LudumData

Dead Hand by Kszaku

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

Might require .NET framework runtime download https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net472

You are sitting in a super-secret, deep underground military bunker. Far from battle fronts, and obvious military target.

You have just been ordered to activate Dead Hand - super secret doomsday device, that will ensure full nuclear retaliation in case of nuclear attack.

There is only one catch - you are responsible for deciding, whether strike should commence, or be delayed for another 10 minutes.

Of course, you will have date to help you in the process. Can you trust the data?

The worst enemy, might be in fact, the system itself. The old computer just loves to lag.

Read emails!

Well... I made a sort-of spiritual successor to one of my previous games https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/45/the-story I've been planning more scenarios... But, I've barely finished one of them. (The scenario takes about 30 minutes)

Youtube https://github.com/damoch/dead-hand
Youtube https://damoch.itch.io/dead-hand
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/47/dead-hand

Ratings

Overall 1043th 3.344⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1182th 3⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 543th 3.563⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1145th 3.266⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Humor 842th 2.645⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Mood 606th 3.578⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 39🗨️

Feedback

Alasdair Hitchen
05. Oct 2020 · 22:04 UTC
Interesting conept but the sound is very jarring, I did not expect it at all!
melvinng
06. Oct 2020 · 04:21 UTC
Interesting game!
Colmaphis Games
06. Oct 2020 · 05:15 UTC
Interesting!
TheseusInABottle
06. Oct 2020 · 05:35 UTC
I had fun going through the scenario. I do wish the sound effects had been a little less jarring personally but I have pretty sensitive hearing so take that with a grain of salt
Skvader_418
06. Oct 2020 · 12:36 UTC
the sound is very jarring but the game was pretty fun in my opinion
necauqua
07. Oct 2020 · 00:17 UTC
Well, it was pretty fun, I really liked the concept, good job! :)
etrealjunior
07. Oct 2020 · 08:54 UTC
I liked your game my congratulations, I also did one if you want to know, and give me your feedback I am very grateful, this is the link https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/47/resurrection
Squidzilla
07. Oct 2020 · 10:18 UTC
Dude, this is horror! hahaha, fantastic piece of storytelling, got me way back to the early 90s... First off, screw you for finding out what my name and family name are, and putting that in the sentence with: ... is responsible for operation of the computer controlling the Dead Hand system. That scared me! (also nice reference to Dune2) waiting for a defrag was both nostalgic and frustrating hahaha, thanks for that! The next evil thing you did was issuing a error after I entered the delay code! (sorry for all the spoilers) You definitely nailed the theme. Now I am going to punish the world by letting the bomb explode muahahaha
Stratcat66
07. Oct 2020 · 21:13 UTC
Even though it was just a text adventure, this was a really intense experience. I really panicked when the computer was slowing down, I received several mails AND dead hand was running, though I somehow managed to survive. Congrats, a really good game!
etrealjunior
09. Oct 2020 · 02:38 UTC
This game is very cool, it is scary, I will not speak any more so as not to spoil, my congratulations, a big hug.
🎤 Kszaku
10. Oct 2020 · 11:01 UTC
@squidzilla haha, thank you! Finding out your name was really simple, I just used your Windows username. "Dead Hand" is actually a reference to actual of automatic retaliation systems, that were deployed by USSR, USA and UK... But also the game was heavily inspired by Dr. Strangelove =)
Theogen
10. Oct 2020 · 16:39 UTC
Very immersive game with cool command-line interface! If you ignore the typos, the announcement messages felt very real. And the slowdowns were really scary at times. I think you need to add the possibility to view previous emails, because there is no way to get the delay code later unless you copy it somewhere.

P.S. Entering the shutdown code doesn't actually cancel the strike and you can continue playing... It looks like a bug, but it's kind of convenient, given the theme. :grin:

![Screenshot 2020-10-10 122038.png](///raw/b34/43/z/39ecb.png)
🎤 Kszaku
10. Oct 2020 · 16:54 UTC
@theogen haha, well I finished uploading this game like 10 minutes before deadline, so bugs are indeed expected. Thanks for feedback, I'm happy you've liked it ;)
TwoBitMatt
10. Oct 2020 · 18:29 UTC
Great mood and storytelling, especially for such a small game. Love the pacing!
StellarBearGames
10. Oct 2020 · 19:31 UTC
Very cool, I got the happy ending. The terminal is really immersive and it felt like I was actually in charge of retaliatory strike software running on a PC from the 20th century. The game should have been way shorter though. A terminal with colored words would add beauty and readability to the game as well. Great job!
GregoryBlomquist
10. Oct 2020 · 20:25 UTC
Anxiety-inducing text-based game with a cool Command Prompt aesthetic; the minimalist style definitely added to the theme. I jumped at the first warning beep haha Really great but scary atmosphere and the computer lag adds a whole other layer of tension! Great job on it!
Cargamoni
11. Oct 2020 · 01:12 UTC
Its pretty fun to play, thanks for it. Rate our game too please !
heyycap
11. Oct 2020 · 03:41 UTC
Interesting short text adventure style concept! Sometimes I felt like I was just waiting to receive an email with nothing to do, but it definitely gets more interesting.
Trexxak
11. Oct 2020 · 20:15 UTC
YES! A game where it's worth it to write some things down o:
Immensely immersive text adventure! Had a lot of fun with it!

(had this ending: False warning)
Doc_Moustache
12. Oct 2020 · 19:37 UTC
God I love it! The ambiance, the originality, the way it uses "the loop"... It made me think a bit of the game "Wargames"
VPhyre
14. Oct 2020 · 13:38 UTC
Interesting work. Something very retro and creative. I liked using command lines to interact with your game hahaha. It's a very interesting type of immersion. Congratulations.
kr4ft3r
15. Oct 2020 · 03:07 UTC
Got me thinking, whoever was in charge of acquiring this OS and computer system must have pocketed a ton of money.

First run I didn't quite understand that I'm supposed to activate the deadHand right away, so I kind of did nothing until the end, peace negotiations worked out, smooth ride. I was the hero while munching on chips and sipping beer.

Second time I wanted to cause mayhem so I activated without using delay code, turns out there seem to have been an attack, it all worked out. Or did it? What a twist.

Due to slow peace I didn't had patience to play out the third scenario. But very inventive approach, gj.