Sorry for no written review but here is the stream!
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I'm safe!'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Graphics | #38 | 4.357 | 4.357 |
| Innovation | #81 | 3.857 | 3.857 |
| Audio | #129 | 3.679 | 3.679 |
| Overall | #348 | 3.446 | 3.446 |
| Game Design | #616 | 3.179 | 3.179 |
| Theme | #928 | 2.893 | 2.893 |
| Fun | #986 | 2.714 | 2.714 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
In what way does your game fit the theme?
You're a lonely bird in a world full of lonely birds and each and every of them wants to gather together. But do you want it?
Little warning: the maze segment of the game appeared to be too long and confusing. If you feel a bit interested by the game, try to drag through it: there are two more small locations after it and some kind of awkward conclusion. Thank you!
Did you write all the code yourself and made all the assets from scratch?
Music and most of the sounds are kindly given to me by the band Kernherbst. Rest of the sounds are licensed under creative common 0 license.
All the rest is done by me from scratch during the jam.
Comments
Awesome art style! The hand drawn aspect gives it a creepy but organic feel. Only gripe is that I wasn't totally sure what the goal was. I found the houses but they didn't seem to do anything. Is there a way to win? But that aside, you did a great job on this, and the creepy sounds were a nice addition too.
Would appreciate if you checked out our game too. Thanks!
Submitted
Bond of BonesThe atmosphere you created here is amazing, and everything from sound to visuals is top-notch! The gameplay is also quite good, however, as others have said, you just have to work a tiny bit more on the camera work. Overall, incredible game!
P.S. If you can, please also rate my entry, Newtraction.
Submitted
NewtractionI am BLOWN AWAY by the artwork, this is the most unique looking game so far, I am curious how you are doing the motion effect? Loved the details with the trees and such.
The only critique would be the camera and movement. I play on a dual-screen setup so the mouse would leave the play area. This is an easy fix, just have to contain the mouse to the play area, and If there is no UI you can get away with hiding the mouse as well :
You can call this in your input manager on start :
Cursor.lockState = CursorLockMode.Confined;
Cursor.visible = false;
I also had to force quit the game to exit, as another quick fix you can just add this to update ( I often forget to set up a quit state in game jams myself lol ) :
void Update()
{ if ( Input.GetKey(KeyCode.Escape) ) Application.Quit(); }
I think you should continue on this or make a commercial title using the same art treatment, there is something here that I haven't seen in other titles. Great work nonetheless!
If you have a chance please check out and rate my team's entry "Beatdown Breakdown Boomtastic" : https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-5/rate/928162 It's a rhythm-based brawler!
Submitted
Beatdown Breakdown BoomtasticThe art and sound design of the game is great. The only things that bothered me were the birds and the camera zooming in. I know it was an artistic choice for atmosphere, but gameplay-wise, it made the whole thing much more difficult and rendering the maze borderline impossible, as stated by some other comments. The birds ever so slowly getting bigger was also a neat idea until they started being able to block my bird into a corner or trapping me in one of the little houses. This is a really nice idea to expand upon though, I hope you can fix these elements and maybe make this a full-fledged game one day
Submitted
Enter the Dream ZoneEverything about this game was unique, the art style, the atmosphere, the idea, the way you control the bird by moving your mouse. Pretty cool!
Submitted
Two OppositesThis audiovisual style is amazing. Im fascinated to hear about how you constructed the world and how you implemented this kind of feedback/delay effect on the visuals as I think that was so effective at reinforcing this eerie, desolate and eccentric vibe.
I'll be honest, I didn't really get the idea that the sound was guiding me through the environment; I'm not sure why as I was hyper aware of it... but it 's worth mentioning.
I also do agree with the commenter below that after loving this abstract world and moving around it, I got a bit lost with the maze and then without a clear direction to go in and this eerie sense of the world closing in on my little bird with these evil crows around I kind of lost some drive. But then i submitted to the idea that this was it; the feeling of being lost, overwhelmed and closed in by these ever enlarging birds... but unfortunately that illusion was also broken a little when nothing happened at full zoom. [ In fact I'm writing this with the game open hoping something will trigger, but i guess not... haha].
I love the feeling of confusion and loss you evoke initially but I felt without tying it to something larger--either to failure or overcoming it to success--it lost its flavour a little bit by the end of the game.
That said, the art atmosphere and systems you've built are incredible, and I'd be excited to see how this progresses if you do work on it further!!
On a side note: do implement a quit button; it really goes a long way... haha :)
Submitted
Silence and DarknessThank you for the review!
I've written a devlog post about implementing visual effects: https://bulboka.itch.io/im-safe/devlog/231330/visuals-implementation
Congratulations on great jam results!
Checked cinemanotcinema. Very interesting!
Definitely the most unique game I've played thus far.
To start out, I really loved the vibe. Mysterious, scratchy graphics and audio that really made me anxious from how empty it was.
I did not trust those other birds for a damn second lol, and I think that was the intent. It made for a really spooky experience and made me kind of relish the moments when I got away from them. However, as I kept playing, even with no objective really in mind, the effect unfortunately started to wear off.
The bird were so big! It got so annoying at times when I wandered into a corner and would just get stuck for minutes inching my way out
The audio piling on eventually just got super busy. It was that emptiness with a few unpredictable jittery noises here and there that really made the mood for me, but once more started piling, that anxious feel kind of faded.
I admit, I couldn't get past the maze part. I really had no clue where to go and with the camera zoomed all the way in, I had no idea where I could even go. It felt like I was hugging and following the walls for an eternity with nothing to show for it.
I didn't really get any stronger together vibes from the game, but maybe the conclusion that I missed would remedy that.
But now, for the things I really loved.
The graphics, my god, the graphics. You really captured such a unique feel. These combined with the audio at the start along with the smoothness of the gameplay made the experience feel super well rounded and polished! Really well done.
The gameplay of it. I might be a bit biased, but that sort of aimless wandering is something I quite like. It gave so much room to explore and wonder, despite the game being (I assume) not that big. It was really well executed in making the most of what it had.
Submitted
Ants Can't SwimThank you so much! Your critique is right to the point, already working on it. And I'm so glad that you appreciated the aimless wandering part of the game.
Being short: your game is so good! It's a pity, I'm extremely busy these days but I'll definitely find some time to share my thoughts about it a bit later.
Very interesting game. First off, I truly love the graphics. I've never seen anything like this, and it fits so well. The audio fit really well too.
I would've liked a little bit more guidance in the game. You're thrown in, and I was pretty confused until I closed the game and read the description. Also, the camera zoom was a lot. It's meant to capture that feeling of anxiety, and that succeeded. Unfortunately, it made me anxious and made it harder to play the game, so it ended making me want to stop playing.
Definitely the most interesting and unique game I've played. Very good job!
Submitted
Lost ReflectionsThe art syle is intriguing, I got kinda lost in the maze though so I can't judge the story/ending ;)
Submitted
Some Kind Of Block GameOh boy oh boy...
After reading your description and the others comments I thought: "Someone put some efforts but made a kinda difficult game at the beginning with an ending that no one has seen??? Not on my watch!"
I tried and tried and tried. I made a map of your maze, I put the location of the houses. I made a map of the forest, and put the houses. I did not make a map of the third location, I think I have the gist of how it looks, and know where the houses are.
But I am stuck. Third house you can't enter, third location. There is a bird outside that follows me. Is it the end? Do I have to go somewhere else? If you tell me I might try one last time... to see the end.
But until now, what I can review is:
- The art is good! The pencil effect, the persistence of the image and the animation put us in the mood you clearly want us to have.
- The birds are scary at first (and still a bit in the end). But mostly annoying. And that is also intended. However, sometimes they show inside houses and make you move also, which might not be intended.
- The house should not spawn one after another. That is something bad. You lost your way, you wander around and finally find a house. Your first reflex is NOT to go back on your feet to check what you already checked.
- The audio hint is weird. It is there for the first two houses, disappeared until the third location...
- The camera.............. This. This is the real reason why everyone one drop the game before finishing it. I understand that the zoom in follows the overall logic. You are anxious around others, you like to stay safe, alone inside a house or something. Far from the crowed. And the zoom in symbolize the centering around yourself effect, wanting all the surrounding to just disappears and being alone again. But here you are, trying to find your way, trying to find a home, and you cannot see anything but big birds taking your whole screen and blocking your movements... I know it is a cool metaphor and might be an important element to the "story". But it is bad, really bad. I tried some many times because of this.
- A menu, a pause or a restart button? ;)
- Borders. Well, only the third locations don't have borders but it should have some. I wander in a random direction for a long time before going back and realize I had to follow the sound of houses... sound that was not here since the beginning !!!
- Is there something like all birds have different effects? And they are stronger together? That would be the only tiny link to the theme imo. You feel clearly stronger alone, and other birds are just annoying, being alone or together...
Well. It is a very interesting game. The mood is clear and you understand almost instinctively the story, because you live it. And it is not a happy one.
The level design is lacking. I find level design being something quite hard, and your game proves how important it is ;)
You have clearly done a lot of efforts to make that game, very good job. And I think you know what to work on to continue ;)
Submitted
A Blob Queen's AdventureOh boy indeed! That's what I call serious approach)
Thank you for a great review, that's what I'm here for. You made me really happier today.
Also I feel ashamed, because yes, this is really the end and it doesn't deserve all of your efforts. I should have written "REALLY AWKWARD conclusion" in my description. It was done in the last hours of jam by a very sleepy me and the meaning was supposed to be like: it's the only silent bird in the game which is just following you not wanting anything. I always had the more meaningful one in my mind and it will be in the post jam version. And I'd be happy to see your maps))
I'm especially grateful for your criticism and already figuring out the solutions in the post jam version. Good point about spawning houses misleading players, didn't think about it, thank you! I definitely don't want them all to be in place from the start but the problem obviously will be solved this way or another.
You get most of my super-duper-obscure-subliminal messages so right! The idea with annoying birds and narrowing camera was like this: enemies should damage not the player in the game but the player in front of the computer. I guess I succeeded maybe a little too much. The problem is that the player doesn't have any tools to confront it and I definitely will try to fix it.
About fitting the theme. The original idea was to explore people's desire to get together all the time, the overrated significance of being social, to question the widely regarded benefits of communication with people. In many things we are stronger when we're alone. Probably it's not reading well, birds look like usual gamey enemies, chasing the player for no particular reason. It's one of the most important parts of the game, thank you for refreshing feedback.
And yeh, level design… I'm going to write a post about my experience during this jam and it's going to be an important point. It will be on gamin.me if anybody is interested, but it'll be in russian.
Sorry for lots of words, but I was really glad to talk to you. Post jam version will be largely redesigned and expanded, and I hope it'll be much better. Thanks to your feedback as well.
I am glad my review was to your liking, I gained a shot on motivation and it ended up on your game haha
I think the fact that there was no hint that the game was finished was the missing stone. After knowing that it is the end, we can interpret the events in our own ways, maybe the one you thought about, maybe another. I would be glad to share my map but I am afraid it would spoil people who want to challenge themselves on your game ;) (I can show it to you by pm, what about discord? Shagar#2871)
For the theme part, your point is good, maybe like a "stronger together...?", I would have seen your message in a game where you need to find others to continue, as they are essential, but you also have the downsides and still need to be alone at some points... maybe.
Knowing your thoughts and confronting them to the feelings I had playing your games is very interesting, thank you for sharing all that !
You have great ideas I see, hope you will continue with them. ;)
Really interesting and crazy looking game! We loved the vibes, drawings and music. :)
Unfortunately we couldn't play it for long because the strong black and white contrast with the intense blur effect was too much for our eyes / brains somehow haha. An option to reduce that would be cool - otherwise a great game we would have played through the end.
All the best from the Wilma & Buddy Team
Submitted
Wilma and BuddyWish I had more time to play this game to see it whole, but I got lost in the woods and had to quit.
The artstyle is awesome, I really loved the bird and the trees and how everything shifted once in a while.
Submitted
Dezerters!Thank you! It's really great indeed that you made it to the forest)
That wobbling of the environments is done quite in a dumb way right now: for every mesh once per some period of time I'm running through all of the vertices and randomly shifting their UV-s. Will have to move to shader magic in post jam version.
Awesome and creepy AF. Really liked it, super intuitive, graphic effects and sound are dope.
Only bad thing is that, as you said in other comment, maze is too big and after reaching some dead ends and getting lost you get bored and drop the game, I really would like to play it again with some improvement there.
Submitted
Not even your mom played thisI liked the doodle style of design, the overlay textures and sfx! Cool project! As far as the gameplay goes i've been lost a lot and i couldn't understand what's going on.. beside the mouse navigation are there any other controls?
Submitted
We Snow Nothin'Thank you! I draw everything using only my mouse.
No, there are no controls, you can only move.
You're right, the labyrinth segment is too long and confusing. I'm afraid many players gonna drop the game at this point. Yet there are two more small locations after it and some message (kind of) and finale (rushed and confusing, never the less).
While I don't completely understand the premise, I will say this left a good impression on me. I got lost multiple times and going back to the same places a lot. The vibe you get off this game is immensely similar to the Sad Satan game, in both audio and visual gameplay. Overall, a surprise to say the least
8/10, well done
Submitted
Dark FusionVery weird sensations playing this game. I am not sure if I liked or not haha.
Art and music/sounds awesome.
The other birds kept me afraid all the time.
I really liked the "cursed" sensation.
Submitted
Die in the Dungeon CLASSIC
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