Nero Is Falling by LeafThief

[raw]
made by LeafThief for LD28 (JAM)
'Nero is Falling' is a Dramatic SciFi Puzzle Game in which you have to see through a network of lies in a limited amount of time.
!Every playthrough the scenario is randomly generated!

Team: @iossif (Code, Design), @leafthief (Art)

=========Setting==========
Long Distance Freighter NERO is out of fuel and Oxygen is running low. The captain and most of the crew have long escaped when you and a few others come to your senses.

Try to find the one escape pod that get's you off of this deathtrap of a spacecraft by talking to people/AIs. You only have a few minutes before the inevitable end...

=========Controls==========
1. Arrow keys to move
2. 'X' to activate
3. Time is running out - get off the ship before the counter reaches 0!

Ratings

Coolness 90% 2
Overall(Jam) 3.60 83
Audio(Jam) 3.75 46
Fun(Jam) 2.83 268
Graphics(Jam) 4.30 44
Humor(Jam) 2.09 337
Innovation(Jam) 3.29 121
Mood(Jam) 3.98 21
Theme(Jam) 3.15 154

Feedback

metkis
17. Dec 2013 · 08:09 UTC
Loved this, very intriguing and reminds me of my entry a tad, but the dialogue seems correct. The movement was a little odd, but once I got used to it, it was fine! Really great looking game as well. One of my favorites so far.
Zerot
17. Dec 2013 · 14:19 UTC
Was quite nice, though it could be a bit more clear on where the pods are.

The music was also quite good.
jdpalmer
17. Dec 2013 · 23:09 UTC
Lovely music and pixel art!
ChuiGum
17. Dec 2013 · 23:12 UTC
Awesome graphics! Love it! Very fun, awesome job
antila
17. Dec 2013 · 23:17 UTC
Well executed and great art!
Aske
17. Dec 2013 · 23:19 UTC
really good game, I managed to escape. Also I really like the social relations :D
auto_suggestion
17. Dec 2013 · 23:41 UTC
I had a vague idea that I was trying to find out which crew member was lying about whether or not they contributed to some crash. I wish I knew what to do, though! It seemed like a lot of effort was put into the mood. Very spacey. Liked the mood a lot.
Several
18. Dec 2013 · 03:36 UTC
I had some trouble early on determining which areas were navigable/passable, and finding all the areas of the ship, and was a regularly distracted by the repeated phrases & mechanical disjointedness of the 'dialogue', but still left feeling quite impressed with this entry. Good job on mood, graphics, pacing, and concept!
porglezomp
19. Dec 2013 · 00:50 UTC
Seems really fun! I was just talking with one of my friends about the Knights and Knaves puzzles a few days ago, so I think I'm going to come back to this one with some paper and try to win.
hoqjed
19. Dec 2013 · 05:48 UTC
I quite liked the art style of this game. I wasn't too keen on having to distinguish who was most likely lying, which pod was the nice choice etc. I think this was most likely due to an information overload of sorts.

All of the information given to me as I played felt somewhat generic such as "Red Terminal B" tells me "John Malkovich is most likely a liar". I mean, after receiving 5 or so bits of this kind of information I was kind of like "I don't give a damn" and I randomly selected an escape pod.

Maybe it was because I didn't have the patience to play the game at the moment, or because the game didn't give me very much incentive to care all that much.

Oddly though, my 3 or 4th random choice actually landed me on the pod that wasn't a deathtrap and I was totally happy... until I realized that it really didn't change anything for me. All the outcomes felt the same.
somepx
19. Dec 2013 · 12:31 UTC
Some excellent pixel art here! Game is very well made: 72h? Sounds impossible for me! :O
madlee
19. Dec 2013 · 12:38 UTC
Art and music were great, as well as the concept. I love that its different each time! The controls were a little wonky, and there were some collision detection issues (walking over walls) but those are minor considering the type of game it is. Well done!
Erik Örjehag
19. Dec 2013 · 17:11 UTC
Amazing detail!
theholychicken
19. Dec 2013 · 21:21 UTC
This is absolutely incredible! The setting, the logical deduction, the music and the pixel art!
If the characters are able to be fleshed out with more time, it'll be perfect.
Very, very well done!
dark_hunter
20. Dec 2013 · 10:11 UTC
Graphics and music really makes the mood! Interesting approach.
popogames
20. Dec 2013 · 10:13 UTC
I like the idea for the theme, but it wasn't innovated upon more. I miss some mechanic of navigation and structure to make the puzzle more appealing. I also became lost when I decided to look for the pods.
TheStolenBattenberg
20. Dec 2013 · 10:13 UTC
Good game, the graphics were good!
Kohijin
20. Dec 2013 · 10:21 UTC
Really captured the mood. Pixelart and portraits were very well done, but for me mixing them didn't work too well. Also the controls are a bit off for diagonal movements and finding out were I could go... Absolutely stunning soundtrack and great story telling.
kibertoad
21. Dec 2013 · 23:08 UTC
sexy art design, great writing. gameplay options feel shallow however. I really wish you would do a more complex finished post-jam version. shit, I'd buy it.
Diptoman
22. Dec 2013 · 08:50 UTC
Really, really awesome character pixel art. Loved the fact that the scenario is different every time! The Truth-Lie approach was really fitting here. The music gave a nice touch. All in all, really polished, I loved everything about it!
Gamelabbers
22. Dec 2013 · 10:51 UTC
A 2 man team?! incredible :D I love the faces... very well done.

The music, don't get me wrong, is really nice and ambient. And the sound is a perfect match for the pixel art. I love the subtle breathing in the background!! Although I am sure there are ways you can use the music to add a sense of urgency an claustrofobia, like the first Descent game. It's a bit more up tempo and has a nice beat to keap you sharp. Although, for a logic game... perhaps ambient is not such a bad choice after all :) And, yeh look at who's talking, I did the music for a game where the house is on fire, probably the most laid back track POSSIBLE :D
ViliX
22. Dec 2013 · 19:13 UTC
Tricky idea :) 5/5 for mood and innovation
rnlf
23. Dec 2013 · 00:36 UTC
It looks so excellent! Really sweet!
BradleySmith
23. Dec 2013 · 00:37 UTC
Holy shit this is beautiful, one of the best and most interesting Jam entries I've played yet. Rated highly!
Todd Luke
23. Dec 2013 · 00:43 UTC
this was amazing for only 72 hours. the portraits, music, and environment really set the tone. i admittedly found the escape pod by trial and error rather than deducing who was telling the truth.
jacklehamster
23. Dec 2013 · 01:43 UTC
Excellent way to draw you in! At first, I was enjoying the nice ambiance, without really knowing what to do. I got into a pod and ditched my crew by chance, then it tells how I died, but one of the crew managed to escape. Got it! I'll start over.
blackmagic
23. Dec 2013 · 12:50 UTC
Nice !
The art & music are real good.
It seems the other crew aren't afraid of the incoming explosion altought ^^.
The mood reminded me of a mix between the cluedo and the browergame Mush.
rico.albe
23. Dec 2013 · 14:16 UTC
While the art looks great, it should be more clear what is navigable and what isn't, because that is confusing sometimes.

The dialogue is a bit off-putting, as everything is about whether people lie or don't in a rather direct and artificial way.

I did somehow guess the right pod on the first attempt (I later tried other options just to see the difference) but I went for a hunch, and I think the game was thought to be played a bit more, like some people are saying, with pen and paper.

Also, somehow felt they were all lying, as I was the only one actively trying to get out of the ship.
MaTX
23. Dec 2013 · 16:44 UTC
Polished, but has some control issues.
lotusgame
24. Dec 2013 · 23:44 UTC
Excellent game ! Good story, graphics, music.. Well done :)
loxo
25. Dec 2013 · 16:25 UTC
Awesome game, I like everything about it. My second attempt was successful and I survived. Some more animations inside the ship would have been nice.
Denis Chakarov
26. Dec 2013 · 09:00 UTC
Definitely one of the best games in LD! Great art, sound and mood. Amazing job!
van noctar
28. Dec 2013 · 12:50 UTC
Wao! I'm dazed!! :D