweet (like an "Under the sea" but calmer), which is appropriate to the fairy-tale-like creatures. However, I was bothered by how it never changes. For this game, it's less a problem compared to others since you never depart from the dreamy mood, but maybe it would have been better to have a different tune for the end?

When you make a short game with alternative routes, it's important to keep in mind that people are going to replay it with less attention to what they have already seen (or believe to have already seen).

And other thing to avoid a repetitive sensation: the insanity has an impact on the story, so let the player knows something is happening when they pick this kind of option. Not by a ugly score, of course, but by small hints, maybe the screen going darker or vivid colours speckeling. (I write all of it but I'm not even sure if you can do this in Twine).

About the theme: it's interesting to have the small bathyscaph with a small window, but I think it could have been more claustrophobic. Maybe by keeping the image small because to me it seems really big for a small circle? And with how the content was displayed (fully), I did not have the feeling of "you are limited in your view". There was the Big Eye scene, sure, butfor the guard you I'm not sure you should be able to examine details like that.

Small detail, but about the written observations. I had too much the sensation of you the creator making the pages for your game, and less of a scientist writing sciencey information. This kind of additional documents are meant to enhance the immersion, not to break you from it.

To conclude, you hinted well the state of the surface world. Strangely you learn more that than whatever is going on with how why the heirloom, not that it's a problem.

Laboratory of Doom by Constance 2023-10-22T15:01:57Z

Hello,

My first impression was that there were a lot of controls and mechanisms, and it took some time to get used to. It was simpler to keep the inventory always open. For a moment I didn't know how to change weapons, having forgotten the instructions, and I was furiously right-clicking on the knife.

Notes on the start menu: why the button "quit"? Also, small detail, but I like the fade transition on the buttons. It's small, but goes along this artstyle I would call "smooth pixels".

It's funny how in the graphism it's smooth on small details, but you didn't have the time to have animation, and also the character turning alongside the mouse and not his direction. For the sound, I don't know if it's better to have one sound (like here with the gunshot) or no sound at all. The gunshot is satisfying, but it feels like the other sounds are missing.

About the limited inventory: it did not feel like it, or at least not more than a usual game with an inventory. There was not really a challenge of picking what to pick, and the fact that monsters don't respawn mean you could drop some objects and safely go back to retrieve them.

I didn't understand how the bullets count worked. For a moment I thought there were infinite. I guess you meant "bullets you have/bullets you also have but waiting to be charged in", but it's a little bit confusing.

And the lamp. It plays on direct player perception... which means if you see contrast well (or change the luminosity contrast), you can even not use it. But even when you do, its battery decreases to slowly to be really worried about. It's the kind of game where you find objects to refill your supply (bullets and lamp), but I guess not the time.

My biggest ennemy was the HORIZONTAL CORRIDORS. Was it only me? To go through I have to place the character pixel-precisely, or else he's stuck.

Inventory Manager by GaryNinja 2023-10-06T20:31:23Z

Some games have mundane names for strange content... not here, "Inventory Manager", it's straightforward. As its own fleshed-up game, it could be a puzzle game when you have to slot every object into a limited space, but it also could be more a feature of a game where instead of the classical "number of items / max number of items" you have to tidy up your inventory yourself.

Well, not a game, for sure, but is the kind of demo you do for yourself to test a mechanism. Everything has to start somewhere.

I second @ryrumeli : it's easier for the players when it's on web. It takes some time to download the file (and to scan it because better safe than sorry). I read the description, but I was surprised of how much of a stub it was. I have the bias of how a downloaded game has more content (a stupid bias), and all these files seemed to suggest something big (this is why I dislike game engines: so many files added).

Tiny Tower by Martin Bousquet 2023-10-08T12:31:19Z

Hello. First thing about your description: I think for most people, "download" means the same thing than "install" (opposed to "playable in browser"). So you can juste write "Download and run the .exe".

I like the ASCII in the "readme.txt". It's so superfluous but you did it anyway.

I was taken aback by how big the window was, and the pixels look huge. For a game named "Tiny tower", I expected a small window.

Also, beware of how the "faux-pixel" does not fit the grid. While moving, it's normal, but for example when we start we can see how the big pixelated hears are not "pixelly" aligned with the top of the ground floor. The most visible example is the cool-down bar obviously not pixellated.

About the colours, I was disturbed by how the palette of the character was a traditional grey for iron and red for fabric, whereas the rest is more of a stylised two-colours (blue for everything, red for danger...). Well, the bomb also breaks this dichotomy, and the orange explosion was yet another colour.

When you don't understand the bomb mechanism, you quickly die and assume "oh no, will I ever finish?". But after, I found them easy. Were there meant to explode at different time to add tension? But then I understand you can destroy them, which is indispensable to make the return. I had the most trouble with the blobs, since it's hard to hit things within the strict 4-directions.

It looked surprisingly short to me, so the return part was a good surprise. However, as cool are anti-frustration save points, I feel like you were too nice: it's short enough to afford a little "well, you have to retry from the begininnig" (like the hearts, I thought you could only refill a unit, not the entire bar). I write that even if I died a lot, but on the other hand I think the time spend would be equivalent since while going up we learn to better grasp the mechanisms.

The return is really stressful, good job, but it would have been good to stop the stressful moment when you go out, instead of "Game over" (is it because I didn't go out fast enough? The first time my window got closed).

Ventory's Inn by Teist 2023-10-22T15:16:07Z

**Hello there, these are notes I took while playing.**

- Nice detail but little stressful how the dialog changes while being generated (is it to emulated stumbling?) - Maybe a bar of colour rather than number. - Would be useful to have an indication on the item's name. - Quickly get repetitive, since these are clear patterns instead of really randomised commands (which would have been difficult to implement, I know) - There is a lot of elements, so even be more careful about bugs (right, you can say the same for a minimalistic game, but you undertand). - Feel like it would be better to have abandon an item by default (when not in inventory you can drop it) and right-click for rotation

THE RAT - Adventures in a limited space by Magalix 2023-10-14T16:12:26Z

The introduction gives hype, with this dynamic jingle, and I thought "my main objection would be to have a better font". I took a glance at the screenshots and I first expected a mad chase across a corridor with the mouse having to chew the walls to escape.

Well, instead it's more of a calm game, and I guess its final form would have the predators animated but otherwise everything rather static. The wall eating risks to be repetitive grinding, however. I think a way to make it fun would have been to make it a maze.

And if I dare to say boldly, even remove the corridor part and have everything in the wall, and the cat appearing suddenly like the owls, from holes (for example its paw). Cheese and cheese traps would still be popping, but in the wall (I know, it's not natural, but we can argue that cheese popping like that has never been natural).

Have energy depleting over time instead of being a stock. Have health not being that numerical. Maybe reduce it and have less danger, compensed by other ways to challenge the player: items that make the mouse slower, or moving in the wrong direction.

Someone was bothered by the walls hiding owls, maybe embrace it: the mouse must chew walls but who knows what bad (or good) surprises there would be. Maybe compensating by having a detector (like its smell sense) sensing if there is something, but without certainty of what it is. Kind of like a minesweeper-game.

Well, this was a bunch of ideas, since you ask, even if I don't know if it would be fun.

The graphics are nice. The too-rectangular tiles are surely unintended. Since wall-chewing seems to be the main mechanism, time should have been spent on making different wall sprites (chewed on the left, on the right, and difference in general). And even maybe not depend on a tile system to have the mouse chew freely. Also a general music would be welcome.

(Bonne continuation. May you pursue creating games together.)

LD56 — Tiny Creatures

Bacteria Empower by malibaturhan 2024-10-08T08:03:19Z

Cool idea.

I cannot really comment since it's unfinished, but here we go: - Yeah you can play on browser! ...oh it's really really small... - I think the organs might be a little bit out of proportion. - The organs are drawn like in slides made for lessons of biology (no fancy vectors, for once), and then there is the heart. - It's great to have the organs beating. It shows that the body is alive, and is not only a background you could replace with a city for example. - I understand that it's meant to be more eventful when you infect an organ, but the bar is long to fill, at least at the beginning. - Wut with the bacteria going up.

Overall, I think the way to finish this game would be to follow biological stuff, and not the typical invasion game.

Which animal are U? by aaLN 2024-10-08T08:25:36Z

@cituchi @edali @dfyzet Yeah, I wanted to evoke these tests. It's a little bit nostalgic (even though I've always disliked these kind of "games").

@royur A "puggy" chihuahua

@thesand @meinewn I did not add more questions because it would have meant more animals exponentially... unless some results were the same (which is not a dumb idea because not everyone would do the chore of trying all possibilites)... *or if I worked smarter, not harder*. I felt some things were still missing, and little descriptions would have been GREAT! (easy, and I could have used recolours). About the simplicity, there are two types of games: one where the simple outcome has been planned since the beginning, and one where expectations have to be progressively scaled-down. The first kind is often better, but this game falls in the second category. The result is vastly different from what I imagined at the beginning. One feature I have to regretfully drop was a dress-up part (because this kind of game always has it).

Lost Parasite by martoko 2024-10-08T07:45:59Z

Opinion overall: it looks more like a prototype, a proof of concept, but it works.

Successive impressions: - see the keyboard keys: noo I don't have a qwerty oh it works nevermind. - Moving is easy, but it has this stiffness. Maybe it would have been better to have a system of velocity? - I mistook the tree trunks for moles you could assimilate, and spam the E with the fear that keyboard won't work after all. - Are defenders more than extra lives? - Good feedback on controls, with the easy to understand cooldown bar. However, damage (inflicted and received) is not visible enough. I did not dare to use dash. - Lore and gameplay... I think it would have been better if the "tiny creatures" were alien and not Earth animals, because spiders and snakes shooting bullets? It looks too much like "these were the only sprites we had". - Next level and the biiiig green void you roam aimlessly. Maybe it would be better if the clusters of ennemies were linked with visible paths (such as the usual beaten earth)?

And since I'm not good at gaming, I did not continue. But it was fun.