Boxed Out by freakyzelga

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

"Papers, Please!" meets Atari's "Paperboy".

Having lost your job during the recession, you're struggling to pay the rent and deal with the landlord. You desperately need to find a way to make some money quickly. Luckily, the landlord suggest you a part time job that quickly becomes overwhelming.

Can you keep the pace and survive?

The game is a little bit short, but I'm proud of myself for reaching this point, working on the game solo after I haven't opened Unity for 5 years.

Doesn't seem to launch in Firefox, so please use Chrome.

All art is created by MidJourney :)

Ratings

Overall 825th 3.355⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Fun 905th 3.067⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1087th 2.683⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Theme 352th 4.133⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Humor 393th 3.414⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Mood 539th 3.597⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Given 18🗳️ 43🗨️

Feedback

CeruleanBlood
01. May 2023 · 23:02 UTC
Love the art style it's pretty nice ngl.

Btw, managed to make the game freeze by finishing at the same moment the timer ran out!
DaniilLenin
01. May 2023 · 23:04 UTC
I got very fun and stunning experince!
Still wondering how that simple game can create such stressful delivery experience, where you are pressing into your chair while looking for last parts of second are flowing out!
Mateu
01. May 2023 · 23:39 UTC
This was a nice little game! There's a lot that's really good about it. The atmosphere is really cool and I love the art style. If I had to give some constructive criticism, there are three things I would change.
1) Make the hitboxes slightly bigger
2) Create a countdown before you start playing so you can plan out a path before you start
3) I really really really loved the way the background art looked and wanted to be in that world. I feel like it would be so cool if I was actually moving around the city.

Anyways, great job on your game!
DrApfelwurst
02. May 2023 · 09:10 UTC
Very stressful, but really cute game.
Blueanoli
02. May 2023 · 09:13 UTC
The art style is awesome! Amazing what midjourney is capable of! I love the game a lot. Papers, Please is one of my favourite games! Great entry!
LDJam user 360310
02. May 2023 · 09:24 UTC
@ceruleanblood Damn, I didn't think it was possible! Thanks for playing!

@daniillenin Haha, glad you experienced it as planned :)

@mateu Thanks! Your suggestions are smart and reasonable! Having a countdown is probably the most needed thing for this demo.

@drapfelwurst Just as stressful and being laid off without any savings haha

@blueanoli Thanks for the feedback! MJ saved me here a lot. However if I would go full production, AI won't be able to replace the artists yet )
frelude
02. May 2023 · 09:32 UTC
Art style was great. You manage to have some coherency using midjourney. The story installs a good mood but the lack of sound penalizes it. The concept in it-self is good, finding the best path to earn a maximum in the given time. In the levels there is always an optimal path, but you can also play with the fact that you can't take all but have to choose the most rewarding path. Can also play with delivery the happen during the run, etc... I like the simplicity.
bartalomew
02. May 2023 · 09:51 UTC
it's crazy the art is created by MidJourney. nice job with the prompts! the game itself is kinda addictive as well, was trying to figure out the best patterns. nice job!
Jackaljk
02. May 2023 · 10:17 UTC
You are definitely good at prompting the AI! I don't quite like that it doesn't count the delivery until the very last second. I messed up a few deliveries because of that because I clicked the next destination too early. Wish there was sound and a little more to do!
hobbito89
02. May 2023 · 10:17 UTC
It ended too soon, the game is about unsolved Traveling Salesman Problem, right ? More levels would mean more fun.
OmriLahav
02. May 2023 · 13:53 UTC
Brief but fun!
makerart
02. May 2023 · 17:53 UTC
Well done! Best boarding tutorial ever seen on jams) It's illegally polished!
CHANEL
02. May 2023 · 17:55 UTC
Very beautiful and atmospheric art!
DahliaInosensu
02. May 2023 · 18:26 UTC
It is visually stunning! It's an simple idea but I had a lot of fun. The pressure of time it's really doing its job. Awesome!
BartekDe
02. May 2023 · 20:49 UTC
Very cool little game. I need more levels, because only later at two last levels I realized it would be better if I optimize for better paid deliveries and not for the closest ones.
Wadlo
03. May 2023 · 00:29 UTC
The best thing about this is the art. Also, the tutorial is top notch. I felt like the gameplay could have been more interesting. Driving a car through the city to get to the destination would have been a bit more interesting to me. But what you had was really nicely polished. Well done.
Jordan-p20
03. May 2023 · 02:11 UTC
the art was pretty good. I didnt really expect it to be a point and click type game from the title screen. A little more sprucing and this could be good
LDJam user 360310
03. May 2023 · 11:18 UTC
@frelude Thanks! I agree with you that sound would add a lot! Maybe I will have a chance to update it.

@bartalomew Thanks, I am glad you enjoyed!

@jackaljk Now that you say it, I can see that the pickup could be more sensitive. Thanks for the feedback!

@hobbito89 Yeah, it’s very close to Traveling Salesman Problem but I didn’t want to make it too math-y. I am glad you recognized it )

@omrilahav Thank you!

@makerart Music to my ears! I cared about player’s experience. Thanks for the praise!

@dahliainosensu Thank you <3

@bartekde Thanks! Definitely more levels would do good to it :)

@wadlo Than you for your input! I agree that driving around the city would be so much more fun! And I was considering it from the beginning. But I didn’t have the skills enough to implement this mechanics in such a short time, so I went for a simple but good experience.

@jordan-p20 Thanks! Did you expect keyboard controls? because this what I see in most submissions
grizeldi
03. May 2023 · 13:37 UTC
The gameplay is somewhat simple, but I like the mood the game is going for, which would've been even better if there was sound.
SmDaniels
03. May 2023 · 15:51 UTC
Graphic is very nice. Gameplay need little bit more diversity. Great job!
LDJam user 277876
03. May 2023 · 15:55 UTC
Initially, with the core game mechanic being to click and wait, I was worried the game would feel boring, but by the end with the time limit and split second decision making I was fully engaged and wished there was more! The art is super cool, but sound and stuff of the like wouldn't hurt. A potentially idea to explore would be to add in more complexity to the decision making; one idea for this could be that if you get all deliveries of the same color or something, then you get a bonus. Good job jamming!
JDeeDubs
03. May 2023 · 15:57 UTC
Great little demo. I loved the smooth movement; it would be cool to path along the roads instead of flying, but I get the time constraints.
Nice use of the traveling salesman problem, and the use of MidJourney. It's really pretty to look at.

Cool stuff. Looking forward to your next jam.
tetrapteryx
03. May 2023 · 17:48 UTC
Well done pulling this together by yourself after a long break from Unity! It's a cool liitle demo. I think it would be interesting if the paths were more complex than a straight line, like if your movement had to follow the layout of the roads or avoid obstacles, to make it more challenging to visualize an optimal solution within the time limit.
Kristallllllik
03. May 2023 · 20:01 UTC
Cool art. Interesting easy gameplay. Good job!
Tsumry
04. May 2023 · 17:31 UTC
A very beautiful game, I am impressed by the art style! The game itself was very easy to understand, with a nice narrative introduction and a growing difficulty throughout the gameplay, which made the game very enjoyable for me. I had a lot of fun playing it and the inclusion of the timer added so much gameplay that I was sad when the demo suddenly ended.
Aune
07. May 2023 · 10:12 UTC
Very impressive art, I really thought it was human made :frowning:.
Did it take time to find the correct "prompt" for making the art?
LDJam user 360310
09. May 2023 · 16:13 UTC
@grizeldi thank you! I plan to update the game in the next weeks and add sound as well.

@smdaniels Thanks! I agree that gameplay is repetetive right now, that’s my ability limit at this point ) Next jam definitely better!

@glove Thanks! It’s an very interesting idea on diversifying the gameplay, didn’t think of that!

@jdeedubs Thank you for the kind words!

@tetrapteryx Thanks! I think i will try to learn how to make that in between the jams so I come prepared next time )

@kristallllllik Thanks!!

@tsumry Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the demo )

@aune Haha, well fooled! I started with trying to generate the map and looked at the styles MJ provided, I got something like 20 options (5 prompts). After I chose the one that I liked I prompted MJ to generate the rest of the art based on the style of the chosen map. It took me around 3h in total through all these 3 days to find the style, generate all the assets and cut and clean them in Photoshop where needed. Hope this helps!
LDJam user 205479
15. May 2023 · 08:25 UTC
It was a bit stressful, but I enjoyed it. Nice job.
Vitaslayer
18. May 2023 · 12:31 UTC
The game has a pleasant visual style, and even though it was created with Midjourney, it all fits seamlessly. I liked the gameplay concept, but it lacked some challenges aside from the time limit. It would have been nice to have some obstacles between deliveries, forcing you to strategize your path and avoid them.