Greetings, Human by boardtobits

[raw]
made by boardtobits for LD33 (COMPO)
Humanity are not the monsters, and it's your job to prove it. Inspired by games like "Papers, Please", and themes of first contact and cultural dissonance, "Greetings, Human" is a race against the clock to adapt to the cultural norms of 10 alien councilors before they vote on the fate of humanity.

After 10 encounters, the council will make its final decision. There are 3 levels of difficulty for more of a challenge.

Controls:
Use the mouse to interact with your codex and to choose the appropriate gestures.
When in the Codex you can click the button at the top right to meet with the current ambassador.
When meeting, the top right button will bring you back to the codex.

Made with Unity.
Font is Uniform Condensed by Miller Type.
Audio generated with SFXR and Otomata.
Graphics designed in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.52 197
Fun 3.12 397
Graphics 3.46 275
Humor 3.23 241
Innovation 3.62 123
Mood 3.48 176
Theme 3.40 467

Feedback

stahlmanDesign
24. Aug 2015 · 01:08 UTC
Funny intro story, really cool idea to do a game based on logic and mapping. Don't know how you did it in 48 hrs. Kind of hard but I love these turn-based games. Very different from the platformers and typical collision-based games (mine is a platformer)
bbqbaron
24. Aug 2015 · 01:15 UTC
Simple and elegant concept; just the right size for the compo. Kudos on your project management.
JayWoody
24. Aug 2015 · 01:55 UTC
I really liked the minimalistic touch mixed with the grandiose setting of it all.

The game taught itself pretty quickly so that's a very good sign.

I couldn't quite get how I'm suppose to tell male from female but I guess that was the whole point to introduce some uncertainty?

I would've liked some more difficulty in the later rounds and not keep it the same the whole game through.

All in all a very nice bite size game. Kudos!
Jamie Guillemette
24. Aug 2015 · 02:24 UTC
was able to make me feel pressure! good job!
like the art style.
timeloopedpowergamer
24. Aug 2015 · 02:27 UTC
Like the background and setting a lot. Very different game play--having to speed through your notes like that felt really authentic. Not much else to it, though. Would loved to have had a second reason to check. Some sort of second part to the encounters. Overall, good!
walaber
24. Aug 2015 · 03:27 UTC
Really cool idea! The mood is great, and overall it puts you in a stressed-out frame of mind as the clock ticks down.

great work!
keyle
24. Aug 2015 · 03:42 UTC
I loved it but I'm not sure you're such a monster?
swizzcheez
24. Aug 2015 · 03:43 UTC
Nice idea, took a bit to work out how hard should go though.
Dizzyman572
24. Aug 2015 · 03:44 UTC
Well done with this game! Loved the music and the character art. Also, very innovative mechanics!
thatwhichis
24. Aug 2015 · 03:50 UTC
now the song is IN MY BRAIN good news everyone i got us the votes :-D
FerraWare
24. Aug 2015 · 04:19 UTC
Really cool!

Pros:
-Visually stunning
-Really polished
-Cool story

Cons:
-Pretty repetitive
-Easy on Normal, Impossible on Hard
Halleflux
24. Aug 2015 · 04:19 UTC
I like it. Very like Papers Please, which I also liked. Having longer talks with each of the ten members, while having to keep in mind you manners throughout would improve the game, in my mind.
All in all, well done.
krasus
24. Aug 2015 · 04:59 UTC
I really liked it, it got quite challenging towards the end. Very polished and visually has a nice art style. Nice work!
orukinawa
24. Aug 2015 · 05:39 UTC
I love how you wrapped a simple memorizing mechanic into such a broad environment/lore and it really fits the theme!

P.S: The votes do not reset when I start a new game, is this done on purpose?
Yaroslav Kravtsov
24. Aug 2015 · 07:30 UTC
Ha! Insulting the aliens simulator!
frokes
24. Aug 2015 · 08:32 UTC
The story is kind of funny and the gameplay is too, but i would love to see a button to instantly go to the meeting, instead of the codex.
drakekin
24. Aug 2015 · 10:24 UTC
Won on easy and medium, tried hard a few times and bugger is it hard :D. Really enjoyed the game, regardless.
OadT
24. Aug 2015 · 12:53 UTC
Cool idea, also nice audio and graphics. A simple but also polished game
Komradus
24. Aug 2015 · 13:43 UTC
Really nice UI design, beautifully done. The game was cool but rather easy once you get the hang of it. Also, the text sometimes seemed to cause weird artifacts...on Windows x64 running the WebGL game in Chrome.
peterkirk
24. Aug 2015 · 14:46 UTC
I thought it was a clever take on the theme. There is nothing wrong with it I can see. Solid entry.
andreymust19
24. Aug 2015 · 14:59 UTC
Sorry, can't play. 'Out of memory' message.
moty
24. Aug 2015 · 15:59 UTC
Solid game, nice design and presentation. Music gets annoying after a few minutes, but other than that, really nice entry!
pixzleone
24. Aug 2015 · 16:59 UTC
Very cool artstyle and idea! Impressive! Good job!
ZzCalvinzZ
24. Aug 2015 · 18:03 UTC
nice and polished...really liked the concept...didn't find it that fun though...overall good job!
ruthiepee
24. Aug 2015 · 19:12 UTC
Wooooow what a great all-around game! The graphics are very stylish and well organized, the concept is completely solid and the gameplay is unique and fun. The music has the right mood despite being a really short loop, haha. I'm impressed with the scope of the game-- different difficulty levels, tons of different names and greetings... EXCELLENT game!
Jod
24. Aug 2015 · 19:18 UTC
Wow, that's very well done!

I love your clean, cohesive art style! The music and sfx is well done, too.

Found something though: I decided to do another playthrough, but it remembered the votes from my first playthrough. :D
scriptorum
24. Aug 2015 · 19:26 UTC
If you play a second game, it does not reset the votes or the codex from the previous play through.
KPapaGeorge
24. Aug 2015 · 21:43 UTC
very good concept and mood
the game play gets a bit repetitive
🎤 boardtobits
24. Aug 2015 · 22:06 UTC
Thanks all for the feedback! I'm am fixing the "second play" bug now. As far as the repetition of play goes, I agree 100%, and have more interesting plans if I continue to expand this game (unexpected schedule changes, small talk, negotiations, possibly even a mistake or two on your assistant's part). For LD33 though, I'm happy so many of you have enjoyed the game, soon with one less bug!
tanjent
24. Aug 2015 · 22:36 UTC
Very stylish and nice entry. I was a bit confused at first on what to click and what the countdown timer meant. I randomly clicked on the large notes board and then a guy popped up and let's just say I didn't really further our relations! I think it's a bit easy to miss the name of the ambassador and it might be good to have a blocking timer to preventing one to click by the presentation dialog :)
Perkovec
24. Aug 2015 · 22:49 UTC
I like it! It makes you think. I want to know what will be the end, but the ending a little disappointed. If you make a good scenario - i will buy it)
mcccclean
24. Aug 2015 · 23:15 UTC
Oh my gosh, I LOVE this. The idea is genius (I'd say a cool twist on Papers Please), it's got a great tension to it, the theme's awesome. Absolutely delightful. Oh man.

I'd say if you were to keep working on it, add more space for the player to mess up - like, earlier meetings have greeting/farewell, but later ones include extra interactions in between, like the diplomat tells a joke and you're expected to show appreciation for it, or something like that? Just my thoughts though! Great work!
chikun Dev Team
24. Aug 2015 · 23:19 UTC
I like games that function on their own internalized rules. Similar to Papers Please, learning the rules and applying them the game is good fun and a central component of the game. This one's short and sweet, and functions on a good idea. A lot of humor comes out of the absurdity of the interactions.

Where it falls slightly short is in the repetition of the gameplay and the lack of animation, and the soundtrack is a little too short to be looped ad nauseam.

Otherwise I think it's a neat idea, and a fun game. Impressed that it's a 48hr submission.
Arcadonauts
25. Aug 2015 · 00:57 UTC
Really interesting idea. The timer ticking down while I sort through my notes really kept engaged. The music added a lot to the mood, and the backstory felt very real to me.

I would have liked for there to be something more to the interactions (aside from hello/goodbye). Also, I was a little surprised to discover that gender is a universal constant.
ZacharyD
25. Aug 2015 · 03:45 UTC
Fun! Simple, but difficult. Good job!
Pusty
25. Aug 2015 · 07:09 UTC
Fun to play! Great idea
DruhinM
25. Aug 2015 · 10:09 UTC
That was a really good concept
Muush
25. Aug 2015 · 10:17 UTC
Good music, good graphics, really clever idea. Good job!
peterthehe
25. Aug 2015 · 10:30 UTC
Interesting concept, excellent execution. Slightly too easy, even on hard.
Acerio
25. Aug 2015 · 10:35 UTC
That was neat. I liked it.
Unept
25. Aug 2015 · 17:16 UTC
Great job on this. Very innovative and unique take on the theme. Reminds me of Papers, Please, which is a great thing.
David Yates
25. Aug 2015 · 20:19 UTC
That's a really cool take on the theme. I'm also very impressed by the simplicity and elegance of this game, as others have said. It's perfectly sized and perfectly executed for this kind of event.

I managed to get the council to vote in favour on hard mode, but it was quite stressful. The main challenge of the game was finding the name of the species in the giant, non-alphabetical codex: once I'd got that I had no trouble remembering and executing the greetings even for both male and female. The one time I upset a diplomat it was only because I'd clicked on a similar but wrong name and tried the greetings for that.

This game could also very easily be extended in many interesting ways. You could have longer conversations with each diplomat, you could have alien species with six genders like in an Ursula Le Guin story, and you could even make part of the challenge identifying whether the diplomat was male or female or whatever by their appearance.
OFF
25. Aug 2015 · 20:19 UTC
Really interesting interpretation of the theme, the difficulty seems well balanced. It's really a matter of speed and not a puzzle as i did understand but it's really efficient, and tricky.
snakezito
25. Aug 2015 · 23:15 UTC
A very interesting idea with very good execution. Great graphics.
Good job!
vividhelix
26. Aug 2015 · 03:45 UTC
finished with 8/2, interesting idea!
fafastudio
26. Aug 2015 · 21:00 UTC
I loved play that game ! I just wish the difficulty would have growned with time, but since you made it in 48 hours, i'm impressed ! :D
Well done !
yuigoto
26. Aug 2015 · 22:02 UTC
Nice storytelling, pretty interesting concept for a game! :)

The time required to play and have fun feels just right and the challenges are really nice too!

Feels like a mix of Papers Please, memory games and a "Where's Waldo" feel when you gotta search for the cards with greetings.

Really elegant, well thought and, btw, nice logo. :P
Shaw
26. Aug 2015 · 22:16 UTC
A wonderful original idea, great graphics and a awesome opening clip. Excellent work.
glerikud
27. Aug 2015 · 00:04 UTC
Nice, unique idea, fun and surprisingly atmospheric gameplay. Reminded me a little of a card flipping memory game. Maybe it could use some more diverse alien art.
Maxi and The Gang
27. Aug 2015 · 04:49 UTC
Nice game! it's very good for memory training.
Flygamer101
27. Aug 2015 · 13:12 UTC
Pretty cool, nice game.
30dogs
27. Aug 2015 · 15:14 UTC
Really cool take on the theme, very unique, nice compo entry. Not a great amount of depth to the gameplay but I can see where it could go with a little more time. Imagining the weird greetings/farewells was hilarious.
TeamCosmitronique
27. Aug 2015 · 22:04 UTC
That was a great concept. The game itself was quite fun.
Great entry!
Blobo
27. Aug 2015 · 23:59 UTC
Really well done. there is so much pressure when talking to an alien, because you need to remember 2 - 6 things about them. amazing work.
Matthew Rayfield
28. Aug 2015 · 02:10 UTC
I liked this one!

COol concept

Challenging yet simple

Cool looking aliens

niiiiiiiiiiiiiice one
Razoric
28. Aug 2015 · 12:21 UTC
Played through the whole thing, great game!
DaanVanYperen
28. Aug 2015 · 17:41 UTC
Very cool idea!
Hobopants
28. Aug 2015 · 19:20 UTC
Excellent take on the papers please idea, while sticking with the theme! Great Job
HappyHour
29. Aug 2015 · 07:43 UTC
Charming designs for the numerous alien races. This kind of genre isn't my forte, but I definitely see potential for the title to be expanded post-jam.
Kalkatos
30. Aug 2015 · 15:08 UTC
Interesting.
But it got a bit repetitive when I realized whats going on.
fistmaker
30. Aug 2015 · 18:14 UTC
Clean and functional game. Interesting concept.
carle13
31. Aug 2015 · 06:58 UTC
I really liked the idea of this game
jcwelgemoed
31. Aug 2015 · 20:36 UTC
Nice entry. a bit different from the rest. Liked it very much
guoboism
01. Sep 2015 · 08:34 UTC
Great game! It's fun to meet all those aliens each with each own rule to interact! Great concept
Josh Riley
03. Sep 2015 · 04:43 UTC
Really cool game mechanic, I could definitely see this being expanded on.
Crowbeak
03. Sep 2015 · 06:44 UTC
I really like the premise, but as someone living and working in a country not the one in which I was born, having it boil down to greetings felt like a serious let-down.
shawn42
04. Sep 2015 · 19:59 UTC
Neat little game. Lots of polish and the audio was great.
Wekid
05. Sep 2015 · 19:12 UTC
Awesome game, a great take on cultural awareness.
ManuelGF
08. Sep 2015 · 14:54 UTC
Original concept and polished game. Nice work
Stending
09. Sep 2015 · 19:21 UTC
Wow, really nice concept, and awesome execution! For a compo, that's really awesome, congratulations! =)
Ptolo
10. Sep 2015 · 15:05 UTC
Fantastic idea! :D I enjoyed the quick-fire information hunting style to the gameplay. I'm impressed with all the procedural text and graphics in this. Ten ambassadors is rather a lot, perhaps let the player win once they get a majority? I think this game is my favourite of the whole contest :)
bombjack
12. Sep 2015 · 09:56 UTC
very original gameplay.
MikeEnoch
14. Sep 2015 · 12:17 UTC
Nice take on the theme, and I like the protocol based idea for the gameplay - good job! Kinda like an alien take on Papers Please :)
Mubox
15. Sep 2015 · 00:26 UTC
Good concept. :]

PS: We have fixed our game, if you want to see it again. ^^
Thank you.