Ludum Dare #38compo

Alone Together

by artylo

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.19

Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.24

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.19

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.95

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.71

Audio★★★★★★★★★★2.65

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.72

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.62

Alone Together is an exploration of solitude. You are given your own planet, with a random number at the start. You can just about see some other people's planets and you notice that they are all alone. You on the other hand have a friend, who has apparently been on the planet longer than you have. I stand to learn much from him, even if he is slightly mentally unstable from what you believe are a lot of years on this floating space rock.
*

Instructions:

Just spend some time with the NPC on your planet. You'll hear some interesting things about him, concerning the people on other planets, his personal interests and even some quips from popular culture. There isn't a lot of game to be had, per se, but there are some neat secrets and random events, if you are lucky enough.

Controls:

- A or Left - Move left
- D or Right - Move right
- LMB - Spin axe?
- Space - Debug Menu
- Space+R - Reset Game
- Space+P - Pixel Perfect Graphics (may help with performance)
- Escape - Quit
*

Links:

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theartylo
- Source: https://github.com/Artylo/ld38
- Download (Windows): https://artylo.itch.io/alone-together

Timelapse:

Screenshots:

Tags: #1-bit, #experimental, #exploration, #non violent, #pixel art, #relaxing, #walking simulator

Comments14

Local Minimum26 Apr 2017, 20:10

I like the simple graphics and the 1 bit colors. To make a game about being almost alone and make the game feel really quite empty without feeding off that and making it a game about fear is kind of daring. That every world is marked up as they were gave it a bit of an eerie feeling, as if they were prisons. The one thing that didn't seem to fit was the axe. I guess it was in hope of getting to add more content? In general though, I appreciated the experience of the game. Well made.

slimabob1 May 2017, 06:36

Very interesting. I played for a bit but didn't run into any of the random events. Regardless, the dialogue was entertaining, and the premise for the game is intriguing. I'll have to check it out further when I get the time.

o7 maplestory guildmate

fangzhangmnm1 May 2017, 06:48

The dialogue text would stretch out of the screen

Jakob Willforss1 May 2017, 09:27

Nice game. I liked the ambience of it in particular. The size, the visuals and graphics worked well together to give a sense of loneliness. Didn't encounter any special events, so for me the interesting part was mostly the ambience and dialogue rather than the gameplay.

EveningWayward1 May 2017, 11:14

I wonder how many lines of dialogue this game contains. I've already spent half an hour or so, and the character just keeps on going with new phrases without any end in sight.

A meditative and somehow creepy experience indeed, I felt like I was stalking someone or peeping through the keyhole to see the world that I was not supposed to see, and all the humor from the second character only fueled up that feel.

Hadik1 May 2017, 13:16

1 color graphics is original, but I think is too simple. I like the soundtrack/ambient.

Geckoo13371 May 2017, 21:51

I am terrible sorry - maybe more than you :)

DGSpitzer4 May 2017, 16:57

It's a aesthetic art piece. Simple but weirdly interesting Hope there is a way to jump to another planet.

el_Flex0s5 May 2017, 15:57

Sadly, this game is not starting with my PC :'( . What engine have you used for the game?

Yondermore7 May 2017, 16:36

Huh... a rare type of game one would expect in LD.

It's also one of the games that I always want to make! Since you did it one step ahead, congrats! I guess?

IMHO, the concept would be way more convincing if the game is multiplayer-based, which means all the dialogues were to be generated based on real-players' input.

rpmoura7 May 2017, 22:54

I couldn't start the game, got this error with Windows 10 x64, Nvidia GeForce GT 710:

___________________________________________

############################################################################################

FATAL ERROR in Vertex Shader compilation

ShaderName: shader_RGB

D3DXCompile failed - result

at gml_Script_director_draw

############################################################################################

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

stack frame is

gml_Script_director_draw (line 0)

gml_Object_director_Draw_0

ramza8 May 2017, 04:47

I love the idea behind this. The art style is spot on and the atmosphere is captivating. The most appealing aspect is of course the dialogue, which is both humorous and intriguing.

mhaton8 May 2017, 08:25

I'm slightly freaked out by encountering another Matthew with a black and white Game Maker compo entry with Alone in the title (even if yours looks tons better than mine).

Really atmospheric and intriguing! Nice work.