What the SIGNAL??! by Discomorphine

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

So, you caught a signal from aliens. But what the F..SIGNAL does it mean?

Grab a paper and a pen, you`ll need it ;)

Controls: A/D – moving; E – interact; W – upgrade; Esc – quit.

Walkthrough (SPOILERS)

Thanks for playing :^)

Ratings

Overall 285th 2.575⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 271th 2.475⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 214th 3⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 134th 3.775⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 270th 2.525⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 236th 1.395⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 79th 3.05⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 244th 2.825⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 19🗳️ 19🗨️

Feedback

no_firing
Apr 20th · 08:54 UTC
Link to itch doesn't work :(
🎤 Discomorphine
Apr 20th · 10:33 UTC
@no-firing Sorry, it was 5:30AM, forgot to pick "public"...
Please, try again, now should be working
no_firing
Apr 20th · 10:38 UTC
@discomorphine NP! :)
But, how I Can make the Iron now?

![Снимок экрана 2026-04-20 144156.png](///raw/a2b/36/z/708d4.png)

And I can't to send anyway
🎤 Discomorphine
Apr 20th · 10:44 UTC
@no-firing using ✨c o m m u n i c a t i o n✨ ;)
It's a puzzle game, so no spoilers 🤐
But in 1-2 hours I'll add a walkthrough and notify you if you`ll still be interested
🎤 Discomorphine
Apr 20th · 10:47 UTC
@no-firing you should use Observatory (E key) to ✨catch a signal✨ :)
Floonace
Apr 21st · 00:51 UTC
I get nuked out of nowhere lol.
🎤 Discomorphine
Apr 21st · 09:42 UTC
@floonace probably, said smth inappropriate, didnt you?
Floonace
Apr 21st · 11:04 UTC
@discomorphine No no no. I saw something like a nuclear bomb in the game. You got me worried for a moment so I double checked. It's a nuclear bomb.
![Nuke](///raw/d98/86/z/71e9c.png)
🎤 Discomorphine
Apr 23rd · 09:36 UTC
@floonace YEP
That happens when you say smth inappropriate to aliens in space dialogues🤷‍♂️
Floonace
Apr 23rd · 12:48 UTC
@discomorphine Oh my God! I accidentally became a space-bully without even knowing it lol. 💀
🎤 Discomorphine
Apr 23rd · 14:16 UTC
@floonace yeah... Think about it before sleeping
BigDippers
Apr 23rd · 14:56 UTC
Interesting game, cool use of the theme the only thing i would suggest is a bit more of a tutorial / guidance at the start but other than that really nice.
bentglasstube
Apr 26th · 19:46 UTC
This is an interesting concept that I would probably enjoy but there doesn't seem to be any in game way to determine what the symbols mean, which makes it degrade into a guessing game that I didn't find particularly fun. I loved the art and getting nuked because of miscommunication was entertaining, but I couldn't figure out how to actually progress the game without looking at the spoiler doc.
🎤 Discomorphine
Apr 26th · 19:59 UTC
@bigdippers @bentglasstube Thanks for your honest opinion!

Actually, there IS a way to find out things: if you look closely, on EVERY word, you can find out that

!> the thing you are given at the very beginning is 3 stones and they say smth about 3 stones back. Then you trade for it and get 1 iron. At this point, you already know words for 1, 3, stone and iron.

I'm agree, it's tough, maybe, too tough, youre right. But it can be won if you spend like 60-90 minutes on it))))

Not judging if you don't, ofc – I would not)
elemel
Apr 26th · 20:44 UTC
I liked the idea of contacting and trading with other planets. Don't think the cryptic messages or the bombing worked that well for me.
Grummelchen
Apr 27th · 19:18 UTC
"Look it was miscommunication no need to drop a nuke...". Really cool Idea, I definitely needed the walkthrough to get a grip. The amount of work you put into the alien language is really cool. I think the game might benefit from a stronger focus on the decoding part, it was a bit weird to mine resources in between. The added mechanical complexity also makes it harder to figure out the core gameplay.
Jimbly
Apr 28th · 20:33 UTC
Neat idea! I gave up on trying to figure out what the words meant pretty quickly (just kept getting nuked and reset to the beginning :laughing:). I glanced at the walkthrough and pulled up the dictionary and kind of enjoyed it when I was just looking things up in a dictionary (that alone added to the challenge =). I managed to make contact with 4 different star systems, but at that point seeing the daunting amount of repetitive trades I'd have to make, I shamefully gave up -_-. It would have been nice if the trade dialog remembered the destination, that first planet must have been getting really suspicious that I kept hurtling rocks their way without provocation... (serves them right for nuking me in another life)
MizAless
Apr 30th · 19:31 UTC
An interesting game with cool graphics. I felt there weren’t quite enough hints about what you can interact with. It would be nice to add some sounds =)
Cazik21
Apr 30th · 22:51 UTC
I didn't understand how to play, can you explain it to me?
CO5MONAUT
May 01st · 09:42 UTC
Cool art — the technical side is a bit rough, but it looks cozy and stylish :)
Since the fonts didn’t load properly for me, I couldn’t fully appreciate the signal idea, but the gameplay loop is simple and pleasant — liked it. Thanks for the game!