Before I Go Blind by LesDremlet

[raw]
made by LesDremlet for Ludum Dare 58 (JAM)

[ The end is inevitable ]

A short narrative arthouse game.

Movie014.gif Movie</em>014.gif

All art, code and music created by Les Dremlet in 72 hours.

1.png

[ Controls ]

  • Left-click and hold the virtual smartphone to drag and look around
  • Click the buttons with the mouse

[ Patch Log ] - October 7 - Fixed panorama issue - October 8 - Fixed scrolling screen issue

Ratings

Overall 146th 3.877⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Fun 676th 2.796⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 70th 3.925⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Theme 281th 3.849⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 122th 4.298⭐ 54🧑‍⚖️
Audio 76th 4.03⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Humor 622th 2.3⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Mood 11th 4.51⭐ 54🧑‍⚖️
Given 32🗳️ 44🗨️

Feedback

ZevsEHG
Oct 07th · 03:22 UTC
Nice graphics and deep mood. Would be perfect if the line, connecting the panorama wouldn't be visible.
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 07th · 14:05 UTC
@zevsehg thank you, and thanks for reporting the panorama issue, I just fixed it
vIad17
Oct 07th · 14:36 UTC
The game is simple, but very conceptual. I liked. The music and atmosphere are very cool made. The only thing I really want is to be able to view the gallery on phone.
Pandalk
Oct 07th · 17:00 UTC
big fan of the art direction ! I wasn't sure what would happen at the end, the explosion was very pretty
Re-Markable
Oct 07th · 17:08 UTC
Wow this is gorgeous. Impressive you made everything yourself!

When playing it in browser in fullscreen you kind of have to push a bit harder to make the screen rotate. So the first time I played it, I didn't realize I could move the screen to the side. I was just taking the same pictures of the old guy hahahaha. The only reason I knew it was possible was from your screenshots of the other people on the beach.

Maybe a little indicator in game could be nice or have it be a bit clearer in the controls that you can look around the beach with the phone on top of just moving the phone?

Beautiful entry though <3
Sheepolution
Oct 07th · 17:14 UTC
Really interesting. Personally I would have loved a bit more interaction or gameplay, but it was beautiful to see all the different expressions. Very moody. Great job.
NekoBones
Oct 07th · 17:28 UTC
Great narrative game! The music just fits sooo well, the animation and overall art design is great. It's a little confusing that I really didn't know i could turn my view. Would be better if I could control view through keyboard! Nice job!
milq
Oct 07th · 17:28 UTC
Wow! What an amazing artistic direction, both visual and auditory! I kind of missed having a bit more interaction or being able to see the photos I took to witness the consequences of my actions. Still, the artistic direction is outstanding, and the fact that you created everything yourself is truly impressive. Great entry!
outstar
Oct 07th · 17:31 UTC
This was a powerful experience, the presence of a little girl with seemingly religiously fixated father made me really sad! On my first run, I did not get that I could move my camera off-screen to capture other people in a panorama, but seeing your screenshots I understood I missed something. The ability to browse the gallery throughout (or after) would be great. Overall, great concept with a heavy mood
yungfrv
Oct 07th · 17:50 UTC
It made me tear up ngl. Beautiful take on the theme, perfect music, I'm sad now
Gyzra
Oct 07th · 17:50 UTC
Such a wonderful project that feels like an art gallery experience. Very clever use of story set up to create tension in an otherwise beautiful scene. I wish there was more, but the fact that there isn't makes the moment that much more powerful. Well done!
WetBurritoSupreme
Oct 07th · 20:07 UTC
Such an impactful experience, to have to choose where you look was very difficult. The art style and music fit perfectly. Nicely done!
raysplaceinspace
Oct 08th · 00:41 UTC
Wait, you can rotate the screen? I spent 2 minutes just looking at the guy. It was still poignant and meaningful, but I would've had a better time if something told me I could look around somehow.
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 08th · 08:46 UTC
Big thanks for the feedback, guys!
The screen rotation bug has been fixed.
Let me know if you find any other issues!
Nurakim
Oct 08th · 10:02 UTC
Deep meaningful.
chuckeles
Oct 08th · 15:26 UTC
Damn, this hit deep. You embraced the limitations and got out maximum! Very well done. 👏
Koolruz
Oct 08th · 15:59 UTC
I love how you've made such a polished tiny game, which has a single experience that it's selling! :)

FYI - On my first playthrough, the camera couldn't scroll at all, even after the update you pushed out to try to fix it - No matter how much I pushed the phone towards the edge of the screen, it just got locked into place. I knew there *must* have be some way to scroll, based on the gifs that you shared, so I did give the game a second playthrough and it worked perfectly on the second attempt. I'm not sure exactly what was going wrong, because it felt like I took the same steps both times, but I did get to play the game as intended on my second attempt!

I really love the dynamic art style that you have for the scene, the little bit of jitter on the player's hands really adds a lot of life to the presentation.

In terms of presentation, this is the *tiniest* polish nitpick, but the way that you're currently revealing text can lead to awkward jumps as the text box reformats itself whenever a word becomes too long. It looks like you're adding each character to a text box one-at-a-time, but a different way to achieve the same effect is to start with the full string of text rendered at 0% opacity (or the same color as the background), and then change the font color of each character to be visible one at a time. This gives you the same character-by-character text reveal, but it locks the layout of the text into a preformatted block because the *contents* of the text box won't change, just the font color. This prevents those jumps in layout as text is revealed.

Hopefully that makes sense? The reformat that I'm talking about happens in the attached gif as "would" and "12:00" are revealed.

![breakpoints.gif](///raw/dec/c2/z/6eef4.gif)

That tiny nitpick doesn't change the fact that this is a lovely polished little game! :) You've put a ton of care and attention into all the little details of the scene (having the camera album button was such a nice touch!), which is why I bring it up, because I can tell you really care about the fine details! Great job overall!
BadPiggy
Oct 08th · 16:41 UTC
I've always wanted to tell stories through games, but never really knew how to do it well. You made something pretty impactful which lasted only a few a minutes, and I commend you for that

Maybe it's because of how short it was and how the timer on the phone was so close to the end that I felt like I really had to take a few pictures, lol. It definitely made the experience tbh. The anticipation because of it kinda had me on edge

Part of me wants to nitpick and wish that the game was maybe a little more interactive, but it doesn't take away from the fact that you made something really good here. Well done
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 08th · 17:59 UTC
@koolruz First of all, thank you so much for such a detailed answer!

Regarding the scrolling — I'm glad you found the time to check the game again after all the fixes and finally got to experience it. Fortunately, I was able to fix the bugs on the second try, and now the scrolling feels intuitive (just as it was originally intended, of course).

Everything you wrote about the text is an extremely valuable point!
I'll admit, I hadn't given this aspect enough attention before, but now I clearly see how this oversight can be confusing. I'll definitely keep it in mind for future projects.

I'm really glad you noticed the details — it means my efforts were worthwhile. Once again, thank you very much!
LDJam user 381180
Oct 08th · 20:39 UTC
Wow, thanks for waking up my existential crisis aha, the graphics and music are simple but they fit well together to create a spooky dreamy vibe. Would have loved to see a diaporama of my pictures at the end, would have been a nice touch. Nice entry!
Anachrone
Oct 08th · 20:49 UTC
oh my god, im depressed now,
but great game and unexpected turn of event !
LDJam user 248799
Oct 09th · 12:44 UTC
A sad entry, but I like it. I don't know if it was your goal, but I quickly stopped to take photos, because what was the point? I just waited for the end
CataclysmicKnight
Oct 09th · 22:19 UTC
When I saw the text about going to heaven, I assumed this was a humorous game mocking the rapture news recently, how it was supposed to happen. So I expected the end to be, like, "Well, nothing happened!"

And that might be why the end surprised me SO much! Well done!
Norah
Oct 10th · 13:17 UTC
Really cool entry, I personally love narrative games :slight_smile: I would have liked the game to be a little longer so that the ending could be even more impactful but i know that's hard to do in only 72 hours. Congrats !!
SolidHinken
Oct 10th · 17:43 UTC
Wow. I love how the music, the battery and time is all adding up to the suspence, while when it all happens all that's left is to take pictures in awe.. Really like this one, very emotional
Amande_dooce
Oct 10th · 18:01 UTC
I lvoe when games make me experience things. I felt dread seeing the clock on the phone indicating 11:59; the ambiance is also really good and I love your artstyle it matches really well with the theme ! I also like really much that you represented different age groups. My only complaint (but I might be asking for what could be a distraction from the essence of the game) is that I would have loved to read different interactions between the other characters on screen, even a single line of text just to know a bit about their feelings. But once again, maybe the perfect balance has already been struck with the Religious Dad. :D Thank you for making this game !
Gastoon
Oct 10th · 18:22 UTC
The game actually scared me, and the characters are so expressive.
Pixel art and gameplay are simple, but effective.
Yorsh
Oct 10th · 18:24 UTC
Interesting take on the theme! Very well made, audio and graphics are really nice and work together to create a strong mood. Congrats!
l6ria
Oct 10th · 20:23 UTC
I'm in shock. This game made me about all. Thank you for this beautiful game.
michlau
Oct 10th · 20:34 UTC
i feel like the intro is too drawn out, but otherwise the game is so atmospheric and immersive. the music and the end animation is so good. i thought it was fascinating how the mc talks about facing the end "with eyes wide open" but they are constantly shielded with a phone screen. so much that you cant read the monologue while taking pictures. again, in the atmosphere and mood setting this game is peak. also very innovative from other entries i've been playing. great job!
robri
Oct 10th · 22:52 UTC
damn that's good
MestreRothLD
Oct 11th · 04:44 UTC
This is an awesome experience. Very well tied actions, atmosphere and narrative.
Roroto Sic
Oct 12th · 14:04 UTC
it would be cool to watch photos that players has shooted when credits rolls.
cool art ;)
CaptAndrey
Oct 13th · 11:21 UTC
amazing art and sound. It was cool to see some little things with zoom, like tears. Maybe i missed, but maybe it would be better to add more things like that
Amiuke
Oct 14th · 05:55 UTC
Oh my god, I absolutely love this piece. It feels like an apocalyptic prose poem — the music and art are both pure works of art at their finest.
wdebowicz
Oct 15th · 21:12 UTC
Thats why I love game jams, your entry was a really interesting experience. Also interesting why to make photos if there will be nobody to watch them, yet I'm sure many people would do that. Thank you for you game!
ShadyShade
Oct 18th · 12:00 UTC
This game is so suggestive :crying_cat_face:
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:18 UTC
@viad17 thanks for the feedback!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:18 UTC
@pandalk glad you liked the visuals, this was the first time in four years that I actually returned to Aseprite :)
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:18 UTC
@re-markable yes, that was a small settings issue, I've successfully fixed that bug, and now the movement works intuitively as I originally intended, thanks for playing!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:18 UTC
@sheepolution I understand what you mean, thanks for appreciating it
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:18 UTC
@nekobones to be honest, I didn't think about keyboard controls this time, I'll definitely keep it in mind next time. Yes, there was an issue with rotation, fortunately it's all fixed now
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:19 UTC
@milq thank you for your feedback, I'm glad you liked the graphic style, it was an amazing experience for me:)
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:19 UTC
@outstar I'm glad the game gave you emotions, thank you!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:19 UTC
@yungfrv yes, unfortunately in our life not everything is as calm as we'd like, but I'm glad you appreciated my small contribution
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:19 UTC
@gyzra thank you, I'm very pleased!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:19 UTC
@wetburritosupreme Oh, thank you, creating these graphics and music also turned out to be a truly interesting experience that I had to go through :)
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:20 UTC
@raysplaceinspace that was my oversight, thank you for reporting it, and I actually fixed this issue shortly after
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:20 UTC
@nurakim thank you for your rating!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:20 UTC
@chuckeles yes, I was literally falling off my feet finishing this work, so I'm extremely glad I could give you emotions, thanks for playing!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:20 UTC
@badpiggy I perfectly understand what you mean, this is my first experience creating a short but complete story :) I'm glad it gave you emotions, that was the main goal, thank you for the comment!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:21 UTC
@mooyett feel free, I can repeat it haha! Thanks for playing, I really appreciate it.
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:21 UTC
@anachrone thanks for the feedback, hang in there, everything will definitely get better!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:21 UTC
@pikario you can just wait, why not, in the end we'll all come to the same thing anyway
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:22 UTC
@cataclysmicknight oh, so I did everything right, thanks for writing that!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:22 UTC
@norah thank you, yes, fortunately we don't have much time for creation :)
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:22 UTC
@solidhinken I'm glad you wrote that, very grateful
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:22 UTC
@amande-dooce oh, I'm very glad you experienced the same emotions as me, that's very important to me. Good thought, thank you very much for the comment!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:22 UTC
@gastoon I understand, it scared me the whole time I was working on it, and it still scares me
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:23 UTC
@yorsh thank you very much!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:23 UTC
@l6ria I'm glad you appreciated it, which means I did everything right, thank you for your feedback!
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:23 UTC
@michlau Haha that's interesting :) I'm very glad the game delivered emotions
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:23 UTC
@rayhimmel Thanks for that
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:23 UTC
@mestrerothld Thank you, which means my efforts weren't in vain
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:23 UTC
@roroto-sic thank you
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:24 UTC
@captandrey thanks! Indeed, I could have added much more if time had allowed
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:24 UTC
@amiuke thanks a lot for such high praise! It was really important for me to tell this story, even though it's not the entertaining and fun experience that is usually expected from a game. You hit the bullseye - that was exactly my goal, thank you again
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:24 UTC
@wdebowicz that makes two of us! Thank you for playing and appreciating my work, I'm extremely pleased
🎤 LesDremlet
Oct 20th · 17:25 UTC
@shadyshade oh, I'm glad this work made you empathize and reflect, that's the most important thing for me