Luck Runs Out

I think if the walking/strolling sounds were a bit more varied this would make for a really nice art game

thanks 4 the game! :)

very deep 5/5

A beautiful game with a great message.

Wow, it's really this type of game that say to myself "Is pushing a button 5 minutes long is still a game ?" It is.
I really hope you are okay, the words were really touching, the narrative is well executed and the writing is excellent; I really passed a good moment, because it remember me a lot of things.
Thank you for making this and I take care of you.

That was touching, i hope you're doing well. Great message =)

okay i got you, thanks

Congrats on your first jam submission! Really well designed and delivered, It was a thoughtful journey

Very artsy and meta game... I liked it a lot. I also would be glad about more varying walking sounds :D but maybe it's part of the experience to endure it.

I like the concept of this game! The only turnoff for me was the unpleasant walking sound. Something less harsh, and maybe picking from a few different sounds so that it was less repetitive would be been good! Overall though, well done!

@based-on-life @kamile-v @izzqz @zedgame @butterflan @monogatari @tugaryn @ansible @fraukauz @bluewoozle

Thanks to everyone who commented, especially about the walking sound (and no, it’s not intentionally bad). I’ve tweaked a few things here and there. My friends and I (yes, they also think the sound is annoying) think the current version is somewhat better, though I’m sure it could still be improved (Itch.io has the improved version, LDJam has the original version). If you have any other ideas I could try, feel free to share!

Congratulations on finishing your first game jam! Hope you had fun making it and learned a lot!

Not much gameplay, but some solid writing!

Truely amazing entry! Very deeply touching. Was very happy when I saw that you had to go back at the end. Through the first half of the game I was hoping for that hihi

Loved your game, really.
Narrative games are the one I affectionate the most I think. Because I can stop thinking about myself, about my thought, and live through the ones of the author, of the character they want me to play, etc.
Your game is so well written, and I recognized myself in some of those lines, others where the one I think I needed to hear.
So thank you for that.

And for me, the biggest frustration weren't the sound, but mostly the speed of the little ball. Indeed, when I think, I have a lot of thoughts coming from anywhere and they come fast. Here it felts like I was slowed downed on how much I wanted those thoughts to appear. It does not have to be super fast, but a bit faster could be great :)

Well done again on your game, I really like it

thank you for making the game. it really touched me.

Ah, I did a short look into your updated version on itch.io. Yes, way better sound. But - the longer I think about it, the less it makes sense for me to randomly play different versions of a walking sound, since the movement has a constant speed and should adapt to the speed of the walking sound. lol. Maybe I make it complicated XD. It's nice as it is, thumbs up

@nsadie @arluci @mauzart @talia @fraukauz

Thanks so much for playing and leaving a comment. I really appreciate all the feedback you guys gave!
And yes, I had a lot of fun making this game :D

Also, @arluci, just a little hint... you never have to _go right_ in the first place, you are the one who _choose_ to _go right_ ;)

@tenzz waaaat

Really nice message you have, thanks for it.

Really cool, always nice to a more narrative entry to LD. The game is simple but not to it's detriment i feel; a good example of why less is more sometimes. The simple visual style works well too. Many people have commented about the sound already, i think the reason why it can sound jarring/repetitive is because of the trail of background noise making the repetition and pitch variation very obvious; i feel similar sounds without any background noise would have worked really well. Great work and thanks for the game!

A very unique entry! It was really creative to lean on your strengths as a writer. Only thing is I wish the visuals were a little more varied and the walking sound was a little less repetitive. I really appreciated your message and I liked getting to know you through your art :)

I directly went left, when i read the comments I was a bit confused so I played again by starting with the right path. Thank you for the experience ! A very unique entry indeed.

This is art! Very personal and touching. I think this is the case, where you do not need a full game to convey an idea completely, it is already precise here
I especially liked the subtle details in the visuals of shapes, which were minimalistic, but self-explanatory.
Also for some reason I went left from the start, and the story was already good. But the road to the right and back was just amazing.

This was a touching entry! Like others, I really enjoyed the graphics and the message! I also agree with @p1x3lc0w about varying the sfx. Otherwise, I look forward to future entries from you :)

@villeloso @p1x3lc0w @vera-stepanyan @tunasandwich @stronf @alphabetasoup

Thanks for playing and leaving a comment. Really appreciate all the feedback! (Seems like my biggest issue lies with the sound design, definitely something I need to work on)

also, @tunasandwich @stronf interesting,, most of the times, when people play side-scrolling games, the goal is on the right of the starting point, so every time they play one, they instinctively go right. In this game however, when you go right, you'll eventually got to a certain point where you have to go back, past the starting point, and keep going left until you reach the ending. The idea is to have the player realize that the finish line was actually to the left of the starting point (which I don’t think I presented very well), then, on the second playthrough, they’d try to go left from the start and receive a different message, reinforcing the idea that they have a choice, that they can go wherever they want.

But you guys went left from the very beginning, how come? also when you reached the finish line ("luck runs out" part) were you curious about what was on the right side and played again? Or did you just call it a day and think, “Welp, that’s the whole game”?

I definitely need to find a better way to present the "finish line to the left of the starting point" and "you have a choice" idea more clearly, well other than shoving the message right up their face or put up a giant sign

Ok, i completed this game. Now i am going to rethink my life

Really beautifully written. The sort of elements of the world that you pass and the general sort of sparse but meaningful vibe all really support the words brilliantly as well.

This game is good, really cool use of the theme. Creative, well done. Just to let you know. The game does not start here in the LD page. I've played it on itch.io. I'm using Linux/Chrome

It hits just where it needs to be.

The style is immaculate, and the message is really profund, amazing game

Loved it , it hit really close for me

I have went through a similar journey of pulling myself out of the pit I fell in for the past year and it feels very comforting to see a game touch on this kinda problem, thanks for making this

I'm crying, this was beautiful

@friend-pirozhok @jhax @kessel-nebula @apophatique @andreadbx @tetracold @jkyd

Thanks for playing and leaving a comment! I hope you enjoyed it as much as i did making it.

@kessel-nebula Yep, I'm aware the version on the LD page doesn’t work (at least not on my laptop either), which is why I included the itch.io link just in case

@jkyd it originally sounded like a stepping sound. When i tweak it, i removed the unpleasant part of the sound (which is the the squishy lift of the foot), making it only have 1 beat. Now that you mention it, i could totally see why it sounds like clock. Now that i remember it, someone told me it was like a metronome, which honestly, i quite like (i mean if it works, it works)

Also thanks for the feedback, i'll keep in mind if i do make another one of this type of game.

And no, i don't have any other works yet. This is the first game i've ever completed after all, and i'm not a writer either. But if you're interested, feel free to follow me on itch.io in case if i make something similar

What a beautiful and relatable message! I really liked the theme of going back and looking at things from a new perspective.

Although the game works just fine as just rolling right/left and reading the story, If you want to improve further on it, I would suggest you consider adding a few more interactive elements that support the central message, like maybe the character being able to fly when it says fly, or other forms of interacting with the visual stories shown. Some great references for this kind of thing are Florence and Everyday the same dream, where the gameplay elements aren't challenging at all, but they help interactively illustrate the point of the story (and give the player a bit more to do hehe)!

I really enjoyed this journey, it feels like you really have written it from heart. And I can honestly say that I can relate! Thank you for sharing this! I hope you're feeling well :heart:

Great interactive experience! I wanted to see it through to the end, even though movement was so slow. Clever how the text over the landmarks gets a new meaning as you go back.

Interesting approach of the theme.
I like, that there are some "pictures" in the background.

For my personal taste it felt a little bit too long due to the slow movement of the ball.

I like the minimalistic visuals.
The sound effect while you get a new message was very fitting.
It's cool, that you can also go to the left at the beginning.
Thanks for sharing this game. :)

i feel personally attacked xD, nice poetic game, feels more like a interactive art piece, you would play in a modern art gallery

@tenzz actually I don't know why I went left first, that's a good question haha. I thought that was all at first but then I read the comments and realize there was more to it. So I did play again yes, starting right, to see what was there.

A bit wordy, especially given how depressing the first half is; I nearly gave up on it once I reached the midway point and realized there was more to it ^_^;

But I loved how the big "milestone" quotes get reused in a different context on the return journey. Even the title means something different once you reach the end.

Wow. It's not often a LD entry makes me feel like that. This was such an innovative take on the theme. It might be very simple gameplay wise but the theme of exploring the depths of your inner thoughts and the decisions you make was really interesting. To keep me engaged with just pressing an arrow key shows how good of a job you've done with the mood and theming. I love entries like this that push the boundaries or try something completely different.

This is art

Thanks for sharing this in my stream!!
I loved the experience. It kinda hit home for me.
Well done!

It was made with a great taste, but i should confess I stop it where it says me to stop. It's too tiring to read abstract messages in that way for me, is there any chance this message could be less long?

interesting interpretation of the theme and very personal project, it's always nice to experiment

Deep!

Congratulations on your work.

My criticism is about the sound of footsteps, which is a bit annoying. Try to edit and implement the sound of your game with more care. It may not seem like it, but it is a very important part of the immersion in your game. :)