TRIGGER WARNING. Please read the notes in the menu if there are topics that could cause you significant emotional distress.
The Day the Laughter Stopped is a personal story told using interactive fiction. I don't want to say too much at this point, as it is best experienced unspoiled, but I will soon write at length about the concept, why I wrote it and what I was trying to achieve. I'll add a link to the blog post once it is ready.
The Windows executables are packaged with node-webkit, so it's HTML packaged with chromium. This should be your safest bet should you have trouble with the web page.
KNOWN PROBLEMS: * It seems there's sometimes a bug with loading later in the game. I couldn't reproduce it when I tried, but the game is very short and shouldn't take more than 10min to finish, so loading is hopefully not too necessary. [FIXED]
* There's also sometimes a bit of odd behavior with the scrolling. But it works just fine most of the time, so this should be but a minor inconvenience. [FIXED]
Everything else works as intended.
EDIT: I have added a link to the blog post outlining what motivated me to make this game. I also added that link to the ingame menu, as I wanted people to have easy access to it. The game itself is unchanged, as are the source files and the Windows build. I hope this is alright by the LD rules, otherwise I will remove it. It is, however, just a link and has no effect on the game whatsoever.
EDIT2: Added some statistics to the web version. Again, no changes affecting the game were made, and the Windows build and source files remain unchanged.
EDIT3: Loading & scrolling bug fixed. Since I made other changes to the web version (see Edit 1-2), I'm not updating the Windows build and source files, so you can still play an untouched version if you prefer.
@Shigor: No, you only get to play once. Unless you figure out how it saves and how to delete it at least. :) But it's part of the point that you don't get another chance. It happened and now you gotta live with it, so to say.
Extremely well executed, and I like the subversion of the "choice" mechanic. The flip side of that is that it lacks the hallmark of my favorite works of IF, which is the feeling that you're in control of the narrative. Still, a powerful work and awesome to see a more experimental work succeed in LD.
Very well done, you really hit home the loss of control someone would feel. The "no choice" mechanic at the end really worked well, as did the subtle audio. This might also work well as a visual novel, and uploaded to a portal like Kongregate where is may get some attention and spark a conversation. I'd be willing to help even!
I love text adventures, when i try to choose a "safe" path, and nothing happened i was a little concerned thinking that the game maybe wasn't completed or something, but when i realized that i didn't have that choice, i was really tense! Love the way you lead the story even if it was "dark" as it was!
Very powerful, not expecting something that dark for a 48 hour contest. Trying not give away any spoilers here so if its cryptic, sorry: The way you gave the users options was very powerful. Probably one of the most powerful depictions I have seen.
Oof, that was tough to play, and I mean that in a good way (if that makes any sense). The part where the choices stop working was simple, but it definitely puts you in the shoes of the person, and was really powerful. Gameplay and story working together perfectly.
Very descriptive, detailed and well done. You really made me feel like I was there. Although I cannot imagine the exact feeling of that it was somehow uncomfortable and wanted to punch that guy in the face or something xD.
Well told story. I like that you didn't over dramatized it, that you stayed subtle. I often find interactive fiction boring or anectodal. For once the "gameplay" is coherent with the plot and the writing.
I don't like the story. I never had a choice. I knew where this would end from the first block. Why give us a fake choice if you gonna tell us the same story anyways?
@Kayelgee: The point of that is that you have no control over a situation like this. You don't end up there because of what you did, it happens because you have been targeted by a predator and he makes it happen, no matter what. There are no right choices and no wrong choices, because it's not your fault. That's the point, it's not your fault.
The later choices that literally don't work are about wanting to do something and not being able to. If you want to know more about why I did this and why I chose to present it this way, you can read about it here: http://hypnoticowl.com/the-day-the-laughter-stopped/
@Rest of y'all: Thank you so much. I can't put into words how much your feedback means to me. It's been a very weird, overwhelming coupla days, so yeah, "thanks" is all the eloquence I can muster. :D
The link to the theme completely hit me out of the blue. It made for very uncomfortable reading (in a good way) and it's great to see people doing this kind of thing. Very well written. Good job!
Thank you not only for making this, but for making it so well. As you mentioned, this had the potential to backfire, but it didn't. You convey the message you wanted to communicate not only through a well written story, but also through the mechanics of the game.
Wow. The moment you started taking choices away was extremely powerful.
A lot of games try to make a statement for the sake of making a statement, but this made a statement because the statement needed to be made. Thanks for approaching this with maturity and tact without shying away from the distressing truths. I've seen this story, I know this story, and I hate this story. But thank you so much for telling it.
Holy crap, I just saw your tweet about the stats for this game and it just reinforces how effectively you communicated this. The shift from desperation to resignation is extremely clear, even in how people chose their responses. Simply incredible.
Nice work you made it here, @Crabman. I played two times just to see if I really can made a different choise, but even on the mechanics you put the fell of incapability. Awesome work.
wow. just wow. this is amazing on so many levels... first, the writing: i think its easy in these game jams to focus on the mechanic and the fun, throw-away nature of it all. you have written an amazing story. and game. its simple and heavy and last with you. so incredibly well-written, you convey that sense of no-turing back, that sense that you have crossed the rubicon.
the mood is perfect. the music really supports the piece and takes you to the place you want us to be.
this is proof that good stories are the real place to start when creating games that last. that stick with you. and it is also proof that games can be a place to teach and learn and tell stories that arent easy. that are about hurt and love and all those things that most games are not.
I don't know if I'd can call this a game, and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it, but you did an excellent job. You made me feel helpless... very effective.
Impressive. Well written and presented. I sometimes felt like I wasn't in control of the story at all, that it was all supposed to happen. But the impression this has created on my mind will last a long time nonetheless.
A powerful experience, for sure. While there isn't much in it to call it a game, it has a way of conveying a message through the mechanics that is very strong, and I like it. I personally wouldn't have gone with such a dark interpretation of the theme for a Ludum Dare but I am happy to have played it.
Honestly, although I'm a big reader these things are never usually to my tastes. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this, quite well written and I loved the use of the theme.
Very well put (I also read your blog posts) and how you use the mechanics at the end is clever.
Technically speaking, I don't know if the slow auto-scroll is intentional (to give a little break between steps ?) but sometimes it lost me a little when I started reread previous chapter during the scroll.
@mmickyman: If you're still around, can you tell me more about the slow scrolling? It's not supposed to take more than half a second or so, just a smooth slide down. Did it take longer than that? What device/browser were you using? And did you play the web version?
I liked the way some of the options do nothing near the end, and how you cannot restart.
The scrolling was also slower the more text I had on the screen (playing the web version on Chrome 31). Near the end, sometimes I would lose a moment waiting for the scroll and then finding out the exact spot where the new text had appeared. Otherwise, very good technically.
Huh, weird, Chrome and Firefox handle the scrolling differently. My attempt to fix the weird jumps it sometimes does only worked for FF and kinda broke Chrome. That certainly wasn't supposed to look like that. ;)
Ok, it's fixed. I detected the scroll position by using $("html, body"), which returns the right value in FF but returned 0 in Chrome (and yet, it worked for animating the scroll position.) That set you back to the top of the page and had you scroll through the entire document in an adapting pixel/sec speed. Sorry about that, didn't even think to test everywhere since it's so basic. But $(document) did the trick, and except for some weird but manageable glitches in Opera, it works fine in all major browsers now.
What I immediately noticed about this game that set it apart form almost all of the other IF I've played: sound. Very nice touch, even just the click when you select an option is extremely nice to have. That's something I want to look into adding to my IF if I continue making them.
Based on the fact that a trigger warning existed and the first few passages, I realized pretty early on how things were going to end (although, at that time I thought--hm...how to say this without spoiling anything--I thought the character would be given more power) and was dreading it for the remainder of the story. But nothing could compare to "The Moment The Choices Stopped" (to borrow the subsection title from one of your follow up posts). I thought--no, I desperately hoped I had encountered a glitch at that point. Extremely effective mechanic.
Comments67
BTW is there a way to restart the story?
Nice to see people doing good text adventures, keep it up!
Good job.
The later choices that literally don't work are about wanting to do something and not being able to. If you want to know more about why I did this and why I chose to present it this way, you can read about it here:
http://hypnoticowl.com/the-day-the-laughter-stopped/
@Rest of y'all: Thank you so much. I can't put into words how much your feedback means to me. It's been a very weird, overwhelming coupla days, so yeah, "thanks" is all the eloquence I can muster. :D
5/5
And with such a nice way to do it. Merci !
Great mood setting with the music too.
5/5 in overall, theme and mood. Blech
*
*SPOILER ALERT*
*
Well, a mild spoiler at least. I thought something was wrong at the final choice, but after finishing, I guess it was designed that way. I think.
*
*SPOILER ALERT*
*
don't really know what else to say.
A lot of games try to make a statement for the sake of making a statement, but this made a statement because the statement needed to be made. Thanks for approaching this with maturity and tact without shying away from the distressing truths. I've seen this story, I know this story, and I hate this story. But thank you so much for telling it.
Good story :-)
the mood is perfect. the music really supports the piece and takes you to the place you want us to be.
this is proof that good stories are the real place to start when creating games that last. that stick with you. and it is also proof that games can be a place to teach and learn and tell stories that arent easy. that are about hurt and love and all those things that most games are not.
thanks and congratulations.
Technically speaking, I don't know if the slow auto-scroll is intentional (to give a little break between steps ?) but sometimes it lost me a little when I started reread previous chapter during the scroll.
The scrolling was also slower the more text I had on the screen (playing the web version on Chrome 31). Near the end, sometimes I would lose a moment waiting for the scroll and then finding out the exact spot where the new text had appeared. Otherwise, very good technically.
Thanks for letting me know!
Based on the fact that a trigger warning existed and the first few passages, I realized pretty early on how things were going to end (although, at that time I thought--hm...how to say this without spoiling anything--I thought the character would be given more power) and was dreading it for the remainder of the story. But nothing could compare to "The Moment The Choices Stopped" (to borrow the subsection title from one of your follow up posts). I thought--no, I desperately hoped I had encountered a glitch at that point. Extremely effective mechanic.
A good game.
And a difficult topic, worth mentioning.
Maybe a bit too much text, I think the game
might benefit from more passages with less text in each.
Rather than a lot of text in few passages.