Visual Out by madameberry

[raw]
made by madameberry for LD31 (COMPO)
Abandoned for your obsolescence, you must escape the screen which binds you. What will you find on the outside?

I wasn’t a huge fan of the theme this time ’round. Instead of taking it in a “technical limitation” sense, I decided to use a visual of an old or tube monitor as a frame for the game, theming it around that.
Technically the game (and the code!) are each in just one layout, too, so...

If I had the time, I’d like to work on the end some more so it doesn’t just kind of cut off. Other than that, I’m super happy with this game!

Ratings

Coolness 69% 3
Overall 3.60 198
Audio 3.48 129
Fun 2.88 752
Graphics 3.98 96
Innovation 3.50 299
Mood 3.96 27
Theme 3.57 604

Feedback

madhoe
08. Dec 2014 · 04:28 UTC
Lovely game, great concept. The art and the mood is spectacular - the chains at the start really did it for me. Although: I didn't get it at first -- it took me a while before knowing how to progress past that first part. Really great for a Compo entry. Good job!
Mincemeat
08. Dec 2014 · 04:28 UTC
I made it to a pit and couldn't get past. I blame my own incompetence :(. Not really my kind of game. That being said great art, and the story seemed to be interesting (Can't say much on the story as I'm a moron and got stuck in a pit). Thanks for making this :).
Pastry
08. Dec 2014 · 04:28 UTC
Awesome graphics and audio! Game is really simple and short, but the atmosphere and mood are great, I'd really love to see more. Controls could be worked on though, holding the mouse button can be a bit awkward, as sometimes you're not sure if he's doing the attack or not, so some graphical or audio feedback for the start of the stomp would be nice. Good job!
Nuclear Napalm
08. Dec 2014 · 04:37 UTC
Amazing atmosphere and graphics!
johnbrynte
08. Dec 2014 · 12:04 UTC
Beautiful and mystical. Lovely take on the classic side scroller genre.
🎤 madameberry
08. Dec 2014 · 16:10 UTC
@Mincemeat: Guh I was intending to put a thing in the pit that would port the player back to the last checkpoint if they fall in but I ran out of time and now the player just gets stuck, and I'm sort of upset with myself over that. Sorry!

@Pastry It was meant for mobile, so it feels a bit better there. Totally right on the visual feedback though, I need to indicate when the game starts looking for a "hold" so you know to keep holding.
Thanks!
Ekilibr
08. Dec 2014 · 19:30 UTC
5 stars for the mood. I finished the game, and I've to admit that the mecanic is great !
I wish I could use it in more different ways, well done !
Gamepopper
08. Dec 2014 · 22:47 UTC
Really good story, I enjoyed figuring out the puzzles.
Samuel Arminana
09. Dec 2014 · 00:18 UTC
I really enjoyed the pixel art! Good job
xWarZonex
09. Dec 2014 · 00:21 UTC
The game is great! I love how you used the theme.
The art is great and the ambient is beautiful and mysterious.
The story was interesting and gave a sense of eeriness
Overall the game is really good, but I wish you explained how to play and having no audio sorta hurt, but otherwise it was a amazing game!
🎤 madameberry
09. Dec 2014 · 00:22 UTC
@xWarZonex, I do have audio. Not sure why it apparently wasn't playing for you...?
andrewkennedy
09. Dec 2014 · 00:24 UTC
Hehe, somebody really wanted to do that avoid the light theme! I liked the visuals, they were pretty nice! Music fit pretty well with the mood.

I would have enjoyed more uses for the stomping mechanic, would have been really cool.
Warboys
09. Dec 2014 · 01:48 UTC
Really cool overall mood, I got stuck in the pit and couldn't figure out how to get out of that room (the teleporter didn't go both ways). Would love to know how to get past that bit to see the end :)
TriSquare
09. Dec 2014 · 02:07 UTC
I like the pixel art, good relation to the theme, sound is flawless. Good job overall
Integershift
09. Dec 2014 · 02:10 UTC
Great Mood the graphics were really well done as well good job
karlipoppins
09. Dec 2014 · 02:30 UTC
Amazing atmosphere. Everything feels dark and heavy. Not quite sure how it fits the theme but that was a great, great game. Thanks!!
jrbitt
09. Dec 2014 · 02:34 UTC
Congrats!! Very nice game concept! I loved the art and the mood!
MentalBlockGaming
09. Dec 2014 · 02:38 UTC
Interesting game. I didn't really get what I was doing for a lot of the game, and the first few levels didn't feel much other than just walking from left to right. Nice mood, but the whole thing feels a little too cryptic for me to get into the story enough, and the core gameplay wasn't all that fun.
SirRicecake
09. Dec 2014 · 04:50 UTC
Really nice graphics and mood! Also liked the fact that there was an ingame-introduction for the controls.
Anshul Goyal
09. Dec 2014 · 05:01 UTC
very cool. Love the ending!
SketchyGalore
09. Dec 2014 · 05:25 UTC
Very clever use of the theme! I liked it a lot!
mrexcessive
09. Dec 2014 · 08:37 UTC
Hi there. Like the look and feel. All he would do is walk left to right though... nothing else seemed to be possible. Like the organ music.
Manou
09. Dec 2014 · 16:47 UTC
Can you post a video ? I'm really bad at this game :D
🎤 madameberry
09. Dec 2014 · 16:53 UTC
@Manou: Sure, I'll work on that today!
🎤 madameberry
09. Dec 2014 · 18:30 UTC
The Gamejolt page for Visual Out now has a video!
http://gamejolt.com/games/other/visual-out/41116/
Belvar
09. Dec 2014 · 23:00 UTC
Wow, the visual, the writing, the puzzles, the audio... All of that is amazing. Very strong entry. I just wish it was longer :D
pandamicro
10. Dec 2014 · 05:06 UTC
Great work ! I love your interception of the theme, and it's very smooth to play, simple gameplay and good level design
ZNCatlaw
10. Dec 2014 · 17:39 UTC
So cool! The aesthetic reminds me of Heiser Saint's games. I really liked the strange atmosphere, but I think the pace and gameplay don't communicate well what the graphics and text do. Work on getting the gameplay to reflect the world you want to show us, and this could be really great! I think.

Thanks!
BroCade
10. Dec 2014 · 17:52 UTC
Awesome game!
jelly
10. Dec 2014 · 17:55 UTC
Aghh! This is a stand out for me! I just liked your approach and how it all came together to make a powerful atmosphere. The music is soo good I'm still listening to it!
LostTrainDude
10. Dec 2014 · 20:49 UTC
I enjoyed the "stomping mechanic", the overall concept and how it's laid out: the graphics and sound really benefit the whole mood of the game.

I hope you will continue this because I think that the main mechanic has a lot of potential for multiple genres given its use of timing.

The only thing (yet, minor) that I would change in this entry is in the "Replaced. Abandoned. Broken." scene. When falling into the pit without having created the "bridge" to cross over beforehand, I would let the player lose immediately instead of waiting to receive the needed number of shots.

(Or am I missing something?)

Still, great entry! :D
thopis
11. Dec 2014 · 00:39 UTC
Enjoyable gameplay and music.Cool!
spacedoubt
11. Dec 2014 · 04:53 UTC
Really nice atmosphere!
dekart
13. Dec 2014 · 17:40 UTC
Interesting game, it wasn't very easy what to do and how to control the character at the beginning.
zatyka
15. Dec 2014 · 03:47 UTC
Short and creepy. I don't think I'd call it fun example, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It felt so unique, and is an example of why I really like LD.

I just wish there were a bit more to it. Very nice job... one of my favorites.