Inner Demons by seanarooni

[raw]
made by seanarooni for Ludum Dare 47 (COMPO)

Semi experimental strategy game about fighting ones inner demons and escaping vicious cycles of self loathing. Inner demons attempts to explore ideas such as consumerism as escapism or self soothing to combat or hide from negative thoughts. The game is played with a mouse, drag items down to the large box below them to snap them to a grid in this item management & deck building inspired entry. The demons attack scales aggressively, build up the perfect deck to survive their onslaught and achieve total victory.

Your goal is to survive the demons onslaught while dealing 99 damage to them. Each turn you are given some money to buy items with (by dragging it to the square below the shop). When you buy an item, you gain its attack and block bonus immediately, and at the start of each round for as long as you hold that item in your inventory. You can also "use" your items by dragging them on to the enemy demons. Doing so grants its block bonus again as a 1 time effect, but then the item is removed from your inventory. This is a good way to get the necessary block required by later rounds. Some items refund for cash to use on the next buy phase, or you may want to use an item to free space in your inventory, or remove an item with a negative effect.

Ratings

Overall 416th 3.229⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Fun 332th 3.229⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 145th 3.667⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 526th 2.935⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 387th 3.208⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Audio 285th 3.125⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Humor 103th 3.391⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 262th 3.271⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Given 33🗳️ 21🗨️

Feedback

Kevin Du
05. Oct 2020 · 06:34 UTC
I can't play it.it told me unfound UnityPlayer,dll.I look forward to play your game.
ondy1985
05. Oct 2020 · 08:40 UTC
It's not working man. Even copying the UnityPlayer.dll from another project didn't help.
Week of the agents
05. Oct 2020 · 10:36 UTC
Hey, bro. You forgot to put some files into archive.
notsomecats
05. Oct 2020 · 11:05 UTC
The web version works great. Loved all the writing, dynamic items and their detailed info. I aim to collect all the succulents and give everyone all the pills.
Cyborg Studio
05. Oct 2020 · 16:47 UTC
The mechanics were a bit opaque (it wasn't clear what "using" an item vs "selling" it was), but was quite fun after a few tries. Would love to see what it looks like with some polish on the art/music.
lesinvisible
05. Oct 2020 · 18:50 UTC
Not so intuitive, but this game have strange comforting and meditative feel to it, I liked it.
Games_by_Tom
05. Oct 2020 · 19:16 UTC
I found the mechanics a bit hard to understand, especially the buying vs. using mechanic.

Luckily the game was very well done (I especially liked the graphics) and enticing that I tried until I got it.

What you should explain more explicitly:
If you buy something, you get its +attack/+block immediately. You do not get its block value subtracted again on "the next" demon, unless you use it. It is only one consistent enemy you are playing against (with 99 life until dead, no matter how many rounds that takes).
(correct me if I understood anything incorrectly)

And, to gloat a bit:

![demons.PNG](///raw/f67/63/z/36ec6.png)

btw: lol, "anywhere but here" ^^
cax
06. Oct 2020 · 00:20 UTC
Pretty hard game still can't complete but it's original and intersting)
SophieMae0
07. Oct 2020 · 19:53 UTC
I love all the flavor text and how colorful this game is, and it was really fun to play. My favorite power up is definitely the succulent. Great job :)
fachscahfttf
07. Oct 2020 · 20:20 UTC
Pretty hard, did not quite get the concept at first (how to block).
Loved the graphics and the humor
Kraig
07. Oct 2020 · 20:21 UTC
Would like volume control, sometimes I would skip the buying phase by mistake, maybe try to prevent that. I liked the idea and the gameplay.
Just_Dante
07. Oct 2020 · 20:25 UTC
Pretty good game. Nice concept and good flavor texts
🎤 seanarooni
07. Oct 2020 · 22:07 UTC
Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone! It means the world as you all know.
08. Oct 2020 · 08:31 UTC
The source code is missing, could you please post it? I'll review the game then, otherwise it wouldn't be fair
Kate90
08. Oct 2020 · 16:46 UTC
I have this disturbing feeling, plaing the game. Nice though!
ryzy27
08. Oct 2020 · 16:51 UTC
Cool game.

Takes a bit of time to figure out, but learning is enjoyable and after that the game is very nice. I managed to finish it on 2nd try.

Love the art and background music. It kept nice, intense atmosphere.

Cheers!
🎤 seanarooni
08. Oct 2020 · 17:23 UTC
Fixed the source code, must have deleted it when i took down the broken windows version.
udo
08. Oct 2020 · 20:39 UTC
It took me a few tries, but I have escaped the cycle of violence!

Well done! I especially liked the attack sentences of the demons, and I loved how together with the items this makes a compelling statement about everyday life and society grinding you down bit by bit. UI-wise it's a bit hard to figure out, and survival does hinge on what items you get (same as with many deck building games), but other than that I wouldn't change anything about this game. :slight_smile:
PerfectSquare
09. Oct 2020 · 00:01 UTC
Loved your bold rainbow colour scheme for the graphics, it fit really well with the strange premise of fighting your inner demons with headphones and bell bottoms :)

As others have mentioned, I found figuring out when to use items and when to just hoard them a bit confusing but I think that could easily be fixed with some UI tweaks. Overall it was really fun to play once I got the hang of it.
notime4games
27. Oct 2020 · 12:22 UTC
Good job! It was fun once I understood I could use items during fights, and I beat it on my 3rd attempt.
You seem to really like rainbow gradients! :D I think the music worked well with the art. Good game overall, well done!