LudumData

The Last Question by Terribly Awesome Games

[raw]
made by Terribly Awesome Games for LD 39 (JAM)

One question follows mankind through the eons: can entropy be reversed and the universe saved from inevitable dissipation?

the only controls are clicking and the enter key.

theme: "running out of power."

(this is an audio-visual experience, if possible please use headphones)

by CAC and KCH, Ludum Dare 39 (2017)

Multivac 1.jpg

Wandering Mind.jpg

Souls Fading.jpg

Update log as of August 15, 2017:

Stopped subtitle text from disappearing

Added music fading between scenes

Allowed for multiple 4:3 aspect ratio resolutions

Small puzzle tweaks to reduce difficulty in response to user feedback

A BIG thanks to everyone who has played our game so far! We love hearing your feedback. It was so much fun making this game and we're glad to hear that people are enjoying it!

Windows https://terriblyawesomegames.itch.io/the-last-question
macOS https://terriblyawesomegames.itch.io/the-last-question
HTML5 (web) https://terriblyawesomegames.itch.io/the-last-question-webgl
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/the-last-question-2

Ratings

Overall 59th 4.038⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 426th 3.148⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 129th 3.63⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 30th 4.259⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 186th 4.111⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Audio 21th 4.231⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1th 4.63⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 38🗨️

Feedback

eptwalabha
01. Aug 2017 · 18:41 UTC
Nice experience!
I got in the mood right away, the work made on the art & audio is terrific.
Very interesting game.
xaedes
01. Aug 2017 · 18:44 UTC
Hi fellow "The Last Question"-inspired!
Your interpretation of it was supreme! I especially liked the player integration. Basically making him reverse the entropy, awesome. Perfect gameplay for this story.
Theme of course perfectly fits, graphics and sounds where well made and fitting. Good scene cuts.
I had a lot of fun playing it.

Awesome!
VarelseGames
02. Aug 2017 · 04:25 UTC
Really enjoyed the mood you set, the art, audio, and story worked really well together
Ltven0mI
02. Aug 2017 · 04:47 UTC
I really enjoyed it. Everything seemed to fit very well together
wesley werner
02. Aug 2017 · 04:58 UTC
This is a moody and thoughtful experience, good choice on the music and very expressive art and visuals. Great effort!

It is a shame you cannot full-screen the canvas, you should consider porting a post-comp version of this to vanilla JavaScript.
cybersoftuk
02. Aug 2017 · 04:59 UTC
wow, the hand-drawn graphics are great and the game fits the theme well.
MartinTristan
02. Aug 2017 · 05:27 UTC
amazing game! I love the science fiction theme. this reminded me of the supercomputer in a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. I admit that I used an anagram solver for one of the puzzles (don't judge me!). Sadly I encountered a bug, i think it's the fourth or fifth anagram the one with the world SELF. I can't move the e so i was not able to solve that. I'll give it another try later when I'm not too busy. great job!
🎤 Terribly Awesome Games
02. Aug 2017 · 05:39 UTC
@martintristan

Thanks for the input. We'll look into getting that corrected. Glad you've enjoyed it so far, and hope you'll make it to the end :-)
Timothy Hoffman
02. Aug 2017 · 06:38 UTC
Wow. Thoroughly impressed. It seems to end slightly abruptly, but wow. Phenomenal art and sound!
Everbrave
02. Aug 2017 · 07:06 UTC
Awesome game! I love the simple art and the story driven approach. It also took me a bit to figure out the whole computer thing. Really neat idea. The only issue is that it made me think too much, and now all these Ludum Dare games seem so pointless. XD Thanks for the deep thoughts! lol
Carsen D.
02. Aug 2017 · 07:12 UTC
Very intriguing and honestly a pretty refreshing and different experience I've seen to come out of a game jam. The sounds and visuals were great and paired very well with the story, and adding the small amount of interactivity with the anagrams made it that much more compelling, instead of just retelling the story just
straight up. Really interesting take on the theme as well! An audio and visual experience indeed!
🎤 Terribly Awesome Games
02. Aug 2017 · 15:24 UTC
@wesley-werner Thanks for the input on resolution! We have it restricted right now to 1200 x 900 because we didn't put in the ability to change resolution yet. We will finish that up soon and post a new build. We tried to get that in but it didn't make it in by the end of the jam! :)
cpv
02. Aug 2017 · 17:05 UTC
I have seen some comics adaptation, but this is something unique. Well done on all aspects! The small puzzles are an interesting addition.

Improvement to avoid sudden end: [ SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!! ] a small improvement would be to make in the end some messages or hints about how the AC collected all data, became self consciousness, and said the magic words.
Kapricorn Media
02. Aug 2017 · 22:21 UTC
This is actually one of my favorite short stories from Asimov! Nice tribute and gameplay overall!
🎤 Terribly Awesome Games
02. Aug 2017 · 22:28 UTC
@kapricorn-media Thanks guys, we really like your work and appreciate the comment! If you have any critical comments about how we could improve the gameplay or art, we'd love to hear them.
Remzo
03. Aug 2017 · 23:54 UTC
Nice adaptation! The music fits really well. It was sometimes a bit jarring when one faded out and the other one just cut in. Fading in the next track would've worked really well. Nice work!
Devastus
04. Aug 2017 · 00:46 UTC
Intriguing, good job on the art and audio setting the mood, I really liked the atmosphere. The simple addition of anagram puzzles surprisingly made it feel interactive enough to keep interest, although I reckon some more wouldn't probably hurt. Maybe have the actual research of data be some form a small puzzle mini game in between chapters? I dunno, I didn't really mind.

It is certainly succesful in it's task and a fine entry. Very well done!
Lamm
04. Aug 2017 · 04:37 UTC
I like the game, you made a grat job, keep doing games, Good Luck
ledez
04. Aug 2017 · 05:09 UTC
Excellent game. Kind of different from those who I already played. Music and graphics are great. I really enjoyed it.
Connorses
04. Aug 2017 · 05:11 UTC
Was surprised to see the amount of artwork and music that went into it. I love the visual of the pods in that very last scene.
zgragselus
04. Aug 2017 · 05:31 UTC
Execution as interactive story is very good. The mood is set up, the atmosphere is there, puzzle minigames are very good and making presentation more lively.
ryluu
04. Aug 2017 · 11:49 UTC
This is a really unique and thought-provoking experience. The anagrams do so much to enhance the story, but I feel like they might be too difficult for somebody who hasn't read the short story (especially the last one), which could break up the chapters too much. I also noticed that you cut out some of the dialogue and all of the exposition. Again, this may be confusing to somebody not familiar with the short story. Overall, this is an awesome adaptation of Asimov, unlike anything I've seen before. The art and music fit perfectly, and the story was told really well. Great job!
Chris Coe
05. Aug 2017 · 18:11 UTC
Absolutely gorgeous. You did an amazing job of interpreting Asimov's story, using visuals and music to establish emotional tone where the extra context in the narrative was unable to be brought into the game word for word. I enjoyed the puzzle solving sections. Definitely not what I would call a "fun" game, but it was certainly enjoyable in other cerebral sorts of ways. Thank you.
bombjack
06. Aug 2017 · 08:52 UTC
Not my kind of game but the concept is nice.
LaJazuve
07. Aug 2017 · 20:46 UTC
I love it, it's a good narration, a little balad into stars and life questions
Blootrix
14. Aug 2017 · 21:42 UTC
Hands down one of the best narrative game experiences I've ever had!
I absolutely loved it from beginning to end and it's definitely left an impression that is going to stick around for a while.
Gameplay Link - https://youtu.be/Im0OHU_QIEU
🎤 Terribly Awesome Games
17. Aug 2017 · 03:37 UTC
Thanks all of you for your input, especially the critiques of the gameplay. And thanks so much to @blootrix for playing our game... We're so glad you enjoyed it and were so thrilled to watch your let's play. We look forward to watching other of your videos...!!!

The new build we posted will hopefully make the experience even better. It has text that will stay on screen, and it can also be played at multiple resolutions (in standalone) as long as it stays to a 4:3 ratio.
xaedes
22. Aug 2017 · 18:35 UTC
Congratulations for 1st place in category Mood!
Your take on "The Last Question" really hit the spot, good job!