itch.io

I put out a horror game yesterday whose core mechanic is copying Morse code by ear, and I'd like honest feedback on two specific things from people who haven't played it for 200 hours like I have.

It runs in the browser, no download and no account:

https://nrnbgames.itch.io/isolated-frequency-demo

1. The straight key (Advanced difficulty). Hold = dash, tap = dot — but the record is pre-shaped to the answer: each letter already shows the right number of empty cells, so you never have to time a letter gap yourself. Real operators time those gaps. I took it out because playtesters kept saying "I heard it right and the machine says I'm wrong." Does the pre-shaped record read as relief, or as the game doing the interesting part for me? (Pick Advanced when you start, then use the practice station on the radio — Space is the key.)

2. The first ten minutes. Is it clear what you're meant to be doing before the first real signal arrives, or did you wander the room? I've watched myself do the opening a hundred times and can't see it fresh anymore.

Things I already know about: the first load compiles shaders for a few seconds, and the room is dark on purpose. Everything else is fair game — including "this is not how CW works."

I'll reply to every comment, and anything I change because of this thread I'll come back and post here.

You haven't left this room in four years. Then the shortwave radio starts sending your coordinates — in Morse.

Isolated Frequency is a slow-burn first-person horror adventure. You learn Morse code from the old radio on your desk — a practice station, a chart, a speed slider — until one night, above 100 MHz, there's a pulsing sound that isn't a broadcast. Inside it, someone is sending numbers. The numbers are the coordinates of your room.

https://nrnbgames.itch.io/isolated-frequency

What you do - Tune the dial through static until a signal locks (the mystery frequency moves every night) - Listen, write the dots and dashes down, look them up, type the word - Build what the signals send you — parts fall out of the air after every decoded message - Post about it on a forum nobody reads. Watch the replies turn.

The Morse is real. The game is built to teach it from zero: an always-available chart, 6–25 WPM, letter-by-letter playback, and three difficulty modes — automatic dot/dash logging (Beginner), tapping it yourself on a straight key or paddle (Advanced), or nothing but your ears (Expert). Most players read short words by ear by the end.

Free demo, in your browser: the first five days (about an hour) play right on the demo page — no download. The full game is 12 days, 2–3 hours, three endings, Windows / Linux, $5.99.

Made solo in Godot 4. Everything in the room — geometry, textures, every sound including the Morse — is generated at runtime; the only file that isn't code is the font. 9 languages.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/y63nk5E2-D8

I'll be around in this thread — questions about the Morse input, the procedural audio, or "is 8 WPM really slow" are all welcome.