TRAM OF WISHES by katamary

[raw]
made by katamary for Ludum Dare 47 (JAM)

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The Tram of Wishes is a meditative journey game about a simple tramway driver. He is a sincere humble dreamer who loves his job. Years of experience, love and sensitivity gave him the ability to read passenger desires.

But what he's gonna do with that feeling?! :stars:

CONTROLS:

Right Arrow - Move forward

Left Arrow - Move backward

(Z) - Open/close doors

Space - Tram signal

On some machines build can take 1-2 minutes to run. Sorry for that! =(


CREDITS:

Game design, story, characters, text: katamary

Graphic design, art: zhanna (une_voix(@)lenta.ru)

Voice acting: https://www.facebook.com/sergey.zharov/ https://www.instagram.com/sergey.zrv/

Music, sound design: maliyshock https://www.facebook.com/maliy.shock

Untitleааd-2.pngUntitааed-1.png

Ratings

Overall 143th 4.063⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Fun 710th 3.413⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 352th 3.738⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Theme 441th 3.927⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 10th 4.756⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Audio 47th 4.275⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Mood 30th 4.393⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Given 59🗳️ 67🗨️

Feedback

Snotax
05. Oct 2020 · 18:47 UTC
Wow, the artwork is breathtaking!
tomz_best
05. Oct 2020 · 19:10 UTC
Like a "Paterson" of Jim Jarmusch

Very nice graphics!
tomz_best
05. Oct 2020 · 19:21 UTC
I don't understand how to play...
maliyshock
05. Oct 2020 · 22:02 UTC
You should deliver the passengers to their wishes.
Z - to open/close dors
Tom Kun
06. Oct 2020 · 20:26 UTC
I really really really love the art style! it reminds me of the books OF fairy tale :)
cyberfrank
06. Oct 2020 · 20:26 UTC
This is amazing! The art, the sound and the premise! This very much has the potential to be turned into a full length game I would say. You have truly done a great job!
Elbbard
06. Oct 2020 · 20:36 UTC
Very nice design for a game. The sounds are perfect. It's just missing the list of controls (z to open doors...). Thank you, keep up the good work
Gonzalol
06. Oct 2020 · 20:37 UTC
Beautiful art and storytelling.
Paulsams
06. Oct 2020 · 20:40 UTC
Cool game. Cool art, concept ... And as I understand it, you wanted to make a relaxation game like Flower and the like, where the same type of actions calm the player down and put him into a relaxing state. But honestly ... I won't be able to last beyond the 4th day. I read all the dialogues on the first day. And it was also not clear what kind of stars. Also, if the driver has no conscience, he can bring all passengers to the depot and there will be nothing for it. If you wanted to do just a relaxing game, then you had to reduce the buttons to a minimum, for example, leave only the opening of the doors, but also very subjective. And so - a cool game. It was fun to play!
maliyshock
06. Oct 2020 · 20:40 UTC
Thank you. We did miss up with training stuff. I mean controls, menu of the game. We did not have enough time to put all of the art. But we gonna finish it anyway. It will be beautifull.
Erlioniel
06. Oct 2020 · 20:48 UTC
Wow, voice over? Really? :D Awesome art and style!
Just_Dante
06. Oct 2020 · 20:59 UTC
Artwork and music are great, but game itselt is just not my cup of tea.
Magic_mike
06. Oct 2020 · 21:21 UTC
The game is really beautiful! But it misses something I think, maybe a goal or more story telling I don't know!

Great experience nonetheless!
Coding4rtist
06. Oct 2020 · 23:16 UTC
I didn't understand a single word of the voicover, but I still appreciate the experience. Gorgeous art and cool music create a nice relaxing mood.
Two good additions would be subtitles and a small tutorial for the controls
Eugenik
07. Oct 2020 · 06:12 UTC
Atmosphere is very impressive, so love it.
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:33 UTC
@tomz-best I know, It it's not too easy... The essence of the game is to take people wherever they want, not just to stops. Listen their thinks and try to do something that they want).
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:34 UTC
@tom-kun Thank you! We will be finalizing the game and will definitely release it in Steam.
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:35 UTC
@elbbard Thank you for the warm words!
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:36 UTC
@gonzalol Many thanks. We will try to do it much better.
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:41 UTC
@paulsams All you have to do is get stars for all characters, then a miracle will happen. This can be done in literally 2 days. And I know, It's not clear. But It is my point of view. I wanted to make a game that has no punishment for the player other than being stuck in a loop of days.)
Thank you fore your comment!
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:43 UTC
@just-dante But I'm glad you gave your opinion!
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:44 UTC
@coding4rtist Yes. I know. And we do a tutorial soon. Thank you!
🎤 katamary
07. Oct 2020 · 19:45 UTC
@eugenik We had an idea to create a naive game with an honest and kind story. I hope it worked).
Mirka-chan
08. Oct 2020 · 09:17 UTC
Рисовка и музыка задают очень приятную атмосферу. Спокойную. А сцена в конце была просто замечательной))) Спасибо. Отличная работа!
🎤 katamary
08. Oct 2020 · 18:18 UTC
@mirka-chan Спасибо огромное за теплые слова!
Artyom Volkov
08. Oct 2020 · 18:35 UTC
The game with great atmosphere and visuals, as usual.
Sirkovitch
08. Oct 2020 · 19:38 UTC
Such an original and beautiful artstyle ! Loved it :)
pee-thief
09. Oct 2020 · 05:19 UTC
Gorgeous game, i love it!
Bredera
09. Oct 2020 · 08:07 UTC
Wow this game looks amazing! But, for some reason I cannot get past the opening splash screen... it's just stuck there, first I thought it was loading something but 3 minutes later is was still only on the splash screen. Not sure why that happened but yeah I could not play the game which was a real bummer because it looks great!
🎤 katamary
09. Oct 2020 · 09:25 UTC
@bredera
> it was loading something but 3 minutes)
Have you tried pressing any key while on the splash screen? Ouch. I know that I didn't put the note about "press any key to continue". Heh).
Gao Ming
09. Oct 2020 · 09:41 UTC
Really love the art style! great job!
Bredera
09. Oct 2020 · 09:47 UTC
@katamary YEah i pressed multiple buttons (enter, mouse, e) nothing seemed to work
guimoliveira
09. Oct 2020 · 18:20 UTC
Beautiful game. I liked it. Good job! :)
monetai
09. Oct 2020 · 18:35 UTC
I really liked it, it's kinda melancholic but I liked it very much! Thank you, I'll remenmber this game for long I'm sure =)
Vivien Fargette
09. Oct 2020 · 18:35 UTC
The art and the mood of this game are gorgeous even without understanding a word of the intro (subtitles would be a nice addition). One question tho: when you have fulfilled the wishes of everyone and end the day, the something happening last forever or is there an ending point to reach? If it is the first option, I think you should let the player know that there is nothing more, if it is the latter, maybe make it shorter.

Anyway, I really loved the game visually, music is really nice and I got attached to the characters I was transporting :D Please add some levels post jam <3
maliyshock
09. Oct 2020 · 19:09 UTC
@vivien-fargette well we have ending. If you fulfilled the wishes of everyone you can take them to the ride and see what happens.
Vivien Fargette
09. Oct 2020 · 19:13 UTC
@maliyshock yes, I did that, my question was more for once you finish this new ride on what happen next (don't want to spoil as I found it lovely so that's why I am a bit vague but tell me if I am too vague)
IODI
09. Oct 2020 · 19:50 UTC
Beautiful game! I even gathered my family to play it)) Amazing music, voice acting, watercolor look and this while mood! The only minor thing is somehow for the first time there was some glitch - nobody except the boy could came into the train, but after reloading it was ok. Atmospheric last scene! Thanks for creating it! You guys are amazing!
honey
09. Oct 2020 · 20:42 UTC
@maliyshock @katamary I'd like to know what @vivien-fargette wants, say we took all the passengers with a star through the depo and miracle happened, will it ever stop happening or finish in some way, or is the miracle looping forever and the miracle itself is the end?

Also I though that miracle happening was the last stop and I'm supposed to open the door and let them out. And I'm still pretty convinced that this is what miracle is about, though maybe that wasn't your intended interpretation. If it was, maybe you should allow them to get off the train after miracle happens, that would make nice though bitter ending.

Anyways, this was amazing and the (at least percieved) depth of so simple game is breathtaking, the artstyle is beautiful, I love it! Do more, more like this, more of this, more whatever, just please do! <3
maliyshock
10. Oct 2020 · 02:20 UTC
Thank you guys for all of your kind words it is really pleasant and important for me and the whole team as well. It is the big pleasure to work with such talented people as Sergey and Zhanna.

Yes, this miracle itself it is the end. We wanted to give the player opportunity and space to think what it was all about and who are those people and what miracle actually means... I think giving a simple strict answer like "and then that happened" can destroy this feeling when you find the answer and figure out something for yourself. Of course, we have our own interpretation in the team, but it would be a crime to take off this opportunity from the player.

We are going to continue to develop and polish this game to publish it on steam. We did not have enough time to make all of we wanted to. So it will be even more emotional and beautifull (you may see screenshots) in the future. Stay in touch! =)
ElllaDee
10. Oct 2020 · 12:17 UTC
Я уже давненько поставила 5 звёзд, но так и не написала отзыв. Игра потрясающая, как и всегда у Сергея :)
Графика невероятная, атмосфера шикарная и как всегда очень глубоко.
Спасибо за такие игры, они очень нужны
CandleLight
10. Oct 2020 · 18:01 UTC
This is such a fantastic game on so many levels. The art is beautiful, music, sounds, and voiceover are exceptionally well done topped off with a meditative gameplay experience. The game has all these pieces wonderfully tied together to create a unique atmosphere that emotes feelings of hope. Thank you for creating this lovely game! <3
Toccio94
10. Oct 2020 · 18:20 UTC
I pressed hard my left button every time I needed to brake!

It's a cute and cheerful game =) The style is nice ad for the music, sound design was good enough.
I would have liked a bit more space between the stops to have time to read the thoughts, it was a bit stressing at first, I don't know if it is intended tho.

It's a bit sad that it is so short, and lacks maybe some sort of progression, it feels repetitive very fast. I'm also not sure it fits the theme that much.

Nonetheless, nice work and keep going!

Edit: from the images on this page it seems you could do something to them to make them happy (the stars) but I was not involved enough to keep going after 2 days to be honest =/

Playing it again, I realized that I must stop at the shops to make them happy. I thought about this in my first playthrough but ended up not even trying because there was no stop, so I thought it was not possible. I'll give it another shot and update my ratings and feedback!

Edit2: Ok, I think I've completed it this time (the train is into the sky but it's not ended, don't know if it is completed or again not!).
I think the main reasons I quit before even trying is the control of the train, or, to be more specific, the camera that is too close when moving, that made it impossible to brake in time, and therefore you always needed to go back a little. It's very slow and may be annoying, it was to me sadly, to the point that even trying to stop at the shops was a no.

It still is a cute game =)
Nekopi
10. Oct 2020 · 22:24 UTC
The art is really nice, the mood is very calm and I appreciate translation in English, although it's very inconsistent and it seems like the dialogue lines were literally machine translated. Other than that really good game!
maliyshock
11. Oct 2020 · 03:00 UTC
@nekopi we tried to make translation by our own. But our English level well... it is just not that good enought =)
maliyshock
11. Oct 2020 · 03:02 UTC
@toccio94 yep, thats true, it is not clear and you almost always need to go back a little. It is anoying for sure.
Joror
11. Oct 2020 · 13:09 UTC
Gorgeous art! I did not realize until reading here for a bit that I should stop in between the stations (thats dangerous! :sweat_smile:)
Love the voice over flavour - perhaps some subtitles there would be cool.

The game itself is a bit slow, but that is part of the type.

Nicely done!
acaral
11. Oct 2020 · 14:18 UTC
So I think I found the most beautiful game of this LD47.
Astuning art direction too. I must admit I had chosen watercolor style for my game, but your execution of that style is a step above mine (maybe a lot of steps I think :smile: )
aeveis
12. Oct 2020 · 06:00 UTC
I didn't get the the game at first, but looking through the comments gave me some hints. Nice game and stories! I thought I might have to do some more puzzling with picking up and dropping off people but things worked out nicely. nice job!
asfdfdfd
12. Oct 2020 · 19:35 UTC
On my machine in takes ~5 minutes to launch this game.

Anyway.

I love you storytelling and how well art fits into it. Cool entry.