LudumData

AEOS by Yetman

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

Travel as a haunted boat that needs light to charge up. Watch your orb and never let it lose it's light.

Besides the Windows version, The Itch.io page contains a Linux and Mac version.

Note: The version 1.0.1 on Itch.io (not the google drive one) has an ambient water sound.

Version 1.2

Checkpoints have been added. The checkpoints are invisible and are located at the borders between different areas.

Version 1.1

Based on the feedback (Thanks to everyone who commented), the following Bug Fixes and Tweaks have been included in version 1.1 on Itch.io: * ​Lowered default mouse sensitivity from 10 to 5. * Added control over mouse sensitivity​ using "+" and "-" keys (+Numpad). * Lowered boat turning torque from 5 to 3. * Lowered the emissive power of everything. * Added missing colliders on a few objects. * Less boat rocking while moving.

Problems not solved yet: * ​Increasing boat speed since it will require tuning other game-play parameters. * Some light leaks due to low lightmap resolution.

Note: The original version (Ludum Dare Submission) is still uploaded on Google Drive.

Itch.io page: https://yetman.itch.io/aeos

Screenshot 20170801150523.png

Screenshot 20170801150050.png

Windows https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4EajervpkpxOV9wQXdxR3Nkb3M
Windows https://yetman.itch.io/aeos
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/aeos

Ratings

Overall 502th 3.247⭐ 75🧑‍⚖️
Fun 716th 2.658⭐ 75🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 477th 2.972⭐ 74🧑‍⚖️
Theme 605th 3.208⭐ 74🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 78th 4.384⭐ 75🧑‍⚖️
Humor 581th 1.927⭐ 57🧑‍⚖️
Mood 181th 3.681⭐ 74🧑‍⚖️
Given 132🗳️ 130🗨️

Feedback

PavelSovushkin
01. Aug 2017 · 16:36 UTC
Nice Art solution but play don`t conveniently
Bonelazy
01. Aug 2017 · 19:33 UTC
Striking visuals and a moody / relaxing game.
Yulirev
01. Aug 2017 · 19:34 UTC
I agree nice graphics really, light effect, water effect and style works really good, but i think the game need a constant music to be in immersive, when we travel around the castle, time is long
Artur Hawkwing
01. Aug 2017 · 19:34 UTC
Unfortunately it would not load for me--I just saw a white screen fade to black, and then no further changes for 2-3 minutes. Looks really cool though!
wicked7000
01. Aug 2017 · 19:36 UTC
**Pros:**
- The art is amazing as well as shader work? at-least I think its shaders the way the water was done was extremely good and left a really calming sensation.
- The ambient sounds matched up really well with the art/modelling and atmosphere of the overall game and did a good job of setting the mood.
- The controls weren't too difficult to grasp unlike most games involving boats and water.

**Cons:**
- The game was quite short and could do with some extra levels/ more content.
- The games scenery could be quite repetitive at times.
- One of the lights in the game was ultra bright and could do with being dimmed (its a square light towards the end)

**Conclusion:**
The game is a great atmospheric experience and a extremely soothing one , however it could do with some tweaks and more game-play related aspects in order to reach its full potential and fit the theme more.Overall great job though!
FelixMcFelix
01. Aug 2017 · 20:05 UTC
Visually really nice and minimalist---I really love it when people make use of proper lighting/global illumination, it sets up a nice atmosphere. The lack of checkpoints, however, makes what should be a relaxing game far less so. I couldn't hear any audio when I played, which is a shame; the lapping of waves against the boat would add to the experience. I still enjoyed the game somewhat, good job!
TheFlyingKeyboard
01. Aug 2017 · 20:19 UTC
Graphics is just awesome, but unfortunatelly it lacks music, that would make this game more immersive.
MinikinKay
01. Aug 2017 · 20:30 UTC
I liked the graphics of that game and the atmosphere very much. Traveling with a boat into a castle is a nice experience and also the handeling of the boat was very smooth. Maybe a calm music in the background would make the game anymore atmospheric. But for only three days you made a very good job :)
Baski
01. Aug 2017 · 20:34 UTC
Not relaxing at all :D Lack of checkpoints was so stressfull. Played it over 20+ minutes and it was so cheeky :D. But nice visuals lack of audio. Good lightning, very ghood. Keep it up and add some more features it could be good :) Wish you good luck.
Remondo
01. Aug 2017 · 21:11 UTC
Really a cool game to chill, but a zen music would have been really cool. It would have been nice to have a boat a little bit quicker. Otherwise, the game is nice, good job.
Pedro Romero
01. Aug 2017 · 21:29 UTC
The camera is uncontrollable. It needs an important fix.
The graphics are nice, remember me to the original Spyro game.
Remzo
01. Aug 2017 · 21:48 UTC
I really enjoyed the visuals and the colours used. I agree with the others that some soft ambient music would've made travelling around much more atmospheric. The water effect is also pretty cool
🎤 Yetman
02. Aug 2017 · 20:52 UTC
Thank you all for you feedback. I truly appreciate it :D

@artur-hawkwing & @pedro-romero I'll try to test the games on other devices. Hopefully, I will be able to catch and fix the bugs.

@wicked7000 Thank you for your detailed feedback. The water is mainly the glass distort shader supplied by unity in the standard assets. I just did a few edits like:
- Removing the tint texture and replacing it with a constant color.
- Using multiple samples of the distortion normal map where each sample moves in a different direction (circular movements using sin and cos) and combining them.

The water still needs more work (volumetric fading effect, foam and actual movement since it is just plane right now).
Geckoo1337
03. Aug 2017 · 22:06 UTC
Quiet mood with a neat aesthetic. The physics work well, especially the boat's rolling. The main gameplay is good, even if all seems to me too slow. A nice trip on a placid lake - a fun experience. Well done ++
Vodzik
05. Aug 2017 · 12:43 UTC
Nice game!
Too bad there is no sound or music.
But it have potential and nice aesthetic :)
Gabet Games
05. Aug 2017 · 15:26 UTC
The visual game is wonderful, but in the mechanics, it lacked a bit of polish. The movements are quite sensitive and in the Mac version (I know you could not test) there is a long inertia in the input.
Otherwise, everything is excellent! Very good game. :)
Screech
05. Aug 2017 · 16:01 UTC
Incredible art style, love it allot , Shame about the no music or sound becuase that would of elevated to the next level , Also there is no colison on some objects and I sailed straight throught them. The mechanics of the game are nice and I love style again! good job!!
Gris
05. Aug 2017 · 19:05 UTC
Really cool soothing atmosphere created. Some background music would've been nice, but it's definitely one of the smoothest entries out there. Congrats!
Almax
05. Aug 2017 · 19:45 UTC
Reminded me of the witness a little, very nice ambience to the world and great visuals. The gameplay was slow, and the controls felt a little too sensitive.
Chris Coe
05. Aug 2017 · 21:45 UTC
What a lovely little game! It was very relaxing... once I understood the interactions with light and shadow. The graphics were a bit too intense for my computer, so I had to turn down the resolution and the quality. Still looked nice. I really appreciated the water sounds, and a bit of soft ambient music would be perfect. I cleared it all the way through to the end, and it was a good experience.
herniewise
05. Aug 2017 · 22:58 UTC
Best (3d) visuals I have seen so far <3
Devastus
06. Aug 2017 · 00:49 UTC
I had this odd flickering overlay (looked like there was a screen effect going wonky) that made it hard to play the game. Might be an SLI-issue thing, dunno. But for what I was able to experience, I really like that lighting! Definitely looks pleasing. The boat controlled nicely, which is often a rarity in games.

Would have liked some music, but other than that, very well done!
Sarrixx
06. Aug 2017 · 06:21 UTC
This is absolutely amazing, very reminiscent of the Witness. You have made a gentle and relaxing puzzle game and I love it. The boat mechanics I think are very fluent and make it a lot of fun just to ride around and explore. Some extra sound effects and a bit of gentle music would have been icing on the caking but overall this is one of the gems of this LD! Kudos!
omriysh
06. Aug 2017 · 12:28 UTC
Definitely a shot for gold in the graphic department, but not in much else in my opinion. The game is nice and relaxing, but the controls (especially looking around with the mouse) made me nauseous and I just couldn't play for more than a few minutes. I really wish I could explore this beautiful and relaxing world peacefully, but I can't.
KabalaTrance
06. Aug 2017 · 14:08 UTC
Interesting concept.
It really misses the music and sound, being the atmospheric game. Other problem is that controls don't work well, and it is very hard to enjoy sailing.
Meta-link
06. Aug 2017 · 20:01 UTC
A slow paced game, with an unique atmosphere ! Even if there's too much inertia on the mouse, it's a pleasure too sail in this wold.

Good job !
supr
06. Aug 2017 · 20:42 UTC
Not my genre, but I enjoyed the art style. :upside_down:
ohmaigawd
07. Aug 2017 · 08:09 UTC
Amazing graphics, one of the best in this ldjam.
I don't know what was up with the controls and if its just my computer, the mouse movement was so sensitive I couldn't look around without the view turning 360 degrees. And keyboard controls move you too much in the left and right. Got motion dizzy pretty quick.
SaraMartins
07. Aug 2017 · 11:10 UTC
Stunning visuals, pretty relaxing. Loved the low poly art and the rowing sound. Definitely missed some backgrouund ambience to be more immersed. Quite simple the game, but really enjoyable, a good change of pace. However the controls were too sensitve, like @ohmaigawd the mouse was too sensitive and each arrow moved to much. The boat also started traversing with an up and down motion, don't know why, a little dizzy. But I really loved the environment, I think with some refinement on the controls will be a pretty spot on experience.
Split82
08. Aug 2017 · 11:56 UTC
Very smooth graphics and mood. Great job!
icxon
09. Aug 2017 · 09:09 UTC
I had like 5 tries (~20 mins total) and still failed (night time, room with lights). I'd recommend to add some checkpoints, instead of tweaking the boat speed. There is no problem to move slowly, observe nice leveldesign, enjoy the atmosphere and solve puzzles, the problem is that in case of fail you have to perform all actions again from the very beginning (when player knows the solution) and the boat speed is a real obstacle in this case.

Looking forward to see some updates. :smiley:

Here is my playtest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx1-dbh-Q3A
🎤 Yetman
09. Aug 2017 · 11:47 UTC
@icxon Thanks a lot for the feedback and the video. You were so close and I was about to cry at the end of both trials. Anyway, The checkpoint really is a major necessity right now, I will try to include and publish it in the next update as soon as possible. Also, I need to enhance the sound design, the wall movement sound is horrible right now.

(Minor Hint: Near box lights, the amount of energy gain equals the sum of the idle and moving cost, so while moving beside them, the energy change = 0 and while standing idle beside them, the energy change is positive).
Sarrixx
10. Aug 2017 · 05:04 UTC
I have been making a 'best of show' type Lets Play series and in part 6 I play through Aeos, here's a link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yDZ1gd1QPE&feature=youtu.be
wolderado
10. Aug 2017 · 18:38 UTC
Graphics is nice but gameplay has some issues. I didn't liked the smooth mouse. And it's kinda frustrating to restart the game after you lose. Checkpoints would be nice.
Robin Komen
10. Aug 2017 · 23:51 UTC
Very relaxing water sounds :D
Belga54
16. Aug 2017 · 00:37 UTC
This game has a great relaxing atmosphere to make the player concentrate on the game. Good graphics and puzzles. Congrats ! You made an awesome game that I'm sure, that it's going to be one of the top 10 games if not the first or the second !
Junber
17. Aug 2017 · 01:51 UTC
Wow. This is my favorite game I played so far. I loved every bit of it. Even though there are some light (heh) puzzles and the constant threat of death, it's just such a calming game and everything in the game supports that. Not having any non-diegetic elements really added a lot to experience so no matter what some of the other commenters said I think having no music was a great decision (the water sound you added post-LD on the other hand really added a lot). The controls even though they made it harder to get around also really fit: the slow speed made the game more calming as did being able to look around without changing direction. The graphics are also amazing and help sell the serenity. My only minor issue is that the game just abruptly ended even though there was a gate that could be opened instead but there is only so much one can do in 3 days. Amazing work.
RockhopperGames
17. Aug 2017 · 16:48 UTC
The design and shader work his is amazing, and the calm feel reminded me very much of The Witness. There's nothing I can add that hasn't already been covered above, so I'll just leave you with a 'good work!'
josehzz
17. Aug 2017 · 18:43 UTC
Amazing low poly art and water sound effects, I just had a relaxing experience playing it.
Coauctor
18. Aug 2017 · 10:52 UTC
I enjoyed riding a boat, it was really relaxing. Especially with a clean and moody visual style like that. So cool to see a core loop based on non-standard action. I didn't get the goal of the game, however, but I got my fun.

Thanks for your work! We need more relaxing games with riding a boat.
Franklins Ghost
20. Aug 2017 · 09:02 UTC
Liked the poly art thought it was nicely done and conveyed the calming atmosphere of the game really well, especially with its colour choices. Definitely gave me the Witness vibe which in my books is always a good thing.
Omiya Games
22. Aug 2017 · 01:41 UTC
I really don't know what I was doing. It felt like a game where all you do is flick a switch, then hope the right door opens. Which I don't think is especially fun...
🎤 Yetman
22. Aug 2017 · 15:09 UTC
In the last hour of the event, I would like thank you all for your amazing feedback. It was truly an honor to have my game played by all of you and I will do my best to make better games in the future and avoid the mistakes the hindered the experience.

@omiya-games I truly understand your feelings. At the end of the development, I felt the same way. At first, I was hoping to make better puzzles that explore the game mechanics but in the end, I wasted my whole time working on the visuals and spent to little planning the gameplay aspects. I'll do my best to avoid this pitfall in the future and Thanks a lot for your feedback.