LudumData

Aberration by waterfowler

[raw]
made by waterfowler for Ludum Dare 51 (COMPO)

Every 10 seconds everyone receives a new notification directly into their neural interfaces. Everybody is compelled to consume it. You however, seem to be resistant. An aberration.

Guided by a mysterious figure, you sneak through a world of content addicts and influencers, avoid the authorities, and try and fight the central computer terminals that run all compelled content recommendations.

Screen Shot 2022-10-03 at 17.34.36.png

For full screen support try the executable version in downloads. Manually scaling the game window breaks the ui.

Gameplay

Don't spend too much time around content consuming people or you will be influenced yourself.

Screen Shot 2022-10-03 at 03.17.43.png

Hacking mini game where you attempt to cross the controlling algorithms's wires.

Screen Shot 2022-10-03 at 01.34.52.png

The system is always watching and aberrant behaviour will not be tolerated. Avoid the prying eyes.

Screen Shot 2022-10-03 at 01.36.33.png

Tools

  • Unity
  • Pixaki
  • Affinity Designer
  • Bfxr
  • GarageBand (whirly piano)

Executables

I'd prefer you try the embedded webgl version at the top of this page, but if that doesn't work, Windows and Mac builds are now available - your run of the mill unity project executables (exact same source code).

Do note my UI implementation is terrible and will only work on the LD embed resolution. The executables should launch in a full screen scaled version of that and be fine. If you start messing with the window sizes however it will most likely not look good (ui notifications overlapping text, some elements not seen, etc).

I also feel like the art looks worse in the scaled up version on windows so there's that.

Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/aberration

Ratings

Overall 113th 3.724⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Fun 162th 3.5⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 160th 3.5⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Theme 218th 3.638⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 213th 3.534⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Audio 243th 3.103⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Humor 126th 3.185⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Mood 70th 3.768⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 35🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 299751
03. Oct 2022 · 01:48 UTC
I like the mood in the game, very nice mechanics. Sadly it lasts so short. Wish to see more of yours
M4ttU
03. Oct 2022 · 15:37 UTC
Really cool game! I really liked the 2 different mechanics. And there's a story !!!
Well done!
FoggyDude
03. Oct 2022 · 17:47 UTC
Wow, this was amazing. Love the story, and the hacking minigames. Good job on this game!
Pincushion
03. Oct 2022 · 17:53 UTC
This was fun. Nice story. Sad ending. The influencer text is great. I appreciate the progress bar showing when you'll be influenced. It encourages some strategic leaps through areas of influence. The minigame is a nice change of tone per level too.
NoelOskar
03. Oct 2022 · 18:56 UTC
Hey, i am unable to play your game, just see a black screen, would be cool if you could upload a .exe build, as that should work, i have no idea what might caused it as other unity games i played worked just fine in webgl, maybe the compression?
LDJam user 299879
03. Oct 2022 · 20:51 UTC
Windows and Mac executables now available for download (no source code changes).

Please note
- My UI implementation is terrible and depending on screens/resolutions/etc it might break. In my testing the game launches fullscreen (scaled up from LD embed resolution) and seems fine. However, if I start messing with the window sizing, resizing, etc, the Simpson Back Fat meme unravels, and the UI breaks. Hopefully you don't get to see this.

I also think the art looks worse (less detail/a bit overexposed) on the windows exe but maybe that's just my graphics driver/display settings.
arkinrev
04. Oct 2022 · 04:09 UTC
I really loved the Monaco heist vibe and the minigame making the connections was great. It even has a bonus little bit of social commentary delivered whimsically. Nice Entry!

*(This comment was not compelled by any central sorting algorithm and is definitely not intended to be used to influence anyone to try this awesome Compo entry.)*
Pusheeneiro
04. Oct 2022 · 07:51 UTC
Great game, I really admire people like you who can make such a great game on their own in such a short time.
José Bonilla
04. Oct 2022 · 15:11 UTC
Very creative story! I liked the game and the notifications are awesome. I wish there were more minigames to keep the game varied, and some music would have been nice as well. One little issue I found: when you get influenced, the player keeps walking in the direction it is going without user input.
cannibalgirl
04. Oct 2022 · 15:51 UTC
thank you Emily, this game hits too close to the truth right now. :heart:
the notification texts were spot on.
you put together a very nice package of stealth gameplay, social commentary story, nice pixelart gfx and fitting audio/music that forms a very pleasant jam experience, and my eyeballs and frontal cortex enjoyed every moment of it.

its great that there is a quick restart if you get influenced and not much progress is lost. I enjoyed the minigame without the hard "fail" state. I wish for more deep stealth/avoidance gameplay!

i will now go reflect about the state of modern media and human attention in a corner for a bit.
thank you for this experience. :eye:
Thoastbot
04. Oct 2022 · 16:10 UTC
Wow, great game!

I really loved the hacking mini game - i think it is the gem of this game.
Would have loved more levels but thats common for good ld games, one can just do so much in 48 hours ^^,
Overall well done!
NoelOskar
04. Oct 2022 · 16:28 UTC
Really liked the idea, the text is a bit blurry, are you using textmeshpro? if not than try it, regular unity text gets pretty blurry, also the art might get blurry in fullscreen due to either you not setting the filter mode to point no fliter, if you did set it, than try out using a pixel perfect camera, the timer is a bit off sometimes, i would think it would be nice for the main timer above to only fill up when the folk is off social media, as timing feels a bit weird sometimes, but overall really cool idea, hope i was helpfull
Roroto Sic
04. Oct 2022 · 17:27 UTC
great storytelling, love the varitety of gameplay ! GG :) (just one little note: the game become very hard after the first hack)
Dodidouda
04. Oct 2022 · 20:54 UTC
Very neat concept and execution! I played until the end and really enjoyed my time.
One this that could be added is that in the hacking phase, the arrow controls are not available anymore, so the keys I used were a bit confusing to me. Other than that, very cool game!
Eugenik
04. Oct 2022 · 22:36 UTC
BRILLIANT!.
LDJam user 280036
04. Oct 2022 · 23:34 UTC
I wasn't expecting the hacking minigame when approaching the terminals. I liked the subtle color aura on those sections. I like that you managed to fit a narrative in, too.
Rob6566
05. Oct 2022 · 02:01 UTC
Nice game - great design and artwork! I liked the small "influenced" bar, so going into the danger zone didn't assimulate you immediately. Good storytelling with emily too. Thanks for including a Mac version too - I can't play a bunch of games as they only have Windows downloads. Nice job building this in 48 hours!
LDJam user 279622
05. Oct 2022 · 08:40 UTC
I played this one on stream last night! unfortunately the VOD got muted, so no link :(

the premise for this is really cool, and I love the dystopian world you've built here. Jam games don't generally have the greatest writing in my experience, so this was a pleasant surprise!

I also enjoyed the hacking mini-games; I think they could use a more significant penalty for failure - would make them feel a lot more suspenseful!
CookieRA
05. Oct 2022 · 16:39 UTC
I enjoyed playing. Would have been nice to have a 3rd level. The extra included story was nice and I liked the small tweets that appeared - it added a little more reason to continue playing.
Good job!
Rahtainka
05. Oct 2022 · 17:06 UTC
Nice gameidea. Realy polished game for a compo entry!
Link270
05. Oct 2022 · 17:24 UTC
Nice little game! I had fun figuring it all out. It would be nice if it was a little longer. I also thought I had to freeze during the notification time so others would think I was also getting one. This may have been a mechanic but I didn't see it. If it isn't then pressing a button when you're in the light could bring out your phone and blend in, adding another aspect to the game. Nice job.
frozenfire92
07. Oct 2022 · 12:45 UTC
Great entry! I liked the concept of breaking out of the algorithm of influence :joy: The game broke as soon as I started the hacking phase though so I didn't get a good sense of that. Keep on making games :)
LDJam user 299879
07. Oct 2022 · 16:41 UTC
@frozenfire92 when you say “the game broke” do you mean the inputs stopped working? Were you perhaps using the arrow keys to move the character? If so, those don’t work in the hacking phase, it’s WASD for movement that works everywhere.

If that’s what happened I’d appreciate you trying the game again, there is a bit more content and story left that id love for you to try to get the full impression.

If there was some error/issue then I’m not sure what could be the problem, but I do appreciate you trying the game.
frozenfire92
08. Oct 2022 · 03:06 UTC
@waterfowler when I got to the hacking phase I pressed the start button and nothing happened, it didn't seem to respond to any input

edit: Tried again and realized hacking was supposed to be WASD :sweat_smile: tried out the end, good work!
Likirus
10. Oct 2022 · 20:36 UTC
Great game. I liked the atmosphere and you even managed to create a short story. I like shorter games like yours for Ludum Dare that can actually be beaten in 10 minutes or so. I feel much more accomplished when I beat a shorter game than when I have to abandon a longer game or am not able to beat it.
The graphics are nice and the game is quite polished. You basically made two games in 48 hours when counting the hacking mini game as well, very impressive.
Starlight Glimmer is best poney
11. Oct 2022 · 19:52 UTC
Great game, though too short and easy, especially the hacking minigame. I expected at least one more level. I appreciate the amount of storytelling you managed to squeeze into such a small package, and the stealth level was super well done
automatonvx
15. Oct 2022 · 11:42 UTC
Kind of a perfect LD compo entry, core stealth gameplay is fun, the art style is cute and well executed, the narrative and theme ties it al together and give it some emotional pull and the sound fits nicely and does what it needs to do. Also for me the balancing was about right, first level was easy enough but the second took me a few tries, the hacking minigame is kind of easy, but that was fine, its just a little minigmame. If i was just trying hard to find any fault, I found I could get a bit stuck on walls/corners moving my player and sometimes it was not 100% clear where the collision was going to be, and I suppose some more animation there would be nice, but thats the really tiny stuff. Excellent work.
Doot
15. Oct 2022 · 17:00 UTC
What an impressive compo entry!

Where did you find the time to make all this haha? The amount of stuff (narrative, gameplay, art) is insane, great job. The game was quite enjoyable too! The area of effect of people stayed up maybe a bit long, you had 10 seconds at first but then only 5 or so between each one since they stayed active for so long.

Great job on this and thanks for the game!
Sarah
20. Oct 2022 · 03:58 UTC
This is a really cute concept! Super simple and the graphics work really well, its nice and polished feeling as well :3 It's pretty fun to play as well, really nice job!