Philosophy on Rails: An Introduction to the Western Canon by mmason

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

Sound On

Audio is an very important part of the game, we highly recommend you turn your sound on

Since time immemorial, learned minds have debated how best to behave in society. What is 'right', and what is 'wrong'? By what standard should we judge each other? What is a justifiable use of power, and who decides? Most of all, who should we entrust to lead our society?

To help answer these questions, we've created Philosophy On Rails: An Introduction to the Western Canon- a teaching tool and personality enhancement that will teach you about the great minds of history while helping you sharpen your own sense of moral rectitude. We've taken the Trolley Problem- a thought experiment that occupied such great minds as Socrates, Sun Tzu, and Thomas Aquinas (and even some not-so-great ones like Plato and Heidegger)- and put our own modern spin on it. All you have to do is make a simple choice- who gets hit by a trolley, and who lives to get hit by a trolley later? Over a series of (approximately) fifteen simple exercises, you'll develop a keen understanding of history, philosophy, and morality. When you attain the rank of Golden Philosopher King, you'll know everything you need to know about how to solve social problems big and small with the power of philosophy!

All music by Kevin MacLeod All voice by us

Ratings

Overall 438th 3.76⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1075th 3.104⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 159th 3.958⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 116th 4.24⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1076th 3.26⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Audio 192th 3.9⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 65th 4.146⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Mood 395th 3.771⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Given 25🗳️ 23🗨️

Feedback

Feiko
05. Oct 2020 · 23:24 UTC
The audio is gorgeous the theme is quite Innovative and I had a lot of fun playing it big ups to the producer and the voice actors the only thing I didnt enjoy that much was the graphics but graphics are I.M.O. the least important thing in a game (i'm not saying it's not important but I prefer gameplay over graphics and you gave the gameplay) good job with this entry from the 6 games I already played this was the best
Demetri
05. Oct 2020 · 23:30 UTC
I enjoy how the philosophy starts going 'off the rails' into absurd statements.
05. Oct 2020 · 23:42 UTC
Only at 53 right now, but I already love it.
🎤 mmason
05. Oct 2020 · 23:51 UTC
@feiko the music is Kevin MacLeod, we did everything but that

@demetri I have no idea what you mean... none at all..

Anonymous I won't fault you for posting anonymously, we understand
alpharock6
06. Oct 2020 · 08:40 UTC
Wow! I did not expect to hear nearly that many fully voiced variations. Really impressed with the work put into this, and quite funny as well :)
Tamail
06. Oct 2020 · 09:06 UTC
You lost me when I had to choose between a "Puppy" and a "Puppy :heart: " :smile: Amazing idea though, loved it a lot - I enjoyed the voiceovers, too, first time I see something like this! Great job. :)
Also, it's sooooo funny! Like extremely funny! Art is also great!
Tryston
07. Oct 2020 · 03:07 UTC
Loved the naration and cool connection to the theme.
riroriro
07. Oct 2020 · 03:07 UTC
Holy moly what a trip! I had multiple belly laughs playing this game - it's easily the funniest of the Jam for me! TIL: I am a terrible person :smile: Keep doing what you do - I would pay to play another game from y'all!
mafgar
07. Oct 2020 · 03:10 UTC
I am confused and I love it
UnhandyRed
07. Oct 2020 · 03:13 UTC
So, I got to 63 and it hasn't changed in a bit. but I enjoyed myself along the way, I think famous misquotes are my new favorite thing
🎤 mmason
07. Oct 2020 · 18:44 UTC
@alpharock6 we wanted to do something different for this jam, we hope we've succeeded :smile:

@tamail achieving moral excellence requires difficult choices, good on you for pushing through!

@tryston thanks, voice is a new thing we wanted to try adding

@riroriro terrible? maybe, moral? definitely, your certificate of morality should be in the mail soon

@mafgar Confuseus says "He who isn't confused has learned nothing"

@unhandyred weird, you should have been finished in 15 rounds, let me check in with the boys in the lab and I'll get back to you
Anant Ahuja
08. Oct 2020 · 06:04 UTC
It's become really trippy and I'm still coming across new quotes and dialogues! How much content is there? Good effort and funny.
🎤 mmason
08. Oct 2020 · 12:59 UTC
@anant-ahuja I think we have something like 54 voice audio files that we actually used and quite a few transitions and a few audio files that didn't even make it in
ChrisBurnell
08. Oct 2020 · 22:52 UTC
This game was unlike anything I'd ever played before, and it executed so, so well. I couldn't stop playing, much to the chagrin of the narrators, as each round just got better and better. Supremely hilarious game, fantastic concept, superb voice acting and writing, and just a joy to play!
eptwalabha
10. Oct 2020 · 14:12 UTC
Ha ha, thanks to you, I discover the great philosopher Potato, I really like his view on wealth ;)
Karolina Lewszyk
14. Oct 2020 · 07:50 UTC
Ok I got to 42 and decided maybe it's time to stop :D Tbf, it took me a little while to remember the theme is 'loop' so I probably won't get to the end with this one :D But even after realising that I kept going :D The narration/dialogue kept it very interesting :D I love that even after 40 I still heard new lines, and that with time the quotes are changed too. Had to stop because the visuals got so distorted they made me dizzy, but I do wonder how much more content would there be after that :P Great job on this one :) Definitely kept me in a loop :D And made me question my morals xP
PixelPaw
19. Oct 2020 · 11:31 UTC
I have no idea what is going on.
gamebuilder
31. Oct 2020 · 18:22 UTC
Plato and Heidegger are great minds — don't let politics get you down.