LudumData

Night in the Garden by nikchernyakov

[raw]
made by nikchernyakov for Ludum Dare 46 (JAM)

Good boys always listen their grandmothers.

To become a good boy for Granny click here: https://nikchernyakov.itch.io/night-in-the-garden

Our hero receives a letter from his beloved Granny, where she asks to look after her favorite flower. You need to water the flower, but the well is dry. No problem! Granny saved some jerrycans for cases like this. To tell the truth, she doesn't really remember where exactly she put them, but they are definitely somewhere in the garden.

Easy-peasy! Or not? It seems like Granny forgot to tell us more about her garden...

Письмо бабушки.png

To keep yourself alive:

  • Find all jerrycans

Канистра.png

  • Water the flower

Полив цветка.png

  • Use your flashlight to resist the monsters, which are hiding in the dark corners of Granny's garden

Враги2.png

  • Reveal all Granny's secrets

Секреты3.png

Control:

  • W/A/S/D - move
  • E - interaction
  • Mouse - flashlight direction
  • Esc - pause

Don't worry about your progress: even if you exit the game, it will be saved.

Assets

  • The environment is made using assets from here: https://syntystore.com/
  • Characters' models were taken from here: https://sketchfab.com/feed
  • We modified all characters' models and made animations
  • Audio is made using assets from the Internet and modified

Version 1.1.0:

  • ​Enemies fixes
  • Save-system improvement (now player is saved after collecting jerrycans too)
  • Audio fixes

Version 1.1.1:​

  • Minor fix on game map
Youtube https://nikchernyakov.itch.io/night-in-the-garden
Youtube https://nikchernyakov.itch.io/night-in-the-garden
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/night-in-the-garden

Ratings

Overall 472th 3.826⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Fun 772th 3.544⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 914th 3.435⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1336th 3.609⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 787th 3.922⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Audio 589th 3.598⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Humor 894th 3.138⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Mood 344th 3.902⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Given 49🗳️ 65🗨️

Feedback

tazk
21. Apr 2020 · 14:57 UTC
Beautiful graphics, nice music and good atmosphere in general but I think the gameplay is a bit sloppy
jellycopter
21. Apr 2020 · 15:02 UTC
Interesting game! The graphic style is fantastic, and a sizeable level to explore. It seemed the floor monsters wouldn't always appropriately respond to the light, but aside from that very fun. Nice work
NaughtyBird
21. Apr 2020 · 20:10 UTC
@tazk Thank you for your feedback! In the future we are going to improve basic mechanics and realize more interesting features, like interaction with different objects and puzzles.
NaughtyBird
21. Apr 2020 · 20:13 UTC
@jellycopter Thanks! The floor monsters (eaters) are not supposed to respond to the light. If player steps into them, they eat him, but you can always run away, if you just accidentally touch it.
Alkis
21. Apr 2020 · 20:51 UTC
Amazing low poly style, very nice game idea, great music and sound effects, i liked the story very much. One thing was that the weird floor monsters were op, you cant get rid of them! Amazing game overall, nice job!
isaque-picao-sanches
22. Apr 2020 · 10:35 UTC
scary/adorable aesthetic :)
some of the enemy-related mechanics could use some tweaking
hollebecq.baptiste
22. Apr 2020 · 10:35 UTC
very great work here ! music really help getting into it
NaughtyBird
22. Apr 2020 · 10:39 UTC
@alkis Thanks for your feedback! If you mean the floor mosnters which run after the player we are going to balance them more. In the future they will be afraid of the light and run away for a while if the player use his flashlight on them.
pele90
22. Apr 2020 · 10:57 UTC
Mood and atmosphere, spot on. The art is amazing. Loving how much effort you put in the details. The models are awesome. Movement and using the flashlight is a bit clunky and slow. At one point, some alien/plant attacked me, but i shone the light the entire time...not sure if that was intended, but kinda ruined the feel. But nonetheless I liked the game a lot. Very polished. Nice job.
🎤 nikchernyakov
22. Apr 2020 · 11:06 UTC
@pele90 thanks man! The "alien plant" that running for the player is only slowing his speed on the light. We want to add him running away ability in future.
NaughtyBird
22. Apr 2020 · 11:10 UTC
@isaque-picao-sanches Thank you! During development it was quite difficult to realize how mechanics would be perceived by real players. But thanks to your feedback we will able to improve all mechanics :)
NaughtyBird
22. Apr 2020 · 11:10 UTC
@hollebecq-baptiste Thank you! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the game.
Palvel
22. Apr 2020 · 11:24 UTC
In this game, it is really interesting to study the map!! Good game with cool graphics, but on my pc lagging(
Hernz
22. Apr 2020 · 11:30 UTC
God, these crawling things are nightmare fuel haha ! It's a pretty relaxing game concidering the setup. I had a lot of troubles pointing my light were i wanted, a cursor would have been welcome but i also think it's buggy somehow. I ended up not finishing the game because of that, i could not defend myself properly without light ! Graphicaly speaking it's neat.I think i have spotted some asset store assets (the squeletons for exemple) if this is the case you should say wich assets are not from you and were they come from in your game description. Oh and the font and UI are awesome ! Gameplay wise, the checkpoints are more than welcome, thanks for that. The overall gameplay feels nice, exept maybe for the crawlings horrors that sometimes block you against a wall. Nicely done, keep going !
🎤 nikchernyakov
22. Apr 2020 · 11:45 UTC
@palvel sorry for inconvenient. During the jam it was hard to optimize the whole game. Thanks for your feedback, we will work more on performance.
NaughtyBird
22. Apr 2020 · 11:52 UTC
@hernz Thanks for your feedback! We added the assets description, thanks for your remind. The character is rotating to the cursor position with a small delay. But because of invisibility of a cursor it can be quite triky to understand. Now we are testing players' reaction. According it, we will be able to improve all mechanics and the whole game.
keybol
22. Apr 2020 · 13:03 UTC
Nice atmosphere and the goal is clear. I'm not sure why there's need to hold E to pick up and drop the fuel though. I also got a bug where I clipped in to the middle part and I can go under the bridge. I love the audio also and the patterns of the enemies, I get to taunt them then move so I can not get hit. Good simple game, good luck with it!
NaughtyBird
22. Apr 2020 · 13:17 UTC
@keybol Thank you a lot! By holding E we would like to show that this process (watering the flower and picking up the jerrycans) is not instant and increase the player's anxiety in these moments. Your game strategy is really wise!
nablaz
22. Apr 2020 · 13:48 UTC
Very solid entry! I enjoyed playing the game, there is quite a bit of exploration to do! The flashlight rotation seems a bit unintuitive at times perhaps (as you wrote in another comment, it has to do with the absence of the cursor), but in the end i liked it. Once or twice i got stuck in a corner when attacked by the little creatures on the ground and the fact that they charged at me meant I couldn't go anywhere... But it wasn't a big problem thanks yo your save mechanic. Oh, graphics are also very nice!
NaughtyBird
22. Apr 2020 · 13:54 UTC
@nablaz Thanks! It is very nice that you enjoyed the game. As we wrote in previous comments, in the future we are going to add new features so the crawling monsters will run away for a while if the player use his flashlight on them.
Waqar Naeem
22. Apr 2020 · 17:09 UTC
awesome breath taking game. really cool
NaughtyBird
22. Apr 2020 · 17:12 UTC
@waqar-naeem Thanks a lot!

![Keanu.jpg](///raw/754/e1/z/3271b.jpg)
Waqar Naeem
22. Apr 2020 · 17:23 UTC
:smile:
Zesix
22. Apr 2020 · 19:55 UTC
This game made me laugh. Amazing entry, well done haha
Drazihnya
22. Apr 2020 · 19:55 UTC
I like the idea and execution a lot!
🎤 nikchernyakov
22. Apr 2020 · 22:53 UTC
@zesix @angelinak thanks guys! Glad that you have enjoyed :)
Pixel_Error
25. Apr 2020 · 11:47 UTC
Why grandpas and grannies are so popular on this jam? :)
🎤 nikchernyakov
25. Apr 2020 · 13:15 UTC
@pixel-error Old age needs to be respected! :)
Taldius
25. Apr 2020 · 14:47 UTC
Nice looking game, the dark visuals and themes really works! Good job! :thumbsup:
NaughtyBird
25. Apr 2020 · 15:06 UTC
@taldius Thanks a lot, buddy :)
Draklaw
25. Apr 2020 · 16:07 UTC
Nice graphics, I like the low-poly look. The gameplay, however, could be improved:

* I don't really know how I was supposed to orient the character, but I had a real hard time making him look where I wanted, which is annoying because it is required to see where I go.
* Foliage and other stuff too often impair visibility.
* Carnivorous plant sometimes look like they are looking in some direction, but are actually looking in a slightly different one, which is frustrating.

Good work anyway.
thebreakfast
25. Apr 2020 · 20:56 UTC
Great graphics and atmosphere. The music and sounds are very fitting. Unfortunately at a certain point the mouse controls broke for me and I was not able to progress. I think the facehugger enemies are a little difficult. I must say, I'm curious to know more about the type of plant I'm feeding, and why it needs gasoline! I bet it explodes :D
mneubrand
25. Apr 2020 · 21:24 UTC
Great atmosphere. Music really helps set the mood too. Dear god that last gas can was tedious. You need to make a sequel where I can burn those damn plants down with a flamethrower.
FPGames
26. Apr 2020 · 02:30 UTC
I really like the atmosphere of the game..The music really sets the mood and I had some genuine scares.. Those man eater plants were really scary.. The controls were a little hard.Especially the flashlight rotation..Other than that I had fun playing this game.. Good job!
SaltFactory Studio
26. Apr 2020 · 02:58 UTC
Level design was exceptional, sometime I am genuinely scared walking into the dark. The atmosphere of the environment is very fitting with the theme. The monster plants are very unique, especially the small alien-like monster. My only problem, really, was the control of the flashing and movement in general. I felt like it could be better but overall this is amazing. Great job!
NaughtyBird
27. Apr 2020 · 11:04 UTC
@draklaw Thanks for your feedback! We will improve the character control and try to make it more convinient.

If you mean as carnivorous plants big green biters they bite you every time when you pass by. But you can use your flashlight to scare them - they don't like the light.
NaughtyBird
27. Apr 2020 · 11:10 UTC
@thebreakfast Thank you! Did the mouse control totally broke in the game? Did you try to restart the game after it? I'm really curious because we tested the control using different devices and we didn't find such a problem.

The flower needs water, not gasoline :) Granny mentioned this in her letter in the beggining of the game. She just used the first thing which she found to store water :D
NaughtyBird
27. Apr 2020 · 11:13 UTC
@mneubrand Ha-ha, thanks a lot! We will make a full game for sure, and probably a hero will be able to find somewhere in the garden a flamethrower to confront the enemies :)
NaughtyBird
27. Apr 2020 · 11:15 UTC
@fpgames @saltfactory-studio Thank you, guys! We are glad that you enjoyed the game. Thanks for your feedback we will improve the character control. I hope it will be more convinient in the future :)
Wilko
28. Apr 2020 · 15:35 UTC
Exciting game with a great atmosphere due to the art and lighting. The pacing was great as I felt I had to get further and further from the plant to get more jerry cans. As others have said the movement felt clunky due to the way the character is rotated. I am assuming you are either linearly interpolating or using SmoothDamp to move rotate the player. I think if you made the transitions between the target vector and current position faster it would feel a lot more responsive. Also if we had some sort of way of knowing where the mouse was on the screen it would save some confusion.
🎤 nikchernyakov
28. Apr 2020 · 16:59 UTC
@wilko thank you for your feedback! Yeah, you totally right about rotating method of the player. I agree with your suggestions. We just tried to add some anxiety for the player, but it turned against us. We will improve this! :)
LaZZyDev72
29. Apr 2020 · 12:11 UTC
Well Made Love the GameObjects. :v:
Aoni
29. Apr 2020 · 23:35 UTC
The armosphere is so cool.
NaughtyBird
02. May 2020 · 16:00 UTC
@lazzydev72 @aoni Thanks, guys!
R3D3R
09. May 2020 · 16:30 UTC
This game looks awesome and the the maze is well though out, I guess I can easily get lost in there xD I can play this for hours (literally) I would like to suggest if you can add textures or turn down the specualar of the meshes, it makes everything look plastic. I am looking forward to see more contents in the future :D