LudumData

A seance and a murder by Stratcat66

[raw]
made by Stratcat66 for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

A murder will happen! At least you think that after you discovered, that you can feel deep emotions and thoughts of people around you. Find out their hidden motives as they (and you) walk through the mansion.

Screenshot<em>20250408</em>024647.png

This is a small entry I did myself for the jam (except for the music and font). The controls are rather simple: - Use the arrow keys or WASD to control your character - Use E or Space to interact with people, objects and doors - Hold Q or CTRL to feel the deep hidden thoughts of people

Screenshot<em>20250408</em>024703.png

I wanted to do something a bit different for this jam, so i came up with "Find deep and hidden motives of people" as my interpretation of the topic. My ideas were rather ambitious (again), but I am happy with the result, although lots of the ideas I had in mind are missing due the short amount of time.

I still hope that you find my creation interesting! Enjoy :)

PS: I uploaded a Web build which should run in your browser. It is also attached as a file below.

PPS: There are probably lots of typos. I discover more and more of them with every new session.

Link https://stratcat66.itch.io/a-seance-and-a-murder
Link https://github.com/hwilka/a-seance-and-a-murder
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/a-seance-and-a-murder

Ratings

Overall 284th 3.739⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 355th 3.478⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 83th 4⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 416th 3.717⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 664th 3.109⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Humor 203th 3.457⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 282th 3.826⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 25🗳️ 24🗨️

Feedback

ZedGame
08. Apr 2025 · 10:56 UTC
Admittedly, I haven't beat the game and I think it could use some handholding, but the concept is incredible! I'd love to see this expanded upon.
Soul Grinder
08. Apr 2025 · 11:03 UTC
Cool murder mystery game, I liked the way people were walking around on their own routes and having different dialogs as time went on. I checked the upstairs and downstairs library and every book for one that opened a secret door, but there was none lol. Fun game and nice work!
Playrea
08. Apr 2025 · 11:22 UTC
Wow, that's a very atmospheric game. I like the mood of the game. Great work!
MadelineF
08. Apr 2025 · 11:28 UTC
I didn't beat the game, but it is a fun concept ! Well done !
sbeif
08. Apr 2025 · 11:36 UTC
This is really cool, I like the idea very much and I love how people change discussions when they move to different rooms. It took me a while to realize that I had to keep Q pressed so I lost a bit of time in the beginning just talking to people. Great job, very clever and very nice writing! Also very interesting take on the theme!
🎤 Stratcat66
08. Apr 2025 · 11:39 UTC
Thank you for your feedback!

@soul-grinder Regarding the secret room: It exists, it has graphics, it is in the game... But it is not possible to access it, since I did not implement it in the end (It was an idea I abolished rather late)
Soul Grinder
08. Apr 2025 · 11:43 UTC
@stratcat66 haha, I knew it, I understand though, I wanted to put more in my game but there's not always enough time to fit it all in
threegoldeneggs
08. Apr 2025 · 19:08 UTC
This was a lot of fun! It clicked for me when I realized you can see the thoughts of people currently in the room and that's how you puzzle things out. Lot of games about "deep thoughts" but this is a really interesting mechanic you've built around that
MatthewDrake
09. Apr 2025 · 15:36 UTC
Really love the core mechanic and the mystery. I couldn't solve it myself, but this was a really unique game from the ones I've played this jam. Great stuff!
LDJam user 179298
09. Apr 2025 · 17:26 UTC
Very cool interpretation of the theme, it's nothing like what I've seen before and the mind reading mechanic adds to it. Nicely executed, I could see this game with a more complex story line. Overall a fun experience.
LDJam user 202408
11. Apr 2025 · 09:13 UTC
This was probably the highest rating I've given so far, the game looks deceptively simple but it's incredible, the concept of a murder mystery is great on its own but then you have NPC schedules that you have to track and jump between and the mind-reading mechanic that makes for strategic gameplay where you have to search for those moments of isolation and constantly be on the lookout.

I played the game a bunch of times and it never got stale, this could genuinely be a full game with better polish and longer story.

My main criticism as someone else pointed out is that for a game jam the game could use a bit more handholding, and perhaps you can make the time stop temporarily while you read minds. Other than that, this was innovative and fun, solid game!
kuboi
11. Apr 2025 · 10:30 UTC
It's a really well executed mystery game, I love the reading minds mechanic, it's pretty easy to understand and once you get the hang of it you can really strategize on how to use it. Well done!
TomasTanhgor
11. Apr 2025 · 12:34 UTC
The diamond! I really enjoyed running around with time, searching for thoughts in people's heads. I still haven't figured out if it's possible to find a secret room in the library and open the safe, but otherwise it's a great game!
The Stewarts
13. Apr 2025 · 13:23 UTC
I very much enjoyed the soundtrack, but I found the game a little too difficult (I'm not very good at this kind of thing). Love your implementation of the theme too, and felt very finished from what I could see.
Potatobrain
13. Apr 2025 · 17:15 UTC
Nice spin on the theme!
SequoiaSan
13. Apr 2025 · 20:08 UTC
Love graphics and mood! I felt like a real detective :)
Eugenik
14. Apr 2025 · 04:05 UTC
BRILLIANT!.
LDJam user 258850
19. Apr 2025 · 19:57 UTC
hell yeah this is so good \o/ i dont think ive ever played a game like it ^^ i managed to work it out, there were a few red herrings but i wont say any spoilers >:)

![image_2025-04-19_205649112.png](///raw/223/f3/z/6c564.png)
Molpe
03. May 2025 · 21:27 UTC
Hey there, very interesting game! I wish it would give me a clue if I guessed at least one of them correctly, but I had a lot of fun playing :slight_smile:

I've made a shor let's play to share my experience: https://youtu.be/eZpj5YUBpdw