They Were Just Pixels by Ohems

made by Ohems for LD30 (COMPO)

My first Ludum Dare entry!

I'm a totally incompetent graphics and sound artist so graphics consist of stickmen, music has been generated and sounds are aweful.

Moreover, the idea of this game is really weird and I have no idea if people will hate it, love it, or even realise what is going on. Add in my weird way of approaching the theme (connection between the real and the game world) and you have a really odd game that will be easy to hate.

And just as a clarification, the game is not over until it clearly tells you. If you can't progress, there is something you haven't done... or should stop doing.

Tools: Java and LibGDX
Music generated with: http://www.abundant-music.com/
Sounds made using Audacity and FL Studio sounds

Multi-Platform (Java)	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/33954741/They%20Were%20Just%20Pixels/TheyWereJustPixels-v1.0.jar
Source	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/33954741/They%20Were%20Just%20Pixels/JustPixels.zip
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-30/?action=preview&uid=38729

Ratings

Coolness	51%	3
Overall	3.18	586

Audio	3.16	301
Fun	2.85	730
Graphics	2.45	957
Humor	2.90	247
Innovation	3.21	516
Mood	3.40	236
Theme	2.85	818

Feedback

MarekkPie

25. Aug 2014 · 16:10 UTC

It was fun for a bit to massively murder those other stickmen, but unless I'm mistaken, there isn't really much here besides that.

Andre Blyth

25. Aug 2014 · 16:19 UTC

I like how it subverts expectations, and especially how quickly it does so (short games are great). The music, even though you claimed it was awful, doesn't feel out of place at all.

🎤 Ohems

25. Aug 2014 · 16:50 UTC

@MarekkPie I would like to explain the game to you but I don't want to spoil it for others. The combat has been built so that it's fun at first but gets boring. And then you see that the whole point of this game is something else...

@Andre Blyth I claimed that the sound effects are aweful. :) I think the music fits well, but it's generated so I can't take so much credit of it. It required a lot of trying to get the right melody though and I did change and tune some of the instruments in FL Studio.

lukz

25. Aug 2014 · 16:52 UTC

You should make killing more rewarding for player ;) Music is nice, wish I hade music like that in my entry!

HoboMechanistic

25. Aug 2014 · 16:56 UTC

Big fan of the ending :D Won't spoil it for people though. I like your take on the theme, it's pretty original. Well done sir.

🎤 Ohems

25. Aug 2014 · 17:02 UTC

@lukz I wouldn't like to spoil this game to the others, but make it more rewarding... It's kind of like the opposite in this game. :)

🎤 Ohems

25. Aug 2014 · 17:02 UTC

I love it how many people think this is just a regular beat em up game.

esayitch

25. Aug 2014 · 18:18 UTC

Hiya!
I liked the idea behind the game, I thought it was too easy until the rolling text said "It was easy." and then I smiled :).
I can say I liked every part of the game, but I especially loved the mood and graphics. The minimalism serves it well (probably unintentional but still, it distances the player from the killing, which I guess was your purpose).
Only complaint would be the text is a bit tedious and could use some revision :P
Good luck!

BillToWin

25. Aug 2014 · 20:05 UTC

Solid game. I enjoyed thinking about the ideas it brought forth. Played through it twice.

Schwiggy

25. Aug 2014 · 21:06 UTC

I "played" through each ending. Like Andre said the music was in-place rather than out of place in my opinion. It seems a little harsh on the player to accuse them of using the only controls you gave them (the alternative is what you do in other forms of media; in games there can still be positive results from your actions like protection, cultivation, and creation as opposed to mere violence) but I spose given the scope it's fine :P

Rialgar

26. Aug 2014 · 13:05 UTC

I love it, although it did not actually make me choose one thing over another, but just try and find all endings. The music is incredibly fitting for generated music, either you had dumb luck or are very good at using that generator.

Sandcrawler

28. Aug 2014 · 05:19 UTC

I enjoyed the game, played it through three times. My only issue is with hiding controls as a way to progress the story. I also enjoyed the music.

Also, I made a Youtube video that is full of spoilers, but has my first impression. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhbuv0RONM

MaesK

02. Sep 2014 · 22:56 UTC

Nice game, I felt powerful for some seconds, but then I lost motivation and let myself killed. Worst ending :D Nice work breaking the fourth wall.

whalebot

02. Sep 2014 · 23:18 UTC

Excellent job conveying the mood you wanted. Had to read your description for the tie in of the theme. I suppose that works :) Good job!

Aglavra

12. Sep 2014 · 20:45 UTC

Really liked your take of the theme. Not only the game has different endings, but this endings form a sequence, that gives some understanding to a player. Cannot say more, because don't want to score the whole thing for others, but yes, it was impressive.

IamAcoconut

12. Sep 2014 · 21:52 UTC

I liked your take on the theme. Cool game!

klianc09

13. Sep 2014 · 18:32 UTC

Ok, that was an interesting experience. I already knew before that there is a twist, so it was less surprising, but I still liked it.
Although it is a lot about the story, it would have been nice to be able to speed up the text, or making it faster in general.
Giving the player explicitly a non violent action (like walking away) would have made the choices more obvious. But I guess it's better the way it is, because the 'endings' aren't complete in isolation but are rather parts of the whole message. (I hope I phrased that understandable.)