This was a cool interpretation of the theme, and kudos to the team for working under even stricter time constraints. I would definitely play again if you all decided to develop further or patch what's there in the future.
Feedback: + The shader on the walls when they collide with(?)/pass the camera is awesome. Y'all have a cool minimalist art-style. I was hoping for some more props/scene dressing, as well as ambient audio to reinforce the tone, but was still generally satisfied. + The SE & NW direction animations are broken for the 8-way-directional-movement
+ JOURNALS: - I wondered if I would've been more compelled by the story if we received the journals not in chronological order? - I felt that 'E' should also be able to close the journal entry, and I kept tapping it once I finished reading. - Once I was about halfway through, I started wishing for a notebook that I could refer to & re-read past journal entries. - Towards the end, I also wanted more media type to interact with, other than journal entries. The "Prayer?" got me excited, but I think expanding the variety of interactable objects could help keep players moving forward intrigued. (Like an empty water canteen, a photograph, a makeshift map of the cave structure, markings on the walls, etc.) It would also create an opportunity for the person we're playing as to provide feedback, share opinions, and clue the player in on what this means.
Wow, this is great. The interactivity of the OS was what easily took the cake for me. The art, audio, and gameplay bring the whole thing to life surprisingly well. I was a little wary after reading that I'd need to be taking notes myself, but for some reason seeing it presented as a Notes app on the OS immediately made it more compelling & easier to get behind. Very impressive. The variety of tasks on the OS is also great. I LOL'd every time I got to smash my keyboard to type a report & always enjoyed reading the way these mini-games(?) were tied into the theme.
In regards to feedback, the only thing I really wished there was more of was a tutorial/training-wheels section towards the beginning so the player is guided through the expected gameplay loops before being dropped in the deep end. That does sort of challenge the immersion of being able to just boot up the "OS" & hop in & out, so who knows. Being that this was a game jam, it's totally understandable why there wasn't a tutorial. Would be stoked to see what future updates could bring to this!! Hats off!
Love the art style, 2D assets in the 3D environment look great, and the pink contrasts against the darker color in a nice way. When all the text is pink, its a little hard to figure out what to read first (especially with the uneven font).
The mechanics are simple and fun, but I found that the difficulty spikes pretty quickly and I'm not able to save more than 1 or 2 eggs before I am hit & lose. I would consider either slowing down the rate acceleration for how fast the rocks drop, or maybe allow the axolotl to take more than 1 hit before losing?
Regardless, I had a great time playing and can't get over how cute the axolotl sprite is (and their lil paper-looking eggs!). Great work!
First, the art & interpretation of the theme are great here. Robo-guy is cute, and having the jetpack-fill meter on the back is a nice touch. I really like your jetpack mechanic, and would be interested to see what kinds of puzzles/levels could be built around it, given more time.
In regards to feedback, I think the text explaining the objective went away too fast. I’d maybe consider adding a “continue” button so the user can decide when the text on the screen should go away. Or, maybe have the lines voiced?
If you decide to continue working on this, I’d consider adding more environmental hazards that the player must navigate around. I liked the deadly fog above the player, but it never really became a hazard for me while I was playing. More parkour/platformer with the jetpack, please!
The aesthetic here is top notch, great interpretation of the theme. I love the music!
In the way of feedback: I wish I knew what the program attributes did for me at the start when they're introduced (hovering over for more info?). Then, the tutorial jumped further into the HOW before explaining the WHAT, so it's a little confusing to keep track of what "egress, ingress, programs, and directories" are in the game as I’m told how to use them. With an expanded tutorial section and some variety in decryption/hostile encounters, I could easily sink a ton of time into this as a mobile hacking game. Awesome work so far!
LD48 — Deeper and deeper (5)
Jaws of Earth by IceEye 2021-04-29T21:36:26Z ♥ 3
This was a cool interpretation of the theme, and kudos to the team for working under even stricter time constraints. I would definitely play again if you all decided to develop further or patch what's there in the future.
Feedback: + The shader on the walls when they collide with(?)/pass the camera is awesome. Y'all have a cool minimalist art-style. I was hoping for some more props/scene dressing, as well as ambient audio to reinforce the tone, but was still generally satisfied. + The SE & NW direction animations are broken for the 8-way-directional-movement
+ JOURNALS: - I wondered if I would've been more compelled by the story if we received the journals not in chronological order? - I felt that 'E' should also be able to close the journal entry, and I kept tapping it once I finished reading. - Once I was about halfway through, I started wishing for a notebook that I could refer to & re-read past journal entries. - Towards the end, I also wanted more media type to interact with, other than journal entries. The "Prayer?" got me excited, but I think expanding the variety of interactable objects could help keep players moving forward intrigued. (Like an empty water canteen, a photograph, a makeshift map of the cave structure, markings on the walls, etc.) It would also create an opportunity for the person we're playing as to provide feedback, share opinions, and clue the player in on what this means.
ThaumOS by grasstypefire 2021-04-29T21:11:18Z ♥ 5
Wow, this is great. The interactivity of the OS was what easily took the cake for me. The art, audio, and gameplay bring the whole thing to life surprisingly well. I was a little wary after reading that I'd need to be taking notes myself, but for some reason seeing it presented as a Notes app on the OS immediately made it more compelling & easier to get behind. Very impressive. The variety of tasks on the OS is also great. I LOL'd every time I got to smash my keyboard to type a report & always enjoyed reading the way these mini-games(?) were tied into the theme.
In regards to feedback, the only thing I really wished there was more of was a tutorial/training-wheels section towards the beginning so the player is guided through the expected gameplay loops before being dropped in the deep end. That does sort of challenge the immersion of being able to just boot up the "OS" & hop in & out, so who knows. Being that this was a game jam, it's totally understandable why there wasn't a tutorial. Would be stoked to see what future updates could bring to this!! Hats off!
Deeper Daddy by AguaHervida 2021-04-29T20:36:45Z ♥ 1
Love the art style, 2D assets in the 3D environment look great, and the pink contrasts against the darker color in a nice way. When all the text is pink, its a little hard to figure out what to read first (especially with the uneven font).
The mechanics are simple and fun, but I found that the difficulty spikes pretty quickly and I'm not able to save more than 1 or 2 eggs before I am hit & lose. I would consider either slowing down the rate acceleration for how fast the rocks drop, or maybe allow the axolotl to take more than 1 hit before losing?
Regardless, I had a great time playing and can't get over how cute the axolotl sprite is (and their lil paper-looking eggs!). Great work!
L1-S0N by Beardmage 2021-04-27T23:33:49Z ♥ 2
First, the art & interpretation of the theme are great here. Robo-guy is cute, and having the jetpack-fill meter on the back is a nice touch. I really like your jetpack mechanic, and would be interested to see what kinds of puzzles/levels could be built around it, given more time.
In regards to feedback, I think the text explaining the objective went away too fast. I’d maybe consider adding a “continue” button so the user can decide when the text on the screen should go away. Or, maybe have the lines voiced?
If you decide to continue working on this, I’d consider adding more environmental hazards that the player must navigate around. I liked the deadly fog above the player, but it never really became a hazard for me while I was playing. More parkour/platformer with the jetpack, please!
Egress by SirDuck 2021-04-27T22:15:38Z ♥ 3
The aesthetic here is top notch, great interpretation of the theme. I love the music!
In the way of feedback: I wish I knew what the program attributes did for me at the start when they're introduced (hovering over for more info?). Then, the tutorial jumped further into the HOW before explaining the WHAT, so it's a little confusing to keep track of what "egress, ingress, programs, and directories" are in the game as I’m told how to use them. With an expanded tutorial section and some variety in decryption/hostile encounters, I could easily sink a ton of time into this as a mobile hacking game. Awesome work so far!