Caveat Exemplum Optimus by Jason Shapiro
A grotesque dystopian body horror game built in Twine.
| Link | http://saavedra.aigaion.feralhosting.com/Caveat-Exemplum-Optimus/ |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/54/caveat-exemplum-optimus |
Ratings
| Overall | 1031th | 2.95⭐ | 42🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 1069th | 2.592⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 997th | 2.711⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 1078th | 2.632⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 997th | 2.044⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 673th | 2.676⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 752th | 3.3⭐ | 42🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 29🗳️ | 58🗨️ |
Some graphics wouldn't hurt tho
The stuff with the heart was good, both thematically and mechanically, but the length of the staircase made the margin of error a bit too small. Not that there's much punishment for dying anyway, of course. I also thought maybe there'd be some alternative way to feed outside (some kind of labour exploitation allegory?) or at home, but I couldn't find anything to do at those spaces.
The first scene was disgusting, so good job (I mean you probably were going for that feeling and I def got it)
While I was chillin around looking at the portraits in the Board Room my character got too hungry and died ig xD
I wondered if sth special would happen when I feed on that twisted deity of sorts (?) but it seems I got away with it ^^' Then I wandered around all the places and eventually came back to feed again, and "You know you have all the metal discs and green sheets you can ever use, but the screaming desire for more grows louder and louder, finally overwhelming you. You collapse lifelessly to the floor."
I assume you spent all the active jam phase time on text, but if you at least added a background for the game it could give an impression of illustration, and maybe also give the text a more specific colour (maybe red text on black BG or something along these lines to go with the story).
bilionare pricks thinly veiled names.
I am also really happy to see someone else who created a whole narrative experience, I do genuinely love games like this and it's really sad that sometimes the feedback we get aren't really helpful for the kinds of games we create such as "too many words" or "where are the graphics" or, my absolute least favourite "TLDR" it just plain sucks, game jams at platforms for improvement and... those things are just not that. Please keep on doing this kind of thing, it makes ludum dare a much more interesting and diverse place!
I'd say my one complaint was that you started too strong with needing to suckle your father. I get the metaphor here, but it's hard to keep up a creepy atmosphere when it starts out that way and I don't think anything else in the game felt that creepy. Maybe a scene of being called to the office could've helped build up the tension, having the protagonist walk down a creepy hall before the reveal of the father.