Follow the screen by SumGato

[raw]
made by SumGato for LD31 (COMPO)
To win this game, you just have to do what the screen tells you! But... the screen looks a little broken, doesn't it? Fortunately, you can repair it with some money. And how to get money? Well, the screen knows! (Hint: you can earn money by typing certain things. You use money when typing with the keyboard, so don't type random stuff. You also get money slowly over time so you get a little help if you don't figure out what you have to do.)

In timed mode, the screen will show the letters of a word in a succession and you have to type the whole word. Try to type as many words as possible in 100 seconds.

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 2.78 958
Audio 1.82 901
Fun 2.52 994
Graphics 2.11 1111
Humor 2.84 335
Innovation 3.44 333
Mood 2.59 846
Theme 3.80 311

Feedback

stray
08. Dec 2014 · 10:01 UTC
hmmm, I just used screen shot to read :P

Nice idea.
Aisland
08. Dec 2014 · 10:23 UTC
I do worry there is a ghost out of the tv. Special game,good job
Yaroslav Kravtsov
08. Dec 2014 · 10:26 UTC
Intresting idea, but too short. I guest final word on third guess.
badlydrawnrod
08. Dec 2014 · 10:27 UTC
Interesting mechanic, gradually revealing what you have to do. I can't say more without spoilers. Clever.
rzfmzn
08. Dec 2014 · 10:36 UTC
damn you :P
At first I was curious, then came the anger, and finally I read the comment and GG :P
nice :D
hectorhon
08. Dec 2014 · 11:39 UTC
Really cool idea! I got 890 in timed mode by buying just the connection! The words keep repeating ;)
Boehrsi
08. Dec 2014 · 11:42 UTC
Nice idea, well done but a bit to short ;).
anokta
08. Dec 2014 · 11:53 UTC
hahaha, really nice concept! i slightly cheated at the end though (screenshot) to get the answer. :d good job!
furriKira
08. Dec 2014 · 16:08 UTC
I just saw that one thing and I typed what is it and wow hahah. Won the game by getting the 2nd monitor!
It got me puzzled too~
Sh1rogane
08. Dec 2014 · 16:11 UTC
Interesting little idea but a bit short.
MaesK
08. Dec 2014 · 16:11 UTC
I thought I would not beat it! Nice idea, someone might try the word randomly, by the way :D
HappyTransportGames
09. Dec 2014 · 17:46 UTC
It needs more work.
sharpcoder
09. Dec 2014 · 17:51 UTC
Awesome idea, I like it :)
DaRaziel
09. Dec 2014 · 17:52 UTC
Nice idea! Not what i typically call a game but there`s something to it.
alecmilne
09. Dec 2014 · 17:59 UTC
Interesting concept.
yokcos700
09. Dec 2014 · 19:27 UTC
Technically that was on several different screens, I'm going to have to dock point for that. Yes, only three stars for theme. I bet you feel ashamed of your cheating ways. Totally ignoring the theme and making a game on many different screens. How evil of you!

It's a fun game. I like that, with enough skill, you can win from the get-go on your first attempt even though I doubt many will. The idea that you are simply told how to win interests me as well. "Simply type [CENSORED]", it might as well say on a crystal clear plasma TV with perfect reception that I unlocked. Most games hide their victory behind giant walls of skill (Super Hexagon) or gigantic investments of time (Cookie Clicker), but Follow the Screen simply asks you to type [CENSORED]. If you can't make out the instructions, buy a better screen.
mrexcessive
10. Dec 2014 · 20:31 UTC
Hi there. Interesting idea but got bored after getting first two words, could have cheated but didn't see point... Nice presentation and sounds.
pjimmy
12. Dec 2014 · 15:37 UTC
interesting, cool and puzzling experience
Elemental Zeal Games Studios
12. Dec 2014 · 18:47 UTC
This was a neat concept, well done!
ynots
12. Dec 2014 · 20:11 UTC
that was cool
Yazara
12. Dec 2014 · 20:20 UTC
Nice concept! :)
ramonparaiba
13. Dec 2014 · 14:39 UTC
Dude, its a diferent concept... I could not enjoy enough. Congrats, yet!
AnglerteamGames
14. Dec 2014 · 01:05 UTC
Short, sweet, fun to figure out. Excellent way to package your idea!
dunin
18. Dec 2014 · 17:45 UTC
fun idea...
LabOne
23. Dec 2014 · 13:44 UTC
Nice Idea
evolgamesfoundation
23. Dec 2014 · 18:11 UTC
Pretty cool, well within the theme, just needed more audio type music, is a pretty cool game, through a television type simulator, congratulations :D
Scam
23. Dec 2014 · 22:29 UTC
This was original and amusing.
hoqjed
24. Dec 2014 · 01:22 UTC
It's an interesting concept, though I'm not a fan of unlocking things by waiting on points to accumulate. Though figuring out words and typing them makes it less of a waiting game, it still uses a lot of intentional obfuscation to hinder the player's ability to figure things out in sort of cheap ways.

I guess what I mean is, turning the display on and off and blurring the text seems like a really cheap way to add difficulty to a game. It's also not as rewarding to figure things out because typing the words themselves isn't engaging as they seem to be randomly selected. Meaning they aren't tied to each other in any way, and lose their intrigue because the users realize that it's all a bit... meaningless.

It mostly just falls a bit flat in terms of interesting interaction. I never felt like I really figured anything out for myself, I was rewarded and given a pat on the back for... not really doing much... waiting... reading text and typing it. It all felt like a hollow victory.

I think in order to improve that, abandoning the pay-gates and constantly increasing point rewards would be good so you reward players for what they do (rather than what they don't do). Interaction with the tv could be a bit more dynamic... perhaps move antenna to clear static?, change channels, things that require the player to be more involved with figuring out what the tv is displaying. Then finally, figuring out what to do to make typing the words themselves more interesting. Perhaps rather than a single word, they are constructing an entire sentence... and each word they find on the tv gets them closer to being able to guess what the whole sentence is? There are a number of ways to tackle each of these mechanics and the only way to find out if they're interesting or not is to test them.
aeveis
24. Dec 2014 · 08:09 UTC
interesting mechanic of getting a better monitor. I think the best part is when you figure out what to type - expanding on that could be cool.