Murder on 39th Street by vadinci

[raw]
made by vadinci for LD 39 (JAM)

If your browser or device does not support battery readout, or you want to quickly play through all the content, please play the debug build.

Murder on 39th Street is a murder mystery that utilizes your devices battery. You, Heather, have been murdered at the start of spring. You have until the end of Winter to collect clues and find out who murdered you. Your devices battery level determines the in game time. Come back when your device is lower on power to progress in the story, or charge your device to go back in time!

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Ratings

Overall 12th 4.371⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Fun 298th 3.333⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1th 4.789⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Theme 8th 4.5⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 29th 4.59⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Audio 17th 4.314⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Humor 221th 2.967⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Mood 27th 4.237⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Given 36🗳️ 35🗨️

Feedback

HakunaMacouta
01. Aug 2017 · 00:18 UTC
Wow, such an amazing game, loved the fact that game time is directly linked to your device battery, everything was impressive, GG everyone.
Gao Ming
01. Aug 2017 · 08:24 UTC
Very fun. The graphics are beautiful. Great work!
MichaelTWG
01. Aug 2017 · 08:25 UTC
Very nice, I love the graphics and the mood but there is no android build?
Steff Kempink
01. Aug 2017 · 08:28 UTC
@michaeltwg You can follow the HTML5 link. It works cross-platform on mobile, laptop and desktops.
🎤 vadinci
01. Aug 2017 · 08:30 UTC
Hi!
There is no android build yet, but the game should run in your mobile browser!
FloBar
01. Aug 2017 · 10:59 UTC
Just wow. I really like the atmosphere you created. Everything from the trees moving and leaves falling. Beautiful. I'm getting a "Life is Strange" vibe here. Awesome game.
nikrt
01. Aug 2017 · 11:27 UTC
I like how this game fits the overall theme. Plus the art style in this game is magnificent, and the overall gameplay is really smooth. A very unique idea and a great game overall
mrerdalural
01. Aug 2017 · 11:28 UTC
This is awesome! Though I probably will never see the end of the game (4 hr 20 min battery time left).
Thank you for the game. For me this was the most creative idea I have seen in a Ludum Dare.
TheBlondeBass
01. Aug 2017 · 16:39 UTC
Wow, talk about a creative execution of the theme! Allowing people on desktop to play a debug version with keyboard controls was a great idea too :D
Alexandr AndroidDev
01. Aug 2017 · 16:50 UTC
navigator.getBattery not supported on firefox :(
player2point0
01. Aug 2017 · 17:29 UTC
A brilliant game and a really clever take on the theme. Definitely one of my favourites.
Johngun
01. Aug 2017 · 17:49 UTC
This is an amazing game. The use of the theme, the graphics, mood that compliments the story very well. Very great work
HoldMeImScared
01. Aug 2017 · 18:13 UTC
Oh, I see. I don't own a smartphone and my computer is neither a laptop nor tablet, so I had to use the debug version to test it on my PC. Thanks for providing that option! It's good both for those of us on desktops, and those on battery powered devices who need to test quickly.

I'm really impressed you guys did this in 72 hours. I've seen so many excellent uses of the theme this time around, and your team is no exception, well done. Full points for both theme and innovation.

Full points for mood, full points for humor (for the so bad they're amazing jokes from Patrick, and for Harry). Graphics look very nice, though the cars sometimes drive backward, which is both very minor (I still gave 5 points) and pretty funny ;) Music is nice and suitable to the tone of the game.

I correctly pegged the killer the first time! Then went through and looked at all the other options, which was neat. The characters were great.

This is one of the best entries I've seen so far, really excellent work, guys!
HoldMeImScared
01. Aug 2017 · 18:24 UTC
Guys, if you get the navigator.getBattery error, use the Debug version offered on their page under the "real" version for those on supported mobile devices. It'll allow you to manually progress time (press S to move time forward, A to move back in time). Then you can test the whole game in a reasonably short time. It's pretty engaging, so I really recommend taking the time to finish it.

To Vadinci's team, I highly recommend putting an explanation of the debug mode in your game description on this page so people are less likely to just see that error and move on. It took me a moment to realize it was an option. Vadinci should be able to edit this page to add it to the description.
sgt3v
01. Aug 2017 · 19:41 UTC
Very good idea and composition. I especially loved the art. I noticed that vehicles on the left lane of the road moves backwards, that should be a mistake I guess.
🎤 vadinci
01. Aug 2017 · 20:10 UTC
Thanks for your reactions! We edited the in-game error message and the description on this page, to hopefully make it clearer a debug build is available.

Regarding the cars moving backwards, the cars move backwards when your device is charging, because time is going backwards ;) Similarly, snowflakes will 'fall upwards' or downwards, and the streetlights will be turned on or off depending on wether you are charging your device. In the debug build, this can be toggled with [T]
n.feofentov
01. Aug 2017 · 20:23 UTC
I really like art and music and idea is brilliant. I played on web on PC, so I'd prefer some button to skip time. That's why I played only for few minutes. But you did a great job!

Glitches:

Clicking somewhere between Fiora - Detective and crime scene pops out both windows.

Good luck!

P.S. Probably **SPOILER ALERT**: I noticed cars move backwards :wink:
cpv
01. Aug 2017 · 20:30 UTC
Not a big fan of narratives and text, but this implementation is very original. Nice graphics, I like how the music creates the mood, along with the ongoing gameplay. Great job!
Angela He
01. Aug 2017 · 20:37 UTC
I can't believe you took this theme so above and beyond. How do you even code this?!? Impressive.
Yetman
01. Aug 2017 · 22:12 UTC
I didn't play the game since I am too lazy to drain my mobile battery but I wanted to say that I am amazed by that level of innovation. I still tried the debug version briefly, the visual and sounds are awesome but I can't judge the gameplay yet. I will give it a try soon on my mobile to get the full experience :D
gecuit
03. Aug 2017 · 11:30 UTC
It's amazing and original. Unfortunately, I didn't play too long because I didn't want to wait until my battery drains fully. Graphics and audio are amazing, which together result in an amazing mood. Very well done!
Devastus
03. Aug 2017 · 15:53 UTC
A very innovative take on the theme! Granted, I played it through with the debug version as to be able to fully see the game without spending possibly days on it, so the battery mechanic does come with a downfall. It's an intriguing mechanic nevertheless.

A well-achieved mood through music, the changing scenery and writing combined with a rather original way of presenting the theme and idea, it's certainly a very good entry!
Studio RTV
05. Aug 2017 · 07:13 UTC
This game was absolutely fantastic! I honestly can't think of a better take on the theme, really nice work! Also thank you for including the debug build, since I was worried that I would lose patience waiting for my battery to drain and not be able to play the full game.

Everything about this game is so cohesive, the graphics, the music and sound effects, everything, I'm so impressed that you all managed to pull off this massive of a project on time! This is easily something that would be worth paying for, really great job y'all.
mamoniem
05. Aug 2017 · 13:25 UTC
A lot of work here. Good job! The most amazing part about this amazing game, is that i got murdered :D good experience!

-m
Sarrixx
06. Aug 2017 · 14:17 UTC
Man this is such a cool concept! Great job on the gameplay, the art and audio are awesome too! Kudos!
Strannix
11. Aug 2017 · 13:20 UTC
This was cool! I loved the idea of using battery status as gameplay element. Too bad firefox doesn't support the API but thanks for the debug build. Art and audio set up the mood perfectly.

Also caught the murderer :)
abductedPlatypus
17. Aug 2017 · 14:58 UTC
Depleting my battery would take hours, if not days, so I used the debug version.
Very cool game, lovely graphics, good background music. creating a great mood. The story is really great as well. I'm not a fan of the battery mechanic, though only a few entries came up with actual devices power as a mechanic, I don't feel that the mechanic was used very creatively adding nothing more than the passing of time, scaled by your computers specs. (Though I admit it does romanticise the gameplay a bit). Does this make the game any worse? Not at all. This is a very solid entry. Cheers!