Radio Beacon 34 by 3blackpixels

[raw]
made by 3blackpixels for Ludum Dare 59 (JAM)

cover3d.png

You are a radio beacon worker in a world after a nuclear war. There are two endings.

How to play. 1. You need to search for a signal by rotating the knob. When the signal is found, the oscilloscope will display the signal curve. 2. Now you need to refine the signal using the two knobs located below the oscilloscope. The correct signal has the form of a sine wave. A message will be displayed on the screen above the keyboard. By refining the signal, you remove errors from the message. 3. To read the message, press the key in the middle of the keyboard. how<em>to</em>play.png

Controls: WASD - move, E / LMB - interact, MOUSE WHEEL - tuning knob, SPACE - sitdown/stand up

Made by one person.

Ratings

Overall 240th 3.833⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 465th 3.315⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 413th 3.404⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 51th 4.519⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 244th 3.712⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Humor 468th 2.643⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 68th 4.269⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 49🗳️ 36🗨️

Feedback

CaptainSpoof
Apr 20th · 22:20 UTC
we have very similar game art style!
bereg
Apr 21st · 10:32 UTC
Great game concept. My only complaint is that controlling it with the mouse wheel gets tiring quickly, and my finger starts to hurt. It would be worth coming up with a more ergonomic option. Otherwise, everything is great: the story, the atmosphere, and the art style.

I didn’t fully understand how to tune the frequencies correctly, but luckily that didn’t stop me from reading the message. I also wasn’t sure if there are other endings, or if it was possible to prevent the group’s death.

There’s so much interesting stuff here. I hope you’ll be able to make an expanded version of the game after the jam.
LDJam user 409682
Apr 21st · 21:08 UTC
The visual style — my compliments. It’s so good that I’d love to have it as a desktop wallpaper.
MicleFirst
Apr 21st · 22:02 UTC
You have incredibly appealing visuals!
On the downside, I’d point out the rather unpleasant alarm sound. It was quite distracting while I was trying to figure out the controls.
Overall, the concept looks great
Yanato
Apr 23rd · 00:23 UTC
10/10 Sad ending:(
plutonicrock
Apr 23rd · 18:09 UTC
howwwwwwwww is the game art so good. Amazing concept and really interesting narrative!
Moony_91
Apr 23rd · 18:24 UTC
Nice game! I like the simplicity of it, yet you need to puzzle quite a bit to decipher the message.
LDJam user 423872
Apr 23rd · 19:19 UTC
The art and sound are very well done. I like the mechanics of receiving and decoding the signal.
Dimonasdf
Apr 23rd · 19:53 UTC
Aww man, I really though I could do both things quickly. We need the 3rd ending :)
half-animal-half-beast
Apr 24th · 01:36 UTC
beautiful visuals, i really liked those tiny little rooms.

there’s quite a bit of text, and after playing several entries in a row it started to feel a bit heavy. maybe a bit more balance between reading and interaction could make it flow even better.

still, really charming overall, enjoyed the vibe a lot :)
IRKAR
Apr 24th · 07:50 UTC
Cool art style but game in browser look around buged)![Screenshot_20260424_104604.png](///raw/25b/76/z/728cc.png)
NiceKot
Apr 24th · 12:32 UTC
Very well done. Great vibe and concept. Would've like to learn more about what's going on there etc. but it tells enough to get it.

Probably one complaint is that the pause between the alarm in the end and the incoming message is too long. I had to make a second playthrough because the incoming signal arrived only when I have already opened the door. So I haven't realized that there's a choice to be made.

Anyway, glowing 5* from me.
VenomousMouse
Apr 24th · 17:50 UTC
Not very fond of filters. But in general, nice idea, solid mechanics. Good game.
NikaZ
Apr 25th · 06:10 UTC
Gameplay is simple, but very immersive. I felt tense for most of the game. Good visual, sounds and atmosphere overall. Nice game!
noneegy
Apr 25th · 06:16 UTC
It is a nice game. The graphics are well done, the audio is really good, and the narrative was interesting. Good job!
Psevdonim
Apr 25th · 14:19 UTC
A solid project. The gameplay is simple, but the environments are cool and immersive. I initially skipped to the ending where Maxim survived, because I misunderstood and thought I should let the group into the bunker instead of running out and saving myself xD
Then I quickly replayed the second one, where we end up dying, but Anna and the group survive.
I wonder if there's a good ending?
rvenson
Apr 25th · 20:48 UTC
The immersive gameplay and story really pull me in.
digital bacon
Apr 26th · 03:57 UTC
Cool game. Love the three-step decoding process. Pretty art style, easy controls, great sounds.

Excellent work -- well done!
aniretti
Apr 27th · 20:00 UTC
interesting game! i really liked the atmosphere, setting, narrative, and graphics. it was a bit difficult to figure out at first because i was trying to decipher the signal from frequency 108, and the sound of the red light almost drove me crazy :D

i didn't quite understand how to get the other ending and why the correct and fake coordinates are needed? i didn't seem to have any options to make a choice or respond to transmissions... although maybe i did something wrong.

by the way, you have excellent radio knob sensitivity. i've played several games with this mechanic, and many were unresponsive and poorly implemented, but yours is great!

when one of the white bulbs burst it scared the shit out of me

in any case, great submission!

upd: i read the comments and realized the choice is whether to go out the door or not. i'll try to get the good ending!
LDJam user 9418
May 07th · 09:39 UTC
I wish there more choices when talking, so I can ask, the game would feel not so linear. Overall great execution, I liked the style, atmosphere and arstotzka-like vibes
BorodaOlen
May 07th · 09:44 UTC
Very pleasant graphics and atmosphere — it turned out great and fits the theme well.