Mindy's Mind by VPhyre
Hello again, Ludum Dare 48 people !!! This game was made by me and my girlfriend, my brother and a friend, we are from Brazil. Some of us are still beginners and we are participating in the gamejam to be able to grow. I hope you like our game.
Tutorial:
A & S - To walk (left and right).
Space - To jump.
E - To skip dialogue and cutscenes.
Hold R 3 seconds - To reset level.
How to play:
You control Mindy, who is in a coma. The game goes through Mindy's mind. The goal is to collect memory shards. But be careful: There are enemies and other challenges spread across 3 deep layers of Mindy's mind.
Will you be able to make the good ending? If you can leave a print in the comments!
About the two endings of the game:
To get the bad ending:
Complete the 3 levels collecting any amount of memory shards (even you can win the game without collecting any).
To get the good ending:
Well, you must collect ALL 48 memory shards. Yes, I know this is difficult, but that's the idea. So if you wanted to do that, I recommend that you do the bad ending first and try to play again paying attention to these points:
There are 16 memory shards spread over each level, so look at each corner of the level to make sure you have managed to get all 16.
There is one memory shard that is impossible to catch depending on the time you take in the level. But this is a feature of the game and not a bug. Therefore, each level will have a specific area, which will have access blocked by a chain after a certain time, which starts to be contacted as soon as the phase is loaded. If you are unable to arrive on time, simply reset the level by holding the R button for 3 seconds.
Note: this time stops counting in each dialogue or text. So you can easily read each text. As soon as you finish the dialogue by pressing E, the time is counted again.
Note 2: Every time you reach the area where the chain can spawn, the time automatically stops counting until the end of the level, thus preventing you from being trapped by the chain.
- Every time your character dies (or you reset the Level using R), you can go back to the level you were at, with the amount of memory shards that you started the level with.
Walkthrough to reach the good ending:
https://youtu.be/SQvdf2evrJo
Some prints of the game:
Credits:
Designer of scenarios and menu screens in general: Jesiali Maria Denti de Souza - https://instagram.com/desahlign?igshid=1j38i8yiybsfn
Designer and animator, of characters, story screens and UI: Victor Lopes da Silva - https://instagram.com/omarsh_art?igshid=gp325w0td4k1
General Programmer and Level Designer / Technician: Vinicius Paulo Aniquiárico - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinicius-paulo-aniqui%C3%A1rico-063101132/
Assistant Programmer: Antonio Flávio Aniquiárico Junior - https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-flavio-aniquiarico-junior-568642164/
Changelog:
V1:
- Original Gamejam release: https://www.4shared.com/rar/eBw5UuJHiq/Mindys_Mind.html? - Windows
V2:
Correction of jump bugs
Correction bug collision
Music finally added
Fixed bug that reset the gameover score
Addition of the level reset button
Small adjustments to the level design to improve the experience
V3:
- Correction of the bug that prevents the completion of the level
V4:
Level Design optimization
Map collision correction, such as level 2 ramps
Correction of the jump animation (now it executes all frames and is more fluid)
Adjustments to enemy colliders
Adjustment of jump precision
Adjustment in movement
V5:
Finally now the music works (WebGL)
Improved level design
Bug fixes related to gameover
V6:
The game's UI is now responsible (it is possible to play in different resolutions)
It is no longer necessary to play in fullscreen mandatory (WebGL)
Thank you for playing our game!
Feel free to follow us here at Ludum Dare (let us know that we will follow you back), to continue watching our work closely! :)
| Recommended Version | https://vphyre.itch.io/mindys-mind |
| Link | https://vphyre.itch.io/mindys-mind |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/mindys-mind |
Ratings
| Overall | 1350th | 3.263⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 1611th | 2.808⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1308th | 2.923⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 551th | 3.908⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 986th | 3.625⭐ | 42🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 539th | 3.769⭐ | 41🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 60🗳️ | 77🗨️ |
Very nice jam game.
My improvement suggestion would just be to tighten up the movement, and some of the level geometry, especially on the diagonal sections.
That aside, I think it's interesting that the game explores the deep psyche of a person with psychological trauma. However, I would have liked the concept explored further than finding all the shards to find the will to live. The levels could have been more thematically varied and tied to Mindy's journey through her own mind.
Ultimately I think the game leans a bit into the "your trauma is your own doing" philosophy. Even though some parts of mental illness are self inflicted, recovering from it is not as simple as switching your perspectives around. Healing takes effort, more so than time. In some parts of the game, Mindy has to actively attack her shadows to reach certain shards. This may be incidental design, but I think it's a step in the right direction.
This review got serious real fast, and it's in no way meant as an attack on the game or the team. I think it's a neat platformer with a unique story. Some people have problems with the controls; I think they're okay. But a game with a serious tone and theme deserves some feedback on that front, too.
Art and animations are very nice, especially on Mindy! But the walking animation bugs out very often and the character is stuck - just thrashing between a few frames, unable to move. I also saw that happening to shadows at times, so it's not purely player character bug.
I got 40 shards and definitely will not be trying to get them all - those gated behind time-dependentnt chains are completely deterring me from trying. I think there should be some wiggle room there, and you could be able to get a good ending not, or at least some middle-way ending, with less than 100% gathered.
Incredibly gorgeous art style and choice of music!
I personally would've liked a bit more polish on the gameplay, especially the need to complete the game with full will to live feels a bit punishing after playing through the whole game.
That being said, I really loved the character design of Mindy's body in her mind!
When I reached the end I understood your suggestion to do the bad end first :smile:
Now I feel sad for Mindy...
Heading back to the page for playthrough #4, I'll be back to do some real feedback in a couple of minutes.
###### Aaaaahhhhhh the physics pushed me off of the block and once again I ended with 46.... apparently I suck at platformers now.
Gameplay-wise it's really fun (not a fan of the completely hidden 48th memory shard though), feels kind of like a super hardcore Super Mario Bros level, what with the fluctuating running speeds and the tight jumping. (I grew up playing Super Mario Bros 3 a lot, so I love games that control similarly to the original Super Mario Bros games.) There were a few physics bugs (rounded edges on a few blocks, being able to catapult yourself really fast and far by taking damage on the shadows, the shadows being incredibly hard to stomp without taking damage, etc) but in the end it only took me 5 plays to save Mindy. The graphics are spot on, too!
It just came to me, I think I know why I was getting some deja vu playing this, it reminds me a lot of if you were to combine my entry for this Ludum Dare and one of my favorite games from last Ludum Dare, [WHAT I SAW](https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/47/what-i-saw) (though with the quality of WHAT I SAW, not my game). 🤔😀
Oh, and regarding *"Feel free to follow us here at Ludum Dare (let us know that we will follow you back), to continue watching our work closely! :)"*, I'll certainly be watching for whatever it is you make next! I can't wait to see if/what LD49's game will be like.
###### *For reference, my game also has finding objects that trigger flashbacks, a female protagonist doing platforming stuff, and a focus on a dark-ish atmosphere. Except you had the sense to name your protagonist and make sure the theme was clearly communicated. 😅
Some remarks on Gamejam release:
1. 4shared hosting was time-consuming. Expectation: file is hosted on hosting without registration and waiting, e.g. on itch.io like updated version or on Google Drive.
2. Game lacks of audial feedback. Expectation: sounds used to give feedback on actions and music supports mood and atmosphere.
3. Sometimes enemies hit you at the distance after you get hit while jumping on them. Expectation: enemies hit you only visually touching you.
4. Background image is centered without stretching the screen, so background is mostly black. 4K display here. Expectation: background is stretched to screen.
2 is partially fixed with music added to the game, 4 is fixed and looks like 3 is fixed in V6.
Hope this remarks will be helpful.
Good entry!
Would like to see an updated version with some of the things fixed that I addressed. Good job
Hello guys again!
I, @jesiahli, @marshal and @junior93 would like to thank you for your feedback. We want to thank you for taking the time to play our game. Every comment here that we receive is important. We are considering what each of you wrote to us here to improve. Criticism, suggestions, praise and any other type of comment. We really appreciate them all.
This game was an extreme learning experience for all of us, we had our difficulties, our moments of doubts, and uncertainties about which way we would guide the development of our game. And so we hope to have managed to send a message of hope with the story of Mindy, especially in this difficult time of pandemic for all of us.
Mindy simply represents each one of us. We have our fears, our faults, our defects and our "depths". And as difficult as it is to continue and move on, there is always a way to win (yes, that goes for the difficulty of the game too haha). And each one of us here at LudumDare is developing games that, regardless of the reason for each one, is in a way a victory. So I would also like to congratulate each one for the game made.
Our team will talk about continuing Mindy's story in a complete game or not. But regardless of what we decide, know that it was really worth having developed this game.
Finally, I would like to invite each of you to follow us here at LudumDare, in case you wanted to continue to follow our work closely. And if that's the case, let us know, as it will be a pleasure to follow you back. I think that this is a way of creating bonds and friendships.
Thanks again for the comments, and even LD49!
I'm already tearing my hair out waiting for LD49, not just because I love the stress of making something with a set idea in a short period of time, but also because I can't wait to see what you make next! Best of luck in LD49!