Ludum Dare #47compo
Phone Tree of Despair
Phone Tree of Despair
Phone Tree of Despair is a game where you navigate a phone tree while trying to avoid getting stuck on a hold loop. To play this game, you literally call a phone number.
Your goal is to navigate the ~~infuriating~~ expertly designed, user-friendly phone tree to renew your registration! Solve some puzzles along the way, and reflect on how much we all love automated phone systems.
*Warning: This game may frustrate you. It sure frustrated the heck out of me!!* :angry:
Update:
The phone numbers have now run out of credit, but I have since ported the game to the web so you can play it without making a real phone call!
How to play:
~~US :flag_us: Call +1 (928) 569 9118.~~
~~AUS :flag_au: Call +61 2 5551 6125.~~
Web :globe_with_meridians: jezzamon.itch.io/phone-tree-of-despair
*Estimated time to completion:* *30 minutes.*
*(Also there is a secret ending!!)*
~~Note: If you call one of the real numbers, this game may cost you money depending on your phone plan. Watch out for international phone call fees if you're calling from a different country.~~
The reviews are in! :newspaper2:
> Now I have to figure out what to do with my time. Like anything sounds fun now.
\- My housemate, upon completing it.
Walkthrough :feet:
For those who are having trouble (or don't have the patience to figure out the full game), here's a walkthrough!
~~Hosting costs :money_with_wings: ~~
~~This game costs a small amount to host, so if you want to help cover costs, you can send a donation via the itch.io page. $1 will be more than enough. I've loaded it with enough credit to last a while but it's possible it'll go down if it goes viral or something :sweat_smile:~~
The game now has a web-only version with no hosting costs for me! Play away!
If you would like to play this game by calling a real phone number, hit me up and I can maybe set something up ;)
Credits :sparkles:
The programming and music were created entirely by me. Special thanks to those who did voice acting:- Zoe
- Kang
- Michael
- Me (Jez)
- Random person yelling on the street who you can faintly hear in the background in one part.
All recordings were obtained during the compo time period, as per the compo rules :)
Post compo tweaks:
- Fixed a typo in a URL redirect that previously gave you an error message and ended the call
- Added an entire web calling interface!
Comments45
Bloham5 Oct 2020, 11:19
I wish I could play it, but I dont want to call an US number (living in Europe) Any chance you will release an autobook like experience xD ?
Dark Dungeon Studio5 Oct 2020, 12:21
This sounds like an amazing experience.
Unfortunately I can't make this kind of call from South Africa. :sob:
Unfortunately I can't make this kind of call from South Africa. :sob:
jonah5 Oct 2020, 12:43
awaiting the browser based version!
sounds like a cool concept!
sounds like a cool concept!
thedarkmagi5 Oct 2020, 13:45
Sounds like a cool idea, looking forward to the browser version to try out calling the US sounds expensive
Warrrkus5 Oct 2020, 14:52
Can't really play it since I'm not from the US and I'm not sure if I want you to spend a dollar on me :P Just wanted to tell you that this idea is so awesome. I really like it :D
daitli5 Oct 2020, 15:04
Unfortunately I can't make this call but this is a really cool concept! I hope I could give it a try :c
Local Minimum6 Oct 2020, 16:47
I wish there was a fake online number you could call so that I could try this out and get frustrated :smile:
alexrose10 Oct 2020, 17:16
Yo I wanna play this but not for money LOL, have you got a video?
Jezzamon13 Oct 2020, 04:44
@bloham @james-joubert @jonah @thedarkmagi @warrrkus @daitli @local-minimum @alexrose
Good news! The online version of the game is here!!
Good news! The online version of the game is here!!
davidcmcdonald13 Oct 2020, 05:07
I cannot even tell you how much this game killed me hahaha!
figueroass2713 Oct 2020, 05:20
this "game" is fucking amazing, well done having a real phone number too!
Dark Dungeon Studio13 Oct 2020, 11:34
This game does exactly what it's supposed to do...
Which is frustrate the hell out of the caller, wanting to throw my phone onto the ground.
But it's a game, so instead I was laughing most of the time trying to remember all information that was given to me, because I didn't actually write things down.
Very well done, and very creative!
Which is frustrate the hell out of the caller, wanting to throw my phone onto the ground.
But it's a game, so instead I was laughing most of the time trying to remember all information that was given to me, because I didn't actually write things down.
Very well done, and very creative!
Local Minimum13 Oct 2020, 15:18
I tried to launch the virtual phone version (both in itch and in firefox), but either something doesn't work or I don't understand. Am I supposed to enter a phone number to start or just press the green phone icon? If I press the green phone there's a quick ta-da sound and I see some requests going out that get 200 responses but then nothing happens. Pressing number buttons gives no sounds.
Jezzamon14 Oct 2020, 04:02
@local-minimum Sorry, I threw together that UI pretty quickly. You don't need to enter a number, you just press the call button to start the call. You should hear the call through the computer audio, with the computer mic to talk to the game. If that's not happening... Not sure what the problem is :shrug:
I just tried it in Firefox then, and it seems to work fine for me... :/
I just tried it in Firefox then, and it seems to work fine for me... :/
Hidjy14 Oct 2020, 05:32
Ahaha, what a great idea! Maybe this is too accurate and really frustrating, but that's the joke I guess. Great job :)
Noam Blei14 Oct 2020, 05:42
Just wow, idk how just 6 people rated this game, this should be one of the most played games, truly one of my favorites (Sad that I couldn't manage to play well bc my mic sucks, but obviusly thats on me not on the game itself, and I checked part of the walkthrough and aaaaa I LOVE THIS)
Noam Blei14 Oct 2020, 05:43
I will definetly reply this whenever I get myseld a good mic hehe
Noam Blei14 Oct 2020, 05:43
Also how you related this with the theme is just perfect
toad14 Oct 2020, 19:49
this is the bomb dot com
Local Minimum15 Oct 2020, 18:16
@jezzamon that explains it! I though it was one of those systems where it speaks and I press numbers as answers and I didn't have a mic connected to the computer so perhaps it was just sitting there waiting for me? I'll try talking to it then :laughing: But maybe, for silly people like me, it could have been helpful if it greated everyone right from the start?
Jezzamon15 Oct 2020, 19:56
@local-minimum It should greet you! That's why something must be wrong. I used a voice-over-IP API to create it, so I suspect if something's up it might be with that library.
pedrocoden15 Oct 2020, 21:06
Nice game!
Andrfw16 Oct 2020, 04:51
One of the most clever games I've played in years.
RedHermit16 Oct 2020, 14:38
Fantastic take, with a great medium for the game! I came for the great picture, and stayed for the cool idea of using an actual phone system menu tree for the gameplay. I used to do phone system work, and sometimes would hide funny little easter eggs in the menus, so this clicked immediately with me. Great job! Very humorous and insanely original!
Jezzamon17 Oct 2020, 16:07
@redhermit haha, that is awesome! Wow, glad to get the approval of someone who has done this stuff for real before :smile:
aerloth18 Oct 2020, 00:46
【ＭＡＸＩＵＭ ＩＮＮＯＶＡＴＩＯＮ】
loved it! I was equally amazed and freaked out by the mic input, OUTSTANDING *COMPO ENTRY
10/5 stars from me
loved it! I was equally amazed and freaked out by the mic input, OUTSTANDING *COMPO ENTRY
10/5 stars from me
walaber18 Oct 2020, 04:42
this was super innovative and unique! Awesome game!
Egan Henderson18 Oct 2020, 04:46
This was amazing!! What an incredible idea, it was so fun to play. Actually hilarious and made me laugh while also being frustrated. The voice recognition was really cool, love to see unique ideas in game jams. Really glad you added a web version so more people could play too! This was absolutely incredible and reminds me of a book I once had that had numbers to call in order to solve a mystery, no idea what it was now though. Anyways, great job!
blinry19 Oct 2020, 20:06
For the first two minutes, I though I would hate this, but then it turned out to be really enjoyable! Thank you so much for building this! :D (And thanks for providing a web version!) I loved everything about this, this gets a near-perfect rating from me! The hold music was pretty enjoyable, actually!
When I first got in the main menu, I tried typing a code directly, and was put on hold, so I didn't get the introduction in this case. This might scare away a few players, who don't understand that you have to hang up at that point. :)
When I first got in the main menu, I tried typing a code directly, and was put on hold, so I didn't get the introduction in this case. This might scare away a few players, who don't understand that you have to hang up at that point. :)
l30nard0_b24 Oct 2020, 13:17
Wow awsome game, it took me like an hour to complete, but i liked it a lot. The only sad thing is that i dont understand how to get to Bob's office, becouse there are only numbers and no letters
Psychedelia24 Oct 2020, 16:07
What a fantastic idea to make this thing into a game! I laughed the whole time. Thank you for doing this and for including an option to play online without calling (European person here). So.cool.
Blacktarus24 Oct 2020, 16:34
One of the best Idea of the jam ! Thanks you for making me laught
Jezzamon25 Oct 2020, 04:05
@l30nard0-b You might need to look at a real phone's keypad to figure out what to do with that! But it's more of a pointless easter egg than part of the game :P
l30nard0_b25 Oct 2020, 09:47
ok thanks :)
aurel27 Oct 2020, 06:11
This. This is incredible.
My wife thought I was legit dealing with a customer service call and wondered why I was laughing my head off. I can definitely say it was very infuriating, but every time I got a bit of a clue it felt really great.
Might be one of most interesting takes on the jam theme!
My wife thought I was legit dealing with a customer service call and wondered why I was laughing my head off. I can definitely say it was very infuriating, but every time I got a bit of a clue it felt really great.
Might be one of most interesting takes on the jam theme!
Tim Eriksen27 Oct 2020, 19:36
Wow, this was just fantastic! I sat down with a pen and paper and scribbled furiously to get the isotope number (or whatever it was called) down before I had to go through everything ANOTHER TIME. I hated it. And therefore I loved it. Very very well done!
PoV27 Oct 2020, 22:29
Wow! Jezz might need a few more dollars once the world sees this.
PoV27 Oct 2020, 22:29
Wow! Jezz might need a few more dollars once the world sees this.
Jesús González27 Oct 2020, 22:56
This is brilliant.
JUSTCAMH28 Oct 2020, 23:50
Wowee, that was an awesome little game! I love the details and all the frustrating staff who CANT JUST GIVE ME WHAT I WANT. I’m curious to know how you pulled off voice recognition (it was surprisingly accurate), for a while I thought my name was John smith, but the voice recognition was sensitive enough to deny that, very impressive!
Jezzamon29 Oct 2020, 00:43
Wow! Thanks to everyone who played and rated this game! I'm really happy with the innovation score, and coming second overall is a lot higher than I thought I'd do!
Here's a little video of what I did when I saw the results :)
Here's a little video of what I did when I saw the results :)
Shanzhai29 Oct 2020, 07:17
This is the most wtf I've gone in a while. Have a dollar to keep it up and running a little longer.
I'd love to see a post mortem for this one if you have the time, especially to understand how this works altogether, if many people can play it at the same time, how this is set up... so many unanswered questions. :D
I'd love to see a post mortem for this one if you have the time, especially to understand how this works altogether, if many people can play it at the same time, how this is set up... so many unanswered questions. :D
So this is what I end up using my international call credit on...