LudumData

Fading Signal by RushB

[raw]
made by RushB for Ludum Dare 59 (JAM)

Снимок экрана — 2026-04-21 в 21.27.06.png

"The signal is the only thing keeping you here. Don't let it fade."

You find yourself in a vast, minimalist structure where every step echoes and every shadow tells a story. Something is calling out to you from the void. Your goal is simple: find the source, follow the rhythm, and stay connected.

Key Features:

Atmospheric Exploration: A journey through a stylized world where less is more.

Audio-Driven Narrative: The story is told through soundscapes and subtle environmental cues.

Deep Immersion: A short, focused experience designed to be played in one sitting.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Headphones or high-quality speakers are strictly required. To fully experience the atmosphere and hear the "signals," playing with audio is essential.

Music: "Icarus" by Ancients / "Path 5" by Max Richter

Controls:

WASD — Move

Space — Jump

Mouse - Look around

ESC - Exit game

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Link https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qp0cr1dwg24p2jwwinwfv/Fading-Signal-Mac-OS.zip?rlkey=j0k2cphmltam2r32v39z7oygt&st=fj2hbjv9&dl=0
Link https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ppypzqh4skrl44hz28tqk/Fading-Signal-Windows-build.zip?rlkey=2w4wufybte8iwsfm3rwu5wk8v&st=d5zodqia&dl=0
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/59/fading-signal-1

Ratings

Overall 532th 3.438⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Fun 577th 3.152⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 776th 2.625⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 678th 3.14⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 486th 2.614⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 199th 4⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Given 29🗳️ 28🗨️

Feedback

CrispyPear
Apr 21st · 16:56 UTC
Darn no linux ://
Sylvic
Apr 21st · 17:01 UTC
Definitely some great graphics and audio, great implementation of both.
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 17:08 UTC
@crispypear sry, I am on mac, so cant do the straight to linux, even windows build gave me the pain in my ass, i try to solve the problem but actually dont have any win pc or laptop right here for now...
Jo Bettaque
Apr 21st · 17:08 UTC
Great Atmosphere, Love the look aswell. After a while i got lost, maybe some subtle hints would be nice :)
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 17:10 UTC
@sylvic Thank you) the main idea was to make an environment which you can explore and have fun just walking around)
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 17:17 UTC
@jo-bettaque Thanks! First time I was prototyping i hide the ducks so even i cant find them, so i decide not going so crazy and make the ez level, but still you can get lost)
jk5000
Apr 21st · 17:29 UTC
The voice over and the visuals is good. It's great little story. The ducks was perhaps hidden a bit too great, and this slowed the story telling a bit too much. But overall a great game. Well done.
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 17:36 UTC
@jk5000 thanks for playing, this tiny balance of too easy and to hard always make me crazy, but to be honest the first version was almost impossible to find, but that’s the core gameplay of exploring and searching the memory fragments)
penagwin
Apr 21st · 18:46 UTC
Any chance of a web build? I'd really like to try it
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 18:48 UTC
@penagwin sry the Unreal Engine dont provide web builds in the latest versions, but why you cant download it straight? You are on linux?
Luumi
Apr 21st · 19:21 UTC
Got more emotional over this one than I would have expected, haha. There were a few ducks that it took me a while to find; maybe the heartbeat cue could be more salient. Other than that, really nice atmosphere, and I was motivated to play through to the end. Enjoyed it. :)
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 19:46 UTC
@luumi thanks for playing! I ended the project 1 hour before the deadline, so I am happy that it can be as it is, of course a lot of things need to be fixed and tuned, but anyway big thanks for your words, it means a lot to me
Echo Team
Apr 21st · 19:54 UTC
Good take.
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 20:34 UTC
@echo-team Thanks team.
5n4k3
Apr 21st · 20:44 UTC
Great job of creating the immersive ambience!
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 20:49 UTC
@5n4k3 nice to hear that my plans come to life with this theme! thank you for playing!
🎤 RushB
Apr 21st · 20:49 UTC
@5n4k3 nice to hear that my plans come to life with this theme! thank you for playing!
2Inkling
Apr 22nd · 02:11 UTC
Love the simple blocky visual style and atmospheric fog.
🎤 RushB
Apr 22nd · 08:25 UTC
@2inkling thank you for your feedback!
snk
Apr 22nd · 18:17 UTC
I love story driven and atmospheric games so so much. This one's very good. Graphics is definitely very nice and also the girl narrating is a great dub. One of the best I've tried, no doubts.
🎤 RushB
Apr 22nd · 18:52 UTC
@snk big thanks and from the narrating girl as well) what do you think walking simulators with a storyline has the future?)
snk
Apr 22nd · 18:56 UTC
Well I think there's always place for a good narrative driven game. Years ago (around 2012/13) I think came out To The Moon that was basically a walking simulator but had an insanely good story, and kind of set a new standard on how narrative videogames could deliver.

So why not trying :) this world always needs a good story! :heartbeat:
Arnage
Apr 22nd · 20:02 UTC
As already stated, well done story! Very polished experience for a jam game.
🎤 RushB
Apr 22nd · 20:07 UTC
@arnage really appreciate, big thanks, i try to do my best, even it was hard and i finished the game 2 hours before the deadline to give you the best expirience of visuals and story!
Rionisse
Apr 22nd · 20:28 UTC
I already commented on the other post, but I'll repeat it here in english for visibility sake.
The level design is a bit confusing, sometimes it feels like the game is guiding you to jump onto certain boxes, but in reality you can’t jump on them and you’re not supposed to go there. That said, I understand it, we didn’t manage to polish everything in our own game either. But the visuals and atmosphere are amazing! Congratulations on the game!
🎤 RushB
Apr 23rd · 06:58 UTC
@rionisse I agree, a beta test group said me the same, when they have found almost all the ducks, people are trying to climb or to jump where they shouldn’t, I think it happens when they are out of ideas where to find the duck, but I think the ez find placement of the ducks will solve this problem, but anyway what kind of option you know of telling the player that it is a wrong way? Maybe add some 3d objects so he we will see he can’t jump there? Big thanks for playing and for your warm words, big hugs!
Andrian
Apr 23rd · 13:35 UTC
Great use of UE5! I didn't have any performance issues at all, which is impressive. The ambient sound was a bit too loud, but the heartbeat sound really helped with finding the ducks. It would be cool to experiment with spatial audio in the future to make the tracking feel even more immersive. Nice work!
🎤 RushB
Apr 23rd · 13:56 UTC
@andrian Big thanks buddy! sound correction needed agree) Very happy that the heartbeat mechanics works and helped! Can you tell me your specs of pc or laptop please?)
krakadushka
Apr 23rd · 15:57 UTC
Amazing game! A captivating story and a beautiful location with great lighting! I got a bit stuck on the 11th duck and ended up walking in circles a few times. Honestly, I’d appreciate some kind of guidance or markers.

I’d love to just listen to the story, walk to the next fragment, look around, and not stress too much about finding the ducks.

Despite that, I collected everything and it really moved me :)
krakadushka
Apr 23rd · 15:57 UTC
[duplicated, sorry]
🎤 RushB
Apr 23rd · 16:22 UTC
@krakadushka Thank you for playing! Really appreciate! Very happy that you was able to finish the game! In the beginning there were 2 versions, like ez way, that all the ducks were very easy to find, but gameplay was like 3 mins (1 min is speedrun mode=) and the hard way when the ducks are hidden very very good, so i decided to make a mix of both) smth middle difficulty level, but anyway big thanks for the feedback!
Andrian
Apr 23rd · 16:29 UTC
@rushb

Ryzen 5 3600
32 GB RAM
RTX 3080 10 GB

I know my rig isn't weak, but I've seen plenty of UE5 devs make even the simplest scenes laggy
🎤 RushB
Apr 23rd · 16:56 UTC
@andrian you have got a good setup) but optimising is a key, the best solution is to make on the low end pc and test in editor, so you will see the lags by yourself)))))) And the settings of the graphic is quiet a mix of so the player can see the godrays, but not as cinematic to get 15 fps))
hotaloca
Apr 23rd · 17:20 UTC
Oh, a very polished game. Very moody, beautiful art, nice narration and story. The map was really cool and it kept me playing till the end. And great motivational text in the end! Congrats, so good!
🎤 RushB
Apr 23rd · 18:24 UTC
@hotaloca big thanks, it means a lot to me)
Cat In Hat games
Apr 28th · 18:41 UTC
I never managed to find the 13th duck… 😅😅😅 Overall, from the very first frame I understood what the story was about. And regarding the theme—it’s interesting, thank you. It doesn’t even feel right to “rate” something like this; clinical death is a heavy subject.

On the downside, objects are placed quite close to each other, which leads to overlapping or interrupted lines from the protagonist. You either needed to shorten the texts or increase the distance between objects. As it stands, the player can accidentally limit their own access to the content.
🎤 RushB
Apr 29th · 08:51 UTC
@cat-in-hat-games so sad you cant find the 13th duck, i think you are the first who didnt get it till the end, but anyways thanks for taking time and for the comments!
VenomousMouse
May 04th · 13:13 UTC
Nice story and good visuals. Cool mood.
🎤 RushB
May 04th · 14:31 UTC
@venomousmouse thanks! it means a lot to me)