Limited Headspace by OadT

[raw]
made by OadT for Ludum Dare 54 (COMPO)

Can you achieve your goals with only limited short-term memory?

Post Compo fixes

  • There was a bug that allowed skipping/retrying levels exacty when it should actually be locked and preventing it when it should be allowed (surprise, the fix was to delete a single !). This lead to so many confusion that I saw the rule for post jam fixes justified.
  • It was possible to stack nodes that weren't supposed to be stackable because I checked for the label instead of id. This was also game breaking.

Controls:

When there is a screen explaining things, please press SPACE to progress

The other controls will be explained by the game.

Troubleshooting:

  • If you get a Memory too full screen while there is actually memory left just release all keys and press SPACE

Ratings

Overall 53th 4⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Fun 155th 3.606⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 4th 4.697⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 4th 4.632⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 117th 3.779⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Audio 180th 3.191⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Humor 140th 2.919⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Mood 112th 3.581⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Given 36🗳️ 46🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 372425
02. Oct 2023 · 14:11 UTC
That was a very unique game. I think it was a great utilization of the theme. One thing that I missed the first time through is that I was supposed to use the space bar. Because of this I accidentally skipped through the tutorial. After I restarted and followed the tutorial it made a lot more sense. Aesthetically, everything here works really well. The graphics, presentation, music, and sound effects all fit together. Great job!
LDJam user 374261
02. Oct 2023 · 14:30 UTC
Gread game idea! took some time to fully understand the rules, but was really fun to play :)
Yorsh
02. Oct 2023 · 14:55 UTC
Interesting idea! It leads to some cool puzzles, and quite a lot of them.

It's a little buggy at times but nothing major except the tutorial. I moved at the start and broke it. Also, it's a little bit weird that you have to overload your memory in the tutorial, I got stuck a while cause it made no sense to me. The issue is that some people will probably just assume the game is broken, leave harsh feedbacks and move on. So my advice would be to warn about the ig tutorial and add a text tutorial on the ludum/itch pages, cause the rest of the game deserves to be played.

In the end I got stuck at the one with 2yellow, 1 red 1 blue 1 green, idk if it's a hard one or I'm dumb. It was fun, congrats on the game!
Unentokku
02. Oct 2023 · 14:57 UTC
At first I thought I had to drag the key to the brain but once I realized there were separate sections for vision and memory it had no trouble. Also not sure why one level had a note about it being the intended solution, maybe the fact that there was no need to push red?
aerial
02. Oct 2023 · 15:02 UTC
Unique concept indeed. I spent quite some time on the final level and somehow managed to solve it after pushing things around for a bit =D. Good stuff. Experimenting with the different mechanics and solving all the puzzles was really fun. The art is also neat. Very nice work!
Matt Blake
02. Oct 2023 · 15:24 UTC
Really cool game! It took me a few levels to really understand the mechanics. Once I got through more tutorials, it started to make more sense.
Pincushion
02. Oct 2023 · 15:32 UTC
The memory mechanic is wonderful. It's the first time I see this, and I wonder how far it can be taken? This gives me Baba is You vibes (especially when I started pushing stuff).

"Yes this was the intended solution" - too funny. By that point, I was just trying random stuff.

Bug report: The restart wasn't possible until my memory was full. I know there were others, but I used this one a bunch.
🎤 OadT
02. Oct 2023 · 15:34 UTC
@yorsh Thank you for your feedback! No worries, the level you got stuck at is basically the last level. Originally it was easier but unfortunately I had to make it more complicated, because the original version had a trivial solution. I am myself not really satisfied with this level anymore :sweat_smile:
alec
02. Oct 2023 · 15:47 UTC
Really unique interpretation of the theme! I glitched out of the tutorial a couple times, but after restarting I was able to receive the rest of the instructions and understand what to do. I'm glad I did because this game was so fun to play! I really enjoy logic puzzles and was so pleased to see an entry like this. Nice job!
Plepletier
02. Oct 2023 · 16:09 UTC
Great concept for the game! I thoroughly enjoyed the puzzles involving placing and removing memories.

The gameplay is very good, but in the beginning, it took me a bit of time to understand how to place memories and what I needed to do. However, once you grasp it, the game flows well. Good job!
brainles etertainment
02. Oct 2023 · 16:12 UTC
Pretty neat graphics style, but since I am a fan of run-and-shoot games it was too hard to get into.
txomin
02. Oct 2023 · 16:19 UTC
I did not understand everything, cleared some level thoughtfully, other not so much but I managed to the end! Good idea, could definitely see this expanded in a longer game. Plus the art is pretty and clean. Great job 👏
Zerbu
02. Oct 2023 · 16:25 UTC
Really interesting take on the theme! It was a bit confusing at first, but once I understood what to do, it was fun.
Vollfeiw
02. Oct 2023 · 17:13 UTC
Pretty cool game, so bad that I really sucks at puzzle games x)
Panda king 976
02. Oct 2023 · 17:33 UTC
I really like the premise and potential but some of the earlier levels don't require you to understand the mechanics, It's a nice game though.
Kaimon
02. Oct 2023 · 19:09 UTC
You embrace the theme with an interesting way and the game is overall pretty fun to play ! Goob job
LDJam user 377116
02. Oct 2023 · 19:18 UTC
10/10 has duck loading screen :D I did not really understand what i was doing, felt a bit like the baba is you idea. juggling a lot of text is a bit difficult but good job! Very complex idea!
Donitz
02. Oct 2023 · 20:44 UTC
Clever game, and it's very thematic too. These kinds of logic games, like Baba is You, are a great deal of fun to figure out.
LDJam user 376284
02. Oct 2023 · 21:47 UTC
Very interesting! I couldn't get the restart button to work, but this is really innovative!
NullCode
02. Oct 2023 · 23:36 UTC
Very innovative, and very clever use of the theme! It is a bit confusing as to how the memories system actually functions and what each individual node does other than add points to capacity. I ended up encountering a few bugs, such as having a single question mark or a single 'is' inside my brain. Solid Submission overall though
LDJam user 277876
03. Oct 2023 · 00:37 UTC
Wow! Such an amazing idea! I'll see what I can contribute comment-wise that hasn't already been so before (it has only been 2.5 hours out of 3 weeks! Good job man!). The interpretation of the theme is delightfully abstract but nevertheless logical and was integrated into a digestible yet cerebral puzzler. Despite simplistic graphics the mood is surprisingly fitting for the old man. New mechanics are added with their needed care/teaching, yet still introduced smoothly without slowing the pace of the game. This is some incredible work from a level design perspective, jeez Louise! Can't wait to see what else you come up with in future Jams :)
MasterProject
03. Oct 2023 · 13:17 UTC
I absolutely love this game - its execution is superb, and its premise, oh my god. Taking the idea 'limited space' and transforming it into an information theory puzzle with an old man as its main character is just... so awesome. I love what you did with this one. Great game, no notes.
PowerOfSin
03. Oct 2023 · 19:25 UTC
Very unique and intriguing. With complex set up like this, it's no wonder there are so many warnings about how fickle it is if wrong buttons are pressed xD

Took a while to get in the hang of things but it went smooth afterwards.
Got me a bit emotional in the end too.

It also got me thinking if reality shifts due to memories or it's the other way around? Thought-provoking.
🎤 OadT
04. Oct 2023 · 09:34 UTC
I took a glance at why the game seems to be so broken for all players since this seems to be too big of an issue. Turns out I had implemented locking skipping/restarting levels during explain screens, but I implemented it exactly the opposite way. This fix seems justified to me by the rules, but if anyone disagrees please let me know!

All comments after this played the patched version.
fusionnist
05. Oct 2023 · 21:16 UTC
Quite amazing! I feel like the idea has a lot of potential. You got to hear my thoughts on the entry already ;) Cheers!
UnitedFailures
08. Oct 2023 · 20:31 UTC
Another OadT classic! Jam after jam you consistently put out some of the most unique puzzle games and this is not exception!

I really loved this game. Gave me "Baba is You" vibes, and is a really neat way to gameify logic puzzles. My only suggestion would be to make the "Pill" implication mechanic not hard-coded in to add a bit more challenge.

The core gameplay is great overall though! Favorite / hardest levels were the ones towards the end with the "red is pushable" rules. If you ever decide to add more levels please LMK, because I'd love to try them :)
🎤 OadT
09. Oct 2023 · 14:49 UTC
@unitedfailures Thank you soo much for the kind words! Glad we have this tradition of rating each others game since I also always enjoy checking out your game :slight_smile: Already looking forward to what you come up with in April!

Funnily the actions when you press `SPACE` are actually already implemented in the same way as colors or shapes (or also "pushable") are. But there was a level design crisis on sunday evening :smile: so sadly I wasn't able to turn this into some actual level. Thank you for the feedback!
CaptainDreamcast
13. Oct 2023 · 02:27 UTC
Super fun puzzle game! I greatly enjoyed figuring out the solutions to the puzzles and what you managed to do with the puzzle framework. Especially the last level (lol, the intended solution popup). Also had a big "ah, of course" moment during the puzzle with the pill, the sock and the key, I think that makes a puzzle game feel good, when you feel you have that moment where you solve a puzzle and you're proud of coming up with the solution and I had that a lot here. There was a also a nice sense of progression, there were new elements added every few levels, that kept it feeling fresh. Amazingly well-designed! Loved the ending too, that gave it a lot of heart, I think that was a nice touch. Very well done!
digital bacon
20. Oct 2023 · 12:31 UTC
Very interesting little puzzle game. Excellent work!