Dissolution by Sergey Mohov

[raw]
made by Sergey Mohov for LD24 (COMPO)
NOTE:

> PLAY THE COMPO ENTRY FOR JUDGING

> WHEN YOU'RE DONE, PLAY THE JAM ENTRY IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT'S IN THE CAVE :-)

The game is called Dissolution. It doesn't have a genre and combines various elements of platformer, adventure, RPG and puzzle. The protagonist (his name is the Dude) is an amorphous creature with mentality of Max Payne who once wakes up in a cheerful and colorful world and can't stand it the least bit. Dude tries to find his way out and fights various obnoxious unicorns and fairies while trying not to be consumed by this inhospitable environment.

The world is constantly in motion, as black-and-white (part of which is the protagonist) does its best to consolidate its efforts and gather up enough resources to defeat the vicious creatures of light.

As Dude moves across the terrain, he slowly submerges in the flowers and grasses, so the player's task is to find sources of black and gray and munch them to develop some kind of resistance and eventually evolve into something bigger and stronger.

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 2.78 472
Audio 3.20 128
Fun 2.48 525
Graphics 3.64 124
Humor 2.32 286
Innovation 2.68 442
Mood 3.14 136
Theme 2.62 476

Feedback

Haris Mujkic
26. Aug 2012 路 23:18 UTC
Nice art. I was hoping to enter that cave, so hurry up with new levels. :)
krides
26. Aug 2012 路 23:27 UTC
I will! I will add the cave level for LD72, I think (given that I still have some life in me come morning). Thank you for checking it out!
K1NET1K
27. Aug 2012 路 02:06 UTC
A very cute pixely look at evolution
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
27. Aug 2012 路 08:29 UTC
Thanks mate :-) Adding more content for the jam as wee speak!
sara.mena
27. Aug 2012 路 10:36 UTC
Art is very neat and the game sure is funny to play. But i want MOOOORE!!
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
27. Aug 2012 路 10:51 UTC
Thanks for checking out, and really glad you liked it! I did everything I could in 48 hours, working on level two for the Jam.

I actually worked for full 44 hours of those 48, so I did everything I could :-) But don't you worry, there will be moar!
Andrew
27. Aug 2012 路 15:10 UTC
Took me a while to realize the color was killing me.
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
27. Aug 2012 路 15:31 UTC
Yeah, I'm thinking about making the first tip more clear. Most people figure it out after a couple of deaths though. Like you did, for instance :-)
Spotline
28. Aug 2012 路 03:08 UTC
Very nice ambiance, great art and interesting concept, too bad you didn't have time to do more (and you know you really have to eat a LOT when ludum-dare-ing =P)
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
28. Aug 2012 路 11:02 UTC
Thank you for your kind words :-) I am working on a post-compo version, you can the progress so far right here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9956376/Dissolution_Web/Dissolution_Web.html

And I'll go make pasta now :P
Thurig
28. Aug 2012 路 12:51 UTC
Looks really good!
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
28. Aug 2012 路 12:53 UTC
Thanks :-)
JaJ
28. Aug 2012 路 16:18 UTC
Very short but great mood!
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
28. Aug 2012 路 16:19 UTC
Yeah, I'm going to expand it later :-) It's short because I wanted to make it polished to create the mood. Thank you for playing!
cappelnord
28. Aug 2012 路 16:20 UTC
great mood, great graphics. WAAAY to short :-D but well done!
SecondDimension
28. Aug 2012 路 16:43 UTC
I liked the pixel art style, that combined with the audio gave it a nice atmosphere. Would be interested in playing a finished version if you do one
nuria
28. Aug 2012 路 17:00 UTC
Good graphics! Took a while to figure out what to do, you get killed really fast. It was annoying that I had to read that text box every time I played from the start. But seems like a good start to build it from there. :)
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
28. Aug 2012 路 17:16 UTC
Thank you for playing, y'll. I _will_ continue working on this game. I can assure you, and my jam entry is evidence to that :-)
sev_inf
28. Aug 2012 路 18:29 UTC
Cool graphics. I was glad to play it and will be glad to play a post-compo version if you ever made one.
codesavage
28. Aug 2012 路 18:34 UTC
Pretty short (played the compo version) but I like the direction you're going, it definitely shows promise. I really like the visual style you've got going on here too.
Cake&Code
28. Aug 2012 路 18:34 UTC
Lots of jumping to avoid filling up with color! I think the only time I wasn't jumping was during the quiver cutscene, which you might want to address since the player has no control then. Overall, I too want more levels :)
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
28. Aug 2012 路 18:56 UTC
@sev_inf @codesavage Thank you guys :-)

@Cake&Code Thank you too :-) The Compo version has a bug where you get filled up with color during cutscenes, which wasn't meant to be and got fixed the next day ;-)

I'll play more games and then continue working on this one :-)
sampyxis
28. Aug 2012 路 20:06 UTC
I really liked this game - I liked the atmosphere - would love to have played more of it!
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
28. Aug 2012 路 21:26 UTC
@sampyxis Glad you liked it! Is it safe to assume that you have evolved? :-)
ahm99
29. Aug 2012 路 02:14 UTC
It doesn't work when I click. :( any idea what causes this?
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
29. Aug 2012 路 03:19 UTC
Click what?
Yakka
29. Aug 2012 路 10:05 UTC
A like the ambiance! But it's so short, it was really frustrating for me :-(
eyehawk
29. Aug 2012 路 10:59 UTC
Really cool retro game! After I reached the cave I couldn't seem to progress, but from the comments I guess you're still building it
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
29. Aug 2012 路 14:27 UTC
@Yakka Sorry, I did the best I could >_< This mechanic doesn't exactly take an hour to implement, so I had to make some choices as to what should be in priority: a short chunk of gameplay that plays nicely or a bigger one that feels "prototypey." I am working on it, though, so, hopefully, you will hear more from me ;-)

@eyehawk Thanks! Yeah, the compo version ends at the cave, the jam version end in the cave.
DaveDobson
29. Aug 2012 路 20:52 UTC
Neat start; I really like the artwork, and the theme is mysterious and engaging. You might want to make the green color more obviously hostile (red, purple, brown, icky); I didn't know it was hurting me until I died, and then the message was that I'd lost color, even though it seemed like I was accumulating it. I found myself having difficulty clicking when it said click, and in distinguishing the different items; the white stuff gave me XP, and some of it reduced my color level, but I didn't really know what the flowers did. So, cool stuff, but not so much of a game yet.
onehappygiant
29. Aug 2012 路 20:52 UTC
I think you need to change the wording to "Press" instead of "Click" because I, too, tried clicking where it was telling me to. Great game though! Excited to see what you do post compo with it.
cadin
29. Aug 2012 路 20:57 UTC
The artwork is really nice. I don't understand what I'm supposed to do though. Is the cave the end of the game? Did I win?
At first I found it REALLY confusing when the arrow said "CLICK". I kept clicking it with my mouse and couldn't figure out how to click it.
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
29. Aug 2012 路 21:21 UTC
Okay, I get it, "click" is not a synonym of "press." I meant press, I'm sorry, okay? :-)

The reason I wrote "click" is that it was 5 o'clock in the morning and I'd been working on this game for about 35 hours non-stop. I'll fix that, obviously. And you are supposed to press down like on an icon above the thing, so it's not really that unobvious :-) And yeah, cave's it for now.

@cadin yeah, you won :-)

You should expect this game to eventually grow big, epic and full. Just stay tuned and thank you all for playing!
juaxix
30. Aug 2012 路 00:49 UTC
NEed more contennnnnnnnnnnnt! :~D
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
30. Aug 2012 路 00:57 UTC
Okay guys, has anyone here seen Indie Game the Movie? Well, if you did, you'll get the referece: I'm kind of beginning to feel like Phil Fish here, except I didn't win IGF and get a grant from Canadian government, and haven't been working on this game for 4 years :-)

Anyway, thanks a lot for playing!
Mach60KAS
30. Aug 2012 路 01:01 UTC
I quite liked this, the Dude is quite an endearing fellow. :) I think the idea of a black and white character in a colourful world is really quite interesting, and it seems like this could be a really good game if you had more time to work on it! :)
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
30. Aug 2012 路 01:13 UTC
@Mach60KAS You've got it all wrong! It's not "if," "could" and "had," it's "when," "can" and "will have" ;-) Thank you for playing, anyhow, glad you like the Dude :-)
danlthemanl
30. Aug 2012 路 03:50 UTC
I really liked this game! the art is wonderful.
jijaweb
30. Aug 2012 路 08:50 UTC
Good game. A little bit short maybe.
amidos2006
30. Aug 2012 路 09:16 UTC
Nice game :)
michax
30. Aug 2012 路 12:38 UTC
Nice one! Jumping was a little strange but loved pixel art! Also great background audio!
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
30. Aug 2012 路 14:05 UTC
Thank you guys! Yeah, jumping was implemented fast and without giving it much thought, frankly. Will be fixed, thanks for feedback!
Gungnir
30. Aug 2012 路 14:17 UTC
I was disappointed by the abrupt ending :( Hope to see more of this later.
angrygeometry
30. Aug 2012 路 15:15 UTC
this felt very atmospheric, and it seems like you put a lot of work into it. looking forward to seeing how it develops.
Zed
30. Aug 2012 路 16:15 UTC
Obviously very short, but really well-made. Gonna go play the Jam entry now, see how things progress!
zx81
30. Aug 2012 路 19:43 UTC
nice work.
tripleVisionGames
30. Aug 2012 路 21:15 UTC
The jam version really improves a lot on the compo version, I like the idea you've got behind it and I can see it being really compelling if you get chance to develop it even more.
monkeymad2
30. Aug 2012 路 21:24 UTC
Nice, would probably pay for the full version of this.
The few problems pointed out by other people (Jumping, 'click' instead of 'press') don't distract from the lovely mood.
BMacIntosh
31. Aug 2012 路 00:17 UTC
Great game idea, and really cool art. Perhaps some kind of animation of the pixels flying from the landscape onto you would help make the mechanic more understandable.
infernet89
31. Aug 2012 路 09:16 UTC
Too short for a real judgement.
Andy Go
31. Aug 2012 路 12:00 UTC
Nice idea (as everyone said, sad this is so short, we'd like to play more ^-^).
feyleaf
31. Aug 2012 路 14:30 UTC
I only played the 48-hour version, so that's what I am judging.

I was a little bit lost in the game, not knowing what the things were that I was picking up, and dying the first time through. It also ends abruptly, before I even had time to figure out what was going on. I understand you wanted to fit a certain mood, but I'm sorry that I didn't find it.
I wish you the best in the future for this game and others.
vigrid
31. Aug 2012 路 16:23 UTC
More! Give us more! The sound is nice and the graphics do their job.
matheod
31. Aug 2012 路 16:34 UTC
Take me a time to understand how it work but funny game ;)
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
31. Aug 2012 路 17:33 UTC
Thank you for playing, everyone! I'm seeing some really great suggestions for the game, and I will make sure to make the appropriate changes to Dissolution in future. I think I'm going to extend my jamming to one month and see if I can come up with a fully playable demo for IGF in time for submission.
Evil Cult
31. Aug 2012 路 19:25 UTC
At some point the camera stopped following with the character. I'm assuming that's a bug and that I didn't do something wrong?
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
31. Aug 2012 路 20:16 UTC
@Evil Cult Yep, that's a bug that has already been fixed post-compo. Sorry about that.
tcstyle
31. Aug 2012 路 20:53 UTC
'The colour went out of me' while I am filled with green? Strange.
I really like the basic idea, but there are too few grey stuff to collect to make it work. The enlarged pixelated look is really nice.
Accidental Rebel
01. Sep 2012 路 02:54 UTC
So I went ahead and tried the compo version. Took me awhile to figure out how to survive longer. I had to read some comments to figure it out. The concept is interesting which I believe can be improved upon. Maybe a helpful tip is to make sure that the feedback is easier to notice, on my first try, I was walking and assumed that the changing of colors is part of the gimmick. I didn't know that it was already hurting me. :D
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
01. Sep 2012 路 10:37 UTC
Thank you for playing, guys, and thank you for the feedback, I'm taking it all into consideration as I'm working on the next version of the game.
SusanTheCat
01. Sep 2012 路 15:39 UTC
Cute but short. I though the "click" message meant that I was to mouse click on what the arrow was pointing to.
MurrayL
01. Sep 2012 路 16:07 UTC
Fascinating concept - it's a shame you didn't get to do more with it in the time allowed!

I hope you continue to work on it :)
alvivar
01. Sep 2012 路 16:33 UTC
I really want to know what happens in the cave! Nice music and art!
ReveLorenfield
01. Sep 2012 路 23:45 UTC
Your game is sure short, but quite promising. I like your basic idea of black and white. The pixel art and music are nice.
I thought I had to click and not press the down key too...
Good job anyway.

(Also, don't forget to remove https for the dropbox link for the jam version ;))
azurenimbus
02. Sep 2012 路 04:32 UTC
I love how it plays and feels. It seems really promising, it's a shame it's so short. I haven't tried the post-compo but will soon!

Good job!
yosh
02. Sep 2012 路 23:11 UTC
I don't really know what to say. This game looks really great but is unfortunately unfinished. You have done something great so far, that's a very good point. Try to continue this game later and post an update on the home page :)
MunkeeBacon
04. Sep 2012 路 06:55 UTC
This game is so FREAKING GREAT! I love everything about it, and just its general vibe.
I cannot wait to see the game more complete and will be playing it for sure!
RobProductions
05. Sep 2012 路 00:52 UTC
Nice job with the ambient sounds and love the art style! Could've been longer though but I understand how you were pressed for time! :D
Haddy22
05. Sep 2012 路 16:50 UTC
A good start- not much to play though. Has potential with the upgrade path options etc. could make for a fun little adventure game
darkshadow
05. Sep 2012 路 20:02 UTC
I can understand why Dude can't stand the world if its trying to kill him. Interesting little game.
savethejets1
08. Sep 2012 路 19:05 UTC
Cool mood.
Desi Quintans
08. Sep 2012 路 21:38 UTC
Using the word 'click' is incredibly misleading. Make the key prompts look more like keys and you can remove the word altogether.
DWallin
14. Sep 2012 路 02:37 UTC
It's very pretty with a great sound track but it doesn't quite make sense, is far too short and being forced to jump in order to not die isn't explained at all. Not to mention all the items that aren't explained at all.

I was really excited when the game first started and was a bit dissapointed. Overall I feel your ambition for this game was above and beyond what you were able to put out in time for the compo but I hope you will keep working on it and I can't wait to see where you take it.
goerp
15. Sep 2012 路 15:27 UTC
A good start, but the compo version was indeed a bit short.
At the jame version I found out what the evolution bit was.
pardue
15. Sep 2012 路 18:00 UTC
Looks promising... although very short. But compelled me to play the jam version as well so kudos... :)
thewiseguy99
16. Sep 2012 路 18:48 UTC
Smooth game, liked it but yes like everyone else it was too short to get a really feel for it. I think it has a lot of potential. I really liked the art.
tomhunt
18. Sep 2012 路 00:53 UTC
I kept dying for some reason I could never figure out.
nate427
18. Sep 2012 路 14:39 UTC
You are #1 in coolness.

In all of Cool city, you are the coolest cat around.
馃帳 Sergey Mohov
18. Sep 2012 路 16:36 UTC
Hahahahaha :D
ahm99
22. Sep 2012 路 22:28 UTC
Oh man. I wish I had found out during the compo that click meant press. I just now saw your post. I would have rated it :( It was a pretty cool game though.