Pixel Repair Agency by KirLosev

[raw]
made by KirLosev for Ludum Dare 56 (JAM)

SCR-20241008-ezxi.png

Have you ever had to deal with dead pixels on a monitor? We have! And this experience made us learn that every monitor is its own world of pixel creatures.

And just like any society - it has its own psychos. In this case there's a murder pixel that kills other chill pixels.

You as owner of a repair shop have to get monitors, find the murderer and kill it. After that you can sell the monitor for profit.

Lucky for you, we know that the pixel murderer is the one that has the most defects. You need to check suspicious pixels by metrics against the "Tech Specs" paper you get in the begining about the monitor and the pixel that has the most defects is the killer

The properties are just like in real life: - response time is how was the pixel changes from one color to another - color accuracy is how much of RGB color a pixel can output - max brightness is how bright a pixel can be

At your shop you have various tools to help you identify the killer correctly: - Gradient module allows you to apply a gradient to the monitor or reset to black. Useful to check color accuracy - Response module applies either white or black. Makes it easier to check pixels' response - Brightness module helps you control how bright pixels are - When you have a suspect - use Scanner to get accurate data about a range of pixels. Select a region using a Dpad, select a metric you want to get data about and press Submit at the mid bottom of the module to receive a report

When you made a decision - enter suspect's coordinates into the submit form at mid bottom of the screen and press Kill. The reward will be applied instantly, but a customer could get a 100% refund if you made a wrong conclusion and didn't kill the killer pixel and now the monitor is destroyed with all pixels dead.

Ratings

Overall 919th 3.109⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1036th 2.5⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 136th 3.848⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 743th 3.413⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 448th 3.804⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Audio 672th 1.789⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 883th 3.065⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 11🗳️ 17🗨️

Feedback

MithosKuu
08. Oct 2024 · 03:44 UTC
I tried to check it out, found plenty of dead or less than responsive pixels, but trying to kill them just gave a refund. I think a proper tutorial would go a long way. Art was very nice
imberny
08. Oct 2024 · 03:51 UTC
A fun Papers, Please! style concept. I say concept, because I can't input coordinates? Unless I'm a dummy? Cool art nonetheless!
🎤 KirLosev
08. Oct 2024 · 04:58 UTC
Hi @imberny

Thanks for checking out the game!

Interesting.. You should be able to type values in here (see picture) with a keyboard.
Could you elaborate what kind of issue do you have please?

![SCR-20241008-iikd.png](///raw/1bc/z/67bc4.png)
🎤 KirLosev
08. Oct 2024 · 05:02 UTC
Hey @mithoskuu Thanks a lot!

Yeah. A tutorial is a must I agree. I will add a text one on the page. My 2 am brain forgot to mention that the killer pixel is the one that has the most defects. You would need to check suspicious pixels by metrics against the Tech Specs you got in the begining and the pixel that has the most defects is the killer.
MithosKuu
08. Oct 2024 · 05:33 UTC
@kirlosev Ah, that would explain it, I was trying to fix every dead pixel lol
Tiberiusuciu
08. Oct 2024 · 08:06 UTC
I love games that gives off a tactile feel, when you have devices that you have to press buttons and observer digital screens. Excellent art! :thumbsup:
edali
08. Oct 2024 · 08:07 UTC
I like the idea!
Martta
08. Oct 2024 · 08:10 UTC
After staying up all night this game was just too much for me lol. However after reading your explanation comment above I finally understood the objective! Maybe little bit too many features for a game jam, people reviewing are often tired and lazy. :D This really reminded me about Shenzen.io and Papers please<3 I really liked the "graphics", great mood.
Mijio
08. Oct 2024 · 08:12 UTC
Sorry i to stupid to understand the game... Nice grapic
Prunus Padis
08. Oct 2024 · 08:14 UTC
As others have said tutorial would have made it more clearer. After quickly scimming your text i got the idea but missed out that i had to get the most broken pixel which confused me. I really like the buttons and filters and stuff but using them felt little clungy. I would have had more fun if it were like more fast paced kill all the dead pixels, not like super fast but faster than the murder mystery wibes you went with. Really nice looking presentation!
LDJam user 396085
08. Oct 2024 · 08:14 UTC
Without a tutorial I was very lost but when I start to understand that was prety cool.
Bumble
08. Oct 2024 · 08:20 UTC
Very interesting concept! I would have liked to have less interactions in my way to do some of the work. I get the papers please adjacent gameplay, but that game has lore to keep me hooked while I shuffle papers and puts me into time sensitive decisions to get a little bit of craziness going. I actually never got the right pixel but I don't know if I am just bad at it or if I did not understand how the defects are weighted. I thought a pixel with a defect in every metric MUST be the killer but that didn't get me where I wanted to be (with cash left at the end of the day). :smile:
Julester
08. Oct 2024 · 08:28 UTC
I like the idea. but it's very hard to actually find the dead pixel. would be great if the scanner could move around faster / with the mouse pointer to speed things up. it also seems that the gradient buttons / view only works sometimes but that might be a intended mechanic im missing.
🎤 KirLosev
08. Oct 2024 · 08:39 UTC
Hi @martta

Yeah, I can relate to the state of the mind after the jam :laughing: It's quite a blocker for a many puzzle games on the jam

Thanks for checking out though! Glad to hear it reminded you of such amazing games :v:
🎤 KirLosev
08. Oct 2024 · 08:42 UTC
Omg, @prunus-padis, we actually didn't think of making it so that you need to fix all the broken pixels! That would indeed be a lot easier to explain and communicate :laughing:

Thanks for the suggestion! Good thinking :handshake:
🎤 KirLosev
08. Oct 2024 · 08:46 UTC
Hey @bumble, can you keep a secret? Tsss.. We only found the killer pixel once ourselves before publishing the game :laughing:

But it's 100% possible to find it. A bit clunky and sometime values could appear like they are defective by being too close to the normal ones.

I'm not surprised that people have troubles staying profitable in the game :laughing:

Thanks for the quality feedback!
🎤 KirLosev
08. Oct 2024 · 08:48 UTC
Yeah @julester we were thinking it would be great to add upgrades to those modules/tools. For the scanner you could upgrade the speed and size of the area. But there's never enough time, right?

A bit faster in the jam build would be more comfy that's for sure though
stmatn
08. Oct 2024 · 09:02 UTC
Nice idea! It reminds me a lot of Papers Please :) Some more info on how to find the murder pixel would be nice. Maybe it would also good to introduce the mechanics one by one and make finding the pixel more difficult over time. The graphics look really nice and polished :)
🎤 KirLosev
08. Oct 2024 · 09:05 UTC
Hey @stmatn
I totally agree with you. We even had an info button on every module but had to rm them due to time.
Gotta 100% have a proper tutorial and bring info back if we ever will push this game further.

Thanks a lot for the feedback! Hope to see you jamming again next time :v:
stmatn
08. Oct 2024 · 09:24 UTC
@kirlosev Yes, missing explanations are also always a problem for my games. I understand how hard it is to cut that part when the deadline approaches -.- I hope that you develop the game further :) Cheers
LLlarsO
08. Oct 2024 · 10:12 UTC
I'm very fond of the graphic style. Everything fits together well and I like the little things for example the printed text. I felt curious to try every button and explore the UI. :)

People say that it is overwhelming at first and I can understand that. Maybe if you would introduce the different functions step by step it would solve this problem. For example: After finishing a level you would unlock a new ability.

I couldn't hear any sound. Are there no sound effects in the game? If there are please let me know, so I could try it on a different browser.

I think you did a great job creating this game, which feels unique. I'm curious if this game will be expanded in the future. Greetings from Germany. :)
ZedGame
08. Oct 2024 · 11:07 UTC
Looks great, very immersive. Love the idea of playing a pixel detective!
Bobap
08. Oct 2024 · 11:35 UTC
What a wacky concept and surprisingly well executed. The tutorial in the description was very helpful in understanding what was going on. The money and refund UI are very jarring when compared to the polished look the rest of the game has.
Brain Siege Gameworks
08. Oct 2024 · 11:51 UTC
I'm sure this is real quite unique but it's also overwhelming. I couldn't figure it out.
eerongal
08. Oct 2024 · 13:28 UTC
This is a really unique game. Without reading the tutorial, as mentioned, it's kinda hard to understand what we're supposed to be doing. That said, it makes some sense after reading it, but still pretty difficult. I like the concept, though, nice work!
Kirass
08. Oct 2024 · 18:09 UTC
This game is so cool! I loved it!
kaviasko
08. Oct 2024 · 18:34 UTC
Took a while to figure it out, but then i really like hunting for pixels :)
I wish i could get rid of the reports, because i fumble the placement of the scanner a lot! Also it would be cool to control the dpad with the arrows.
CyTheRabbit
08. Oct 2024 · 18:39 UTC
I feel like a six years old boy in an aircraft cockpit. All these toggles and buttons and displays! And I have to use them to solve a puzzle! This game feels both fresh and familiar, and definitely engaging.
dp3rucha
23. Oct 2024 · 09:03 UTC
Interesting game when you know the tools and have a clear objective. GJ!