LudumData

Programmer Nightmare by Cary Stanley

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

Screen Shot 2020-10-04 at 2.27.25 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-10-04 at 6 (4).png

Oh No!! You feel asleep while working on you GameJam game, now you must collect all the JavaScript symbols and keywords to finish a program to escape the endless dream, and finish you game!

[Based on Real Imaginary Events]

This is my 2nd LudumDare (its been 2 years since my first). Built it all while fighting sickness and an inability to sleep.

Youtube https://carystanley.itch.io/programmer-nightmare
Youtube https://github.com/carystanley/ld47-coder-dream
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/47/programmer-nightmare

Ratings

Overall 257th 3.5⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Fun 355th 3.171⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 185th 3.586⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Theme 257th 3.714⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Humor 6th 4.278⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Mood 279th 3.227⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 15🗳️ 19🗨️

Feedback

David Hunter
04. Oct 2020 · 23:17 UTC
I do not know what sort of strange mind came up with this game. The doctor proscribes sleep and lots of it.
Seriously though I used to love those old adventure games, this a pretty good version of the them. Very funny.
alec
05. Oct 2020 · 00:28 UTC
"tabs or spaces? Both" made me chuckle
neonjeff
05. Oct 2020 · 01:57 UTC
Alternating space/tab is the only way to go! I got stuck after animating the jumping jacks guy, but I like the idea! I wish it had sound.
Aarimous
05. Oct 2020 · 01:58 UTC
Love the tabs/spaces joke :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsoOG6ZeyUI
Cryptomnesic
05. Oct 2020 · 02:00 UTC
???
ChickenCastle
05. Oct 2020 · 02:04 UTC
Haha tabs vs spaces, nice. I got confused when he hated both answers, took me a while to come back for the 'both'. I then got stuck at 'true { console.log }'.
I think maybe some instructions or how to play details in the submission description would be really helpful.
Nice work!
Yeomsley
05. Oct 2020 · 02:12 UTC
After much wandering it was worth it for the ending haha
🎤 Cary Stanley
05. Oct 2020 · 02:13 UTC
@david-hunter Yup, this is a weird game, I need to get some rest now :sleeping:

@aarimous Yes! I had to rewatch that "Silicon valley" clip when I was writing the dialog for that section of the game.
spacemyname
05. Oct 2020 · 02:57 UTC
Great Game!
timeloopedpowergamer
05. Oct 2020 · 07:52 UTC
Lots of inside jokes. Reminds me fondly of old Roberta Williams games. Not exactly nailing the theme, but this great game nails just about everything else.
Masaru
05. Oct 2020 · 11:47 UTC
Does the { not do anything ? I got stuck trying it on every character until I randomly clicked the computer... outside of that, these of true r/programmerhumour memes. Concept is very cool.
joonamo
05. Oct 2020 · 14:00 UTC
I love the walk animation loop! :runner:
Aterlamia
05. Oct 2020 · 14:50 UTC
well that is javascript, truest comment i have seen. Fun take, but i do miss some sounds
Gironimo4
05. Oct 2020 · 15:18 UTC
Tabs. That's the end of the discussion. Fun way of picking up items by debugging!
🎤 Cary Stanley
05. Oct 2020 · 17:02 UTC
@chickencastle If the markdown had a way to hide spoilers, I would definitely add a strategy guide.

@timeloopedpowergamer Thanks for the comment, was nice to hear my game likened to a old Roberta Williams games :smile_cat:

@masaru Yes, the "{" does not have a use in this game, but is needed to complete the game.
WongKongPhooey
05. Oct 2020 · 17:21 UTC
What a nice, unique idea! Simple, but engaging. Exactly what you want from a jam game!
raddishradish
06. Oct 2020 · 04:27 UTC
Loved how you executed the theme! I didn't expect to actually see a game jam game about making a game jam game.
Emily Pitcher
06. Oct 2020 · 06:49 UTC
What a fun game idea! I love how you interpreted the theme especially.
LouieJams
06. Oct 2020 · 13:47 UTC
Really fun idea, was unable to figure out how to escape the dream but enjoyed the experience!
🎤 Cary Stanley
06. Oct 2020 · 18:14 UTC
Thanks @emily-pitcher & @louiejams I really enjoyed your game as well!
fpoli
07. Oct 2020 · 02:25 UTC
Very funny and engaging! I felt bad for the poor guy who got stuck on the animation loop. One thing to point out... I used all all the "items" except for the opening curly bracket. Can it be used somewhere? Anyway, it was fun!
Lucas Helfman
07. Oct 2020 · 03:40 UTC
This really is a nightmare!
If your goal was the mess with the player, job well done!
🎤 Cary Stanley
07. Oct 2020 · 16:33 UTC
@fpoli yes the opening curly bracket is not used as an "action" in the game, but must be obtained for the ending

@lucas-helfman sorry to hear you had a bad experience
Shelvid
07. Oct 2020 · 18:56 UTC
Simple and fun game, slightly confusing but managed to beat it all by myself
🎤 Cary Stanley
07. Oct 2020 · 20:07 UTC
Thanks for playing @shelvid! It was great to watch your twitch broadcast. Helps me see the players challenges and understand how I can better improve in the future.
netmute
08. Oct 2020 · 19:25 UTC
Lot's of great programmer humor in here :joy:
I love a good point n click, and this one was very unique. Well done :grin: :thumbsup:
Ramble House Games
11. Oct 2020 · 00:21 UTC
Neat idea. I hope you sort out that sleep issue.
island-jam-2-group-3
11. Oct 2020 · 15:22 UTC
Simple but original game. I missed some music / sounds but other than that good job ;-)
MandaRad
11. Oct 2020 · 16:03 UTC
I liked the humour in this game a lot and really enjoyed the interactions with the characters. Great job!
nandelind
14. Oct 2020 · 20:37 UTC
Very creative and fitting! I did have trouble sometimes with putting an instruction on something, where it would sometimes drop/disappear before I got to where I was going or clicked to try using it.
🎤 Cary Stanley
15. Oct 2020 · 21:22 UTC
Thanks @nandelind for the feedback, I saw another player struggle with the "actions" cursor, if I have time I will try to fix some day.
ruthiepee
16. Oct 2020 · 22:27 UTC
I was bout to be MAD at that wizard before I realized what the right answer was... haha! I love the originality of this game, which is reminiscent of an oldschool adventure game with a looping environment. It'd be nicer with some audio but I really appreciate the inventiveness of it and the funny dialog.