Downsizers by Nimolas

[raw]
made by Nimolas for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

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Hey 👋.

This is our first game jam with Ludum Dare. We might've forgetten the stress involved 😅

Our game is a 3D based puzzle game, where you are required to move clients into their new apartments. However it seems they don't have as much space as they orignally thought.

The game has 3 levels, and was designed in a way to be shareable for users to create their own maps, but we ran out of time to allow people to do so. You could look at the source code and implement your own though if you are brave enough.

The controls use the keyboard only (and definitely not because we couldn't get the mouse inputs to work 👀)

Controls:

Menu:

  • Space: Select
  • A: Move left
  • D: Move right

Game:

  • Space: Spawn scrolling item/place item in home/Go back to level select
  • W: Move item up
  • A: Move item left
  • S: Move item down
  • D: Move item right
  • Q: Rotate item clockwise
  • E: Rotate item anti-clockwise
  • 1: 3D camera 1
  • 2: 3D camera 2
  • 3: 3D camera 3
  • 4: 3D camera 4
  • 0: Top down camera

Notes:

There's definitely things that don't work exactly right, and that kinda bums us out. That's game jams though I suppose. If you encounter something that is fully broken, please reach out and we'll try and fix it, or offer solutions if it's not clear.

External Assets:

Music: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/mp3-royaltyfree/Magic%20Escape%20Room.mp3

Download links

The downloads are for Linux and Windows x64.

Artifacts = Linux Artifacts2 = Windows

Ratings

Overall 991th 3.037⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 978th 2.852⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 841th 3⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Theme 399th 3.885⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 662th 3.444⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Humor 506th 3.022⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 722th 3.348⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 19🗳️ 32🗨️

Feedback

Majellan
03. Oct 2023 · 10:53 UTC
Didn't really get the concept of the game nor why I can or cannot place the objects. However, the art is very cool and the music really awesome! :O
LDJam user 375706
03. Oct 2023 · 11:38 UTC
Nice music and graphics !
🎤 Nimolas
03. Oct 2023 · 15:13 UTC
@majellan Thanks for the comment.

The concept was supposed to be that you are apart of a moving company, helping people to move into new properties. Each level would have a decreasing amount of space available to you to move the customers items in. We wanted to also make a system where users could design their own levels and share them to compete on scores.

Unfortunately, we focussed a bit too hard on the logic to get this to work, and were unable to finish with the amount of detail we wanted to show. Hopefully next time we'll pull back on our aspirations to make the theme clearer :sweat_smile:

@chrisbeck did all the models, and I agree, I think they're very cool. They spent quite a while making all those, and ensuring we have enough models for each type of room
Bastian Bresson
03. Oct 2023 · 19:11 UTC
A bit slow gameplay. I didn't really feel like it was challenging to put down things. But it was easy to play and the music is cozy
minjutin
03. Oct 2023 · 19:43 UTC
Okay but the fact that you just put all the furnitures randomly next to each other is quite funny :D think about those who have to live in the apartment afterwards. Nice work!
Natrist
03. Oct 2023 · 19:47 UTC
Like others already stated, the game is slow paced and sometimes you cannot seem to place the furniture down, even though there is enough space available. The graphics are fun.
🎤 Nimolas
03. Oct 2023 · 20:11 UTC
@bastian-bresson @minjutin @natrist Thanks for the comments.

I guess 3 minutes was too long, and that the scrolling was too easy. Noted. Thanks for the feedback

We did intend to have a mechanic where you got more points for putting items of the same room type near each other, but we didn't have enough time to implement it. Funny thought though :joy:

It seems the code we used to work out where to place stuff was a bit hit and miss. In classic game jam fashion I immediately came up with a better way to do it after it was finished. You live and learn I guess.

Thanks for the gameplay feedback, we'll take this into consideration for next time. :triumph:
AidanBacon
03. Oct 2023 · 22:50 UTC
nice! I really like the 'furniture in a room' twist on the 'fitting objects into a space' idea and the music was nice, but it was definitely a little confusing - some objects needed more space around them than I realized, so I didn't realize why they weren't being placed when I hit spacebar lol. Like a bunch of people said, it gets a little repetitive with 3 minutes, either a shorter time frame or some other mechanics.

anyways tho, good job for your first Ludum Dare submission, and good luck on future projects!
ChrisBeck
04. Oct 2023 · 08:06 UTC
@aidanbacon Appriciate the feedback!

As with most Game Jame games, the concept started off a little too ambitious and we ended up having to scrap most of the more 'fun' ideas that we initially had :joy:

There was supposed to be a feature where chaining furniture of the same room type next to each other would create a room that gave you a points multiplier, and the scroll speed was supposed to increase for every object placed to add more of a challenge but time got the better of us on that one!
PickyDogFish
04. Oct 2023 · 11:14 UTC
First, good job on "finishing" a game. It's hard to scope things right at the start so that you can actually implement everything. This game could be way more fun if you added some more complexity, for example chaining like you mentioned. Some feedback:
- as some people mentioned, sometimes you can't place down things that seem to fit, which makes it a bit annoying.
- It gets repetitive fast. Adding some interaction between objects could improve that.
- The scanning doesn't seem to really work (I'm guessing it's only supposed to scan objects while in the bright zone). Even if that worked, the fact that you stop scrolling once you scan an item and wait for the person to place it kinda defeats the purpose of it, doesn't it?
- If the scanning is supposed to be the thing that sets the pace, then why is there also a timer?
- What's the purpose of the different cameras? I guess so you could share what you made? If so, that's fine, but at the moment I don't see the point of having multiple camera angles. Maybe it would be better if you just rotated the camera around the room once you're done.
- Explaining the story behind what you're doing in just a couple sentences can make player feel more motivated to play. I was confused, was I putting furniture in a van? Or in an apartment? Why are there different people on the level select screen? A single sentence could make players way less confused about what they are doing ;)

With all that out of the way, good job on your submission! Keep at it and see you at the next Ludum Dare!
Hiding.Dev
04. Oct 2023 · 13:03 UTC
Liked the blocky style of graphics which suits the game well. Also read that it is your first LD game jam, great job!!!
Ryrumeli
05. Oct 2023 · 00:21 UTC
First off the music is rather relaxing. It has a bit of a whimsical, magical vibe, it made me feel less like I was sorting a room and more like a Harry Potter Verse Mage sorting objects with my powers hahaha.

Top down is a great view, and I like how all assets were made to be distinguishable in both sideview and top down. The fact they are all different kinds of furniture that belong in different rooms made me feel a need to sort them together at first, which didn't amount to more points. The view of the finished room at the end is very very satisfying and is a good testament to the chaos the game provides.

If I have to say, maybe the Tetris-like mechanic is my main issue, maybe if instead of a box and items falling, I could be provided straight with an item, maybe sorting should be more like sorting and have more delined groups, maybe a "Temporary Storage" to keep items. And I like the way it plays but it would be awesome to have more chances to see the Isometric angular view, that was for me the most satisfying aspect.
PabloAbraham
05. Oct 2023 · 01:00 UTC
Really enjoyed the moving concept! The art and music set a great mood. It took me a bit to grasp the placement mechanics, but once I got the hang of it, the challenge was fun. I appreciate the effort you've put into this, especially considering it's your first game jam. Keep up the good work!
fatEmperor
05. Oct 2023 · 16:53 UTC
Nice game.
🎤 Nimolas
05. Oct 2023 · 17:22 UTC
@pickydogfish @hiding-dev @pabloabraham @fatemperor

Thanks for all your feedback. These are all valid points, and stuff we dicsussed while making the game but ultimately had to cut back.

We're currently working and adjusting the game and taking your feedback into consideration. We can let you know, along with everyone else that was kind enough to review and leave feedback, when this version is done so you can see the ideas we had, and the new one's you have provided.
NicholasPfo
05. Oct 2023 · 19:14 UTC
I really like the concept of the game but I wasnt getting the idea of placing many of the same objects in the same room for exmaple I had 3 beds and 2 bathtubs in level 1. If you just go for score thats fine but I tried making the room look nice but the furniture selection didnt really help with that. At the end you even show the room but it just eneded up looking messy.
NicolasJL9
07. Oct 2023 · 03:13 UTC
Nice!
EgorMnc
14. Oct 2023 · 14:12 UTC
The game is interesting, it was quite nice to play it, keep working on it and everything will be cool
alexandrina
17. Oct 2023 · 07:25 UTC
interesting game and nice concept, keep going!