LudumData

Deeper Sleep Beta by Kszaku

[raw]
made by Kszaku for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

CW: FLASHING LIGHTS, LOUND NOISES

Hey, while searching trough my old stuff, I have found that weird CD with words "DEEPER SLEEP BETA - DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION" written on its case.

At first glance it looked like collection of some mid-90s internal infomercials for Amazonbar Industries, global shipping and delivery conglomerate.

But... as I started to browse trough contents of the CD I have found something else. It seems like it is some kind of a software, that has been used (or rather was planned to be used, as I have never heard about that before) to boost productivity of Amazonbar's employees.

I could not make my mind of it, and I would love to ask my mother, who probably brought that CD home, as worked as a software engineer in their software division, unfortunately she has died in a car accident back in 1996.

There was what it looks like an internal memo attached to the case, containing following statement:

``` Dear [employee name], If you read this, your manager probably noted considerable decrease in your productivity. Here in Amazonbar Industries, we expect everyone in our staff to do their best to keep the operation running. However, we understand, that in the end everyone is just a human.

With that in mind, we are incredibly happy to inform you, that you have met the conditions to enter the test run of 'Deeper Sleep' program. At Amazonbar, we do care about our staff member's happiness and well-being (that's why we don't need worker unions!), and we are 100% sure, that software you are about to use will do just that.

Amazonbar Software has made sure, that program you are about to use is 100% safe for your health, and we are making sure, that every employee enters it as a volunteer*.

So waste no time, start the program immediately and get ready, to deliver a better future even more efficiently!

Sincerely, [Heads of HR department name] Director of HR Department Amazonbar Industries USA

  • By using DEEPER SLEEP you recognize, that Amazonbar Industries is responsible for any negative effect of that software ** Refusal to take part in that experiment may result in losing holiday benefit, or immediate termination of your contract ```

I could not make my mind of it, so I dumped the CD into a zip archive (the .exe seems to run surprisingly well even on Windows 10), feel free to download it, and see for yourself.

Link https://github.com/damoch/deeper-sleep
Link https://damoch.itch.io/d-e-e-p-e-r-s-l-e-e-p
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/deeper-sleep-beta

Ratings

Overall 570th 3.725⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1098th 3.225⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 219th 3.902⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Theme 374th 4.025⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Audio 147th 4.077⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Humor 538th 3.163⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Mood 27th 4.5⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Given 41🗳️ 60🗨️

Feedback

Thulium Games
26. Apr 2021 · 22:27 UTC
Really cool concept, I love the lore behind it. I feel like the game could have used some more creepy vibes, I don't really know how you would do that but it just felt a bit off. It was still great though.
RatedDForDegenerate
26. Apr 2021 · 22:30 UTC
This was a very atmospheric game, I really enjoyed it! Very unexpected and reading it all was very entertaining. Think I managed to get the questions right first try which I'm proud of :D Can't wait for the full release!
Untitled Studios
26. Apr 2021 · 22:50 UTC
This seems really really intriguing, but a lot of the text cut off on the right side of the screen, and it stopped working completely at the "focus on images in the center of your screen" part
🎤 Kszaku
26. Apr 2021 · 22:52 UTC
@untitled-studios hey, what do you mean by stopped working? Did it crashed?
Untitled Studios
26. Apr 2021 · 22:54 UTC
@kszaku like it stayed on a black screen for a long time without doing anything, even when i mashed inputs - maybe it was intentional and i was missing something?
🎤 Kszaku
26. Apr 2021 · 23:00 UTC
@untitled-studios then it kinda does like there is a problem. I'll look into it, thanks for giving me the heads up
Untitled Studios
26. Apr 2021 · 23:03 UTC
@kszaku no problem man, game seems cool
AbigailCorfman
27. Apr 2021 · 00:23 UTC
That was REALLY good. We started playing and we were like: "Oh fun! A real world horror game!"

Amazing mood. Cutting commentary. I liked the increasing complexity of the busywork mini-games.

I might speed up the pictures a touch more to accelerate the pacing and prevent people getting bored before they get to the good part, but I'm not even sure. I understand the rhythm is part of the feel.

It spoke to my ancient lizard brain.
Alina Baybulatova
27. Apr 2021 · 09:37 UTC
Great mechanics) I really have fun!
Thank you))
Legolula
27. Apr 2021 · 09:48 UTC
Really like the distopia vibe of it all and the commentary, but I did have the same issues as Untitled Studios
ksonyanya
27. Apr 2021 · 09:49 UTC
Oh my god, it feels so great to finally be a properly set up Amazonbar employee :heart_eyes:
Love the story, love the atmosphere. Love a few funny references scrolled maybe a bit too fast ;) Great game, thank you!
theArchitect
27. Apr 2021 · 10:06 UTC
Really intriging idea, however the game crashed after showing the forest image by throwing a Fatal Memory Error.--Out of Memory.
It's weird, because my task manager states otherwise
🎤 Kszaku
27. Apr 2021 · 15:25 UTC
@untitled-studios @legolula @thearchitect could you tell me what version of Windows are you using?
Legolula
27. Apr 2021 · 19:43 UTC
@kszaku I was on windows 10 myself
thatnoobles
27. Apr 2021 · 22:07 UTC
wow, that was great! really unsettling. the lack of any audio except for the sound cues made for a really spooky time. this really does feel like an orientation exercise for some company in the distant future.

my only criticism is that, like someone else mentioned, a lot of the text would go off the right side of the screen. i'm on a 1920x1080 monitor if that helps. you should turn this into a full game, great stuff!
AronIngi
27. Apr 2021 · 22:28 UTC
The mood and aesthetic was amazing, very eerie. I really liked the mystery about it when you first start and how the mood gets progressively more creepy, feels like some weird dystopian nightmare. Great game, good job.
LDJam user 234769
27. Apr 2021 · 22:41 UTC
Found it a little bit slow, but I might have been too tired to enter the mood properly. Despite that it was a very nice experience, I loved the overall style and atmosphere, and didn't regret staying til the end when I read the end quiz, so cool.
Thanks for this game :)
xxAtrain223
28. Apr 2021 · 01:17 UTC
I was not ready for that much lore. I couldn't read the instructions for the pictures in time, but thankfully my lizard brain did.

Here are Amazonbar, we care about your sleep!
Alchemic
28. Apr 2021 · 18:42 UTC
Interesting experience, although I felt like the first section of minigames kind of dragged on. The ending was cool.
Fran Gambero
28. Apr 2021 · 22:53 UTC
Cool journey, I enjoyed the dialogues and the atmosphere. I had an issue in windows version with some texts or off of the screen though.
![Captura de pantalla 2021-04-29 005124.png](///raw/ece/f2/z/416ed.png)
YaakGold
29. Apr 2021 · 00:01 UTC
I.. I'm not sure what I just experienced here. Like the begining I was thinking ok, I should expect some jokes, but I quickly found it difficult to read the text on the screen when there was a lot, so I probably missed a good portion of the jokes. However, there was still I point, I found myself thinking, whatever drugs you were on when you made this, I would love for you to give me some, cause it seemed like a fun time. I am honestly impressed with the fact you made a full UI based game in GameMaker, I have tried and failed a few times.
Borabee
29. Apr 2021 · 00:40 UTC
This was such a weird game to play LOL I love the theme, it's very current! And the mood was set perfectly with the aesthetics and sounds effects.
I encountered a few bugs though which most people already pointed out: text cut off, game lags a bunch at some points, image task instructions was too quick to read... And in the middle part it got a bit boring! But overall I really liked it.
miej
29. Apr 2021 · 01:05 UTC
also had a similar issue with text clipping off-screen. overall really nice mood in this submission, though it would have been interesting to have it be a bit more of an interactive experience.
Logicon211
29. Apr 2021 · 02:14 UTC
I loved the take on the theme and the unsettling CRT effects alongside the sounds. The political commentary in it was spot on too. Only I can't say I agree with it now that I'm an Amazonbar lizard robot now ;D.

Pretty cool game, good job!
LALAKI7
29. Apr 2021 · 12:43 UTC
I LOVE YOU MAN! :heart_eyes: You got yourself a new fan! I feel like this experience was made for me. I've recently learned a lot about how effective mental programming is to your behavior and used that knowledge to reprogram myself and actually become a gamedev after many years of procrastinating due to my bad programming. It really spoke to both my higher self and my little :lizard: brain.

The aesthetics are top notch and I love the main theme. I'm not sure if it's intended or if it's my potato laptop's integrated GPU not handling the CRT effects, but the framerate felt choppy and inconsistent. It actually kinda added to the experience though as it felt like some old choppy 90s software running on a really slow and old computer.

I pulled down my window blinds as instructed and played it via my TV screen and it was an exhilarating experience. Great writing, really felt like it could be something some alphabet soup agency made. The reptillian noises in the background near the end were a nice touch. I both laughed and cried during this experience.

5/5 would get reprogrammed again. :robot:
MasterProject
01. May 2021 · 16:07 UTC
Incredibly atmospheric. The way the game slowly devolves into madness was really well implemented - the pacing was perfect. Overall, one of the most solid entries I've seen so far.
Trexxak
01. May 2021 · 19:59 UTC
Whoa, this was a really cool and immersive experience! As others already said: The "CD" just drips of world-building! I personally lik- ergh, I mean:

Amazonbars is the best company in the world. I am a proud employee of Amazonbars.
ChuChuGeralt
02. May 2021 · 13:58 UTC
Well, that was one great experience! I really do like the retro-style theme. The switch between "oh that is a fun experiment" to "well...it’s going down from here" was executed beautifully. Would´ve loved to play an ever longer version! If you want to be picky, I would have loved the "success" sound do get broken as well, that would have been the cherry on top. But nicely done!
Tygrak
02. May 2021 · 15:01 UTC
That was a really cool experience. I really liked the shader used for the screen, and all the sound effects worked really well too. The commentary definitely isn't talking about any real company, right :)? Great great job on the game!
Crazybot
02. May 2021 · 18:26 UTC
Wow, really great.

Insanely interesting, maybe a bit much reading but it was worth it!

15/10, would get brainwashed again :D

PS, Amazonbar... reaal subtle
MerlinnSound
02. May 2021 · 20:52 UTC
Really interesting game concept. I loved the song at the beginning, sooo 80s style :-)
Overall the game makes you feel unsettled. The visual effects are really nice. I think you captured the essence of you inspiration really well.
PxlDev
03. May 2021 · 19:09 UTC
This game has a cool concept. I haven't seen anything like this yet on this jam.
exopunk
03. May 2021 · 21:21 UTC
That was such a unique experience, very interesting concept and the mood was set really nicely with the letter, the cd and the 90s aesthetic! I don't have much to say, only that i am glad that i played it, great job!
cvetk0
03. May 2021 · 22:00 UTC
I loved how you set everything up with the description of the game itself here on LD page. The idea of running a retro software is cool and I think you nailed the looks and feel of it. Sadly the game crashed on me with out of memory error and was not able to get through it entirely. Still very enjoyable experience though. Keep up good work!
Thinh
05. May 2021 · 16:31 UTC
Pros: The mood of the game was executed perfectly and I really felt immersed playing throughout the entire game. The audio cues and slight SFX greatly helped with it's immersiveness, but most importantly, the visuals provided that visual connection that helped keep me engaged the entire time.

Cons: I personally didn't see any cons or things I didn't like about the game.

Overall, the game was really great and I thoroughly enjoyed overall. The concept and idea for the game was interesting to view at the end after everything. Creative and enjoyable game, great job!
Bastienre4
14. May 2021 · 15:47 UTC
My kind of game.
I loved it.
Congrats!
DanteLich
16. May 2021 · 18:53 UTC
Idea 10/10
xatulu
17. May 2021 · 16:51 UTC
Really amazing how you came up with this. The whole things just genius and I really really REALLY dig the "retro" aesthetics!

Kudos to an amazing game about mental programming, hats off to you sir, you get my trophy!
gamedevkng
18. May 2021 · 00:09 UTC
Amazingly atmospheric. Quite an original experience, I was not expecting that at all. Excellent choice of shader. The old CRT effect is impressive. Great job !