LudumData

Spirit Mail by Fabian Denter

[raw]
made by Fabian Denter for Ludum Dare 53 (COMPO)

Thanks for checking out my entry!

Header.jpg

In Spirit Mail you play as a ghostly delivery person and try to fulfill last wishes of some of your ghostly friends. Help 4 of them, and maybe you'll help yourself along the way.

Notes: - I did't get to do proper collision, so it's possible to walk pretty far away from the main level. Try to stay on land ;)

  • Also there is no way to quit the game when it's running other than Alt-F4. Quitting from the main menu works.

2023-05-01 04<em>56</em>18.jpg

Controls:

  • Movement: WASD (Keyboard) or Left Stick (Xbox-Gamepad)
  • Jump: Spacebar (Keyboard) or A-Button (Xbox-Gamepad)
  • Glide: Hold Left Shift (Keyboard) or B-Button (Xbox-Gamepad)
  • Interact: E (Keyboard) or X-Button (Xbox-Gamepad)

(Other types of gamepads might work, however I only tested with an Xbox One gamepad.

2023-05-01 04<em>49</em>17.jpg

Link https://fabiandenter.itch.io/spirit-mail
Link https://fabiandenter.itch.io/spirit-mail
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/spirit-mail

Ratings

Overall 34th 4.1⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 258th 3.16⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 278th 3.1⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 108th 4.12⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 2th 4.942⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 38th 3.98⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 178th 2.979⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Mood 2th 4.48⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 37🗳️ 37🗨️

Feedback

sami822
01. May 2023 · 15:38 UTC
Well, graphics are really impressive, as for Compo game. Hard to believe that this is was achieved in 48 hours.

Tho, as a game it is straight walk simulator; so I guess most time was spent on models and scene rather than on gameplay. Nevertheless, I enjoyed game world.
AdamLenglen
01. May 2023 · 15:46 UTC
Really good looking and atmospheric game I liked levitating around. the music is calming well done
seurimas
01. May 2023 · 15:47 UTC
What a very atmospheric game! That's a lot of impressive world building for 48 hours, well done!
csimpson
01. May 2023 · 16:02 UTC
Amazing! Beautiful world. I love the entire concept behind the story, and the ending is very touching. I have no idea how you created this in such a short time. Bravo.

Minor nitpicks: some of the interact prompts are difficult to activate. Also, the signposts could be improved by displaying the text without activating them.
jakeblake
01. May 2023 · 16:08 UTC
I loved the atmospheric music and the graphics fit the mood. The signposts were a big help--I had a hard time finding the chef after delivering his dish. Good entry
LDJam user 280624
01. May 2023 · 18:54 UTC
Nice cozy game. Graphics design is awesome!
fusionnist
01. May 2023 · 19:30 UTC
Nutty graphics! The ghost movement is also pretty nice. Very enjoyable entry, congrats!
LDJam user 178793
01. May 2023 · 22:33 UTC
Such an awesome game! So cozy, very cute.
SquidGod
01. May 2023 · 22:52 UTC
Very beautiful environment. And thank you for handling the text revealing the correct way in the text box :) Platformer controller was a bit floaty for my taste, but I understand the thematic decision behind it. Nice work!
DrunkardWolf
02. May 2023 · 11:56 UTC
Love everything about it, just a great experience overall, super polished for a jam game too :)
WigHz
02. May 2023 · 21:23 UTC
Such effective use of a few wellmade meshes! Wow, stunning visuals!
I ran around searching for the next ghost to deliver, but only found 3. Old gramps, DJ and screen writer.
The music fit very well but did get repetetive in my search of next ghost :D
One of the most beautifully rendered games. Well done!
Xandruher
03. May 2023 · 21:53 UTC
Impressive ambient you got there! I was enjoying it a lot to fly around. The music was also fitting very well. I only wish I could have skipped the text bubbles a bit faster. Very cool entry!
Asieke
06. May 2023 · 16:38 UTC
Really enjoyable experience playing this one. Like others have said, great job all around. Really liked the art, the BGM, and the general feel of being a ghost wandering around.

The final delivery I did was the screen-writer's. In my wandering about to find the delivery spot, I ended up doing some platforming along the back wall of that large grassy area to find and reach it. I though to myself, "Wow, that was pretty difficult to find/reach" and then later found I had approached it from the back and the other side had a nice walkway up to it.
Blanky and Rocket
06. May 2023 · 17:35 UTC
Beautifully done! The graphics and audio are so atmospheric and cohesive. The only minor glitch I found was getting the interaction dot (E prompt) to show up was tricky sometimes, so I kinda spammed E and ran in circles to get around it. I noticed it at the DJ turnin first, maybe one of the ghosts too but I don't remember who.

Narrative was excellent. Mechanics were fun and helpful to use -- the glide really gave it a unique game feel that was fun to find ways to utilize. I also loved how the audio layered in more complexity as the game progressed.

Great contribution to the jam!! So impressive, especially as a compo!
Lisek Gagatek
06. May 2023 · 21:16 UTC
The game is really pretty, was it all done in 48h or have you had some things prepared beforehand? If it was all done during the jam it is insanely impressive, really.

I like the mood but this is really what this game is - there is no gameplay, just walking around. I managed to fall off the level a few times and it is possible to spam jump on vertical walls and go up this way. Maybe if there was more time for proper character writing this would be a really enjoyable game experience.
🎤 Fabian Denter
06. May 2023 · 22:44 UTC
@lisek-gagatek Thanks for the feedback, I agree with most things, especially the unintended wall climbing was an annoying bug I discovered during the final hours of the jam and couldn't fix in time.
I started only with a basic version of the main menu code, everything else including the visuals was done within the 48h of the jam.
pianoman373
09. May 2023 · 02:08 UTC
Definitely the best art I've seen in a compo. I have no idea how you made it all from scratch in such a short time. Really impressive!
LDJam user 287424
09. May 2023 · 18:39 UTC
Beautiful game. The music, sound effects, and graphics all compliment each other nicely to create such a sweet and poignant vibe. My only critique would be that some sort of map would be nice. It wasn't required as I managed to make it through the whole game and deliver all the packages without it, but as it got down to the final deliveries, I was borderline concerned that I wasn't going to be able to find them as I thought I had covered the entire island. If the level was much bigger, I worry that I would have easily gotten lost. So kudos on the perfectly sized map. But the biggest thing that I loved about this game was the vibe. Really great work. Awesome compo game. One of my favourites I've played this jam.