The Choice

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.13
Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.03
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.06
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.46
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★2.42
Audio★★★★★★★★★★2.47
Humor★★★★★★★★★★1.44
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.78
Coolness★★★★★★★★★★100%
My intention with this game was to bring the player into an isolated moment of time. Faced with a morally gray situation, the player will be asked to make a choice. Time will slow and the decision will require perseverance.

Warning: This material may be objectionable to some.

Playable at: http://www.firstcommit.com/games/the-choice

Feedback? @matthewvermaak

screenshot

Comments63

Conflei
Conflei25 Aug 2013, 22:13
Gray like mine, good, good.
TinyWorlds
TinyWorlds26 Aug 2013, 08:25
I feel guilty :( .. Good job!
tripleVisionGames26 Aug 2013, 18:44
This is why I don't ride in trains and just stay safe in my house all day with the shades down and Jack to keep me company. Well executed idea and nice art for it too. Best use of theme so far for me certainly, and possibly mood too.
Vasileiadis26 Aug 2013, 21:09
Very powerful one! At first I thought I'd have 10 seconds to pick my actions :)
tylorlilley26 Aug 2013, 21:11
Amazing. My first idea was something like, a game that would highlight how just 10 seconds could change someone's life. I ultimately abandoned that idea because I couldn't figure out how to take that idea and put it into a game. Well, I applaud you for what I couldn't do - this is fantastic. Easily the best game I've played so far!
@TeddyNashor26 Aug 2013, 21:12
I am now sad. I think that emotional games are on the rise, and stuff like this (more developed) will be a bright future to the games industry.
Idovoodoo
Idovoodoo26 Aug 2013, 21:12
Really nice. Top marks for mood. Well done :)
tony.pe
tony.pe26 Aug 2013, 21:12
Refreshing interpretation of the theme, well done
stephan_h26 Aug 2013, 21:14
Excellent interpretation of the theme and nicely told story.
Anoarith
Anoarith26 Aug 2013, 21:16
Very good story, it's the first "mood game" I see so far and that's very cool :)
panurge26 Aug 2013, 21:26
A thought-provoking experience, nicely communicated. I'm glad I tried this.
frameland26 Aug 2013, 22:06
My favorite game so far.
I try to translate the experience I had with your game into words and I can't.

This game clearly shows that 'Fun' is not a measurement every game should be rated under. Of course I didn't have fun playing the game, which doesn't mean I couldn't get something out it.

Thanks.
aschearer
aschearer26 Aug 2013, 23:10
Would have liked to been able to drive the text myself as I found often myself waiting for it to progress.

Took too long before any decisions were made.

To an extent I felt you foreshadowed things too much. It seemed clear what was going to happen because of the framing at the start.
roaet27 Aug 2013, 04:11
It's a pretty morbid affair but altogether a good concept. I appreciate these types of entries.
Jayjay27 Aug 2013, 04:11
Interesting capture of a moment, I'd love to see this expanded into a serious of similar moments, maybe even randomly generated/pulled from a pool of them to give a dose of emotion to the player.
KunoNoOni
KunoNoOni27 Aug 2013, 04:12
Amazing use of theme! Very powerful.
Blinked27 Aug 2013, 04:13
Wow, very cool idea, excellent job... However, I feel it's pretty much impossible for those events to all occur within 10 seconds haha, but regardless, very good entry.
BlennosoftGames27 Aug 2013, 04:53
I kept replaying, and replaying. There had to be a way...

I really don't know what else there is to say, other than how it was so very... Affective.

The music didn't loop quite-right, and the brief cut-out broke immersion a bit, but the story covered for it well.

Good work, and I very much look forward to your future entries!
Nick Weihs27 Aug 2013, 15:38
Enjoyable isn't really the right word, good work nonetheless.
motty
motty27 Aug 2013, 15:45
Very grim. Not entirely sure how to rate this for 'fun' :) A good effort at a game that is trying to do something beyond the boundaries though.

Major quibble - the way the audio sample is looped needs work - it doesn't seem to loop smoothly at all. I found this really jarring, especially in a game that is all about the mood created.

Minor quibble - the game only just fit on my monitor and, given what it was doing, didn't seem to run as smoothly as it could have done.

That said, good effort.
flamecow
flamecow27 Aug 2013, 16:05
Very sad and moving experience.
lekochen
lekochen27 Aug 2013, 16:39
So emotional, well done.
xrm0
xrm027 Aug 2013, 22:33
Good, but too slow for me. Also, I think it would be nice to have some way after the end to restart the game and not just refreshing the page.
jay griffin28 Aug 2013, 00:13
This was great, I really loved it.
lordjosephdeburg
lordjosephdeburg28 Aug 2013, 00:25
An interesting pace and take on the theme. Enjoyed it!
Kragnir28 Aug 2013, 01:02
Interesting game. Kind of sad that the choice I wanted to make was not available, seems like I was forced into a certain ending.
BenWhi28 Aug 2013, 01:08
Wow, I think we both went with the same kind of game for this LD! Yours is really beautiful - great job!
OldPeculier
OldPeculier28 Aug 2013, 01:10
I'm sorry, I couldn't get through the intro—just too slow.
Gus
Gus28 Aug 2013, 04:11
Grayscale, choice-based, piano-scored, ten seconds makes all the difference in the world.. this is so familiar..
hoqjed
hoqjed28 Aug 2013, 06:31
It has a preditable ending, but otherwise makes you think about what you should do indeed. Too bad there's no option to leave both (or just the mother at one point) and save yourself.
Diptoman
Diptoman28 Aug 2013, 06:34
I love the mood of this game. I was too indecisive to save anyone, which might actually be true about me. :)
The greyout graphics set the mood for the game very well.
Great job on this!
Ailin28 Aug 2013, 10:17
Nice job. Audio is a but repetitive however.
davisan
davisan28 Aug 2013, 10:45
Nice one, good story and mood.
Jimanzium28 Aug 2013, 11:07
Very nice, smooth and well written. Very good mood aswell. Excellent entry
Ossi28 Aug 2013, 11:28
Emotional and thought provoking, well done. It would have been nice if there were sound effects or some kind of visual or color change to accompany the words and choices you made. Amazing atmosphere!
truiton
truiton28 Aug 2013, 12:08
I will never take a train again. Never o_O
LiamJPeters
LiamJPeters28 Aug 2013, 14:55
Quite a unique game. Good Job!
zlowrance28 Aug 2013, 15:26
Very unique game. I havent played anything like it so far this jam. Great entry!
PaperBlurt
PaperBlurt28 Aug 2013, 19:25
Good job.. glad to see more interactive fiction. But I actually stopped for a sec and thought about what choices to make.

I don't want to play it again as it would feel like cheating. The scenario I created is my "truth" so to say.
bitserum28 Aug 2013, 20:27
Thank your for this emotional experience
ellipticaldoor
ellipticaldoor28 Aug 2013, 21:45
Nice! I always enjoy new ways of making a text based game
Diogo Muller29 Aug 2013, 01:33
Very deep experience. I waited until the last moment to make a choice, and kinda regret it. Good work, man.
flarb
flarb29 Aug 2013, 16:45
Definitely one of the stronger story-based entries.
Volute
Volute29 Aug 2013, 21:41
Great mood !
fgielow30 Aug 2013, 01:17
Nice concept. Good Story line, but i think you could give some more options. But nicely done for the 48 hours =)
flavio
flavio30 Aug 2013, 09:50
I played it only once. Truly a great experience. It made me wonder about life and choices, so I think you succeeded in your attempt. A beautiful philosophical game ! There might be some work left on graphics ;)
Pinktreeleaf30 Aug 2013, 14:33
love the moral questions and the stylized graphics. I like making and playing visual novels, so playing your game was a bright spot for today.
stenol
stenol30 Aug 2013, 17:15
Good experience !
Hayawi30 Aug 2013, 19:06
i played all the possible ways and not one has a happy ending!
i love these decision games!lol
kristof30 Aug 2013, 23:08
Very sad :-/
drkrunk
drkrunk30 Aug 2013, 23:37
This was such a good concept. I liked it but it was very depressing :(
TobiasW
TobiasW31 Aug 2013, 22:17
Damn it. I want to save them both, but I guess some things just aren't meant to be. Pretty good writing. I like your interpretation of the theme: Not 10 seconds in game time, but 10 seconds in real life. It would seem lazy, but executed so well it doesn't.

Also, a lot of: :(
GeorgeBroussard1 Sep 2013, 04:12
I know what you are going for, but a little to on the nose for me.
The Evil Cult2 Sep 2013, 18:55
I like what you were trying to do here but I was pretty sure I knew how it would go from the start so it didn't have as much of an impact on me. A good direction for the theme though for sure.
AlexFili5 Sep 2013, 17:54
Overall the game was well made. It's interesting to make different choices and see what happens. A text-based game is a good idea and suits the story well. There could perhaps be more descriptions of things like the train itself and what the people looked like. Once you've played it once it becomes quite obvious to see what would happen if you made certain choices. The graphics and audio could do with some work in order to match the quality of the dialogue. A great piece of interactive fiction.
Dotanukii5 Sep 2013, 22:57
Really great mood, the mom being pregnant is a nice touch, great job!
Christina Nordlander
Christina Nordlander9 Sep 2013, 20:09
The moral choice is kind of a well-worn topic, but the story is very well-written. (I did catch a typo, though: "begining".) I like how you worked in the ten second theme.

I liked the graphic. The music is pretty good, but I can't help but feel that it didn't match the mood of most of the story.

I'll probably come back to this game to see what happens if I choose differently.
DaanVanYperen
DaanVanYperen12 Sep 2013, 19:20
One of the more original implementations of the theme.
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