I Remember Alice by Linus Lindberg

[raw]
made by Linus Lindberg for LD29 (COMPO)
"I Remember Alice" is a game about love, life and work.

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Right Arrow Key to move right
S to scale the window
Any other key to interact

Ratings

Coolness 93% 2
Overall 3.66 167
Audio 2.95 435
Fun 2.72 826
Graphics 3.97 113
Humor 2.64 415
Innovation 3.40 328
Mood 4.16 24
Theme 3.37 459

Feedback

PaperBlurt
28. Apr 2014 · 08:37 UTC
This looks better than real life!
kiririn51
28. Apr 2014 · 08:45 UTC
Loved the story, even if the theme was not there in a literal form I could find it by just understanding the main character's life, awesome little game.
headchant
28. Apr 2014 · 20:00 UTC
Excellent execution. Simple but powerful! I like.
DustyStylus
28. Apr 2014 · 20:01 UTC
To anyone playing this, persevere. :D Very 'art house', but an important message in there. (a weeeeeeeeeee bit of variation in the sound would've been nice, but I understand the repetitive intention)
TheMorfeus
28. Apr 2014 · 20:01 UTC
Gets too monotonous too quickly, but graphics are awesome
Johan Eklund
28. Apr 2014 · 20:05 UTC
Beautiful!
TomBoogaart
28. Apr 2014 · 20:07 UTC
i really dig the art man, I liked the reflections on the ground, looked very, uhm.. reflectionary
great color palette too
lamphj
28. Apr 2014 · 20:07 UTC
Cool storyline and graphics! Well done :)
Catmoo
28. Apr 2014 · 20:08 UTC
I really enjoyed that, definitely similar to a lot of people out there. I think it fit the theme really well just in a not so obvious way.

Also love your animations and art, just lovely, really fits the mood of the game. Happy I stuck with it till the end with his monotonous life.
SenorDiablo
28. Apr 2014 · 20:10 UTC
that hit pretty hard. The repetition really got to me and reminds me of days like this. I really liked the ending though. Cheers for an awesome game:) have a good day
mihaivdev
28. Apr 2014 · 20:12 UTC
Nice but sad.
pighead10
28. Apr 2014 · 20:14 UTC
Some nice art and a good mood and message generated, but I'm a little fed up with all the sentimental/philosophical/"ambien non game" games on Ludum Dare. Not fun to play unfortunately.
Kep
28. Apr 2014 · 20:34 UTC
Great, heartfelt story. 5/5
I've very glad to have played this game. (will share)

(Thanks for your kind comments on my Mimic game too.)
DesignerNap
28. Apr 2014 · 21:14 UTC
really enjoyed this. good work.
PriorBlue
28. Apr 2014 · 21:36 UTC
Yeah this was exactly my game jam weekend. :) Very funny game!
baboum
29. Apr 2014 · 11:04 UTC
A great story, and a nice way to tell it. Moved me, thank you for that!
Pierrec
29. Apr 2014 · 11:59 UTC
Nice. But it could have been shorter
frankd0331
29. Apr 2014 · 20:02 UTC
An enjoyable experience. I could relate to the story, and I thought you chose a good way to deliver it.
ActionRemix
29. Apr 2014 · 20:11 UTC
Twist ending?
Snoother
29. Apr 2014 · 20:11 UTC
Aww I love these kind of introverted romance stories. And the game mechanic is just ingenious -- perfect for the narrative.

The only downside were a few grammatical errors; stuff that's easily fixed, though.
Snoother
29. Apr 2014 · 21:03 UTC
I just want to quantify my opinion and say this is most definitely a highlight of the compo.
alwaysinbeta
29. Apr 2014 · 22:12 UTC
Lovely art and writing. The soundtrack worked too. I liked the ending.
sknoslo
30. Apr 2014 · 00:50 UTC
Love the art and the subtle application of the theme.

I had a feeling it was going to go on forever to prove to me that, like the character, I need to do something with my life lol. I'm glad I stuck with it for the happy ending! Nicely done.
josefnpat
30. Apr 2014 · 03:14 UTC
Nice story! Enchanting, and the music, although minimal, really works. Nice job.
nonentheless
30. Apr 2014 · 09:25 UTC
Amazing job
crocantidepollo
30. Apr 2014 · 16:44 UTC
Deep ;)
iambored2006
30. Apr 2014 · 17:32 UTC
I liked the little details in the story. Added this to my collection. Great job!
Robber
30. Apr 2014 · 23:55 UTC
kind of a hilarious nightmare...caught myself going on autopilot through the whole eat-sleep-work process after a while... :) great job
Bashosha
30. Apr 2014 · 23:56 UTC
I like your game so much :)
mattrified
30. Apr 2014 · 23:58 UTC
Better than Notch's Drowning in Problems.
shasharala
01. May 2014 · 00:07 UTC
That was well executed and nicely polished. It was also touching. I recently underwent a large change in my life as well after starting to convince myself that every day was dream because nothing was changing.
Thank you for that reminder that going back and entering those 'comfort zones' again may not actually be for the best.
dznemotion
01. May 2014 · 00:22 UTC
This game show us the importance of the history for the game. Greate job!
Sparrow
01. May 2014 · 00:22 UTC
Excellent, don't change anything! ;)
I found myself commenting on the narrative and feeling for him. Good job.
indigofiz
01. May 2014 · 01:18 UTC
Somehow the theme came across really well. Great job!
Bruno Massa
01. May 2014 · 05:41 UTC
hahahah annoyingly good! congrats man!
danialhyatt
01. May 2014 · 14:05 UTC
our games kinda go hand-in-hand. excellent writing! i loved the routine. good work
Danvil
01. May 2014 · 16:26 UTC
Very good!
ioboi
01. May 2014 · 19:29 UTC
What a meaningful game! Really nice work there :)
wdebowicz
01. May 2014 · 20:35 UTC
A bit to long for me, but I like the idea :-) nice art!
Jed T.
01. May 2014 · 23:25 UTC
I like how a simple game can be so moving. Made me think about my life myself.

Here's the interesting part, what I saw is me eating, working and sleeping over and over. And yet I daydreamed in-game! I mean I dreamed of long walks by the river, long walks in the rain.

I hope it would rainy season soon so I can just take a walk :)
Clavus
02. May 2014 · 00:00 UTC
It was ok. Story didn't really grab me that much. Good effort though.
sP0CkEr2
02. May 2014 · 05:19 UTC
I cant believe I played thru the whole thing! it must have been good - great job!
Caridorc
02. May 2014 · 14:29 UTC
In depth review of this game here: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2014/05/02/some-ludum-dare-gameplay/comment-page-1/#comment-239347
Catman
02. May 2014 · 16:46 UTC
Simple but nice art, it really is a bit repetitive but since that's the point of the experience I'll close one eye. ;)
Oddly Shaped Pixels
02. May 2014 · 21:22 UTC
Nice concept, interesting idea but too long for me, got bored although I tried to fight it. "Music" doesnt help either although it's made to serve the concept.
baykush_figtree
03. May 2014 · 01:24 UTC
First of all, this game wasn't fun. Not at all.
But then, if it was fun, i think i would be missing the point.

It's cruel and it's true. I would give you five starts for "Reality being slapped in your stupid face", but since there is no such a thing like that in Ludum Dare, you'll get my points for mood.
DrPrettyPatty
03. May 2014 · 02:53 UTC
Great idea! I found it really interesting how as it went along, the repetitive eat/sleep/work actions kind of melted out of my attention just like they did for the character!
Crowbeak
04. May 2014 · 03:27 UTC
I like the metaphor of the monotonous gameplay. I ended up making up melodies for the music myself and humming while I played. The graphics are lovely.
Romko Pidstryhach
04. May 2014 · 18:27 UTC
Nice story and cool way to tell it.
raulincze
04. May 2014 · 19:17 UTC
All... these... feels...

Awesome work! Amazing experience.
Rick Hoppmann
04. May 2014 · 23:44 UTC
WOW! Very touching!
I think the universal story and the monotone gameplay and audio are key when it comes to evoking emotions.

This is a very impressive piece and so far my favorite!
dector
05. May 2014 · 00:20 UTC
Little bit long. But I interested to see ending.
Ryan up in here
05. May 2014 · 01:28 UTC
Eventually I was just doing the tasks without thinking, just focusing on the story, just like the main character. I would put this on a "games you should play before you die" list.
DDRKirby(ISQ)
05. May 2014 · 02:38 UTC
Every day the same dream...

Simple, but effective.
jeffz
05. May 2014 · 03:23 UTC
Very cool, but once I've walked three times, I think you could do some fade transitions to the eating and sleeping and text change. I went to the end anyway. Well done!
LarryChupacabra
05. May 2014 · 04:21 UTC
Experimenting with giving a message or telling a definitive story can be touch and go. But this hit a decent medium. Maybe toss in a couple memories in the background, and I think it would be set. That or pulling a stanley parable and going to an alternate reality or something.

Check out the rest of my comments in my Ludum Dare showcase video:
http://youtu.be/ZqtwPW9QMLk
conormn
05. May 2014 · 05:33 UTC
Very touching. Loved the story and execution.
SecondDimension
05. May 2014 · 11:21 UTC
Great game and very subtle, the art work and story fitted very well.
Pitoum
05. May 2014 · 12:31 UTC
Loved it. Thanks!
Just some suggestions:
Maybe you could make the distance between the assets smaller each time in order to make the player feel the vicious cycle.
At some point, it could be boring if nothing change at all event if it's the point. You want to keep the player to play.
And at the end, put the title of the game in big :) It would be so arty! <3

Graphics are very very very cool (i'm so jealous I can't even draw an apple)!
VictoryGarden
06. May 2014 · 02:42 UTC
This game nicely executes the common narrative of "a nice young man chases a more lively counterpart and, inspired by her, builds a more energetic life for himself." I've played a number of interactive fiction pieces in this vein, and this is one of the best-executed that I've seen--great job.

I feel, however, that given the well-trodden path of the narrative, you might have taken a few more chances. The writing for this piece is polished, but I would have liked to have seen more variation and subtlety from standard tropes--why is it always foreign travel? And ironically, yes, the main character DOES need money to do that (I ended up just walking off of the screen in the end, BTW--I don't know if that's a bug; I just wanted to know if something would happen if I bypassed the tickets).

Unfortunately, I cannot say too much more. The audio, the visuals, the execution, all of these things are very nice. It was well-tuned. However, a game about agency that ends in a lack of player agency, and a subversion of its own money plot, seems like it could use some tweaking in order to resonate better for itself.

Thanks for the game, and good luck in the compo!
jtpup0
06. May 2014 · 16:44 UTC
The feels... oh the feels, Loved the game; I felt like pressing left arrow to go back so many times when the Alice narration started appearing
AutumnGuy
07. May 2014 · 07:41 UTC
Great execution of art and story!
Cezel_
07. May 2014 · 13:27 UTC
Great job!
JavadocMD
08. May 2014 · 04:30 UTC
Heart-felt, simple, and beautiful. An excellent take on the theme and a nice little story.
Gwinnell
08. May 2014 · 21:33 UTC
Reminds me of a game I played a few years ago called "every day the same dream" which you possibly reference once in the game text. :) Makes me think a bit about my own life, which I guess is the point!
TaoPhoenix
09. May 2014 · 22:17 UTC
Yeah, this was a subtle entry.

P.s. I am getting an error.
"
error during shader init:ERROR: 0:3: 'highp' : precision is not supported in fragment shader"

And I'm not sure what "s" does. In my Windows version it started changing the overall size of the game screen.
zebi24
10. May 2014 · 23:30 UTC
Nice strong story message. Music fits well, it creates nice melancholic mood. Very powerful game.
pinkmonkeyhead
15. May 2014 · 23:26 UTC
I loved how it ended :)
GFM
15. May 2014 · 23:47 UTC
You made me smile, by the end. =D

The song loop was kinda short and got annoying after a while. But, other than that, awesome game! I really liked it.

P.S.: A comment got me thinking... if the short song loop was intentional, it's awesome! WOW! (still, annoying... but that isn't a problem anymore XD)
Andrei Müller
18. May 2014 · 17:53 UTC
A nice entry on this compo! More people should play this game, the message it passes is very uplifting!
Jeremias
18. May 2014 · 20:32 UTC
Simple but effective in creating the mood with the minimalistic visuals and controls. You achieved your goal.
iambored2006
19. May 2014 · 04:58 UTC
Hey! I mentioned your game in this post- http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2014/05/18/10-games-that-resonated-with-me/ , along with some feedback. I'd love to hear what you have to say!
jsmars
19. May 2014 · 06:51 UTC
Great entry! Top notch for mood! Way too true! Only unrealistic part is the ending, most people just dream about change but never really get there.
Indie Squid
19. May 2014 · 12:20 UTC
I really liked the game! In my opinion it's one of my the best entries from this Ludum Dare. Minimalistic art, music and controls work really well with the story (which kept me interested until the end).