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A jam submission

The LighthouseView game page

A horror game for Scream Jam 2023.
Submitted by Steiner Ákos Pál — 4 hours, 28 minutes before the deadline
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The Lighthouse's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Story#1053.0613.061
Aesthetics#1233.6123.612
Horror#1363.0003.000
Sound Design#1463.0823.082
Enjoyment (Best Game)#1553.0413.041

Ranked from 49 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Viewing comments 49 to 30 of 49 · Next page · Last page
Submitted(+1)

When I was exploring the exterior of the lighthouse to find the key to get into the lighthouse, I shined my flashlight into the building and found a ghost-like figure staring back at me in the east of the lighthouse. I thought there was going to be a chase sequence somewhere in the game and I had to run out of the lighthouse to get the good ending of the game. While I didn't get to encounter the ghost, I was filled with dread and anticipation when I entered the lighthouse and got closer to the east side of it. When I climbed higher, I was thinking, "Phew, I don't get to run away from the ghost anymore." But a part of me still thought that I would encounter the ghost somewhere later in the game. 

The limited visuals, limited lighting, and ominous music made me feel uneasy throughout game, which is a good thing for a horror game. I also loved the complete backstory of the tragedy of the lighthouse. Now I know why there was a ghost-like figure staring back at me while I was circling the lighthouse. 

Developer

Thank you for sharing your experience and feedback, it means a lot! I'm glad you liked the ghostgirl stuff! B) 

Submitted(+1)

So... I roamed around for a bit to find the key and haven't found anything. So... am I man made in the image of lighthouse? 

From what I see in the screenshots, because I couldn't get farther then a good solid roaming about- It is a good-looking game in its simplicity. keep it up. I would either limit how much extra map there is or if the vast land is necessary for a portion of the game, I'd block off a good bit of the map until the key is found.  

Good luck!

Developer(+1)

Thank you! Good pint, I will worm on it! At least I will make the path more explicit. 

Submitted(+1)

I like the usage of the limited flashlight to create a horror feeling there. Although it took me some time to find the key to get in the lighthouse since the flashlight is a bit lagging on my laptop, overall it's great! I'm impressed that you've done all the art, coding and music by yourself. 

Developer

Thanks the kind words, means a lot! *going to check out your game*

Submitted

Really nice aesthetics and lighting, really like how the occluisions of light creates a tense mood/scene. Also good color palette which gives the "lighthouse/sea" theme. Did you get inspired by The Lighthouse movie? because I felt in the end a similar reference to one of my favourite movie. Some feedback: This game needs one or two more game mechanics in order to make it way more meaningfull and give player a real purpose. Looking and opening door is fine but make it appealing like give the player a reward for that. Good potential, keep it up :)

Developer(+1)

Thank you very much for your feedback!

Yes, I watched a lot of scenes from the movie under the jam to get inspired - I really like that movie too. And yeah, I know collecting keys is not a gamechanger mechanic, since submission I did a lot of improvements on my game, if you are interested, look back after a few days and check the latest version out.

Submitted(+1)

Sure, I will. Glad you watched that masterpiece :D

Developer

*checking your game rn*

Submitted(+1)

Loved music, idea is enjoyable, good work!

Developer

Thanks the kind words, apretiate it!

Submitted(+1)

I love lighthouse games. You really nailed the 2D lighting, placing all those occluders must've been a chore!

Developer

thank you very!

Submitted(+1)

So I loved the basic mechanic here. Restricting the view to only a narrow flashlight beam is really interesting, creates tension, and is also visually appealing. I also thought the intro text being part of the environment, so you have to shine the flashlight on it in order to read, was really stylish. Unfortunately I wandered all over and couldn't seem to find the key to get into the lighthouse. I don't mind a challenge, but since the lighthouse itself is where I wanted to be, I lost some interest when simply finding the key turned out to be really difficult. But, a really really cool idea. (Also kinda reminds me of the premise of the musical they put on in the latest season of Only Murders in the Building, lol.)

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Ah thank you for your feedback! Yeah, I can understand that finding the key is a bit hard in that big environment. Since submission I made it a bit more intuitive to find it with footprints and so, but if you are interested in get into the lighthouse, I can tell you, that you need to search in the right edge of the building (maybe in a barrel, I don't know). Thanks again! 

Submitted(+1)

The lighting pretty good, Nice job!

Developer

Thanks! 

Submitted(+1)

I guess they loved locking their doors :) Very nice lighting game.

Developer(+1)

Yeah, I know, it's a bit repetitive 😅 I didn't have time for other mechanics so I tried to save what I can save. 

Submitted(+1)

Great work! Really immersive game, loved the lighting and the overall look of the game! It had loads of atmosphere while exploring with the flashlight. Great music too! Great job! 👍

Developer

Ah thank you, it means a lot to read that type of comments too! 

Submitted(+2)

Good atmosphere! I like the flashlight. The only thing is that looking for the keys is a bit repetitive but I have already seen that you are going to improve that. Above all, congratulations for your game, we see that you have done a lot of work and on your own!

Developer

Yes, thanks the honest feedback and yeah, it can be very repetitive - sadly I didn't have time for more features to be implemented, but I will upload an updated demo version - if you are interested, check back later, thank you! 

Submitted(+1)

Very interesting gameplay and I thought there will be some jumpscare but thanks god not xD

Developer

Do you think it would be good? I can try to put some in it. Thank you your feedback! 

Submitted(+1)

Maybe when you are inside the lighthouse and look outside the window, when your flashlight turns on there will be a shadow or sth, and when it turns off and then turn on again, it disappears. I remember there is some research about the art of horror games or its style on how to trigger the fear of players on the internet that you can read to apply in your game.

Developer(+1)

Yeah, I read a lot of articles about it too, thanks! Good point, it's just hard to find the balance between "fear of unknown" and "fear of something, that you see". I will work on it, thanks! 

Submitted(+1)

Remembers me of Lighthouse Keeper by Nikita Kaf, also taking the famous Lighthouse trope, but the 2D Pixel Art twist and nice visuals are top notch with this one ! Amazing job !

Developer(+1)

Thank you very, means a lot! 

Submitted(+1)

Great visuals and the combination of  the flashlight is realy fitting. The map feels a little bit big. I hope you continue this project since it has great potential.

Developer(+1)

Thank you very much! I'm working on a final version of it with finetuning, sounds, etc., so if you are interested, check back after voting session ends! 

Submitted(+1)

I like the art style seems like you designed quite a world up. Also it got a creepy atmosphere and the flashlight was well done! I liked the way you told the story , I think environmental storytelling might fit this style well. I did get a bit lost at some points though.

Developer(+1)

Thank you very much! Yeah, maybe the path wasn't intuitive enough, but it was semi-intentional to increase the "feeling of unknown". But I will work on it, thanks your feedback!

Submitted(+1)

Great work! I really liked how how moody everything became with the lighting.

The level design was good. I never felt stuck and even though I sometimes felt just a bit of lost, it was always possible to find my way again and figure out what to do. If anything it just made things more interesting. I think you did a really good job on making the character slow and the spaces you traverse small. Outside the lighthouse is an exception to this, having to walk around there without actually knowing what to look for was frustrating. Once I got inside though, it was really good. I'm also a huge fan of the ingame text.

Some feedback:
The gameplay does get a bit repetitive. Find locked door, look for key, find key, unlock, repeat. It's a loop, which is a very good start, but it could be made much more interesting if there was more variation. The spooky figure was a great addition that did make things more interesting, the game just needed a lil bit more of that kind of stuff. 

All that said, you seem to be at the start of developing games, and having submitted to a jam is an incredible feat in itself. Fantastic work, and keep it up!

Also are you using FL keys?

Developer(+1)

Thank you for your feedback! I will work on the things you mentioned. I'm really glad you liked the game.

"The gameplay does get a bit repetitive." - you are absolutely right, I just didn't have more time to add more tasks.

And yes, Fl keys with a lot of reverb. Wanted to make music with real instruments, but I didn't have time for that too - sadly.

Submitted(+1)

The flashlight feature made the world awesome and lively. Great work on it! I suggest less blinking and slower camera for more comfort.

Developer

Nice finetuning ideas, I'll note them and update the game after voting session, thank you very!

Submitted(+1)

The flashlight was so fun to play around with, and I am impressed with how well it worked with a 2D world! Great job!

Developer

Ah I'm happy you say that, thank you for your positive feedback!

Submitted(+1)

I thought the game was pretty fun, i really liked the lighting! 

Developer

Thanks the kind words!

Submitted(+1)

The lighting is so cool and also the beginning title! Love the errie vibe and indie aesthetics.

Developer

I glad you liked it, thanks to your feedback!

Viewing comments 49 to 30 of 49 · Next page · Last page