Hikikomori Simulator by yeojoey

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

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Hikikomori Simulator is a stat-management game where you attempt to keep the titular hikikomori (Japanese for social recluse) in their room at all costs! Pick activities for your hikikomori to do and keep an eye on their stats to make sure they are clean, fed, entertained and relaxed in the only place they can call home — their room.

Created by Joey Yeo (@yeojoey) and Niki Yeo (@yeo-niki) for Ludum Dare 46. Audio from Kenney.nl

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How To Play:

Choose activities from the panel on the right. It's game over when Stress reaches 100 or when any other stat hits 0! How many days can you keep the hikikomori in their room?

Stats (left to right, up to down): Fullness, Energy, Fun, Hygiene, Social, Stress

Ratings

Overall 777th 3.678⭐ 61🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1206th 3.328⭐ 60🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1155th 3.319⭐ 60🧑‍⚖️
Theme 967th 3.771⭐ 61🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 502th 4.117⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Humor 565th 3.438⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Mood 650th 3.696⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Given 37🗳️ 40🗨️

Feedback

Gaz_Ireland
20. Apr 2020 · 23:31 UTC
Pretty Graphics and overall clean astethic [sic?] however the stat cost seems a little steep but overall good game :)
Jeremy Ryan
20. Apr 2020 · 23:36 UTC
Nice entry! I unfortunately couldn't make it past day 3 --- I think I'm better at this in real life.

The graphics were really nice, and the various descriptions and animations breathed some life into the game. Music could have brought it to the next level.

The randomized effectiveness of various tasks sometimes felt bad, especially if it results in you losing. I guess I just need to play safer and not let any stat go too low.

Well done for 72 hours!
Lestat
20. Apr 2020 · 23:37 UTC
Nice graphics. Good job!
lambdaloop
21. Apr 2020 · 02:00 UTC
I loved the graphics! The I agree with @jeremy-ryan that the randomness made it hard. I couldn't make it past day 2 hahah. Every time I exercised I died =( .

I did wish that some of the text moved a bit faster so that I could experiment with the actions faster.
studioNOKOI
21. Apr 2020 · 04:06 UTC
i like the art and the sounds! i couldn't get the girl to stay alive past day 2 but it was a treat to look at.
thaniel
21. Apr 2020 · 04:06 UTC
Never knew what hikikomori was before I played this game. Art style is awesome. Maybe you could add some ambient sound to the whole thing.
Grentacular
21. Apr 2020 · 04:09 UTC
Pretty difficult, but I liked the cute art! Probably shouldn't stick to a diet of just ramen and snacks, though...
Ukumeme
21. Apr 2020 · 04:10 UTC
As a lot of other people mentioned-- the graphics are super clean and look really nice. Other than that though, the randomness threw me off a bit (I only lasted 4 days lmao)
Jarmustard
21. Apr 2020 · 04:11 UTC
Very well done! It has a good aesthetic and mechanics and is overall fun. It feels a bit brutal though unless I'm missing something about how to get "good outcomes" from actions.
Furqaan
21. Apr 2020 · 04:11 UTC
Great game 5 Stars! Simple but challenging. Whats the icon on the bottom right? What should i do to increase much faster?!
uboretsky
21. Apr 2020 · 04:17 UTC
oh that's my isolation life
pvp
21. Apr 2020 · 04:19 UTC
Nice pixel work, it hard 4 days was my best :p.
Saruto
21. Apr 2020 · 04:21 UTC
Cute art and simple but charming dialogue. The mechanics are really simple, but it's still hard to predict how the actions affect your stats which is a bit annoying. I think music would benefit the game greatly, and also random events that take place would've boosted the game a lot. Also, if it was a bit more explicit about the effects of actions (maybe with small arrows next to the stats when you hover over an action - the arrows as they are now are hard to see since they disappear so quickly) would help a lot. Good job guys!
Connie Liu
21. Apr 2020 · 05:09 UTC
Love the pixel art! I didn't realize how easy it was to die though.
yiyongc
21. Apr 2020 · 05:48 UTC
Omg this game put a smile on my face haha, it's like playing tamagotchi with humans LOL. I sucked at keeping her alive though :(
yeo_niki
21. Apr 2020 · 05:54 UTC
@Furqaan The icon is Stress! Unlike the other stats, you should try to keep it as low as possible x)
No Grapes Games
21. Apr 2020 · 07:16 UTC
The graphics are really nice, I played over and over trying to learn how best to manage her stats!
MarkWolf
21. Apr 2020 · 08:39 UTC
So addictive! But reminds a bit too much the current situation :cry:
Put all together graphics, game mechanics, mood are fantastic and consistent. I did not make a great score so I bookmark your game page to get my revenge later :smirk:
tripl3m
21. Apr 2020 · 09:40 UTC
Really loved the graphics, retro and minimalist !! The bottom right text are cute too. Nice game :)
Lucien Catonnet
21. Apr 2020 · 09:52 UTC
I really like the graphics and colors, and the texts are pretty funny, I'm really bad at it though :/
arzi
21. Apr 2020 · 11:06 UTC
I though I had it all figured out but then I died (?) of loneliness :cry:
Sharks
21. Apr 2020 · 17:27 UTC
Wow that was fun! I had a lot of trouble juggling all of the stats :smile: ! Really enjoyed it!
palsina
21. Apr 2020 · 18:59 UTC
I love everything about it, except that it's difficult to predict the outcome of your actions. But anyway I kept trying because I loved the little animations and dialogue. Also I died the most of lack of sleep, so it checks out.
Bruce
21. Apr 2020 · 21:22 UTC
So hard, couldn't get past day 2. I loved the art style!
Kemsou
21. Apr 2020 · 22:24 UTC
Damn, being a Hikikomori is hard x) so many stats to look after. It's great game with a nice atmosphere. very calming :)
joemid
22. Apr 2020 · 03:13 UTC
Mom! Very nice graphics and smart simple style. Haha- I could only ever last (2) days. Great job- would love to last longer, but also love if that's the point! Thanks so much for the Hikikomori Simulator!
yeo_niki
22. Apr 2020 · 04:42 UTC
Thanks for all the great feedback everyone! :smile: By the way, my personal record is 6 days! Would love to see if anyone can beat that x)
joh
22. Apr 2020 · 04:51 UTC
This is great, have to admit, had to give it a chance from the mere concept of a hikikomori simulator. (btw, your post about it had no link to here).

Anyway, it was surpringly nice! simple, yet quality graphics. simple yet quality sound and simple yet quality gameplay. I appreciate game that while "simple" just have an overall feel of quality, that is to say; deliver on their premise or concept.

I think the game is hard, maybe that's the point, but I rather liked that. sometimes game is too easy and you get bored somewhere, here you die quick and have the opportunity to think... "I can do better than this!" (I couldn't)
I did reach day 3 on my first try (beginner's luck?!)

Anyways great job!

*Seeing your post I went up to 4 days
PeachTreeOath
22. Apr 2020 · 05:34 UTC
I love stat-raising sims. This game reminded me of Tokimeki Memorial... minus the whole dating system. You captured the stat juggling feeling well and the art style lends itself well to the bleak mood of the theme. I realllllly like your cover art too, as that facial expression captures a surprising of emotion. I'm impressed with that record of 6 days. It seems like RNG is involved so I tried my best but still could only manage 3 days after a few runs. Great job, the game really stands out from the crowd!
Fever Dream Ben
22. Apr 2020 · 05:53 UTC
Good work, the game is incredibly polished and has a cute / pleasing visual style. All I have to recommend is maybe a little ambient music playing in the background but overall, great work under the time limit.
ggrusha
22. Apr 2020 · 08:04 UTC
So much love to pixel graphic!
eat ramen - it always saved me)
FeverDream Tim
22. Apr 2020 · 09:14 UTC
Great atmosphere and graphics, nice calming experience
Fat cat
22. Apr 2020 · 18:01 UTC
Graphics were really nice, a bit too challenging I think, I couldn't even make it past 2 days
YorisFresh
22. Apr 2020 · 18:28 UTC
I liked the graphics and the color scheme. The sound effects felt a little unbalanced, at first the buttons made a silent sound and made me turn up my volume, but then when i lost the sound was much louder and it was really unexpected.
Abyss
23. Apr 2020 · 02:15 UTC
![week.PNG](///raw/80a/52/z/32a21.png)

@yeo-niki
Wondering if I should be proud or concerned that I made it a week as a Hikikomori :sweat_smile:
yeo_niki
23. Apr 2020 · 06:55 UTC
@abyss Whaaaaaat!!! Well, the new record to beat is 7 days everyone :sweat_smile:
Roey_Shap
23. Apr 2020 · 08:48 UTC
The concept is cool, and the look, sound, and feel of the game overall really facilitate managing it cleanly. With all of that in place, however, it only makes it feel more out of place that I can’t know how much specific actions might affect others. If the intention was for strategy to play a significant role, maybe it should either be clearer that there WILL be effects with a given action, or some hint when hovering over said option (through your expressive and already-quirkily-fun textbox) as to what might happen if I choose that in her current state.
kjscott
23. Apr 2020 · 14:45 UTC
I only managed 4 days of being a shut in, I miscalculated and watched some anime for fun. Oh how that made me too lonely... :(

A really great cohesive design of the art, though maybe a little more could have been done on the audio (but I think it worked fine with the minimalist design there). The only draw back is I wasn't sure how effective any one action would be, the variation seemed so wide that it just seemed I had to do one thing then nap, do one thing then nap... unless that was the whole intent...?!

Very enjoyable, would recommend.
LouieJams
24. Apr 2020 · 20:09 UTC
I only lasted 2 days max over the times I tried! Very calm and entertaining tamagotchi like game. Gets quite diffcult with the many different attributes you need to keep an eye on, especially since you need to guess in what ways it will affect the stats sometimes. Simple design and noise added to the tamatgotchi feel, enjoyed this!
pke1029
25. Apr 2020 · 12:17 UTC
Cute and simple game. Wish there are more things to do. Like the art direction
JMad
28. Apr 2020 · 22:36 UTC
The art is so aesthetic, from the simple animation to the choice of color : loving it! I can't last more than three day, but I loved playing, and started over many times. Amazing job there!!
aeveis
29. Apr 2020 · 04:24 UTC
Art is great! I liked the different choices and the different results you would get. The max days I was able to get was day 3, 13:00. I think there's a bit of luck to get a good result (maybe you have to be less stressed for better results?), but in general I tried to not make certain values fall too low. I like that you have to figure out what the icons represent and what tasks represent what. Getting a good result to affect multiple stats is a nice surprise. Nice work!