In Good Hands by simple-blue 2017-05-02T06:28:05Z
The game is very pretty, and the music makes it feel very relaxing. However, I would have enjoyed it substantially more if there was more gameplay of substance. There isn't a lot to do.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Silas Reinagel
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Category | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 👥 | 🥉 | 2017 | 38 | A Small World | Planet or Die! | jam | Humor | 4.48 |
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 58 | Collector | 👥 | Genius Gallery | jam | 193 | 3.78 | 3.43 | 3.45 | 3.71 | 4.32 | 3.77 | 3.01 | 3.66 |
| 2025 | 57 | Depths | 🐾 Deep Meowgotiations | jam | 847 | 2.66 | 2.52 | 2.57 | 1.97 | 2.87 | 2.95 | 3.02 | 2.95 | |
| 2024 | 56 | Tiny Creatures | 👥 | Circuit Breaker | jam | 65 | 4.15 | 4.04 | 3.24 | 3.67 | 4.37 | 3.88 | 2.98 | 3.86 |
| 2024 | 55 | Summoning | 👥 | Thalatta's Grand Heist | jam | 644 | 3.51 | 3.11 | 3.18 | 3.72 | 3.35 | 3.35 | 2.69 | 3.58 |
| 2023 | 54 | Limited Space | 👥 | Warehouse 2319 | jam | 362 | 3.78 | 3.59 | 3.30 | 3.49 | 3.84 | 3.94 | 3.70 | 3.69 |
| 2022 | 50 | Delay the inevitable | 👥 | Mythic Garden | jam | 138 | 4.01 | 3.81 | 3.72 | 4.00 | 4.39 | 4.11 | 3.51 | 3.96 |
| 2021 | 48 | Deeper and deeper | 👥 | Deep Cover | jam | 153 | 4.06 | 3.89 | 3.57 | 3.82 | 4.31 | 4.10 | 3.96 | 3.81 |
| 2020 | 47 | Stuck in a loop | 👥 | Couples Delight | jam | 1330 | 3.09 | 2.90 | 2.64 | 2.64 | 3.01 | 3.35 | 3.11 | 2.98 |
| 2020 | 46 | Keep it alive | 👥 | Angst | jam | 672 | 3.72 | 3.07 | 3.64 | 3.49 | 4.39 | 4.09 | 4.22 | |
| 2019 | 45 | Start with nothing | 👥 | You Gotta Be Kitten Me | jam | 480 | 3.52 | 3.40 | 2.97 | 2.80 | 3.55 | 3.52 | 3.38 | 3.29 |
| 2019 | 44 | Your life is currency | 👥 | Black Market Crackdown | jam | 655 | 3.33 | 2.92 | 3.03 | 3.23 | 3.67 | 3.26 | ||
| 2017 | 39 | Running out of Power | 👥 | The Shutdown | jam | 543 | 3.16 | 2.97 | 2.11 | 2.54 | 3.36 | 2.55 | 3.00 | |
| 2017 | 38 | A Small World | 👥 | Planet or Die! | jam | 131 | 3.84 | 3.88 | 3.92 | 4.00 | 3.83 | 4.48 | 3.70 |
The game is very pretty, and the music makes it feel very relaxing. However, I would have enjoyed it substantially more if there was more gameplay of substance. There isn't a lot to do.
Some of the planets aren't rendering correctly. Some of them get cut in half or something.
Some things I really liked: - Version 1.1 felt complete - The mood and atmosphere are great - A unique interpretation of the theme
Room for improvement: - The allowable user interactions could have more clarity - Adding more elements in the room would make the solutions less immediately obvious - The camera controls/movement felt a bit clunky. It would be nicer to be either more free moving, or have all fixed views.
The concept is really good, but this game needs a bit of work.
For future projects, making a polished experience of a single level is more important that having a lot of content.
The biggest two issues I had were: 1. The controls felt clunky 2. Bugs in the Park level kept me from progressing. The level kept randomly restarting.
I can't access this game on Gamejolt
I'm not sure where to play this game.
The concept isn't bad, but there are two big glaring issues.
#1) The controls/rules aren't clear and aren't easy to discover. #2) The audio seems glitched. It only comes out of the right speaker.
@viliar
I'm glad you liked the game overall.
In regards to your inquiry about our creation process, we began with an empty RPG Maker template with Yanfly Engine plugins. If you look at the GitHub history, you will see that the empty project was committed on July 28th at 7:16pm AZ Time, 76 minutes after the theme was announced. We brainstormed over 30 different ideas and then voted on which one to actually build. You will also see that the first public release was published to GitHub on July 31 at 5:56pm, AZ Time, 4 minutes before the deadline. Going into the jam we had decided on our tools and our genre, but everything related to the Characters, the Maps, the Story, the Abilities, the Enemies, the Items, the Music, and the Aesthetic were created during LDJAM. The graphics are mostly RPG Maker stock which is why we excluded our game from the Graphics category. I hope this clarifies any confusion.
Always work on the movement controls first. If the movement feels good, the user will feel free to explore the levels without feeling a lot of frustration.
Is there a link for your game?
Wow! This is a really clean and elegant design with near flawless execution!
The concept is perfectly scoped. It's a idea that's both deeply relatable and also funny. The visuals are highly readable and crisp with smooth animations. A pumping music track!
I really, really love your design! Very nice jam game!
This is a solid base card game. It would be nice to see this evolve further. There isn't enough variety in cards to have a lot of strategic options.
The theme and mood are very well developed. They are an excellent adaption, and the mechanic of choosing whether or not to spend your stamina to play various cards fits perfectly.
I love the exploration and the Dark World/Light World duality! Reminds me a lot of Link to the Past.
A couple of things that would have made the game a bit more immersive and fun would be a more interesting battle system, and music themes that are a little bit longer.
The graphics are cute.
I feel like it would have been good to include a tutorial or explanation screen at the start. It's not quite clear how your actions impact the world.
This is a great concept, but it feels like it would be nice to have more decision points. I didn't feel like I got to choose many things, and I don't feel that I deserved to get the good ending.
I really like the general simulation presentation. The passage of time was very well done!
It would be awesome to see a further refinement or evolution on this concept!
This is a very fun game. I like that you actually need to develop skills to not get wrecked. This feels like a cross between VA-11 Hall-A and Surgeon Simulator.
If there was one this I would improve, it would be the audio production. The music is sometimes clipping and distorted, and the game would feel more alive if there were sound effects for pouring, clicking buttons, etc.
Very nice jam game overall!
I love the menu animation!
I like the way the music feels more frantic after each time you get hit.
Wow! This is my favorite LDJam 44 game yet! Just about everything about this game is perfect.
Tight (and interesting) movement and shooting. Rewards player for being skillful, and prevents progression until you learn.
The art variety is excellent. Each area has its own flavor. Even though it's a short game, it feels like I've been so many places.
The ominous things the reapers say generate a lot of interest and leave the player wondering if he made the right choice. Not a cookie cutter storyline.
Very well done! I am impressed!
Very nice game! The changing whims of the dragon for what he accepts provided more of a challenge than I expected.
Sounds and music are spot on!
The title is fantastic. This is the perfect game jam game!
This was a cute game!
Very good concept. Flawlessly executed.
There were just the right number of choices. Not so many that it was overwhelming.
Really well done!!
I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to know which code to enter, so I just tried every possibility on the levers by using binary.
I'm still not certain which combination was correct, since I didn't have any visual or audio feedback when i got it right, but when I went back to the main room, the vault door was open.
I love the visual style!
The game controls great, and has rock solid gameplay.
If there were two things I wish: 1) It would be have been really good to have a shooting sound effect. 2) Sometimes enemies are off-screen, but they can shoot me. It's hard to predict that.
This was a really cool experience!
Things I loved: - The peaceful, dreamlike music - Crisp and intentional visual style - The unlockables and the impact of your avatar on your choices - Seeing how many things were left to unlock in the Extras menu
Things that might be improved: - Story felt a little bit random. It wasn't entirely clear what the point of the story is. - Story is a bit short.
Very nice, and well polished experience for a jam game!
@ynneblack I didn't unlock everything. I made it to the Duck Park as a Cat, and to the Office. I had a hard time figuring out the other path(s).
The concept of this game is very cool!
I wish it were longer.
A couple things that could be improved: 1) It's sad to have the explosion/death sound when I successfully finish a level 2) The camera doesn't follow me quite enough when there is more level horizontally. Hard to see where to go.
Overall, I like this game. I really wish it were longer!
I played all the way through the game.
The general concept is interesting. I really like the world at the end, but I had a very hard time understanding how the other levels impacted how the universe evolved.
I think the game would have been a little more fun if there were fewer sections and they were a little bit more polished.
Overall, this is very technically impressive for a first game!
This is a very clean, visually beautiful, well-executed concept.
Great music!
Very tight gameplay. The difficulty ramping is just right.
I wish there was a keyboard command to switch tools.
I love the colorful world! The aesthetic is very happy.
The game physics are a little bit wonky. I wish I had a little bit more precise control over my character.
The in-game signs were very helpful for making it clear how to play and how to progress.
@ryanman56 The movement speed was a little bit sluggish. The animations made me feel like I should be able to move faster. Also, I had some very serious challenges trying to go up and downstairs. I think those were my two biggest issues.
I love the amount and variety of the weapons. The weapon designs definitely force you to adapt your playstyle.
My favorite gun is the SMG!
So far, of all the games I have played this jam, this one has my favorite gameplay.
It's a very clean, tight platformer. the pacing is fantastic. The introduction of new mechanics keep each new level fresh.
There is sound and a fitting soundtrack.
This game is a real gem! I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did!
@laveilleusegraphique Thank you for the feedback on the UI clarity for items!
We actually had a user story for showing names and a highlight around the items, but sadly, it didn't make it into the jam version. We'll see about adding that in as a post-jam fix.
@jmad Thank you very much for the feedback and the perspectives. A couple of the issues that you mentioned (auto-skipping to Forest world and weird colliders in the office) were due to production bottlenecks on the last day. Those weren't the planned experience.
This game was the very first attempt by our lead game designer to create an emotional journey, and since he doesn't personally suffer from anxiety/PAs, it was definitely a little bit of a reach. There have been some people who it did resonate with, and some people who have experience that said this wasn't quite what their experience is like. We definitely want to learn anything we can to make a better game like this in the future. Do you have any suggestions for ways to approach the topic in a more nuanced or realistic way? Was it just the unpolished-ness of the office scenes that bothered you, or would there be some other ways to improve the game feel and representation?
The premise is hilarious!
I was confused about what the stapler was for. It didn't seem to impact anything.
I had a fun time playing this and had to play all the way to the end. The ending was surprising (in a good way).
Adding some background music to this would help enhance the fun office mood even more.
The handcrafted art is cute. I love the minimalist interpretation of the theme. As someone who lives in the desert, I can definitely appreciate the need to keep plant watered.
Nice work this jam!
Very cute and fun game.
I love the graphios!
The sounds and music were spot on.
My only improvement suggestion is to give a little bit of coyote time to make jumping to the higher layers easier.
I'm very happy someone made a game about a party. We were brainstorming ideas about that concept, but didn't end up choosing it, so I was curious what kind of interpretations other people would come up with. The moment I saw the Cover for this, I knew I had to play it!
The art is really good. I love all the party-goers.
At first, I thought I didn't like the momentum drift of the controls, but as I got better at the game, I think the momentum really increases the skill cap around moving and route-planning.
I wish that I could stock things up in advance, even if they weren't low. It felt weird when I had down-time and was just waiting for something to get low.
Also, I wish that I could replace my inventory item. So, if I'm holding beer, and chips get low first, I want to replace the beer with chips. That would allow some more optimized runs.
Really great game! Thanks for making this!
Very fun game! The pacing of the levels is spot on.
I love the high-energy electro soundtrack.
I wish I could have played with just my keyboard, instead of my mouse.
Very clean, tight puzzle mechanic.
It's a game where the objective and the controls are completely clear, and the challenge is just in figuring out the mechanics.
Really nice jam game! I wish there were more levels.
The concept of this game is cool.
The execution could have used a little more work. I wish I could see further, or that the level had some structure or more terrain.
I think the energetic guitar playing was one of my personal favorite parts.
The alien hand gun is also unique and looks fantastic!
This is a great jam game!
I think the music is the most high-octane action music I've heard yet this jam. It ramped up the excitement and intensity.
The art looks fantastic!
There are good crisp sounds for all the core game elements.
If there were a couple things to improve, I think it would be this: - Would be nice to be able to play in fullscreen - Add 1 or 2 more weapons, so that they core gameplay loop evolves a little more more - Having a slightly larger field of view would help with combat. It's tough shooting at enemies that are above or below me when I'm strafing.
This is very nice for a first time compo game!
Simple, clean action.
If I had to offer one suggestion, I would say to be very careful about the top/bottom of the screen with enemy defense games, since the field of view makes it so you can't see enemies from the top and bottom until much later.
Because of this, the action usually feels a little more fair if you give a pre-warning indicator when an enemy is off-screen above/below, or use more horizontal space so you can capitalize on the natural screen viewing area.
Very cool game concept!
I really like the low-poly aesthetic!
The camera controls nicely.
If there was something to improve, it would be nice to have a tutorial explaining the core objective and how the items help accomplish that or hurt that.
Also, I was having a hard time figuring out which items I could interact with, especially since some items I can click at from one camera angle, but not from another.
I can't seem to find the downloadable Windows version. I followed the link and itch says the game is unavailable.
Very deep gameplay for a jam game! This is fantastic!
I always love having deck-building in a game. Very nice work!
The concept is great! I love the characters.
The 2nd task wasn't clear (and was easy to exploit by spamming buttons).
Fun game! Very relaxing atmosphere.
I think I ran into a bug. I wanted to retire early, so I paid off my entire debt, hoping to get an alternate ending. Unfortunately, when i came back to my computer, I discovered that even though my Debt Balance was $0, I was still required to make a minimum payment of $400.
My favorite part of this game is the fake computer complete with OS and Browser. The world flavor is fantastic and immersive!
I love card games!
While this MVP clearly isn't yet a fully playable game, I love the idea. I would definitely play a game like this it if were evolved a bit more.
Wow! This is a masterpiece!
A fun spy plot. Great music! Classic isometric graphics (brings back fond memories of SNES Shadowrun. Interesting and varied gameplay. What a jam game! You just earned the highest rating I've given out on an LDJam48 game yet!
My favorite moment was the voice line when someone saw me in my cactus disguise: "Are you disguised as a cactus?" I was not expected that one bit. Loved it!
This is the most unique game I've played so far! Very creative concept.
As far as usability, it took me a couple losses before I figured out quite how the game worked. Also, I was a bit puzzled when I made my credit card payment (full balance) 1 week early, and get charged interest on my next month's balance. That was a bit of a surprise.
Congratulations on your very clever take on the theme, and for making a game that makes for an interesting intellectual juggle. I really love this entry!
Is there a build copy of the game we can play?
A 1-dimensional game seems like a really unique concept.
@zlan100 Thank you for your feedback!
We've tried to add some more description on the page explaining what a Cover Story is. This isn't a dating sim. The villains don't care about your emotions (happy/humble/proud). They care about whether your story makes sense.
If you were to say that you are a Parachute Instructor, and then later say that you hate traveling by airplanes, they will notice an inconsistency.
Since you a super spy, you present ALL of your lies very believably, and it's impossible to directly contradict yourself in this game, but you might give a story that seems inconsistent and raises suspicion.
A good cover story is cohesive.
What makes this game interesting, is that you have to use different covers in different situations, so you can't just pick a single cover story. You will end up with multiple simultaneous cover stories as you get further in the game.
I hope that clarifies a bit of exactly what you, as a player, are supposed to be doing and thinking, during the game.
@noef Thank you! I'm pleasantly surprising you looked at the source code.
That script has saved so many development hours! I use it in all my projects.
@bitshift We're glad you enjoyed that non-linearity!
That's a great idea for skipping to a chapter! We will try to add that, and maybe also game Checkpoints to smooth the post-jam experience.
@ryanwoods Thank you so much for the kind words! We are glad you enjoyed it!
@lootfox-parker Thank you!
How would you tweak the "suspicion"? Just rotate the bar to be more vertical?
@candlebird Thanks so much for playing! I'm glad you had a good time.
We appreciate the feedback about it being tough to have to go back to the first stage. We'll try to implement a checkpoint system in the next build.
@nvrskipgameday Your comments are too kind! I'm happy you enjoyed the game.
Players like you are what give us so much passion for creating indie games!
@janet-lin Thanks for the kind words! I'm happy you enjoyed it!
@togis I watched your video. You ended too early! Each individual character remembers what you tell them.
But a different character doesn't know what you told anyone else.
That's what makes this game really fun. When you are in a conversation with more than one, you have to tell lies that keep them both from getting suspicious. Depending on which cover stories you told before, that can be very difficult.
Your itch link doesn't seem to work.
Very nice game!
The mood, art, and setting all blend together nicely.
I LOVE the music track you picked. Best music selection I've heard yet in LD48.
For one improvement suggestion: Don't include a Quit button in the WebGL version. It doesn't make sense and just breaks the game.
The Web version doesn't seem to be hosted correctly. You might have better luck using itch.io or simmer.io
I'm going to try the Windows version.
The premise of the game is great! I really want to stop General Critter!
The instructions were very clear. I wasn't confused at all.
This is a good demo.
Fun dungeon crawler!
I wish the darkness/field-of-view wasn't so tight.
I feel like this game is a bit like Zelda or Binding of Isaac, but the low visibility hurts the playability a bit.
Nice art! Cool story. I liked the philosophical quotes between each layer.
Very nice jam game.
My improvement suggestion would just be to tighten up the movement, and some of the level geometry, especially on the diagonal sections.
Very nice jam game! A clean and tight experience.
I very much enjoyed the different gameplay styles offered by the different weapons. The final boss and music were the perfect conclusion!
My one improvement suggestion would be to make the camera a little less frantic. Maybe a slightly larger field of view. I like that it follows the mouse a bit, but it wasn't always easy to see in more than a single direction from my character.
Impressive game for 1 person! I really love the art style!
I like the knight model and concept.
I definitely can start to get a glimpse for what you are trying to create.
Very fun space flying! I'm getting some awesome Starfox nostalgia mixed with Mario Kart time trial feelings.
The UI buttons could use some clearer feedback. I felt like I was having issue with the Main Menu button, and I wish there was a restart level button for when I miss an important checkpoint.
Very cool theme and music vibe!
I love the concept of this game, and the synthwave aesthetic.
As a few others have mentioned, it would be a bit more fun with a bit more variety in the word pool. Also, having some longer answers with even more words used would be a fun twist for extra humor.
Nice game! I love the premise and the art style!
Very fun concept! This brings back memories of Pokemon TCG on Gameboy.
I love the flow of the game and the world!
Card game wise, I wish there were more interesting effects than just Heal/Deal.
Also, it would be cool if the camera would anticipate the direction you are walking to provide a more seamless visual experience.
Despite those two things, this is one of my very favorite games from this jam. Nice job!
I love the setting and intro! Plus, voice acting!
Having more particles as you go deeper is a very nice visual touch.
Love the ending!
Very nice jam game.
Very fun arcade action game! I love the variety of different weapons and enemies!
Fantastic concept! Super chill music! I love the vibe.
Very nice concept! I love the nested components. Also pleasantly surprised to see the T-split signal.
Fantasic MVP!
@adamsmccall Seeing your obvious intelligence, I think you might enjoy the puzzle game I designed last year. It's also a pure-logic puzzle game designed around simple rules.
It's proved to be too difficult for many players, but it might be perfect for someone as intelligent as you: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245810/BitVault/
@adamsmccall Email me at games@enigmadragons.com and I'll give you a free Steam key.
I really like the feel and atmosphere! The music is just the right blend of creepy but hopeful. The graphics and lighting are very nice!
For the gameplay, I got pretty stuck. The movement didn't feel very smooth or intuitive and I got stuck on walls and doors a lot of times before I finally gave up. I would enjoy playing this one again once the movement is fixed up a bit.
Very fun game! I got some great Necrodancer Vibes. My brain instantly was able to figure out the enemy attack patterns.
What a fun game!
The coin sound when you deliver a pizza is so satisfying!
I love this!
Fun game!
I love the relaxing music. The minimap was gorgeous and technically impressive! It was a very helpful player aid.
I love the car models and the way the gravity work even as the track twists and bends!
The camera angle needs some work, and it would be nicer if the car had faster speed and tighter handling.
It would be nicer if the walls had a little bit of shading to give some more visual depth.
Also, I wish that the interact prompt had a panel behind it. I had a hard time finding all the interactable objects. (I think I found them all).
I love the concept and the multiple endings!
Fun adventure game!
The cat is awesome.
Also, the credits were super funny, they had me laughing!
Very nice game. I love the art style!
Very nice jam game!
Animations are great. The level flow and difficulty ramp was just right. Music and sounds are on point! And what an ending twist!
Really good job!
My one improvement suggestion would be to tune the player position to be near the top of the screen so that the used field of view is more player-friendly. It will give players a little more time to react to newly spawned obstacles, and make it feel totally fair if the player gets hit.
Awesome level design and atmosphere! This game brings back some great memories for me!
One recommendation I have.
Give a little bit of coyote time for jumps. That will make the platforming sections feel a little more fluid and make the player feel more empowered.
I love your setting, and the music gives me so many feels! It's the perfect music. Especially the airship theme.
From a gameplay standpoint, I wish the airship would fly faster. And I'm not sure if I'm bad at the game, or if you're meant to die really early. I didn't get enough repairs from the first island, and so I died without being able to fly to another destination island. Unsure if that part was the intended experience, or if I missed something, or if something could have been differently communicated.
In any case, I enjoyed playing this game and love your team's art style!
Also not quite clear how to play this. I was very excited since I love word games.
Was this accidentally built in the wrong mode?
I'll pass on rating this assuming that this isn't working the way you intended. Let me know when you have an updated build, and I'd love to give it a try.
Amazing mood and humor!
The waiter really cracked me up. I loved when he brought silly things like salt and pepper shaker!
Very nice twist on the classics!
Love the coffee theme! The pixel art is just right. The music matches the art style.
This is a really clean jam game! I enjoyed it.
@pinky-toast Thanks for feedback! We're glad you enjoyed the game.
Do you know which plant you had that issue with?
The rule isn't communicated the best, but the Carnivorous Plants are not allowed to be watered with the Watering Can, for example.
Voice acting is amazing! Loved the choice of detective at the start of the game, and the punny names.
I almost got stuck after having found all the evidence. I couldn't find any way to dismiss my notepad. I figured it out after switching back to the game page and re-reading the controls. It would have been nice to have all the controls shown on screen in game.
Afterwards, I made it through the rest of the story. Impressive number of sets for 72 hours. Loved the ending twist.
One question remains. Is there more than one ending? Could I have survived longer?
Amazing concept! Character art looks nice. Interesting general game design.
The experience was a little bit rough to actually play.
My recommendation for future jams is to team up with a programmer for interactive experiences. There are lots of coders who are interested in game jams (I think that's the most numerous role), so, as artists, it's usually pretty easy to find one.
Did you forget to click the publish button for your game page, by any chance?
Love the design concept you have here!
Execution didn't feel quite as smooth. I had a hard time figuring out exactly how to follow the directions. Also, the agents were able to find me even when I was safely hidden away in a hiding spot.
I wish there was some music just for mood. I feel that would have added a ton to the feeling of playing.
Very cute game!
Combat balance seemed like it could have used some more work. Some of my expensive TP skills did less damage than a basic attack. Heal was very weak compared to the damage dealt, so it definitely seemed to dampen some of the strategic possibilities.
Wow! Fantastic design. Perfect storytelling. I really enjoyed this game.
The pacing was fantastic, and I was on the edge of my seat trying to see if I would make it another day.
This is very fun!
I love card game. Love pick 3's. Love roguelikes. This is a very nice blend of those!
The one thing that I think would improve the game is a a little more clarity on what the choice RNG might be. The same choices don't yield the same outcomes, so it's difficult without a lot of plays or a guide to learn how to make smarter decisions.
I would also be interested in a port for Windows/WebGL or Mac. This is a very niche set of platforms you're currently targeting. Game looks fun from the page!
@gbgames Thank you for making a Windows build.
The game concept is very nice! As a player, I both found the game a bit easy due to always being able to repair 100% of the damage with no risk.
The core gameplay loop is nice. It also felt like opportunity for more different monsters, or trying to handle income plus more than 1 monster at a time.
Very cool for a jam game though. I enjoyed my playthrough.
Very cool concept! I liked the direction of the story and the concept, although the set of choices was sometimes a bit railroading. I guess not giving the player a chance to have a successful career puts an inherent dampener on things.
Presentation-wise, a little bit of audio and music would have done a LOT for adding more mood and emotional feel.
I was very excited to see an action-ish puzzle game. Love the sound and the atmosphere!
I wasn't quite clear on how the game mechanics were supposed to work. I couldn't figure how exactly what opened doors when there were no switches, or what dropping lanterns actually helps me with. Got stuck on the 3rd floor and gave up after trying many things to proceed.
Maybe a small explanation on this page or in game will help player get a bit further?
This is fun! Most humorous game I've seen so far!
The elevator music jam sets the mood perfectly.
Very nice sound work.
Really clever take on the falling theme!
Brilliant game design! This is a really innovative take on the theme and I love it!
Graphics are perfect and brimming with flavor.
Music has good energy but could use a little more variety/length.
Probably the biggest issue is the interface isn't designed for each easy player flow. If it were possible to do things with buttons or hotkeys instead of cumbersome clicking and dragging, I think it would feel less like there is a tension between the strategy aspect and simply mouse dragging capabilities.
Fantastic jam game regardless!
This is neat! Nice pixel graphics. Cool game idea.
I wish there was a little audio to make the experience more sensory and add more mood.
Clean, crisp and elegant!
Perfect music to set the atmosphere.
This is a very nice jam game!
This is a really interesting game! Love the music. Love the voice acting.
I'm really impressed with how much writing content you guys managed to create.
From a user experience standpoint, I wish this was playable in a format of a more standard choose-your-own adventure in a conventional game engine, but I really admire the design work that went into this.
Link doesn't seem to be working correctly. Once the link is updated, I'm excited to try your game!
Love the art and music! The music track is so peaceful and dreamy!
For a little more gameplay clarity, it would have been nice to be to able to see a guide on how a tower functions before buying it, and also it would be nice to have the price listed on the icon for each tower to help with planning and understanding.
Amazing mood and art style! I love the eerie eyes hiding places.
This game kept me wanting to see what else would happen.
So, I got into the Priest's house and managed to dodge him, but I couldn't find any way to progress after that. Did I miss a weapon, or an exit? I'm very curious.
Very fun game!
Oh, I forgot to mention, but I LOVE the hand-drawn loading illustrations. Those are gorgeous!
The art style looks great and the music provides just the right eerie atmosphere.
I had some difficulty fulling understanding the control. Maybe it would help if you explain them somewhere in game, or somewhere on this page?
Also, I didn't seem to take any damage if I got by an enemy.
Very impressive trailer!
Great mood. Fantastic music! Solid and clean gameplay action with a unique damage mechanic.
This is a very and tight jam game! Kudos on the juice, too! Juice can be something that's missed in a game jam due to time constraints but I loved how good shooting and hitting enemies felt. Perfect amount of screen shake.
Really good job on this! Especially impressive for having done it solo!
This a fun arcade game! Reminds me of the classics I used to play as a kid.
Very nice game!
Amazing game concept.
Sadly, I got hit by the softlock issue where I ran out of possible options.
The card choice balance was conceptually nice but the balance seemed like it could use some tightening. Sometimes the relative prices for things swung wildly.
I wish the game had a soundtrack to set the mood more.
Easy to play and very intuitive, however. I had no usability or clarity issues, which is impressive for a jam game. Thanks for making this!
My reflexes are too slow to be really good at this (I'm getting old!), but I really liked the design here. It fits nicely in the theme, and I like the way the levels each involve different types of challenges.
Very clean and cute jam game!
@comicsans Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, those pit edges do have really sticky edges. We're trying to fix that.
Did you check on both of the conveyor belts? Should be all four colors of boxes in the room.
Very fun game! Perfect length and complexity for a jam game.
I am actually really digging the art style. This game has a very clear visual identity and it felt charming.
From an improvement standpoint, adding sound + music would enhance the atmosphere. Also, it would have felt nice to introduce a new mechanic or twist with each new level to give players more of a sense of progression and mastery.
Great jam entry!
Very cool concept. I like the eerie music and the sound design is spot on.
Like others, I struggled with the controls a little bit. I understand the nostalgic angle, but going with more modern controls (at least for movement) might have been a better user experience.
Also, it's a very good idea to show the controls on the screen on in-game somewhere for jam games.
Overall, I like what you've done with the procedural approach to level design and this feels like it's got real potential!
That was fun!
Nice music. LOVE the upgrades!
The one things that might improve the game a little bit is a more evolve camera. It would be cool to keep the enemy in focus in addition to your character.
Great jam game!
Forgive me for a being a little dense... what key/mouse button am I supposed to press to rotate a piece? I don't know what the "Rotate" icon indicates. Or do I need to plug in a controller?
@alexis-brochec Thank you! Now I have been able to play.
Very well-designed puzzle game with great progression. I love the thematics, and this gives me a lot of nostalgia from building my own PCs.
Improvement ideas: - The soundtrack was a bit repetitive and intense. Puzzle games often benefit from a less-pronounced soundtrack to make more space for deep thinking. - Would be nice to have a "skip puzzle" button, so that one can come back to a specific puzzle later if they get stuck for a bit
I honestly love the core design here, and I believe with a little evolution and some more investment into music and art this would make a great Steam game. I would absolutely buy it!
Nice use of the theme.
I really like the conceptual art vision here. I would love to see the visual style evolved further.
The creepy mansion music theme really fit.
Very fun jam game! It's amazing how this simple design makes for so much fun.
Things I loved: the mood. The theme. Scientists! Experimenting with the different scientist builds.
What could be improved? There were some tight hallways where the aliens were hidden under the walls and/or walking through them. I wish there was a super creepy (or upbeat) scifi music track in the background.
Great work! I enjoyed the game a lot!
The piano music is so perfectly beautiful and melancholy.
I love the way you visualize the controls in the menu.
The writing is deep and on point! Really strong and emotionally rich.
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From a user interface standpoint, I wish I could play the game in full screen for even more immersion.
I love the concept of this game and would love to try it again. Right now it's honestly very hard to play in the current state due to the camera. I'm happy that there are in-game instructions on how to control the camera, but without being able to have some semi-top-down camera, the key actual gameplay is rotating the camera to be able to see an angle where I can tell what tiles I can even click on.
If the camera gets updated, I would love to try again and experience more of what this game is meant to be, but right now the camera is a bit of a showstopper for me personally.
This brings back a lot of great nostalgic feelings for me.
My favorite things: the AWESOME chiptune music. How great it feels to shoot as fast as I can tap the button!
Improvement ideas: - Performance got a little bogged down when I got to the "Floor is Lava" event. Maybe from shooting way too many bullets? - Would like a clearer indication (maybe a sound) when I take damage. I think I took damage from some invisible or barely visible tetris blocks on my first run, but I wasn't quite sure.
Nice jam game! I enjoyed this
@mactuscactus By the way, how did you get the trailer to show up on your page like that? Can you post a screenshot of the markdown for it?
Very nice for a first jam game!
My #1 tip for next jam would be, definitely work to get some sound in the game. Even just a little bit of functional sound can increase playability a lot... like a sound when your jump meter is recharged and ready to go,
The art and music are incredible!
Even after reading the instructions and comments it was difficult to figure out how to summon.
Maybe including some very easy summons to help progressively teach the techniques and diagram symbols might help. Then they can work their way up to more complex ones.
Fun game! I love the unique art flavor and vision, and the music ROCKS! I want more music like this!
I was very excited when I saw the title. I only read the first paragraph and so I was expecting a card game of some sort. It turns out this isn't a card game, so I was slightly surprised, but I LOVE a good boomer shooter, so I was still excited.
There seems like a lot of potential here, but right now the gameplay is painfully slow. There are two key issues: 1. The projectile speeds are insanely slow 2. The enemies have a LOT of hp given the low max DPS
I really liked the mood, the graphics, and the level layouts. There's a lot of potential here if the fundamentals of shooting were a little more solid.
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I adapted the to very slow pace by just switching to ignoring enemies and speed-running the zones. I did win the level on my first try. In the final summoning room, I just jumped like a maniac and focused the summoning pot until it was dead.
The art is fantastic! I like the happy music tune, too!
The game is a very clean and tight design. I like the incrementing difficulty.
My two wishes would be: I wish the player move speed was a little faster. I wish one gained a power or ability to help mitigate the large amount of balls that show up in later rounds. It would be more fun to proactively mitigate, instead of just needs to wait for the right route to open up.
Wow! I was not expecting an experience like this. I love it! The accent and voice acting are perfect!
It might be helpful to add instructions for how to run this, for those who don't know about Java and how it works.
I like the concept of using progressive reveal to change the nature of the game.
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get much further because the game seemed to crash for me repeatedly after the first level where I got squashed by the giant leg.
@local-minimum Thanks for the very detailed feedback! This will be very helpful for us figuring out how to evolve and tune the design!
The music is so beautiful! That's my favorite thing, by far!
That said, I also really like this interesting and different take on puzzle platforming. It presents a unique and fun challenge
This is awesome! Very impressive for a solo project!
I like the core gameplay.
Some thoughts on how the design could be evolved: it would be nice to have higher difficulty levels. The deckbuilding angle feels only partially incorporated, since you can always choose to spawn any of the creatures at any time. It might feel more card-like if you had to play a card from hand to summon it, and if you draw a new card afterwards. That would force the deck composition to matter more.
If you were to evolve this concept, you could also add some creature synergies, or deckbuilding restrictions...
Wow! This was amazing.
Polished art and sound. Very clever game design. Very meta!
This was my favorite jam game I played so far. Nice work!
This hit me right in the feels! feelz.jpg
I love this concept! Loved all the choices. I was pumped to see if my party was going to be good against the boss... and I still don't know. But I wish I did, which mean this game is absolutely onto something. I like the fast-RPG party progression with the roguelike events. It's a very cool combo.
I love the general design!
Nice job experimenting with AI-collaborative design. In my experience AI definitely doesn't have enough vision to easily take one to a finished and fun game, but collaborating with AI to work through ideas is a VERY powerful workflow.
The art style is very neat... I especially like the pixel particle effects!
I did struggle with the interactions/interactables a bit. There were some floors with a single object, where I couldn't get the gate raised and died. It wasn't clear what wasn't working. Was my interaction button press being registered? Was it working on the object in front of me? Even just a hint of audio or visual feedback would have helped with this process substantially.
@coyotethursday Thanks for the kind words!
Yes, the core mechanic is designed to be casual-player and children friendly. It's not a veteran-gamer mechanic.
@imnotvegan That's good feedback. I want to iterate on the clarity.
Yes. It is pure randomness. There are no special rules for the deck and drawing. It's a standard-sized card deck, and the boss Snaps get shuffled in whenever the Boss feels that too much budget is being spent.
The mood here is perfect! I was super excited when I saw the AtomBrite logo.
I felt a little let down by the end. While the ambience was fantastic, I feel like this type of game either needs a little bit more gameplay/puzzle, or it needs more narrative/social commentary. I was expecting to experience at least one of those, and that expectation definitely isn't in the current build.
That said, the artwork is just fantastic... I feel like with just a little more narrative or gameplay depth, this could absolutely be a real successful commercial project. The soundtrack is full of feeling. The geiger-counter sounds/hints are amazing. The shaders are great. The SoPro logo is the perfect touch of subtle humor. I love this overall and honestly it makes me want more.
I love this! I'm a big puzzle game fan, and I don't think I've ever experience a mechanic like this before. I had a great time zipping through the puzzle. Some of the later layouts are very nice!
I beat the game swiftly, and immediately understood the core mechanic. I love that you added the Compass and used different shading to indicate directionality. That make it much easier to controls and mentally visualize.
I wish the music was a little more epic and evolving. Would also be nice to see a final breakdown and/or level selector screen. As a puzzle game player, I like to be able to visualize how much content I completed (and for non-jam game, how much remains).
Anyway, I loved this! This definitely seems like a strong contender for turning into a small, tight, niche commercial release
The concept of this game is awesome! With a little bit of polish, this could be REALLY great.
The physics-based driving is awesome! The setting and mood are perfect! The music is spot on.
I had some challenges playing the WebGL version. The performance was a little spotty. I think the game would likely run smoothly if I had a downloadable version. The performance being a little choppy meant it felt like I died unfairly a few times when I pressed jump and it seemed that the game lagged.
I also struggled a little bit with figuring out the map. The GPS arrow would point directly at the delivery locations, instead of providing more intelligent routing. If I naively try to follow the arrow, sometimes I get routed to somewhere I would have to backtrack significantly.
I love this game, and would be super excited to play a non-WebGL version for a smoother experience.
The character art in this is great! The hero and enemies look fantastic!
What I would have loved to see is a little more explanation at first. It took me a bit to figure out that my arrows weren't going to regen. And in the early game, I felt certain I must not know all the controls.
This was cleanly executed and nicely polished. Really great jam game!
This was really fun! The atmosphere was great. The storytelling was really great! I loved the feeling of learning how to communicate with morse code. I've known conceptually about morse code for years, but never actually tried to encode or send a message before. This was cool!
If there was one thing that didn't feel quite like it fit, it's having chess puzzles instead of focusing or more semantic communication. The chess puzzles felt like they belonged in a different game.
Overall, I loved this, and am really impressed by what you made!
Buttery smooth animations. Clean and broad variety of mini-puzzles. Cohesive and clean art style. And that bassline, oh yeah! This game is great! It feels really expertly crafted with love.
Nice game! I love your take on the theme. The telescope sounds for zooming in/out were perfect!
I wish the music track was a little longer... it looped a little bit too often for my ears.
I really want to play this, but cannot get the game to render. I am using Firefox on my MacBook Pro currently. I did start to hear sounds when I clicked onto the black screen once, but no visuals. No errors in the console.
Ping me if it gets fixed. I love philosophical games.
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@aweskybear Thanks for fixing this. I love the general design! Some very good questions in here, and I did feel that the final summation was an accurate reflection. Nice job!
My only wish was that it went a little DEEPER, either in the types of things it asked... or in the depth of the prediction/fortune-telling it made about the player.
I love the atmosphere! The music, sound and visuals set up a really cool world and mood.
The pacing of the game could use a little evolving. I like the concept of the puzzles, but the walking/jumping sections seemed to be very long without offering much experience or novelty. An elegant puzzle lets you, once you have solved it, move on swiftly to the next section/part with minimal entry. Here, even once the puzzle is conceptually solved, some of the puzzle required significant time to enter (jumping puzzle, four-color combination lock). My favorite puzzle with the four pillars with the symbols. I like that it contained everything needed to solve right there, and also that one of the natural first guesses, is not actually the answer. I liked that one. I also like the non-linear approach of requiring the player to counter-intuitively jump in a deep hole. That is a good kind of mental puzzle.
I love what you're started here. Would love to play an evolve copy of this. I'm a massive fan of first-person puzzle games... and the mood you've set here is truly unique and beautiful!
Fun Vampire-Survivors inspired game! You've got the basic of it down. I wish this was a little more finished. I like the powers you have (swords rocks)... I wish there were more power-ups.
I would definitely play this if it came to Steam as a full game!
Adorable game! This just oozes charm. Love the cozy bardyard animals concept. The handwritten note book feels so good. And I love the happy and warm sounds and music.
This is really well executed, and a very unique take on the Depths theme. Kudos!
This is awesome! I LOVE the humor, and the gameplay loop really sucked me in and made time vanish. This is actually really addictive. I love the upgrade options!
The engine is very impressive for a jam game! City + buildings + Doors + Multiple Layers + Dialoque + NPC Routines. Very impressive engine!
Gameplay-wise, I got a little stuck. I had a difficult time figuring out some things: - Who owes money? - How to get them to pay - How to open locked doors - How to enter or drive a car
With a little more legibility and UI feedback, this game has a ton of potential!
The concept here is cool, but it's a little hard to figure out some of the mechanics.
The road costs are confusing and hard to plan. It's hard to know what's a "lot" of taxes, or just fine taxes.
The snake is cute! I like the way it moves. Love the upgrades! The big ones feel SO GOOD!
Beautiful game! The sound and art compliment each other perfectly! The creatures are insanely cute.
I love both the peacefulness of the game, and also the challenge of trying to capture just the right photos.
I think the animal sounds are a big differentiator here. They add so much mood and feel!
That was awesome! I definitely got some serious GTA vibes (And nostalgia). The sounds were awesome! I love the playful super-destructive collisions. Feels great to smash through police cars.
I wish there was some more epic music. That's probably the number 1 thing that would have pushed this over the top.
Awesome jam game!
This brought back a lot of memories. Love the 2d shooting action!
The America-themed objects are hilarious!
This feels like a great foundation! The art and music are also incorporated nicely and provide a good mood. It's nice to set the workers to work.
I wish there were more upgrades to buy and things to build.
@dannyk1994 Wow! That's very impressive for starting at T-Minus-9, and working solo!
Is the HTML5 version coming soon?
Very cool experience! This was refreshing! The interface was very clean and usable.
The voice lines created a very interesting psychological journey.
Nice, clean design! This was fun!
Wow! You made your own engine! Very impressive.
I liked a lot here! The soundscape you made really came together. I love the way the sound layer incrementally come in to build to a majestic whole.
Graphics are incredible!
The gameplay is fun.
This game felt WAY more fair than a real claw machine.
Very cute and calming! It feels so good to stack everything nicely. Nice jam game!
This is a good start! Brings back some Street Fighter 2 nostalgia for me.
The next key improvement would be a few more UI elements for more legibility.