Cercle funeste by moi93101

[raw]
made by moi93101 for Ludum Dare 47 (JAM)

Cover.gif

Hey everyone !

It all started with a bad pun that is understandable only to French speakers. And it became a nice little puzzle game about a dude in the realm of death, trying to find it's way throught 8 levels with the help of a "Grim Magnifier" (A "loupe" in french which is prononced more or less the same way as "loop", story spoiler: there is still a real loop in the game).

We hope you will like it as much as we do !

PS: For those having trouble with the mechanic. Each map is composed of bigger squares divided in the same number of smaller squares (mostly 3X3 square). When you zoom in, your small square position become your next big square position and your previous big square position become your next small square position. Example: If the map is a 3x3 bigger square, each bigger square are divided in 3X3 smaller square. If you are in the central small square from upper left big square and you zoom in, you end up in the upper right small square of the central big square. Hope it's clearer.

PSS: For the people tired of finding answer here is the coordinate's list of all the zoom you have to do. (0,0) is the top-left of the map, first number is horizontal, second is vertical.

Lvl1: No need to zoom

Lvl2: (1,1)

Lvl3: (1,0) (3,1) (7,5) (5,8)

Lvl4: (0,2) (1,8) (4,7)

Lvl5: (1,0) (1,5) (6,4) (2,3) (7,5) (7,7)

Lvl6: (0,2) (1,3) (5,2) (8,7) (7,4) (5,6) (6,0)

Lvl7: (5,8) (4,2) (2,11) (6,15)

Lvl8: (5,3) (11,14) (8,9) (4,7) (2,9) (7,4)

Lvl9: No need to zoom

We also have a video walkthrought for your pleasure only : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izMz9qYVWXY

Ratings

Overall 970th 3.38⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1182th 3⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 123th 4⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1034th 3.38⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1056th 3.28⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Audio 688th 3.313⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Mood 697th 3.48⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 42🗳️ 25🗨️

Feedback

Blue Pin Studio
06. Oct 2020 · 18:40 UTC
I had a hard time figuring out what exactly was happening when i pressed space and why it didn't work sometimes. I managed to find the pattern for going into seperate boxes but i couldnt predict where i would end up and i couldnt figure out why it didnt work sometimes. Not a bad submission i can tell you put a lot of effort into the lore.
m7rk
06. Oct 2020 · 18:50 UTC
holy CRAP this game is cool. Once you understand the move mechanic it's very clever.
well done!
Skleembof
06. Oct 2020 · 18:56 UTC
The mechanics were not well explained. I was so confused at first.
I think the problem is that "zooming" in with a magnifying glass makes no sense and the blur effect makes it more confusing.

I thought it had something to do with the placement of the character on the screen. Like when you zoom in, the board gets bigger but your character stays the same and the new position is calculated based on where your position overlapped with the zoomed in board.

Obviously i was completely overthinking it and it was a lot simpler than that.


Once I figured it out it was a solid puzzle game. Definitely try to rethink how you communicate the mechanics to the player
Tastyghost
06. Oct 2020 · 19:23 UTC
The mechanics are really confusing, I stoped playing before I got it. However the art is nice.
WetBurritoSupreme
06. Oct 2020 · 19:28 UTC
Great puzzle setup, I didn't know loupe was french, but a loupe is the word for a small manifying glass used by jewelers and watchmakers.
BellringerQuinn
06. Oct 2020 · 19:52 UTC
Beautiful game. I wish the space bar mechanic were explained clearer. It seems as though I push space and I teleport somewhere randomly? There were also a couple typos in the story.
Tvorojok
10. Oct 2020 · 11:08 UTC
What an incredible game! Great job!
Gonzalol
10. Oct 2020 · 11:41 UTC
It's an interesting interpretation of the theme. I like how you created a story and a background for your characters. Anyway, I don't really understand how to play, I keep pressing space and changing the stage until the end.
tatawanda
10. Oct 2020 · 11:51 UTC
Hey @gonzalol, yes we did not well on that part (explaining the mechanism), yet you can find an explanation in the description.
BjornStahl
10. Oct 2020 · 14:48 UTC
Really cool game once you understood it, I like puzzle games and this was really well implemented. Liked the mood set by the visual and sfx, good job.
zaibakk
10. Oct 2020 · 16:25 UTC
Extremely good entry! The puzzle mechanic is very innovative and fun! Also theme is well fitted and nice mood! Very nice job guys!
Gurigraphics
10. Oct 2020 · 18:54 UTC
Very interesting mechanics. Level design could perhaps start with something very simple to facilitate understanding. Maybe four squares. Good job
SpaceStrawberriesStudio
10. Oct 2020 · 21:23 UTC
loved the graphics
Ale
10. Oct 2020 · 21:31 UTC
That was pretty unique, but got super confusing once the grid size increased. I got stuck on this first level with the purple blocks. Playing this game feels like trying to rub your stomach and tap your head at the same time lol.
Tino
10. Oct 2020 · 21:47 UTC
Nice puzzle game! For the time given to make it it is a very solid entry. I finished everything without looking at the solutions (which, btw.. why?).

Anyway the mechanics idea was absolutely unique to me and it has I believe a lot of potential. Your game is really cool and deserves recognition!!

#### Now entering "eventual post jam version" feedback mode:
##### Levels design
In the later levels I sometimes accidentally won while actively following another solution that I had found and planned carefully with my poor little brain alone, but ended up winning before "randomly" on the way removing a good chunk of the satisfaction you're looking for when playing this genre. Since after a certain size of squares trying out every possibilities becomes impossible for a human, I think what could be interesting would be to try to explore algorithms to generate levels with only 1, 2,... or n solutions (should be similar to algorithms for making sudoku grids).
##### Graphics
From 4x4's to more it becomes very hard to distinguish in an efficient way while thinking about a path solution and memorizing it (at least for me). We could say we need a loupe to play your game... (nice one me, nice one...) Finding a way using the art to much better distinguish big squares from small squares would make the game much better for a small effort cost.
#### End of "eventual post jam version" feedback mode.

Again bravo for this game, I enjoyed playing it fully.
Innovation is a five star without any doubt for me.

If you would like to try out another potentially too complicated to understand puzzle game, but somehow still understood and enjoyed by puzzle game lovers, feel free (but not obliged) to check out our :)
melhem_fares
10. Oct 2020 · 23:29 UTC
I'm usually not a fan of puzzle games but this one was really interesting. Once I figured out the mechanic I really felt my brain working. The story compelled me to keep on going until the end. The game also really fits well with the theme. The choice of background music and sound effects were also great. There are a few tweaks I would suggest though. I noticed a few spelling and grammar mistakes. Also, a main menu with instructions would be nice. Overall though, a solid 4.5 stars from me. Excellent work!
orlandobatista
10. Oct 2020 · 23:59 UTC
This game is very confusing at first but when you figure out how it works it completely transforms the way you see it. Solid puzzle mechanics, good artwork and sound. Can't say about the story, to be honest I didn't reach the end, but enjoyed the time I was playing it (when I started to actually think about and stopped to try random squares :sweat_smile:). If it just had a better player introduction would be a fantastic entry, but it is still very good though. Congratz!
thesnide
15. Oct 2020 · 15:08 UTC
I almost rage-quit the game, but after reading the comments and the fact that everyone took rather some time to get it, I assumed it wasn't just me :wink:.

So, I did try again, but still didn't get it :face_palm:

That said, apart the game mechanics, which seems isn't for me, it is super nicely done!
TheGreenWorm
17. Oct 2020 · 19:54 UTC
A true brain twister. Overall aesthetic is a little uneven in my opinion, and adding a "ghost" that shows where you'd end up if you pressed space could help !
Johnnyv
21. Oct 2020 · 14:34 UTC
Great game! I really quite enjoyed it!