Pro Epistula Mori by squimmy
The time: World War I. The place: also World War I. The carrier pigeons are on strike or something and the War Thunder forums are yet to be invented. The only way to share classified military secrets is to deliver them by hand.
As a runner, your mission is to deliver a message from the General in the south-east of the trenches to the Major, in the north-west.
Heading into no man’s land will make it easier for the enemy to spot you, and leave you with no cover to hide behind when they do. moving through the muddy trenches is safer but slow going, and you’ll still need to hit the deck to avoid occasional machine gun fire.
As the war marches on, the enemy will deploy new weapons against you, but the letters you’ve been entrusted with are vital to the war effort. You must ensure their successful delivery.
Controls:
- WASD or Arrow keys to move
- hold Z or Space to crawl
- A controller might work too? I haven't tested.
- Engine: Godot (with Dialogic)
- Art: Aseprite, comfy52 Palette Photoshop
- Audio: LMMS, sfxr
- Fonts: m6x11, LT Museum, GreatVibes, Blackadder ITC
2023-05-02 07:10 UTC: added "'serviceWorker' in navigator" fix for chrome
The version of the game on itch.io includes a bugfix made after the submission deadline. If you are going to rate the game, please play the version hosted here on ldjam.com.
If you're just playing for fun, try the version on itch.io.
| Link | https://squimmy.itch.io/pro-epistula-mori |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/pro-epistula-mori |
Ratings
| Overall | 422th | 3.722⭐ | 38🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 434th | 3.597⭐ | 38🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 454th | 3.5⭐ | 38🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 255th | 4.222⭐ | 38🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 792th | 3.347⭐ | 38🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 482th | 3.371⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 93th | 4.043⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 547th | 3.586⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 31🗳️ | 59🗨️ |
Only piece of criticism I have for this is that you can sometimes be killed inside the delivery points where you get dialogue but you respawn there too so its not too big an issue.
Oh and I want to say that I really appreciate the menu having settings for sound that play sfx and music so you can tune things just the way you like it! Very much appreciated for a jam game!
@saviqq the font used in dialog and buttons is [m6x11](https://managore.itch.io/m6x11) by [Daniel Linssen](https://daniellinssen.games/)
@cinterre I was thinking of adding a message at the end of the game to tell you how many memorial plaques were sent to Mrs. Parts after the war, but that seemed a bit dark so I added the timer and made it show the time to complete instead.
@eharp, @calamador yes, I really should have added an exclusion zone around the delivery areas, not just because it can kill you unfairly, but also because the General and the Major are sensitive souls who shouldn't have to put up with breathing poison gas and being shot by artillery...
The placement of obstacle can get really weird sometimes.
Like when they bombard one of the outpost and you are told "your brother died in no mans land" . Also the bombardement is slowing you down BEFORE they appear when it is still just a target
Love the handwriting and scribbles on the letters. And the faces of characters are great
The final stage is moderately challenging. Fun gameplay!
At first I thought you were supposed to run on the wall, but then I realised you can just run across the field and that was the entire point (or only way to survive given how the firing zones worked). I think that could have been stressed a bit more. That cost the lives of at least 3 brothers.
Very well written. Fine humor.
In the end it was pure chaos and I liked it
Well done.