NOTE: The game currently has some minor performance issues, so please use a decent computer to play it if you have one available!
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I was going for the premise of reconnecting to the world of the living. Unfortunately I had to cut a lot out due to time constraints, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. :)
The music is amazing, the graphics are amazing. I'm glad that this is all you got done, because if you had been able to finish AND these graphics AND this music AND a longer game, my brain would have exploded.
Wow what a nice little playable short story... like the music... the art...cool experience... need to have more content... maybe you will work on a post ludum version?
Graphics are gorgeous, certain this will win that category. Game is extremely polished. Played very smoothly except collisions on some objects. Sound was pretty good too, although I think changing the dubstep for something else might have worked better. Great build up, I'd love to see more from this.
Absolutely Phenomenal. The graphics were incredible, and I LOVED the introduction. How with every sentence new form and structure were pulled out of the black screen...
This is amazing! The graphics are spectacular and the music as fantastic. But it is way too short. If this was a full length game, I would pay money for it. Excellent work.
The art is amazing but there's not much else. Still I applaud the art. I literally looked away to twitter when the girl showed up, then when I looked back the game was over. I had to play a second time to make sure that was the end.
The art in this is reaaaaaaaaaally great! I love the intro. It's perfect. The only nitpicks I have here are the music and the length. The music doesn't really fit the mood to me, and the game ends just when it was expanding. I can only imagine this would've been amazing with a team behind it in the Jam. Great work!
what a beautiful game! congratulation, you really got a nice mood, graphics and controls! runs a little slow here, but I think it was my flash player fault =/
The bad is the theme; I am suspicious that you looked at the top-three theme candidates before the competition and tried to think up something that covered the day night already dead meta-theme.
Very very good looking, the theme is a bit sketchy though, are you sure you didn't secretly start a couple of days before and picked a common theme amongst the finalists? ;-)
Short but sweet! :) Great atmosphere and presentation and incredible graphics and animation, nice work! More gameplay would have been nice of course, but I like that you managed to get that ending in there instead of not at all.
The narration and the graphics are great and have potential, but it's really too bad that there's no gameplay at all. So the rest look too much common. I'm interested to know how you have imagine the rest of the game, the perhaps interaction of the two worlds ? Too bad you couldn't have time for it :<
Fantastic! If it is only short because you ran out of time, then you should take heart: if it had been longer I would have liked it less. Think of it this way: when I start to play a beautiful platformer, with great graphics and nice controls, I want it to last forever. I want to play for an hour, and explore a super cool world! Imagine my heart-break when I got to the end and felt "what? that's it? that's all I get?"
That heart-break is exactly the feeling of a lover who loses their partner. So your game made _me_ feel loss without hammering it over my head through text. If you are planning to make this game longer post-jam, I recommend abandoning that goal. Keep it as short as it is, and maybe just polish the experience (remove text, include more feedback). Use the engine and art assets to make another game, because this game about loss will lose its impact if you "bring it back from the dead" as a longer, gamier game.
Seriously: even if people love this game, don't make it longer! Integrity!
Amazing graphics and music! But I wish there was more gameplay =( Also a bigger relation to the theme itself...didn't really felt like connecting worlds...
But either way, the presentation is very impressive :)
Lovely graphics and very fitting music. It was a little slow at times, but I can forgive it that because it just looks so great. I was hoping for a longer game but even so I really enjoyed this.
I really love the Pixel Art. Great color steps and I love the hard lines and mixed angles on the rock formation the step from deep black to grey is a excellent and dramatic shading effect. Great fluid movement in the run animation as well
Wow, this entry is just unbelievable presentation-wise. Really beautiful pixel art, intricate music (can't say I enjoyed the dubstep part though, but that's personal taste), and just the way everything flows. Of course, there isn't much of a game there gameplay-wise, but it's a nice short story. Definitely interested in seeing a full game in that style - the ghostly protagonist could offer some interesting game mechanics too.
I agree with most commenters here: really well done art and good audio. Definitely solid presentation. But the lack of content renders it rather short and in general the narrative reminds me too much of other games such as Appy 1000mg by deepnight.
The game presents itself as a platformer (gorgeously executed no doubt!) but there minimal platforming going on - which is probably a good thing since it's clearly narrative-focused.
I by no means want to diminish your accomplishment, it is a very very beautiful and well-sounding entry and I was especially delighted by the vanishing letters when text appeared.
damn, how did you get so good at art, there's too many little details and incredible things to say them all, everything is so fucking rad, great job! I really wanna see a full game from you soon! :)
The scenery is gorgeous! Nice job on the graphics and presentation. I would consider this like an intro of a game, so hopefully this can evolve into something greater after LD30.
You definitely have the art and music in the bag man, even the mechanics of jumping and moving were solid. It's too bad you had to cut so much, especially since it seems like your last LD had the same problem. Please please please, next time prioritize your game design first and I think you will really create something special with the potential to go far beyond LD.
V
ViliX27 Aug 2014, 10:18
Awesome and well polished game. I think we have a winner for this LD :)
The art and overall presentation is absolutely gorgeous! I just wish there was more game to back it up. The music was good but once the wubs kicked in it didn't really seem to fit the mood anymore.
stunning game visually, I really would love to play a complete version of this, as your introduction is perfectly paced. I love how you introduce the character and world, very imaginative
This is simply grande. I remember seeing some of your indev. posts on the ludum dare site about how you spend to much time on trees - and I already wanted to see more. :D But hell the soundcomposition when the moon appeared was absolutely cool. I got stuck 'cause i didn't knew by east you meant west. xD However played through it twice in a row. Great experience.
stunning game visually, I really would love to play a complete version of this, as your introduction is perfectly paced. I love how you introduce the character and world, very imaginative
Was gonna give you five stars overall, but then I realized how short it was. Nothing new or innovative or substantial about the gameplay, but the graphics, oh, the graphics! They're beautiful! The music's also very, very nice. Wish it were longer!
The most polished Compo entry i've seen so far. So bad you didn't spend 24hours more on this and run for the jam, so we could enjoy a longer experience with a deeper integration of the theme. Still you managed to finish such a polished short game. Fucking good job.
Artwork and soundtrack are really beautiful. Unfortunally the use of the theme can only be guessed and there isn't much gameplay. Why didn't you turn this into a jam entry?
@TeamConn: Unfortunately I would not have been able to turn this into a Jam entry. I needed sleep, considering I had a maximum 4 hours over the weekend.
The theme might have been more evident had I included more of my original plan, but the premise was meant to be that he is reconnecting to the world of the living.
The presentation for this is just amazing, feels like it was cut short way too early though. Also wish you'd used the reflection for something more than it looks great.
Just amazing, the polish on this is just amazing! I wish it was a bit stronger (more obvious?) on the theme and a bit longer, but it was still really amazing!
Incredible, everything is just awesome, from the programming to the music. I hope you'll continue this game and add some "core gameplay", it could be a GotY
And when I've seen some entries worth winning, I see this one! This is FREAKING ASTONISHING! Graphics/Music are perfect. I cannot believe you made this masterpiece in 48 hours. I hope you make a post-compo version, that'll be even more amazing!
The art and the setup is absolutely astounding; too bad it's so short (though not surprising, considering that these 48 hours must have been spent *somewhere*). I'd really like to see it developed further, though, the premise is quite promising.
(one thing I didn't exactly like: later part of soundtrack, when it went from mysterious cimbal-like instruments to something more techno-ish; granted, I'm not the fan of that instrument in general ^^")
Amazing work, one of the best I've seen. Had some performance issues (maybe because I have around 100 tabs open...) but the art you've created is amazing. Comlete entry, would like to see more. Great job!
Wow.... a shame it is short and lacks some beef... but just wow... To be able to make this music and art alone in 48 hours is just astonishing to me :)
Great entry, probably the best in terms of visuals/audio/mood that I have seen so far.
i don'tknow what to say, yes because i'm disapointed :) I WANT MOOOAR!!! Serriously your game teased me so much, i mean it: SO MUCH! when i hit the end i said to myself "WTF WTF I need MOOAAAAR" It is so short man >< i need more, i need a gameplay! Nevertheless, it is the best game trailer i've ever seen :)
I'm left just craving more. Fantastic work. The music has a kind of ominous majesty that works right in with the melancholy colour palette and style. But at the same time it's about reconnecting to the living, and the music always feels confident and powerful, urging you forward. (I think you can tell I liked the music.)
Gameplay-wise the obvious thing to say is that more would be good. You've only really scratched the surface I'm guessing. But for 48 hours this is extremely impressive. Nice work!
Hi there. Lovely graphics and sound, especially reflection idea. Nice animations too. Very good atmosphere. Stuck at jump at first lever...either I missed something or that jump is too wide, or perhaps end of game ?
The movement felt great although it was so short. Hiding the key at the smart was clever. You just needed more to do. The animations and graphics are amazingly detailed for 48hr.
The audio track fits and helps the mood along with the pacing of the story but could be helped by sound effects/ambiance.
This it most certainly the most beautiful game I've played this LD. The graphics were stunning and the story was better than expected.
However this honestly could have just as easily been a short pixelart animation. It didn't really use the fact that the player had control of the character to it's advantage at all. If you were to continue this, maybe that would be something you want to think about.
In the end though this is an amazing LD game and thank you for making it.
Graphics are awesome. Music is great. However it's really short even for a Compo entry. I think time was a factor here. Hope you plan to make it to a longer game with the same atmosphere.
the graphics and mood of this is simply superb, Would have liked to see some more 'game' but as a short narrative experience this seems to get the best value out of the development time.
WOW! This would be perfect aside from all of my i5 processors running 50-80% once the music kicks in. Love the additive transitions and the story telling. Loved the music and how it ties in with the transitions. A wonderful find and a surprising entry from such a short dev time. Definitely an honor to connect this world to its ending credits. :)
It's very pretty, and it also sounds very pretty (until the dubstep kicks in >.>), but there really isn't any gameplay. Personally, next time I'd focus on getting your gameplay across before working out all the (seriously, gorgeous) graphics.
@puppymythril: I'm personally quite keen on narrative based "interactive experience" type games. I prefer to prioritize experience over gameplay. To me, "gameplay" is just another tool for contributing to an experience.
Beautiful! I especially liked the text effects and the slow reveal of the world to help establish mood.
Unfortunately little substance, but such is Ludum Dare. I feel like dubstep was an odd choice given -- as I interpreted it -- the theme of separation from a loved one in death.
Maybe more an interactive cut scene than a game but F* THAT'S PERFECT.
Animation, graphics, controls, i can tell nothing... But nothing really new in gameplay and the theme is more background that inside but something so finished in 48H... how many hand/brain have you? :D
Very beautiful game, both the narrative and the visual effects are really well done. I fail to see the connection to the theme though, but I feel the game already shows a lot of personality by itself!
Wonderful graphics, music, effects. Wonderful most of it. I did however have a problem with <space> not seeming to activate the lever, so I got stuck there, or if it did activate it, I never noticed and couldn't jump the distance. A pity since I was enjoying myself.
wow, so many comments but yeah, really short but dat pixel art. Interesting theme but it looks more upbeat than sinister, unless the guys is about the kill the girl.
This is a very beautiful entry. The art, audio and animations are superb. Shame about the length of it. I think this could be the intro of a very cool game that I hope you finish some day.
Great looking game with music that worked really well. Loved the intro and mood you set up but just wish it was longer. Hopefully you expand upon this.
Breathtaking! This is hands down the most beautiful game I've seen this LD so far, and the most atmospheric one too. That introduction sequence was very well done, and feels as if its the start of a grand, classic adventure. The background music was also amazing and didn't just fit the mood, it strengthened it. Don't let LD be the end of this game! You clearly put a lot into it and it's just begging to be made into a full game. A proof-of-concept with this caliber of production quality is more than enough to get people excited.
As others said, it's a shame that you were not able to develop this further. But I guess, you will make a game out of this or at least a post-compo version, or not?
Awesome pixel art and a great use of the tech (HaxeFlixel woot!). The sprites are also really vivid and well animated. Hope you continue working on it in some way :)
Very beautiful game! Art, music, mood are superb. I feel like the intro is long-winded considering the length, but this would be a great beginning to a full game. Shame you couldn't work in some interesting gameplay. Very impressive though! Great job!
Great looking game, would have liked some way to speed up the text. Wish there was also a little more gameplay here but the mood and atmosphere are great.
Dietrich Epp: I've played it on some pretty rubbishy laptops and it wasn't nearly as bad as that. I suspect something else is wrong. Could you check your power and GPU settings and let me know if anything helps?
I really hope you continue this game after the jam. This is so well made. The art and the "juice" animations are just phenomenal. One of the best entries I've played. Hope to see more someday.
Cool _intro_ for an adventure- / puzzle- / atmospheric-walking-simulator-game you got there! Would've been really cool if instead of teleporting me to the correct spot, the level would have just risen from beneath my feet naturally ;). Even though there isn't much gameplay, I think the little gameplay there is helps the player to immerse and feel invested in the game and the story.
The moon and the stars appearing is definitely one of my favourite gaming moments of all time.
apiotrw: Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. Could you possibly provide any more feedback as to what you felt was missing, other than, I presume, the length? Thanks.
I like short, story-centered experiences like yours. And I also think that your art is amazing! Great work there. But I think the way you delivered the story (some text and at the end the "meeting" with the wife/gf) was too shallow. I think your game could benefit a lot by some more storytelling techniques like environmental storytelling etc. To the gameplay aspect: I think Sinister could profit from better puzzles than simply "Find the key".
Don´t get me wrong that I think this is a bad game. Sinister had great potential and so were my expectations when I saw it. Nevertheless amazing work for 48 hours. :)
Great graphics, great music, great mood. I included it in part 26 of my Ludum Dare 30 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) http://youtu.be/hvOt_bkuFkM
Wow, I want more. Music was amazing, graphics were amazing. Even though it was very short I'm very impressed with what you managed to make in the time frame. Wish I got to rate this!
Comments251
It's a pity that you couldn't develop it further.
Would have liked it to be longer, but the game is great for what it is!
Nice work :)
(i liked it)
I'm glad that this is all you got done, because if you had been able to finish AND these graphics AND this music AND a longer game, my brain would have exploded.
Text effect is awesome!
But game is TOOO short! And gane don't fit the theme!
I understand about 48Hours, yeah.
Also I made something simillar on previous LD =)
I've been in Ludum since LD23 and this game holds the best presentation I've ever saw!
I can't even...
Wow.
great effects and great composition musical and artistic, 10/10
Awesome. :)
I do wish there were WASD control options in addition to arrow keys though.
congratulation, you really got a nice mood, graphics and controls!
runs a little slow here, but I think it was my flash player fault =/
The shame: that its not longer!
The FANTASTIC: everything else! Art, atmosphere, mechanics, art, audio, mood, art, everything!!
Top votes from me!
Too short, but very intense
That heart-break is exactly the feeling of a lover who loses their partner. So your game made _me_ feel loss without hammering it over my head through text. If you are planning to make this game longer post-jam, I recommend abandoning that goal. Keep it as short as it is, and maybe just polish the experience (remove text, include more feedback). Use the engine and art assets to make another game, because this game about loss will lose its impact if you "bring it back from the dead" as a longer, gamier game.
Seriously: even if people love this game, don't make it longer! Integrity!
But either way, the presentation is very impressive :)
If only it was longer; but maybe it will be sometimes?
But the lack of content renders it rather short and in general the narrative reminds me too much of other games such as Appy 1000mg by deepnight.
The game presents itself as a platformer (gorgeously executed no doubt!) but there minimal platforming going on - which is probably a good thing since it's clearly narrative-focused.
I by no means want to diminish your accomplishment, it is a very very beautiful and well-sounding entry and I was especially delighted by the vanishing letters when text appeared.
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOW
fjasklfjasdl;fasjdl;kkl WOW!
But hell the soundcomposition when the moon appeared was absolutely cool. I got stuck 'cause i didn't knew by east you meant west. xD However played through it twice in a row. Great experience.
The art and sound is top notch, but the game itself lacks gameplay. When you think it really starts... it ends.
Very frustrating!
The theme might have been more evident had I included more of my original plan, but the premise was meant to be that he is reconnecting to the world of the living.
(I still gets chills)
Too bad the game itself is so short.
Also wish you'd used the reflection for something more than it looks great.
- nothing
well done!
Kudos!
(one thing I didn't exactly like: later part of soundtrack, when it went from mysterious cimbal-like instruments to something more techno-ish; granted, I'm not the fan of that instrument in general ^^")
Perfect graphics, perfect song, perfect experience.
Very good!
Great entry, probably the best in terms of visuals/audio/mood that I have seen so far.
This games is impressive in a lot of ways, as soon as I saw the circles on the water in the first seconds I was "Woaaaaah"
Now, of course, it's way too short. But I can't imagine how you could even have made it longer. So...well...congratulations
I WANT MOOOAR!!!
Serriously your game teased me so much, i mean it: SO MUCH!
when i hit the end i said to myself "WTF WTF I need MOOAAAAR"
It is so short man >< i need more, i need a gameplay!
Nevertheless, it is the best game trailer i've ever seen :)
Gameplay-wise the obvious thing to say is that more would be good. You've only really scratched the surface I'm guessing. But for 48 hours this is extremely impressive. Nice work!
The audio track fits and helps the mood along with the pacing of the story but could be helped by sound effects/ambiance.
However this honestly could have just as easily been a short pixelart animation. It didn't really use the fact that the player had control of the character to it's advantage at all. If you were to continue this, maybe that would be something you want to think about.
In the end though this is an amazing LD game and thank you for making it.
Needs sound effects! Even just footstep sounds.
The graphics are ridiculously nice. I take it you spent most of the time on them? Well, I don't know..
The music's nice too, until it goes all dubstep. Not my cup of tea.
Not much else to say I think, given how short it is. Really a shame.
Unfortunately little substance, but such is Ludum Dare. I feel like dubstep was an odd choice given -- as I interpreted it -- the theme of separation from a loved one in death.
Animation, graphics, controls, i can tell nothing... But nothing really new in gameplay and the theme is more background that inside but something so finished in 48H... how many hand/brain have you? :D
You kill me! ;)
I did however have a problem with <space> not seeming to activate the lever, so I got stuck there, or if it did activate it, I never noticed and couldn't jump the distance.
A pity since I was enjoying myself.
Sad to be so short :/
But the animations, music, mod, humor!
Good Entry
The moon and the stars appearing is definitely one of my favourite gaming moments of all time.
Anssi@MooseflyGames
Don´t get me wrong that I think this is a bad game. Sinister had great potential and so were my expectations when I saw it.
Nevertheless amazing work for 48 hours. :)
Greate entry!