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josephalopod1 day ago (1 edit) (+2)

Hey! After your comment on our game jam (about seeking us out from last year) I had to swing by and see what you made this year too!

I love it! As a fan of Outer Wilds (the best game ever made), I love time loop games where you build up knowledge over multiple runs.

That being said, I think I skipped half of your game :( I brute-forced the pentagram because if my math is correct you only have to make at most 14 attempts, so I thought that was intended (i.e. get there with enough time remaining on enough runs to figure it out). I’m gonna jump back in and see what I missed before I finish rating because I really want to see what else you cooked up!

Before I do that though, I will also say that the art style and framing narrative is super charming, and the movement overall felt good. I got stuck on stuff occasionally because you don’t see it until you get onto that screen, but that might be unavoidable. I would suggest making the walkable areas of the bridges a bit wider though probably. The getting stuck is rarely an issue but with the time pressure each time makes my heart drop haha!

Great job and I will probably reply to or edit this comment with my thoughts after jumping back in!

Edit: Okay, I’m so glad I jumped back in.

Spoilers here I previously fully skipped using the fish and getting or using the pickaxe. The password for the tree made me laugh out loud.

Great game, awesome jam entry!

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Bevan Guest1 day ago

Thank you so much for playing!

Yeah, we were trying to make a mini version of Outer Wilds mixed with Minit. I still need to actually play Outer Wilds myself, but it's only ever on sale for like 40% off. I'm waiting for that 80% discount before I pull the trigger. 😆

I'm honestly shocked to hear that people are brute-forcing the candle puzzle! I thought having to get past the dog would make it too time-sensitive for anyone to try that.

As for the bridges, I deliberately added them as a tense little challenge because you're constantly racing against the clock. I was actually very close to making that section even longer!

Like with every game jam project, a lot of the feedback people have given us are things we're already aware of. We just needed more time to polish everything and think through some of the design decisions. To be honest, there were times when we weren't even sure we'd have the energy to finish the game since we were both working full-time as well. But I'm really glad we pushed through and got it done.

I'm happy you enjoyed the game! Short Fuse was amazing, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see it make the Top 100. I guess I'll see you again next year. Haha! 😄

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josephalopod1 day ago

Oh my god, you have to play Outer Wilds! Being a frugal gamer is commendable, but it’s Outer Wilds!

I’m impressed that you finished this game to this level of polish despite working full time. I took a day and a half off for the jam, lol

Yeah, I had about 6 seconds or so each time I got to the pentagram, and I think I managed to brute-force it by the second or third time getting there. If you keep track of what you’ve tried for each point in the sequence, it’s 5 to get the first one plus 4 to get the second one, etc., so didn’t seem too daunting. One way you could prevent that would be to make the pentagram lock you out after the first mistake, like explode or crumble or something.

Thanks so much for the high praise for our game! Back at you, honestly, I could absolutely see this one making the top 100.

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Bevan Guest1 day ago(+1)

Don't worry, Outer Wilds is on the list... although I guess I'll have to move it up a few spots now. 😄

Yeah, we took a day off as well, but let's just say my boss wasn't exactly thrilled about it.

Haha, I see the issue now. I was thinking, "There's no way anyone is going to brute-force this, especially if it means having to deal with the dog all over again!"

And thanks for the kind words. I think Short Fuse is your best one yet. I absolutely loved it. Such a clever idea, and it was incredibly polished from start to finish. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it in the next Mark Brown video!

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