LudumData

Redeeppedeer by toasteater

[raw]
made by toasteater for Ludum Dare 48 (COMPO)

deep.gif

Proof of concept: This game is unfinished. It does not have a good ending (yet)!

Turns out, I'm not very good at writing. I still want to do a post-jam version with the full story, although it's taking longer than I'd like it to. For now, please just do whatever you like with the environment to your heart's content.

Explore the computer of your missing friend.

Game for Ludum Dare 48 Compo

Your friend Alisa went missing three days ago, leaving you with just her unlocked computer -- containing nothing but a weird doujin game, and a link to The Deep, an anonymous message board that you know too well -- you and Alisa are both Deepers, as the denizens of The Deep call themselves. You have a feeling that a hint might be hidden somewhere there...

Controls

  • Mouse and Keyboard. When/if necessary.

Fonts

Link https://toasteater.itch.io/redeeppedeer
Link https://toasteater.itch.io/redeeppedeer
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/redeeppedeer

Ratings

Overall 298th 3.635⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 530th 3.212⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 122th 3.885⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Theme 303th 3.808⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 229th 3.788⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 196th 3.615⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Humor 92th 3.615⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 117th 3.865⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 31🗳️ 36🗨️

Feedback

Peace Of Cake Games
26. Apr 2021 · 08:43 UTC
Now I'm itching for more....

*Please* make a post-jam update to this! I really want to continue solving the mystery (and admittedly I spent a long time playing moefall.exe)
righy
26. Apr 2021 · 09:20 UTC
was a bit lost in what to do. i started playing moefall.exe but i expected way more hints. could have been cool to see something that lead to clues much sooner. i reached lvl 6(which was hard, mind you) and yet i didnt receive any signal whether i was doing something right or wrong
🎤 toasteater
26. Apr 2021 · 10:10 UTC
@peace-of-cake-games Thank you! I'm very surprised that someone played this even without me posting it anywhere. I'm planning to do an update later since I want to finish the story as well!

@righy I didn't get to implement a good ending in the Compo, so right now there's technically no such thing as right or wrong! I'm sorry it wasn't fun for you, but not knowing whether you're doing something right or wrong is part of the intended experience this time. If there was a good ending, I probably could have made better use of `notes.txt` to signal progress to the player, though.
cagibi
26. Apr 2021 · 15:10 UTC
I second the need for a post-jam update! This looks very interesting.
Peace Of Cake Games
26. Apr 2021 · 15:41 UTC
@toasteater I knew you had a game thanks to the notification system.... 😄 I'm a fan after me and my friend laughed our heads off for hours playing Get In The Loop!
TheBlondeBass
26. Apr 2021 · 18:39 UTC
I'm really interested in a fleshed-out version! The old PC vibes were on point, terrific stuff especially considering this was made in a week-end!
yulotomorrow
26. Apr 2021 · 21:52 UTC
The framework and start of the game is attractive! The choice of gameplay is quite interesting for the topic, the feeling of the old computer is on point, and the Moefall game is cute :D However as a visual novel/choice branched AVG the plot is a bit loose and I failed to relate them to the goal of the game. Also, the font size is too small and I found hard to read. I think it's only fair to judge such a game after the plot is finished and polished, so I'm looking forward to the completed version!
🎤 toasteater
26. Apr 2021 · 22:25 UTC
@yulotomorrow Thanks! Your criticism is on point -- in retrospect, emulating an active board *and* interleaving enough clues to make it click required way more writing than what I usually do. Something that I quickly realized after I began writing with what I naively thought was enough time left. As an AVG, this is basically not-a-game-yet, and I recognize that. Learned a lot about development (and my limits) this jam, and I think that's what matters for me :)
KP_CFTSZ
27. Apr 2021 · 05:36 UTC
Cool to see somebody else made a game in this style! Agree w/ everything @yulotomorrow mentioned. A post-jam continuation would be cool
zzox
27. Apr 2021 · 12:47 UTC
this is really cool, I like the open-endedness of it and how much further you can take it, especially with a usable web browser and desktop framework
Bastienre4
27. Apr 2021 · 19:27 UTC
Nice mood!
Well done!
Shaolin Dave
28. Apr 2021 · 05:19 UTC
Definitely a unique take on the theme, and a unique game in general. I love the concept, but think I don't have the patience to spend too much time on it. I think I've about a week in and not sure if I'm even progressing or not.
🎤 toasteater
28. Apr 2021 · 06:12 UTC
@shaolin-dave The game ends after one week of in-game time, but there is no real ending yet, so this is more of a proof-of-concept than anything else. Player guidance in the early game is certainly something I'll want to think about post-jam. Thanks for your feedback!
MrScythe
28. Apr 2021 · 14:20 UTC
Love the desktop style :smile:
Fatebreak
28. Apr 2021 · 16:59 UTC
I always really get into when games use a computer UI as part of their game. It's just really immersive to me. This is a fun idea! Would like to see it expanded!
antontesh
29. Apr 2021 · 00:15 UTC
I get some Hypnospace Outlaw vibes from this!
pvp
29. Apr 2021 · 13:10 UTC
This game need a post-jam version :). Great take one the theme.
nyxkn
29. Apr 2021 · 13:34 UTC
That was actually pretty cool! Very disappointed it wasn't any longer. Moefall is also awesome! Excellent music. Browsing The Deep was a little clunky. Can we know what would have happened to Alisa? :)
🎤 toasteater
29. Apr 2021 · 14:30 UTC
@nyxkn I wish I had more time to actually finish the story. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the update before Play & Rate ends (I'll mark it clearly distinct from the jam version, of course). Indeed, the UI doesn't quite have the quality-of-life features that modern users have come to expect. The balance between QoL and authenticity will be delicate, but I'll try harder to find a sweet spot there. Thanks a lot for your feedback. Alisa will be fine, that I can guarantee!
cheesepencil
29. Apr 2021 · 15:50 UTC
Moe Fall was great <3
Stone Studio
01. May 2021 · 03:30 UTC
I really like the desktop UI sytle because this kind of interaction in your game is very interesting. I am still a big fan of pixel art, so your graphics is so atrractive for me! Good job!
ynneblack
01. May 2021 · 12:05 UTC
Oh, the "retro" aesthetic ties it to the time period really well! I really liked that the instructions/plot was explained through the notes, so it encouraged exploration. It's nice that we can even move the windows around! Resizing would be fun, if a bit unnecessary. The mini game is cute.

If you are looking for concrit for the post-jam version, I played it in browser (full screen) and I noticed all the text is a bit small. The font is nice and clear, but it still took effort to read, so I think it might help make it more accessible to increase the text to 1.5x or 2x the size, maybe? In the notepad, it might also help to give the window a bit of padding so the first letters wouldn't touch the frame. But that's a very small detail!
🎤 toasteater
01. May 2021 · 15:20 UTC
@ynneblack I agree that it would be best to have an option to scale the text / graphics up to appear better on a modern monitor. Some of the base font sizes need to be adjusted, and while allowing arbitrary font sizes might be difficult, also adding an option to scale the viewport 2x should be easy and good enough. Agreed with the points about the notepad, too. Thanks for your feedback!
Super Hadoken
14. May 2021 · 11:52 UTC
Holy shit, Moefall.exe is just like our game but you managed to fit it into another game that's a compo entry no less. Enjoyed this very much.
udo
14. May 2021 · 13:01 UTC
I'm not quite sure if there is anything left to do, but it feels like I've seen all the content (on the messageboard)? Was there a clue hidden in the moefall game? You say the game is unfinished and it certainly looks like it, **but** Moefall on its own would have been done pretty decently I think :slight_smile: