The Harvest by EpicGameFan | LudumData

The Harvest by EpicGameFan

made by EpicGameFan for Ludum Dare 52 (JAM)

A new adventure for the 8-bit Nintendo Game Boy handheld!

While heading home for the holidays, your car breaks down and you are stranded in Nowheresville during a really bad storm. Seeking shelter, you come across a desolate facility that you will have to break into. In one of the rooms inside the facility you find an unexplained husk of a human body that still seems to be alive. In order to resuscitate the body you find yourself having to harvest organs from the remains of monsters that you encounter in the facility.

This is a game that has been programmed for the 8-bit Game Boy handheld console by Nintendo. It is being played inside an emulator that is embedded in HTML. Note: Reviews are telling us that playing on a mobile device is awesome because the emulator displays Game Boy controls and that it generally seems to work very well!

MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE GAME TO HEAR AUDIO!

itch.io

Link to the game: https://stephenwhoskins.itch.io/the-harvest

How to play:

You can use arrow keys for movement. WASD also works.

For the B and A buttons, Z and X seem to work on all browsers. J and K also seem to work.

To bring up the Pause menu, hit the Enter/Return key.

Screenshots

Soundtrack

Like the music? Listen to the soundtrack!

https://youtu.be/JNVL5Er-xzU

Post Jam Fixes

Improved Pocket Navigation
Fixed Skullhead from reviving everytime you entered his room.
Increased Cursor Speed.
Allow the start button to enter and exit pocket.

Link	https://github.com/epicgamefan/ld52.git
Link	https://stephenwhoskins.itch.io/the-harvest
Link	https://stephenwhoskins.itch.io/the-harvest
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/52/the-harvest

Ratings

Overall	270^th	3.688⭐	42🧑‍⚖️
Fun	472^th	3.263⭐	42🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	390^th	3.321⭐	41🧑‍⚖️
Theme	624^th	3.295⭐	41🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	300^th	3.838⭐	42🧑‍⚖️
Audio	197^th	3.638⭐	42🧑‍⚖️
Humor	364^th	2.986⭐	39🧑‍⚖️
Mood	229^th	3.725⭐	42🧑‍⚖️
Given		22🗳️	30🗨️

Feedback

12. Jan 2023 · 00:16 UTC

I enjoyed it. I had a couple "aha" moments that were nice. Really nice work, especially considering the time allotted for it. The cursor speed was a tad slow for my taste, but everything else was well done. Good job!

12. Jan 2023 · 00:24 UTC

I really loved the game, the audio was cool and i loved the graphics. The story also good and somehow the character managed to feel nice the whole time lol. Id rate it overall 9/10

stephenwhoskins

12. Jan 2023 · 01:03 UTC

@yahel-dooley Many thanks! I really appreciate you playing it and providing your feedback. =D

I just played your game by the way. I am thoroughly impressed with what you put together. I'm totally jelly, heh.

stephenwhoskins

12. Jan 2023 · 01:06 UTC

@elmoeinstein Thank you!! I greatly appreciate your positive feedback and I greatly appreciate you trying out our game!

12. Jan 2023 · 09:47 UTC

I'd like to play it, the game looks fun and interesting, but I can't get further the first dialog in web version. Pressing all the buttons, nothing works. I hope you'll check and correct that later. You can ping me if you do :)

LDJam user 242971

12. Jan 2023 · 11:46 UTC

@pfannkuchen You may need to click on the game once to give it focus to your controls. I just tested it out using Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. You can use the keyboard and xbox one controller. On keyboard use the WASD and J button for everything. With an xbox one controller use the DPAD and B button for everything.

stephenwhoskins

13. Jan 2023 · 00:11 UTC

@pfannkuchen It could be that the embedded web application wasn't in focus, like @epicgamefan said. But... You might have more success if you try playing the game on your cell phone believe it or not. The web app actually makes your cell phone look like a Game Boy with the controls and all. It's pretty cool, heh. Lastly, you can download the Game Boy ROM that is also in the itch.io link and try playing it in a Game Boy emulator. =)

13. Jan 2023 · 01:22 UTC

Fun: Trying to figure out where to use items and what to do next was very fun! My only complaint is that it became very "samey" by the end of the game, and I would worry a longer game would end up not being fun because of it. However, if the story was good enough, I think it could hold up just fine.

Innovation: I think the setting and premise for the game was pretty innovative, but the gameplay itself was fairly common.

Theme: The theme was a little weak in my opinion, while you were harvesting organs from the monsters, it felt like the core of the game was exploration and puzzle solving more than harvesting.

Graphics: Excellent gameboy graphics! I felt like I was back playing the original gameboy, very well done. The art was all top notch and fit perfectly together. The only critique I have here is that the hallways were pretty empty / similar. A little decor / decal here and there would go a long way.

Audio: Good songs and sound effects, fit really well with the game and were enjoyable to listen to. The menu music was a little startling, partially because the transition was so abrupt.

Mood: Creepy mystery atmosphere was really well done. The whole game felt very "wrong" and eerie. I think the only critique I have for mood is that there was no real threat of dying / losing. After the first two monsters didn't put up a fight, I felt a little safer than I should have.

moonlightbomber

13. Jan 2023 · 03:23 UTC

Nice, a Game Boy game. I'll download the ROM and enjoy it on real hardware.

13. Jan 2023 · 03:56 UTC

Oh wow! I honestly had a blast playing this game! The graphics are perfect, the sound effects are great, and the music brings it all together. I got confused in the start but after a while, I got the hang of it. Nothing really to complain here except the z-ordering of the cursor sometimes messing up!

13. Jan 2023 · 04:39 UTC

It's a party in my inventory! :D And I can... click myself! Heheheh. A short and sweet adventure. Because I know nothing about coding for the GB, I'm very impressed! Cheers!

13. Jan 2023 · 07:18 UTC

The art is really cool .It reminds me of いしぐろまさかず 'game :http://www5.plala.or.jp/okan/menu/heya/heya00.html

13. Jan 2023 · 09:34 UTC

i'm not a huge fan of point&click game but it does fit the theme nicely ! an impressive work of imitation of the old style, i loved the musique & the art. i would have maid the cursor a little faster.

13. Jan 2023 · 16:27 UTC

I would looove to code a gameboy game just like yours!

My only complaint, as others previously said, are regarding the controls / cursor speed: it gets tiring after some time to go from the game screen to the inventory etc.

I struggled with z-fighting issues with sprites in my game also, so it was funny to see I wasn't the only one :smile:

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 01:47 UTC

@moonlightbomber Thanks! We tested the game on a purely FPGA implemented Analogue Pocket and it worked great. So you should hopefully have success running it on your own hardware as well!

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 01:55 UTC

Thank you @mrchickenboy ! We really appreciate the kind words! =D

Ya, the emulator does a really good job emulating the limitations of the actual Game Boy hardware. On the real GB there is no sprite priority which the developer can control. So if a sprite is more right compared to another one, then it’s on top. Otherwise, it will be displayed behind.

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 02:00 UTC

@fusionnist Lol. I was actually contemplating doing a joke game where you put the most ridiculous things into your pocket. Like you might find a dog that needs to be returned to its owner, so you put it into your pocket. In Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, you rescue a Kidnapped Child and you pick him up like he was just any other item in the game. I don't know why, but I always found that really funny, heh.

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 02:03 UTC

@killian0213 Thank you so much! And thank you for that link! That is a really cool game! I didn't know that that was a thing, lol. I'm almost wondering if this kind of game can be done Manga-style, where a new game is released maybe every week and gives you another piece to some overarching storyline. Not only would these weekly releases give audiences good reading material, but they would be interactive too. =)

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 02:07 UTC

Thanks @grotfang ! We were working within the limitations of actual Game Boy hardware, but we could've made the cursor move speed faster. We decided to go with what was mostly the standard movement speed for most Game Boy games, but I think the crowd has spoken. They want a faster cursor!

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 02:09 UTC

@froissant You can totally do it! Making games for the Game Boy is extremely satisfying. =P

14. Jan 2023 · 02:33 UTC

Beautiful art and music. Really enjoyed the world building and exploring. I know you were going for gameboy controls, but they were a little unintuitive on keyboard at first.

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 02:42 UTC

@slush Many thanks! To be clear, this is actually a Game Boy ROM! The controls that you are using are a part of the emulator that is embedded in the web app. You can also download the ROM and play it in your own emulator if you like that more. =D

Thanks again!

14. Jan 2023 · 02:49 UTC

@stephenwhoskins my fault for not reading. That's absolutely incredible!

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 02:52 UTC

Many thanks @slush !

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 03:33 UTC

Proof to all that this is an actual Game Boy game, lol. =)

![20230113_222117_-_Copy.jpg](///raw/c93/32/z/56655.jpg)

![20230113_222309_-_Copy.jpg](///raw/c93/32/z/56656.jpg)

14. Jan 2023 · 03:48 UTC

This is a masterpiece. I loved the theme implementation, you harvest for organs. And both pixel art and 8 bit music are phenomenal! Well done!

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 03:50 UTC

Thank you @spyranteros ! We greatly appreciate the kind words! =)

14. Jan 2023 · 04:22 UTC

What a cool surprisingly fun adventure! I loved little bits of humour like that you can touch yourself hahah. Cool that it can be played on the game boy!

LDJam user 277851

14. Jan 2023 · 04:57 UTC

I couldn't find my game boy, so I tried playing in the emulator on the NDS. Very interesting game. Great for handhelds!

![226844465.jpg](///raw/b5d/34/z/56667.jpg)

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 05:26 UTC

Thanks @yaen ! We greatly appreciate the kind words!

stephenwhoskins

14. Jan 2023 · 05:28 UTC

That's freaking awesome @thyoi ! Seeing this game on other handhelds is such a sight. :heart_eyes: Thank you very much for going through all the effort to get it onto a handheld device! You == Awesome

LDJam user 250905

14. Jan 2023 · 06:16 UTC

That was real nice! I was surprised to see a game that was actually created *for* the Gameboy, rather than mimicking it; even though I wasn't able to try it like that, it's impressive to know that it was done and done well! I really don't have much feedback here, the game was simple and easy to hop into, except for the cursor being a little slow to control -- I didn't understand *exactly* how the UI worked when I started, but after a little bit, I understood you could use some of the items on yourself, which was helpful (:laughing:)! The puzzles were well crafted, though I really didn't get stuck on any; most of them weren't particularly challenging, and the ones that should've been somehow moved directly into place within my brain. But moving on, I congratulate you two for the end product, it's really well done! Keep it up, great job! :wave:

(I did die at the end because I convieniently forgot the clue that was given to finish the game :stuck_out_tongue:)

14. Jan 2023 · 16:33 UTC

I really like the mood and graphics ! The gameplay is also very well made, it's old school but works very well for a GB game. The item to craft doesn't make much sense to me story wise, but it's well designed visually so it's easy to figure out how to craft it.

14. Jan 2023 · 23:26 UTC

I love the idea of making the game for Game boy :heart:
The game itself is really nice and well put, i think i got lucky and finished it without "my life being terminated". One thing i will add that i read in the comments and it helped me a lot is taht it should be played on the phone. The game didnt work for me on Microsoft Edge, it just wouldnt focus on the game and it wouldnt register my input at all, so i tried it on the phone. And im really glad that i did! Not only does it work better and look better, but also having the controls shown the way they did on the phone added so much to the game! So maybe add that to the description because it helps a lot and is way better also! :))))

14. Jan 2023 · 23:43 UTC

I'm just stunned - I thought the smallest looking games in jams are done with pico8 but you definitely have shown me a new level of small.

It really catches the feeling how gameboy games used to work - these cursor controls remind me of good old caesars palace. Playing this game got me thinking about what I played very long time ago. Fascinating.

stephenwhoskins

15. Jan 2023 · 02:39 UTC

@sephowepho Many thanks for playing the game and for all the kind words! We really like the Game Boy experience, so we were hoping we could show people why these games are so much fun!

stephenwhoskins

15. Jan 2023 · 02:42 UTC

Thanks for the kind words @yorsh ! Ya, I wasn't sure how we were going to be able to get more story into the game to maybe go more into the origins of the "monster" that you are fighting (mainly because of the time constraints of a Ludum Dare Jam). But gosh, I just wanted an item that you had to craft together to make the end battle extra special. =D

stephenwhoskins

15. Jan 2023 · 02:45 UTC

@Thanks @kikiriki367 ! We just added a note in the description about playing with a mobile device! We're glad that playing that way gave you a really good experience! We're also glad that you share the same love for the Game Boy experience as we do! =D

stephenwhoskins

15. Jan 2023 · 02:47 UTC

@fis Many thanks! I actually wanted to do a Ludum Dare Jam with Pico because I see a lot of charm in having a really small game. But the limitations of a Game Boy forces something even smaller and being able to run something on actual Game Boy hardware was something that I just couldn't pass up!

15. Jan 2023 · 08:56 UTC

wow, this was really cool! i find that a lot of adventure games, especially gamejam adventure games, suffer from either being inaccessibly convoluted, or not the most engaging, but this was quite a fun experience, the puzzles made sense for the most part, it was fun to explore and experiment. the art and music were quite polished too!

and then, the fact that this is to spec for an actual gameboy game (and that you have it running on gameboy hardware) for a gamejam is really super cool! great work!

i made it to a good end :)
![Screenshot 2023-01-15 005107.png](///raw/38a/73/z/5678f.png)

15. Jan 2023 · 16:47 UTC

Oh my god this is amazing!! Wish I could play on the gameboy :(

Loved the idea and implementation (also, 5 Humor Stars for "feels nice, but not sure how this is helping..." alone, lol.) I'm stuck now at locked doors that I can't seem to open with the keys I acquired :( I have the liquid, torch, keys, the letter and something else I forgot and can't check anymore because obviously I thought it was a good idea to set myself on fire) can you help me?

Graphics and music were so fitting, I really felt very nostalgic :)

Now for the nit-pickery: the cursor to me was waaaay too slow, although one could argue that makes for the gameboy charm.. ^^ shortcuts to exit menus/interact would be cool if you do a postjam :) also maybe show the name of the item when you hover over it in the inventory :)

all in all, a very nice jam entry! good job!

LDJam user 242971

15. Jan 2023 · 18:00 UTC

@angiemon Thank you for playing and for the kind words. Actually the 2nd key that you find opens the locked interior doors. The one on the bottom left of the 1st page in your pocket.
Totally agree with your nits, I also wanted to add more humor to the dialog throughout, but we simply ran out of time. We got a late start and both of us had to work on the last day of the jam.

15. Jan 2023 · 18:14 UTC

@epicgamefan ohh okay, I have to try this tomorrow!

Well, then your entry is even more impressive! :)

15. Jan 2023 · 21:19 UTC

Great job! I'd agree with everyone that a faster cursor would be a good idea.

16. Jan 2023 · 01:29 UTC

Great to see some homebrew for the Gameboy!

I presume this is made with GBStudio? I've played other games made with it and the GUI seems familiar, so I think you've used some of the same templates.

---

I got to a point where I had the crafted item ready and was missing two organs.

Then I wasn't sure what to do and accidentally set myself on fire!

---

I liked the peculiar combination of oldschool point 'n' click with "battle-scenes" and the macabre humor.

The introductory text felt a bit long, so I think it would benefit from one or two accompanying images instead of just staring at the brick wall.

Otherwise the pacing was good and kept me intrigued.

If you could access the menu using START/SELECT it would feel less like a chore.

---

I'll probably give it another run later and try not to burn myself to death! :fire:

16. Jan 2023 · 01:55 UTC

Nicely done! I love the art style and the graphical restrictions definitely help set the mysterious and eerie tone. The inventory and crafting systems are great for encouraging the player to pay attention to everything in the world and look for any small clue they might need later. I was pleasantly surprised that you actually killed the player at the end (if they aren't prepared) instead of letting them endlessly fiddle with the menus while in danger. This is a really effective and fun little jam entry!

stephenwhoskins

16. Jan 2023 · 02:46 UTC

Thank you for playing our game @sakura-magika ! It looks like you crushed it! And thanks for the compliments on the art and music! =D

stephenwhoskins

16. Jan 2023 · 02:51 UTC

Thank you @cappa-games ! It seems like the crowd has spoken. We will get everyone a faster cursor! =)

stephenwhoskins

16. Jan 2023 · 02:57 UTC

Thanks @dis0rder ! Ya, we really wanted to make a game that gives people the Game Boy experience. I feel a nostalgia overload from it. And correct! We used GB Studio. I essentially churned out art and music while @epicgamefan brought everything together. Also, all the humor in the game is his along with a lot of the writing. GB Studio proved to work well in a multi-person development environment where we could use Git version control as well. If you want to know more, definitely feel free to reach out to me.

We like the START/SELECT suggestion too by the way. Consider it done!

16. Jan 2023 · 03:00 UTC

lovely game. The music is to repititive for me. i dont get it and died. but nice little game. good work

stephenwhoskins

16. Jan 2023 · 03:30 UTC

Thanks @chompdev ! We greatly appreciate the kind words. We definitely wanted the crafting for a little extra complexity. =D

LDJam user 242971

16. Jan 2023 · 03:39 UTC

Just made an update so the cursor speed is faster as many suggested, @yahel-dooley @grotfang @froissant @sephowepho @angiemon @cappa-games, and you can use the start button to enter and exit your pocket. Thanks for all the great feedback so far!

LDJam user 243193

16. Jan 2023 · 07:21 UTC

Nice short game! I had to try many things including setting self to fire to understand how to solve puzzles in this game. In the end, I completed the game. The last part was kinda unclear but fortunately since there's nothing left to do aside of using "that item", I could complete the game.

16. Jan 2023 · 14:24 UTC

This is so awesome! I wish I had an actual gameboy to play this on :)
(unfortunately my gameboy broke 20 years ago)

What I liked:
* Adventure-game style gameplay
* Intriguing story
* Actual Gameboy game!!!
* Art and sound were great - this looks and sounds just like real games of the era (or maybe even better than the average Gameboy game :smile:)

Minor issues I had:
* Would be nice if you would just use the correct key automatically if you had it. It took me a while to figure out that one of the keys are re-used
* There's no indication for which weapon should be used to kill which monster. Would be nice to at least get a prompt like "you try using the mallet but it's not tough enough"

Really cool game, thank you for making it!

16. Jan 2023 · 17:58 UTC

This is great! It's always good to see people creating console games for Ludum Dare. The music and sound effects are great, and you did a good job of crafting the graphics within the Game Boy's limited colour palette.

I got stuck on Demonface, I'm *sure* I tried everything in my inventory but nothing seems to work on him. Maybe I'm supposed to craft something, but I can't intuit what it is I'm supposed to craft...? I'll see if I can figure it out later. The rest of the puzzles had been fairly intuitive up to that point so I feel like I'm just missing something obvious.

stephenwhoskins

17. Jan 2023 · 01:21 UTC

@bloodbane Haha. Thanks for just referring to the item as "that item." =)

Also, glad that you played our game generally speaking! Much appreciation!

stephenwhoskins

17. Jan 2023 · 01:31 UTC

@matank Many thanks! Ya, we wanted more dialogue generally speaking. A message like, "you tried using the mallet, but it's not touch enough" is a great suggestion. Also, thanks for all the kind words! =D

stephenwhoskins

17. Jan 2023 · 01:32 UTC

@f1krazy Thanks! There's no crafting for Demon Face. Here's a hint: You use an item that you needed to use already just to get to Demon Face. =P

Thanks again!

BinaryPrinciple

19. Jan 2023 · 04:19 UTC

Really awesome game! It has so much room to build an interesting mystery. I enjoy the puzzle and how is not hand holding me to them, but giving room to resolve it. Maybe add more systems for experimentation.

25. Jan 2023 · 16:07 UTC

![2023-01-25 11.09.25.jpg](///raw/564/z/56c71.jpg)

Really nice entry! I played it on Game Boy Light and all worked well.

27. Jan 2023 · 16:04 UTC

Great game, love the graphics and the sound. They're really good, got a bit stuck at the end so I ended up just finishing off myself, definately a lot of aha moments which I enjoy in games. Good job on the game.

stephenwhoskins

12. Feb 2023 · 00:04 UTC

@samuli Oh my god. That's sooo cool! I'm so sorry I missed your comment until now. You have the MOST vintage entry here! Thank you so much!!! You <== Super Awesome :heart_eyes:

stephenwhoskins

12. Feb 2023 · 00:05 UTC

@binaryprinciple Many thanks! I wonder if a full game in this format that has more experimentation would draw interest? :thinking:

stephenwhoskins

12. Feb 2023 · 00:09 UTC

@patrickrmc Thank you so much! Sorry that you got stuck in the end there. D= I bet you almost had it! Maybe there was something that you had to read there in order to figure it out... :thinking: