The Choice by matthewvermaak

[raw]
made by matthewvermaak for LD27 (COMPO)
My intention with this game was to bring the player into an isolated moment of time. Faced with a morally gray situation, the player will be asked to make a choice. Time will slow and the decision will require perseverance.

Warning: This material may be objectionable to some.

Playable at: http://www.firstcommit.com/games/the-choice

Feedback? @matthewvermaak

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.13 483
Audio 2.47 594
Fun 2.03 1106
Graphics 2.42 836
Humor 1.44 953
Innovation 3.06 478
Mood 3.78 45
Theme 3.46 281

Feedback

Conflei
25. Aug 2013 · 22:08 UTC
Gray like mine, good, good.
TinyWorlds
26. Aug 2013 · 08:20 UTC
I feel guilty :( .. Good job!
tripleVisionGames
26. Aug 2013 · 18:39 UTC
This is why I don't ride in trains and just stay safe in my house all day with the shades down and Jack to keep me company. Well executed idea and nice art for it too. Best use of theme so far for me certainly, and possibly mood too.
Vasileiadis
26. Aug 2013 · 21:04 UTC
Very powerful one! At first I thought I'd have 10 seconds to pick my actions :)
tylorlilley
26. Aug 2013 · 21:06 UTC
Amazing. My first idea was something like, a game that would highlight how just 10 seconds could change someone's life. I ultimately abandoned that idea because I couldn't figure out how to take that idea and put it into a game. Well, I applaud you for what I couldn't do - this is fantastic. Easily the best game I've played so far!
Inertia
26. Aug 2013 · 21:06 UTC
:c
tony.pe
26. Aug 2013 · 21:07 UTC
Refreshing interpretation of the theme, well done
@TeddyNashor
26. Aug 2013 · 21:07 UTC
I am now sad. I think that emotional games are on the rise, and stuff like this (more developed) will be a bright future to the games industry.
Idovoodoo
26. Aug 2013 · 21:07 UTC
Really nice. Top marks for mood. Well done :)
stephan_h
26. Aug 2013 · 21:09 UTC
Excellent interpretation of the theme and nicely told story.
Anoarith
26. Aug 2013 · 21:11 UTC
Very good story, it's the first "mood game" I see so far and that's very cool :)
panurge
26. Aug 2013 · 21:21 UTC
A thought-provoking experience, nicely communicated. I'm glad I tried this.
frameland
26. Aug 2013 · 22:01 UTC
My favorite game so far.
I try to translate the experience I had with your game into words and I can't.

This game clearly shows that 'Fun' is not a measurement every game should be rated under. Of course I didn't have fun playing the game, which doesn't mean I couldn't get something out it.

Thanks.
aschearer
26. Aug 2013 · 23:05 UTC
Would have liked to been able to drive the text myself as I found often myself waiting for it to progress.

Took too long before any decisions were made.

To an extent I felt you foreshadowed things too much. It seemed clear what was going to happen because of the framing at the start.
Jayjay
27. Aug 2013 · 04:06 UTC
Interesting capture of a moment, I'd love to see this expanded into a serious of similar moments, maybe even randomly generated/pulled from a pool of them to give a dose of emotion to the player.
roaet
27. Aug 2013 · 04:06 UTC
It's a pretty morbid affair but altogether a good concept. I appreciate these types of entries.
KunoNoOni
27. Aug 2013 · 04:07 UTC
Amazing use of theme! Very powerful.
Blinked
27. Aug 2013 · 04:08 UTC
Wow, very cool idea, excellent job... However, I feel it's pretty much impossible for those events to all occur within 10 seconds haha, but regardless, very good entry.
BlennosoftGames
27. Aug 2013 · 04:48 UTC
I kept replaying, and replaying. There had to be a way...

I really don't know what else there is to say, other than how it was so very... Affective.

The music didn't loop quite-right, and the brief cut-out broke immersion a bit, but the story covered for it well.

Good work, and I very much look forward to your future entries!
Nick Weihs
27. Aug 2013 · 15:33 UTC
Enjoyable isn't really the right word, good work nonetheless.
motty
27. Aug 2013 · 15:40 UTC
Very grim. Not entirely sure how to rate this for 'fun' :) A good effort at a game that is trying to do something beyond the boundaries though.

Major quibble - the way the audio sample is looped needs work - it doesn't seem to loop smoothly at all. I found this really jarring, especially in a game that is all about the mood created.

Minor quibble - the game only just fit on my monitor and, given what it was doing, didn't seem to run as smoothly as it could have done.

That said, good effort.
flamecow
27. Aug 2013 · 16:00 UTC
Very sad and moving experience.
lekochen
27. Aug 2013 · 16:34 UTC
So emotional, well done.
xrm0
27. Aug 2013 · 22:28 UTC
Good, but too slow for me. Also, I think it would be nice to have some way after the end to restart the game and not just refreshing the page.
jay griffin
28. Aug 2013 · 00:08 UTC
This was great, I really loved it.
lordjosephdeburg
28. Aug 2013 · 00:20 UTC
An interesting pace and take on the theme. Enjoyed it!
Kragnir
28. Aug 2013 · 00:57 UTC
Interesting game. Kind of sad that the choice I wanted to make was not available, seems like I was forced into a certain ending.
BenWhi
28. Aug 2013 · 01:03 UTC
Wow, I think we both went with the same kind of game for this LD! Yours is really beautiful - great job!
OldPeculier
28. Aug 2013 · 01:05 UTC
I'm sorry, I couldn't get through the intro—just too slow.
savethejets1
28. Aug 2013 · 01:23 UTC
Interesting!
Gus
28. Aug 2013 · 04:06 UTC
Grayscale, choice-based, piano-scored, ten seconds makes all the difference in the world.. this is so familiar..
hoqjed
28. Aug 2013 · 06:26 UTC
It has a preditable ending, but otherwise makes you think about what you should do indeed. Too bad there's no option to leave both (or just the mother at one point) and save yourself.
Diptoman
28. Aug 2013 · 06:29 UTC
I love the mood of this game. I was too indecisive to save anyone, which might actually be true about me. :)
The greyout graphics set the mood for the game very well.
Great job on this!
Ailin
28. Aug 2013 · 10:12 UTC
Nice job. Audio is a but repetitive however.
davisan
28. Aug 2013 · 10:40 UTC
Nice one, good story and mood.
Jimanzium
28. Aug 2013 · 11:02 UTC
Very nice, smooth and well written. Very good mood aswell. Excellent entry
Ossi
28. Aug 2013 · 11:23 UTC
Emotional and thought provoking, well done. It would have been nice if there were sound effects or some kind of visual or color change to accompany the words and choices you made. Amazing atmosphere!
truiton
28. Aug 2013 · 12:03 UTC
I will never take a train again. Never o_O
LiamJPeters
28. Aug 2013 · 14:50 UTC
Quite a unique game. Good Job!
zlowrance
28. Aug 2013 · 15:21 UTC
Very unique game. I havent played anything like it so far this jam. Great entry!
PaperBlurt
28. Aug 2013 · 19:20 UTC
Good job.. glad to see more interactive fiction. But I actually stopped for a sec and thought about what choices to make.

I don't want to play it again as it would feel like cheating. The scenario I created is my "truth" so to say.
bitserum
28. Aug 2013 · 20:22 UTC
Thank your for this emotional experience
ellipticaldoor
28. Aug 2013 · 21:40 UTC
Nice! I always enjoy new ways of making a text based game
Diogo Muller
29. Aug 2013 · 01:28 UTC
Very deep experience. I waited until the last moment to make a choice, and kinda regret it. Good work, man.
flarb
29. Aug 2013 · 16:40 UTC
Definitely one of the stronger story-based entries.
Alexander Ponomariov
29. Aug 2013 · 18:16 UTC
Very powerfull idea. Good job
Volute
29. Aug 2013 · 21:36 UTC
Great mood !
fgielow
30. Aug 2013 · 01:12 UTC
Nice concept. Good Story line, but i think you could give some more options. But nicely done for the 48 hours =)
flavio
30. Aug 2013 · 09:45 UTC
I played it only once. Truly a great experience. It made me wonder about life and choices, so I think you succeeded in your attempt. A beautiful philosophical game ! There might be some work left on graphics ;)
lcarpentier
30. Aug 2013 · 13:55 UTC
Nice interactive story.
Pinktreeleaf
30. Aug 2013 · 14:28 UTC
love the moral questions and the stylized graphics. I like making and playing visual novels, so playing your game was a bright spot for today.
Jupiter_Hadley
30. Aug 2013 · 16:48 UTC
Deep game. Love the graphic style. One of the best story games submitted. I featured it in my Ludum Dare 27 video compilation, if you'd like to check it out :), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GZNeIKxvyg
stenol
30. Aug 2013 · 17:10 UTC
Good experience !
Hayawi
30. Aug 2013 · 19:01 UTC
i played all the possible ways and not one has a happy ending!
i love these decision games!lol
kristof
30. Aug 2013 · 23:03 UTC
Very sad :-/
drkrunk
30. Aug 2013 · 23:32 UTC
This was such a good concept. I liked it but it was very depressing :(
TobiasW
31. Aug 2013 · 22:12 UTC
Damn it. I want to save them both, but I guess some things just aren't meant to be. Pretty good writing. I like your interpretation of the theme: Not 10 seconds in game time, but 10 seconds in real life. It would seem lazy, but executed so well it doesn't.

Also, a lot of: :(
GeorgeBroussard
01. Sep 2013 · 04:07 UTC
I know what you are going for, but a little to on the nose for me.
The Evil Cult
02. Sep 2013 · 18:50 UTC
I like what you were trying to do here but I was pretty sure I knew how it would go from the start so it didn't have as much of an impact on me. A good direction for the theme though for sure.
AlexFili
05. Sep 2013 · 17:49 UTC
Overall the game was well made. It's interesting to make different choices and see what happens. A text-based game is a good idea and suits the story well. There could perhaps be more descriptions of things like the train itself and what the people looked like. Once you've played it once it becomes quite obvious to see what would happen if you made certain choices. The graphics and audio could do with some work in order to match the quality of the dialogue. A great piece of interactive fiction.
Dotanukii
05. Sep 2013 · 22:52 UTC
Really great mood, the mom being pregnant is a nice touch, great job!
Christina Nordlander
09. Sep 2013 · 20:04 UTC
The moral choice is kind of a well-worn topic, but the story is very well-written. (I did catch a typo, though: "begining".) I like how you worked in the ten second theme.

I liked the graphic. The music is pretty good, but I can't help but feel that it didn't match the mood of most of the story.

I'll probably come back to this game to see what happens if I choose differently.
DaanVanYperen
12. Sep 2013 · 19:15 UTC
One of the more original implementations of the theme.