Memoirs Found in a by Dane Tesla

made by Dane Tesla for Ludum Dare 45 (JAM)

“That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.”

Story-based adventure game reffering to Cthulhu mythology. You arrive at Gloucester, your hometown, after receiving a letter from your dying mother. What you see upon arrival is not exactly what you remember from your childhood...

WASD, mouse - movement, interactions

TAB - diary/log/map

(HINT: To interact with an object you need to light it for some time.)

(HINT2: WHILE WE'RE WORKING ON A PATCH, IN THE CHURCH YOU NEED TO INTERACT WITH: meteorite, book, the red name and there is a SYMBOL on one of the church benches (on the same side of the room as the meteorite is). Then proceed to The Forgotten Graveyard location for the last level.)

@dane-tesla - game design, 2D, writing -> https://www.artstation.com/dane_tesla

@zozol - 3d modeling, texturing -> https://twitter.com/zoz_bmp

@shearaell - 3d modeling, texturing -> https://www.instagram.com/shearaell/

@adampasek - programming, spaghetti -> https://www.artstation.com/llamarider

Music by @Miklo and @Kaem :v: -> https://twitter.com/mik1900G

Youtube	https://zozolka.itch.io/memoirs
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/45/memoirs-found-in-a

Ratings

Overall	605^th	3.413⭐	48🧑‍⚖️
Fun	794^th	2.978⭐	48🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	506^th	3.239⭐	48🧑‍⚖️
Theme	754^th	3.067⭐	47🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	65^th	4.372⭐	49🧑‍⚖️
Mood	60^th	4.12⭐	48🧑‍⚖️
Given		46🗳️	54🗨️

Feedback

moechen

08. Oct 2019 · 06:30 UTC

I really like the art style!!! That is fantastic!!!! The mood is enhanced by the art. Really enjoy.

NachtWitch

08. Oct 2019 · 21:38 UTC

How does this not have a higher rating? This game is a gem and it's super fun, the art is unique and enjoyable to look at, 12/ 10 game, no critique just a comment lamenting at how well made this is

zozol

08. Oct 2019 · 21:43 UTC

@moechen @nachtwitch thank you so much for your kind words! unfortunately, we ran into some problems near the end of the jam so it's good to hear our game can be enjoyed be others after all

shubart

08. Oct 2019 · 21:59 UTC

I did a really amazing job. Nevertheless i have some suggestions that could improve the game. I think the view distance is far too short (but it is a great idea to let the object you already interacted highlighted). Sometimes you are just in front of a wall and while there are no details on them, it is not clear where you and). the interaction triangle is too small. It took me a while to see it in the very white first room. It miss some step sounds. Dispite all that you created a very good mood. Thank you for that

🎤 Dane Tesla

08. Oct 2019 · 22:15 UTC

@shubart 100% agree on this. Our programmer had some life stuff going on at the end of the jam and we were not able to polish it/test it properly >.< Glad you like it tho. Thank you so much for your feedback!

almost

08. Oct 2019 · 22:53 UTC

The darkness effect is kind of disorienting. The visible circle was pretty small.
For the tab menu all of the areas looked clickable but only the church worked. Also tab would sometimes move focus around instead of hiding the journal.
I found writing book and meteorite but didnt know what to do after that.
I like the black and white visual effect though!

By the way there is no quit button and escape didnt quit. I had to alt f4.

Quack Doctor

08. Oct 2019 · 22:56 UTC

Mood is great and art is well done! Just really difficult to navigate.

🎤 Dane Tesla

09. Oct 2019 · 16:40 UTC

@almost @quack-doctor Thank you for your feedback!

We are aware about the bugs in the journal menu and that the visible part is too small ^^' Our programmer had some stuff gong on at the jam end and we wasn't able to test it and correct those things :< (I'll try to get the Unreal file for thre game and patch those things to make it playable but programming is not my speciality xD)
Glad you enjoyed the art though <3

Tygrak

09. Oct 2019 · 18:43 UTC

I got stuck in the church too, walked around it for quite some time, checked between all the benches and everything, didn't figure out if I am missing something or if the game is bugged. I enjoyed the aesthetic, so if you guys fix the things others already mentioned I think this game will be great.

Raomer

09. Oct 2019 · 18:56 UTC

A nice little game you have there. I like the atmosphere, but must admit, i really was desorienteted because of the small light circle. I was only in the church, i found the writing on the wall, the book and the meteor, there was a door but i couldnt get out...the map also didnt allow me to get farther.
I relly enjoy the style and it creates a creepy mood! i am interested in all things related to cthulhu, so you got me there :) I hope for a fixed version and just will keep track of this page :)

Goodzilla

09. Oct 2019 · 21:33 UTC

Awesome graphics, only I saw so little of it ;-)
Great atmosphere too, I could not complete it, got lost in the church.

Toadwolf

09. Oct 2019 · 22:04 UTC

As you said already, it's rather unfinished, unfortunately. The story was intriguing, the art style simplistic, but very effective. Having the music playing while walking the church would haven enhanced the mood even further.

🎤 Dane Tesla

10. Oct 2019 · 21:28 UTC

@toadwolf @goodzilla @tygrak @raomer Thank you so much for your feedback! We got a file of the game from our programmer, I'd try to fix as much as I'm capable of fixing <3

JUSTCAMH

11. Oct 2019 · 01:19 UTC

I got up to the graveyard, and got stuck in a loop after cthulhu showed up. Not sure if this was the end, it felt conclusive, but there's still more areas that I want to visit, and more in the screenshots than I have seen. Not sure if I found a bug, but the game was on some quote '*started with nothing ended with nothing*' and kept looping. The game was really cool and I *loved* the atmosphere. I only wish that it was more obvious what you could interact with, as often I'd look at things, be confident it isn't interactable, then later look again and find it is interactable. It took quite a bit of time and persistence to get to that point, but the cthulhu encounter was worth it :heart:

PowerAnze

11. Oct 2019 · 06:45 UTC

Hey, I got stuck in the church, but still really enjoyed it. The way you obfuscate the enviroment and reveal it through the objects is really cool, but I wish it was a bit more generous. The same can be said about the light cone, I just wish I could see a little bit more of everything. I also found it straining on the eyes because of that. I am a bit torn because this negative sensation seems fitting from a thematic standpoint, but makes it hard to play the game.

🎤 Dane Tesla

11. Oct 2019 · 20:11 UTC

@justcamh I'm really impressed that you got to the end actually as it was a bit hard to do it due to all the bugs and problems with this game >.< Really happy to hear it and we're aware that the qoute at the end is looping (the game was supposed to go back to main menu at this point ;;). As I mentioned before, our programmer had some stuff going on just at the end of a jam and that's why it is buggy and unpolished. I just got the game file from him so I'll try to fix at least some of it :heart: Thank you so much for playing and enjoying it.

@poweranze Thank you for the feedback! Didn't expect the eye strain honestly, I think maybe contrasts are set just a bit too high :thinking: I agree that the reveal system needs a bit of tweaking.

Milestone Games

11. Oct 2019 · 21:55 UTC

I also really liked the art style, a fresh take on first person IMHO. Ran out of time before completing it! As for minimalism, my game is even more minimalistic lol :)

Local Minimum

12. Oct 2019 · 07:50 UTC

Great style and mood. I feel I got stuck in the church, but had a fun time walking around it. Very atmospheric. One thing that for me made the navigation harder than it needed to be was that I couldn't use A/D to move laterally.

Iluvatar

12. Oct 2019 · 15:32 UTC

I love the atmosphere and an extra start for Lovecraftian theme (my most favourite stuff). The only negative thing I would suggest to change is the visibility. I understand that it is suppose to add to the mood of the game (which it does tremendously!), however it is hard to move around in such darkness. Anyway, your entry is one of the best I've played, at least from the mood point of view. Thanks for creating this one.

daria-toni

12. Oct 2019 · 19:30 UTC

Well, it has become a good tradition for me to play at least one Lovecraft-inspired game at LD. And you must tell us all what to do in the Church :) (except for book, meteorite and bloody text). The style is interesting and nice, graphics are great. I would like some background music. Gameplay mechanic is very interesting, but I couldn't go beyond the Church =/

🎤 Dane Tesla

12. Oct 2019 · 21:05 UTC

@milestone-games @local-minimum @iluvatar @daria-toni Thank you for the feedback! While we're working on bug fixes and such (our programmer sadly do not want to work on this game anymore) I added a hint on what to do in the church:

(HINT2: WHILE WE’RE WORKING ON A PATCH, IN THE CHURCH YOU NEED TO INTERACT WITH: meteorite, book, the red name and there is a SYMBOL on one of the church benches (on the same side of the room as the meteorite is). Then proceed to The Forgotten Graveyard location for the last level.)

Hope it helps ^^ It was supposed to be a way more obvious but as I mentioned, our programmer had some stuff going on at the end of a jam and the game is not polished :(

Honey Pony

12. Oct 2019 · 22:59 UTC

I got to the graveyard but couldn't get past there. The art style is kinda neat but, combined with the small cone of light, was really disorienting and gave me a headache :(

Cool game nonetheless. Just needs some polishing to work out the bugs and make it clearer how to progress.

Druvsaft

13. Oct 2019 · 14:47 UTC

Very promising game, I like the light and dark concept. I'm not so sure about the "light an object to interact", it feelt a bit unforgiving at times. Maybe it could lean more into revealing objects with your light, but once you see them you can interact with them with a prompt?

The art style is really great and unified, missing some more audio to tie the mood together. As others mentioned, the bugs with the notepad are unfortunate, but it is a jam after all :)

yazara

13. Oct 2019 · 17:22 UTC

Good approach, but the field of view is way too small which makes it really to orient yourself in the room and find the clues. Also the collision between the church benches seemed a little buggy :thinking:

Yaen

13. Oct 2019 · 17:23 UTC

I played this because the graphics in your screenshots genuinely look amazing. I would love the style of this game if the circle of light in which I can see wasn't so tiny. This unfortunately made it very hard and tedious to get around and immerse myself in the game world.

I do appreciate the world you've built but I feel like I barely had a chance to witness it, despite running around in it for quite some time.

The collision in the church was a bit strange. I got stuck between the pews often and for some reason there's an invisible wall preventing me from going further to the left and right sides of the church. Sadly I was not able to progress past that part.

afendar

15. Oct 2019 · 18:32 UTC

I like the rather innovative side and the concept realized with the graphics. Nice game !

🎤 Dane Tesla

19. Oct 2019 · 00:05 UTC

@honey-pony @yazara @yaen Thank you for your feedback! We are aware that there is a bit not enoguh stuff visiblein the game and it's very disorienting. I'll be trying to patch the game with the other artist as our programmer do not want to work on this game anymore :( Glad that you enjoyed at least a bit of it after all!

@druvsaft Hmm that's a nice concept for the interactions. Thanks! :heart:

@afendar Thank you!

BrokenMirrorMedia

19. Oct 2019 · 07:13 UTC

I got stuck a lot in the church, and had a really hard time seeing, but I absolutely loved loved loved the art style here. Absolutely fantastic for a lovecraftian game, I would love to see this expanded upon further!

Doodums

19. Oct 2019 · 11:30 UTC

I'm in love with the art style, well done!

DTFD.Plus

19. Oct 2019 · 15:07 UTC

First, I can not download the game, but it might be my problem. But I have to rate the graphics 5 star. I really like this style and wandering how can you make this out in short three days?

Erilhir

20. Oct 2019 · 09:34 UTC

Honestly, graphics are awsome. We are immediately in the mood. I think a bigger circle of light would have been an asset. But in general, I really liked your game !

Le Don

20. Oct 2019 · 13:30 UTC

Love the visuals of the game! But also got stuck in the second level and after reading the hints on this page, got stuck in the third level. Also as others already mentioned, it's a little bit too hard to see and the visible area could be a little bit bigger.

mharring

20. Oct 2019 · 13:40 UTC

Neat storytelling! Like others, I think the circle of vision was too small. The text was hard to read because it vanished too quickly (I know you could just check the log but perhaps a "Click to dismiss" would have been better) and there were a few typos. The visual style was great and fit the mood very well. Great job!

ThatMalzan

20. Oct 2019 · 15:15 UTC

I was genuinely scared. Unfortunately, I could not find the "meteorite" anywhere in the room, even after scanning all the pews twice. At that point I was genuinely dizzy and I quit. I withhold my judgement until I have the time to give it a second play-through, BUT... I can guarantee a 5 on mood.

Carlos Lennon

21. Oct 2019 · 19:53 UTC

Great graphics!

Ongomato

24. Oct 2019 · 07:21 UTC

Great game, bit too hard to see things tho.

Also, fallen from the graveyard since there's nothing preventing you from doing that.

![2019-10-24_12-11-24-UE4Game-Win64-Shipping.png](///raw/b4e/1/z/29d0f.png)

Ongomato

24. Oct 2019 · 07:21 UTC

(Edited)This was a double-post, i don't know if it's possible to delete comments.

hwaet

25. Oct 2019 · 01:05 UTC

I love the art style! You really nailed down a cool aesthetic here. I ran into some snags with the UI, I think perhaps this wasn't meant for a 4:3 monitor. But that's what I get for using dinosaur hardware. This was a nifty idea and it's always a treat to see someone play with the cthuluverse :)

UnidayStudio

27. Oct 2019 · 11:53 UTC

Interesting, I've beeing wondering for a while on how a completely 3D but outlined graphic will look like in a game. Your entry is the answer. I really enjoyed. Five stars for you on this. :)