memories.io - A Living Painting by NamidaSai
PLAY IN BROWSER HERE! --- https://namidasai.itch.io/memories
* We are the Sum of Our Memories *
You float aimless in a sea of experiences.
It's up to you to gather them how you see fit.
Take care though, as life is fleeting,
Only at the end will you know the value
Of your memories.
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DEVLOG
https://youtu.be/O0YTtjdOuJk
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Short Description
After looking at my options during brainstorming, I got stuck on "Ageing" as a manifestation of going deeper. Why? Going deeper into old age, yes, but also gaining a deeper understanding of things. You have all the skills and experiences you've gathered during your life at your disposal. That's when I thought about Memories: an abstract game representing life as a collection of memories.
Deeper and deeper
Each generation gives you hints at the structure of the game. Like the circle you play as, each experience makes you grow a deeper understanding.
Inspirations
Rod Humble's The Marriage
Wassily Kandinsky's Composition 8
Jason Rohrer's Passage
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TRAILER / MUSIC VIDEO
https://youtu.be/xFxJM3Y9g7o
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The fun of the game lies in figuring out its rules on your own.
Please have a go before reading the below!
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So what the heck is going on?!
Well... - you float around, at first aimless, then you find your own purpose. Life is short so you better make the most out of it. - the polygons are memories. They are of all shape and colours and they have a main affiliation to them. You collect them to earn points, but here score represents whether you've lived your life to the fullest or not. To feel more "complete" (aka get higher score, fine), you have to gather a wider variety of memories to have lived a diverse and fulfilling life. - the other circles are other people. We're not all born equal. Some have a head start. It shouldn't make you give up though. - the sticks / walls are obstacles along the way. Sometimes you can't get to that moment straight away, you have to find your way to it. - red squares are accidents, mistakes. It's okay to fail. It's okay to forget. Just get back out there and do the thing. - you can discard your own memories. Sometimes, it's better to let go and move on.
A bit of a weird one, but I'm happy with it. For once actually managed to do everything I had planned for the game. If you end up checking it out, let me know what you think!
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Game Engine:
Unity 2020.1.16f1
Fonts:
Kuashe by Creative Media Lab - https://www.dafont.com/kuashe.font
Gunny Rewritten by Vít Čondák - https://www.dafont.com/gunny-rewritten.font?l[]=10&l[]=1&back=theme
Robot by Fortress Tech - https://www.dafont.com/robot-2.font?l[]=10&l[]=1&back=theme
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Ratings
| Overall | 411th | 3.511⭐ | 46🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 733th | 2.826⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 136th | 3.837⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 721th | 3.061⭐ | 43🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 532th | 3.302⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 79th | 3.917⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 43th | 4.143⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 16🗳️ | 18🗨️ |
I like that you can interpret the meaning of the game. Maybe you should not have explained it on this page, it's also nice to keep mystery.
I feel like you could have let away the score. A screenshot of the end of the game might be a better score than numbers.
Also, the sentence appearing could have been generated from the various geometries the player gathers. It could really go well in the idea of creating a memory.
It's a wonderful game idea. I'm glad I played it. Thank you for making it.
Would be cool if there was more time / if there was some (maybe opaque (or is there and I just missed it)) way to get more time. Othewrise really nice concept!
Very good job ! :clap:
I really like the way you set the atmosphere, and the one-liners at the game over scene really drove it home.
One little nit I have to pick is that I didn't quite grasp on how to survive longer, and maybe a short intro sequence would have made it a bit better.
Other than that, great work!
Looking forward to the devlog btw! Been subscribed for a long time.
I loved how you managed to tell a story with very simple and seemingly random events, a yellow circle grabbed a polygon in front of me, and suddently it became a lost opportunity that someone else took in front of me. It gives a lot of room to interpretation and metaphors, this is really clever.
Really great job, thank you!
You got some really strong inspirations and your writting is really powerfull.
Such a nice entry :)
I've always been pre-disposed to believe that games with .io on its title are short competitive multiplayer experiences with not much to them, but when I saw your post, I wanted to believe this would be something special. And oh boy it was.
"A minimalistic abstract art compo game" does sound like a bunch of buzzwords, but I'd say they'd be very justified for this project. The game really feels like just a weird clunky experience if you go blindly to it without considering the concept that it's representing. Yet, I was amazed that you actually gave things a purpose and a reason, which all made perfect sense within the context of the interpretation. The walls, the accidents, it all really contributed to the experience. Just the idea that there were other circles that already had advantages got me thinking.
This game has a lot of intrinsic value to it. While it does have that highscore factor, it still feels more like a relaxing experience to think and contemplate about rather than a button mashing competitive fest. These experiments are always a pleasant surprise in Ludum Dares. Way to go! :whale: