LudumData

Soul Searching by Webow

[raw]
made by Webow for LD 44 (JAM)

It takes decorum to deal in lives.

screenshot 1.png

In Soul Searching you play as Grim, who has taken on the role of Grim Reaper from his father. In order to survive as the reaper, you need to harvest lives from the village above. But how do you decide on who is ready to die? Soul searching asks you to converse with the village folk and ask yourself that question. You may even feel those who are ill deserve a second chance. You have the power to give that to them.

screenshot.png

screenshot3.png

Controls:

LEFT ARROW = MOVE LEFT RIGHT ARROW = MOVE RIGHT UP ARROW = JUMP X = USE SCYTHE C = TOGGLE TAKE LIFE/GIVE LIFE T = START DIALOGUE

Instructions: Once the purple timer empties, you will lose one of your own lives.

You are encouraged to talk to the villagers as much as you can to determine who is ready to die.

By pressing X over a villager when you are in "black heart mode" you gain their life.

If you want to give lives to villagers who are dieing then toggle "C" to "red heart mode" and then press X over them.

Oh, and don't fall.

MUSIC AND SOUND CREDITS

Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Come Play with Me" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) Licence: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

“Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com“

HTML5 (web) https://webow.itch.io/soul-searching
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/44/soul-searching

Ratings

Given 21🗳️ 21🗨️

Feedback

🎤 Webow
29. Apr 2019 · 20:42 UTC
My first ever ludum dare!
Bluwind360
29. Apr 2019 · 21:16 UTC
Hi, once I used the scythe once it would not let me use it again; the animation played but nothing happened.. dialogue great.. Granny needed to die!! pushing hobos in a fire:)
Danielk
29. Apr 2019 · 21:39 UTC
Awesome artwork, great work!
Sadly the movement is extremely slow and kinda hard to reach the upper stages and like @bluwind360 said, after you used the scythe it's not possible to use it again.
🎤 Webow
29. Apr 2019 · 21:46 UTC
@bluwind360 thanks for the bug alert in good time it is much appreciated. HAHA oh no! did you notice if you're quick you can talk to the villagers as they die?
🎤 Webow
29. Apr 2019 · 21:46 UTC
@danielk thank you, much appreciated. I suppose the movement was a design thing, it didn't feel right to have the lil grim reaper running about the place. You can use the scythe to reach higher platforms. But yeah, "level/platform" design did not have as much time devoted to it as I would have liked, it being my first platformer. Thanks again for your feedback.
🎤 Webow
29. Apr 2019 · 21:47 UTC
UPDATE: Scythe use bug fixed.

Thanks again @danielk @bluwind360 for letting me know.
EdevJogos
30. Apr 2019 · 20:46 UTC
The art is awesome, the concept of the reaper being able to give one his lives for others is great, but the movement is way too slow, and the platforms are really hard to jump at.
🎤 Webow
30. Apr 2019 · 20:54 UTC
@edevjogos thank you for the feedback. it was my first attempt at a platform-based game so admittedly I do need to hone in on my platformer placement/movement balance. It was difficult since I didn't want the reaper to run around and wanted the "feel" to be mellow. thanks again!
Dani Desa
30. Apr 2019 · 22:50 UTC
The game is good overall. I wish I could move faster between platforms, the movement it seems a little bit "sticky". The art is very nice, it really get you into the mood of this game: how cute are those little houses and characters!!! Been a voxel-art lover everytime I see pixel art around I get excited. Your palette is perfect for this game!
Evgeniya Zapolnova
01. May 2019 · 15:33 UTC
I think it is an original idea and I like environment, this platforms, houses and villagers. Great job!!
sylvie
02. May 2019 · 20:36 UTC
The movement felt really slow, and I didn't understand what the goal was. The graphics and atmosphere were really nice though.
🎤 Webow
02. May 2019 · 21:09 UTC
@sylvie thank you for your feedback; it's a reflective game on the human condition, where you decide who is ready/deserves to die and who deserves to stay alive. The speed of movement is slower to fit with the sombre mood of the game. Thank you again for engaging with the game and giving feedback.
digitaldude555
02. May 2019 · 21:41 UTC
Such amazing art, quiet music fit the mood of the game, my biggest problem was the platforming was a nightmare. Over all fantastic game for first time.
Bitron
02. May 2019 · 21:45 UTC
I wasn't quite sure what to do with it gameplay wise, but full points for graphics and atmosphere!
Lagman9000
03. May 2019 · 07:19 UTC
Great jam, a really nice style and sense of mood! Perhaps more could have been of the kill/ spare villagers mechanic
Nikolay Zapolnov
03. May 2019 · 10:59 UTC
Very nice pixel art and I really like the idea of deciding if person should live or die :) Perfect fit for the theme. Though platforming makes it a bit complicated to play.
GerardB
03. May 2019 · 20:01 UTC
I really dig the artstyle and pixelart. Pretty, coherent and pleasant to look at.
The controlls feel a little bit off. They feel a bit unresponsive and heavy. Also having the T key for dialogue felt like an odd choice.

I enjoyed the game though. Congrats!
Supernapie
04. May 2019 · 13:40 UTC
The color palette and graphics were really great and matched the spooky mood. You created a nice atmosphere. The physics felt a little glitchy and i think maybe you don't need the platforming at all.
🎤 Webow
04. May 2019 · 14:17 UTC
@supernapie thanks for the feedback, indeed the physics were a bit glitchy, it was my first time making a platformer, and I really wanted to practice it so that’s mostly why the town is on platforms. Thanks again
OddSocks
04. May 2019 · 17:36 UTC
What an amazing little game. The colour palette you chose/made for it is great, and fits really well with the spooky vibe. The art in general is top notch. Amazing first submission I think. Congrats.
chompdev
06. May 2019 · 01:19 UTC
This is a really cool world you've created, Webow! This a neat divergence from the typical grim reaper theme and the give/take life mechanic is really interesting. Would love to see an updated version of this with more characters and more dialogue choices :)
almost
06. May 2019 · 07:47 UTC
The concept is interesting and the art is really nice. I talked to a bunch of people, and some are homeless, greedy, old, or have a family, but I didn't see any obvious "right" choice, and it wasn't clear to me that any of my choices matter (Do people react if they lose family members? Is the number of jobs related to the population size?). Was there any way to make progress or any victory condition?

I don't think the difficult and risky platforming adds much to the game. You could still have all of your exploration, people to talk to, and ethical choices even if there was ground to stop you from dying when you fall and ladders to go up and down.