Der Schließmuskel

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.17
Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.60
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.50
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.40
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.03
Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.76
Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.52
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.70
A game about quality control. Make sure only the best quality produce reaches the taste tester.
_Headphones recommended_

Tools


Unity 2021.3.11f1
Clip Studio Paint 1.12.3
Audacity 3.1.3

Enjoy :8ball:

Comments16

fnelix3 Oct 2022, 17:11
Ok, first: weird! Well executed and nice soundtrack! Quality control passed
limered3 Oct 2022, 23:31
This is really weird. Cool graphics. Das Loch sieht sehr realistisch aus.
LDJam user 301905
LDJam user 3019055 Oct 2022, 09:38
Really strange and well executed, graphics fit the theme well
Ghatazorg
Ghatazorg5 Oct 2022, 09:51
Really weird, oddly satisfying
G_miaz5 Oct 2022, 15:29
Waooh, I loved the little guys, I sacrificed too many of them :'( I love the art and the mood is terribly creepy! Dynamics and controlers are great! Loved your game!
indigo
indigo7 Oct 2022, 13:22
Alda, was?

Might be better if you had less than 10 seconds to QC, actually. As it is, it's just kind of impossible to see if they're good or not, maybe because there's no template to compare them too. Might be more rewarding if the time controls were tighter, but the defects more noticeable. Hee-hee, I said "tighter".

Too bad that there's only music on the menu, but not ingame.

I'm not really sure how to suggest improvements, because I lack the artistic vision for... this.
ThaProfesional
ThaProfesional7 Oct 2022, 14:06
Really dug the whole vibe the graphics were great and the music fit in well (although it was a tiny bit quiet). Moving the arm around was fun, as was the physics.

Kind of wish there was some sort of indication of how I was going as I played (rather than at the end.. also the score at the end only showed up for a split second). Also 50 was a lot to get through would have preferred a smaller loop (maybe 20) but I'm impatient I prefer to do more smaller runs.
jk5000
jk50007 Oct 2022, 14:27
I don't really understand the idea. But the visuals and music is good.
Pincushion8 Oct 2022, 20:04
Definitely nailed the eerie feeling. Sounds and music really added to it. I like how you're hit with that weird parallax effect on the start screen. The game feels too slow though. 10s for QC might be better if there was something else to do in this time. Maybe the player could bounce the food around to test for liveliness? Also a running score would help too.
Ava Skoog
Ava Skoog13 Oct 2022, 18:38
Very uncomfortable. Wish I didn't have to do it fifty times to see what happens next, it's a bit much. I don't think I ever noticed any differences in the "produce" (and maybe that's the point). Sorry if I missed something.

Regardless of my feelings, it's undeniably pretty well done, controls well, good use of physics, attention to detail with animations and sound effects. There's certainly a vision here, even if I can't suss out what it's conveying. Technically well done but not at all for me 😁
Mossieur Patate20 Oct 2022, 06:54
(in a rush to test many, don’t mind the cursory style)

1. ah, German title; time to put that self-taught German learning (including Duolingo) to use! :) Checking *Schließmuskel* on a dictionary (I only knew *schließen* ‘close’ and *Muskel* ‘muscle’ independently): this means ‘sphincter’… O_o Now, what is this game all about?! XD
2. title screen: very nice artistic effect, with the blurring for the foreground character, and the (voluntarily) dissonant music
3. interface is super intuitive, with how the hand visually pinches; I like the extendable arm!
4. OH MY GOD, but this is HORRIBLE!!
Mossieur Patate20 Oct 2022, 06:54
(continued: 2/2)

Takeaway: artistically speaking, the game stands somewhere at the top of the heap (my literal programmer (programming!) art feels like nothing compared to this). As for gameplay, although the basic concept and interface makes itself quickly intuitively clear (which is no small thing), I tried all the while to see what the precise *criteria* could be, but am still unsure. (This may be me! Still, I would advise giving some more explanations on the page or/and comments, to better understand the game.) Anyway, there is apparently a total lack of punishment for not doing the ‘job’ correctly; maybe there is a bonus for a sequence of correct matches? Or maybe this is more of an implicitly (!) ‘narrative’ game, as an absurd fable. (A mix between the hideous reality of slaughterhouses and Milgram experiment?) Pseudo-edit (because I composed the conclusion before finishing): it turns out there *is* an estimation (and thus incentive), but only at the end! This means the problem lies in the lack of *feedback* while playing: I feel there should really be something that tells us whether the match was correct or not (for example, the eater could moan if given an improper little guy). And a smaller total amount would help making the player want to replay to try beating his score.

This was artistically impressive, and at the same time… horrible. :o Still, thank you for the vision; although you may have programmed my next nightmare!! XD

---

@indigo There IS in-game music!

---

@thaprofesional

> the score at the end only showed up for a split second

I think this is caused by quitting the screen with pressing any button (as for the title screen). Not sure though, but I voluntarily let it for a moment (wary because of said title screen!) to hear the music!
OddballDave
OddballDaveauthor20 Oct 2022, 08:26
@mossieur-patate Great feedback. And not gonna argue with any of it as it's only a jam game. I was going for that old-school internet weird, kinda like 'Salad fingers' and other early internet memes.

I will address a couple of points as your feedback was so well thought out.

The lack of guidance, that is intentional. You are supposed to have confusion and a sense of not getting it, or to even give up caring about which are good/bad.

There is a strict criteria for good produce. The arms must be the same length as the legs, which must be the same length as the body, and must be the same length as the head. The poster only hints at this, again on purpose. Bad produce sometimes also has an off colour to help with selection.

There is a little bit of feedback when you select good/bad produce. The mangler has a light that turns red when good produce is mangled, green for bad produce. The taste-tester burps if given bad produce, it makes him gassy, and gives an 'mmmmm' for good produce.

Other than those clarifications everything you said was bang on. Thank you for the feedback :8ball:
LDJam user 206001
LDJam user 20600120 Oct 2022, 15:30
The graphic is incredibly different, that's good. But I didn't think that every 10 seconds a new one drops, whatever it is, fits the theme. I didn't see any difference between throwing it in the trash or in the character's mouth. It's very interesting in the first few seconds, but it's like an art installation, there's no goal or anything, just feel it. But good artwork...
zimny11
zimny1120 Oct 2022, 22:49
That was... interesting XD The art style is really nice and stylized. Sound design is also super good! Some feedback to the player (if it is doing good or bad job) would be nice. Anyway, good job with the game. I "hate it" and love it at the same time! :)
ChanSmith21 Oct 2022, 04:10
I also didn't notice the feedback while playing. After reading your comment about what the actual criteria and feedback are, I tried to do the objective, but I stopped caring because it was too hard and because flinging them around aimlessly was more fun :laughing:. It's awesome as a sort of 'Salad Fingers'-esque 'Interactive Buddy' -- more ways of disposing of or testing the produce would be fun.

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