itch.io

Everything comes together so well to make this game amazing!

• I love the idea that the player's task is to find the correct keys to press, just like typing a code.
• The concept of balancing is really cool—it adds a challenge while also making perfect sense in making a game.
• The UI design is excellent! The instructions are clear and easy to follow. and I also like all the thing are so real.

Hi players! We just discovered a bug in the game that may make it difficult to solve the puzzle as intended. We sincerely apologize for this.
We'll try to fix the bugs, but it seems that we can't upload a new version of the game. So, if you encounter any issues while solving the puzzle, please feel free to refer to this document!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VkMCOZvMO6lfeSD3jdJqjPj27_7UStqbXy37rBIVRQQ/...

Below are the two main bugs: 

• The assets of the staff notebook (blue) in the staff room are incorrect, and some of the information is not in the right place.

• The departure board in the game can only be interacted with once . Ideally, you should be able to view the information at any time because it is crucial for solving the puzzle.

It's just a small suggestion based on my personal experience. Other than that, you guys did a fantastic job!

Here is our game! Hope you enjoy it! 

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.

https://joychu.itch.io/mind-the-rules

Here is our game! Hope you enjoy it! 

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.

https://joychu.itch.io/mind-the-rules

Here is our game! 

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.

https://joychu.itch.io/mind-the-rules

The most enjoyable game I’ve played so far in this game jam!

1. I really like the idea of what might happen to the Christmas lights left in the attic – it has a Toy Story vibe, which is such an interesting setting
2. The opening animation and instructions are done very well, allowing players to quickly understand the setting and gameplay. Really impressive!
3. I also really like the concept that "as you become more powerful, the weapons that help you also become a obstacle", making the typical Vampire Survivors game more challenging. I love how they move just like a long string of Christmas lights.

Some other thoughts:

• Perhaps skipping the upgrade or not selecting a new companion could also be a strategic choice.
• The pace feels a bit too powerful.
• I can’t collect the EXP outside of the map. Or is this an intended feature in the game?
• I love the contrast between light and shadow – it’s intuitive and fits the theme. Perhaps in future development, you could add more threats from other items left in the attic?

Overall, well-polished and a really amazing game!

(If you're interested, please play our game and leave a comment!) 

Congrats on creating your game in such a short time!

A small suggestion: I know you provided the controls on the itch page, but it would be helpful to add a brief instruction at the beginning of the game. It took me some time to figure out how to combat.

Played, rated and commented yours!

It's really creepy ! I played on the laptop, and it was too dark for me. It's hard for me to see the surrounding and  didn't know how to interact with the game. (I have already turned the computer screen to its maximum brightness.)

I tried many times, but I eventually lost. I'm not entirely sure, but does the game feature strange events, like the alarm suddenly ringing or the music box playing, where you need to interact with them within a time limit (turn them off), or else you lose? Please let me know if I'm wrong.

If that's the case, I think the game's atmosphere is successful. However, if the scene were a little brighter, it would help, because not being able to see anything takes away from the horror and makes it difficult to navigate. I don't think you need to increase the overall brightness, but adding some flickering lights occasionally to illuminate the environment (maybe even with some horror elements) or weak light sources like candles could work well. This would still maintain the creepy atmosphere while allowing players to play the game more smoothly.

It might just be me, but the noise effect was a bit too strong, which made me feel a little uncomfortable after playing. Maybe you could reduce the intensity or change how it's presented.

Hello, here is our game. Hope you enjoy it!

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth. https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

Hello, here is our game. Hope you enjoy it!

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth. https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

I like the contrast between the real world and the dream! The dreaming guy looks real while the dream is in a cartoon style.

However, I'm a little bit confused about the font. Since the main gameplay is not horror-themed, using a horror font might feel out of tone. If you want to keep it, perhaps make the art style in the dream more creepy?

Hello, here is our game. Hope you enjoy it!

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth. https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

The idea is interesting, but the controls are hard to get used to. Players with gaming experience are already accustomed to using the W and S keys for up and down, rather than for left and right movement. Perhaps the control bar could be operated with the mouse instead? This way, the left and right hands would be separated, creating a stronger feeling of one hand controlling and affect the other.

Anyway, the game is still quite innovative! Well done.

played and rated yours! 

A really well-made game! I like the idea of making the tasks more complex while keeping them engaging!

Hello, here is our game. Hope you enjoy it!

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth. https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

I like how you arranged the controls to make it challenging yet manageable.

The audio and art also play a great role in creating an engaging game experience!

Hello, here is our game. Hope you enjoy it!

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth. https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

Hello, here is our game. Hope you enjoy it!

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth. https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

Hello, here is our game. Hope you enjoy it!

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.
https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

Here is our game! Hope you have fun! 

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.

https://joychu.itch.io/mind-the-rules

Here is our game! 

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.

https://joychu.itch.io/mind-the-rules

Really love the game! I really like how sound and text are used to hint at the player's location. Also, the way you interpret the theme is also quite interesting. 

However, due to the isometric perspective (not fully top-down), I found the directional controls a bit confusing. For example, at first, I wasn't sure if pressing "D" would move me to the right of the screen or if the movement was based on the cat's perspective.

After activating the radar, I was also unsure of my exact position. Perhaps the game could display the player's location on the map (like the arrow at the beginning), but movement would be disabled until the radar disappears.

Overall, well done and hope it can expand into a larger game! 

Thank you for playing and leaving a comment!

In the intended gameplay, only platform 7 is correct and will lead to the next stage, while choosing any other platform will trigger horror elements and result in death. We'll adjust the game's pacing in the full version and ensure that the psychological horror elements only appear when the player violates the rules. This approach might fit the core mechanic better and enhance the overall coherence.

Additionally, we're planning to add more rules to make the gameplay more engaging . Originally, we design three to four stages with a complete story behind them. We'll keep working hard to bring that vision to life!

We really want to build the webgl version but we ran out of time...

Thank you for playing it! 

I really like your game!

I like the idea of switching between different modes, as it adds a lot of challenge in a simple yet delicate way. Both systems have their own problems that the player must fix, creating a conflict where they must decide which actions are most important. I also really like the art style.

However, the controls are too laggy on my laptop. I'm not sure if this difficulty in controlling was the experience you intended to create, but when players try to click buttons, they often have to wait a while for the action to be played and the button may revert to its original state before the action is completed. Switching between the two modes is also quite difficult. Additionally, having a fullscreen mode would make everything much clearer.

Here is our game. Hope you have fun.

A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a tube station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.
https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

Here is our game. A psychological horror game with "Rule-based Horror" as its core mechanic. you will encounter strange events at a bizarre station. You must follow rules and solve puzzles in order to survive, while gradually uncovering the truth.
https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-13/rate/3348832

The sound effect in the level 3 is funny haha

My only little suggestion is the riddle in the blue rock. I typed "candle," but it was wrong, and it took me some time to realize that I should type "a candle." Maybe consider making "candle" also a correct answer?

Rated! I quite enjoyed the game!

Sorry for the late reply. There were some bugs in our game, which may make it difficult to solve the puzzle as intended. We sincerely apologize for this.

We are trying to fix it, and if you're interested in seeing what the puzzle should look like, please check this document.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VkMCOZvMO6lfeSD3jdJqjPj27_7UStqbXy37rBIVRQQ/...

Hi players!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VkMCOZvMO6lfeSD3jdJqjPj27_7UStqbXy37rBIVRQQ/...

Below are the two main bugs: 

• The assets of the staff notebook (blue) in the staff room are incorrect, and some of the information is not in the right place.

• The departure board in the game can only be interacted with once . Ideally, you should be able to view the information at any time because it is crucial for solving the puzzle.

Thank you!

Thank you for your detailed comment! Sorry for the late reply. We've encountered some bugs recently, and some of them you already mentioned. We also wrote a detailed puzzle walkthrough if you're interested.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VkMCOZvMO6lfeSD3jdJqjPj27_7UStqbXy37rBIVRQQ/...

There are two bugs which may make it difficult to solve the puzzle as intended.

• The assets of the staff notebook (blue) in the staff room are incorrect, and some of the information is not in the right place.

• The departure board in the game can only be interacted with once . Ideally, you should be able to view the information at any time because it is crucial for solving the puzzle.The player needs to go to the correct platform (Platform 7), and they can check this on the departure board. However, due to this bug, they may not be able to do so. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We'll try to fix those bugs, but it seems that we can't upload a new version of the game...

Thank you for your comment!

Thank you!

We'll report this to our programmer!