Gerald the Blind Butler by maxflav

[raw]
made by maxflav for Ludum Dare 55 (JAM)

Gerald the Blind Butler

Screenshot 2024-04-13 at 5.56.44 PM.png

Gerald the Blind Butler is a puzzle game where you ring a bell to summon the butler. The sound of the bell echoes around the walls and boxes lying around and may lead Gerald in different directions. Use this to your advantage to direct him exactly where you want him to go (onto a target marked with an X for the purposes of this game).

How to play:

  • Walk into the bell to ring it. You will see a visual representation of how the sound travels.
  • If Gerald hears the bell, he will walk in the direction he heard it from.
  • Get him to stand on the X target to win the level.
  • Some of the levels have boxes. Walk into these to push them around. This will affect how the sound travels.
  • Press R to restart the level, or Z to undo.

Ratings

Overall 133th 4.058⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Fun 50th 4.186⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 21th 4.302⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Theme 370th 3.942⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Humor 133th 3.929⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Mood 431th 3.732⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 70🗨️

Feedback

Misoukun
15. Apr 2024 · 16:48 UTC
The best butler ever.
Nice job. Nice remaster of the old takoban game style. The trick of the sound spreading is very clever.
XanaGear
15. Apr 2024 · 17:16 UTC
Absolutely in love with this game, finished all the levels and was challenged throughout! Would play another 90 levels.
leparlon
15. Apr 2024 · 17:25 UTC
This was fantastic, best one so far. Congratulations.
Very fun puzzle with a pretty cool mechanic I have never seen before. Great use of the theme as well.

Edit: Removed the spoiler

Would play more!
BoltKey
15. Apr 2024 · 17:50 UTC
Creative! I got stuck at level 7, I didn't really understand why the butler was not moving.
Albatross
16. Apr 2024 · 05:56 UTC
This game is really cute! I love how much depth it has while being so simple.
Two1San
16. Apr 2024 · 19:02 UTC
i love the concept it's quite original, would love to see this expanded upon
LDJam user 387594
16. Apr 2024 · 19:51 UTC
Oh, I like it! The gameplay and idea is quite rare and implemented nicely.
OnlinE_Play
16. Apr 2024 · 19:55 UTC
I can't seem to beat this level. I'm so dumb; it's impossible HAHA. Still, I really like the concept and the simple art style. Good job!

![obraz_2024-04-16_215538392.png](///raw/047/e2/z/63d69.png)
GRaAL
17. Apr 2024 · 12:01 UTC
Very fun puzzle! I like how it is done, tiny levels and cute pixelart. Also thanks for great hints before each level - lot of games miss some tutorial or help so it is not easy to understand how to play them.
GRaAL
17. Apr 2024 · 12:02 UTC
@online-play small hint: player himself also blocks sound of bell, so it matters where are you standing
JazonTheMazon
17. Apr 2024 · 15:07 UTC
Absolutely genius. You could definitively make a whole game out of this. The fact that the player also blocks the sound is such a nice detail that could add to the depth and complexity of the puzzles.
Baluj
17. Apr 2024 · 15:10 UTC
I like the concept and it's a good game.
alpdogan
17. Apr 2024 · 15:10 UTC
Wow, totally amazing. I love the concept and the puzzle idea is so clever! Perfect!
Gulcar
17. Apr 2024 · 15:20 UTC
Great idea and nice simplistic design. Can't get through this level tough:
![Posnetek zaslona 2024-04-17 171954.png](///raw/332/f5/z/641c1.png)
Gorr
17. Apr 2024 · 16:08 UTC
Really love this puzzle, good game. Level 7 was so difficult for me :DD
![photo_2024-04-17_21-08-39.jpg](///raw/d31/3/z/641ee.jpg)
Yanato
17. Apr 2024 · 16:37 UTC
Simple game but hard gameplay)
-Am I dumb? -No, it's okay.
AntOnion
17. Apr 2024 · 17:53 UTC
Very interesting and unusual puzzle mechanic! I have completed all levels)
LDJam user 383013
17. Apr 2024 · 18:55 UTC
cool game!
edali
17. Apr 2024 · 21:08 UTC
The concept is really cool and the puzzles are well thought through! great game!
Jupiterintardis
18. Apr 2024 · 19:37 UTC
cool concept
Tetrergeru
18. Apr 2024 · 21:12 UTC
Nice idea, great implementation!
Tommy
18. Apr 2024 · 21:14 UTC
Really great game, with a genius and minimal mechanic that works really well with the theme. Good job also with the level design (without it the game would not work at all) and with the general level of polish. Bonus point for the bell SFX :D
Bastillas
18. Apr 2024 · 22:57 UTC
I love this game and idea, hope to see more levels in the future!
BoroBoro
19. Apr 2024 · 10:56 UTC
Definitely something worth expanding on, great puzzles!
ping78
19. Apr 2024 · 22:41 UTC
Solid game, nice puzzles. Good job.

![gtbb.png](///raw/704/z/647ed.png)
ryusui
20. Apr 2024 · 05:05 UTC
Props to @graal for their much-appreciated hint for level 5. ^_^;

A brilliant little puzzle game. I'd love to see it expanded with more levels, more mechanics, and maybe even some fancier graphics.
LDJam user 276593
20. Apr 2024 · 09:14 UTC
This is brilliant. Haven't seen a unique take on these sokoban style puzzles in years! Sound and graphics all great, but the most important thing about these kinds of games is slowly ramping up the difficulty from first principles, which you've also achieved well.

Would like to see some real brain scratcher levels using this concept!
OadT
20. Apr 2024 · 09:23 UTC
Wow, very creative concept with great levels. The fact that the player itself blocks the sound let to some cool solutions. Great entry!
oligue
20. Apr 2024 · 09:49 UTC
Great puzzle game
i made it all the way to the end :)
The only thing i would change is the level order some levels in the end felt easier than some in the beginning
kawa-yoiko
20. Apr 2024 · 11:02 UTC
This interpretation of the theme is smart! (We've done something similar; I'm getting excited to see another puzzle game design on this theme ^ ^) Nice exploration of the mechanics with many nuances introduced in a short sequence of puzzles. The visualisation of sound is a great design in presentation aiding the player's understanding. I'd expect that if this is expanded further, a very fun, immersive experience will arise. I also like the sense of humour in the messages!
JosephlDooley
20. Apr 2024 · 18:21 UTC
wow great game! I got stuck on the first hole level but @graal 's comment helped me out. I read the first comment on this game wrong thinking there was gonna be 90 level, was sad when it stopped at only 10. Good Job!
Ace17
22. Apr 2024 · 17:44 UTC
Had a lot of fun, struggled a little but made it to the end!

I liked the puzzle design ( I had the feeling that there's a difficulty spike around level 7, is it just me? ).
kaliuresis
03. May 2024 · 01:57 UTC
It seems there are two level 7's, and the second level 7 relies on the simultaneous hearing mechanic that isn't explained until level 8. That issue aside I enjoyed the game. I agree with other commenters that you could get more levels out of this mechanic. One interesting interaction that I noticed was being able to ring the bell with a box, although I'm not sure if you could make an interesting level around that.