BURNOUT by Wouter52

[raw]
made by Wouter52 for Ludum Dare 53 (JAM)

Puzzle demo.gif

Tips

  • The timer will pause during a converation inside the rooms, so take your time soaking in the information :-)
  • The babies colors are a mix of their parrent's colors (blanket, eye color & skin color).
  • Use the book on the desk after storing the baby in the incubator to stay sane.
  • Use the buttons on the pager if information is missed.

Controls

  • Arrows/A & D: Move
  • Up/W: Pickup/deliver babies + enter rooms
  • Spacebar: interact with world and conversation
  • Mouse: interact with pager and conversation

The story - Behind the scenes

The game its name already tells you a lot, 'BURNOUT'. We mostly associate it with pressure, fatigue & stress. The game perfectly illustrates a few of these points as you work as an intern to receive the baby to later return it. There be unrealistic expectations by many. Often, a doctor knows who you are and your concerns before you met him or her. They are expected to remember an incredible amount of information or at least the most important parts. As you play the game you can be quickly overwhelmed by the amount of information given, having to learn what details to remember in the words (text) and how the parents look like. You are on many jobs expected to somehow to administration, and tools are offered that might help you- partly. Using them costs time which is not taken within expectations. Running around, you are also being tested on your mental defenses. Some of the information might make one question if it is right to give this child to the parents... Or give them to someone else who will raise them, perhaps love. The pressure of delivering the right child is inmense. Then there be the issue of having limited space in a hospital, you being forced to take steps you would not like and feeling bad on it even if it was not your call.

And all this as a darn intern! Deep respect, jeez.

Of course, we exaggerated it in the game. If you remain calm and keep focus, it should be doable within a few tries to get the good score by using the tool, book on the desk within the hallway, effectively and take a breather when the story opens as all timers freeze.

Do be advised to use the sounds, and know the pager their buttons work but you need them seldom to recheck a message.

Anynoodle, Mr Smith is calling now. Make sure you are well rested and seated before trying. Yet again, use the book- especially (tip) when only having to pick a child up. Just don't be too late... To either pick up or deliver.

Are you able to get a perfect 20 out of 20? Or are you morally challenged… Maybe overworked? Enjoy! After delivering 20 baby's the game ends. There is a good and less good ending. Both are different. Curious if you see the connections in the good ending!

Trivia:

  • When timer for baby collection runs out, the baby is stored automaticly. You won't have their information though...
  • When there is no more unoccupied incubators left, you have to give the baby to one of the people in the waiting room to get your hands free.
  • When timer for baby delivery runs out, their parents will leave without the baby.
  • Pay attention to the information given when collecting the child. All counters will be paused during the conversations, so take your time! This information will be used later to reference which parents are waiting to receive their baby.
  • You do not get feedback in-game when a baby is mixed up. After delivering the 20th baby, the game will end and present your score. If you did a good job, you'll be in the papers!

Version control

  • 1.1: fixed small bug where player's name is randomly printed on the screen

Ratings

Overall 526th 3.629⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Fun 559th 3.471⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 164th 3.886⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Theme 13th 4.571⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 557th 3.729⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Audio 507th 3.329⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Humor 266th 3.657⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Mood 634th 3.485⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Given 37🗳️ 59🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 202408
02. May 2023 · 15:52 UTC
This game is absolute chaos and I love it, you just never stop running lol, it was a bit difficult to understand at first, but man babies just go brrrrrrr, I end up mixing up babies too many time unfortunately I'm not sure how you can finish the game without making any mistake but I tried my best, I also love how the rooms work it's a really nice design, well done! I think you did a neat job for this one, oh and that report in the end was sad I never knew it was that bad.
LDJam user 345969
02. May 2023 · 17:15 UTC
This game is fantastic. I had a ton of fun but didn't read the instructions so I didn't realize I was supposed to pair the right baby with the right parents (duh!) until it was too late! 😱

Fantastic game; great music and sound assets. I love the chunky pixel art. Good concept too! A memory game where you have to actually try and form associations and connections with the parents, to get it right.

Great job! This game really delivers. 😉
🎤 Wouter52
03. May 2023 · 06:47 UTC
@0x-void-x0 Great to see you here! I'm happy to see that you had fun and that you like it!

The report is indeed real figures, it was an idea of @Lizz to put that in. It is, in theory, possible to get all 20 babies with the correct parents. When you have an almost perfect score the report will be diffrent :grin:
🎤 Wouter52
03. May 2023 · 06:48 UTC
@frabjous-studios thank you so much! :smile:
cobrajs
03. May 2023 · 10:09 UTC
This was excellent! While the game itself was a bit hard for me (too lazy to take notes, but my memory isn't good enough to remember the baby info), I really liked the underlying message where it's like, yeah, that's the point. At first I was carefully reading the info about the baby and trying to store them in a way I'd remember, but as the time kept going on and the deliveries kept coming, eventually I just clicked through the message and stored the babies anywhere, and just gave whoever whatever baby looked kind close. Although like in a game my attention span is shorter than if I was actually in charge of human babies, I can see why this is called "Burnout" since the burn out happened very quickly for me in game.

Other than the messaging, the graphics and design of the hospital are excellent! The music was a little annoying at first, but I didn't notice it after things started picking up haha. And even though I was too lazy to use it, the ability to take notes and see how others took notes was a really nice touch. Great job overall!
🎤 Wouter52
03. May 2023 · 10:46 UTC
@cobrajs thank you for your wonderful feedback! The timers will pause during a conversation, so no need to rush in that part. I added it as a tip in the LD page now :-)

Glad you liked the game! We're really proud of it :smile:
LDJam user 73887
03. May 2023 · 19:54 UTC
I really like that while running, the player is holding the baby just like a football :D Lazy as always, I also skipped the quite long intro texts and just gave every parent a baby without remembering the colors

But apart from the long tutorial texts, that's a nice game! The music fits very well and I especially like that going through doors changes the left side of the game instead of changing the whole room. Well solved!
Sylf
03. May 2023 · 21:49 UTC
I needed some time to figure everything out and had some terrifying moments when I realised I gave babies to wrong parents :D
I like the tempo, but the music in the rooms is a bit strange and out-of place (gives a horror vibes).
Team Gaivot
03. May 2023 · 22:09 UTC
Two types of deliveries in a single game, that was great! Gameplay is well implemented and the memory game is challenging. The only thing i would immediately suggest improving is the entering and exiting the rooms. Sometimes you get into a room by mistake and then you have to walk far from the door so that you can enter a door that is past it. Other than that, great job!!
Kotkas
04. May 2023 · 08:29 UTC
Wow, this game really raises the bar for theme interpretation! It's really fun to play, and it offers such a cool possibility to practice mnemonics too (I was too scared to waste time on writing the notes and simply tried to memorize the color scheme connections haha). The art is great and though I would love the soundtrack to be longer so that it wouldn't loop too often, it already gives off the proper chaotic vibes regardless. Besides the game attributes themselves, I love the fact that it brings light to the stressful life of healthcare workers, even if it's just a gamejam game. Really great work!
🎤 Wouter52
04. May 2023 · 11:15 UTC
@joscco haha I thought that was hilarous too! Cool that you noticed and appreciated the humor ^^"
Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
🎤 Wouter52
04. May 2023 · 11:16 UTC
@sylf that is a healthy response I think :laughing:
Thank you for your feedback! When I'm on the computer I will take a listen, the music is supposed to feel calming :innocent:
🎤 Wouter52
04. May 2023 · 11:18 UTC
@team-gaivot Delivery can be interpeted in many ways indeed :smile: We did not intend to incoorperate two types of delivery, which one do you mean then?

Running out of the room is indeed a bit clunky. Maybe I'll fix that in the post-jam version if that version ever comes, thank you for noticing and telling us!
🎤 Wouter52
04. May 2023 · 11:20 UTC
@kotkas at least you tried taking notes :grin: Glad you liked it! The music was made in the last two hours or so, we're not really musicians :) I'll note it ofcourse, next jam we'll try to make something longer :smile:

Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
Alviniano
04. May 2023 · 16:24 UTC
i burned out XD, i really like how you applied the theme to this game, its was fun, stressfull, but fun
EDIT: almost forgot, i loved to see the logs of other players it was a prety fun feature.
Constantine Vaughn
04. May 2023 · 16:31 UTC
amazing art and story
Team Gaivot
04. May 2023 · 16:33 UTC
Oh, i mean delivering (birthing) the babies (though that is not part of the gameplay) and then actually delivering them to their parents xD
🎤 Wouter52
04. May 2023 · 18:13 UTC
@team-gaivot ahhh like that! I was thinking very hard about your comment. Thinking about the message we deliver with this game for instance. Or delivering someone a burnout
🎤 Wouter52
04. May 2023 · 18:17 UTC
@constantine-vaughn thanks. Do you have any additional feedback? Glad you liked it though, but this game is not perfect ofcourse and for me to like the comment, you have to "deliver" some additional feedback for me to improve :-)
🎤 Wouter52
04. May 2023 · 18:18 UTC
@alviniano thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! Glad to see that this was a fun kind of stressful :innocent:
AffinityChris
05. May 2023 · 04:16 UTC
Whew! Pretty panic inducing - I was having a great time trying to sort all my babies, but then I filled all the beds and was stuck holding another baby! Oops. But I had fun with this one. Also, if you keep running to the left in the rooms, it feels like the beginning of a horror game :D
Lizz
05. May 2023 · 04:23 UTC
@affinitychris @wouter52 was already wondering who would find it :laughing: Thank you for the feedback, good to hear you enjoyed it!
🎤 Wouter52
05. May 2023 · 05:49 UTC
@affinitychris yesss! You found it! ^^" That is a little easteregg, I was wondering how long it would take for someone to find it :grin:

Glad you had fun! Ending up with lots of babies is stress inducing indeed! A way of avoiding that, is taking your time picking up babies. The game fills the rooms faster when you also run faster. So take your time, note stuff down and as far as I know, it will work out and you can get to the 20 deliveries :-)
Jupiter_Hadley
05. May 2023 · 13:22 UTC
What a wild concept! I included it in my Ludum Dare 53 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. https://youtu.be/3W4lG4WsUMw
🎤 Wouter52
05. May 2023 · 14:59 UTC
@jupiter-hadley oooh, I'll take a look later with my Girlfriend, we're curious for the feedback :D
🎤 Wouter52
05. May 2023 · 18:44 UTC
@jupiter-hadley Thanks for playing! One little tip: at the desk is a logbook. You can use it to scribble down some details about the kid. When the parents come back (in about a minute or so), they are referenced in the paiger above with some details. Like "The father is back from his toyota" or "Parents of lily are waiting"
LDJam user 257438
06. May 2023 · 07:05 UTC
Great game bro!!!
Hopefully my doctor didn't change babies like I did.
Gameplay, audio and graphics was top notch!

Good submission!!!!!
vantos3001
06. May 2023 · 10:09 UTC
Nice tutorial
Lee Martin 77
06. May 2023 · 10:19 UTC
Beautiful little game!
🎤 Wouter52
06. May 2023 · 14:51 UTC
@vantos3001 thanks. Do you have any additional feedback? Glad you liked it though, but this game is not perfect ofcourse and for me to like the comment, you have to “deliver” some additional feedback for me to improve :-)
🎤 Wouter52
06. May 2023 · 14:52 UTC
@lee-martin-77 thanks. Do you have any additional feedback? Glad you liked it though, but this game is not perfect ofcourse and for me to like the comment, you have to “deliver” some additional feedback for me to improve :-)
🎤 Wouter52
06. May 2023 · 14:53 UTC
@random-ideation-studios thank you very much! I hope so too! :innocent:
Lee Martin 77
06. May 2023 · 17:56 UTC
@wouter52 Of course! I would say that the dialog and pager felt a little bit clunky - it might be a deliberate choice though, as it does add to the feeling of frustration. The visuals are great, but it can be a little hard to pick out the distinctive attributes of the children/parents. I really like the way it's animated, and the whole thing feels smooth aside from the text UI - as others have said, the solution for entering the rooms is really novel and clever!
🎤 Wouter52
06. May 2023 · 18:32 UTC
@lee-martin-77 thanks so much! We can surely work with that :smile: I think that you are right about the background/foreground contrasts (that's how I interpret it). It's something that I noticed too after submitting. So its nice that someone else also sees it, I'll try to do that better next time :-)

Thanks again for your additional feedback! I hearted both your comments
Fupi
06. May 2023 · 21:41 UTC
This is a very creative idea! Giving each baby a different dialogue so you can remember it is very clever. Unfortunately I think the game went on for way too long :/ I get that the game is called burnout but 20 babies is overkill in my opinion, I played for a very long time, noticed I wasn't even halfway done and then just gave up and delivered them all wrong to get to the end. Each baby and pair of parent is so similar you have to keep track of every specific detail you can remember. I do really like the art and especially the animation of the intern running it's so funny! I think with a bit more polish this could be a really fun game!
shimmerscale
06. May 2023 · 23:42 UTC
I feel burnt out after playing this game, haha! Really neat twist on the theme. I liked how the music got calm when I entered a room, but then got hectic again when I left.
Geckoo1337
07. May 2023 · 11:40 UTC
Really cool game which fits with the theme. The graphics are good - and I liked this pixelated aesthetic. The main mechanics work well as expected. You added a tutorial level and this is a good idea. Thank you for your comment. I wish you the best ++
🎤 Wouter52
07. May 2023 · 15:00 UTC
@fupi Thank you very much for your detailed and honest feedback! I was glad to see your logbook in the game :-) I agree that 20 babies is a bit ambitious, and reading between the lines I believe that more people think that. We had a small discussion about making it 10 babies. But that would have thrown the whole balance in a wrong direction. So we left it like that. Lesson learned I guess :grin:

Glad you had a good time!
🎤 Wouter52
07. May 2023 · 15:01 UTC
@shimmerscale I hope it was the good kind of burn you felt ^^" Thank you for the compliments!
🎤 Wouter52
07. May 2023 · 15:03 UTC
@geckoo1337 great to see you here! Thank you too for your comment! Glad you liked it!

Quick question btw! What does the "++" mean you use to sign your comments/posts? Is it something local? Or is it a geckoo-special?

![Screenshot 2023-05-07 170335.png](///raw/fd4/43/z/5b8a6.png)
Geckoo1337
07. May 2023 · 15:22 UTC
@Wouter52 Ah-ah! Usually I finish all my comments or articles with this ++. It's like "bye bye" or "see you later alligator", but first it means that I am a C++ coder - my favorite language ++
🎤 Wouter52
07. May 2023 · 16:00 UTC
@geckoo1337 cool! Thanks for explaining :smile:
LeReveur
07. May 2023 · 17:04 UTC
I played it under FF, so I had the known transparent issue (due, as I remember, to an integrated device against transparent image ad trackers that FF tune the pixels randomly) : all transparent pixel are magenta, and I guess there is a similar issue with colored clothes and skin because for me all babies and parents had red skin and blue clothes. At the end, the game says I have 15/20 but I'm not sure of that (I wonder if it was not the contrary and that I switched 15/20 lol)
Good game anyway, it was fun to try, even with the FF glitch, so : good job!
🎤 Wouter52
07. May 2023 · 18:14 UTC
@lereveur ooh, yeah that was a fun experience to diagnose back then! I switched to FF as well in the meantime and somehow this problem does not occur here. I created a function back when I was diagnosing this problem, but I accidentally disabled it for this entry :sweat_smile: Thanks for your patience and for completing! I just checked, I think the game said that you gave 15/20 babies to the wrong parents, because the score table says that you had 5/20 right :-)

When you use the logbook (at the desk), maybe it is a bit easier for you, as you can't see the colors

Thanks again for playing and for your wonderful feedback!
yoddaa
09. May 2023 · 06:27 UTC
@lizz @wouter52 very cool game . good job. I tried to leave comment on the game (but the space bar was locked.)
this game reminds me the retro PC Dos Quests very good job.
🎤 Wouter52
09. May 2023 · 07:52 UTC
@yoddaa ooooh that's a bug! I programmed the game, such that it blocks events from the arrow- and space keys ^^" It is a rare occurance that someone comments on my portfoliosite, so this bug never came to light :laughing:
Thanks for playing and for your feedback!
yoddaa
09. May 2023 · 12:41 UTC
@wouter52 if you wish I can remove it from there no problem. let me know.
🎤 Wouter52
09. May 2023 · 13:08 UTC
@yoddaa oh no, I like it! Please let it be :smile:
Thanks for the suggestion though, thats nice of you
Rolly
11. May 2023 · 18:45 UTC
Wait, parents are really expecting to get THEIR baby? I don't remember being briefed about any of this when I got the job!

That was fun but man did it get difficult very fast. Even for the first baby, by the time I got to the notepad I had forgot everything except for one piece of information :D And it's only later that I realized that I should pay attention to their clothing and all the irrelevant information that the parents give me x)

It was a pretty good game. Good job on the pixel art, animations, music, and tutorial!
🎤 Wouter52
13. May 2023 · 20:00 UTC
The legendary @rolly ! Thanks for your feedback! Glad you liked it! Paying attention is a very good idea with a job like this :grin: