Not-So-Nicer-Dicer by sadsmile



==================CONTROLS==================
A/D - Moving
SPACE - JUMP
SHIFT - CONTROLL OTHER PRISONER
STRG / LMB - SPAWN NEW PRISONER
H - RELOAD LEVEL (4)
==================ABOUT==================
Hello everyone,
in this years ludum dare I bring you a "puzzle-platformer" Not-So-Nicer-Dicer (1)! You play as prisoners, trying to escape a "saw"-like setting while being watched over by a mysterious figure...(2) Whether you sacrefice your fellow prisoners to use them as platforms or to block deadly spikes is up to you, but always keep in mind that there might be other ways aswell...
I really hope you are going to enjoy this game, since i reeeaaally put a lot of effort into this. (I did almost everything myself. Even generated the white background noise in Audacity :3 If it wasn't for the time issues i had this would have been a compo entry ^^)
As always, i'd appretiate a lot of feedback :) I even allow annonymous comments if you want to say something negative :P
==================IMPORTANT=====================
THE GAME ONLY ONLY RUNS IN 1024x768!!! (3)
DO !NOT! CHANGE THE RESOLUTION OR
TRY TO RUN THE GAME IN FULLSCREEN! PLEASE!
==================NOTES=====================
(1) That was my brothers idea and is a reference to the "Nicer Dicer" Kitchen utensil.
(2) That's why there is almost no sound...and totally not because i have no idea of sound design...kappa.
(3) A. I'm an idiot B. Using beta tools during a competition is extremly stupid ^^
(4) Only reload when you're stuck! Your deaths are still counted! (Also remember that there is a 10sec cooldown untill the next scene loads if there are still other prisoners alive)
| HTML5 (web) | https://sadsmilegames.itch.io/not-so-nicer-dicer-release |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/not-so-nicer-dicer |
Ratings
| Overall | 389th | 3.575⭐ | 69🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 302th | 3.537⭐ | 69🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 395th | 3.291⭐ | 69🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 182th | 3.985⭐ | 69🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 493th | 3.552⭐ | 69🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 521th | 2.957⭐ | 60🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 414th | 3.049⭐ | 63🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 532th | 3.295⭐ | 68🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 71🗳️ | 91🗨️ |
(I wonder if there's anyone mad enough to find them all
(HINT: There are 4 in total))
Although, level 7 was too hard for me. Sacrificed bodies blocked my way up.
No endings for me :(
Glad you liked it!
I found the artwork really appealing and quite soothing. The audio was helpful but some music would have been really cool. I think this is a really strong entry and I hope you do well!
I came here to say that I was stuck with no way to restart, but saw you post about the H key to reset - You might want to put that in the game description to help fools like me who get themselves stuck.
I ultimately had to quit on level 7, because I did not have the patience to build a bridge of corpses so that I could make the uppermost jump. I was having fun up until this point, but that became tedious very quickly. :(
Edit: I gave it one more try, and realized that the jump to the switch *is* actually possible without a corpse bridge. It was really unclear to me if I could make that jump or not, and I had originally settled on it being impossible, because of how tight it was.
Thanks a lot!
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@digitallimestone
That happens if there is another prisoner left alive at the end that didn't go through the door (If thats the case there's a 10sec delay). That's because of a mechanic that didn't make it into the game! (Do you think it would be cheating if i remove the delay now?)
And thanks for the kind words :P You know, you can always share it with your buddies :3
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@ild-games-llc
Sorry to hear that! If you want i can add the transcript to the game description!
Which game description do you mean? In game?
Yeah, level 7 wasn't indicated to well! Thanks for the feedback :D
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@sadzanenyama
I guess i'll add the transcript then!
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It definitely shows that this was a Jam game as it seems a lot of time went into the visuals, perhaps it was worth _making the sacrifice of not submitting_ for one extra day :wink: . Although I think the instructions could've been a bit better I assume you were too exhausted at that point :laughing:
Throughout the game I noticed this sort of elliptical shape (the screen narrows towards the edges) I'm not sure what you did with Unity but it _kind of gave the perspective of a video camera_ . Intentional or not I noticed but couldn't help expecting occasional screen static glitches.
Let's talk mechanics:
It took me a while to see that I had 10 seconds to rescue all of the remaining prisoners in the field after completing a level. Something like a big arrow could have been useful :smirk:
Now your main concept of "sacrifice players" but also "control multiple players" is something I don't think I've seen before. For me sacrificing players though often felt unintentional. I _could have been more careful_ and then switched to the guy waiting in the back but often I never could react to imminent traps so more often than not it didn't feel like my fault that the prisoner died. I mean it _was_ my lack of attention, but I wasn't letting them die off to take an easier route.
@angelnm already mentioned this but another issue is that while more deaths make your platforming life easier sometimes they'll block the path and force you to restart. I think that having a way of "disposing of corpses" could have led to faster gameplay and I honestly can't decide if I'd rather have that or have the ability to control the other prisoners.
And finally I wish I knew if I had to "press" or "hold" a button. I could generally guess from the level layout but I "misplanned" some of my routes because I was expecting to "leave prisoners" to wait for the others.
Okay, okay I'm almost done complaining. Springs and jumping seem to be a bit awkward but it didn't matter except for maybe one or two levels so it's no big deal.
It's a new spin on a long forgotten idea, one which I admittedly wasn't that big of a fan of. Yet still didn't I play it until the end anyway? Good job!
Each level more or less required you to use a different strategy even if there were only 10 or so.
I really don't like it when in a game when someone just dies and vanishes into thin air so even if I just complained about *too many corpses* I give anyone who finds a way to *not* poof them off of the screen a plus.
But yeah, I see a lot of potential in this. It's not a completely original idea but it *has* a few completely original ideas within it. Like I kind of wished that there was a purpose for me to use shift to solve a puzzle rather than just leaving someone to wait on a button and then pressing it again at the end of the level to rush to the exit. Or maybe have the players jump on each other *without them having to die* in the ending corridor I thought I was supposed to do that and was kind of disappointed when I remembered they just fall through each other. You can now without a time limit take this even further, see what else you can add for yourself..
It's a real shame this hasn't gotten much attention yet, here I'm voting and hoping you'll get picked up soon enough. Good job buddy!
I did end up beating the game after I figured out level 7, and I got ending 2 - I killed most of them. Whoops! But sacrifices must be made! ;)
The game fit the theme 100% and it's fun to play (and listen). :D
One thing you should change is the "exit".
At the beginning I didn't see the door in the right corner, and after I pressed the button and the door disappeared I didn't see the exit path opened (too low contrast between walls and background). Maybe just put an arrow so you can see where you need to go. :)
By the way, nice entry, bravo!
The controls were a bit awkward though, with the space bar to jump, it would have been better to have the raditionnal WASD keys in my opinion.
That was really fun nonetheless !
Well done.
This is honestly the best feedback that i've ever gotten. Really means a lot to me. Thank you.
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@kaeveris , @suliac , @konstantin-tru , @asfdfdfd , @scottgoldsmith , @boopsgames , @norb
Thanks you <3
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@hav24
Yeah, the exit should def. be improved upon! (It's current state is a consequence of an mechanic i didn't end up implementing)
Thaks for the feedback!
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@myrrhe
I might change that! Thaks for the feedback!
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@sapphiris
Yeah, that would be a good idea actually! Thanks for the feedback :)
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@daruudaruu
It's just the room number
Yeah, i had to throw away a lot of ideas at the end. A puzzle platformer turned out too ambitious for one person alone ^^ Thanks for the feedback you "horrible person ;) "
Thanks a lot <3
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@lazertrax
You think so? How would you expand a game like this? (well, besides more and better level :P)
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@beardmage
Haha thanks ^^ But i guess i'll pass on this, i like my games to be stupidly hard :D (i'm a little bit of a video game sadist / masochist you know? :3)
Your game is so enjoyable! And this voice... it gives so good (and creepy) atmosphere! I had a lots of fun! Graphics are really neat, I am impressed how many different prisoners you made! Level design is also cool, everything is clear :D Great job!
Thank you :D Yeah, i thought there should be some kind of variety in the prisoners designs, so i decided to sacrefice animations for variety and i think it was worth it with the current artstyle.
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@publicidadeba
Yeah, i went a bit overboard with the compressor ^^
BTW: This is a solo project :P
The trampolines are a bit finicky, to much force I'd say and I got a 'raising corpses' bug wherein I tried to sacrifice as many of them I could (goin' for a possible ending) and suddenly the stacked corpses started to realign.

In any case, it's a great game and the length felt pretty nice. :thumbsup:
*SPOILERS*
> I got ending 2, so I replayed the game trying to sacrifise as few of them as possible (though I restarted and I assume there's a no kills path) and still got ending 2. Though I have no idea how to do lvl 4 properly. I just aligned the guys one after one till I created a morbid set of stairs...
> I did notice the upper path in the final room and I know about a key at the very start, so I assume that plays a part, but I got other games to play, so 2 playthroughs shall suffice :laughing:
*SPOILERS*
Amazing, i love it!