Betsy's Dreamhive

by hauntogogue

co-authored: @alberto-pardo, @brockton, @thesunless, @wafflefish, @zanctarian, @demiclod, @opiumvampire, @skylarkblue1, @tidetm

Overall★★★★★★★★★★2.94

Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.62

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★2.56

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.22

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.25

Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.36

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.54

After laying untouched in the attic for thirty years, Betsy and the other dolls are reunited with their girl... and her young son. His playstyle is a bit... unconventional, and the dollhouse goes from a safe haven to a warzone. The Boy has been capturing dolls and attaching mutilated bug parts to them, and now the swarm has set their sights on Betsy. She'll have to make it out of the dollhouse alive if she wants to keep all her limbs to herself...

Step into Betsy’s haunted dollhouse in this first-person dungeon crawler, blending 2D and 3D graphics for a nostalgic experience inspired by the classic PS1 title "Baroque." Armed with a custom thumbtack launcher, you'll face off against terrifying bug-dolls, navigating the unsettling rooms with WASD controls and firing your weapon with a simple left-click. But take caution—survival means more than just good aim.

Credits:

Alberto Pardo (Eldos_nd) https://www.albertopardo.ink/ - Narrative

Kathryn Healy (Marmorhaus) https://kathrynhealy.com/- Narrative Design

Ben Kelly (Brockton.) https://www.brockton.co.nz/ - Sound Design

Chase Blakemore (Zanctarian) https://chaseblakemore.carrd.co/ - Music / Programming

Jhoshua Ampo (Wafflefish) https://wafflefish.itch.io/ - Programming

Muhammad Mustafa (jigsaw_9801) https://muhammad-mustafa.itch.io/ - Programming

Sky Evans (skylarkblue1) https://skylarkblue1.itch.io/ - Programming, Design

Lars Snedker (thesunless) https://thesunlesscaptain.itch.io/ - UI/UX, Level design

Jonathan Andersen (tidetm) https://tidetm.itch.io/ - 3D Models/Technical Artist

Rebecca Swiderski (demiclod2000) https://demiclod2000.itch.io/ - 2D Art, Sprite Artist

Rowan Rubin (Hauntogogue) https://www.artstation.com/rowan_oscar - 2D Art, Texture Artist

Changelog V1.1 [Bug fixes] -
- Fixed main menu formatting for larger resolutions (2k, 4k)
- Fixed comically long menu fade
- Fixed cursor lock on WebGL builds (via Itch)
- Fixed health bar not functioning
- Fixed audio sliders not doing anything
- Fixed an enemy with a broke AI

Tags: #2d, #3d, #atmospheric, #creepy, #horror, #short

Genres: action

Tools: Unity

Comments24

Damien Black8 Oct 2024, 00:41

Definitely giving good horror vibes!

Tenai8 Oct 2024, 12:18

Cool creature designs, nice take on the theme too.

Fleur8 Oct 2024, 16:20

Cool game! I'm not good with horror games so it's really easy to make me feel nervous, but it certainly did work! The sound design definitely helped. I just wish some of the text appeared a bit quickly and that the loading when starting the game was a bit shorter (kinda thought the game wasn't working but then realized it was just a bit slow). In any case, really cool take on the theme and you did a great job!

chariospirale8 Oct 2024, 16:20

Unfortunatly it's barely playable for me because the cursor of the mouse doesn't stay in the window of the game. So if I i drag it to the right, at one point my cursor will get out and I need to take it back in (even in fullscreen mode !).

SrisriCactus8 Oct 2024, 16:22

Designs is very good ! But the camera was too much a problem for me, you cannot do a 360 again and again, your camera get blocked. So for example, when I wanted to look at the right, needed to turn completely at the left...
But design was really good !

jscommander8 Oct 2024, 16:25

The atmosphere you've created is fantastic, really builds up the anticipation. And that music? Absolutely killer! It sets the mood perfectly.

I gotta say, that fly girl is seriously creepy - definitely got my heart racing! 😱 You nailed the scare factor there.

A couple things that could make it even better: the controls felt a bit finicky at times, especially when trying to move the camera. Also, it'd be awesome to have some satisfying sound effects for shooting and hitting targets.

Bombelix8 Oct 2024, 16:32

Good potential, the intro text is an ok length thanks to the "click to continue", but once we start the level Betsy's thoughts go way too fast!

Ecaterina8 Oct 2024, 19:45

The game is very immersive, with a powerful atmosphere. It’s the first time I’ve seen such an interesting design for NPCs in a horror game, and I really liked it, especially the NPC with fly-like elements. Well done!

Spaint8 Oct 2024, 21:21

Cool enemy designs and narrative. Technical side of things - not so great.
Starting from veeeeeeeeeeeeery long fade animations in the menu after clicking a button, to veeeeeeeeeeeery long intro sequence, in which you can click to continue, yes, but then you can't read the text and it types out very slowly. Got impatient at the middle of it and chose to skip the rest without reading. Would be much better if click firstly typed out the full text and only then skipped it.
Would loved if ingame texts didn't interrupt gameplay so much by pausing the game, maybe if they would appear without pausing, but when there is no danger to the player?
Seems like HP bar doesn't work? If that thing in the upper left is a HP bar at all.
Got to the attic, but can't understand where to move next, enemy in there doesn't seem to be killable and I see no other way out. Is it the end?
Anyways, nice take on the theme, kudos!

machino8 Oct 2024, 21:51

The mood and atmosphere from the music and art is really well done. The story is well written and reading it all really amps up the unsettling factor as you realize what the boy has done, just a minor fix to complete text before skipping is needed. Additionally everything (walking, enemies, loading) could be a little faster but that's also minor. Also didn't know where to go after the attic, but besides that really well done on the mood of the game.

Lussard Studio8 Oct 2024, 22:01

Good horror vibes, like the indroduction text to put us in the atmosphere.
Characters design is really cool !

Ale8 Oct 2024, 22:29

Interesting aesthetic, but the intro was way too slow. Clicking the start button doesn't start until the screen fades to black, but for some reason that takes like over a minute to happen. The same bug happened with the fade to black at the end of the intro dialog, and the dialog is also painful to read because of how slow the text appears (clicking to skip text fortunately works, but I wish it would skip the text animation instead of the full text so I could at least read it).

Also, I think I got stuck, or at least couldn't figure out what to do next. I climbed a staircase that told me there was a window, but all I saw was an empty room with a monster that couldn't be killed. Idk if there was more after that and didn't want to sit through the super long intro again :(

But what I did see was really interesting. This scores big on mood for sure, and I liked the paper mario like 2D enemies. Their designs were unique an interesting, and the audio did a good job setting up a creepy atmosphere.

If you patch the bugs I'd love to give it another try, just ping me with an @ if you do :)

Zanctarian9 Oct 2024, 02:58

Hello, one of the programmers (and the music composer) of the game here. Thank you all for your amazing feedback! The entire team have been super happy talking about it. We apologize for many undesirable bugs, thank you all for understanding. A new version has just been released that fixes the major issues. Both itch and windows build should be a lot more playable now. As for suggestions, we have been reading them and intend to take them into consideration if we continue the project further.

Also, do note the game technically doesn't have an end as of right now. Due to the rules regarding updates, we are unable to implement an ending, even though the lack of an ending is due to a bugged trigger.

With the major issues solved, I'm excited to start playing various games from LD56!

(Pings for users who requested them)
@ale

Ale9 Oct 2024, 13:16

I tried out the updated version, and while the slow menu bug was fixed I still got stuck in the attic :\ However, at least this time I could kill the mantis creature thing!

By the way, don't worry about working on the game past the deadline. As long as you leave the original submission version available to download and clearly label which version is the new one, nobody will mind, *especially* if it's just a bugged trigger that's blocking the ending! Itch.io lets you have multiple downloads for a game, just make sure that the name of the file you upload is different, otherwise it will overwrite the old one.

Hauntogogueauthor9 Oct 2024, 14:29

@ale The attic is indeed the "end", where another portion of story is supposed to trigger. So you're not missing anything!

stormburpee10 Oct 2024, 00:06

The atmosphere and creature designs are really well done, giving off solid horror vibes! The audio and unsettling visuals build tension perfectly. However, the slow text and loading times interrupted the flow of the game, and I got stuck in the attic without a clear direction. With some tweaks to pacing and clearer guidance, this could be a really fantastic horror experience!

Sockenpuppe10 Oct 2024, 15:26

Oooh, really cool entry.

The music coupled with those insect noises created a really unnerving atmosphere and the modified dolls were delightfully creepy!

Was about to ask about the attic but I just saw in the comments that it's due to a bug.

One small thing that I only noticed bc I was running around the house after being stuck in the attic and bc I feared that I had missed something in order to progress:

What I imagine is supposed to be Betsy's first line after returning to the dollhouse isn't triggered when it's supposed to. I only noticed bc I went all the way back to the beginning after being stuck upstairs.

I started the game again to record what I mean:

If I immediately go forward (and I imagine that's what most people do when playing) Betsy's lines won't appear.

All in all, I really liked your entry. And it's perfect for spooky season

Conor Wilson11 Oct 2024, 13:22

Very chilling and spooky game. For me, the intro text was a bit long as I wanted to get into the gameplay, but otherwise the atmosphere was well presented :)

Chacawott11 Oct 2024, 13:34

Very cute horror game. I really enjoyed playing.
Well done!!!

WhenYouCantFindAFriend11 Oct 2024, 20:03

Congratulations on the Spooky game! I love how the art style blends 3D and 2D! It has that old school aesthetic to it. The music really adds to the mood as well. I wish there was some feedback(like sound effects or visual cue) when the weapon is firing or when it hits the enemy. Also the typewriter effect on the narrative portion was a little overwhelming for me(trying to read while the text is moving). I really love this take on the theme! Interesting juxtaposition of doll parts with insect parts in the artwork!

Renier15 Oct 2024, 16:30

well done enjoyed the story, audio and impressive art :D

Tomssuli16 Oct 2024, 21:23

Great mood! I liked the story and music. Too bad the gameplay wasn't in the same level. It took time to realize that you could actually kill the creatures, when they gave no feedback on single shot. Also a window was mentioned, but I just got a big enemy at the attic and nothing else. I take that you ran out of time there.

Anyways, one of the best mood in the games in this jam. I hope you keep that for the next time and add some gameplay :)

LDJam user 514322 Oct 2024, 23:44

The concept of the game is great, and the house has a creepy atmosphere, which works well for the horror theme.

However, I noticed that right-clicking doesn't allow you to finish the dialogue and read it comfortably—it skips it entirely. I had to restart to catch the story.

The start dialogue was long but interesting, though the tutorial’s pacing didn’t match it, making it easy to miss important instructions.

Also, there wasn’t enough feedback when hitting enemies, and it was unclear how much health they had left.

As for progression, I wasn’t sure if the game ends after reaching the second floor. I couldn’t find a way forward, and there weren’t any clues to help.

Despite these issues, the horror design is well done, and the bug enemies are visually impressive! With more feedback during combat and clearer progression cues, it could be a much more immersive experience.

Brainloaf Studio22 Oct 2024, 23:55

Really fantastic antmosphere, and I love the designs of the enemies and the overall buzzing ambience. It's interesting to explore the dollhouse, though I didn't actually realize you could damage the enemies so I had to tank some damage when passing by some of the fly imposters (fly-posters?). As others have said I also would have liked to read the opening text even when clicking to accelerate the writing-out effect. Nice work!