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A jam submission

MoaiView game page

Explore Easter Island, take photos, and ride your scooter
Submitted by EmptyCastle — 9 hours, 18 minutes before the deadline
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Moai's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Presentation (graphics, audio)#1033.8713.871
Originality#1273.6453.645
Theme#2323.1293.129
Fun#2472.8062.806

Ranked from 31 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does your game represent Mode?
Moai is based around the theme: Mode. This game uses the statistical interpretation of Mode: "A value that appears most often in a data set." In Moai, players will study the facial features of each Moai (Easter Island Heads) and sort them into one of three groups: Hotu Iti, Koro Orongo, or Miru. These 3 groups are three of the historical families from ancient Rapa Nui (Easter Island). After sorting, the group associated with the most Moai (The Mode), are then determined to of been the most influential historical family on Rapa Nui. A massive discovery for the scientific community!

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Comments

Viewing comments 20 to 1 of 26 · Previous page · First page
Submitted (1 edit)

crazy stuff, but this is a pretty great entry! Really like this one. Shame it required a controller, i had one but it should still have keyboard controls, but yeah easy to run out of time with something like that

Developer

I'm glad you liked it, and thanks for the feedback!

Keyboard was on my radar, but towards then end it became apparent I would not be able to provide the level of control I wanted when turning, as well as showing the new key bindings in the UI, within the jam timeline. It was painful to cut. The post jam version will absolutely have keyboard support.

Thanks for playing!

Submitted(+1)

I really liked this! The atmosphere is incredibly relaxing and the concept is so fresh and ambitious. At first I just rode around on the scooter which was super fun. My only concern there is that it's so fun that I didn't want to stop and take pictures. I eventually restarted the game because I couldn't remember what I'd taken pictures of while randomly scootering around. 

On my second try I carefully followed the paths. Unfortunately, I am directionally challenged so I had a lot of trouble finding all the heads. I got 10 pictures of (I think) different heads, but the 11th head and one or two notes alluded me (I did find the totally destroyed head, which I feel like *should* have been the tricky one). I attempted to do some deduction from there but realized that the clue about there being a series of heads meant that just having pictures wasn't enough and I'd have to remember where each head I had pictures of was. That felt pretty impossible for me, so I realized I'd have to restart again and take notes to really do the puzzle correctly.

I hope this feedback isn't too detailed and/or honest. This really is one of the coolest games I've played so far in the jam and I thought you might find an account from someone really trying to solve the puzzle interesting. I'd check out a post-jam version if a few quality of life improvements were made!

Developer

Hey first of all I just want to say I'm super happy you liked it enough to delve into the game nuances and details! It always feels awesome to know someone likes what you made enough to spend some real time on it, so thank you!

I totally understand your frustrations about finding all the heads. I think that is probably this games biggest flaw at the moment, and I already have tons of ideas to fix it in a later build. So seriously, thank you for the honest feedback. It will help me make a better version of this game

Submitted

This game is exceptionally charming, and I really like the use of statistical mode to capture such a unique and creative theme. My only complaint is that it's hard to remember which moai I've taken pictures of- a map that filled in with the ones you've already captured would be amazing.

Still though, this is a really great job, and props to you for taking on such an ambitious project!

Developer(+1)

Thanks for playing!

I definitely agree its an issue. I'm planning an expanded version of the game for a full release and this is one of the most important problems I intend to tackle.

Submitted

Awesome work either way - this is really a joy to play!

Submitted

I really enjoy this game's vibe. The scooter controls pretty well, and though I did get stuck one time your watchdog timer unstuck me, so good work on implementing that. The game feels peaceful and really like the super vibrant colors. 

Developer

Thanks for playing! I'm happy you had some fun!

Submitted

Amazing sound and visuals. Driving the vespa around was a good time too. I found myself driving over the whole island looking for stuff to ramp off of. Ran into the same issue as others where I got distracted doing that and didn't know where I had already been, but was very cool regardless!

Developer

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you had some fun :)

I really wish I had time to either make a map, or leave tire tracks or something so players had some sort of idea of where they were / are. Definitely going to be addressing this for the full release.

Submitted

Concept, vibe, tunes, visuals are all on point, and according to the rules, drivable vehicles in any game are an automatic +1 letter grade. I spent some time just driving around for fun. Only problem for me was that I ended up wandering the island having no idea which heads I already had pictures of, and where the last ones I needed were

Developer(+1)

Thank you!

Yeah that is definitely a problem in the games current iteration no doubt. I'm planning on doing a full release of Moai sometime after the jam, and a solution to that issue is definitely going to be focused on. Pretty much anyone I had play test ran into the same issue.

Thanks for playing! I really liked your game btw

Submitted

This game rocks! The vibe is superb and the main mechanic is compelling too. Would love a little more control of the camera and the moped in the air if this got worked on post-jam, but a serious solid entry already.

Developer

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you liked it!

Totally agree. I'm working on plans now to expand Moai into a full release and those two things are very high on my list.

Submitted

Outstanding soundtrack, would pay good money for a cozy game where you're driving along the coast of a far island in the sea. A lot of potential with this!

Submitted(+1)

Outstanding soundtrack, would pay good money for a cozy game where you're driving along the coast of a far island in the sea. A lot of potential with this!

Developer(+1)

Thank you! I'm glad to here! The reception has been a lot better than I was hoping for, which has been really cool. I'm in the process of planning out an expanded full release

Submitted

Great experience, well done! Very nice polish on the rider animations, and of course the artwork is beautifully done :)

Developer

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Submitted

Absolutely love the atmosphere and calm gameplay, very clever logic puzzle. The focus on exploration, environment, and ambience is incredible. Definitely one of my favorites from this jam.

Developer

Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Especially the puzzle elements :)

Submitted

I really enjoyed the chill and peaceful vibe of this game, and I liked the story :D. I missed being able to turn or have some kind of control during the motorcycle jumps. Overall, it's a very cool game!

Developer

Thanks! Yeah I put the game on a single stick so my girlfriend could play. She has trouble using both sticks at once. But I think in later versions there will definitely be a look around action on the right stick, that won't really be necessary to use, but will be helpful for those who want it. 
More air control and like tricks and things are also on my radar too!

Thanks for playing! I enjoyed playing Skaterwitch btw! 

Submitted(+1)

I like the shaders. it makes the game pop a LOT. the atmosphere is awesome and the music is lovely. Very relaxing gameplay. Good job!

Developer

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for playing!

Submitted(+1)

really nice atmosphere, lovely graphics and audio.   I know it's not this kind of game but I really wanted to do flips when i went off a ramp 😂  well done! very impressive game

Developer

Thanks I'm glad you liked it! Doing flips and tricks was definitely something I wanted to do too. But I just ran out of time. I'm thinking about expanding this into a full game, and if I do tricks will absolutely be included. Thanks for playing

Submitted(+1)

Super chill and just enough depth to the gameplay to keep me interested, I am always a sucker for big stone heads. So exploring an environment dedicated to them was a really satisfying experience. Reminds me of that one episode of sponge bob where he had to make stone statues sing to jelly fish

Developer

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for playing!

Submitted

Relaxing and chill! I really liked driving around to the different heads and taking pictures and such. The shading and look is also really nice. Sometimes the game didn't feel nice to play and you'd get stuck a bit but overall super nice! Great work!

Developer

Thank you! Yeah there is definitely some refinement to still be made around the island landscape so you don't get physically stuck, as well as with the puzzles and navigation so you don't get mentally stuck.  Thank you for playing!

Submitted(+1)

I think the best word to sum up this game is "Delightful." I said "Whoa" out loud a lot while cruising around the island and taking the moped off sweet jumps. The music and the scenery are perfect complements to each other. The experience of playing this game reminded me of playing a more focused version of the game A Short Hike with the vibes of the Alolan Pokemon games.

There are a lot of serendipitous moments of discovery like when your scooter kicks up a starfish on the beach or when you see your first big wooden ramp. The game anticipates a lot of things including letting you call for help when you get your scooter stuck, I found that option right when I needed it.

Some wishlist items I would love to see in the game are being able to push the stick forward to do flips in mid-air (probably would not fit with the setting and purpose of the game but it would be so cool -- you can kind of already do this by turning while jumping and it results in a really fun cyclone jump effect). I would also like to be able to tweak the camera using the right stick to see slightly different views of the main character while in mid-air or on the ground. I was able to cheese the game after playing for awhile by taking 11 pictures of the same Moai and then brute forcing the phone call options, but I guess if the player chooses to go that route that's on them anyway.

Overall, an amazing experience that I want to play more of, it could definitely be a great full game especially with some additional historical mysteries to solve added and I feel that it would fit in really well on the Nintendo Switch.

Developer(+1)

This is a really awesome review and I just want to say thanks for taking the time to write it! I'm glad you picked up on some of the small details I put in there.

Tricks are definitely on my radar as well. They were on my list, but I ran out of time before I could get them in.

I also thought about adding a right stick look around. I probably will for a later build. The main reason I didn't is because my girlfriend really struggles to play games that require two sticks, and I try to make sure she can enjoy whatever I made. So I wanted something that didn't require two sticks to play. But now I think I could probably add a look around feature on the right stick, which would help those that want it but wont be required for those that don't.

I knew someone was going to cheese it! I totally agree though, at least for this build, its up to the player to decide how they want to go about it. And I'm okay with that, at least for now.

Thank you a ton for playing and the thoughtful review. I had a lot of fun playing Bigmode Jam Kart btw!

Submitted

Really loved the atmosphere, just cruising along made for a really relaxing experience.

Developer

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

Submitted (1 edit)

*Edit: there is music, I'm dumb.

A bit of music would've helped sell the setting but what's here is already very endearing.

Developer(+1)

We have music! Did you here any SFX at all? Maybe it was a volume issue, or possibly a bug on our part? Thank you for playing

Submitted

I think the PC was trying to play it through the gamepad, my bad!

Submitted

Requires a controller to play. Cute atmospheric environmental puzzle game. Gravity is quite low in this island. MODE license plate text is drawn overtop of water if you go into it.

Developer

Thanks for playing! Yeah the license plate bug never got fixed during the jam. Will definitely fix it in another release after all the voting and stream happen.

Viewing comments 20 to 1 of 26 · Previous page · First page