The Alignment Problem by cireneikual222464

[raw]
made by cireneikual222464 for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

ld49_sc2.png

A short horror adventure game about an AI alignment solution that ended up being unstable.

Engine: Self-made (pge - parallel game engine)

The enemies in the game use actual reinforcement learning, powered by AOgmaNeo.

Controls: WASD/Mouse/E to interact (some interactions are automatic)

Note: To run on Linux: ./runme.sh

Ratings

Overall 882th 3.423⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1038th 3.154⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 977th 3.1⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1247th 2.942⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 831th 3.519⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 654th 3.28⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1010th 2.5⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 138th 4.077⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 21🗳️ 27🗨️

Feedback

Zarkonnen
04. Oct 2021 · 17:50 UTC
I'm afraid the link doesn't work. Have you set the game to be public on itch?
🎤 cireneikual222464
04. Oct 2021 · 21:04 UTC
Game isn't up yet, have a lot of trouble compiling the Windows version. Will publish the Linux one at least now!

EDIT: Both versions should work now!
Kormarun
04. Oct 2021 · 21:32 UTC
Really love that people still build their own engines in the age of unity - Though the linux build also needs the libsfml and libbullet, unless people find a way to install it themselves.
🎤 cireneikual222464
04. Oct 2021 · 21:56 UTC
Got a working build for Windows (I hope) - it should work. Looking into the missing .so in the Linux version now!
Salohcin894
05. Oct 2021 · 00:27 UTC
Super cool idea. The ai definitely spooked me. I really liked the depth of field that you used.
Vitor Milioni
05. Oct 2021 · 03:47 UTC
Very eerie atmosphere, works really well, i get scared very easily so that was hard for me, but after i got a bit used to the ai it was tons of fun, was a great experience, and the touch of having to find the keycard so you just can't beeline to the finish, great entry, very well done! (also it's working just fine on windows :p )
electricicebird
05. Oct 2021 · 05:11 UTC
The game is very fun and the atmosphere is cool. I enjoyed it a lot!
Binary Systems
05. Oct 2021 · 19:25 UTC
This is so cool! I left the first door and saw the enemy duck around a corner just as I went through. I followed, expecting to get jumpscared and instantly killed, the enemy saw me... and then flew right past me, going the other direction.

That was funny for a second... until I realized that it hadn't learned how to 'get' me well enough yet. That made me realize that I was on a 'soft' timer -- I had to get through the level quick, because the enemy was only going to get smarter and smarter and scarier and scarier as it hunted me down. That created a great sense of tension, much more than any arbitrary timer or slenderman spooks could do.

Maybe I'm overestimating how much the AI learning actually has an impact behind the scenes but it sure felt real to me! Great job!
UglySwedishFish
05. Oct 2021 · 19:29 UTC
Quite nice atmosphere, albeit I think the AI is a bit too easy to avoid. The sound effects are also great!

Nice to see another game made with a custom engine!
figueroass27
07. Oct 2021 · 17:35 UTC
The atmosphere is actually great, the fog and the footsteps really create that ominous feeling. Btw i love the launcher before the game actually opens, having resolution settings changeable before going fullscreen is always super nice for compatibility
iradchenua
07. Oct 2021 · 17:58 UTC
Nice scary atmosphere but I did'nt get what to do in the labirinth.
cromo
09. Oct 2021 · 02:27 UTC
Oooooh man, that was spooky! Not a big fan of "everything looks the same" labyrinth, but you got me to play a few levels. The sounds and the fog really provided a sense of dread - very good job there!
osh.studio
09. Oct 2021 · 03:30 UTC
Actually really enjoyed this, usually I'm too scared to play horror games, but because it felt like the AI was unstable and not actually 'hunting' me, I was able to deal with it. Great idea and I can see it being built upon. Enjoyed it.
EOShadows
09. Oct 2021 · 07:29 UTC
Great game! The concept of an unstable AI was a neat idea! The gameplay / mechanics were pretty much just basic horror game stuff, but it was still fun! I like how the AI was actually smart enough to leave and go another way to where I was going to intercept my path, it created an neat experience as I tried to shake them off my tail and get to the final door. The ending was neat too - the plot twist was subtle, but I think I see what was happening? Anyways, that was all great, and I really liked the graphics too! It's neat that you made it using your own game engine. I think my only suggestion would be to add a crosshair or something, just so I know what I'm clicking a little more easily. Other than that though, I thought this was a fantastic game, and really liked it! Well done!
LDJam user 0
09. Oct 2021 · 22:57 UTC
i found the movement pretty difficult to control. i found a keycard on the floor but couldnt figure out what to do with it. i tried bringing it back to the door, bookcase, and computer, but i still couldn't interact with any of them. i explored a bit, but couldn't find anything else intractable.

while mystery and suspense are important to horror, having no call to action, guidance or direction whatsoever prevented me from feeling any investment in continuing to play.
Pavocado
13. Oct 2021 · 15:22 UTC
Ahh amazing entry! I'm a wimp when it comes to horror games so I almost died IRL when the robot first got me. Love the little twist at the end - actually yelled out 'WHOA WHAT' when that happened haha
PashaLoban
16. Oct 2021 · 05:46 UTC
Cool game
Melon_spirit
16. Oct 2021 · 23:02 UTC
Very atmospheric and brought my heartbeat up. The lighting was very well done and the sound effects added nicely to the mood. I couldn't figure out if you can kill the robot or not. At one point I found a kill switch and activated it, but after that the robot was still active, and I tried many times running though the rooms but couldn't ever find another kill switch.
LDJam user 0
17. Oct 2021 · 19:00 UTC
funny game
Articka
19. Oct 2021 · 14:37 UTC
I love the atmosphere of the game ! And great job on your own game engine !