itch.io

Your group has a great thing going on! Your games are well polished, professional, fun to play and immersive.  I checked the theme of this jam and it seems you just nail everything every time. I also liked the story and the humor in it - especially: "Um... rude! And probably murder...".

The whole game concept in combination with game mechanics is awesome! The gameplay is fun and smooth. Well and of course the music and art are also great! Everything is well made and fits together perfectly. 

I do have some recommendations/feedback though, based on my playtest:

- Would be nice to have an intro level, where the controls & objectives would be explained during gameplay as you need them. So an easy, slow level, to get familiar with everything.

- Maybe extra info on the upgrade screen: "Use your planet points to buy upgrades of your choice.". Perhaps to the left of the choices, below the planet. 

- Maybe the black holes come just a bit too soon in each level. A few more seconds of gameplay before that, perhaps. 

- When I was in the middle of saving a planet and the aliens got really close, I tried to escape with Q and I did manage, but the screen remained zoomed in. Would be nice if it would zoom out, once you escape.

- I also somehow managed to survive the alien capture once.  It was not game over.

Your games are great! Keep them coming! 😉

Mateja

Thank you for your comment. I hope we'll continue working on this game and also add more levels of difficulty. The current one is to difficult (at least for me). :) And of course the game needs the implementation of many other things... But I'm glad that the main concept for the game is out and I'm also happy with it considering the time in which it was made. :)

So, I tried playing again with the help of the Esc button - it works! :) I thought the key turning point in the story was when Lillian has to decide to be included in the bouquet or not ... But I got the same story ending both times. So yes, I'd be happy if you could reveal the end mystery to me. ;) I joined this jam's discord, so you can find me there (same name as here).

And about the situation when the lock wouldn't let me through... I don't remember which flowers I choose, but I know that I went back to the lock after collecting only 3 flowers and the lock said I could do a better job, so I went to get another one, but then it kept on saying the same thing ... Even though the picture of the 4th flower was added. I can explain more on Discord if you want. ;)

This is a really well made game. You fit the theme well and definitely have a good story. I really liked the flowery jokes (like "holy seedpots") and how the story was able to show flowers' perspective on life. I almost felt I'm a flower whilst playing. :) Also, it was really nice to be able to walk around and choose the order of the interactions. I also like the addition of information from other objects (like paper, bottle ...). The mini game is a really nice touch to offer a short "active break from the narrative part". The graphics and music are also very lovely and fit the whole concept really well! It started as a game, but ended up having a few life lessons in it as well. ;)

I would still however like to be able to skip through the dialogue, since during the second play-through, I was just interested in what the other ending would look like. And since I've just read the whole story, I didn't feel like reading it again. Don't get me wrong - the story is really beautiful and well written. I was anxiously waiting for the moment when I'll finally find out about the gardner's daughter and it also made me emotional at times. It's just too long to read again right after you've just read it. :)

I would suggest a new button option for skipping the dialogue (like the K with the minigames). When I just tried to progress through the dialogue quickly with the spacebar, I ended up restarting the whole dialogue whilst clicking it and not realizing where the end is. So (for the second play through!) I would just like to be able to walk up to a flower, press a special button that would just "make the talk happen in a second", get the water that I need and walk to another flower.

I was actually not able to get the other ending ... After I've collected all 4 flowers for the bouquet, the LOCK kept on saying, I should do a better job.

Also, I think adding actually voices, so that the text would be narrated would make it even better. Or maybe an option  to either:
- read on your own,
- listen the recorded voices.

And maybe some really minor things:
- When collecting flowers for the bouquet, when you come to the Petunias, it would be nice to have their pictures next to the options. I forgot which one is Tulla for example, so it would be nice to be reminded of that.
- The music is really beautiful. I just didn't like the slight "mobile-ringing like" sound  after some interactions.

All in all a great game! Everything was well-thought and makes up a nice experience! ;)

Thank you very much for your well-argumented comment, Sasha!  I agree with everything you've said. :)

I saw this game jam just a few days ago and just wanted to get the idea that I got out. :) The game was done in less than 24h. :) and we had more ideas than what we were able to implement in the time.

Yeah, the virus and police do the same thing - for now. :) So the idea is, that when a virus gets you, you lose your mask  and then the viruses and the police become faster too (the police chasing you for not wearing a mask and the virus is faster, because you are more vulnerable without it). You have to get back to your house, to get a new mask, to protect yourself again. :)
Also, yes, the character has to go outside to get resources.

I also did not completely forget about the sound - there was just not enough time to do that.  I actually started working on something, but it's not game-ready yet. :)

Hopefully some time in the future, there would be a LockedIn 2.0, with more implemented features that would make you wanna play again. :D The lack of ideas is definitely not a problem. :) We just need to find time to go back to the game and implement additional stuff.

Did you figure out how to get into the other room and what's the point of it? ;)

Thank you again for your comment!
Mateja