Altruist Project by syverlauritz

What is the Altruist Project?
Guide a group of survivors through a deadly maze as part of a cruel experiment. Along the way you will have to make tough choices on who gets to go on and who gets sacrificed for the greater good.
Can you make it to the exit and piece together the mystery of the Altruist Project?
Control using your mouse.
Some advice:
- Always use your items before you send in a character into a potentially unsafe room
- Stones triggers any trap that might be there
- Flares light up the room, potentially revealing if it's a sure-death or sure-safe room
- Look for lights coming out of rooms!
Play it HERE




Our first jam together - and for some of us our first jam ever. It's been a crazy few days but we're really happy with what we have achieved. Huge thanks to the Ludum Dare community!
| HTML5 (web) | https://altruist-project.com |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/altruist-project |
Ratings
| Overall | 147th | 3.891⭐ | 57🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 420th | 3.373⭐ | 57🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 214th | 3.582⭐ | 57🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 44th | 4.327⭐ | 57🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 108th | 4.309⭐ | 57🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 594th | 2.69⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 7th | 4.473⭐ | 57🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 19🗳️ | 21🗨️ |

At first I thought it was completely random, if you hadn't said on stream that glowing rooms have people in them I probably wouldn't have figured it out by myself, especially with how faint the light is. I tried to look for cues on where the exit is supposed to be but I couldn't figure it out. I think it has something to do with blood stains?
Either way, this is honestly up there so far in terms of mood and polish. Good effort!
I think the traps could be a little more obvious and the levels could be a little less stingy with items. Maybe the game could count how many items/people you use in the level and set some "par" to give you a reward for optimizing it.
Otherwise, it's a neat use of the theme for sure.
Here's my play: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/344727890?t=29m49s
Despite that, I really liked play this game, I even will give it another try when I will back to home (because I really want to find those subtle hints). Arts and mood are very good, and I liked a lot Cube movie reference. Well done ! (and I will follow you all, because I don't want to miss your next LD's entries ^^)
Apart from the luck factor the graphics were great and the atmosphere overall very gripping. Also, it fits the theme well, with you having to balance your equipment and people well, bringing a strategy aspect to the game.
But, in one scenario i had 3 people and deliberately chose to go around a specific room because i thought it would have a trap in it, so i clicked to walk into the rooms around it and one of my group walked into the darkened room regardless and died. (Just something to possibly consider.)
Overall a great concept and very fitting with the theme
It's difficult not to see this game as something of a bit of random chance (unless I missed some critical strategy somewhere?). Finding a new person vs. dying in a room looks exactly the same BEFORE you choose where to go next, so I didn't really see any optimal way to find the exit, which from a player perspective can be pretty disempowering (unless that's what you were going for, in which case kudos!)
I really dig the mood of this one. I hope you guys make similar stuff in the future!
Feels really polished and well thought - although it's hard! I wasn't able to finish it, but i'll get back to it definitely!
PS. Loved ambient sounds and pixel art <3
PS2. To be honest - it doesn't look like made in 72h - if it was really creation of 4 ppl from start in 72h - CHAPEAU BAS!
@bartosz Thanks for the kind words!! For the graphics I was really inspired by early semi-3D games like GTA1 and 2, various PS1 games and early 3D PC-titles. The atmosphere is going for B-movie pulp. Glad you liked it:)
@mza Which browser are you currently using? We have tested it on Chrome, Firefox and Safari - Firefox being the most successful. Safari doesn't like the game at all but if you're in Safari you should get an error message.
It felt kind of random to play though, like I was pretty much just waiting to lose. Unless, I did notice that the map was actually the same each time and not randomized, so I started to suspect that I was supposed to be memorizing the level and avoiding the traps. If that's what you were going for, that's pretty cool. It would have been nice to have a way to leave notes in rooms, and then have them viewable by the next group of sacrifices.
However, I could not figure out the hints for where the traps are located, so eventually gave up because I couldn't get very far through the level. Regarding the sacrifice, it felt like there was no real reason to choose one person versus another (unless I missed something). I ran out of items pretty much immediately after someone joined my party since the items were one time use (I almost always had a character in the party that didn't hold any items so I would just sacrifice them).
Anyway, I had a lot of fun, so thank you for making this!
In its current stage, it has the appeal of curiosity and those sadistic games (like Mutilate a Doll, for instance), but IMO it would be an amazing game (with a shot at being a hit) if it was presented more like a **puzzle**. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes may be a good reference of puzzles with dynamic solutions. It's a design thing to be solved and asked around, but it surely can be done.
In the end, really great game. If you ever develop it further, I'll certainly keep an eye on it.
Congratulations, great entry, excellent start!
You can watch my play through on stream at twitch.tv/cyberlightgames in the about an hour into the 3rd episode of "Dare to Play"
If you'd like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/346059114?t=01h52m37s
Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D
💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin