Claustrophobia is a small puzzle game. This was my first full entry into Ludum Dare and I feel I have learned a lot about how fast I am and what I can do in a set amount of time, I was more careful this time and chose a project I knew was going to be manageable and I hope to be riskier next time.
It's very short, but it has great atmosphere. For me the mouse pointer stayed in the middle of the screen the whole time, which was a little distracting, but that wasn't a big deal.
@chaitae Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn't think of how to show it in any way which wasn't too obvious so I just added a noise when you hit the right one. Not the best way definitely. But, from the way you enter, you hit the the second one closest to you, then the one at the entrance, then the exit-side one, then the one closer to that.
This is a game where half the players will solve it immediately, and the other half will get really frustrated wondering what to do. I was in the first set. Despite the game lasting less than 30 seconds, I liked it. It's annoyingly short, but the graphics are very nice. I was instantly immersed in the world and really wanted more to be honest. Kind of leaves me with a weird feeling of longing. I look forward to playing your entry in the next Ludum Dare.
@akros Means a lot! Yep, I drew all textures in the game, though tbh there aren't many. I'll definitely make sure my next game is longer, as I was just overly cautious this time and was sort of testing the waters.
Fun little idea. The ambient noise has a subtle, yet fitting effect. However the game ended for me when I swung my hammer at the exit. I was a bit disappointed that the solution for the game was just to smash the exit door, but then I realized it was probably a bug and restarted the game to play it the intended way.
@omniorcus 'This is a game where half the players will solve it immediately, and the other half will get really frustrated wondering what to do.' You said it correctly! I am a bit slow, and in the other half category, but really fun! :)
@ajay-2002 Thanks for playing! Also, out of curiosity for my next project/future reference. What do you think would be a fair way for me to show you a hint on how to solve the pressure plate puzzle?
Oh wow, I didn't even think to try it till I read the comment above, but sure enough you can just hit your way out of the situation. Well in any case, I really like how much texture everything has, looks very physical. It's a bit short but I had fun with it. :smiley:
@dangogamedev I told you sir I'm so slow that I can't solve the first level, I hit the door with the axe and you win, but when I pull the lever in the box nothing happens. I was so confused, I have tried around 15 times with no idea how to solve this... :cry: Or is hitting the door the actual way to play? I would really love to see the next level haha
Also finished this by hitting the door. Figured you need to hit the plates in the right order etc, but couldn't quite be bothered to get to the end of it :D Still, nice graphics, sound, and all the rest! Good work.
@ajay-2002 Ah ok, sadly there isn't any other levels - it's very short, but once you pull the lever you just have to step on the plates in the right order, (taken from another comment) from the way you enter, you hit the the second one closest to you, then the one at the entrance, then the exit-side one, then the one closer to that.
But yeah, the hammer is a bug. Shouldn't work that way haha.
@tontonpizza I'd like to flesh it out more in general, and maybe add more types of puzzles. I may consider doing this now that I'm not fighting against such a strict deadline.
Uh. Interesting game where I died 2 times clicking everywhere, until I realized that you just need to smash the exit with a giant hammer xD Weird solution and pretty short but still enjoyable, the art, sound and mood are excellent !
I did the hulk smashing of the door too, it's the tool that indicates to the player that's the 'correct' solution. If it wasn't a hammer but something else there it'd work.
Interesting little game, I too "solved" the puzzle first by hitting the exit.
Might be more interesting if instead of the spikes being timed, they instead close in on the player when they make an error in the order of pressure plates they step on - this might give a bit more feedback to the player on how they are doing, and some more time to think about the puzzle itself.
As others have said it is very short too (although I understand that giving the development timeframe!)
@ace17 Ah, sorry about that, I never looked into other platforms, out of curiosity which are you using? (future reference) it would be interesting to see how difficult building for other platforms is, though I can't test it.
@teo-miklethun Thanks : ), out of curiosity though, if you don't mind what would have liked to have seen from the gameplay? (I struggled to think of what could be fun to do, other than just more puzzles as I didn't have time).
I'm not entirely sure. I might have the pressure plate order found in some different way than with audio queues. For example, in the starting room, there could be something subtly hinting at it Alternatively, if you wanna keep the audio puzzle, you could have the pressure plates have a different sound when it's incorrect than when it's correct. As silly as it sounds looking back on it, since the pressure plates are so hidden, without a sound coming from the pressure plates that weren't correct, I wasn't even sure they were part of the puzzle or just a strange variation in the floor.
@dangogamedev I'm using GNU/Linux (64 bits). If possible, it's best to provide an extra build of your game targetting the Web/HTML5. Most game engines can export for the browser.
for a first entry this was better than i would expect, short and simple. the biggest issue by far is the camera movement was nauseating... it was way too fast...
Nice first entry! Very atmospheric. The hallway at the beginning actually had a claustrophobic feel as well, with the way the lighting and the angles were set up. The process of making progress on the puzzle, dying, and repeating to make more progress worked pretty nicely with this entry (not sure if that was intentional, but it worked). Overall well done!
Sad it ended so quickly. I basically just got in took that Hammer and smashed something and the game seemed over. But with that said, I really liked the atmosphere and you got that feeling of no space / "claustrophobia". Well executed, just a little short to get all the way where it could get.
Little technical feedback: the mouse sensitivity was way to high for my taste, I use a mouse with pretty low dpi and sensitivity already and it just felt really fast anyways.
I think theme and mood are the best executed positions in this entry!
Hey DangoSama, let me give you a bit of the feedback that I hope will be useful for your design :) I think you could make the game easily longer and more fun/understandable for players if you introduced mechanics one by one. You have three mechanics in the game so far: spikes, pressure plates and hammer that destroys boxes/shows levers. What you could do to make this game way more appealing is to create separate, similar rooms in which you introduced all of them one by one instead of throwing them all at player at once.
So first, you start with empty room with just spikes - player goes through it, notices that spikes are a danger here, "alright, I gotta beware of spikes!".
Then, you put a single pressure plate in the middle - player presses it and door opens.
Then, you put two or three of them and player needs to figure out the order of pressing.
Then, you add a lever. Then, a hammer and a lever.
This way, you can make the game longer with assets you have already but teach the player through the gameplay itself.
Also, the pressure plates should have audio cues that tell player whether he does it in a good or bad order (it's a very simple trick to teach people how to do stuff).
I'm not really sure to understand what happened when I played. I just took the hammer in the spikes room and click on the door and it was finished :astonished: Did I miss something? Is there anything to do with the plates?
Anyway, I love the ambience and graphics of your game, it looks really great! :thumbsup:
@outstar It's very helpful. I'm definitely gonna take the criticisms and feedback and use it to make a new version with more meat and a clearer direction. Thanks a bunch!
@dangogamedev That's alright, it was a fun game none-the-less. It has great potential, just add a bunch of levels and you might have a winner on your hands :thumbsup:
@dangogamedev The visuals of the game are good and the mood is really cool. I don't mind it being short. Congrats on ur first ludum dare entry, we too are first-timers. If u feel it ok, could u rate our game too.
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However the game ended for me when I swung my hammer at the exit. I was a bit disappointed that the solution for the game was just to smash the exit door, but then I realized it was probably a bug and restarted the game to play it the intended way.
Good job!
But yeah, the hammer is a bug. Shouldn't work that way haha.
Loved the graphs too :)
Keep coding :)
Might be more interesting if instead of the spikes being timed, they instead close in on the player when they make an error in the order of pressure plates they step on - this might give a bit more feedback to the player on how they are doing, and some more time to think about the puzzle itself.
As others have said it is very short too (although I understand that giving the development timeframe!)
Well done!
But too bad, Windows only .... :-(
1. It's basically impossible to complete in one go. You have to learn the switch pattern to succeed.
2. Mouse sensitivity is sky high.
Other than this it's a little short to properly evaluate it as a game idea.
Little technical feedback: the mouse sensitivity was way to high for my taste, I use a mouse with pretty low dpi and sensitivity already and it just felt really fast anyways.
I think theme and mood are the best executed positions in this entry!
Could really use some hinting system for stuck players though.. I had to look at your comment to finish the game :sweat_smile:
It's our first entry too (but in team so it's surely easier :) )
I think you could make the game easily longer and more fun/understandable for players if you introduced mechanics one by one. You have three mechanics in the game so far: spikes, pressure plates and hammer that destroys boxes/shows levers. What you could do to make this game way more appealing is to create separate, similar rooms in which you introduced all of them one by one instead of throwing them all at player at once.
So first, you start with empty room with just spikes - player goes through it, notices that spikes are a danger here, "alright, I gotta beware of spikes!".
Then, you put a single pressure plate in the middle - player presses it and door opens.
Then, you put two or three of them and player needs to figure out the order of pressing.
Then, you add a lever. Then, a hammer and a lever.
This way, you can make the game longer with assets you have already but teach the player through the gameplay itself.
Also, the pressure plates should have audio cues that tell player whether he does it in a good or bad order (it's a very simple trick to teach people how to do stuff).
I hope this was helpful!
Anyway, I love the ambience and graphics of your game, it looks really great! :thumbsup: