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A jam submission

Out of KeyView game page

Make clever use of limited key presses to solve puzzles and get through the day
Submitted by Palenar — 46 minutes, 8 seconds before the deadline
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Out of Key's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Fun#8733.3083.308
Overall#9223.3853.385
Originality#10923.5003.500
Presentation#14363.3083.308

Ranked from 26 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does your game fit the theme?
Controls are a finite resource you can run out of

Did your team create the art for this game during the 48 hour time slot?

Yes

We created all art during the game jam

Did your team create the audio for this game during the 48 hour time slot?

No

We used pre-existing audio

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Comments

Submitted

Nice puzzle! I saw other games with consumable controls, and making it turn based is for sure a good approach! The puzzles felt challenging, but still fair. Great job!

Submitted

Simple mechanics but complex game. I like it. 

Not sure if it was a problem on my PC, but the background track was really annoying and wierd.

Submitted

I like this. It's a simple concept executed pretty well. The easy levels at the beginning are nice to ease you into the idea of whats going on, and the difficulty curve is pretty good. Other than some of the key issues already mentioned (it's a jam game), this is a fantastic little game.

Submitted

Really cool concept and overall a great entry. I just couldn't solve the level pictured below. I think this is the intended path, but I can't figure out how to wait one turn at the start. It doesn't seem possible with the available keys.


Developer

Thanks for the feedback!

Spoilers below

You’re right about it being the intended path. You can use your E to wait at the start, then hold the E you picked up to open both gates at the end.

Submitted

Love the variety of the puzzles and I can definitely see the potential if it turns into a bigger game. Loved the tips as well and how they had flavor. Very neat!

Developer

Thank you for the feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it - maybe I will try explore it a little more in the future.

Submitted

That was a really fun little puzzle game. I enjoyed how the different mechanics were weaved together. It fit the theme really well.

Developer

Thank you for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed it.

Submitted

Really like the puzzle mechanics. The click of the keys is pretty satisfying.

I got stuck on level 2-4 so I can't say much about the rest of the levels.

Some of the behavior seemed like it was inconsistent with holding keys. For example, on 2-4 at the start, if you hold down and and then right at the start, you'll go all the way to the right without dropping down. If you hold up and then right, you go up the very first upward passage.

Developer

Thank you for the feedback!

The strange behavior is probably a result of me making an unintuitive choice. If you’re holding down multiple movement keys at once you’ll try moves in the order of Up, Right, Down, Left. It made sense to me, but I don’t think I ever specifically did anything to teach the player that - but I did end up making it a key part of solving some of the later levels. So a bit of a misstep from me.

(+1)

Really fun play on the theme of being out of control, and I like how the narrative in it hints at real life experiences as that makes it quite relatable. 

Specific things I enjoyed:

  1. I really enjoyed having the sound affects there as an indicator of how my movements worked - it acted as nice telegraphing about when I hit a blocker or couldn't move further. This made transitions between blocks very clear and easy to keep track of. 
  2. I also enjoyed that the initial levels acted as a tutorial to get me into the game's mechanics with a clear understanding of what I could/couldn't do.

Given that this is for a game jam, I know time is tight, but here some things that could be improved on with further iteration to make the gaming experience even better:

  1. Some telegraphing as to how the enemies/NPCs are going to move: This might make it easier to play out the levels in my mind before jumping in - especially because I do have limited moves. Specifically, the telegraphing around the blue block NPC, as I initially thought he was an enemy that I had to stay away from.
  2. Clearer copy that explains the mechanics and how to restart: I wasn't sure how to restart in the middle of the level if I felt like I had lost. And even with the tutorial, I'm not sure what the 's' mechanic is supposed to do because the copy linked to the narrative and not so much to explaining the mechanic. 
  3. Clearer explanation of when my held in button will stop counting as a previous step: Sometimes I was able to hold in a key for an entire level, but other times it stopped working and I had to use another move. It would be cool if there was an explanation about when the held in button will stop working - so I can plan when I need to use another move to get through the level. 

Overall, really fun play - and love the sprites and their sound effects that guide me through the game!

Submitted

Very interesting take on the theme. The first levels are a bit too simple, but it still makes you think.

Developer

Thanks you for the feedback!

Playtesting showed that some people just didn’t get how the mechanics worked, so I made the first levels really simple to try and make them understandable. The later levels are a big step up in complexity

Submitted

Like the art style and these Antichamber-feeling kinda philosophical messages. Levels are pretty nice.

A couple of issues though: there's possibly a bug when the E key doesn't work if you continue to hold arrow and it's kind of frustrating for me. And perhaps a way to restart the level before you run out of controls (e.g. when you already know you screwed up) would be nice.

Developer

Thank you for the feedback!

The E key issue is really unfortunate - not sure why that’s happening. You can restart at any time with Escape!

Submitted

For me, the game won't load...

Developer(+1)

Thanks for letting me know! There was a problem with the hosting - it’s been fixed now.

Submitted

Cool concept! Like the mood. I got stuck on 1-5 because even when I collect the E key I can't open the gate with it.

Developer

Sometimes a quick press uses up the key without performing the action - try holding it in for long enough for the door to open.