Etsa Djavul by foolmoron

[raw]

made by foolmoron for Ludum Dare 55 (COMPO)

Screenshot 2024-04-14 at 9.21.29 PM.png

DRAW RUNES using MOUSE/TOUCH

Start by TRACING THE HINT LINE and move on to the next level once you get a good match

SOLVE THE EMPTY PUZZLES by continuing the language patterns you learned from the hints

FIGURE OUT all the different ways the runes relate to the phrases

Try to complete all 34 LEVELS

TIPS: - If you're close to a 100% match, try doubling over your lines and making them thicker - Lines that overlap bounding boxes are grouped together as part of 1 symbol, so be careful when they get close - Sometimes it will accept a drawing that isn't quite correct, so take the results with a grain of salt - The aspect ratio and relative angles matter a lot for getting a good match

The game takes inspiration from these languages, some of which I speak: Swedish, Futhark runes, English, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese

Link	https://foolmoron.itch.io/etsa-djavul
Link	https://github.com/foolmoron/EtsaDjavul
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/55/etsa-djavul

Ratings

Overall	90^th	3.793⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Fun	61^th	3.845⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	16^th	4.207⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Theme	263^th	3.172⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	226^th	3.19⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Audio	153^th	3.269⭐	28🧑‍⚖️
Humor	236^th	2.48⭐	27🧑‍⚖️
Mood	198^th	3.214⭐	30🧑‍⚖️
Given		19🗳️	29🗨️

Feedback

mdotedot

15. Apr 2024 · 07:34 UTC

You really should put instructions in the game. The position of the first level on the left hand bottom screen is a position that is not often selected to start your game. Is that intentional? Because I didn't read the instructions I had to go out of it to get the hint on solving number three. I've stopped after level 6 since I had the urge to cheat and create screendumps to solve the next one. Really nice concept! I like the mood with the scraping sound. job well done

LDJam user 360310

15. Apr 2024 · 08:35 UTC

Very nice. Rune 3 (Ko) and 6 (Bo) were empty for me, i had to doodle over all rune to pass it. Some time or precision constrains can make the game more exciting. Good luck with your submission!

RilleP

15. Apr 2024 · 09:36 UTC

Very fun idea! But the matching algorithm has to be a bit better for this not to get annoying. Would have loved to play more but some levels were super hard to pass, even though I knew the solution.

🎤 foolmoron

15. Apr 2024 · 14:22 UTC

@mdotedot Yeah I rarely put instructions in the game, especially in my more esoteric games. In general you should read the instructions of all LD games. Thanks for playing!

LDJam user 302152

16. Apr 2024 · 12:14 UTC

Combine RUNES and game is really creative! Nice work~~

ZedGame

16. Apr 2024 · 12:27 UTC

Great idea for a game, really satisfying to play!

Whismirk

16. Apr 2024 · 12:28 UTC

Very, very interesting idea ! Love the concept of pattern recognition from the earlier runes. As others have said, getting a good match is sometimes a struggle even when you know what to draw, but the "doubling over lines" tip helped a bit.

Really wish more games would integrate language-based puzzle mechanics haha, there's so much potential !

Rustywolf

16. Apr 2024 · 12:32 UTC

Didnt realise I was supposed to extrapolate the empty ones so I just bruteforced it with vertical lines. Fun little dexterity challenge

Sheepolution

16. Apr 2024 · 22:05 UTC

I really like these type of language games. It's fun to figure out which symbols need to be used for the new word. It is unfortunate that the drawing mechanic has some issues. I got stuck on kabamlum, the first level with three symbols. I've tried many times, but was not able to draw them in such a way the game approved. I really like the sound effect and the shaking as you draw!

🎤 foolmoron

17. Apr 2024 · 01:51 UTC

@sheepolution The 3 word ones definitely stress the system too much. I should've skipped them but oh well. Thanks for trying!

SonnyBone

17. Apr 2024 · 07:34 UTC

As always you pull off a super VISUALLY appealing game despite not considering yourself an artist. Chucking away at that fucking stone is FUN. Learning the symbols, scratching them out, it's all super satisfying to me. I messed around with it just to see how much I could fool it, how much I could scratch off, how fast I could do it, etc... A mechanic like this in a game similar to Papers Please would be EXCELLENT. The connection to theme here is loose and it's not super innovative or anything but HEY, it's fun to play and learn which is a difficult thing to achieve!

🎤 foolmoron

18. Apr 2024 · 01:58 UTC

@sonnybone Thanks dood!!! I think I'm getting better at minimal vector based visuals at least. Also hell yeah you did a voice in Alex's game? I'm about to try it out

candlesan

18. Apr 2024 · 06:23 UTC

I liked the etching and tracing mechanic. The runic shapes were cool and the screen shake effect as I traced gave it a "chisel" vibe.
There might be a bug where certain levels (I noticed it on 3 and 6) don't draw the symbol on the tablet, so you are left blind guessing what the symbol should be.

TomatoOmelet

18. Apr 2024 · 14:55 UTC

Very interesting idea, like the screen shake and particle effects you added when we draw the runes.

🎤 foolmoron

18. Apr 2024 · 16:39 UTC

@candlesan That's not a bug, that's the point of the game :D

Ben Albert

18. Apr 2024 · 18:52 UTC

Really like the audio for the carving effect. Really cool idea for pattern recognition, unfortunately I am terrible at drawing straight lines.

JeanBon

18. Apr 2024 · 23:06 UTC

I finished it! We had fun sharing screenshot of our imperfect writings with a friend. Sometimes the detection was not working very well in one way of the other, making it hard to validate the right symbol or too easy to validate the wrong one. But we got it in the end, probably... Is it supposed to be like this? :D

Well done.

![firefox_ADE7QBx4BJ.png](///raw/56e/d1/z/6464d.png)

Paul-Maxime

18. Apr 2024 · 23:15 UTC

Amazing game, just finished the 34 levels after about 90 minutes playing. The algorithm is pretty lenient, we just need to make sure to never overlap figures together, ever, as specified in the description.

However, it's also TOO lenient sometimes, and I'm pretty sure I did some levels incorrectly (especially ONYO or the final DESONKOEVS)

![firefox_4b1olGfKAT.png](///raw/46e/d1/z/6464f.png)

Definitely the most fun I've had playing a game this year, good job!

🎤 foolmoron

19. Apr 2024 · 01:33 UTC

@jeanbon @paul-maxime WOW very impressive! I like your different interpretations of YO. Paul got closer to my intention, but I actually prefer Jean's idea. Thanks for playing!

GreenRadiation

19. Apr 2024 · 10:06 UTC

Cool game idea. I noticed that many at the game jam have turned to drawing mechanics (us included). Great job!

Risminator

19. Apr 2024 · 15:01 UTC

Such a creative idea! So interesting how it was done on the coding side haha.

It's very fun to figure out the new words and spellings, feeling like an archeologist :)

ZackFrankMusic

19. Apr 2024 · 17:34 UTC

This game was such a great idea and you executed it so well! Also, having the stone shake and rumble as you draw is very satisfying!

INCD021

20. Apr 2024 · 09:34 UTC

Nice idea :smiley: I had fun playing and having me guessing the location and size of some of the runes, was a great idea. Thought for a sec it was a bug, until I just started drawing and deduce from the % what and where to draw.
Very nice game :thumbsup:

CourtneyLapin

20. Apr 2024 · 21:31 UTC

Conceptually I think this is great, I love puzzle games that break the mold ...but in reality I didn't have the patience to finish this one. At the very least I finished the bottom row :smile_cat:

The etching sounds were also quite satisfying.

Great job on this!

aeveis

24. Apr 2024 · 04:47 UTC

pretty cool! I had a hard time getting the symbols to read and it was getting tiring with the mouse (the screen shake maybe made it harder to write straight?) so I switched to tablet pen, but I think that made me write too fast and it was hard getting it accurate. Sometimes it like stroke order mattered but may have been just how i was writing things. nice job!

Geckoo1337

25. Apr 2024 · 16:15 UTC

Ты написал, что умеешь говорить по-русски. Поэтому я очень рад поделиться с тобой, чем я думаю о твоём проекте. Мне очень понравилось. На самом деле, когда я обнаружил тему, я хотел разработать подобную игру, используя какое-то распознавание глифов. Я думаю, что ты бы мог уменьшить процент необходим, чтобы перейти на следующий уровень (90% достоточны). Тем не менее, мне очень нравилось рисовать символы на камне. Тебя поздравляю. Очень интересный проект. Музыка?

🎤 foolmoron

25. Apr 2024 · 18:30 UTC

🎤 foolmoron

25. Apr 2024 · 18:32 UTC

@aeveis Stroke order doesn't matter, and straight lines also don't matter much, which is partly why I added the shake to the drawing. But relative proportions (aspect ratio) and angles matter a ton. I wasn't able to communicate that very well though.

🎤 foolmoron

25. Apr 2024 · 18:33 UTC

@geckoo1337 Спасибо огромное! Я забыл много моево русского языка (я изучал 10 лет назад), но я ещё буду стараюсь читать твой коммент без переводить. Я согласен, что у не-каких уровни могли быть меньше процентов, главно которые с 3 символами. Но у меня было страх, что это будет слишком неточний. А конечно, не сталось время з музыка.

Eric Schmiel

27. Apr 2024 · 01:04 UTC

Really interesting idea. I like all of the feedback you provide with the scrawling sound, screen shake and the particles chipping off as you etch.

José Bonilla

01. May 2024 · 15:21 UTC

a good concept, I liked the particles and the combinations.

atmospherium

03. May 2024 · 16:44 UTC

This was a nice change of pace. It felt like a puzzle-ish kinda game without being about the solve so much as about the execution. That being said, I struggled with the execution, particularly on the compound runes. I found myself brute forcing lines to eke out another percentage or two. That being said, it's impressive how much latitude the shape/pattern recognition process gives for the variety of shapes and lines. And thanks a bunch for having autosave, I gave it a shot and gave up but wanted to try to get further and was able to pick back up where I left off.

🎤 foolmoron

04. May 2024 · 12:41 UTC

@atmospherium Yup I always try to add a save for that reason. Thanks for the feedback!