[SA Game Jam 2018] I found this link

We found this link to another dimension, interpreted by

@Wolfbeard - music,sound
@ToniJean - voice, writing
@Asriele - design,coding,art,writing
Hobbyist, Diversity, 72hours.

actual link: https://asriele.itch.io/i-found-this-link

Left click to move
Y-yes

H-hug

N-no




Comments

  • edited
    Hey played this a bit and the art style is gorgeous, the music/sound sooething and the writing/voice acting is superb! I'll wait for the post-jam version to play more, but two quick thoughts!

    Control scheme is hella confusing! The affordance of WASD is pretty established for movement in games, so I kept accidentally making responses! I think just a click to move towards mouse would work better maybe?

    I had to install the exe for some reason? Dunno if this is a weird new GM thing but I had to install "Made with GM 2". Think you can change it to just be an ,exe instead of an installer in the GM build menu, but it does look like an exe right now.

    This is so rad! Really keen to play more, and always keen for a good old Gamemaker game :D
    Thanked by 2Asriele ToniJean
  • I unfortunately coudn't get the app to run on Windows 10 - it's blocked by windows Smart Screen. I'll look into how to disable Smart Screen but thought I'd just give you a heads up.
    Thanked by 2Asriele Wolfbeard
  • @Asriele Would it be possible to put up a mac build please?
  • Hey! Good job on your submission! I'm excited to play, but in the meantime could you please give me your entry info (for the judges)? 48/72 hours? Hobbyist, Student, Professional? Thanks!
    Thanked by 1Asriele
  • Amazing work. The music and the voices really draws one in as does the wonderful pixel art. The control scheme makes sense if one takes the time before the game to memorise it. A UI tip could solve that, say maybe in top left or right corner. W move to mouse and being able to respond yes or no works fine otherwise. I did get a crash on both plays unfortunately:

    FATAL ERROR in
    action number 1
    of Alarm Event for alarm 4
    for object oStart:
    
    asset_get_index argument 1 incorrect type (undefined) expecting a String (YYGS)
    at gml_Script_playDialogue


    Hope that helps? I really felt protected by the other character. It took care of those phantom red sprites while i ran towards the blue sprites. A teddy bear rift seems to have appeared, but i didn't manage to progress further or knew what to do then as it crashed both times with above message in WIndows 10.

    Interesting concept about multi-dimensional travel. Keen to give it another play when you update it post jam :)

    Good job team! :D
    Thanked by 1Asriele
  • Gave this a shot.

    Things that felt good:
    - Voice acting was great!
    - Music was fitting
    - Art style was fun.

    Things that felt bad:
    - Overall Confusion
    - Controls were unconventional.
    - Dialogue didn't always make sense.
    - Goals weren't clear

    Not sure how the yes,no,hug thing worked. perhaps because there was no feedback in the game to show that it was happening. The Yes/No should at least have an audio response.
    The hug should have been animated.

    Recommendation for future jams...
    Focus on core mechanics before spending too much time on aesthetics. (not that I don't appreciate the voice acting though. That was done very nicely)
    Thanked by 2Asriele ToniJean
  • edited
    Thanks everyone, for playing and the wonderful feedback!

    @Bensonance, thanks! I'm changing that dang control scheme, hehe.
    "I had to install the exe for some reason?" Yeah game maker studio 2 packages its exe's in zips, so I chose install, just in case someone didn't have winzip ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ , I will change it to zip version.
    I'll look into how to disable Smart Screen
    @jamotaylor, yeah, had the same experience with a different game maker game, you need to click on more info.

    Hey @NickCuthbert, we are working on it. :)

    @konman , I might not even get that error anymore, but I will look out for it thanks!

    @Pierre, you were the one to give that perfect feedback I was expecting.

    You are totally correct, the game is super unclear in its current state.
    The problem is the narrative was not designed to run on dialogue alone it also requires a whole bunch of tiny details that makes everything clear.
    The problem is almost none of the necessary details made it into the jam version.
    Which is why I was looking for an artist pre jam and during the jam, that didn't end up panning out so, I decided to make the art myself and run out of time as a result.

    The voice acting in this game is not a nice extra, it is the core of the game. The reasons why that is so, is just not obvious yet.
    Mechanics take precedence in most games which is awesome and those games are awesome and I love them. This just isn't one of those games. Though, that being said there are 4 different ways to play/end the game, which is important because together everyone literally determines the eventual outcome, everyone's playthroughs matter. Which how it ties in with the theme. You arn't playing as Liara, you are playing as yourself, who is probably thinking that you are just playing a game right?



    Thanked by 2konman ToniJean
  • I loved the atmosphere that you built in this game, especially in the audio. The voice acting sounded great, and the music was mysterious, and there was lots of tension built up.

    I was very confused with how to play though, first with the control scheme, and then with the game's goals. I once triggered a teddy bear shape by mistake, and couldn't get it to appear again on another play-through. I didn't really know what I was supposed to be doing with the sprites.

    And with all of the tension in the aesthetics and voice work, I think there was much more anxiety than intended when what I'm supposed to do isn't clear. I kept having someone crying and whimpering with my not knowing what was going on or how to fix that, and that was really distressing.

    It feels like you've got something really special here to show, and I'd really love to play it again when it's clearer to tell what's going on and what I'm supposed to do.
    Thanked by 1Asriele
  • I couldn't get movement to work in the jam version unfortunately.

    But the other version allowed me to glide around and it was much clearer what was going on. What felt distressing to me was that it appeared like I was possessing Liara, that her friend was in distress because of what I was doing.

    The game just suddenly ended for me while interacting with the sprites (I had touched about 3 of them). I can't tell exactly if that was the desired end?

    Love the ideas within this experience. It feels like you're playing with similar themes to what you did in Ludum Dare. Both games put the player in a strange unknowable place. Both games had some sense of being in the wrong place, of trespassing. Both games feel tragic, but it's not knowable the full extent of the tragedy.

    I love these ideas. These are really intense glimpses into a story, and it feels like you're building towards something great.
    Thanked by 1Asriele
  • edited
    Thank you @Elyaradine and @EvanGreenwood.

    The jam version uses W to move towards cursor and ASD for No Hug Yes.

    Yes @Elyaradine not knowing what you are doing wrong is part of it.

    You are supposed to have no idea what to do and mess up. You are possesing Liara who has been playing with the sprites since she was little. Your messing everything up because your possesing someone and you have no idea what you are doing. Earth dimension is currently crashing into the dimension Aska and Liara resides in, the crash dimension. A limbo dimension which other dimensions crash into. So Liara is was sensing the crashing dimension just like the other times before except this time, our Earth dimension is too much and everyone thinking that they are just playing a game is collectively is causing her death. Every time you mess up by doing something Liara wouldnt do its essentially her being torn further away from her self into forgetfulness until eventually she dies.

    Every time you're in Liaras head you accelerate one of 4 possibilities. A few weeks from now Aska and Liaras dimension will sync time wise with ours and what we will have done will become Aska and Liaras reality. Which we will then reveal.

    Both of you have only made it half way and there are many themes being explored here. Do you play again and just add another voice in Liaras head or play again with the hopes of understanding Liara and ultimately helping Liara and Aska get rid of you in her head?
    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
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