MEDIUM by SaintHeiser

[raw]
made by SaintHeiser for LD32 (COMPO)
This stealth game is about monk who has unconventional mind weapon. Purpose is capture MEDIUM.
NOTE: Some of player solutions may make the game unbeatable.Prepare yourself for restarting.

KEYBOARD
Arrows - move
Z - create illusion if picked up. (NOTE: Hold <> then press direction key). Also use this key for interaction (capture car =) )
X - enslave minds if picked up. (NOTE: Hold <> then choose target with direction keys, release <> to enslave nearest target, hold <> key while control to release victim)
+/- keys allows change GAMMA if image on display too dark or too bright.
F4 - fullscreen

XBOX controller
Left stick - move
A - create illusions (see KEYBOARD actions for details)
X - enslave minds (see KEYBOARD actions for details)

Fixes after deadline:
- critical bug which allows player walk through lasers
- critical bug with surfaces after changing fullscreen
- corrected mines offset
- more clear instructions for abilities
- fixed texts layer
- fixed some texts with typos
- added gamma correction with + and - buttons
- added switching window/fullscreen with F4 key
- added some info on title screen
- changed game icon and loading screen

Ratings

Coolness 63% 3
Overall 3.98 42
Audio 3.76 76
Fun 3.38 282
Graphics 4.37 29
Innovation 3.67 198
Mood 4.49 4
Theme 3.93 125

Feedback

generic_ghost
20. Apr 2015 路 04:16 UTC
Great graphics and mood. You get a real specific feeling for it. But I couldn't figure out how to play. When I pressed X and Z nothing seemed to happen.
馃帳 SaintHeiser
20. Apr 2015 路 05:59 UTC
@generic_ghost
You should find and pick up abilities to use them.
Kep
20. Apr 2015 路 17:22 UTC
Nice art, mood, and plot.
I almost rage quit many times, but I got through it. Maybe a longer range on the illusion would make it less frustrating.

Lots of good ideas here, best of luck.
SilentNight
21. Apr 2015 路 02:43 UTC
Holy Moly this game looks and feels gorgeous. Really digging the game as a whole, very cohesive experience!!
Ilseroth
21. Apr 2015 路 02:51 UTC
I was going to stick it out because I liked the style and the concept was interesting. But I decided to give up when I started getting attacked while going through a screen transition on a regular basis.

Going back to a checkpoint because there is a guy who attacks me before the screen even transitions is just silly.

Concept is solid, graphics and audio are good, execution could use some fine tuning.
Phil Strahl
21. Apr 2015 路 02:54 UTC
A very very stylish entry. The graphics and the sound convey the dark mood perfectly, the movement is fast and precise and it evoked memories of playing Shadowrun on the SNES in me for unknown reasons.

Alas, I never found any ability and grudgingly gave up after my umpteenth screen death. Everything killed me, dudes with machine guns on the gate, dudes with dons on the right and left screen, sometimes I stepped on some very hard to see booby-trap and storming past them resulted in an instant death in the following screen.

And one last thing: I use a German keyboard layout and we silly German speakers have the Y and Z keys switched so you might take this into account for your next game (fun fact: The universal keybinding of "undo" to Ctrl+Z made extending my fingers awkwardly second nature over the years, but that's a while different story).

In any case: Really solid entry from what I can tell, very fitting mood and style, only too hard for me to grasp.
SinclairStrange
21. Apr 2015 路 02:54 UTC
Really REALLY love the graphics and tone of this game, it's very top notch. Plus I actually love the gameplay, picking up those powerups to creature illusions was really interesting. Only gripe I have is when you die, the audio was super loud and high pitched which hurt me ears! (Other than that, everything was great!)
hexdie
21. Apr 2015 路 02:55 UTC
Very awesome game! I like the take on the theme and the execution is great! There's some good puzzle solving and "a-ha!" moments. Plus the graphics and sound are good as well. Nice work!
NIGIC
21. Apr 2015 路 03:11 UTC
Killing yourself while controlling another character creates a strange glitch where you're controlling both characters at once.

Stopped after getting the key, as I couldn't figure out what to do with it -- the glitch happened around that time, so I may have simply broken something.

Anyway, from what I've played, it's a nice game. Enemy placement could be better, but there's a nice variety and figuring out how to deal with each one was pretty fun. Nice use of monochrome, and pretty good atmosphere. Good job!
huminaboz
21. Apr 2015 路 17:56 UTC
This is fantastic, favorite game I've reviewed.
nihilaleph
21. Apr 2015 路 17:59 UTC
Nice game! Loved the art and the mood! But I got stuck after getting the key too >.<
sawyerWeld
21. Apr 2015 路 18:00 UTC
love it!!!1
馃帳 SaintHeiser
21. Apr 2015 路 18:00 UTC
I've fixed glitch with death. The key is needed to drive car.
talecrafter
21. Apr 2015 路 18:06 UTC
Great art style and atmosphere.
Didn't understand the mechanics at first. Would probably avoid misunderstanding if message at the beginning would be "Find the mind weapon".
Uruca Games
21. Apr 2015 路 18:09 UTC
The art and ambience of the game is great!!! i like very much!!!! Congratulations!!!
Frozen Fractal
21. Apr 2015 路 18:13 UTC
Looks gorgeous, with all the subtle animations and transitions. Sounds OK, some sounds are a bit jarring, but overall it really does create the right atmosphere. The puzzles are quite good, although I didn't get very far. Great work!
nihilaleph
21. Apr 2015 路 22:37 UTC
Oh I feel so stupid now... Beat it now! Thanks! And great work!
Ludonaut
22. Apr 2015 路 16:28 UTC
Great atmosphere and amazing graphics. I really love this, it might be the best entry I've seen so far!
VDZ
22. Apr 2015 路 21:23 UTC
Amazing game as always.

Only the music wasn't as good as I usually expect from one of your games. Link to the theme also seemed nonexistent.

Minor nitpicks:
- The hitbox of the alien's spotlight (or whatever the blue thing is) is larger than it looks, causing frustrating unexpected deaths.
- Killing other enemies while controlling an enemy is too easy and therefore somewhat boring. It might be more interesting if enemies start attacking the traitor once you start attacking enemies.
Hjalte500
23. Apr 2015 路 08:32 UTC
I really liked the mood in the game. Everything fits together so nice. Amazing that you got this done in just 24 hours. You couldve made it a little more obvious how to get the abilities or maybe just get them early on. Anyways I liked it alot keep it up.
MSiddeek
23. Apr 2015 路 13:09 UTC
This is awesome!
HuvaaKoodia
27. Apr 2015 路 15:20 UTC
The mood and the graphics are great, but the gameplay is a bit lacking.

* Creating an illusion, possessing a mind and shooting a weapon would all be much easier and fluid with mouse aiming.
* The beginning, before the player has any powers, is the hardest and most annoying part of the whole game. Consider allowing the player to restart in the room that they died in or just increasing the amount of checkpoints.
* +1 for enemies reacting to being shot!
OnlySlightly
28. Apr 2015 路 03:38 UTC
That was incredible! You have made such a complete and solid game. The stealth aspects were nerve wracking which made it all the more exciting when gaining the powers. Once I realized I could possess people I used them to clear out any paths by killing all the other guides. Thank you so much for those tid bits of text to explain. I hardly ever got stuck and never felt frustrated. The graphics, mood, and atmosphere was great! You are amazing! Thank you so much for making this.
emmelineprufrock
28. Apr 2015 路 23:15 UTC
I found it a bit too frustrating to engage with, honestly. Still loved the graphics and mood.
ChronusZ
29. Apr 2015 路 01:19 UTC
The level design is more on the "frustrating" scale rather than the "difficult" scale, but the concept and aesthetics are appealing.
Nate
05. May 2015 路 22:09 UTC
I couldn't figure out how to play. Z and X didn't work. Nice job on the mood though.
awestsecurity
05. May 2015 路 22:23 UTC
It is incredible you were able to accomplish this in such a short time. Everything was really well done. I would have liked some more context, at least at the end. I'm not sure finding medium was a good thing.
SteveSalmond
08. May 2015 路 09:16 UTC
Cool idea! I found the illusion a bit annoying to use - it tended to block my intended path more often than not. Might be worth experimenting with an illusion that slowly walks in the direction you release it? Just a random thought..