Light of hope

by retrome
co-authored: @afi-olya, @odronin
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.38
Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.82
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★2.96
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.59
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.73
Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.55
Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.01
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.76
How to play:
1. Controls: [W][A][S][D]/arrows + [Space].
2. Main goal: activate all stones, keep humans alive.
3. Deliver resources to human base.
4. Deliver goblets to dragon.


- Graphics: @afi-olya, zadanje7 AT yandex DOT ru.
- Programming: @retrome, alexander.retro AT gmail DOT com.
- Sound Design/Support: @odronin, odronin AT gmail DOT com.
- Game Design/Testing: together.

screenshot

Comments27

Inka McAtee
Inka McAtee20 Apr 2020, 10:25
The ArtStyle is just amazing work, I am absolutly in love with the tree designs
Subatiq
Subatiq20 Apr 2020, 13:49
I like how fluent it feels to move around, the artstyle is also very good. Good job!
IzhVaryag
IzhVaryag20 Apr 2020, 13:49
I like art and sound in this game. Good job!
Vex20 Apr 2020, 13:50
I don't understand what the number over the humans is. Are they growing? Are they dying? What is going on here?
Millhow
Millhow20 Apr 2020, 13:50
Really cool game ! The graphics and sound are very nice !
The atmosphere make me sometimes feel like I'm in the Mordor from Lord of The Ring !

Great job !
GoldenEvolution
GoldenEvolution20 Apr 2020, 13:55
I had fun exploring the little world you've made, and the dragon looks awesome! I just missed a sense of progression, as I didn't know how many stones were remaining that were unlit
sledzik20 Apr 2020, 13:56
I could not find enough those puchars but beside this had fun graet job
A-312
A-31220 Apr 2020, 14:03
One more useful instruction:

5). Don't forget to get energy on the stone of your base before start exploration

Thanks to draw a road, I got lose in my first game, I was able to find the campement. It was a great experience! :D
ClarrisMusic20 Apr 2020, 16:45
Great Lighting effects and art here.
luddegodofpain
luddegodofpain20 Apr 2020, 16:50
Wow!
The setting and audio was excellent, and the graphics just soo crisp!
ck65620 Apr 2020, 16:52
Love the art and audio related stuff. Really nice game and easy to understand at the first play. It kept kept me engaged for the whole gameplay time. Nice!
ChloeOfArroyo20 Apr 2020, 17:08
Liked the art style and the lack of a map was quite good as it encouraged exploration and remembering where you had been. A quick introduction before jumping you straight into the game would've been useful - I had to tab back to this page to remember what I was suppose to do :P
Tero Pulkkinen
Tero Pulkkinen20 Apr 2020, 19:41
at least it has nice lights and sounds.
LouieJams
LouieJams20 Apr 2020, 19:45
I really liked the artstyle used and the lighting was well done :)
beanslasher21 Apr 2020, 03:40
Very cool artstyle and the gameplay was really fun. Keep it up!
Kent Reese
Kent Reese21 Apr 2020, 05:04
The art style is nice and the game has a nice gameplay loop.
Geegaz
Geegaz21 Apr 2020, 15:56
The game was pretty fun, and had amazing art ! But maybe the area was a bit too big, because without good landmarks I got lost pretty quick. But else, good job !
Sir Magic
Sir Magic22 Apr 2020, 14:14
I liked the idea of providing resources in exchange for energy. The graphics were pretty neat too. The audio was atmospheric and added some mood to the game.

Only thing to improve is that the light wasn't quite enough for me and I often felt like I was lost. Other than that, good game.
oscarglo
oscarglo22 Apr 2020, 14:16
Very nice game! Nice art style and concept. However, it may lack a tutorial, and maybe a map or another way of orienting yourself on this big map. Other than that, well done!
Oliver_MB22 Apr 2020, 14:35
I love the atmosphere of this game. Nice job!
retrome
retromeauthor22 Apr 2020, 14:45
@vex , yeah, this can be made more clear for player: number of humans increases when there is enough resources on the base, otherwise - it decreases.
retrome
retromeauthor22 Apr 2020, 15:07
Thanks for feedback everyone! It is really valuable to hear what was made good and what could be made better.
kiddychris1 May 2020, 17:36
Oh, I like the idea with darkness, but sometimes it makes the game a bit annoying when you don't understand where to go or where you've been (maybe that's ok, but I was a bit angry at the beginning :D)
ArtemFTW3 May 2020, 13:44
Great entry! The graphics are well done and the audio is nice.
Duke
Duke8 May 2020, 19:28
A very moody piece. The highlight really was the sound design. The ambient soundtrack was great. In the first run, I was a little lost on what I had to do. I found one light stone and failed due to the dragon bar filling up. I didn't even find the dragon the first time around. After reading the instructions, things got a little clearer. Would've been great if all necessary information on how to play the game would've been provided by the game itself (maybe some kind of intro or expositional dialogue) The group of humans was a nice touch, but they felt so lifeless :D Hard to feel empathy or a connection with a lifeless sprite asset. The map wasn't too bug, which is a good thing. I still think that there should've been some kind of (audio)visual aid on to where to find the quest and survival items. Just wandering around the map wasn't that much fun after the first two minutes. Felt more like tedious busy work. I almost gave up when I saw, that the last pillar was by the dragon. Was able to beat the second try :) The art was ok, but really could need some heavier art direction to really hammer home the mood you were going for. The dragon looked cool though. Animations are expensive but go a long way. So at least having some kind of movement in the map (even if it's just a simple breathing animation of the humans and/or the dragon) would've been a good investment.

Still, a good entry which kept me going! Keep it up
retrome
retromeauthor9 May 2020, 15:55
@duke , thank you for especially detailed review and congratulations on beating the game! This Ludum Dare has taught us that in-game instructions are more useful than on-page :) About aid on where to go: you have nice direction signs in your game, we will take a note. Interesting and useful notes about empathy and mood, they give us food for thought.

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