POKER FACE by T4RAN

[raw]
made by T4RAN for Ludum Dare 59 (COMPO)

A poker game where emotions matter more than cards. Watch your opponents’ behavior, catch the signals of their bluffs, and use them to win.

You don’t even have to look at your cards if you understand your opponent, that’s enough to take the game.

Movie_026.gif

This game takes about 5-10 minutes to complete and has a definitive ending.

TOOLS USED

  • Unity + Visual Studio
  • Surge Tween Library
  • Photoshop
  • Audacity
  • jsfxr

Ratings

Overall 67th 3.788⭐ 68🧑‍⚖️
Fun 66th 3.682⭐ 68🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 168th 3.28⭐ 68🧑‍⚖️
Theme 132th 3.788⭐ 68🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 44th 4.067⭐ 69🧑‍⚖️
Audio 104th 3.485⭐ 67🧑‍⚖️
Humor 33th 3.703⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Mood 75th 3.769⭐ 67🧑‍⚖️
Given 16🗳️ 3🗨️

Feedback

Rinevard
Apr 20th · 12:04 UTC
omg I didnt expect the ending, super cool.
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 20th · 14:23 UTC
Thank you!
fgreeman
Apr 20th · 16:02 UTC
I bet my mother's soul, but got unlucky, yare yare. Still, I like the idea and the graphics.
juyr
Apr 20th · 19:46 UTC
This is pretty fun. I wish the opponent's hand were told to us completely, e.g: I had pair of queens and they beat with me with either pair or kings or pair or aces but the game only said "pair".

Overall, it was really fun to read their reactions and bet accordingly. Good job! :)
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 20th · 21:50 UTC
Thanks @juyr! I didn’t have enough time to implement that, unfortunately, but if I keep working on the game, I’ll definitely add it.
Pimeko
Apr 20th · 23:13 UTC
Well the concept is just great, really cool interpretation of the theme :)
Purrseus
Apr 21st · 09:38 UTC
Whoa, I was wondering how it would end. Bleak.

I love the idea behind your game, it really works!
Jamope_
Apr 21st · 12:46 UTC
I like this vision of "Signal", where you need to see the signals they make to know if they're lying or not, really cool implementation!
Fis
Apr 21st · 12:49 UTC
Nice entry and application of the theme! Not sure how I feel about the ending :scream_cat:
Ekopeko
Apr 21st · 12:51 UTC
Really nice use of the theme, very polished graphics
senior_sigan
Apr 21st · 12:52 UTC
I tried to win the casino with "signal" cheats but failed, T_T. Hhahahaa nice game!
Praccen
Apr 21st · 13:09 UTC
Really nice interpretation of the theme, and well executed! I was too good, and I paid for it :laughing:
Andrian
Apr 21st · 13:20 UTC
Really unique idea
Mr. TJ
Apr 21st · 13:33 UTC
Banger game, ending was also really funny, though i was confused at times why i was set back :)
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 21st · 13:36 UTC
Thanks everyone! @mr-tj maybe you ran out of chips.
Mr. Flower
Apr 21st · 15:33 UTC
I was NOT ready to get shot, but should've expected it with the GUN just sitting right there. The game is really cool, and just knowing if you have a good hand or not also really helps to enhance the game, while not making it impossible to play for non-poker players. Really awesome art, sound design, and incorporation of the theme. Great work :D
TermiGht
Apr 21st · 15:39 UTC
I loved this game! The changing characters was a nice feature. Except i got shot in the face but it happens to anyone. :)
VerttiXPertti
Apr 21st · 15:46 UTC
Fun game, but as someone who plays a lot of poker, the small errors with betting and calling annoyed me haha. Also sometimes the game would think I won when the villain still had chips. But other than that I really enjoyed the game. The ending was a shock.
Nordin
Apr 21st · 15:48 UTC
What a unique interpretation of the theme, love it :) great game
Tymus
Apr 21st · 15:50 UTC
would also have loved to see the winning hand, got a bit confused between not knowing what beat me and why some rounds ended with the character leaving.
otherwise fun entry for the jam :>
GooZzz
Apr 21st · 15:51 UTC
Hahaha!! it is very interesting, I love this game!😍
Verbante
Apr 21st · 16:43 UTC
The game does puts you into an observational mode which I really like. Btw I'm really glad I didn't close the games once I reached the ending, something amazing happened after 15 minutes.
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 21st · 16:58 UTC
Thanks!
@verbante I’m really glad you didn’t shut it down!
@verttixpertti I also really love poker, and even though I knew I needed to simplify the mechanics, I still wanted to add card drawing but I held myself back, hehe.
HDVR02
Apr 21st · 18:11 UTC
A very interesting take on a poker game — even though the opponent with a gun was tough for me. The simple visual style and music are pleasant. Great work!
penagwin
Apr 21st · 23:38 UTC
The graphics are super polished, you got a great aesthetic going!

I'm not sure if I got lucky, but my hands were so stacked I didn't have to read the signals much. Still a very well polished game for the jam, great work!
Maocaroni
Apr 22nd · 02:00 UTC
I like the idea, meaby more resources its perfect, but i liked
block97
Apr 22nd · 04:43 UTC
Really cool idea with the theme, the art and music were fantastic. I was about to win and got shot unlucky :D
LDJam user 236055
Apr 22nd · 13:29 UTC
nice to see you did submit it @t4ran :D love the idea of reading their faces to see if they're bluffing, a bit similar to the concept we went for but in a completely different genre
MaruMari
Apr 22nd · 13:53 UTC
A Poker game with signals. Brilliant 😁
AstroAceOne
Apr 22nd · 13:56 UTC
wonderful game, it’s so unusual to use facial signals to read your opponent, I liked that they just killed me at the end, it was funny
Echo Team
Apr 22nd · 15:26 UTC
A nice take on a classic game :smiley:
ShadyShade
Apr 22nd · 15:47 UTC
### I don't really know how to play poker but playing it while listening to Lady Gaga was really a peak experience :game_die:
### That one sigma dude was also hilarious
![sigma.png](///raw/af5/36/z/724b9.png)
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 22nd · 15:52 UTC
@shadyshade you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for a comment like this 😄
Andrian
Apr 22nd · 16:01 UTC
I really liked how every character in this game has a distinct personality, rather than just random emotions where you have to guess if they're bluffing or not. Also, using facial expressions as signals is a truly original idea. Well done!
LDJam user 423872
Apr 22nd · 16:01 UTC
Excellent poker implementation! Nice visual style.
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 22nd · 16:06 UTC
Thank you very much 😊
Pavlo04
Apr 22nd · 16:15 UTC
The game is awesome! I can see how much effort you put into the art—major respect for that. Great work!
hoarime
Apr 22nd · 17:01 UTC
nice game, i liked the interpretation of theme and the idea, but got confused in the beginning bc i forgot how to play poker xd
Mezaka
Apr 22nd · 17:36 UTC
Haha :D What. I beat the last guy but he still shot me. Maybe I should play less agressive against people with guns.
II-P
Apr 22nd · 18:00 UTC
There are a million poker games, but this one feels too real! Every digital version of poker lacks that true feeling of **poker**. Poker is about the people you play with.

In addition, I also really like how the opponents have different personalities and bluff in their own ways, *haha*, that's funny :>

This entry could definitely be a winning one!
nothingjustaworld
Apr 22nd · 20:46 UTC
Awesome work and the animations are cool 😎
GARYglhf
Apr 23rd · 07:39 UTC
Отличная игра! Очень классно обыграли тему. Сначала думаю покер?? и где тут сигнал - но когда заметил как меняется выражения лица играть стало веселей - это круто.
LDJam user 423838
Apr 23rd · 13:00 UTC
super clever take on the theme and the art is great, did not expect to get shot at the end but honestly fair enough
krawa
Apr 23rd · 18:57 UTC
![ChatGPT Image 23 апр. 2026 г., 19_56_03.png](///raw/a5b/76/z/727fc.png)
Looks like this game was supposed to teach me something, but I’m a terrible learner
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 23rd · 19:50 UTC
Hahaha, hype @krawa
Bananplyte
Apr 23rd · 21:15 UTC
Did not expect the ending! Fun game!
IRKAR
Apr 24th · 07:41 UTC
Cool game and i love ending game)![Screenshot_20260424_103751.png](///raw/25b/76/z/728cb.png)
kremlebot
Apr 24th · 09:52 UTC
А почему я не могу обменять часть карт по правилам пятикарточного покера? Или я просто не разобрался как это сделать?
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 24th · 13:17 UTC
@kremlebot I didn't add this mechanic to focus more on reading emotions than on your own combinations, like in most regular poker games.
Dywanix
Apr 24th · 19:00 UTC
really nice gameplay and lovely visuals
zevwax
Apr 24th · 20:25 UTC
Humor and graphics are 5/5! Good work!
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 25th · 07:36 UTC
Thx!
LDJam user 389319
Apr 26th · 15:24 UTC
The ending hahahahaha, well done! Loved the artstyle lots!
LLlarsO
Apr 26th · 16:41 UTC
Fun little game. I think the lenght of the game was perfect.

I like the variation with two opponents. Would have liked a level with even more players, so it gets harder to see the faces. :)

The graphics are nice and I like the "modest" UI. The gameplay was fluent and the character designs are nice. I really like the expressions of the characters, especially the poker face guy. :D
The game is very polished, also thanks to the fitting sound effects. Great work!
zidan-banan
Apr 26th · 19:37 UTC
Stylish graphics, simple, intuitive gameplay
But I personally missed a reminder of poker combinations
Cool characters with emotions. An interesting interpretation of the theme
Nice ending
JuanRod707
Apr 27th · 18:35 UTC
Loved it! Is there a bias to what you get? I felt extremely lucky playing this game, I was pulling straights too often.
skiddings
Apr 28th · 20:32 UTC
Impressive compo game!
gurkenlabs
Apr 28th · 22:58 UTC
Very original interpretation of the theme, and it felt like all the characters had truly distinct personalities that you had to adjust your playstyle to. Well done!
Gecko64
Apr 29th · 06:39 UTC
I loved reading the 'signals' of the opponents, the art, audio and the gameplay. Had a really fun time, good job :)
🎤 T4RAN
Apr 29th · 15:43 UTC
Thank you all for the feedback. @juanrod707 yes, I slightly adjusted the chances of higher combinations occurring to add more variety ^^
Ava Skoog
May 05th · 19:21 UTC
Very cool! It's a great concept, and the game looks really nice. The art style is fun and it feels nice and punchy with the sound effects for the chips and so on.

I have to admit I didn't end up relying as much on the signals as perhaps I was supposed to. I feel like I did learn their faces, but my decisions were more often down to whether my hand was any good or not. If I didn't have anything at all, I'd fold regardless, and even if they seemed to have something good, I'd still call or raise if I thought *I* had something *very* good, and that seemed to do the trick :p

One thing that confused me was that some of the games seemed to end with me having fewer chips than my opponent, but I still got to move on to the next one. Is it more about endurance than points, surviving a certain number of hands?

Good ending! I did start wondering as soon as I saw that iron on the table…

Overall good stuff, I wonder if it can be balanced more in favour of having to rely on the signals. Thanks for making it!
Crowelian
May 06th · 06:59 UTC
The art style and "postfx" are just great! This suprised me! Good job!
LDJam user 424326
May 06th · 07:16 UTC
This is fun, I like the visuals