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Prince of Darkness Jr.'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Gameplay | #6 | 4.286 | 4.286 |
| Theme | #6 | 4.607 | 4.607 |
| Overall | #14 | 4.238 | 4.238 |
| Music | #14 | 4.036 | 4.036 |
| Art | #57 | 4.071 | 4.071 |
| Originality | #94 | 3.857 | 3.857 |
| Is the graphics 1 bit? | #190 | 4.571 | 4.571 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Write down what effects you used.
Shader to change palletes for later levels - Alpha channel for transitions
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Comments
Lovely game! Theme music is a hit. Level progression is smooth. What I really want is a bit more of the backstory: who this character is, why they are in the house, and what they need to achieve. This would really lock me in to play longer in order to solve some mystery, answer a question, etc. by the end.
If you ever would like to collaborate, I'm an artist, level designer, writer and director passionate about producing unique and high quality work.
Thanks! We also really like the music :) We're hoping to expand the game and will definitely add more story...!
Outstanding game!! After completing all 36 puzzles (whew), I am so impressed with the puzzle designers here: the approach to solving these puzzles never became repetitive or formulaic, even with so many puzzles included in the game. The introduction of new mechanics with each color level helped to keep it fresh -- you used your light beam concept here to great effect, as you did with the glass, light detection, etc. I finished the puzzles over two days, and as a hallmark of a great puzzle game, when I went to sleep my brain was still pushing boxes (a la Tetris). I was stumped several times, and I left the game but felt motivated to return. One of the puzzles, if my solution was the only solution, showed a mix of humor and cruelty that I enjoyed (well, once it was solved).
Everything here feels professional and polished. The music -- which I understand to be actual analog recorded music, made for this game -- was fitting and fun. I only wish there were a second gameplay song! I also really liked the hand-drawn character and art. This game feels like it could already be posted in a game store, but if you develop anything further, you might add more of the cutscene art that appears in the intro, interspersed within the game. I felt a connection to the character and place at the start, but after a dozen puzzles or so, my mind treated it as abstract box-pushing, like mathematics. I felt disappointed not to see more of the moving truck and boxes and scenes of the house -- I liked those. I also realize you had only 7 days, and this game was all the more impressive in light of that.
Excellent!
Thanks so much! Designer/artist here, it really means a lot to read such a nice review (especially because this was my first game jam!). We had such a blast making this, and had a LOT of fun designing and playtesting the puzzles :)
I'm glad you mentioned the music, we were so happy with what the guys made -- yes, it was written, performed and recorded the old fashioned way (albeit with an electronic keyboard, because the church we asked wouldn't let us use their real organ!) We would have loved to record more tracks but like so many things we just didn't have the time.
I completely agree with the feedback about cutscenes and connection to the character / story. We'll hopefully end up doing an expanded version of the game, with more levels, mechanics, cutscenes, and music, so I hope you come back for more in the future! Out of curiosity -- can you remember which puzzle was the mix of humour and cruelty?
Great! I followed the elphyl account, so I will definitely stay tuned!
[Spoiler follows]
The puzzle I was referring to was Puzzle 25: if that one doesn't strike you as notably different from all the other puzzles in this game, then there's probably an unintended second solution. I'm trying to spoil as little as possible in these comments out of respect for the game and its players, but I'm also happy to describe that solution if it was indeed unintended and the spoiler doesn't bother you.
Funnily enough, that level came about because a playtester found an alternate solution to a different level, and I found it interesting so made it it's own puzzle! Do you reckon it's trickier than the last level in that section, and if so should we swap those two round...?
The intended solution involves covering something important and then revealing it later (being cryptic to avoid spoilers!)
Ok! I finally, finally figured out the solution that I assume was intended. And actually, once I figured out that one, there's another solution that works in very much the same way, but with a different final configuration. I had sniffed around those approaches when I was trying to figure it out initially (with the covering of something important), but there were just a few subtle pushes I missed that made the difference. Nice!
But those two solutions are distinct from the one I used the first time around. I get the feeling from your note that you haven't yet seen the way I solved it. Now that I see the intended solutions, you could eliminate my solution without ruining this puzzle (though doing so might guide the player just a bit more toward the intended solutions). As you were comfortable with the hint you gave me, my solution also involves the covering/uncovering of something important.
Whether 25 or 27 seems harder probably depends on what you think of my solution, and I won't spoil more than that until you give me the word. Perhaps you'll want to keep it in! After all, even as the puzzle is now, I think I spent the most time in this game on either 25 or 35.
I don't think I know your solution, and I might need another hint -- it's so hard to see alternatives when all you can think of is the one you designed...! What would you change to make your solution impossible?
The intended solution is figuring out how to move up, does your solution also involve that part?
If we say pushing a box or glass by one space is one "move," the solution uses only 6 moves to complete the level.
Wow, that's really stumped me -- and we're definitely still talking about Puzzle 25?!
Under six moves means you must not be using buttons, which I didn't think was possible -- and the first move is forced, so then it's just five more moves... you might have to give me another hint here (or even show me if I can't figure it out!)
Yes, the first two moves are used to seal up the light. You then push down the left-most and right-most glass pieces. You will groan when you see it.
Wow, I did groan... audibly. What a great discovery! We will probably change that in the expanded version, haha
of all the genres I thought I would find here... a sokoban was not one of them... lovely art and music. ^-^
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoyed :)