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Shady Business's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Fun/Engagement | #30 | 3.071 | 3.071 |
| Theme | #30 | 3.464 | 3.464 |
| Overall | #33 | 3.027 | 3.027 |
| Audio/Music | #34 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Art/Graphics | #54 | 2.571 | 2.571 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.
- This is an interesting idea that's lacking a little on the execution. I think the take on the theme was really fun, and I liked all the little easter eggs like the news headlines. Unfortunately I think the incentive structure to play well wasn't super effective. Since your money resets every day as soon as you hit your quota you can basically turn your brain off and finish levels, which doesn't feel great. I think also having the ability to undo a move you made would be really useful. since there's no time limit on planning your route you can basically just sit and plan out your route beforehand which is pretty unfun, and then if you accidentally click a wrong direction you just lose money and there's nothing you can do about it which is frustrating. I also think you kind of lose some of the player engagement when it's literally impossible to do shady stuff without losing. I thought since I would get money for doing it still that there was maybe some incentive to chose to do a little shady stuff but not go overboard or get arrested, but this didn't seem to be the case
- Interesting optimization problem. I feel the difficulty curve is way too slow. Having to play 10 levels at every step is way too slow, I kind of got the point after 2-3 levels, but it felt the same. When I saw that I kind of started over at 10 new levels on the second part, I kept playing because I'm judging, being simply a player, I would've stopped there. My... family died ? on the second difficulty level, no idea why. That big screen of text when you press the phone is very hard to read and it kind of auto skip to "your family lived" or "your family died" so way of understanding what's going on. Also that UI of the different colors seems pretty important and it blends with the background boxes, so it can be hard to notice at first.
Did you work alone, or as part of a group? (If in a group, list their names)
I worked alone.
Disclose if you used any public domain assets or not.
All assets were made by me, except for the font.
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Comments
I found this really fun and when I was on the 2nd day and saw that nothing shady was happing I was starting to think this was horror and the "Shady" was going to be like jumpscares, light's going out, creepy phone messages, but when I saw what it really was I thought I was stupid.
But just very good game and I'm glad that it's not horror.
I hate horror games too lmao. Can’t even play outer wilds for more than 30 minutes straight.
I’m really glad you had fun though!
Also I’ll play your game when I get the chance
A great take on the “guide” theme while being simple to understand. The music has a great score and is really at odds with messages like “your family is alive” XD Good work!
Thanks for playing! I'm glad you liked the music. How was the gameplay though? (That is my main concern)
It wasn’t exactly… riviting. I’ve just replayed it, and yeah, the gameplay was lacking. Maybe if you added a timer to add some tension?
This would probably be great if it was part of a bigger game - and there was an overaching story or game that you were following.
i.e. more time spent working, more money, but less time with family, more issues - gives you a reason to step into the shady stuff, but if you do, that might have ramifications on your personal and family life
Well the gameplay was supposed to be puzzle based, as in at the moment, the game consists of 30 “levels” (10 each day). The Xs were supposed to make it more interesting (did they not do that). Also, the timer idea is a good one, and if I were to flesh out this project, adding more mechanics would be my main focus. Thanks for the feedback!
I enjoyed the music and your play on the theme. This game got me thinking a little and that's good for my brain. But I wish there was an undo or a way to reset for the times I move one more than I met to or realize there's a better route.
Thanks! I’m not so sure of the “undo” idea, as the whole point of the game was to plan out your route beforehand, but I definitely should’ve made it so you didn’t have to go back to the beginning when you lost.
Great little time killer! loved the idea!!! I wish there was a genocide route tho :(
Thanks! As long as the puzzles are fun, I’m happy lol.
I love the humor and mechanics of your game, it's really ingenious and everything is very consistent! I found the difficulty well balanced and enjoyed that things got progressively harder from day 2.
All in all, a very solid entry, great job!
I'm glad you liked it! Going into this, I was worried that this type of game would be boring, but it seems like introducing the "X" on the map helped with that. I'll be sure to try your game when I get the chance.
Very nice use of the theme and an extremely engaging design. This is totally the sort of game I'd bust out on my phone if I'm stuck waiting somewhere, nice work!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’ll make sure to check out your game as well.
Really great interpretation of the theme, and very solid implementation without bugs, I got hooked on the puzzles tbh, good job.
Really glad to hear that there’s no bugs lol. And I’m also really happy that the puzzles were engaging. I’ll make sure to try your game as well. Thanks for playing!
you did great on this! I really like the idea and the story line, this one is by far the best I have seen and the music is just an amazing topping, this kept me really engaged and it was fun to play.
I will definitely come and play again in the future. amazing game!
Well I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ll make sure to check out your game as well!
thanks!
Kinda like it but I did not feel like playing again when my family died. Maybe more days of starvation? The music got very repetitive. Congrats!
There’s only 3 days as of now, and looking back, it might’ve been better to let players only restart the day and not the entire game when they lose. As for the music, it wasn’t my best I threw it together in like 2 hours lol. I’ll be sure to try your submission also.
It's quite fun! Reading the instructions is definitely important. Things made a lot more sense after I understood what the red X was. That's a me problem.
Silly question: is there a method to count how many units long the roads are?
I’m glad you enjoyed. I didn’t really have time to figure out a good way to count, but you can use the destination squares and other roads to make it easier if you really want to. However, there’s enough leniency to where you shouldn’t need to count. I’ll be sure to check out your game as well once I get the time.
pretty cool game, my only complaint would be how the music doesn't really fit in with the gameplay, too upbeat :(
still fun nonetheless :))
I mean the game is also supposed to be pretty upbeat, it’s not meant to be taken too seriously, though I can see how you’d think that with the whole “your family died” thing lol. I’ll also make sure to check out your game when I can.
The art is simple but you made it look great. I was having fun until my family died :(
Well I’m glad you enjoyed it. Art isn’t really my strong suit so I can’t go for anything that isn’t really simple in a reasonable amount of time, though I’m happy that you liked the look of it anyway! I’ll make sure to try your game when I get the chance as well.
Fun game! The minimalist art fit together nicely and the game tied into the jam theme in a really cool way!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’ll make sure to check out your game as well when I have the chance.
I like it! There isn't a lot going on but it's simplicity is good, though the art part might be a bit too simple, and the music could be longer, it's a nice experience, let's see what you'll do with this roject.
Thanks for playing! Yeah I didn’t spend a lot of time on the art or the music, I was more focused on it being fun to play, and as long as I achieved that, I’m happy. Our games were shockingly similar in concept too if I’m being honest lmao
Simple, yet fun. Reminds me of the games "Beholder" and "Papers, Please", where you have a "simple" task, but your family's lives are at stake, which complicates things. What is supposed to be a normal job quickly becomes something dangerous and risky, with shady interactions becoming frequently necessary to survive. Poor guide doesn't get paid enough. :(
Yeah I took heavy inspiration from Papers Please. I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'll be sure to check out your game as soon as I can!