Lucid Journey by Purplescape

[raw]
made by Purplescape for LD27 (JAM)
Journey to solve a series of visions. Use the mouse to play.

This game is abstract. There is a way to complete all 18 levels, but you will have to experiment to figure out how. The level titles are hints.

Post-Compo Version - Please just rate the original version
Adds extra hints, increases player and object speeds, switches the first level with an easier one, and some graphic changes. Try it out if you'd like, it is more user friendly.
Now updated with easier object movement, a hint button, and some more graphic changes.

Created by Purplescape
Music by dactylopus

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall(Jam) 2.96 361
Audio(Jam) 2.94 258
Fun(Jam) 2.50 452
Graphics(Jam) 3.13 325
Humor(Jam) 1.79 438
Innovation(Jam) 3.31 149
Mood(Jam) 3.35 138
Theme(Jam) 3.13 270

Feedback

Nerlin
27. Aug 2013 路 04:34 UTC
Interesting, but it's hard to recognize what exactly player needs to do. Also, 10 seconds sometimes just not enough to perform an action.
lordjosephdeburg
27. Aug 2013 路 16:18 UTC
Hey purple this looks pretty cool, any hints for the first area? I am not sure what to do with the rock
馃帳 Purplescape
27. Aug 2013 路 19:13 UTC
Thanks for the feedback, Nerlin! I agree, I need to work on how to give more hints and feedback to the player. 10 seconds should be plenty for some levels and just enough for others, but maybe a little too close.

lordjosephdeburg you need to move the rock to the right on the other side of the pond. The idea is that it blocks the wind from making the water ripples.
archaeometrician
28. Aug 2013 路 04:20 UTC
Good concept, but yeah I need some hint, I couldnt have complete it without reading your comment :)
Asar Dhandala
28. Aug 2013 路 05:23 UTC
Amazing work! Loved your concept.
onzephyr
28. Aug 2013 路 05:42 UTC
interesting game. I really enjoyed the visuals. not sure I always understood what to do. but nonetheless I kept trying to figure it out. Well made.
BlackBulletIV
28. Aug 2013 路 06:01 UTC
Good music and interesting graphics, but 10 seconds just isn't enough. The player doesn't move fast enough and the collision with objects seems buggy.
johnfn
28. Aug 2013 路 06:12 UTC
This is a pretty neat game, though I felt like the theme was working against you - I wish I had more time to figure things out. I liked the abstract nature of the game, but felt like it was a double edged sword because it could become frustrating at times. Still, not bad work!
sP0CkEr2
28. Aug 2013 路 13:36 UTC
great use of theme -- im trippin
Epiphane
29. Aug 2013 路 04:03 UTC
Very atmospheric, experimental game. I sort of liked it, but it got a little frustrating when I couldn't figure out what to do. The controls didn't really help... it's not totally clear when you can push objects and when you can't.
hoqjed
30. Aug 2013 路 08:33 UTC
I thought the game is almost under a sort of guise, like it's almost trying a bit too hard to be something it's not. That something I would think it's trying to be is cerebral, meaningful, maybe enlightening. But it doesn't really hit any of those marks properly to me.

Here's where I think the game took a bit of an odd route for how you labeled it. It essentially boils down to similar issues some point and click games tend to have, and that issue is completely relying on player trial and error to solve the puzzles the game presents. Now the game is supposed to be abstract, but I think in reality it's pretty far from that. The gameplay isn't very abstract at all, it has very concrete ways of solving the puzzles and there's no other way to go about it. Dressing up the game with surreal art doesn't make the game itself abstract.

Now, all that picky word selection stuff aside, the game just isn't ultimately very rewarding as an experience. There's either a very obvious solution or there isn't. And when there isn't an obvious solution it quickly becomes a frustrating affair figuring out what to do.

As a plus though the art and music weren't bad and provided the nice sort of surreal/ambient thing I think you were going for. My main suggestion is trying to get the way you play the game similar to the way you experience the other parts of the experience. Best of luck to you in your future projects!
馃帳 Purplescape
30. Aug 2013 路 11:56 UTC
Thanks for all the comments! I have created a post-compo version of the game which adds extra hints, increases player and object speeds, switches the first level with an easier one, and some graphic changes. Try it out if you'd like, it is more user friendly.

hogjed, I certainly see what you mean about it not hitting the marks properly. It was supposed to be like dreams that require some interpretation, or a recurring dream that you do differently each time and finally "solve". The titles were hints but ultimately too vague to help as much as I thought.

I understand that the gameplay isn't abstract in that there is a definite solution to the puzzle. It was supposed to be abstract in that you have to think about what you are seeing in a somewhat abstract way to solve the puzzle. For example, you see closed flowers and a moon, and the level is titled "Bloom". You might first think to click on the flowers to make them bloom or try moving the moon to touch the flowers, but you in fact have to raise the moon because the flowers bloom at the moon's rise. In the post-compo version that level's title has been changed to "Moonrise" with the added hint below of "Shine light on the flowers." I wonder if this makes it easier to play but takes away some of the abstract thinking and interpretation you had to do before.

Thank you all for taking the time to provide feedback as it helps me to understand what the game feels like from an outside perspective.
Dry Tree
31. Aug 2013 路 07:49 UTC
nice graphics and music but I couldn't make sense of the controls - for example on the eclipse level I just wanted to move the moon towards the sun - but sometimes it went straight up off the top of the screen, sometimes it went to the middle and stopped for no reason, sometimes it went straight down... and I felt like I wasn't choosing any of those actions
gmaker
31. Aug 2013 路 13:46 UTC
cool idea! very interesting! good job! ;)
bitserum
31. Aug 2013 路 14:07 UTC
I really like visuals and idea but its hard to guess whats the best way of moving objects and very hard to accomplish anything.
Arrow-x
31. Aug 2013 路 16:03 UTC
very cool graphics .... yet need Instructions
KhaoTom
31. Aug 2013 路 16:06 UTC
It's got a cool mood and really nice visual style. Got stuck on the pillars level.
Morusque
31. Aug 2013 路 17:13 UTC
I made it to the end of the compo version without hints, although the controls on some levels seem weird or difficult to use. I liked some puzzles like the "bloom" one.
ramoncb
31. Aug 2013 路 23:05 UTC
I think that maybe too much hints can break some of the experience
I like the way the game was made

plus, have a mysterious atmosphere

(sorry my bad english)
Jedi
02. Sep 2013 路 05:03 UTC
I agree with ramoncb, some levels NEED hints (the color change on the pillars is too subtle - especially for me, as I have slight colorblindness) but having each level spell out the exact goal felt insulting. Maybe you could offer a hint on a button press, or after x tries, or just on the levels that need them.

I played through the post-compo version, and got as far as the pulse level (which never responded in the way I expected, in either version) on the compo version.

I think your use of a series of very simple puzzles / games is PERFECT for Ludum Dare! Although, I do agree with what Morusque said about the controls.
For instance, I have to attempt the eclipse level a few times but it doesn't feel like it was my fault for not getting it the first couple of times, so as a player, I feel like I'm being punished unfairly.

I appreciate the changes you made post-compo and I'm VERY impressed with what you finished during the jam!
Overall - AWESOME!
Jiggawatt
02. Sep 2013 路 13:56 UTC
It's kind of awkward to move any objects around.
馃帳 Purplescape
02. Sep 2013 路 21:13 UTC
Thanks for the comments! I really appreciate it.

I've updated the post-compo version to include easier object movement and a hint button.

Jedi, thank you for your detailed feedback. I added a glow to the pillars so that the color isn't as important now. I think you're right about the hints being too obvious sometimes, so I moved the hints to a hint button that you can press if you're wondering what to do. With the updated controls, you should now be able to simply drag the moon to the sun in the eclipse level.
kibertoad
02. Sep 2013 路 22:29 UTC
majestic. awesome art and concept. lots of variety in gameplay.
only trouble is finding the borders of active zones. other then that one of the most polished game experiences I've seen in this jam.
BMacIntosh
03. Sep 2013 路 01:47 UTC
Nice atmosphere. I got stuck on "Pulse". I solved "Pillars" and one other one (I forget which) without really knowing what was going on. Everything else has been said.
theholychicken
03. Sep 2013 路 02:04 UTC
Beautiful spiritual journey... This game is wonderful!
Lokarunith
05. Sep 2013 路 11:25 UTC
Very intresting idea and moody game. I think that in the post-compo the hints are too explicit, they should help you figure out the puzzle instead of telling exactly what to do.