The Dead rest Beneath Us by flrn

[raw]
made by flrn for LD29 (COMPO)
This is a game about the ones we bury beneath the surface.
Click on the character in need and drag, to move them away from the dangers.

This is my first submission for Ludum Dare, I hope everything goes well and that I'm not doing anything wrong!

EDIT: I changed the sentence at the end so it's a little clearer what is going on here as it seemed to leave people puzzled... This way I hope peeps will get it quicker! Thanks for playing & rating!
I also haven't had the chance to test either the Windows or the Linux builds, I hope everything works fine there.

Ratings

Coolness 81% 2
Overall 3.89 70
Audio 3.77 62
Fun 2.84 724
Graphics 4.18 76
Humor 3.35 135
Innovation 4.03 58
Mood 4.32 13
Theme 3.91 77

Feedback

atash55
28. Apr 2014 · 10:16 UTC
Is it possible to save any of them? I liked the art. Couldnt save any of them
Viza
28. Apr 2014 · 10:29 UTC
Wow. The first game I rated 5 stars here...
lantto
28. Apr 2014 · 10:57 UTC
Very nice graphics and physics but I wasn't able to even get close to saving anyone. It felt like I was missing something.
mikedirl
28. Apr 2014 · 10:57 UTC
I love your idea. The game is very atmospheric, the music and the visuals are very haunting.
hexagore
28. Apr 2014 · 12:18 UTC
I played this game last night. Took me a while to understand what you were doing :) Beautiful and interesting. :)
dylanigan
28. Apr 2014 · 12:19 UTC
Very hard!
TheGameFather
28. Apr 2014 · 12:25 UTC
It's awesome! The camera movement, the environment, the music, the rag doll characters, and even the skeletons in the menus and credit scene, all of these elements blend extremely well.

Sad thing is I could not save any of them. May be that's what the creator wants I guess :)
Sanguine
28. Apr 2014 · 12:33 UTC
Great mood! Loved the audio and graphics :) It felt very cinematographic
🎤 flrn
28. Apr 2014 · 12:34 UTC
Thanks for the feedback all! :D
xerohuang
28. Apr 2014 · 14:01 UTC
Is it designed to be that you can't save anyone?
zedutchgandalf
28. Apr 2014 · 15:15 UTC
Oh God, that last one D:
I though I finally saved someone, and he gets run over by another train :(
Really cool, atmospheric game!
mutuware
28. Apr 2014 · 20:05 UTC
Great stuff!
lonewookie
29. Apr 2014 · 00:15 UTC
Awesome ending! Great graphics and physics!
RARoadkill
29. Apr 2014 · 00:17 UTC
So sad, but so great. I replayed the first chapter several times before I realized what was going on.
kmakai
29. Apr 2014 · 00:18 UTC
Fantastic job, everything had a really nice look to it too!
Crawler Studios
29. Apr 2014 · 00:39 UTC
Love the music, kind of a hard game though. Still, nice work.
conormn
29. Apr 2014 · 02:28 UTC
Geez, impressive! Really really well done!!
rylgh
29. Apr 2014 · 05:00 UTC
funny as hell
Hypnohustla
29. Apr 2014 · 12:13 UTC
Wow this was great! One of the best I've played here, even if it was hard as hell! ;)
Helopol
29. Apr 2014 · 16:04 UTC
I feel bad now :< the two last chapters were particularily well made. That's a really good one !
Nizar89
29. Apr 2014 · 16:32 UTC
Interesting game. Quite sad but intelligent. I felt it as a poetry.
Pierrec
29. Apr 2014 · 17:58 UTC
Superb! And why would you choose a take on the them when you can have four! Is the audio yours?
Secret_Tunnel
29. Apr 2014 · 20:43 UTC
I don't think you were intending for this game to be as funny as I found it, but it had me laughing my ass off. Any game is a sort of communication between the developer and the player, and the variables in this little exchange between us lined up just right. It being your first submission, me having a very grim sense of humor; the wires in our conversation got crossed in the absolute perfect way that lead me to really enjoy this game for all the wrong reasons.

I'm not making fun of the game by any means; I just have a very grim sense of humor. The train scene? Hilarious. Thank you for making this.
Oddly Shaped Pixels
01. May 2014 · 13:51 UTC
Really clever and impressive execution! The models and the physics are just great!
Luis Anton
01. May 2014 · 21:30 UTC
Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
Andrew Shouldice
02. May 2014 · 11:30 UTC
This is powerfully evocative. Even when I knew what was happening, I could not stop myself from trying.

Normally Humour and Mood are kind of mutually exclusive, but this manages both.

Really fantastic work.
lowcade
02. May 2014 · 17:01 UTC
Bro!!! Every one die! And I try so hard...
But nice game ^^ Good use of theme and graphics is very nice.
I like the skull
CruelMotivator
02. May 2014 · 19:42 UTC
You, sir, are the puppeteer of souls. I tip my hat to you.
Romko Pidstryhach
04. May 2014 · 09:59 UTC
Amazing! The ending is just awesome.
baykush_figtree
04. May 2014 · 18:10 UTC
This is the vilest game i've seen.
Not it Ludum Dare, in my entire life.

Thank you for ruining my day.
You'll still get a bunch o' stars from me anyway.
JavadocMD
04. May 2014 · 22:16 UTC
Very nicely put together and very grim, but with an evocative message.
dector
04. May 2014 · 22:26 UTC
Hm... Interesting entry. Real art I think.
Great job!
leparlon
04. May 2014 · 23:45 UTC
For some reason I found myself literally holding my breath on second chapter. Good job.
recursor
05. May 2014 · 00:35 UTC
Quite difficult but well done.
baykush_figtree
05. May 2014 · 00:38 UTC
Hey! Your torture-device-hidden-inside-a-game is featured on my "favorites" post

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2014/05/04/my-favorite-ld29-games/
FrameMatt
05. May 2014 · 06:03 UTC
Couldn't make it xD,
but i really enjoyed!
jerombd
05. May 2014 · 15:26 UTC
Nice idea served by quick little interactions! Short but really well-made!
DarkMeatGames
05. May 2014 · 23:44 UTC
Wow, really amazing! Loved the music, loved the art. Really great. Perfect mood. Fun was lacking a little bit, but it honestly didn't matter, I loved the art and music so much.
pinkmonkeyhead
06. May 2014 · 02:12 UTC
The idea was amazing but the execution was not.
I dont know if i was playing the right way but i couldnt save any of them.
Very frustrating
idovingx
06. May 2014 · 21:15 UTC
maybe my favorite game so far
idovingx
06. May 2014 · 21:16 UTC
do you have a website with other stuff you've made?
Anoarith
06. May 2014 · 23:17 UTC
Didn't see that ending coming ahah !
Jupiter_Hadley
10. May 2014 · 01:19 UTC
I could not save them D: But, I love the idea and the game! I included it in part 18 of my Ludum Dare Compilation video series, if you'd like to take a look :) http://youtu.be/mAtRG2njZHE
paps
10. May 2014 · 13:45 UTC
this game is really hard. could not save anyone
sP0CkEr2
10. May 2014 · 15:26 UTC
wow - creepy but awesome - there was real emotion there with me trying to save them - awesome
HybridMind
10. May 2014 · 15:39 UTC
I guess you can't actually save anyone. I tried awhile on the first chapter thinking I was doing something wrong. Kind of frustrating rather than poignant until you catch on. Also, the connection to theme is a bit thin besides the title and a few of the scenes. The wheel chair one isn't related at all. Funny how you want to save them (and try) even though it doesn't seem possible. Nice low polys and mood. Very morbid.
Crefossus
10. May 2014 · 21:39 UTC
The dark values, blues, lighting, and overall graphics help keep up the dreary mood to the game. All of the modeling and the number of environments is very impressive for 48 hr to me.

The drawback is that it's not really "fun" nor is it meant to be I suppose...Although I did think of an achievements like "do a flip" for the underwater guy.

Also since you were going so much for mood I feel like sound fx/sound design could really have really pushed it even further. The music worked ok, but it could have been a little more depressing/moody. So little time though!
Crefossus
10. May 2014 · 22:57 UTC
I also made a video/thoughts about this game :D http://www.twitch.tv/crefossus/c/4229741
hnjslater
10. May 2014 · 23:38 UTC
Ghastly (but it an amazing way!)
Oye Beto
11. May 2014 · 00:45 UTC
I can see the experimental/artsy side of the concept "you can't beat death" that's why I'm rating you 5 in mood but this approach takes too much from gameplay (2 stars on fun).

I always like seeing experimental games in LD because they're more original (or at least try to be).

Oh and nice graphics :)
If you have unity pro you should experiment with camera effects like bloom, vignette or any of them.
ChuiGum
14. May 2014 · 06:50 UTC
Like the innovation
kristof
14. May 2014 · 14:20 UTC
Very good graphics and music. The controls felt frustrating, as the dragging lost its effect, when the cursor hit the border of the window. Also I was able to get the last person off the tracks, but the game still recognized it as a loss.
iambored2006
19. May 2014 · 04:54 UTC
Hey! I mentioned your game in this post- http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2014/05/18/10-games-that-resonated-with-me/ , along with some feedback. I'd love to hear what you have to say!
pansapiens
20. May 2014 · 00:32 UTC
That's quite dark - but we need more games where we are helpless rather than all powerful, so it's a thumbs up from me (I'm assuming they can't be saved). You did well creating and animating all these models in a short timeframe too. Chapter 5 should be attempting tax evasion :)