LudumData

The Reader's Encounter by xlomid

[raw]
made by xlomid for Ludum Dare 45 (JAM)

You arrive from across the sea in the fetid hold of a rat-infested ship. You have left your friends behind — and with them, your books and the secrets you had uncovered. You are a reader, looking for secrets hidden by forgotten sages between the lines of their ancient tomes. Or rather, you were a reader; who knows what you are now, stranded alone in this foreign land. Perhaps here, unlike back home, there might be some use for your unusual skill?

The Reader's Encounter is a short story-driven puzzle game about secret knowledge and manipulating words.​

screen1.png

The game has a built-in hint system; hints become active after 5 manipulations on each level. If you are stuck and the hints do not help, see the walkthrough here: https://pastebin.com/VwrEjUBH (caution: major spoilers!)​.

Youtube https://senokos.itch.io/nothing
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/45/the-stranded-reader

Ratings

Overall 395th 3.6⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 604th 3.2⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 165th 3.78⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 687th 3.16⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 113th 3.98⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 21🗳️ 32🗨️

Feedback

thevinter
08. Oct 2019 · 12:24 UTC
Great idea for a game, got stuck on a few of them (mainly the first one since honing isn't a commond word for non-native speakers). Overall it works really great and the story is nicely written. I'd love to see the visuals fit the story tho, would be great!
Asimov
08. Oct 2019 · 12:24 UTC
Very good idea. If you would publish short stories like that you could actually grow a big fanbase with that!
Love the Idea of Reading and reforming words from one to another sentence.
Chocolat-Endive
08. Oct 2019 · 12:25 UTC
Really enjoyed it. It's a simple concept but it works well. With some illustrations and more choices it could be really cool! I did the game twice to see the two endings.

I don't know why, but I kept trying to place letters "between" letters instead of replacing them.

Really like it!
Guardaro
08. Oct 2019 · 12:26 UTC
Nice idea. The music does a great job setting the mood.
mrerdalural
08. Oct 2019 · 12:31 UTC
I liked your writing and your game a lot! Thank you for making this game! Here! Have a joke!

![joke.png](///raw/62c/z/28c44.png)
phi
08. Oct 2019 · 12:39 UTC
Really great athmosphere, and a very simple but effective way of engaging the player in the story! Some puzzles were quite tricky (for a non-native speaker), but the hints were useful. (I had to cheat on number 6 though, since I didn't know the word.) Overall, beautiful little story game!
congusbongus
08. Oct 2019 · 13:13 UTC
This is very well put together, great ambiance. The pacing is uneven though, ideally the puzzles would start easy and get hard but I found it was all over the place. With careful balance this could be outstanding. Well done!
EpisodeIvy
08. Oct 2019 · 14:46 UTC
This was great! I didn't realize the end was a choice until after I made mine, but that felt right. :D
velvetlobster
09. Oct 2019 · 01:29 UTC
great ambient music it really does set the mood
Annie Owl
10. Oct 2019 · 15:37 UTC
What a great story you have written! And the gameplay itself is very addictive too. I was a little bit confused about how the letter movement mechanic works at first (i thought you just move the letters, not swap them), but besides that, it was a smooth and immersive experience, despite the minimalistic approach.
custardcosmos
11. Oct 2019 · 11:37 UTC
An inspired concept and executed so very, very well! Really liked the tone and the ambiance the words and the music set up. The idea to manipulate words was pretty engaging though it took me a moment to figure out you had to swap the letters rather than drag one between the others. Played it twice to get both endings!
Shenawy
11. Oct 2019 · 13:25 UTC
Good intro a series of stories to come :D
With 0some graphics accompanying this dark moody plot, it can definitely be a compelling miniseries.
Congrats on the submission!
ryusui
17. Oct 2019 · 19:05 UTC
This is one of those games that can make me feel like a dumbass and a genius in turn. I also couldn't help but notice there are two possible answers for the final puzzle. ;)
Rodrigo Denúbila
17. Oct 2019 · 19:34 UTC
Really great take on the theme. It's a very original idea and very well executed. As english isn't my native language I admit that I had to see the walkthrough to complete the game, but the narrative is so good that makes up. Good job!
celia14
19. Oct 2019 · 19:42 UTC
This is awesome! What a great idea. It's a satisfying feeling to figure out the word and very rewarding to get more of the story - I really enjoyed that the new paragraph not only advances the overall story, but also that it comes between the two sentences and gives more context to the sentence you just finished. The writing was engaging, with just the right amount of intriguing details, and the overall feeling was very atmospheric. I also love that it's a game about playing with language and the story is about a reader.