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A jam submission

Head(ge) SpaceView game page

Save your dog from the maze he ran into
Submitted by Lazy Fangs (@lazy_fangs), AsynchronousMe (@AsynchronousMe), Bianfu4c, Rambo_One2 — 1 day, 5 hours before the deadline
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Head(ge) Space's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Theme#34.2864.286
Overall#63.3573.357
Game Design#133.0713.071
Fun#152.7142.714

Ranked from 14 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Submitted(+2)

This game gets the prize for "most guilt-inducing game over prompt", winning out over the previous champ, the Titanic sinking when you don't continue. :P

I triggered the crows once and I found a lot of set areas--trash cans, street light, painting, doll, etc. I even did get a sense of...how to get in and out of areas, a little? The second time I played I tried to just follow what I thought was the sound of my dog whimpering but that didn't go well. 

It's honestly so impressive that you made this! It really reminded me of Vanish, an older indie horror game where the maze you're in constantly changes. I thought at first it was just as random, but it's not, I suppose. I'm not the best with mazes in the first place, so I'm really glad you put up the showcase video so I could see more of it. The atmostphere is strong throughout, it's crealy got a lot of polish and a lot of mechanics in it. Definitely a jam game, with its somewhat rough edges, but really good job. So cool that you managed to pull off such a long game, too! Excellent work!

Developer(+1)

Thanks for the feedback! 

Yes, the sentiment is that the game is a bit too punishing. The maze was a lot smaller earlier on, and the player would simply follow the dog's noises to get a sense of direction. As the maze grew, the dog mechanic basically became obsolete until the final part, which I think we would change if we decide to keep working on this in the future.

We realized too late on in the process (due to lack of playtesting) that the maze itself was way too difficult, and while the teleportation mechanics were really cool, we had kinda gone overboard with the sheer number of teleports. What had started as a mechanic to sow a bit of confusion in the player and prevent them from simply hugging a wall until they reached the end became more a rule than an exception. 

I'm glad you found the showcase video so you got to see more of the game than just the beginning. Thanks for playing! :)

Submitted (1 edit) (+2)

I know you've heard it a million times but the atmosphere is great! Right when I started it I hated it, which in this case is a huge compliment cus I absolutely hate scary games lol. The scares did get a bit old a little quick. After I saw the scarecrow and the babies, at that point the only things that would get a jump out of me were crows spawning right on top of me and being really loud. Maybe something out of Antichamber's book would be cool, where you end up at a dead end, turn around just to immediately be met with another dead end (and a jump scare), and now the original dead end behind you has opened up.

I really like the random generation idea, leads to a disorienting feeling which generally could work really well, but when you as a player never know if you're making progress, it definitely gets a bit frustrating. On my first playthrough I got to a point where the rain kicked in and the lighting changed, which I liked a lot. Unfortunately I ended up in an infinite loop (I turned back and walked for a sec hoping it would break but it didn't seem to) so I had to restart. I couldn't get back to the rain part on my second playthrough which was sad cus I wanted to see it again.

And there in lies the biggest thing in my opinion, that I never really knew what was going on. I don't know how I made it to the rain part in the first place, and I didn't know how to make it back. The crow vortex was super cool, I audibly said "oh hell yea" when I saw it for the first time, but being teleported back to the start didn't mean much to me because whether I was at the start or anywhere else I felt totally lost all the same . The landmarks like the bench areas were cool, but they felt just as randomly generated as everything else, so I couldn't tell if finding them actually meant progress or not. Reading one of the dev's comments below, I understand the intent is to create a mental map. It might have just been me that was so lost, but I definitely think more things were needed in game to fully convince me that there was a correct path and that the whole thing wasn't pseudo-random.

Overall I don't wanna sound overly critical, I actually really loved the game, I just want to share my experience and how I felt as a player so you can take things like that into consideration for the next game. You guys really have the horror thing down so I'd love to see what you do if you tackle the genre again. <3

Edit: I forgot to mention that I really liked the sounds. They were really important to rounding out the atmosphere. The crow sfx wasn't my fav personally but everything else was spot on!

Developer

Hi!

Thanks for the comment!

Nothing about the maze is random - it's very much static with 1 way teleporters stewn about :) After getting a lot of feedback, I do see how this can be confusing - I could have sprinkled a few more breadcrumbs here and there, and I deffinetly made some teleports too punishing and confusing.

Glad you managed to get a bit of enjoyment out of it regardless ^^

Submitted(+2)

Strong atmosphere and mechanics work together to bring this game together, I can definitely see it pushing into frustration more than enjoyment though.

Submitted(+2)

I really loved the atmosphere! The scarecrow was a good scare, but like everything else, it got bit stale as I got sent to start multiple times. I think there should have been few more landmarks, and or some mechanic to help you see where you have already been (for example stones or chalk). At start I though the teleportation just happened randomly which made me lose motivation until I saw dev's walkthrough. Even then the teleportations to an earlier point made the game into Getting Over It walking simulator. 

I do think this type of game can be very enjoyable, but there needs to be more feedback given to the player to show they are on the right track. That or make sure that the player can't make the same mistake thrice.

Whenever there was a scare, it did get me on the first times. The rain did make the atmosphere a lot more tense and that thing with walls was creepy.

Developer(+1)

Hi!

Thanks for the feedback! I agree wholeheartedlty with your comments :)

Next time, I'll push for more playtesting and feedback, as this game was made practically in a void xP Glad you got something out of it regardless!

Submitted(+3)

Great atmosphere for a horror game! The design choice of not letting the monsters attack fits well with the plot and subverts the expectation of the player. The maze however is quite an issue as it is very confusing without much clue on what is going on. It kind of detract the experience a bit. Overall, a good horror game that can use some improvement.

Developer

Hi!

Glad you liked it! Yeah, I realised only now that some of the mechanics aren't exactly that intuitive ^^ Instead of a brain teaser it turned into a frustrating experience xP

Developer(+2)

A bit of a spoiler, so please only watch after you tried the game yourself :D

I got turned around at one point and did indeed get lost for a moment xD

Submitted (1 edit) (+3)

SO as a general rule, I don’t think players like mazes. Especially mazes that teleport me back to the start via unavoidable crownado when I am, I’m pretty sure, most of the way through? I passed two different open areas, the first one with green lanterns, the second one with a giant baby doll. Then the crows vworped me back to the start. This reminds me of a game a few years back called Lost in Vivo, though that one went… weird places. I was really hoping this would be like Lost in Vivo but better. I was hoping it would go somewhere really cool, but it didn’t really go much of anywhere, and neither did I, because the crows didn’t want me to. This could be really good, but it definitely needs some adjustment. OH ALSO it is a nightmare to play this with a trackpad.

Developer

Hi, thanks for the feedback!

Yes, Lost in Vivo was an inspiration for this ^^ Sorry about the crows - they are slower than the player and dissapear if you break line of sight for long enough. Unfortunately the game was designed for regular mouse and keyboard, so sorry for that xP

This being a game jam game, we didn't have enough time to do cool things with it, unfortunately.

Submitted(+2)

Damn you birds! Damn you!!!

Submitted(+2)

I was definitely creeped out in the beginning! Then I got the gist of it and I realized that the creepy dude was never going to attack, and the maze keeps teleporting me around.

Is it possible to find your dog? I didn't, I played for atleast 15 minutes. Once I realized it wasn't a normal maze and the dog sound probably didn't mean anything, I just didn't have the motivation to keep looking. Everywhere I looked, I had already been.

At one point, a tornado of crows made me restart (?)

So definitely a creepy game, but I would have liked it more if the maze was "fair".

Developer

Hi!

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, the game has an end, and it does rely on you creting a mental map of the layout - the teleports are static and mostly one-way. There are 3 zones overall. The theme was around anxiety and everything being in your head, so the scares don't actually do anything (except the crownado restarting you, that one is correct)

Thanks for giving it a go!

Submitted(+2)

This game accurately fits the horror theme and has some scary details. I really like how the monster chases you up on the hedges. The game takes a while but is still pretty fun. I like the art, such as the starting image, and the path texture. The sound is also really cool and it creates suspension! Really good game! 

Submitted(+4)

Hedge mazes always get me, super scary, well done! Special detail: asking "Abandon your dog?" instead of just "Quit game?" actually made me change my mind twice :)

Submitted(+2)

this game is amazing! well done! its really really creepy, the maze changeing is really cool and adds to the creepyness, now fun wise im not too sure, there could be more to do and it gets a little stale after a while, but becouse you are so on edge you dont notice that really. now game design is really good, its solid but there are a fiew visual glitches (i think thats what it is) at some places in the map, other then that very very good game.