LudumData

Clockwork Tower by chompdev

[raw]
made by chompdev for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

Play the game here! https://chompdev.itch.io/clockwork-tower

Discover clues and unravel the secrets of the tower in this atmospheric puzzle-driven adventure. Can you escape the tower and discover what's really going on?

  • WASD - Move
  • Left Click - Investigate

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Journal.jpg

  • Sound effects used:
  • Ambient tower sound by Little Robot Sound Factory - https://www.zapsplat.com/music/cave-ambience/ ​- Clock sounds by ZapSplat - https://www.zapsplat.com/music/large-clock-grandfather-clock-ticking-tick-tock-designed/
  • Footsteps by Fork Media - https://www.zapsplat.com/music/footsteps-inside-cave-on-rocks-and-grit/
  • Ending A music by ZapSplat - https://www.zapsplat.com/music/soundscape-dark-drone-whining-and-ominous/
  • Ending B music by ZapSplat - https://www.zapsplat.com/music/magical-and-mysterious-soundscape-with-a-bright-glistening-tone/
Link https://chompdev.itch.io/clockwork-tower
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/54/clockwork-tower

Ratings

Overall 72th 4.172⭐ 63🧑‍⚖️
Fun 249th 3.828⭐ 63🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 99th 4.058⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Theme 129th 4.3⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 126th 4.325⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1th 4.633⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Given 66🗳️ 134🗨️

Feedback

PotatoDog1
02. Oct 2023 · 23:11 UTC
Y'all did a great job setting the mood with the music, darkness, and small room. It felt claustrophobic waking up in the same small area and trying to look for clues. I also felt creeped out because I felt like someone was watching me and I could sometimes hear something that sounded like footsteps. Personally, I wasn't that great at paying attention to details and figuring out what was different in the room, and I was a bit spooked while I was playing. I gasped when I got to certain points of the game, and was excited to see that there may be different ways to play the game. Great job!
FireSlash
03. Oct 2023 · 01:34 UTC
Absolutely fantastic mood here!

I feel like the first clue probably needed a bit more direction to help set player expectations. I spent a lot of time randomly clicking on stuff before I realized what was going on; once you get the first clue the next steps become a lot more clear.

Unsure what the dialogue choices do (if anything?) but it was good for tone setting to help direct how the player should be feeling about their predicament.

Unsure on the ending, the scene and setting was good but it feels like some steps got skipped.

Overall great work! I always love seeing narrative works like this pop up in LD, and this one feels very well thought out in how the player interacts with the world.
FireSlash
03. Oct 2023 · 01:34 UTC
(Double post, can't delete it seems, sorry!)
JackOfCups
03. Oct 2023 · 02:27 UTC
Great submission! I got stuck, but it's so interesting that I'll be back to sort it out. loved the ambiance, and the puzzles are clever and unsettling.
Teamelon
03. Oct 2023 · 03:04 UTC
The atmosphere is just awesome!

Ambient sound combined with visual was so good, it felt almost real, even got some creeps. The idea is good, at some moments it made me to look at every detail like really attentively, but I haven't encountered any long searches, that would spoil the impression of the game, so I don't complain.

When I got to the final scene, I even exclaimed, 'cause I was shocked with its grandiosity, it was an ineresting transition from a room 2x2 meters to kinda infinite realm of Time with really impressive graphics art and animation.

Also, always good to see some parameter settings in a small game prototype made in 72 hours.

Conclusion: "Exceptionally fascinating game for +vibe. Good job!"
TheFoppian
03. Oct 2023 · 05:17 UTC
Fantastic game. Super trippy weird ending. I got the creeps several times. There also appears to be multiple endings, as my friend and I both got different endings. Super, super, super cool. Kudos!!!
vrerabek
03. Oct 2023 · 07:38 UTC
Oh man, what a ride!

The game is so atmospheric! Really love the inner monologue, I think it adds to the suspense. It's so creepy - when some stranger was looking at me from the top of the tower, I got scared for a moment. Was it me? Because at the end of the game it sure seems like it was!


The art is great, I dig the 3d with pixel textures.

At first I was just randomly checking different objects, hoping for a clue. Was there always some visual clue (for example the clock moving backwards, or the shadow on ground) or was I supposed to do that?

Overall, really loved it, I would play a full game like this.
LDJam user 374809
03. Oct 2023 · 08:03 UTC
The shadow on the ground was a pretty good light jump scare.
The atmosphere and the sounds were good too. I was looking around for something to pop out of nowhere the whole time, even though the room was so small it would be hard for something to hide.
EPA
03. Oct 2023 · 13:13 UTC
great game with good atmosphere, well done
LDJam user 0
03. Oct 2023 · 16:57 UTC
It was cool. The atmosphere is really well done and is the game is overall quite polished. The narrative is a bit too pseudo-deep for my taste thought and the theme does not seem to be taken too much into account.
Jadener
03. Oct 2023 · 20:42 UTC
Incredibly well done concept that I just want there was more of. I never got stuck for long and always had interesting things to see.
Well done fellow clockworkers ^^
Chaineddreamer
03. Oct 2023 · 23:15 UTC
What a nice spooky game. The mood and audio helps the game so much. I really enjoyed it. nice job.
TobiasD
03. Oct 2023 · 23:56 UTC
Really nice atmosphere, particularly at the very ending! (I got Ending A). The puzzles were definitely on the frustrating side, a bit like a Where's Waldo, but there were loads of cool reveals like the person, shadow, secret door. I couldn't get my head around exactly what was going on, but it felt like there was a consistent Nolan-esque idea powering the whole thing! Great job!
La bread
04. Oct 2023 · 02:21 UTC
MAN, my heart was pounding. I love the looking mechanic, forcing the player to stop and stare at something. I was terrified throughout the whole thing, really well done.
MaksimJ
04. Oct 2023 · 02:43 UTC
bruh... this was epic... amazing what you managed to accomplish in such a short time. I literally got goose bumps multiple times. Freaky as hell xD Maybe it's because I was playing it alone very late at night, did not expect to play this type of game haha It reminds me of "No one lives under the lighthouse" a lot and a little bit about "It Steals".. great stuff, I think it has potential!
alec
04. Oct 2023 · 02:45 UTC
This might be my favorite game I've played so far. The mood is just off the charts, made my skin crawl a couple times from not know what would happen. The ending made me ask more questions and play the game again, though I'm not sure how to get the other ending lol

great job!
Zach Rouhana
04. Oct 2023 · 04:03 UTC
Cool concept
Mr_Sun_
04. Oct 2023 · 06:44 UTC
Interesting concept and very cool vibe! I really enjoyed searching around for clues and getting the answer is quite satisfying! The prompt for answers to choose from system is quite interesting as well, it really made me engage with the world and the story more, and prompted me to think more. Got Ending A and B! Great entry!
pinkemma
04. Oct 2023 · 10:21 UTC
Super atmospheric! I had some issues where the book would show information off-screen though
AGK
04. Oct 2023 · 10:21 UTC
Its really amazing what you guys can do with just a handful of 3D assets. The idea of the game is creative and the vibe is really cool. Love the game!
Lenan
04. Oct 2023 · 13:26 UTC
Very cool entry with a great atmosphere
LDJam user 302659
04. Oct 2023 · 13:51 UTC
Nice game! I like atmosphere and gameplay, really good graphics
Unbugged
04. Oct 2023 · 16:08 UTC
Very interesting entry and addictive. There's a whole lot potential for a full length game. Awesome!
tschonni
04. Oct 2023 · 16:16 UTC
Love it, great game, I really enjoyed it. Good work
Fahim Faysal
04. Oct 2023 · 18:21 UTC
The atmosphere is amazing. Right from the moment I booted it up the sound design grabbed me. The footstep sounds were a nice touch(or a figment of my imagination perhaps). I haven't been as enraptured by a jam game's mood since Sacrifices Must Be Made(og ver. of inscryption).
It's a really good interpretation of the theme too. With you being trapped in small space and things gradually appearing and invading it.
There were a lot of cool moments(the person on the surface, the "wall", the entire mechanic reversal). Using your thought process/notebook to make choices is really cool.
The only feedback I'd give is that sometimes it turns into a pixel hunting game.
I think you have something really promising here. I'd like to see this expanded even more.
lespaul59
04. Oct 2023 · 18:23 UTC
Wow! What a great, little horror game – perfect for October! I really liked playing it, and the noises and sounds gave me chills. Really awesome game with fantastic mood. Would love to see a full game in this setting. Gave me some Amnesia vibes! Good job at the team!
Arthur Othy-Gares
04. Oct 2023 · 19:28 UTC
I loved this ambiance, but I didn't understand the story, may be more environmental feedbacks.
Still a really great game !
LDJam user 206001
04. Oct 2023 · 20:48 UTC
I couldn't find the solution, but it's well on topic. It's well-rounded sonically and graphically. I just wish I knew better what to do.
minjutin
05. Oct 2023 · 05:49 UTC
Made me slightly anxious, well done! Sometimes it took some time to find the next clue, but after I found it it was like "Oh, obviously!". It brought me many questions and an existential crisis. The story gets better every time I wake up, the ending (at least the one I managed to get) was mind-blowing. The space felt very limited. Time didn't
JCMonkey
05. Oct 2023 · 17:07 UTC
i must have got the bad ending, it just repeated after i did the alien thing. i can see this turning into some kind of escape room thing, where you have to unlock clues to get to the next room in the building, then eventually get out.
helinatan
06. Oct 2023 · 13:18 UTC
great game, I really enjoyed it!
Jordan Neff
06. Oct 2023 · 13:54 UTC
Really great atmospheric experience. The ambient audio and positional effects were lovely. I played through twice trying to get a different ending since the first time I got ending A, but wasn't able to get a different end even though I changed up the dialog options (not sure if they have an effect or I did something out of order?). Either way, I enjoyed the experience, great job! My only critique is that the shadow was very hard to spot, not sure if this was due to the darkness of the room or the limited color-depth, but it took me an embarrassingly long time to discover and it was honestly on accident just from going around trying to investigate every object, wall, and part of the floor hoping to get a clue.
Logicon211
07. Oct 2023 · 00:23 UTC
Very atmospheric! Well done
BinayaS
07. Oct 2023 · 00:38 UTC
Cool atmosphere and game idea! Didn't know what was going on tho and accidently stumbled into the end.
nusan
07. Oct 2023 · 07:39 UTC
Very cool game! I loved the atmosphere and the fact that you don't know what to do and so everything feels strange and threatening. Being lost was a good thing but several times I found my way by pure luck rather than careful observation, that's a bit sad. I felt the way to reach the ending anti-climatic especially and I was like "oh that's the end, why? what did I even do?" But anyway, I loved the game, it's intriguing and the slow mechanics works well, good work!
night on mars
07. Oct 2023 · 08:48 UTC
I really dig this game and concept. I'd like to have seen a bit more variation in the sound although the static clock sound actually adds to the surrealism. The game play mechs really adds to the feeling of "no control" and sense of horror but can I suggest they become gradually more controllable.
nyxkn
07. Oct 2023 · 16:54 UTC
Outstanding game! The mood and atmosphere was so immersive! I really enjoyed the puzzles. On the first playthrough it wasn't exactly obvious that you were supposed to look for things that were changing. Anyway I got ending A, and I tried to play again to get the other ending but I wasn't able to figure out what else was I supposed to be doing to change the ending. Please give me a hint :D

Art is really well made and the ambient sounds are so unsettling, especially the fact that they seem to be coming from somewhere but one can never pinpoint exactly where. I really ejoyed playing this game, so thanks for the experience!
cawfee_art
08. Oct 2023 · 19:30 UTC
Cool atmosphere and nice puzzles!
Neowedge
09. Oct 2023 · 11:32 UTC
Impressive atmosphere, I spent some time holding everything until I can begin the story, but It was great, awesome entry!
creativ4eg
10. Oct 2023 · 13:10 UTC
Amazing. I was really scary all the time while was playing it. It looks like Nollan made this game :D
But I'm not sure that I completely understand an idea
ScaryTreeGames
17. Oct 2023 · 18:00 UTC
The atmosphere in this game is fantastic!
LDJam user 11093
18. Oct 2023 · 22:37 UTC
Strange entry, I came to an end and don't think I really understood, but the atmosphere is really good. And the theme is well interpreted.
T C
19. Oct 2023 · 00:11 UTC
I can't say enough good things about this one! Really enjoyed my time playing it. Very engaging, very captivating, super cool twists. Great submission! This really stood out.
Alchemic
21. Oct 2023 · 20:44 UTC
YO congratulations on the scores! I really wanted to rate this but I messed up and ran out of time ;_;

This game is absolutely fantastic. Extremely well-deserved mood score.

I would love to explore more of this world.

I'm getting very Myst and Outer Wilds vibes and I love it.

Honestly one of favorite LD games I've ever played.