The Apple of my Aperture by niterich

[raw]
made by niterich for Ludum Dare 57 (COMPO)

By Jove, you've done it! Your telescopic camera lens will surely make you the talk of the town! Now, to go out and test it out!

Screenshot1.png

img_intro1.png

Fiddlesticks! This lens's depth of field is so low, you have to stand in near the exact spot for it to focus correctly! What's more, these narrow, twisting London streets offer no clear sight lines! Oh, cruel fate!

screenshot2.png

But lo! what's this? If you position yourself just right, you can get a picture clear as day!

Screenshot3.png

I overscoped on this one, so think of it more as a work in progress or proof of concept.

Depth of field shader sourced from: https://godotshaders.com/shader/dynamic-depth-of-field/

Sepia tone shader sourced from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGuIT11lcNA

Ratings

Overall 226th 3.167⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Fun 252th 2.833⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 38th 3.925⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 18th 4.306⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Audio 120th 3.389⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 69th 3.324⭐ 19🧑‍⚖️
Mood 117th 3.556⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Given 17🗳️ 5🗨️

Feedback

stormouse_indie
07. Apr 2025 · 06:21 UTC
Really cute idea and great music!
kroltan
08. Apr 2025 · 16:09 UTC
I love it! Finding the angles is very fun.

I did have an issue with the web version where the cursor was stuck spinning, I pressed Escape to try to fix it and it escaped the game area and didn't lock again, so I couldn't aim properly.
Helagos
08. Apr 2025 · 18:35 UTC
Orignal way the make the theme that is very interesting.
The cursor of the web version is a little buggy but the potential of the game is clear enough.
The music and the graphics work perfectly together.
Good job !
bad_fetus
09. Apr 2025 · 00:32 UTC
Cool concept, I like the idea of a game around being a cameraman a la Pokemon Snap with more mechanics around getting the focus right etc. I liked the music as well, well done on that front. Good work!
dhim
09. Apr 2025 · 15:06 UTC
Cool concept! I have made a game with the depth of field as well but in a completely different direction.
I found it hard to know if I was in the near or far field of blurryness... maybe the text could say no it's too blurry, we are too damn close/far

Really nice idea anyway!
FireSlash
13. Apr 2025 · 02:59 UTC
Having trouble with the web version, it only renders in a small sub-area of the window. In firefox, I can play but the cursor constantly drifts down making aiming impossible.

In chrome pressing space didn't work until I fiddled with window focus a bit, but it still only rendered to a small sub-section of the screen. probably an issue with display scaling.

Neat idea to play with! I wish there was an indicator to know how many apples were left. Felt like the DoF was working in reverse at first, as the apple came more into focus when I got super close, leading me to think I needed to get on the table for an even closer shot, as moving further away clearly made it blurrier until you hit the "zone".

Might have been fun to have some more camera settings to play with, or more movement mechanics to get the "perfect" shot, but still a cool implementation for the time given.

Nice work!
BinaryPrinciple
13. Apr 2025 · 04:47 UTC
Smart use of depth as a concept! It made me smile and get frustrated simultaneously, well done!
Very original idea!
Fernando Tonon de Rossi
14. Apr 2025 · 18:00 UTC
Nice concept! Well done!
silkworm_sweatshop
14. Apr 2025 · 19:21 UTC
Really great use of the theme! Music is great I just wish there was some sound effects as well like a camera shutter and some chime when you get a good shot.
Sam Gorman
14. Apr 2025 · 20:39 UTC
Super fun interpretation of "depth"! I've seen a few depth-of-field games but yours is definitely the coolest. I like the puzzly take on the concept and the way you explore and rethink the environment to solve each picture. The game could definitely use some more depth in the camera mechanic and a more fleshed out environment, but this is pretty good for one person!

I have to admit I only managed to solve the first apple. The other three I found seemed to have obvious solutions to me (looking through that hole in the wall, for example) but I couldn't figure out anywhere to position my character to accomplish them. I did find some spots that made the apples *look* in focus, but the game didn't count it. It might help if the game gave you some more detailed feedback after a failed shot (too far away, too close, etc.), because the depth-of-field effect itself is pretty hard to judge visually.

Overall, a fun little puzzler!
Asieke
21. Apr 2025 · 04:48 UTC
Really interesting concept! And loved the intro!
MoD_Wiz
25. Apr 2025 · 17:17 UTC
Interesting interpretation of the theme. Cute intro and catchy tune.

I found that sepia filter makes it hard to judge if you are in focus or not, and i wish game had more player feedback.

Glad there are photography focused games in this jam and it's my honor to push this entry past 20 ratings.