Scared by epb9000

[raw]
made by epb9000 for Ludum Dare 46 (COMPO)

This poor spirit is scared and alone. Can you get them to the exit?

Pretty straight-forward turn-based grid. As hope dwindles, the spirit becomes a bit less amenable to your direction. You cannot lose. The spirit's already kinda dead. But they can lose hope and shutdown. It's the spirit's hope you are keeping alive. That said, if you get stuck, will you also give up hope and abandon the spirit by exitting the game?

scared-cover.png

A quick note about the web version: Restarting the game doesn't appear to work, refresh the page and it should reload alright.

Ratings

Overall 580th 3.375⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 733th 3.025⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 202th 3.725⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 751th 3.4⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 715th 3.125⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 321th 3.475⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 19🗳️ 10🗨️

Feedback

silkworm_sweatshop
23. Apr 2020 · 23:07 UTC
Was a bit confused at first but I figured it out. Pretty unique entry! I wish there was some music/ambient sound to match the mood.
🎤 epb9000
03. May 2020 · 07:40 UTC
@silkworm-sweatshop , what's funny is I recorded the electric hum of my furnace to use for that very purpose. (Like the sound of the lights in Yomawari, Night Alone) I just ran out of time before I had a chance to put it in.
🎤 epb9000
03. May 2020 · 08:06 UTC
Unfortunately, the reason I ran out of time is that the spirit is the teensiest bit of a self-insert, which is slightly frustrating. I had a LOT more I wanted to do, but just couldn't get myself into a headspace to work effectively. I have a mood disorder, so I fluctuate between "I CAN DO ANYTHING" mode and "I'm fully awake but haven't moved in three hours, why bother, nothing will change" mode.
bkmld
03. May 2020 · 11:41 UTC
May want to update SSL certificate.Gameplay is a little slow. Nice idea. Music would be helpful.
TheShamo
03. May 2020 · 11:42 UTC
Very fun and unique little entry. I liked the simple graphics, it makes the player want ot take care of that little fella. Good job.
elmo
03. May 2020 · 11:59 UTC
the movement felt unresponsive, because you have to wait for some bar to fill until you can enter next move. moment que would help in my opinion and/or make the delay shorter. also i have no idea what the wisps do, brief tutorial would help a lot. I like the atmosphere that it was trying to deliver and i like the scribble graphics.
🎤 epb9000
03. May 2020 · 23:07 UTC
@bkmld Thanks for the heads up! certbot was supposed to run automatically on the first, but I guess it didn't. The certificate has been updated.
🎤 epb9000
03. May 2020 · 23:17 UTC
@elmo Indeed, I should have had a tutorial to introduce the different tiles, and I never did find the right balance for state->turn length.
AnarchoApathy
04. May 2020 · 05:07 UTC
Really fun and unique. The random levels could sometimes leave you stuck without any mood boosters, but overall it was a fun game.
JakobTheQuizGuy
04. May 2020 · 16:03 UTC
Awesome concept, and well executed too. I got attached to the spirit pretty quickly, it really feels like you're taking care of it. You've made a unique game, nicely done!
themadprogramer
05. May 2020 · 12:19 UTC
I really liked the game but some spawns were just too random (hope-orb is right next to monsters).

Still, it's fun to play if you get a nice set-up, nicely done!!
ayushka
06. May 2020 · 18:59 UTC
Awesome idea. A little bit frustrating when the spirit got stuck and I had no idea how to make it move again. But that's part of the gameplay. But it's really beautiful and captivating.
marcusnystrand
07. May 2020 · 09:51 UTC
Creative and interesting concept! The only thig missing is some creepy audio I think :)

Well done!
bentglasstube
08. May 2020 · 05:30 UTC
This was an interesting concept, unlike other games I've played. The simple graphics really help to set a bleak mood which fits well.

It might be better if you could see the grid to know where things line up, and I never really understood what the spinning things did. Sometimes the exit was too far away to reach even without mistakes, but that is life I guess?

Overall an interesting artistic presentation even if some of the gameplay was light.
Koolruz
08. May 2020 · 14:19 UTC
This was really neat! I agree with other commenters, you definitely get attached to the little spirit very quickly! After about five or so moves, I didn't want anything bad to happen to them, and I felt pretty determined to see them to the exit!

It took me a little bit of time to figure out that there was an indicator in the top right telling you how many spaces away from the exit you were - When I started out, I was just following candy and lights, assuming that they were indicators of where to go, and ended up very far off track. Once I saw the indicator in the upper right though, I managed to make it back and get the little friend to safety! :)
Duck Reaction
12. May 2020 · 12:12 UTC
Nice concept !

The spirit is very nice, I want to help him. The dialog system is very cool, it make the spirit more cute. It just missing cool audio ambiance.

Great job.