Darkest Shade Of Night

by bartosz
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.52
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.23
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.28
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.09
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.31
Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.58
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.83
Trailer here:


Once a thousand years under the sands of the desert, ancient demons are awakened... They show themselves in the form of huge worms with many, many teeth... They are ready to devour everything they find in their path... Whole villages have been destroyed by them in the past...
screen_1920x1080_2018-08-14_00-04-58.pngThose demons are not afraid of almost anything but light...
screen_1920x1080_2018-08-14_00-07-07.pngYou have been sent to protect members of your civilization.... Bring them fire and do not let the legacy of your ancestors be forgotten...
However, watch out... You RUN OUT OF safe SPACE for running, so be careful not spend all your planks right away... And avoid standing on the sand... One wrong step, and you'll be dead... Just like everyone who counts on you.
screen_1920x1080_2018-08-14_00-04-01.pngHints
- Stay out of the sand!
- Carry oil for lamps to to villages as light keeps them alive
- Monster worms are destroying your planks, so run as fast as you can because you 'RUNNING OUT OF SPACE' to get safely to villages!
- Be sure to hold for 10 minutes to win the game and see extra credits at the end!
- You can find some easter eggs on the map - so keep your eyes open and feel free to explore!![map.JPG]

This map may help some of you to find yourself in our world :)
map.JPG
bugfixed version includes
- worm now show-up when killing player (previously player died but annimation didn't start)
- planks show-up as destroyed and animation of worm eating them is starting now
- timer is now stopping at 00:00 instead of going to negative values after time has passed
- there were some excessive planks on the map - removed
- credits were removed when player died - we show "you died" message instead (credits are available only after winning)
- some planks were broken and could not be picked up

screenshot
Genres: survival
Tools: Unity

Comments56

Taner11 Aug 2018, 23:06
Looks good! Love the glasses of the character :D
Plukers14 Aug 2018, 21:07
Fantastic game! You really created a great atmoshpere. The graphics look fantastic and the character controls feel crisp. Thanks for the great submission!
Iokin14 Aug 2018, 22:00
I wanna play your game, but I have only Linux Mint on my machine. I can’t rate your game, sorry. See our game (it’s multiplatform).
rangoiv
rangoiv14 Aug 2018, 22:10
Graphics and music is awesome. Also think it should be a lot easier
Nam Nguyen
Nam Nguyen14 Aug 2018, 22:11
Wow, this really takes me back to the 90s with the tremors theme! well made nice graphics and atmosphere!
Mero14 Aug 2018, 22:18
@rangoiv
We are working on improving the game, soon we will release an update
Rodrigo Molina14 Aug 2018, 22:19
Nice idea, I like how the game looks, yet, I felt that it was hard to reach the villagers that where farther away, even with the wooden planks gidding me. Also, I think the player controller can be pulished more, I felt that I moved way to fast and it had some drift, the kind of effect you get in some games when you are on icy surfaces.I gotta say I got emerged on the level, I got tense and felt responsable for the life of this villagers hahahaha.

Finally, even tho its a good idea, I think that the game is not completely relatable to the theme, even tho a understand what direction you want it to take.
DanielBarca
DanielBarca14 Aug 2018, 22:21
Very nice game. Graphics and physics are awesome. Consider building to webgl in the future to make it more accessible.
Nelson William
Nelson William14 Aug 2018, 22:21
The atmosphere and graphics are indeed very nice. It's very polished for a jam game! Great submission.
KungKras14 Aug 2018, 22:23
Shiny graphics :D
Proke14 Aug 2018, 22:26
I have found some bugs)
LandbergLife14 Aug 2018, 22:29
My feelings towards your game are mixed, I like your graphical style and the mood you manage to create with the lighting and the audio. However the gameplay loop feels a bit empty. All I do is run back and forth between my camp and the other villages. This would be fine but I have no real intuitive way of planning my routs nor do I have any idea where all of the camps are. Keeping all of them alive seems way to hard but just keeping 2-3 of the alive got repetitive quite quickly. Maybe let the player get two or three cans of oil for each trip. That way I can plan my routs and start solving the game. I think some type of map would also improve my experience.
A game like yours, with the atmosphere you have created makes me want to explore the world. Not run back and forth between 2-3 points. That's my x-cents. Overall great job. Also rest in peace YamiFive!
Mero14 Aug 2018, 22:32
@landberglife there are more "rest places"(not only YamiFive) i encourage you to find more after bugfix will be released
antonsem
antonsem14 Aug 2018, 22:36
Wow! Actually good looking 3d game in a game jam! Great atmosphere and sound effects as well. My only issue was with the character controller, it needs some more polishing. Great game otherwise!
manusaiz
manusaiz14 Aug 2018, 22:52
Hey guys I loved the scary mood you created here, some constructive feedback:

- Terror music comes and goes in a snap, mood would greatly benefit from sound fadein fadeout.
- Didn't see any worm, would be great to be eaten by one like in the gif when you die if you made that.
- I played 5 times but didn't manage to find a second oil can. It would be cool if you spawned a second one, maybe random, or maybe at the right side, taking care of everyone felt unfeasable.
- Is the red ball supposed to be drawn on screen? is it usable? does it make a difference to point in a direction? If so I could use more visual feedback as I couldn't figure out its use.

Overall a pretty solid entry, congrats!
Mero14 Aug 2018, 22:55
@manusaiz Dont worry. Gifs are made recently after gamebuild update is coming soon! You will be eaten
loadsofmana14 Aug 2018, 23:45
I dig the aesthetic, sets the mood well, gameplay is simple but effective. nice!
Bartosz
Bartoszauthor15 Aug 2018, 00:05
Guys, we just squashed a tons of bugs and released Linux, MacOs and Web builds of the game.
Those builds were not tested though so if you find some issues with those versions - please let us know!
edugpinheiro
edugpinheiro15 Aug 2018, 00:23
This game look gourgeous! I really like the art, music, effects and overall ambiance. Is a kinda of nerve wracking experience to run around multiple places that are constantly dying... and, yes, when they scream for the first time I did a little jumpscare. That said, the mood is great and the game is pretty much straight forward to how to play it. I appreciated very much the care with the UX experience, giving control of the volume and giving a clear instructions how to play it in-game. It is a great addition to the Ludum Dare challenge we been through this weekend. Congrats to all involved in the process and I look forward to see more of your games :D
Virtual Window
Virtual Window15 Aug 2018, 09:30
Great mood and atmosphere. Graphics are well made. Gameplay objective is a bit obscure and worm mechanic not immediately obvious but well done in any case :)
BigJigglyProductions__
BigJigglyProductions__15 Aug 2018, 10:13
The movement feels icy, in other words, very slippery. The goal of the game is a tad boring and I'm not sure how it fits with the theme.

This is just my opinion, I recommend giving the game a try for yourself.
Ceasar15 Aug 2018, 10:22
Nice job! I liked how i actually felt the urgency and like i really had to be quick.
SachaY15 Aug 2018, 10:27
Very VERY good graphics and audio, feel like it is meant to be played on controller. Love the idea of a constant threat anytime you step away from the trail. Keep up the good work
Mero15 Aug 2018, 10:29
@bigjigglyproductions
After minute or 2 you wold realize that you are running out of wooden planks
it was mentioned in the description and every time when plank is destroyed
BigJigglyProductions__
BigJigglyProductions__15 Aug 2018, 10:30
I didn't need planks lol, I just ran and only got killed when I missed the path and hit a wall :thinking:
shinysteel
shinysteel15 Aug 2018, 10:35
Wow! Great graphics, atmosphere, and music / sound effects. The transition from the danger music and normal music is a little sudden and can be quite annoying if you only slightly step off the plank though (it keeps happening!!!). The character always looks at the mouse but this never actually had a purpose rather than for realism, but that's just a personal criticism by me. The story was very interesting, I normal don't read a massive wall of text but that had me going especially with the mad looking demon worm on the right (so much teeth!). The colours are amazing and really set the scene up just right. I remember seeing posts of the development of the player model and I love it even more seeing it in gameplay. Solid entry, well done you guys!
Hanybal15 Aug 2018, 10:40
For a 72 hour jam, you did very well! The graphics, mostly the UI could use some polish, but otherwise it's great! I'm very bad at it, but I'm bad at games in general haha! The music and the sfx work very well with the game play and I think you also captured the theme nicely. Well done! :)
Himadri Sekhar Mahanta15 Aug 2018, 10:49
Great graphics and audio. You've created a fantastic atmosphere. I like the gameplay too, although found it a bit difficult to run between villages and my camp. Overall, excellent work. So well polished for a 72 hour game.
Bartosz
Bartoszauthor15 Aug 2018, 10:56
@shinysteel Coursor has additional functionality - you can place and take parts of path - those planks from ground!
I't makes you to think a little bit about strategy, because monster worms are destroing those planks and your path as you play!
framg15 Aug 2018, 10:56
very good music and graphics i love it. I found some minors bugs, but nothing important
netguy20415 Aug 2018, 11:08
Visuals are a consistent and high level of quality throughout the experience. Sound and visuals set a strong mood. Controls are responsive. Animation is fluid. You've pretty much nailed all your technicals. Well done. In the end I didn't enjoy doing the activity the game asked of me even though the experience was delivered in top notch packaging.
EVEN GAMES
EVEN GAMES15 Aug 2018, 11:17
Was at first seduced by the graphics and the overall mood that the game had. But then the music is a bit harsh when alerting the player about danger. ( works a bit like a jump scare ). Other than that, I didn't really feel the theme. Still, it is very visually pleasing.
Bentekiller
Bentekiller15 Aug 2018, 11:24
Planks didn't feel like a real need to place! Could be nice if you had a map and you could place planks anywhere on the sand and you only knew which direction the camps where, and the would be obstacles in the way so you would need to figure out how to get to the camps and place planks as a line you can then follow.
Just an idea, I did enjoy playing it!
TomekS15 Aug 2018, 11:30
Wow, soo nice mood. Art particles animations and all on top level. Well done. It's funny when people say about your game being polished, of course it is, You are 4 Polish developers after all :)
monetai
monetai15 Aug 2018, 13:51
Really nice mood =) The art is really cool, the game reminded me of the movie Tremor with Kevin Bacon =)
Bartosz
Bartoszauthor15 Aug 2018, 14:41
@tomeks That was very funny comment indeed :)
Saering
Saering15 Aug 2018, 15:06
It took me a moment to completely understand the controls, the gameplay etc, but at the end it was very cool! Feels polished, detailed, a great job for a 72 hours production. The work on lighting is great, the atmosphere, the mood are great, that was very cool to experience the game.

I simply think you should've made music transitions instead of doing a volume settings menu :p
Tannimun15 Aug 2018, 15:43
Cozy game and graphics! Well done making all this graphics and content in such a short time!
The controllers was a lite bit funky and somethimes the object wasn't clear.
Music was good, but the worm-attack soundtrack cut of a little bit too harsh.
I liked the game a lot and loved the feeling and mood. Very nice atmosphere, and it was kind of an unique concept.
Bartosz
Bartoszauthor15 Aug 2018, 21:09
@iokin now we have linux and web build - you may want to give it a try :)
WrenPirate16 Aug 2018, 03:49
Wait-- Is the web version improved since the jam deadline?
Sandra Jasionowska
Sandra Jasionowska16 Aug 2018, 07:12
@wrenpirate Hey, how did you conclude that? No, we built it right after the rest when we finished bugfixing :)
WrenPirate16 Aug 2018, 07:23
@sandra-jasionowska This comment from "a day ago" would be from Tuesday (PDT) So bugfixing is allowed? This is my first LD, so I'm unfamiliar with what counts as a major fix or a minor one.
Fluffy_Kaeloky
Fluffy_Kaeloky16 Aug 2018, 22:43
I played this game on the WebGL version, and I found the art and mood to be top notch !
The audio is nice, I just think the 'demon' music could use a bit of fading, as it currently enables/disable a bit too often for me. The village dying sound also jumpscared the heck out of me with it's volume ^^'

Gameplay wise, the game is pretty simple to understand and is fun to play once you get in the mood. However, the mood killer for me was that I was able to completely cheese the worm by jumping over and over, not using any planks.

Other than a couple hiccups, the game is amazing ! Good job !
Stegobubbles
Stegobubbles17 Aug 2018, 10:01
The graphics are very cool. Good work with light!
NickZangus
NickZangus21 Aug 2018, 09:22
Great entry! Amazing graphics and atmosphere! In my opinion, the change between soundtracks when you touch the sand is too sudden, maybe you can try to smooth the transition. Otherwise, great job!
Mowztouch
Mowztouch21 Aug 2018, 11:17
Nice entry, graphics are well rendered, audio fits well, pretty hard game. well done :)
smbe19
smbe1922 Aug 2018, 18:41
Nice game! Your grapsics look awesome.
Lu7cie
Lu7cie28 Aug 2018, 22:36
A bit long but really awesome ! The idea and the story is great, the graphics great, the audio is a big part of the mood which is nice ! Maybe a tutorial could be cool to understand how to move or interact with object (F it's in game but creating platform with a limited number of planks was a bit difficult to understand). Anyway, great job !
Andrei94 Sep 2018, 18:27
Coool! Nice game :thumbsup: +++++

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