Unfinished Valley by stochastic

[raw]
made by stochastic for Ludum Dare 50 (JAM)
  • About

I had an idea for some time, about a game like Harvest Moon, but instead of it being relaxing, it's stressful and full of pain and suffering. So I wanted to try prototyping it for this jam.

I managed to implement the most basic mechanics, but sadly I haven't had enough time to finish it. What you see here is just the most barebones concept of what the game could potentially be.

  • Controls

SPACE - Talk / Pick up item / Drop item / Collect water

Z or Y - Use shovel

X - Eat held item

C - Pick up / Drop an item stack

Ratings

Overall 858th 3.409⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1002th 3.091⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 442th 3.548⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 648th 3.69⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 347th 4.065⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Humor 731th 2.868⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 471th 3.69⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 25🗳️ 22🗨️

Feedback

Aymeric Le Moal
05. Apr 2022 · 13:23 UTC
Loved the concept. The game is pretty hard since you have a lot to figure out before understanding whats happening and what to do, but once you do its a lot of fun !
DaveCo
05. Apr 2022 · 13:26 UTC
I really like the Harvest Moon concept and your aesthetic. Looking forward to the game being more fleshed out because I wasn't really sure what to do.
Thomas Higgins
05. Apr 2022 · 13:33 UTC
I loved so many aspects of this, I 100% could dump way too much time into a dark lands farming game well done
clemonades
05. Apr 2022 · 13:34 UTC
This is such a cool little project. I really like the graphics! Great prototype with potential, nicely done.
BiOs3008
06. Apr 2022 · 10:41 UTC
hah nice game :D
Skleembof
06. Apr 2022 · 21:33 UTC
This is an awesome idea
While its obviously unfinished, the few minutes I spent playing it felt very unique. It's like a farming game that makes you question the whole point of farming. You spend time working the fields to try and sustain yourself, but the work takes up your entire day and drains your energy, and when you go to sleep (next to the corpse of your predecessor), you can be afflicted with any sort of bad luck or disease that inches you closer to death.

I felt like I had a sort of epiphany that farming was just a waste of my time and I should be doing something more valuable with the little life I had left

I don't know maybe I'm overthinking it but I'm sure there are a lot of unique directions you could take this type of game
FatiguedFox
07. Apr 2022 · 16:46 UTC
Really strong start for the idea. The concept is really intriguing, taking a more relaxing and colourful game and turning it on its head. And even if unfinished, the art looks awesome! Hope to see a further built version if you continue developing it.
ycb21
08. Apr 2022 · 15:53 UTC
Great prototype! I would love to play the finished version.
Rinta
08. Apr 2022 · 18:10 UTC
Great atmosphere and art.
The gameplay is unfortunately unfinished (the game stops working for me if I put anything in the chest, so there's no tangible way to "delay the inevitable"), but what's there is a solid foundation for a morbid farming simulator. Some kind of a cross between Graveyard Keeper and Darkest Dungeon, as I see it.
I like the idea of displaying random nightly events as cards drawn by the skeletor.
KingOfSpill
09. Apr 2022 · 05:18 UTC
The mood and the graphics of this are really lovely. The inversion of stardew valley / harvest moon's cheeriness is really interesting. Having a fortune reading each night adds a lot to trying to manage your crops. I feel like this project is a great skeleton and I want to see it fleshed out.
LDJam user 250825
09. Apr 2022 · 20:06 UTC
Moody entry! I haven't played any farming games so it took a while to realize why my potato wasn't growing after I just plopped it into a hole but after getting the hang of it I had a nice time :D Using space for interactions was a bit awkward for me as I was used to the Z/C controls from the gameplay.
Terabyte
16. Apr 2022 · 19:34 UTC
Good job! It's look wonderful!