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A jam submission

Doggy Daycare (jam version)View game page

Submitted by Gabor Heja (gheja) — 1 hour, 44 minutes before the deadline
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Doggy Daycare (jam version)'s itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Fun gameplay#43.7373.737
Blind-friendly and good use of audio#54.3164.316
Setting, story, characters, and world#103.6323.632

Ranked from 19 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Simple but fun, really good use of the sound effects. The fact that this is also accessible on mobile is also really cool.

Developer

Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed it!

(+1)

The hitboxes on these puppies really are brutal! At first, I thought that each dog would have a safe line on all sides of it where you could walk while hearing it but not waking it up, but since then there’s been so many times when I walked into a dog that I should’ve surely just been walking past that I’m no longer so sure. I was especially annoyed when I stumbled into a dog snoozing right next to the kitchen door. Come on pupper, everyone there is so incredibly loud already; can’t you ignore this one human walking around while at it? I’m apparently even a ghost that makes no footstep sounds, what else do you want?

But the snores! I didn’t know dogs could make sounds like that! For that alone, all your evilness is forgiven. 10/10, would sneak around in extream fear of sleeping puppies again.

Developer (1 edit)

Thank you so much for your feedback! The puppies are indeed easy to wake, they are ready for another round of play at any time!

I have an updated version where the dogs make a noise before waking up (you're still safe to step back from there) and you have footsteps. and hints where the door should be. Check it out if you'd like to give it another go :) Also, pressing "V" reveals the room, if you'd like to check it out.

https://gheja.itch.io/doggy-daycare-latest

Thanks so much for playing, I am happy you liked the snores, I had a lot of fun finding and editing the sounds :)

(+1)

That was simple and fun! As I progressed I got ever more invested in getting it right because I didn't want to start over

Developer

Thank you, I am happy you liked it!

(+1)

I think I broke the game on the third level. I managed to get past a few dogs but then, seemingly ended up in a situation where no matter where I moved, I couldn't move, even going to the right. No dogs, no sounds, nothing.

From a general standpoint, I wish there were footsteps, and a way to actually learn the approximate direction of where the door is rather than just blindly stumbling around in the hopes that you can find it. It's also unclear if a dog is in front, or behind. However, this is a good first attempt.

Developer

Thanks for your feedback

Yes, unfortunately there is a problem on level 3 where you can just barely pass between the dogs, leaving the "maze" - I have fixed it but haven't uploaded it yet. The new version should be up today, as a separate game (I will keep the jam version as it was submitted).

I also added a hint on start of every level, saying in which corner the door is located.

I am thinking about how to implement the footsteps to not be too distracting but will probably include that as well in the next build.

Thanks for your feedback again, I am glad you liked it even with these issues :)

(+1)

It needs work, but the concept is solid!

I like the whimsical setting and amusing sounds. In theory the mechanics could make for a pretty fun game, and the controls make sense.

Bonus points for not mentioning blindness even once!


Sadly, the lack of explanation of what general direction to head in, the large hitboxes on the dogs, and the absence of volume normalization for the snores make this game feel very unfair. I'm also not convinced that we always have a path to the door to be honest.

Footstep sounds and wall bumps (even subtle ones) would be very helpful as well.

I actually don't mind the limited amount of reaction time, but it would be good to cut the sounds to make sure the snore is always immediate after the step.


Over all a game that has promise!

Thank you so much for entering the jam! Hope to see you again next year. :)

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for your feedback, it is very useful!

I tried to normalize the sounds and cut them shorter (removing silence) to make them loop with mostly audible part but I agree, it still needs work. I also noticed (after submitting it) that adding a bump or dog sound a bit before waking them up as a warning would be nice.

I've been thinking about footsteps but was not sure if that would make it too "noisy" (as in too much happening at a time), but will rethink this!

There are no wall bumps just dogs all around :) and I promise all levels has a solution.

A kind of hint: when playing on keyboard or controller you move on a grid and you're not able to go from silence to waking up a dog in one step, there is always a step when you start hearing them and it is safe to be there and back up.

Thanks again, I am glad you played and liked it, I'll probably be here next year as well, but I can't promise anything :)

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Very cute concept and sound effects! I liked that it avoided horror cliches, yet it still felt tense and engrossing because I really didn't want to disturb the poor tired doggies. You have to move slowly and listen, so I really felt like I was walking around on tiptoes.

I tried playing on my phone, and I really like the mechanic of sliding your finger around, but even going extremely slowly, sometimes it was just a tiny distance between hearing nothing, and waking up a dog. Maybe that's unavoidable on a small screen, but if there was some way to make it work it would be a fun and novel way of interacting with a game. Using a keyboard or controller was less frustrating, but not quite as fun.

Anyway, great job on this! I really enjoyed it!

Developer

Thanks so much! I wanted to keep away from horror and jumpscare themes and to make something lighthearted (and hopefully fun) game instead. I'm glad you felt like toptoeing (if that's a word), that was my intention :) And I'm happy you liked it!

Unfortunately it is possible to have a snoring sound that's harder to hear. I tried to fix the volume and silent parts in the snoring sounds, they still need work. I'm thinking about adding a warning sound (a bump or some dog noise) a bit before waking them up.

Submitted(+1)

Fun game! I feel sorry for the many dogs I woke up

Developer(+1)

Thanks! Don't worry, they don't mind another round of play time :) and they can get back to sleep quickly, too.

Submitted(+1)

This game is really good for this jam👍The concept is easy to understand but I am so bad at it. The narrator was disappointed when I finally reach the level 2 🥲

Developer

Thanks, I am glad you liked it! Disappointed? :O I'm gonna have a chat with him.

Submitted(+1)

Really cute and clever game. I could easily tell left from right, but I had a hard time telling if a dog was above or below me. I'm really bad at this, but I love the challenge!

Developer(+1)

Thank you! Yes, unfortunately telling above and below apart is hard, I was thinking about adding some effect when they are below (like a lowpass or something) but was not sure about it. However if you use the keyboard/gamepad you move on a grid, making it easier as you can hear the dog snoring from the distance of one step away, so when you hear them you always have to step one more to wake them up.

Submitted(+1)

That one was surprisingly fun! I failed a lot in the beginning - sometimes the distance between hearing a dog and waking them up was too small, for my preference. But that might be also part of the game: remembering where you can safely move. I only managed to get to level 2 so far, though.
Good job!

Developer(+1)

Thank you! I am glad you liked it :) I agree, although I tried to make the volume levels equal some snoring are quieter than the others. I've been thinking about adding a warning sound before tripping over the dog, but I was not sure if that would be too much help or not. But maybe I should do it, giving a bit more help just helps the players to succeed and have more fun (and less frustration) and in the end that is what matters. Thanks for your feedback!

Submitted

mhm, I'm not sure if it might make it too easy? Maybe you could try to tweak with the falloff curve for the existing sounds (not sure how the game is implemented)