D.A.D.S. (Destitute Agoraphobic Dad Simulator) by chunkybrewster

[raw]
made by chunkybrewster for LD 38 (JAM)

Pasted image at 2017<em>04</em>24 11_44 AM.png

You're retired, your home is your world, your wife is on vacation and everything outside scares you because of the things you see on the Wolf News channel. Can you make it three days without suffering from horrible crippling depression?

DOWNLOAD: https://broken-shotgun.itch.io/dads

Ratings

Overall 401th 3.333⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 548th 2.857⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 302th 3.273⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Theme 167th 3.818⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 247th 3.864⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Humor 51th 3.909⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 225th 3.545⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 28🗳️ 37🗨️

Feedback

jk5000
29. Apr 2017 · 14:29 UTC
A very fun little game. The graphics and music is super for this kind of game. But the best part is the story. Well done.
jk5000
01. May 2017 · 08:57 UTC
I have now also rated your game.
Rick
03. May 2017 · 05:02 UTC
Even though I was captivated through the whole thing I'm not sure if any of my choices mattered.
I liked the art style (especially the character looked great!) and back story, the dialogues were funny, there was just not a lot of stuff to do.

As a minor side-note, having to click on the phone to put in the number was a bit counter intuitive with everything else being with the keyboard. But hey, it's a 72hour game jam, so I'll take it!
Lenon Kramer
03. May 2017 · 13:08 UTC
Ok. I just loved the concept. I guess this is the best rating I gave on this jam yet - the art is very good, the mood is done to a T, the dialogues are very funny, the theme is done on a very charming way.

As a person who suffered with depression and who know people who suffered with panic (though far away from what the character suffers, lol) I can easily relate to that experience. The point of not having much stuff to do is really the whole point of being depressed - and the challenge to last the whole three days is the player's own challenge to go through the mud of "what the hell can I do to make that clock go faster?". I don't know if that was intended, but if it was, then you nailed it - this is what "game as art" is all about, making the player feel, transmit a built experience. :)
caterein
03. May 2017 · 23:35 UTC
Really clever idea! Kudos on your creativity. I do wish there had been a bit more to do during the 3 days, but maybe the point was that with nothing going on, it's easier for depression to set in? Either way, great game, I very much enjoyed it :)
DiegoCTorguet
03. May 2017 · 23:39 UTC
I like the music, some good pixel art details and that creative way to approach the topic. Good job!
Spinaljack
04. May 2017 · 00:30 UTC
The writing and art is pretty good but there's not a lot to do really. I guess that's the life of a shut in.
Plepletier
04. May 2017 · 00:54 UTC
Cool Pixel art. I really love the art. Great Job!
huminaboz
04. May 2017 · 00:55 UTC
This game hits the small world theme for sure, but there's a missed opportunity here to do more storytelling about that small world rather than feel like I'm sitting and waiting. Or perhaps that's the point!
Maldo19
04. May 2017 · 02:08 UTC
This concept is great, but I have some problems with the implementation, I felt that anything that I did was for nothing and I can hear you say "that is the point" but you gave some feedback with every action that the player took so I felt that there was a system there.

(little spoilers ahead if anyone hasn't played this)
I liked the writing but I felt that the game was really against the dad for some reason but is never actually said(I don't know if that is great or bad) and the way It shames hims has a good dose of dark humor that I apreciate, as well the dark context that surrounds this game.

I really liked the pixel art and the music worked on this, but the sfx made me feel that there was something more going on for some reason and I don't know if that was intended or not. This entry is a little tricky to comment so I'm sorry if this comment is not being helpful. Good job.
adrian0901
04. May 2017 · 05:21 UTC
Wow. A really unexpected take on the theme. Loved the dark humor. Almost perfect. The graphics (pixelart) also look nice. A pretty good game.
OccultOne
04. May 2017 · 06:01 UTC
This was a good concept, I think the implementation needs work. I was bored and basically just sat around until the timer hit 8pm, then slept.

I'm pretty sure the wife is the Skeleton and that he's just reliving the same three days over and over again. Just saying....
Veralos
04. May 2017 · 06:22 UTC
Interesting use of the theme, and interesting game overall. The graphics work pretty well, though the phone clashes a bit with everything else. The sounds are appropriate and the music is nice. Some of the interactions are pretty funny too. However, I feel there could be more things to interact, and maybe more differences between the days. I guess the repetition is arguably the point, but I still think it would me more interesting if there was more stuff to do.
MsAlison
04. May 2017 · 13:19 UTC
Hi !
That was fun ! I'm not sure to understand the final goal but the theme is perfectly well respected :) !
Terrabalt
04. May 2017 · 13:48 UTC
I'll be honest, playing this at 8PM, alone in my room, i was pretty scared playing this, especially since the SFX lingers longer while the actions were instant; i always felt a sense of "What's happening" with every interaction. I know the source's from <s>Fox</s> Wolf News, but the opening screen didn't help at all with the sense of dread of suddenly having hooligans breaching your house.
That, and with barely anything to do as well, sure helped in the (probably intentional?) feeling of paranoia of the game.
Overall, an interesting entry! Would love to see this get expanded upon :D
Geckoo1337
04. May 2017 · 21:09 UTC
Of course it fits with the theme. I like the aesthetic. I don't understand all, but why not. Overall, an interesting entry. Bravo ++
DGSpitzer
05. May 2017 · 09:04 UTC
Really interesting simulator. I became very suspicious when played this.. Keep calling police whenever I heard any long SFX and lose $300 for telephone lottery...
I'm wondering... who's the skeleton in that locked room... his poor wife? :joy:
Local Minimum
14. May 2017 · 11:29 UTC
I really wanted to give you a high grade for the audio, but even if it wasn't yours (guessing) I must say you put it together really really well. That phone and the TV! I really enjoyed the game even if it was a bit slow at times, which kind of made sense in the game world. It would have been nice if things you did affected the rate of time. Watch TV made it go faster. Going to bed to early or standing watching the clock made it go slower. I really would have liked to be able to use the toilet too. But I guess there were things you had to cut.

A small detail or two. The character should not be movable when changing floors. If you press arrow while using stairs it made character not exit stairs in the right place. In general floor transition could be made to take a little time to reflect age of protagonist. With all the texts, I think also it would have been nice to be able to use `E` as alternative way to click through them too.

Fun and well made game!