Memory Dive by Kirbloid
Goal: When a memory relevant to finding out what happened to Leslea is on screen, press X to sync with the memory and level up the DIVE level in order to dive deeper.
HP - Hit Points that withstand hits. MP - Mental Points that allow you to dive deeper. DIVE - Dive Level, at least 4 is required to beat the game, can go up to 6.
Directional buttons to move. Z to talk and X to memory dive. In a memory dive, Z dashes (at the cost of 1 MP) and X syncs with the current memory displayed.
Language and alchohol-content-mention warnings, but that's about it.
Dive deep into the memories of stranger to discover what happened to them on an eventful night. Sync with memories at the right time to level up your Dive level in hopes of saving Leslea. The correct memories will level up the Dive level, while getting hit too much or running out of MP kicks you out of the memory.
No game over state, only 1 ending. Wanted to make a complete story-focused game with light gameplay elements.
All art, music, and programming done by myself during the game jam. Music made with Mixcraft studio default midis. Only outside piece was Kenney’s font “Kenney Pixel” and “Kenney Thick”. I supported them; you should too! https://kenney.itch.io/
Made in Godot 3.3
Ratings
| Overall | 325th | 3.611⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 677th | 2.944⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 132th | 3.852⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 26th | 4.385⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 53th | 4.259⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 135th | 3.759⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 507th | 2.292⭐ | 26🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 29th | 4.222⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 38🗳️ | 28🗨️ |
- great music
- great theme
- great game concept
- really interesting story
Improvements:
- this art style is screaming for fluid and wispy animation
- maybe it breaks the spirit of the game; but some form of progression with the characters to tell you how much there is to find out about that person in dives
- I didn't need to dash mechanic at all, but adding to much complexity to the game to need it also takes you away from following the story
- some way to review the longer memories; the scroll pretty fast to be able to be read with high comprehnsion... maybe leave the memory in the dialog window after syncing and have the player to confirm exiting the dive once they finish reading.
Bugs:
- I didn't find any
@bw-devel Sprite animations and advancing dialog were in the "stretch goals" but oof, sometimes I wish the compo was 3 days instead. Thanks for the feedback, I didn't even consider idea of adding in a memory log but that makes perfect sense. Also I could have probably kept the longer memories shorter or split them into different sections due to the lack of time they're on screen.
This was really cool. The mood definitely hit home and although the sync mechanic was a bit tricky to understand I finally got it. I really liked figuring out what had happened and using that knowledge to think about which memory was the next clue.
Well done :D
The gameplay is very confusing tho, I only understood what I had to do by reading the comments here. Even after reading, I didn't know how to figure out which memory should I sync with (For example, in the second level you have to "sync with a memory of her friends", so I synced when I read "It was good to see them again", but that wasn't it)
Some suggestions to make it more engaging:
- Simple animations on the sprites, even if it's just 2-3 frames like the fire, will make the world feel much more alive.
- Some visual and auditive feedback whenever you dash or get hit.
- Put a little bit of work on the itch page (background, etc.). You can do this even after the deadline. With your art skills you can definitely craft something eye-catching, and I guarantee it makes a difference
You have something with a lot of potential here, keep up the good work :)
It took me awhile to figure out what I was supposed to be doing, but going back and reading the entry's description cleared it up. An in-game explanation would have been nice.
This is obviously a story-focused game, but the gameplay unfortunately competes with the story, instead of helping to tell it. Dodging the obstacles prevents the player from really focusing on the story. The "correct" memories seemed arbitrary, and it was annoying having to read through them all over again to find the "correct" one. Once the "correct" memory appeared, it was too long to read while avoiding the obstacles, so I couldn't follow the narrative.
Nevertheless it was certainly a unique and atmospheric experience. Good job!
Really cool game, but I wish there was some more direction. From my perspective it felt more like guessing.
Oh- and the artwork as absolutely incredible!