LudumData

SYNTHMAN by Feingehacktes

[raw]
made by Feingehacktes for Ludum Dare 45 (JAM)

SYNTHMANLOGO.png

Have you ever been trapped in a abandoned subway station? We neither! But if we were, there is only one thing we'd wish for. What that is you ask? A flashlight? A gun? A warm wooly blanket to keep you warm while you take a nap in the corner? None of that Nonsense! ...Although... that blanket sounds splendidly comfy to be honest... Where were we? Oh yeah ... of course we'd wish for a [illegible scribbling] But if you don't believe us that it would be helpfull you, to put it quite frankly, better move your buttocks down there and try it yourself! synthman_pic.JPG Your Goal is to wake your inner bat and escape with nothing but sound to guide you. But beware! Those filthy, hairy, plague plagued rats lurk everywhere! They do have funny hats though tihihihihi

keytar obtained.png

sonar02.png

We hope you'll have a lot of fun playing our game and enjoy the mechanics and visuals we poured days into.

Controls

W A S D = Movement

SPACE = Pressing the synth

This Game has been a project of Students and recent graduates from the Stuttgart University and the State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart. (Stuttgart in Germany that is, not one of those US copycats ;D )

Many Users can double-click the .jar file and start the game. If you are unable to do that, open CMD and navigate in to the folder where the Synthman.jar is and then type in * java -jar SynthMan.jar * and press ENTER.

Please try it out and have fun;) We'd like to hear your feedback!

Youtube https://1drv.ms/u/s!AntcDq0HAIHphpRmMt7DRd1IKAsUPw?e=MVdcXv
Youtube https://drive.google.com/open?id=1USUZIo6jePfBsHpQJu1xN0c5LJmCMwxq
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/45/synthman

Ratings

Overall 443th 3.565⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Fun 420th 3.435⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 128th 3.88⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Theme 534th 3.337⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 628th 3.424⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Audio 276th 3.543⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Humor 426th 2.977⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Mood 457th 3.457⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Given 41🗳️ 48🗨️

Feedback

DoctorTurbo
08. Oct 2019 · 09:18 UTC
I did get attacked through the wall somehow, otherwise very nicely done. Loved the audio. A bit short but what can ya do
Jonathan Lorenz
08. Oct 2019 · 11:35 UTC
Felt like an horror game! Never got to pass the rats tho. Weird game but interesting mood!
Kenarf
08. Oct 2019 · 11:42 UTC
Very nice visuals with this one! Really cool
Noshiz
08. Oct 2019 · 11:43 UTC
Navigating using sound is an interesting concept, I liked it. I managed to finish it without getting attacked by the beasts or getting hit by the train so I would say it was a bit easy. Also, it was a bit short too. Other than those two things, it was a solid game. I would like to see and play more of it.
Danilo Freire
08. Oct 2019 · 15:34 UTC
If you can upload a web or mac build it would be great for more people to play to give feedback!
Tygrak
08. Oct 2019 · 16:09 UTC
Short game, but well made. I wish we got to see more of the visuals, because what I saw of them when I wasn't wandering in the dark looked great. Those are some deadly rats too!
🎤 Feingehacktes
08. Oct 2019 · 17:02 UTC
@tygrak We made some light effects that illuminate the ground and the walls, but they were not ready for the deadline. We have also another level, a end boss and some other stuff, which we will integrate soon, thanks for your feedback!
NachtWitch
08. Oct 2019 · 19:17 UTC
really cool artwork, I think 2d pixelart games are kind of the spirit of a gamejam and you nailed the art, it looks amazing(sorry for bad english im still tired from the jam)
cax
08. Oct 2019 · 19:19 UTC
A well made game with nice visuals. Gj ;)
boyTurnedRobot
08. Oct 2019 · 19:29 UTC
I wasn't sure what the goal was, but I avoided some rats and walked into a train tunnel. I really like the concept of the game, it was entertaining but short. Good work.
Chocolat-Endive
08. Oct 2019 · 20:41 UTC
Wow super cool! I loved the concept and the mood! I managed to get out at the third try :)

On my first attempt I thought the game had crashed, since I couldn't see anything, so I would suggest to keep at least some indication on the UI that everything is fine. Then I restarted the game and I tried to move randomly, so found the synthetizer and everything went smoothly after that. I would love to play a longer version one day!
Nikolaj
09. Oct 2019 · 04:11 UTC
This is awesome! Everything about it, the art, the music, the mood.. so awesome. Very well done. Also, HUGE thanks for providing a JAR.. something us Mac people can easily deal with!
ketura
09. Oct 2019 · 04:14 UTC
Good concept and execution of the main mechanic, but the level design needs to hold the player's hand a bit more until they're used to walking around, I think. I spent the whole time wandering and then died on the chain link fence when I got too close. More indication or hints of where to go would be nice.

Still. Good unique and competently executed concept; the rest is just details.
ItsBamboo
09. Oct 2019 · 04:24 UTC
Very cool. I could definitely see this being expanded into a longer game. Also really impressed with the bioluminescent rats.
Farlandwinter
09. Oct 2019 · 04:35 UTC
I like your idea to use sound to guide you, it's very intersesting! But why does the character die from mice... I mean... they are just mice! Maybe making them into monster is better.(it's just my personal opinion) And I wonder the sound I play... is the pitch a reflection of the landscape or just a random tune? Maybe the sound can reflect the landscape is better, so players won't just walk randomly! And it's better to add some footstep sounds to mice as well! It's a fun game, has lots of potentials! Good job!
Lavaquark
09. Oct 2019 · 11:15 UTC
@farlandwinter They are supposed to be some kind of mutated rats. It will make more sense if we include our story :)
The pitch is random because we didn't want it to sound monotonous, but maybe we could add accustic cues, that's a good idea! Foot step sounds were actually planned and I think we already have sounds for it, but we had no time to integrate it. There are also some other sounds missing, like rat and subway train sounds. Thanks for your nice feedback :)
🎤 Feingehacktes
09. Oct 2019 · 11:58 UTC
@chocolat-endive The UI thing is a good tip. We thought it would be obvious enough to follow the hallway downwards but we obviously knew the level for 3 days. We wanted to keep the screen entirely black to "start from nothing" anytime one doesnt activate the synth. But maybe we went a bit overboard with that.

We have a lot of assets left, a normal and a boss level which we couldn't finish in time. So, be prepared for a longer Version some time in the future.
🎤 Feingehacktes
09. Oct 2019 · 12:01 UTC
@ItsBamboo There are assets and levels we couldn't finish in time so there is something to look forward to.
Well those rats aren't really bioluminecent. Although that would be a better concept than the one we came up with. When you look closely you can see the lamp strapped on their back
Gargoyle-g
09. Oct 2019 · 13:25 UTC
I love how you made the lights outline the walls. Such a simple Idea, looks fantastic.
Lavaquark
09. Oct 2019 · 14:51 UTC
@danilo-freire Did you try to run the .jar-File? I think it should work on Mac but not sure.
fabula_rasa
09. Oct 2019 · 19:51 UTC
Awesome visuals!
Unicorn Studios
10. Oct 2019 · 02:30 UTC
Really unique concept, I quite enjoyed it. I love the originality and the execution, good job!
Siarhei Pilat
10. Oct 2019 · 15:45 UTC
Love the idea, it's 5/5 for innovation. Not bad at all. However, playing this game was quite uncomfortable. Maybe because of the stark contrast when playing? Idk. Feel like my eyes are hurting now.
optus23
11. Oct 2019 · 00:04 UTC
Cool idea!
🎤 Feingehacktes
11. Oct 2019 · 11:08 UTC
@siarhei-pilat We're sorry to hear that. We didn't encounter headaches during playing but I think I know what you mean when you say "uncomfortable". The fact that if you only see the "Sonar" everything is kind of blurry makes at least my eyes trying to focus but obviously there isn't anything to focus on. Is this what you meant? We would love to hear how you think we could improve that
Siarhei Pilat
11. Oct 2019 · 11:20 UTC
@feingehacktes unfortunately it's difficult to describe why that happens and how to solve it. My guess is that it has to with contrast, or maybe it's similar to flashing images problem and photosensitivity. To be honest, I was working on a similar prototype last year (in 3D, though) and had the same discomfort. There's a game called Devil's Tuning Fork that tackles similar gameplay, you might wanna look it up.
itsdanidre
11. Oct 2019 · 13:15 UTC
Okay. Really cool game I would say. Fairly simple to say the least. I was able to randomly walk around rocking with Synth and avoiding rats by breaking their ankles. In the end noticed a train and started heading for it.
At the beginning though at the start, the lights go out almost instantly when I planned on exploring so I had to quit and restart a couple times and instantly move down, before I was able to see the synthesizer and collect it. From there everything else was straightforward.
### I really like the idea though! :slight_smile:
hyperscope
12. Oct 2019 · 15:53 UTC
I like the idea but I found after awhile I got tired of repetitively pressing the space bar. I wonder if there is an alternative way to integrate this mechanic?

Having said that I like the concept, good work!
PIXAMENTORY
13. Oct 2019 · 09:18 UTC
"Impressive game, Very cool concepts. I left wishing that there is more.
Had a lot of fun "
🎤 Feingehacktes
13. Oct 2019 · 10:35 UTC
@pixamentory we want to make more content for the game^^
SvenErik
13. Oct 2019 · 18:51 UTC
I like the idea and the graphics, neat.
daria-toni
14. Oct 2019 · 18:21 UTC
I finished it so fast! I definitely didn't expect that. I like it a lot, I can imagine this hero as solid character of a big game. The mechanic are very fresh, but require improvement. All sounds are great! Nice job, guys!
🎤 Feingehacktes
14. Oct 2019 · 20:35 UTC
@daria-toni Tanks for your feedback:)
pl4typus
15. Oct 2019 · 16:16 UTC
I'd like the synth sounds to be more pleasant and more in tune with the soundtrack.

I'd like the ennemies to be true ennemies and not just rats.

I'd like checkpoints.

I'd like the visualisation mechanic to be prettier and more in adequation with the rest of the graphics.

I'd like a bit of story.

But that's already not bad.