The Black Market of Fun by mikethewayne
12th consecutive Ludum Dare Entry, went for an Arcade/Business Simulation set in a dystopian setting. Those are two genres that you definitely don't see very often, so I decided it would be perfect for the theme. This one might actually be fun, it even says so in the title.
In this game, you must raise money for your brother, who's escaped the authoritarian nation you're in, but was shot while doing so, so needs you to pay for a life-saving operation that he needs to survive. You have a job, but you are paid very little, certainly not as much as you need. You must therefore turn to the black market, buying low and selling high at night, all while avoiding the police that patrol to enforce the curfew.
Features: - Pac-Man-esque map and movement - Multiple-agent enemy AI - Trading simulation - Fully simulated market, prices fluctuate; it's possible cookies can cost more than a TV - Non-intrusive but detailed story (at least at the start and end of the game) - Different endings - Fully implemented legal system (totalitarian legal system, it's either prison or death, but still) - Walls! Unlike some of my previous games, you no longer need to pretend they're there
Missing: - Audio. And I was so sure I would have enough time this time around, but nope! Maybe one of these LDs I'll finally add music.
Thanks for playing! Now it's time for sleep.
Ratings
| Overall | 647th | 2.733⭐ | 17🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 640th | 2.533⭐ | 17🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 259th | 3.533⭐ | 17🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 465th | 3.333⭐ | 17🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 579th | 2.633⭐ | 17🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 325th | 3.067⭐ | 17🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 28🗳️ | 1🗨️ |
Side note, there is a glitch where you still open the apartment menu while you are working, because the word you were asked to type had the letter E
Side note 2, first time i run the game, it only showed a gray screen with text in the middle, but after i closed it and opened it, it was all fine
Also, having only .jar game isreally bad idea, because most people are not aware of how to play them. Maybe you can provide .jar and zip with .exe at the very minimum