The Invention of Colour by bach

[raw]
made by bach for LD22 (COMPO)
"The Invention of Colour"

This is interactive storytelling. It doesn't play like a traditional game. You'll follow "Alrion" through his quest to find "shimmers" as he doesn't know what colours are. I aimed to create something that is engrossing and takes the player on a journey. Just enjoy not having to do much and expect a few minutes of atmospheric storytelling. It's intentional low level involvement.

There are two ways (literally) to finish the game. Just keep going.

Hope you enjoy this little trippy & eerie plunge into the heart of a bizarre world.

PLEASE NOTE: This experience requires AUDIO (best enjoyed with headphones), otherwise the game will not make sense. Controls are also explained in-game: just use the arrow keys to walk around. This should run on Windows, Mac & Linux. The only thing you need is a JAVA runtime.

Oh and yes. There is a kitten in the game.

Made with libgdx, reaper & gimp.

UPDATE: Added a complete walk-through video of the game. If for whatever reason you can't play the game this should give you a fairly accurate impression of the experience!

Ratings

Coolness 80% 2
Overall 3.16 138
Audio 3.98 6
Community 3.30 76
Fun 1.96 515
Graphics 4.22 10
Humor 1.57 438
Innovation 2.66 264
Mood 3.94 10
Theme 3.39 120

Feedback

Kitch
19. Dec 2011 · 06:16 UTC
Enjoyed it!
Permanent7
19. Dec 2011 · 09:05 UTC
The atmosphere is great. I kinda wish there was some gameplay though. I had the same problem with my game also so I'm not really one to talk.
kalle_h
19. Dec 2011 · 09:15 UTC
Bach is truly an artist.
Oye Beto
19. Dec 2011 · 09:25 UTC
I loved the pixel grid and the art in general.

The game is more about watching than playing (like mine), so I feel like I can't criticize you for the lack of interactivity :P
AD-Edge
19. Dec 2011 · 09:39 UTC
Very cool, also liking the visual style. Wishing there was perhaps a bit more to do, or even a couple of jumping puzzels or something, but perhaps it doesnt need it. Good you kept it simple though, since this is a LD afterall!

Found both endings too :)
oh_cripes
19. Dec 2011 · 17:20 UTC
I liked the second ending, it made me feel weirdly uncomfortable to be directing Alrion against his will.
marudziik
19. Dec 2011 · 20:12 UTC
I find a storytelling game better if it's simple, so lack of gameplay wasn't that bad, actually. Good entry, and some very nice artwork.
revilossor
19. Dec 2011 · 20:44 UTC
This is really good. Loved the pixels, and the sound really sets the mood. You should do more.
mes
20. Dec 2011 · 05:25 UTC
whoa, didn't expect it to be so trippy. awesome job.
jeffz
20. Dec 2011 · 09:52 UTC
great use of colour!
cakemonitor
20. Dec 2011 · 15:31 UTC
Wonderful! It could have used more blue though :p
There should be separate voting categories for 'fun' and 'gameplay' ... this game is a lot of fun, but there's (intentionally) little-to-no gameplay to it and I would like to reflect that in my scoring.
aaronsnoswell
20. Dec 2011 · 16:14 UTC
Great job Bach!
Pierrec
20. Dec 2011 · 20:57 UTC
As a non native english speaker, I didn't understood anything after "I feel alone" ^^. The voice was too weird. I still appreciated the atmosphere : very nice job!
🎤 bach
20. Dec 2011 · 21:15 UTC
Thanks so much for playing everyone! :)

@Pierrec: not just you.. Working on an enhanced version with sub-titles. Unless you use headphones it's pretty hard to hear it properly.
arielsan
21. Dec 2011 · 11:36 UTC
Great work bach, as kalle_h said, you are an artist.
increpare
21. Dec 2011 · 22:26 UTC
bit slow for my liking
stefano_ninja
22. Dec 2011 · 00:52 UTC
Loved the look!
Shigor
22. Dec 2011 · 15:17 UTC
Excellent mood and very good art and audio, but no game. Base idea is great, but I would't dare to call this interactive... because "interactivity" consists of either holding left or right cursors key for long enough (well, maybe you can change your mind after going left for too long)
SonnyBone
23. Dec 2011 · 09:33 UTC
GREAT work with the audio. Not really a game, but a great display of art!
vubuntu
23. Dec 2011 · 12:05 UTC
Not very much to play, but graphics and sounds are really amazing.
angrygeometry
23. Dec 2011 · 18:39 UTC
oh this was great! dark and beautiful, and the audio is on another level. i loved the whole experience too. really really nice game man. good job.
Cell
23. Dec 2011 · 19:30 UTC
5 stars all the way, amazing game :D
Cosr
24. Dec 2011 · 04:37 UTC
The audio really made this game. The graphics were good, the narrative was pretty basic, but the audio, voice and music, really added so much to the atmosphere of the game. And the atmosphere was great.

The sound was really well done. I currently have the game still running on the credit screen and am listening to the sweet noisy music.
Make A Game
27. Dec 2011 · 20:37 UTC
The art, the sound, the whole atmosphere is gorgeous! I really enjoyed the poetic stroll in a quest to find the shimmering pixels, despite the lack of a more active gameplay experience.
Today I learnt that Bach is also an accomplished pixel artist! :P
Congratulations.
Tom 7
29. Dec 2011 · 03:22 UTC
Now I need a psychiactric evaluation :-(
ScreamRawr
29. Dec 2011 · 04:44 UTC
Amazing. Truly amazing. Good Job.
Canyon
04. Jan 2012 · 09:34 UTC
Really great work, I admire your skills.
Before I go into my main problem with this game, I want to say how brilliantly the mood and feel is conveyed through art, sound, and theme.

The sound design and the character design matches the world, he is born of that world, like dead twigs. A world with life sucked out of it, a world without colour.
The sound is abstract but

I think this game would be more interesting if the mechanics
were in harmony with the concept.

The mechanic - you walk in a direction until the game ends.

The game mechanics fall flat for me. This isn't really a game.

I saw screen shots of this and was really looking forward to 'playing' this game.

I think you can create a game with this kind of high concept, brilliant art and sound design, but also compelling gameplay.

I really enjoyed this, and I think it might seem arbitrary to pick on this otherwise brilliant entry because of its lack of gameplay. Because in the end why does it matter? It is what it is.

But, I could have put a paper weight on the right arrow and 'watched' the game as a short film, and it would have been more enjoyable
(Actually this is easy to achieve, just hit the right arrow and then click on another window and the character will keep walking).

As soon as you have the ability to control the character and then do nothing with it, that is a waste of the mediums strengths.