This zip file is not compatible with the itch desktop app (Used to download files in sandbox and more secure). Itch has a tool called butler that will automatically publish your game builds to itch in a way that is compatible with the desktop app and direct download. I recommend it.

This was so fun!! really clever use of the theme, and excellent execution. I particularly liked the library and the puzzle to get into town -- some really clever uses of the filesystem to support the game world.

Two spoilerish things: (https://rot13.com/)
* V sbhaq Ovyy gur Oht irel svefg naq raqrq hc fxvccvat n ynetr frpgvba bs gur tnzr orpnhfr bs vg
* V qvq n shyy onex-ynhtu jura V sbhaq Eryrnfr\Cebwrpg_ohvyq\Yhqbcuvyr\ybt ununun

Some notes for anyone else playing this:
* I unzipped this with 7zip and it worked (mostly) fine
* You should probably unzip this in as high a directory as possible; I unzipped mine directly into C:\ (after the first place I unzipped it had problems)
* 7zip didn't seem to unzip the links correctly, I had to `cat foo.lnk` in my terminal to see where the link led

Had some issues with shortcut links (unzipped with 7zip on Windows) but overall very nice and innovative! I definitely made some file system mazes as a kid, so it was really nice to see that carried to the next level.

This was really cool! I was a bit too tired while playing to get through it all and the shortcut issue was there, but I had a very good time with it otherwise. Very inventive!

This game was mind bending! I took so long to figure out what I was supposed to do! I don't want to spoil stuff for anyone but the game is in the file. I had a blast trying to solve the final puzzle and I had some help from my chat but we eventually solved it. Congrats on making something so unique and different! <3 what and insane experience

This is great! I didn't expect a game like this to be made in Ludum Dare. There were some cheese and I skipped a major part of the game on my first play, but went back after reaching the ending and enjoyed jokes and easter eggs here and there.

7zip worked for me too. At first I thought you were trolling about winrar because afaik winrar is not a free software.

i have only one question for you.
36.7k files.
how and why.
(okay, two questions). and yeah i couldn't make this game work. can you give us a little bit more info how this game was made? i'm positively thrilled.

@skoopidy What happened when you clicked on ludophile.exe?

@notan-lemon couldn't find this file

@skoopidy I've already removed the folder and can't remember exactly where, but it was not easy to find. Try going "deeper and deeper" into the folder.

@notan-lemon so finding the executable is a part of the game? i think you should mention this in the description

@skoopidy (For clarity: I'm not the developer, I'm just a player.) This game is disguised really well as an unfinished project, and telling the intention directly would ruin part of the fun. But I agree not telling it can ruin the experience too. In fact I gave up playing this game the first time I tried, and wouldn't have given it a second chance if I didn't learn the real intention from other players.

The sneaky part about this game is that it's so easy to mistake it for an incomplete LD entry, and I'm sad that you're note getting enough ratings as a result. I actually enjoyed the game thoroughly, despite overthinking half the puzzles.

Feedback and a question using https://rot13.com to avoid spoilers:
Gur snpg gung lbh pna svaq Ovyy qr oht naq haybpx gur pelcg jvgubhg frggvat sbbg va gur gbja vgfrys vf n ovg bs na vffhr.

V qba'g xabj jurer V jnf fhccbfrq gb svaq Svyrar'f ovegu qnl, jnf gung gur oebxra cneg bs gur tnzr nf zragvbarq? V raqrq hc oehgr-sbepvat gung fvapr ZZ/QQ ng yrnfg aneebjf vg qbja fbzrjung.

I haven't even finished it yet and this is already the funniest game I've played in a while.

Edit: Ok I've finished it now, this was such an incredibly charming and creative game. Definitely my favourite so far!

Oh well, gotta say this was.... unexpected. I've pretty much bruteforced it by writing a quick script to analyze the contents, but... oh man :) lnk files didn't work for me anyway and I couldn't copy it corectly to C drive where it might work... which I later found out is issue with my file manager which wasn't able to delete the resulting mess due to toooooo long paths.
Definitely... innovative brainfuck :D congratulation, this is one of the few ludum dare games I won't forget :D

Right, and I was confused by 40k files and 130mb game in the beginning. It's great - but I got stuck on the crypt. I am sure I got the 2x code in the correct order, but it just won't open it. Amazing entry, spent so much time exploring this!
I also got into the jail when trying to explore by size... You really thought of this huh.

@loyance Huh, other people seem to have been able to open the crypt. Are you certain you have the code in the right order (and not backwards of what you think it is perhaps?) And you're entering it twice, e.g. abcdabcd? (except with the appropriate four numbers of course)

Well, either way, glad you enjoyed it! :)

@jack-lance definitely going with the "thinner and thinner" order of numbers (twice, yeah). Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about it - probably just me pulling something stupid lol :smile:

Thanks for submitting your game to my stream! I uploaded the VOD if you'd like to rewatch (I start yours at 2:48:46):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC7ohNz5jGk

This is so good. I almost quit a bunch of times but I eventually ended up solving it, which I guess means the difficulty is good. I did have problems with some of the library shortcuts even after moving the game to the folder it wanted to be in, which was a little annoying. They were using "Go/Dir" instead of "Go to stacks/Directory", I think.

I cheated a bit and fbegrq sbyqref ol gurve fvmrf (https://rot13.com/). I really like the use of the theme in this game, very clever and genuine. Great entry!