My Small Mind by Icewind

[raw]
made by Icewind for LD 38 (COMPO)

msm-screen.png

A puzzle game! Made with MonoGame and Nez.

Download here: http://files.oneponygames.com/mysmallmind/MySmallMind.zip (Source files are included).

Voting opt Out: Music/Sound (there is none)

Windows and Linux (if you have mono is installed). No idea about OSX. :/

Feedback welcome!!

Ratings

Overall 260th 3.333⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Fun 264th 3.167⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 236th 3.233⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Theme 451th 2.767⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 224th 3.433⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Mood 73th 3.737⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 37🗳️ 11🗨️

Feedback

SimonReiser
27. Apr 2017 · 15:00 UTC
Nice little puzzle game!

I enjoyed the puzzles, but I don't think the game needs these enemies. Do they exist to motivate/force the player to solve the puzzle inside their mind, instead of doing an approach, based on trial and error? They achieve this effect, but they are still annoying in my opinion.

Maybe already finished puzzles should not be reset if you get caught.

Also, I liked the graphics, would have loved to see some more animations (I know, 48h are short :)).
el_Flex0s
05. May 2017 · 14:51 UTC
Really nice graphics! A cool idea for a game. But the shadows annoyed me as well. After solving the same puzzle for the fifth time, because of dying, the game ended with a ragequit :)
Cal
05. May 2017 · 18:41 UTC
seconded, cool graphics and mechanics are interesting. It's nice to have enemies keeping you urgent whilst trying to solve the puzzles. Little things like the ghost trails are nice to have.
Sythgara
05. May 2017 · 19:41 UTC
I liked it. Nice and chill. I feel like you could do something else with all that white background but otherwise I like the style.
adhesion
05. May 2017 · 22:09 UTC
Cool! Solid puzzle design, though a bit on the easy/straightforward side to me. The enemies don't seem strictly necessary but I didn't find them too annoying FWIW. Liked the revealing mechanic too. Nice work!
nekoballs
07. May 2017 · 00:43 UTC
Neat puzzle and nice graphics! I liked the shadows but I think there where a bit too many of them.
secret-tunnel
08. May 2017 · 01:02 UTC
I liked this a lot! I'm not totally sure why haha, just something about the space you created was pleasant to be in.
Mr.McGibblets
08. May 2017 · 01:24 UTC
Nice work on a clever take on a puzzle game!
Hlavik
10. May 2017 · 12:17 UTC
Wow I know how difficult is to programm a puzzle games so I adore you and your work. :smile:
namrog84
10. May 2017 · 17:58 UTC
This is pretty neat, I like the little ghostie things, reminds me a little of mario ghosts but with a completely different style and aesthetic. OR perhaps it reminds me of miniature giant squid flying monster things from minecraft the end?
dunin
10. May 2017 · 18:51 UTC
I like this game with some Jonathan Blow inspiration (?)...
It's cool to turn around and choose which puzzle I want to do and some of them are smart...
But the ghost thing is pretty annoying, even there are cute, restart from the beginning made me sad... I don't know if it was necessary...

(and at the end, I saw the picture but just few letters at the right ("crea"), maybe there is a bug?)
yves
11. May 2017 · 19:15 UTC
Wow. This is really weird entry in a super good way! I loved that idea and that concept works out very well. The puzzles vary from easy to hard (atleast for me :D) and these ghost don't make it any easier. I wish you would have added music/sounds making this even a greater experience. But overall it was very aesthetic and creative with the art style and the picture revealing. Well done mate! :)

Cheers
CreamyBacon2
12. May 2017 · 05:22 UTC
Not going to lie I had trouble with some of the puzzles and the pressure from the ghosts made it all the more so difficult. But I had fun! And that's what counts! Good job.
Anna16
12. May 2017 · 05:40 UTC
Wow! I really like the game! It is simple but very interesting and fun to play! Very cool idea!
🎤 Icewind
12. May 2017 · 20:49 UTC
Thanks everyone for the feedback! @yves Yes I would have loved to be able to put a simple piano soundtrack to it, but I'm just not there yet.

@dunin I never actually played any of Jonathan Blows games, just watched his talks :) so maybe on another level it is there. Well do you have a 1920 x 1080 display? If not that would explain the not showing up correctly. I need to spend some time to get familiar with doing different resolutions.
Pixetrichor
13. May 2017 · 08:57 UTC
I really liked the puzzle design! It gives off a nice atmosphere too. Though, as others said, the shadows are quite distracting when the player tries to solve the puzzles.

However, I've noticed something that isn't very important, actually (even though I wrote quite the paragraph on it just trying to get my point across :Y). When the shadows try to approach you and you don't move, they go straight through you until they give up, right? Like, it uses the argument: "if attacking enemy's position and current player's position are at least this far, stop attacking and continue roaming". My idea is that if the player goes towards the attacking shadows after they've missed him, they will actually "attack" longer, like, they will not start roaming until both are far enough. It might give the impression that they are aware of his existence when he's behind but still do not turn and attack, which might break the immersion...? Well, still, it's just a minor detail, nothing really.

Overall, I really liked it! It's a shame that there's no audio, however.
Jakob Willforss
13. May 2017 · 10:10 UTC
I found this very interesting. I like the interwovenness of the puzzles, that you freely can switch between them (just like memories). The shadows also moving independently of the puzzles was also a nice touch. Some puzzles were tricky, and slightly cumbersome to navigate around. Overall, this was probably one of my favorites this far. Would have been great with ambient music!
🎤 Icewind
13. May 2017 · 14:50 UTC
@pixetrichor You are spot on with how they are coded! Very good point! It was one of the last things I put in and well, never thought that the player would start chasing the ghosts ;)It was for ensuring the ghosts get enough distance to the player to be less annoying :D
candlesan
15. May 2017 · 09:03 UTC
That was really fun!

Wish the puzzles were slightly harder, it often felt like there were more than a few blocks that didn't get used. That criticism aside, the fade to "watercolor" was really nice, and very satisfying to try and complete the whole set. Collision with the enemies and blocks could be a bit clearer. Love the way instructions were integrated into the background and how it was relatively easy to figure out how to play.
Dejvo
16. May 2017 · 11:26 UTC
Overall pretty nice relaxing and a bit weird game. the ghosts or whatever were too distracting for my liking, but other than that, good work
CabbageCrow
19. May 2017 · 16:41 UTC
Very nice aesthetics.

There are many block moving puzzles, but the added story and also the element with the shaddows are nice.
Jupiter_Hadley
01. Jun 2017 · 16:06 UTC
Cute little game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcx-zIJDIVM