Decommissioned

by t90
co-authored: @amikatag, @nicekot
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.51
Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.94
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.61
Theme★★★★★★★★★★4.08
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.86
Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.57
Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.94
Mood★★★★★★★★★★4.02
*Will they make it in time?*

Short atmospheric nuclear physics-inspired sandbox with visual novel elements.

Play with elementary particles to construct an atom and help girls finish their project in time. Probably.

Controls:

Only mouse required.

How to launch a particle: Press left click, hold and move, release left click. Pretty intuitive.

Don't forget to select said particle first!

Music from freesound:

```
"In Silence" by Andrewkn https://freesound.org/s/547044/ licensed under CCBY 3.0
```

Comments37

LDJam user 2647194 Oct 2021, 22:06
THAT WAS AMAZING! I just wish there was more content to the game!
Teegan4 Oct 2021, 22:10
I really enjoyed this one! I was a bit lost on the objective, but it actually felt *right* for the situation, like i was dropped into the middle of these girls who were up to no good! I think if there had been any explanation on the machine, it would have taken away from the feeling and tone. Great stuff! Also amazing writing and I really liked the look and feel of the machine were great.
lukeoco12344 Oct 2021, 22:13
Cool concept!! My physics knowledge has seen better days so I didn't make it very far haha. Loved the art style :)
Bauke Regnerus
Bauke Regnerus4 Oct 2021, 22:14
A short game but I really enjoyed the combination of figuring about what I was actually doing and the little narrative sections in between. Congratulations!
Fickle Swimming4 Oct 2021, 22:22
First game I played so far that genuinely surprised me ( in a good way ). Very nicely done!
UkuleleFury
UkuleleFury4 Oct 2021, 22:29
:) Uh oh, what have I done... RIP. lol.

Very fun! Not sure what my monkey hands at the keyboard were doing necessarily, but we all like to push buttons and see what happens!

Great dialog and portrait art!
fedek955 Oct 2021, 18:32
I didn't understand the game much but I liked the design!
GuessImLuna5 Oct 2021, 18:33
The amount of polish here is pretty insane. gj
Ryan Winstead5 Oct 2021, 21:37
Nice short game! I was so confused at first, and then spammed the bubbles haha. Still not sure what the other buttons do. Found the art and narrative charming.
Polite Stories
Polite Stories5 Oct 2021, 21:40
Really cute and a super interesting take on the theme! I really liked your UI design especially, it really felt natural like I was actually playing with a machine rather than just a "game interface"
Fedev
Fedev5 Oct 2021, 21:43
Never fully understand how to play even reading the comments, but it was a nice little experience. Good job!
LDJam user 246128
LDJam user 246128author5 Oct 2021, 21:52
@fedev Sorry to hear that! I've updated description with a bit more explanation about controls. You are trying to build an atom, hitting it with different elementary particles like beta/gamma/neutron.
blobo5 Oct 2021, 22:56
Really interesting story, and I like the character portraits! The game is a bit short, but I like what I played. Cool game!
pk_c6 Oct 2021, 01:40
Took me a while to understand but actually enjoyed it, nice job !
Spike Studio
Spike Studio6 Oct 2021, 01:41
Some of the best audio I have seen this jam, great job!
fabioecco
fabioecco6 Oct 2021, 01:44
It... looks interesting, theres a lot of detail on it, but I didnt get the goal. lmao :)
Acarine6 Oct 2021, 01:46
Smart, cute, and cool! If there were a rating for World Building, I'd give you a 5.
LDJam user 2708756 Oct 2021, 01:46
It felt less like a game and more of an experience. I liked it but I wanted to play around with making a few atoms in a more meaningful way.
BoxedMeatRevolution
BoxedMeatRevolution6 Oct 2021, 01:47
The story was very unsettling. I couldn't figure out how to win, even trying to stick to stable nuclei--is there a win condition? Very cool idea for a jam either way.
jaspior
jaspior6 Oct 2021, 03:44
Nice game there, I would love to know how did you programed the visual novel side in godot. Did you used any plugin or did all the code? The game was really enjoyable!

Something that bothered me is that you can add charge to the neutrons using gamma scattering. The neutron can decay in a proton, eletron and neutrino and the proton can "capture" an eletron and turn into an neutron and an neutrino. as far as I know, there is no other decay mechanic for those particles. Anyway, sorre for the physics mambo jambo.
randomerz
randomerz6 Oct 2021, 17:31
That was really neat! The atmosphere was super nice with the intro booting up the software, and figuring it out as you play around with the atoms and uncertainty sets in with chaos.

I think if the dialogue or atom system were to subtly hint at what to do for the main part of the gameplay, that could have added to the experience. Overall though, a solid entry, great work!
LDJam user 246128
LDJam user 246128author6 Oct 2021, 19:59
@malcolm Thanks for feedback! I understand that concern. As always, it's question of priorities. While short on time and have had few mistakes down the path, we had to choose between more complex and detailed simulation and logically finished experience.

@jaspior Regarding gamma-scattering and adding charge to neutron -- as I said above, we had rough time chasing two paths at the same time, so we had to choose. There was actually mechanic for photodisintegration and alpha-particle handling, however it was cut out in favor of actually completing game with, while small, still finished story. So, in the end I just repurposed gamma-rays to trigger beta decay. Anyway, thanks for reply!

Regarding godot and vn-stuff. I haven't used any plugins, I actually didn't even know there were any. VN-part is a simple Scene that shows when some conditions are fulfilled + blocking click handling for main scene. Actually pretty messy, I think it could've been done more cleanly with signals and some single source of truth (maybe even reactive-declarative way?).
kr4ft3r
kr4ft3r6 Oct 2021, 20:30
SPOILER warning
Hell of an atmosphere right from the start. What better induction than having to press a button that has DO NOT PRESS taped right over it, followed by sounds of an atomic splitter powering up. The institute being in Russia is quite an atmosphere booster as well.
As for the game itself I'd probably feel better if I knew more about chemistry, but still I managed to make that thing happen. Are there multiple endings btw?
Jon_Nova6 Oct 2021, 21:55
The game has a really good atmosphere. it made me tense and I didn't even know why. i hope this is some kind of prologue for a bigger game. Great job!
juegoman7 Oct 2021, 02:56
Really atmospheric game. I was totally immersed and really felt that twist at the end. Good job!
I really liked the art too!
LucDeligne
LucDeligne7 Oct 2021, 03:36
A really good game.

Nice visuals and sfx and a perfect balance between gameplay and narrative. Great writing too.
3mpty
3mpty7 Oct 2021, 08:41
After two attempts it seems to play out the same way each time, I'm not really familiar with particle physics to the degree that would let me know if I'm doing something wrong or not, I guess there's only one ending?

Great sound design and visuals, hopefully everyone got their antirad meds afterwards.
romandviski8 Oct 2021, 11:24
I could not get through. I didn't understand what to do.
Shrillwhip
Shrillwhip8 Oct 2021, 20:23
I liked the dialogue and atmosphere. Cool ambient music. Didn't particularly care for the gameplay, and the story felt a bit anticlimactic. Art was very charming.
Recher
Recher10 Oct 2021, 16:17
Well... I'm not sure we could really call it a game. Or maybe I missed something.

It's a great story, there are many little details in the plot that let you imagine a lot of things, about the characters, the machines they are using, the environnment, the reasons for their actions, etc. The ending is also a great opening to whatever you could imagine.

I can't say it is not a game at all, because I operated the machine by myself and I took the place of one of hte character. But it is more of a mysterious story than a game.

Maybe with more content and more parts in the story, that would have really made a game.

I liked it anyway. Keep up on this path and try to make more of this on next Ludum !
Apples_mmmmmmmm
Apples_mmmmmmmm11 Oct 2021, 02:53
Could make for an interesting visual novel experience where you start here and know nothing about the system so you obviously just fail, but get sent back further in time or something to learn more about the machine, project and eventually the best chance that the three have at succeeding. Is there only 1 ending currently?
axelrinaldo
axelrinaldo11 Oct 2021, 15:27
Absolutely fantastic atmosphere! A visual novel about particle physics was certainly not something I was expecting to see but I am pleasantly surprised! Really enjoyed it but would have appreciated some more tutorial info, does the energy of the particle matter for example? Or the difference between alpha and beta gameplay-wise?
SirTobyB
SirTobyB11 Oct 2021, 22:01
Beautiful atmosphere with very good sounds. I was a bit lost in the game but was still tied up. Well done!
HitchH1k3r
HitchH1k3r14 Oct 2021, 02:50
A game with a moral: "do not play with decommissioned subatomic manipulating devices, especially when they say DANGER DANGER DANGER and DO NOT USE"

This was an interesting game. I played through twice to see if I somehow messed up the first time. I liked that the display on the right gave me a basic idea of what I was doing, even though I was not sure exactly what I was firing and at what.
NiceKot
NiceKot24 Oct 2021, 22:12
@hitchh1k3r @sirtobyb @axelrinaldo @apples-mmmmmmmm @recher @3mpty @shrillwhip @romandviski @lucdeligne @juegoman @jon-nova @kr4ft3r @randomerz @jaspior @boxedmeatrevolution @malcolm @fedev @acarine @polite-stories @fabioecco @ryan-winstead @tomasaquistapace @spike-studio @pk-c @100th-coin @guessimluna @fickle-swimming @elysiagriffin @bauke-regnerus @gamermomentum @teegan @lukeoco1234

Thanks everyone for trying our game and leaving your impressions and feedback. It's our only second entry to LD but definitely not the last! See you all at LD50!

PS: It was so heartwarming to see so many people felt and ejoyed the atmosphere and mood we tried to express with this little game. Thank you all!

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