A Light In The Darkness by TobiasW

[raw]
made by TobiasW for LD30 (COMPO)
This is a cooperative drop-in/drop-out online multiplayer game. You are flame bearers, braving the darkness, carrying letters and escorting travellers through the eternal darkness between the mountains to the south and sea kingdom to the north.

Are you alone? Maybe press Space and wait for somebody before picking up the torch. The game will beep if somebody else joins, so you can keep it in the background while you wait (F2 turns off music). Or give the link to a friend - it'll only take a few minutes to win.

If you really want to, you can play alone. It's a bit hard, though.

Controls:
- Arrow keys: Move
- Move on item: Pick up item
- Ctrl: Drop item

Type text to chat.
Press Return for new line.

Push against stone to dig.
Push against water to make a bridge.

Go north. Ignore sounds in the dark. Don't let the flame die.

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Font Credits:
- Candela Bold by La Tipomatika: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Candela
- You Murderer BB by Nate Piekos: http://www.1001fonts.com/youmurderer-bb-font.html

You'll need to add 2D Toolkit to compile the code: http://www.unikronsoftware.com/2dtoolkit

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Changelog:
- 25.08: Fixed a one-line bug with the user ID generation that prevented people from joining games.

Ratings

Coolness 51% 3
Overall 3.72 127
Audio 3.26 249
Fun 3.64 131
Graphics 3.03 607
Humor 2.95 226
Innovation 4.19 26
Mood 3.69 87
Theme 3.29 534

Feedback

matthias_zarzecki
25. Aug 2014 · 02:48 UTC
It sure is about darkness ;P

Nice idea! Music fits weirdly well.
alvarop
25. Aug 2014 · 03:51 UTC
This is a really cool idea and it worked well during the stream. It is pretty short, but it's all about having a nice coop experience with other people!
oranebeast
25. Aug 2014 · 04:58 UTC
Another topnotch game by TobiasW
Wertle
25. Aug 2014 · 05:11 UTC
Well done on creating a networked multiplayer game in 48 hours! I thought this was really a clever way to force people to co-operate and it was intuitive to figure out what the limits were pretty quickly. It gave me fond memories of crystal chronicles :)
talecrafter
25. Aug 2014 · 06:15 UTC
Wonderful idea for coop.
Was the only person playing at this moment but it was still kind of fun, switching between torch and digging.
I like the theme of torch bearers in dark caves.
ratking
25. Aug 2014 · 15:16 UTC
Awesome idea!
fcpfoof
26. Aug 2014 · 09:28 UTC
Ahh, this is so hard ;O. Anyway, I like it ;p.
mrexcessive
26. Aug 2014 · 17:37 UTC
Hi there. Not sure how far one person can get, very hardcore to be so feeble can only hold torch about 5 seconds ;) Great graphics and music, as far as I could get...
IAmSpencer
27. Aug 2014 · 00:26 UTC
man, that's a really good idea, well executed also! Great job man! :)
Accidental Rebel
27. Aug 2014 · 00:30 UTC
Clap clap clap. Played this one with other people from the stream and it was an awesome experience. I like Multiplayer games that does something different and this one is one of them.

The mechanics really force people to team up and coordinate. There are a lot of text that appears on screen but I guess you could say that it adds to the challenge.

Great work!
AtomicVikings
27. Aug 2014 · 00:30 UTC
awesome game! I love me some MIDI! Teamwork! \o/
Mapboy
27. Aug 2014 · 00:32 UTC
Such an amazing co-operative game for 48 hours. Fun gameplay - I wish there were more!
Lokiman
27. Aug 2014 · 02:06 UTC
You decided to do coop game for LD48!? Crazy, just crazy for such a short time but hell yeah, it worked great! ;)
Teejay5
27. Aug 2014 · 08:18 UTC
Once again, I'll never understand how people do networked games in 48 hours. Nice co-op concept and mechanics! I was panicking trying to keep that torch going haha
Colapsydo
27. Aug 2014 · 14:54 UTC
I was alone during my first test but it remains interesting. I had to deal with the torch, mining and bridging, it was some challenge.
I still have to try it with other persons.
udo
27. Aug 2014 · 21:49 UTC
Hehe, we won! :D very nicely done!
Partially Exciting
28. Aug 2014 · 03:11 UTC
This is really fun and well executed! Slightly annoying when someone runs off with the torch, but this engine has a lot of potential.
zatyka
28. Aug 2014 · 05:09 UTC
Online multiplayer in 48 hours is quite remarkable. You nicely implemented a simple, but effect method of encouraging cooperation. No one was on when I played, but I'm going to play through tomorrow with my buddy. I could talk about polish, or more variety, or improving graphics, but I I'm guessing you accomplished what you want to with this entry. Well done sir.
Reyn
28. Aug 2014 · 12:24 UTC
Sigh, corporate network is blocking the world, so I'll check and rate your game tonight. I think most of the multiplayer games are suffering from the 'no one is there' issue, yours seem to at least be playable alone. How does some sort of ludum dare multiplayer game matchmaking thang sound? Everyone with a multiplayer game calls a web method when there is an available player. Raters then have a central place to try out multiplayer games and find people to play with... or something.
JavadocMD
28. Aug 2014 · 20:18 UTC
A very strong entry with beautifully minimalist graphics that perfectly fit the game. And the amount of behind-the-scenes sophistication that must exist to make a multiplayer experience possible pushes this from "cool" to "excellent". The only thing I could possibly hope for is sound effects for the various actions.

Oh, and more levels! ;)
dickpoelen
28. Aug 2014 · 20:47 UTC
At first I was like: this is nice... But then someone else joined and then it was super!
MarekkPie
29. Aug 2014 · 01:56 UTC
Had a blast playing with you on stream!
jimmypaulin
30. Aug 2014 · 15:22 UTC
That was a really interesting experience, I just wish it wasn't a lonely one! Sadly the solo mission was all that was available to me. It was a melancholy kind of feeling, standing there in the dark, the flames of the torch guttering, wondering if my adventure buddy would ever turn up - alas twas not to be and the torch sputtereth it's last ;) Thanks for the memories!
Pavel
02. Sep 2014 · 18:01 UTC
Nice idea
jukimv1986
15. Sep 2014 · 08:08 UTC
There was no one else when I played but it is quite an achievement to create a multiplayer game under 48 hours. Well done!
pansapiens
15. Sep 2014 · 09:46 UTC
Great fun - didn't get to try multiplayer, but I was able to beat it reasonably easily solo.
Sascha
15. Sep 2014 · 19:49 UTC
Great game idea! Loved the mood and the mechanics of the torch and digging/briding through the world. Finished it solo, but it's obvious how this would be even more fun with multiple persons. Great job, especially getting the complete multiplayer code together in a 48h entry!
JonathanG
15. Sep 2014 · 22:46 UTC
This is great! I have no idea who I just played with, but it was a mini adventure full of companionship and sharing the load. It's a good atmosphere too, and the (apparent?) threat of carrying too much and the torch extinguishing is enough to keep it tense!