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A jam submission

Starting DreamsView game page

A quiet journey through the strange places we carry inside.
Submitted by Sungift — 1 hour, 53 minutes before the deadline
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Starting Dreams's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Theme#5843.0984.000
Visuals#8172.6683.444
Audio#8792.2382.889
Enjoyment#8962.3243.000
Overall#9052.3673.056
Innovation#9902.0662.667
Gameplay#10921.8072.333

Ranked from 9 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does the game fit the theme?
The character is travelling throughout different places of their reality. The strange places theme is connecting their emotions, dreams with their reality, making a distorted image of the places they have been in.

What code and assets did you not make from scratch during the jam (if any)?
The water shader was inspired by youtube tutorial.
Music and ambience was downloaded from free libraries and are credited in page.
Code and models have been all made from scratch.

How many people worked on the game?
2

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Comments

Submitted

so I really wanted to finish the game, that means your game was engaging, I liked the puzzle ideas but the long walkings were getting boring, environments were different and innovating, I can't say I wasn't waiting for a jump scare at some points lol. I will give it a 4/5

Submitted

Really reminded me of hypnagogia. The vibes were strong but I couldn't get past the coffee level, I threw them away and nothing happened :/

Submitted(+1)

Very atmospheric! The first level was my favorite. The closed in walls, the light cast by the tv, the ambience, it was wonderful. I also loved the scale of the walls when compared to the player character on level 2, that level felt vaguely unsettling, yet peaceful and weirdly reminded me of the maze runner movie. I did run into some frustration knowing where the range was to pick items up, I think either having a wider pickup range or a reticle to show what I'm aiming to pick up exactly would be helpful.On the second level I had to restart the game because I picked up the papers out of order somehow, and it wouldn't let me pick up the last sheet of paper, or two of the cups of coffee no matter how far away I stood. I also didn't find it super clear that the coffee goes in the trash, since they're ceramic mugs and the art showed the cups full, I was looking for some sort of tray for the coffee, or trying to put them on the desks. Maybe describing the cups as empty, or having them in disposable travel cups would have communicated a bit more clearly. Level 3's frustration was the placement of the invisible walls, I kept feeling like I should have been able to go somewhere, but then I'd find an invisible wall. I would have preferred to go to a space and realize there's nothing there, or have a visual indication that I can't reach that area instead of realizing that the path looks clear but there's an invisible wall in the way. It felt jarring. Other than that, you guys absolutely nailed the environments and the feel of the area, I'm honestly taking notes because the ambience was great! It felt meditative and quiet, and I didn't even notice until level 3 that there wasn't a jump or sprint button because I was just enjoying the vibes of walking around so much. 

I also really liked the realization that we're looking at someone's life and dreams - the last level put into perspective what the prior levels were. When the third level opened I thought it looked like mars, and then going to the fourth level and seeing that the character dreamed of going to space was like :0

Developer

OMG thank you for playing and for such detailed feedback! It's really good to know what clicks in the game and what would be preferable to change!
We had the comment about the cups from a friend that was playtesting and had an empty plastic cup of coffee to change the pixel art in the final hours but was trying to fix the more apparent bugs that decided to leave these more detailed features for next update outside the jam! For sure we will change many of the things you mentioned for next updates, thanks again!

Submitted(+1)

Atmosphere wise, you guys crushed it, I dont know how to describe it but it vaguely reminds me of something, but i cant put my finger on it. I did have like a bug where i wasnt able to pick up the papers, but a quick restart fixed it. Overall a really atmospheric game!

Great game! Keep it up!❤

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for playing!

Submitted(+1)

I love the atmosphere! I also threw all the coffee cups in the trash and couldn't figure out how to proceed, and when I was exploring around after that I managed to clip out of the map by walking into a corner which was funny.

Developer

Thank you so much for playing! It's really nice that you are liking the environment, as we wanted mainly to be an atmospheric game! 
I would like to ask you, to understand where was the issue, did you throw all the cups and put the papers on the desks? I need to understand if it is the bug with the papers or it's maybe not having a visual clue of how many things are left. Thanks again 

Submitted(+1)

Love the creepy liminal vibe and the chunky pixel textures.
Not sure if I locked myself out after throwing away the coffee cups. Couldn't get past the desks.

Developer

Thank you so much, happy that you loved the vibe!
I will try to fix any bug for the second level that seems to be faulty. Outside of the game jam, we will add visual cues for how many items are left.

Submitted(+1)

congrats on the game. 
i think i got soft locked, couldn't pick up the last piece of paper to put on the desk.

Developer

Thank you so much for playing our game! 
I will try fixing the bug the 48 hours that we have for bug fixes, I think the interaction is a big faulty in the second level, thank you for the comment