Encounters

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.71
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.38
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.11
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.29
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.02
Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.91
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.49
Welcome to Encounters!

:point_right:_"Three months ago, you met a girl named Joyce on a dating application. She wants to go on a date with you... but everything isn't gonna go as expected!"_

Controls :
WASD, Mouse to look, Space to Jump

You can go play Encounters here :green_heart:

_Game by_

Clement Cairon Twitter

_Game Designer, Level Designer, Programmer, Lighting artist & Sound Designer_

Lucas Grillet Twitter

_3D Artist, Shader Artist, 2D Artist, Environment Artist & Prop Designer_


Have fun :D

You'll find a downloadable pack for any version you're on : Windows, Mac or Linux, on the itch.io page.

screenshot

Comments51

thomas-olsson
thomas-olsson31 Jul 2017, 10:56
I got the date with her! Very cute game. Controls are a bit weird but it was funny.
Virtual Turtle Studio
Virtual Turtle Studio31 Jul 2017, 10:58
I really liked the game. Though it doesn't have much (challenging) gameplay, it was still very enjoyable. The enviroment is nice and graphics are more than I would have expected from a jam game. Had a few laughs too. Well done!

Ps. I cracked up big time at selling kids for alcohol and credits! :^)
nikrt31 Jul 2017, 11:13
The graphics a really nice, plus humor was on point at most places. Really fun overall.
mintarcade
mintarcade13 Aug 2017, 07:36
Nice spin on a theme. I somehow finished the game without completing all the quests, but it was FUN!!!
ThatSnillet13 Aug 2017, 11:51
Wow, this was really fun! The visuals, audio and gameplay are all top-notch! I did encounter a few of the quest continuity bugs, but I still really enjoyed the game. Good Job!
rubyleehs13 Aug 2017, 13:24
The graphics are gorgeous! The audio was good and some parts made me actually made me laugh. How did you even finish this in a jam O.o

Not very challenging, but in a good way. It's like one of those games people would play to relax after a day of work.

Probably the highest I rated so far.
Valphera
Valpheraauthor13 Aug 2017, 13:32
Thanks for the feedbacks! Really helping! If you are intersted in the dev process, i published a postmortem !
RootPew
RootPew13 Aug 2017, 14:11
Graphically excellent - loved the voxel style. Storyline was pretty funny too!

Gameplay is solid and fun, but I'll admit my first thought was "maybe get someone to arrest the guy holding a kid ransom for a bottle of Whiskey" ;P

Great job, and great entry :)
bluellama13 Aug 2017, 20:00
Definitely made me smile. Interesting trying to piece together the missions to achieve what was quite a funny take on the theme.
Mathiouza
Mathiouza14 Aug 2017, 11:14
Well done x) The game is well executed, the quest are good and the little story is fun x) So congrats guys :)
mindfungus
mindfungus14 Aug 2017, 14:34
hey well done! I really like the premise of this one and the weird world you have created. The experience felt very complete and was a good length for a jam game. I kind of wish there was some display of the number of credits I had collected.
Valphera
Valpheraauthor14 Aug 2017, 14:36
This was something I decided to cut for timing reasons, but yes in the post LD version there will definitly be one! Thanks!
Pedro Miranda14 Aug 2017, 15:18
Hey, nice entry! I like the 3d models they are funny and the sound is prety nice. I like how it felt a complete game, although it would be cool if we had some kind of HUD to show our credits and items.Overall, great game, awesome job!
mamoniem
mamoniem14 Aug 2017, 15:19
nice little complete game. it has all the elements in my humble opinion. I loved the art the most. Good job!

-m
Valphera
Valpheraauthor14 Aug 2017, 15:26
Thanks for letting me now, I'll check what's wrong :/ sorry
I used Unity2017, and it's the first time that I export a project for Mac on this version so maybe i did something wrong.
If there is an expert of mac export here haha, I'd take any help!
Rikoclon14 Aug 2017, 15:59
The first time I played I fell through the level, but that is pretty common for a jam entry. The second time I found my self not very interested in what the characters had to say because it was too slow. The characters looked nice, but something was up with the lighting? pinkish purplish blue plasma-ish texture all over? The particles weren't bad. The story was very strange. I felt very locked into an alley. The trap door didn't feel very real, you could have put the room underneath the other rather than off to the side. I feel like the exclamations could have been 2D sprites. and more HUD sprites would have been appreciated. Most importantly a better text mechanic. I personally prefer text to be quite a bit faster than that, then when you click the button it puts the whole text block on the screen, click again, next text block. Key items (credits, alcohol etc.) should be a different color or bold. so when you skim the text you can still pick out what your supposed to do. I did like that the text was in "word bubbles" and the font was clean. It was mostly just painfully slow. Great job completing something all on your own!
Valphera
Valpheraauthor14 Aug 2017, 16:36
Thanks for this feedback, it's the first time that i hear about a bug that makes you fell through the level, so i'll check how that is possible.

I don't know why the text was slow for you, cause on my PC it's really fast, the text takes less than one second to appear for every bubble. Maybe you had lags? You can check on this video how fast it should have been :

If this is the speed you had then I'm sorry and maybe I need to take a step back to look at it but it seems fast enough!

Indeed the story is a bit strange, it's what we wanted though, a weird universe with weird characters.
And for the playable area, it simply was easier to "lock" the player in this alley with the shop, we wanted to add multiple streets and make the quests happen eveywhere in them but we didn't had time for that and ended up gathering all the gameplay elements and quests in a limited area.
kpded
kpded14 Aug 2017, 17:23
I like the art style and sound of the game!

Although it seems like characters could be less awkward, but this is strictly IMHO)

Text during dialog with NPCs could be faster I suppose

But overall - good game!

WUBBA-LUBBA-DUB-DUB!
Dino_jr14 Aug 2017, 17:47
It´s a nice game, you take to much care about details, I like it, very fun, good work on that, congrats!
beta
beta14 Aug 2017, 18:01
Neat game! The art was really enjoyable and the music too. It's always cool to see Rick & Morty references :D
HuvaaKoodia
HuvaaKoodia14 Aug 2017, 18:09
That magical moment resulted in *years of agony!*

I'd call this something along the lines of virtual story or interactive story space, both clunky terms but apt. There's a story in a (small) virtual world and you cannot change the story in anyway (only one ending, each interaction plays out the same way every time). The only thing you can do is choose the order in which the events happen. There isn't even any optional content hidden around the world (which is fine, there's only time for so much in a jam).

Because of the prior I have to say I'm personally not a big fan of your entry. I like interactive mediums where interactivity is the main deal (like interactive simulations and games), titles where choices have to be made and consequences of your actions change the world. That is interesting to me. Linear stories work just fine in non-interactive media, so why make an interactive one?

Here are a few ideas to make your actions matter here:
* Time it. If you take more than 5-10 minutes, the date is off.
* Change how people talk to you based on what you've already done. If you start with the fireworks then one of the other character doesn't like you as they hate noise, for instance.
* More actions, some with clearly dreadful outcomes. If you rob the store to fuel the hobo's alcohol addiction, then the police arrives and takes you away.

These sort of things are still scripted, but at least your story would be partly non-linear now, with multiple (if sudden) endings. This way playing through your story becomes an exercise of exploring the possibilities of the world, probing for a sequence of events which you like.

Just a little rant this. You did well for what it is, I don't rate entries for what could have been.
Valphera
Valpheraauthor14 Aug 2017, 18:27
@huvaakoodia
Thanks for this feedback.
I am a big fan of narrative games, which is why I wanted to do one here, this is a really big challenge for a jam! You're right the story is really linear and there isn't multiple endings and the characters do not react on what's happening in the world, they only care if you have completed their quest or not.
Your ideas are cool, but it's not as easy as it sounds (like you pointed out) to programm this kind of events alone in 48hours, though I wish I could have! :smile:
josehzz14 Aug 2017, 20:47
Interesting history, overall nice entry
Sebastian-M
Sebastian-M14 Aug 2017, 22:31
Awesome game you guys made.

The graphics and the humor in it is what makes it really good, gameplay wise is rather simple and some things can get some tweaking here an there. For example the text of the character speech was a bit slow and pressing E don't speed up but skip it instead so I miss a lot of stuff because of that.

But as I said, I really like the story of the game and how you guys used the theme, the 3d models were really cute and I liked the asthetic of the game.

Great job overall!!!
Klowner
Klowner14 Aug 2017, 22:36
I met Joyce! Cute little game, something about the walk-bob combined with the step distance made it feel like I didn't have great control but I liked the exploration aspect. Extra points for Rick and Morty references ;)
abductedPlatypus
abductedPlatypus14 Aug 2017, 23:12
Great game, top notch graphics, decent music, fun story. Very good for a Game Jam!
joebeard15 Aug 2017, 02:36
Hahahaha! Oh man, I loved this. That end was absolutely inspired. I think though, that Joyce may have turned out to be a dude IRL, you know how these internet romances usually go ;)
SaraMartins15 Aug 2017, 05:03
This was an interesting experience. Felt more like an exploration and less like a game, but it was funny. It had cool models and music that kept the mood. However I did feel like the controls were a bit wonky, and when I jumped and landed, it jumped in place after landing. I also spent a good time wondering why the charging machine didn't allow me to pick up the coins on top of it, maybe you should differenciate that. Also, a hud information with how many coins you have already would really make the difference. Another thing that could be improved could be the colliders' size for when you talk to someone. It felt weird having to be so close to their face to be able to start talking.

Overall cool experience, with a funny story :)
qzqxq15 Aug 2017, 08:41
This was pretty funny! The story felt a little nonsensical in a good way (sort of like Jazzpunk), and I really liked the graphics and music. My favorite part was definitely the ghost: it was really unexpected, and also hinted at some interesting backstory.

Some minor things:
- When walking, the steps sound effect would play sporadically, which was weird; I feel like it should play at regular intervals.
- I won without getting the 30 credits from the person who asked me to investigate the store for ghosts: after getting the child and the fireworks and discovering the ghost, I went to the charger because I realized I didn't actually walk up to it at the beginning, and then I surprisingly won. Some indication of how many credits you have, as mentioned by @saramartins above, would have helped with this.
- I also completely agree that it was weird having to get really close to someone to start talking.
- There were quite a few grammar/spelling issues. I personally don't take that into account when rating, but in general I do think writing mistakes make games feel less polished.
- (this is really minor) The dialogue bubbles didn't actually point to the person who was talking, so I think they were worse than plain rectangles in terms of clarity.

Overall, this was a really solid entry. I enjoyed the surreal/absurd narrative, and I am very impressed with the amount of content, especially in the graphics. Nice job!
TeddyDD
TeddyDD15 Aug 2017, 09:42
That was fun! (message about saving some credits - LMAO) Some minor issues:
- to trigger a conversation I had to get really close to the character (personal space??)
- after completing the quest you can still talk with character - that's ok but they should say something different
- you shouldn't use rar archives to pack binaries for Linux since it requires special software not installed by default. (well you shouldn't use RAR at all IMHO but that's just me) zip, tar.gz and even 7z are ok.
Valphera
Valpheraauthor15 Aug 2017, 10:12
Thanks for the tip!
Personal space, lmao haha
Thanks for the feedbacks, the things you pointed out are at the top of my list for the post LD release :)
I just uploaded a new version to fix the quest's continuity bug, so everyone should be able to do the quests in peace and harmony now! :smile:
SumGamStudio15 Aug 2017, 11:13
Can't play on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS((
Valphera
Valpheraauthor15 Aug 2017, 11:19
It should work fine now! A new file is currently uploading! Let me know:smile:
zzq15 Aug 2017, 13:47
I like visuals and story but it's toooo short and dialogs and controls could be improved.
randomphantom
randomphantom15 Aug 2017, 16:40
Quite fun, although I'm not sure that the theme is really brought in, more of a macguffin. Love the fireworks but would be cooler with some actual sound FX. The transition between basement and top is also a bit abrupt. Nice 3D models, the characters were a little harder to make out though as you needed to stand so close to them to interact.
TheFlyingKeyboard
TheFlyingKeyboard15 Aug 2017, 21:00
Really fun game to play with amazing graphics(those particle effects are just epic). The only thing that could be better is steering. Good Job!
Rothens9115 Aug 2017, 21:28
Wow, this was amazing! I hope you'll add more content inside, because right now it's a bit short, but loveable!
Sputnik3D15 Aug 2017, 21:34
Good work, definitely an innovative take on the theme and the graphics were nice.
Crown Games
Crown Games15 Aug 2017, 22:05
Welp, you get a 10/10 in my book simply for the Rick and Morty reference
KiiroHanabi
KiiroHanabi15 Aug 2017, 22:49
Very cute and fun game! The map is small but the good level design and architecture make it efficient and enjoyable. Graphics and audio choice are also a part of it!

Characters and story are funny and it was simple to understand what to do so the experience was great overall!!

You did some good work and I'd definitely like to see more from you!
Neweichgames16 Aug 2017, 00:32
Really enjoyed the game. Graphics were great and funny and interesting story. Great job.
Coauctor16 Aug 2017, 16:22
Pretty simple mechanics but I played to the end nevertheless. Fireworks moment was awesome, just as a hint in the end of the game about saving money. ;)

And nice art, of course. Thanks for the game!
beardogames16 Aug 2017, 16:28
Quite good! Lots of polish and a good sense of humor!
mspawa18 Aug 2017, 01:51
xD I would call the police instead of giving the man his bottle, but I solved all the quests without inconvenience.
I like the graphics and sound. Maybe I will give a little more challenge to the quest and stages but it was nice to play and fun.
Good job :)
GalaxStudios19 Aug 2017, 07:46
Really good game + I like the Rick and Morty quote.
atridas
atridas19 Aug 2017, 11:43
Really lovely art style!!!
Manumeq
Manumeq21 Aug 2017, 11:35
The game was fun. It is a walking simulator type of game, but I still enjoyed the music and the silly dialogs and characters were super fun. Also I totally lost it with the joke at the end (I will not spoil it, but to anyone reading this: play till the end). Congrats
knarf
knarf21 Aug 2017, 18:54
Cool small adventure game, design is quite original, and the story well narrated around NPC :) Funny take on the theme and funny ending !

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