Apnea by JulienLussiez
Instructions
Press "spacebar" while holding your actual breath to reach your goals.
Release "spacebar" when you're out of air and try to improve your apnea.
Post-Mortem
I prototyped a few ideas for this game jam: an interactive story with Twine about happiness; a point and click on the medical imagery of monsters; a 2D platformer where you went inside creatures; an arcade game like 'Downwell' but these ideas required a lot of assets.
I chose minimalism because it allows me to focus on the core of the game and the atmosphere, but at the same time, it's generally a bit visually poor and I wonder if this style could work with a bigger game. I still don't know which graphic style to go for, but what's certain is that minimalism allows me to focus on what I prefer: musical ambiance, programming, and game design, but it's difficult for me to be visually satisfied with it. Maybe if I manage to go beyond this style with a little more detail, we'll see.
Things I would have liked to improve
If I had time, I would have liked to add some marine flora and fauna and some visually interesting effects to reward deep diving, and perhaps a narrative about the deeper reasons that drive the diver to freedive. I think there would have been something to be said about the feeling of freedom. Perhaps in a post-jam version.
I hope you'll enjoy this little game!
Ratings
| Overall | 34th | 4⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 128th | 3.405⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 8th | 4.321⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 4th | 4.452⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 54th | 4.024⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 26th | 3.963⭐ | 42🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 20th | 4.175⭐ | 42🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 33🗳️ | 28🗨️ |
If I could give any suggestions, it would be cool to have some assets in the water as you get lower, maybe like a whale going by or something. As it stands, it could be good to have a portrait orientation on the aspect ratio. This would be great as a mobile game / simple mindfulness app. Really great work.
If you want to hear any suggestions, I will say maybe you can adjust the difficulty and add something like fish or jellyfish etc. It can make the frames not that boring and take players into the scenes better!!!
I like your GAME!!!
https://youtu.be/3ymgPid3YdM
Certainly top points for innovation... it's such an interesting idea to rely on the player actually holding their breath. I kinda wish the game was more than just a "hold breath for x seconds simulator". It would be cool if you actually had to explore while underwater.
Here's my recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChpx1DXfsc
The minimalism paid off.
Fantastic job.
PS I only made it through 40m maybe I need some training
Very relaxing game, I managed to go to 100m (I've already done freediving before), the sound that changes according to the depth is also a very good idea
Anyway, your game is great! It's first time i see the game which REALLY connect to reality without these Google Eyes, Kinect etc. Ok, I know another type of the games that actualy tell you what to do... But nvm ^_^
You are awesome, please, continue gamemaking. You will become great gamedesigner i believe!
I've gone through all the stages with hyperventilation method i saw from diver who set a world record for holding his breath
well done!
Feels like a relatively unexplored art: games that require some kind of good faith interaction on the user's end. A lot of Wii games were like this (sure you could waggle the remote, but you'd be missing out on whatever experience the developers intended).
Can't say there's anything I found lacking with the game, it's kind of a standout experience this jam.
Then, I like the minimalistic but effective and neat approach of the art style.
And finally, I'm a little surprised of which level I reached, giving that I smoke since around 30 years now… :open_mouth: :sweat_smile:
Well, all I have to say is: very good job!
You asked in a post if this would work with different graphics. IMHO it would, assuming the palette stays in the darkish, serious area. For now I think the minimal 1-bit approach works better, for two reasons:
- it moves the focus to audio, which drives the atmosphere (or, in essence, lack of thereof)
- the black background color as we dive deeper adds to the sense of isolation and depth
I enjoyed the entry quite a lot, congrats.
Just the courage and ability to make a game alone deserves my total admiration.
Congratulations!
It was fun and crossed the boundary of game and real world in a original way, conveying the theme in a unique way.
Thanks for the experience!