all the king's men by otresnjak
A very short, very personal game with experimental gameplay and pretty music.
Windows only for now; I may attempt an HTML5 port after the deadline. Download, unzip, play (you know the drill). :smile:
Use headphones if you can (and turn up the volume). A gamepad is also highly recommended, but you can play with keyboard/mouse as well. (Keyboard/mouse controls: WASD or arrow keys to move, left mouse button to sprint.)
Known issues (as of version 1.0.0): - In-game text is a little rough-looking, and z-fights with the trails sometimes. - Sprint energy bar is a bit too big at lower resolutions. - No proper way to quit until the end of the credits. If you want to quit before that, use ALT-F4. - Performance on low-end PCs is a bit iffy, but it's hopefully still playable. - Text on the last page of the credits should read "hold RT or LMB to start over" (not LT) - In-game hints are geared toward controller (no explanation of keyboard controls; see above).
Tools used: - Unity, with Postprocess and InputSystem packages - FMOD - Ableton with various VSTs for audio - A little bit of Photoshop for sprites
Thanks so much for checking this out! I can't wait to play all the other games this LD. I liked the theme a lot-- very open to interpretation. :)
| Link | https://gitlab.com/otresnjak/ld48 |
| Link | https://otresnjak.itch.io/all-the-kings-men |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/all-the-kings-men |
Ratings
| Overall | 59th | 4.077⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 409th | 3.378⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 143th | 3.821⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 353th | 3.731⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 268th | 3.718⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 27th | 4.103⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 3th | 4.513⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 30🗳️ | 56🗨️ |
All in all, great work!
@esosek thanks! that level transition effect was the idea from which the rest of the game grew out of lol. :)
@the-g yup, meant to make the hints contextual but ran out of time. maybe for a post-compo version! thanks so much for playing!
@joshuc the story's meant to be a little vague (I'm a sucker for innuendo and allusion), but I'm glad the mood came across! :D
@gilborn Thank YOU so much for trying it out!
@daegonz the levels could definitely use a bit more difficulty tweaking, and I think if I do a post-compo version I might add something like ghosts of the trails so you can at least see the things you've already tried. :) thanks for playing, I'm glad you liked it!
@anchorlight I'm glad it came across as complete-- a lot of it didn't come together until the very end (but I guess that's usually how it goes with jams!) tbh I experimented with adding more gameplay to the 'ascent' versions of the stages but it's exactly as you said, it made the pace feel off. anyway thanks for the kind words! :D
My one critique is that it seemed like level 3 was disproportionately hard compared to the surrounding levels, but otherwise a nice little experience.
I liked going back through the levels and not having any difficulty with them any more, I got the feeling that was part of the metaphor? If that's the case, I think it would've been cool to leave the gravity-sucking things in, but have them affect you much less (maybe not at all) to show that the problems are still there, but they don't affect you any more.
- Polished game
- Simple but efficient
- Awesome overall, everything works together
- Awesome narrative design: gameplay, art and sound corresponding perfectly to your message / mood
**vv - Improvements - vv**
- Honnestly, nothing cross my mind except the lack of tutorialization for the first level. Maybe just moving your Sprint explanation directly to the start of the game would be great (or make it easier so we don't need the sprint)
- <-Ok maybe just some "discrete" sfx could do the trick, at least when you lose and when you reaches the end of a level; but I do get it could create unnecessary noise to the mood so idk>
= =
Big bravo ! Honnestly you nailed it. I was very touched by the message, and every aspect of the game was corresponding perfectly and working together with it. And even if I put away the message, that's exactly the kind of game I expect from the compo, and here it's polished and "means" something.
Probably my biggest heartstroke of the jam so far, bravo again :sunglasses:
i really enjoyed playing this. it made me feel good.
best game i played so far!
The transitions between levels are very well done.