LudumData

Choose your own title! by jlauper

[raw]
made by jlauper for LD32 (COMPO)
I always wanted to make a game for Ludum Dare, but I dislike having to rush, so I decided to make a simple "Choose your own Adventure". While I never planned to have music a really wanted to add an image to each step of the game, but the writing took me longer than expected and I didn't have any time for them (well I managed to draw one which I can use a few times...) since I'm really slow (and at best mediocre) at drawing stuff.

There are 6 endings, 4 bad ones and 2 good ones. May the odds be ever in your favour.
Web http://jlauper.netai.net/ld32/1.html
Source https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xxj72o1zuqtonb1/AAA3RPbKj7OuQFCFa8A_zjzza?dl=0
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-32/?action=preview&uid=21068

Ratings

Coolness 64% 3
Overall 2.37 1094
Audio 1.00 819
Fun 2.29 1011
Graphics 1.26 1083
Humor 2.11 845
Innovation 1.80 1093
Mood 2.79 664
Theme 2.24 1073

Feedback

stuffedgravy
20. Apr 2015 · 20:33 UTC
The webpage is not available!
The Capitalist Crayfish
20. Apr 2015 · 20:37 UTC
Took me a few times to get there, but eventually I escaped. Nice dark story, good job!

-Weloxux
HeyChinaski
20. Apr 2015 · 20:39 UTC
I think I found all the endings. I liked the different stories although I felt like the only way to be successful was to be very ruthless and violent. A little more nuance would have been nice.
On replays purple links made it more obvious when the different story threads converged. This improved replay-ability but reduced surprise. If it's important it may be better to use some CSS or something to not show already visited links.
slowfrog
20. Apr 2015 · 20:44 UTC
This is not that great as a game, but as you say, if you don't like being rushed, maybe you should do the jam. Then you could prepare things in advance, or enroll some help, and have an extra day.
Rulrite
20. Apr 2015 · 20:44 UTC
A captivating adventure; I couldn't help but play until I got all the endings. The story is very well planned out, considering how short it is (I like that it's short enough to replay multiple times).
gaarlicbread
20. Apr 2015 · 20:45 UTC
I had fun playing this. I think interactive text is under-rated. I love great stories, so why not a story with some choices? This is also a very practical choice for getting something done in 48 hours.

If you make more games like this, I'd be interested in seeing a bit more about the characters involved. Why is the mad scientist doing it? What is my backstory? Stuff like that.
🎤 jlauper
20. Apr 2015 · 21:42 UTC
Thanks for all the comments!

@HeyChinaski: You're right, it has been a while since I worked with CSS it just slipped my mind that you could do that.
I fixed it now(I think it's ok, because it is kind of game braking for replays...)

@gaarlicbread: Backstory on the character could be interesting to include, but I left the part about the protagonist vague on purpose because it's basically you that is in the story, and having backstory would detract from that.
LorenaIpsum
20. Apr 2015 · 21:44 UTC
Great story, I haven't yet found the good one :D
Junber
21. Apr 2015 · 19:53 UTC
Nice story which is quite dark. Good entry.
Muffin
21. Apr 2015 · 19:56 UTC
Cool story, very creepy! I think I got all the endings, its nice that there are multiple good ones, and that you can quickly retry if you've made a wrong move. Well done.
zzForrest
21. Apr 2015 · 20:19 UTC
It was interesting, but it felt like there were some continuity issues. "you wake up still strapped to the table" when I was never strapped to the table in the first place, stuff like that. While I'm not a grammar nazi, I feel my english teacher wouldn't like this very much. But the story feels nice, and while disjointed it feels not too jumpy. I didn't like how limited my choices were, as they felt polarizing, but I suppose not much could be done about that, given it's a text adventure.
reiknight
23. Apr 2015 · 15:13 UTC
Well, not bad, the story is nice but in my opinion too short and linear to consider it is a game.
Taldius
23. Apr 2015 · 15:14 UTC
Nice game, I haven't seen too much text-based game and the story was way different than the other with its dark tone.
Good job!
Squidtank
24. Apr 2015 · 18:45 UTC
Some odd story connections (like waking up "still strapped" when I was never strapped) but overall I liked it. I chuckled at "toe-fingers."

Some things that through me off though since there isn't much in way of graphics or audio were the grammar mistakes.
Somnium
26. Apr 2015 · 08:05 UTC
Interesting game, with a dark story. A pity that it is mostly the ruthless actions getting rewarded, but that's just a matter of taste. I enjoyed the genre as well, "Interactive fiction" is too rare these days.
chikun Dev Team
26. Apr 2015 · 08:05 UTC
I know you're rushed, but you may want to proofread your game before publishing, as it's heavily text-based and riddled with little errors, but it's no big deal. Also, breaking up your massive paragraphs may make the text more accessible to the reader.

Would read again.
johnnwfs
27. Apr 2015 · 01:32 UTC
Love the CYOA - unexpected and daring :-) Would definitely like to see it with more pictures, although at my age I got really used to text only games in the early days :-) Zork anyone?
anokta
11. May 2015 · 19:45 UTC
cool entry, haven't seen anything similar so far! shame on the spammy popups at the start though. :)