Ten Seconds To Home by MrSecretUnlock

made by MrSecretUnlock for LD27 (COMPO)

This is a time-travel text adventure based on the idea that you can visit ten different time zones but only spend a given second in history in each one.

There's no audio and I'm not an artist but the main reason for the text approach was it interested me when I had the game idea. Proving that a game's structural logic is solid through text only is quite an intriguing tool imo.

The game's very simple once you work it out. I didn't work on it as much as I would have liked due to other commitments over the weekend - only did about 18 hours in total. It needs a lot more work and testing really. but, hey, I'm sure lots of entries are like that.

Disclaimer - Mac and Linux builds are provided blind so let me know if they don't work (and if you can see the problem, even better.)

Windows	https://www.dropbox.com/s/rtxsdxhug96fxq7/10sec_Win.zip
OS/X	https://www.dropbox.com/s/3dxvprp07qbb7gv/10sec_Mac.zip
Linux	https://www.dropbox.com/s/4r1u52x4sebrskk/10sec_Linux.zip
Web	http://www.redphantomgames.com/LD27/LD27.html
Source	https://www.dropbox.com/s/wt3xa2atzlac6ky/Source.zip
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-27/?action=preview&uid=27405

Ratings

Coolness	62%	3
Overall	2.78	820

Audio	1.44	937
Fun	2.37	972
Graphics	1.73	1146
Humor	1.58	912
Innovation	2.67	787
Mood	3.11	282
Theme	3.39	328

Feedback

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

26. Aug 2013 · 01:54 UTC

Submitted with 3 minutes to go. Had to kick the shit out of Unity for half-an-hour to get deployment working.

Terrabyte

26. Aug 2013 · 10:49 UTC

Suggestion: Unity Web player is unavailable on Linux, so if you provide a linux build, you'll increase your audience slightly.

dekart

26. Aug 2013 · 11:17 UTC

Good match to the theme, i think.

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

26. Aug 2013 · 11:46 UTC

Linux and Mac builds added (untested by me).

LiamJPeters

26. Aug 2013 · 12:01 UTC

Gotta love a a time-travel text adventure! :)

small trouble

26. Aug 2013 · 12:15 UTC

Interesting idea which matches the theme very well. Writing is quite good.

leedo

26. Aug 2013 · 12:33 UTC

I wonder if it would have been doable with twine

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

26. Aug 2013 · 14:02 UTC

Yeah, maybe Twine. Only had a quick look at it before. Certainly was a pain in the ass editing xml and getting the logic right (well, almost).

ibilon

26. Aug 2013 · 15:37 UTC

I've tried the linux version, I went to the first era, I returned to the void but could go to the previous one, then I pressed the space key and stuff went and leaved the screen.

ellipticaldoor

26. Aug 2013 · 15:59 UTC

Good gameplay design for a text based game.

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

26. Aug 2013 · 16:24 UTC

@ibilon - Yeah, ok, problem with keys. Thanks. Just use the mouse and click the buttons and you should be fine.

PTSnoop

26. Aug 2013 · 16:58 UTC

Well written, and fits the theme very well. I kinda got stuck though - I found the medical dart, but I never found any injured, dead or dying people anywhere in Time to use it on, and never saw anything else useful. Did I miss something?

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

26. Aug 2013 · 17:18 UTC

Yeah. Some of the clues are a bit subtle because it's mostly first-pass text. (SPOILER --- The first step is to see the Roman connection.)

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

27. Aug 2013 · 20:12 UTC

Have updated builds with:
Fix game completion stopper bug.
A couple of typos in the text.
Changed font to a free one. (Not sure if there was an issue using the default Unity one but done just in case.)

Darien

29. Aug 2013 · 10:20 UTC

Excellent use of the theme! I really like your idea of ten discrete seconds rather than a single ten-second period. A bit of Chrono Trigger here, yes?

The very first puzzle -- the Roman bit you allude to in an earlier comment -- is by far the hardest in the game. Once you're through that, it's pretty straightforward.

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

30. Aug 2013 · 02:01 UTC

@Darien Thanks. Obviously had no time for gameplay balancing. Puzzles and text were all a first-pass job. So thanks for the feedback. Hopefully will develop the game further in future.

Reyn

05. Sep 2013 · 11:54 UTC

Hi, I'm missing something, you are going to have to spell out what 'see the roman connection' means :-O I cannot use the DDD or the dart in the roman time. Thanks!

The Evil Cult

05. Sep 2013 · 12:01 UTC

Nice one. Only issue I had was that I used the medical dart on the guy before I could pick up the papers, then couldn't get them after that so had to restart. Very nice take on the theme, and fun to play. Good work :)

X-0r

05. Sep 2013 · 12:24 UTC

Unable to get any further than the medical dart. Travelled everywhere, even to that museum, etc. There is nothing to use the dart on, no way to find any other equipment part, nothing to use the DDD on. Is the order of visits even relevant?

X-0r

05. Sep 2013 · 12:36 UTC

Ah. Solved it. Spoiler(?) You *can* use the DDD in order to have an effect.

Reyn

05. Sep 2013 · 12:51 UTC

I assume someone is suppose to die when you use the DDD ? So that you can use the dart ? Still doesn't work :(

🎤 MrSecretUnlock

09. Sep 2013 · 10:19 UTC

(SPOILER) OK. First step is to use the DDD to interrupt the fighting Romans so that there is no skeleton and hence no museum in present day. (Apologies for the subtlety of it all.) And, the medical dart is a bit of a red herring at the beginning - I didn't have time to lock it away until later.

JaJ

16. Sep 2013 · 20:28 UTC

Nicely polished and moody.