SOS by dan-whiffing

[raw]
made by dan-whiffing for Ludum Dare 59 (JAM)

A morse code based puzzle game.

Move with WASD/Arrows. Interact with space/left mouse button.

Use R to restart the terminal quickly.

Use M to toggle mute.

Ratings

Overall 345th 3.68⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 419th 3.38⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 78th 3.98⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 117th 4.24⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 436th 3.74⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Audio 291th 3.6⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 311th 3.82⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 17🗳️ 28🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 424198
Apr 21st · 01:12 UTC
I tried to play, I liked the mechanics with the Morse code set. It's really cool, even if it's a little difficult for me
Arada
Apr 21st · 02:20 UTC
Interesting idea!
Hefei S
Apr 21st · 03:59 UTC
Luving the idea! The way of interaction wiz terminal through morse code is super interesting and original for me! Got a bit stuck going through the door though
matt2728
Apr 21st · 04:08 UTC
Disclosure: I wasn't able to finish it with time I had allotted to play it.
**I've never learned how morse code worked, so this was awesome to play.**

I'm not sure when I unlocked the first door typing "hello". But I didn't notice it was unlocked. I kept thinking I was failing, despite having got all the letters.
So note for others, if you think you got all the letters, check the door, it may have have opened.

`Use space bar instead of clicking`

**NOTE: I think you should update your thumbnail, and add some screenshots to your page**
bearcage
Apr 21st · 07:58 UTC
Super interesting! I'm not sure I quite got everything, and it def took a little time to get the hang of how long a dash needed to be to recognize, but I had fun trying to internalize some morse and work out a bit of the mystery!
PastMoments
Apr 21st · 11:18 UTC
The visuals on the morse code might be the best I've seen so far. It's really satisfying to type in the message itself. I think having a separate screen for the responses might make it a bit easier. Overall a fun mechanic with a nice story attached.

FYI the game does not work on Firefox, I had to use Chrome to play it.
ExciteMike
Apr 22nd · 03:25 UTC
Neat! I did beat it, but for the keypad I only found clues for three of the numbers? But could brute force it from there
🎤 dan-whiffing
Apr 22nd · 03:36 UTC
@excitemike Thanks for playing! Two clues are in each room. The west room has the dripping pipe, and the different sized rocks. The east room has the blinking light and the wall graffiti
DzejPi
Apr 22nd · 05:49 UTC
Great atmosphere! I couldn't get a cursor grab on my Windows machine in Chrome, but it worked for on me on Mac, so, thankfully I was able to get to play it! Like the others, I really liked how the signal was represented, definitely one of the most satisfying presentations, but it took me a while to figure everything out.

I love seeing React Three Fiber used here. I wanted to make my own starting project template in R3F and make a game in it in the future (so that I improve my React/TS which we use at work), but it's kinda haunting idea still, as my React and TypeScript skills are definitely not that great yet. How was the experience overall?
🎤 dan-whiffing
Apr 22nd · 13:13 UTC
@dzejpi Sorry to hear you had trouble! I tested on Windows chrome and didn't have a pointer lock issue, go figure :/ Glad you were able to get it working on osx. It is a bit challenging, but good to hear the presentation was enough to keep you going.

I'm a big fan of r3f over godot/unity/unreal. Comparatively very light weight, with the trade off of having to build more things yourself. Using triplex in vs code gives you a visual editor, though it can be rough around the edges. Give it a shot and see if you like it! It's nice having web builds that are only a few megabytes
DzejPi
Apr 22nd · 18:41 UTC
@dan-whiffing thank you for the comment! Great to hear! I was able to get some basic 3D scene going relatively easily, and I even planned some nicer UI using Tailwind. Gotta check Triplex; I was iterating by essentially forcing specific scenes to load right away and was just using hot reload.

I stopped with my project before implementing some loading logic for 3D models and I was also quite worried about implementing animations for those models, because yeah, R3F is nice, but using engines is definitely more convenient, since these things are already implemented there.

Thanks for the info, encouraged me for sure!
rainot
Apr 23rd · 02:39 UTC
Very cool idea, but it was a bit too hard for me personally. Maybe I just have too bad memory and too bad timing :x I would only suggest making terminal possible to turn on without having cursor pointed on it. I would make it easier to look at the wall with the hint while inputing the code.
LDJam user 427605
Apr 23rd · 08:55 UTC
I realized the game requires a good understanding of Morse code. Unfortunately, I don't, so I can't evaluate it. Perhaps if there were hints at the locations, it would be easier to figure it out.

But, in any case, the execution is good.
🎤 dan-whiffing
Apr 23rd · 12:31 UTC
@yarcha thanks for playing! You don't need to understand morse code to play. Each location has graffiti on the wall indicating different letters you need. Quincy's responses can be read to see how to do other letters. Since the terminal doesn't restrict you, you can tap out whatever you want to see what the letters are. Sorry you weren't able to enjoy it!
LDJam user 427605
Apr 23rd · 12:36 UTC
@dan-whiffing I apologize for my inattention! I'll try again.
JerryWest
Apr 23rd · 16:29 UTC
Type morse code by my hand is a cool experience! I like this Idea. But I failed to find correct answer...
In level three, I saw code on wall "-... -.-. .-.."but after I type them in console nothing happened. I want to know how to get correct answer
🎤 dan-whiffing
Apr 23rd · 17:42 UTC
@jerrywest Thanks for playing! It's a puzzle game, not a "Write down what you see on the wall" game. In level 3, the terminal will respond with "What is here". The letters you see on the wall are a clue to help you know how to write the answer. You'll have to use what you learned from level 1 and 2 as well.
JerryWest
Apr 23rd · 18:32 UTC
@dan-whiffing well, it's quite challenging for me. I still cant find what is perfect "answer" for these messages.btw I didn't solve lv 2. I just tried some times ,Somehow, the door opened.
LDJam user 384829
Apr 25th · 05:32 UTC
Nice game. I like the idea of learning how to use morse code, definitely a unique gameplay aspect. Graphics were great, but because I don't know morse code I couldn't figure out how to get past the second level. Overall, well done!
🎤 dan-whiffing
Apr 25th · 15:43 UTC
@pixel-studios Thanks! You don't need to know morse code, the game shows you all the letters you need to win. it's a environmental puzzle game, not a morse code test.
apt_prose7
Apr 26th · 08:48 UTC
Enjoyable gameplay that’s easy to get into.
LDJam user 423693
Apr 28th · 15:02 UTC
Interesting concept, hard to get at first but we get the hang of it !

Keep up the great work :)
WeGlove
May 01st · 09:54 UTC
Managed to get stuck on the first door:D
Baturinsky
May 01st · 14:08 UTC
Add the cover to your entry. No cover is usually associated with something low-effort or unfinished.

As for the game... Practical morse code "simulator" is a very interesting thing, because, while nearly everyone know about what it is, nearly nobody has "touched" it's "in flesh". I just wish game would focus more on the morse code itself (trying to pass it in various ways, or as fast as possible, or comprehending it), instead of guessworking about what game want you to say.
ping78
May 01st · 14:09 UTC
Great game! I love the creative twist on learning morse code. The graphics and levels were also cool. Why is collision so weird?
🎤 dan-whiffing
May 07th · 19:09 UTC
@baturinsky I honestly thought I had! Thanks for the reminder. Appreciate your feedback, was trying to make an environmental puzzle game on top of the morse code stuff, but I understand that I was not successful in making that part of the game interesting. Leaning more into learning morse code is a good suggestion.