Sleepwalking Simulator
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
This is a strange place, yet it took me so long to see the absurdity of it all. The swirling patterns? Paintings that move? And then, at the end of it all, a door. So close, but always just out of reach. Trapped in an endless cycle, every step undone, mind fogged. What secret is behind that door?
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Development log
- Feeling and MechanicsMar 05, 2019
Comments
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What an interesting game! It's really tricky, but that makes it oh so satisfying once you finally do get to the door :P The music was a great touch too! Thanks for making and sharing this!
*whew* This is hard to play when I'm actually tired and have blurry eyes, haha. Very neat concept, though. I think it'd be cool if more games added in tiredness effects where appropriate. My mouse is too flaky to use for this, so I tried using a trackpad; I'm not sure if that made it easier or harder. Either way, I definitely didn't make it to the third level that people seem to be referring to below.
Very interesting game, once you get the hang of it its kind of interesting. However I found the explanation for the second level to be vague and breathing in the 3rd level is extremely frustrating which kind of makes sense (if that was the intention then good job).
I'm glad you found it interesting. What would you have found helpful to see explained better in the explanation? And yeah, it's supposed to be fairly frustrating, especially since I chose the simplest things (breathing and walking) to be the challenge.
This is fun so far I've only gotten to the 3rd run through but its still very fun. Thank you for making it!
Thanks for playing! There's actually only three rooms, so you're near the end.
That sure was trippy, and I loved it! :D
In my opinion you captured the essence of a dream/nightmare with all the visuals. I even got anxious in the third part, and when I reached the end, I was tired. This made the credits a very relaxing relief.
Also, I think that changing the cutscene time after you die would make the third part more enjoyable, as I died quite a few times while learning.
I'm glad you liked it! Shortening the restart time might be a good idea. I just had the one animation to communicate the premise of the game better by showing the bed and the idea of looking around, and I never got around to making a shorter animation. It also serves as a quick breather before another attempt, but I supposed determined players want to just jump straight back into the action (if you call walking and breathing action).
Wow! That was fun! It took me a few tries to get the third level right, but I finished it. I liked the aesthetics of rooms and how pictures are constantly changing! Also, these were the most breathtaking credits I've ever seen in a game) P.S. Breathing was fairly easy to me, I just alternated between left/right mouse buttons at a steady rate.
Thanks for playing, and I'm glad people are making it to the end, because I want people to experience that same feeling of awe and relief I felt when I reached that point in my own dream. The breathing itself was never meant to really be all that hard, but rather serve as a simple task to steal part of your attention, making it harder to focus on the door.
I couldn't get anywhere at the breathing level. At first it just seemed hard, but after several tries, it seemed like I was doing it perfectly but it still just kept blurring and fell over. I don't know what I was doing wrong.
A level with just the breathing before combining it with the head movement might've made it more accessible.
Neat idea.
Thanks for the suggestion! As long as the top bar is over half full, keeping balance works the same, but as it sinks below that, looking away from the door has a stronger effect. When alternating with the left and right click, you need to hold it, but if the bottom bar reaches the edge, your lungs are either full or empty, so you need to switch for breathing to work (The top bar only fills on inhales). Also, deeper breaths refill the top meter faster, so it is worth it to hold it for a second each way and get into a rhythm.
The breathing stage is the final stage, and I wanted to create a sense of desperation trying to inch toward the door, but I realize that's kind of tricky in such a short game to get players invested. I'm trying to find the balance of making sure all players at least pass out a few times before finding a rhythm without making it feel impossible for others.
Interesting game! I really liked the textures you had on the walls, and putting other games from the jam was a nice touch that livened up the hallway. The gameplay was fairly enjoyable, although I sometimes felt like the character was trying a bit too hard to look away from the doorway.
Thanks! The textures were really just random scribbles and GIMP filters, but I'm glad to hear they had the right effect! I needed to exaggerate the looking-away effect so players couldn't break their focus and relax for even a second. I wanted players to feel panicked and tense during that whole chapter. Still, though, I know not everyone sets their mouse sensitivity at the same level, so some players might get more of an arm workout than others.
It was challenging to get to the door in the third cycle :o. Nice.
Loved the concept! This totally feels like that weird period where you aren't sure whether you are awake, or still slightly sleeping. I like that every hallway is like a sort of minigame, really creative. It's real tough to beat, but totally worth it. You nailed it on atmosphere! Other than that I really liked the art (really nice use of other people's screenshots too), and the effects/animations were awesome as well. Goood job man, you can be proud!
Thanks for playing! That's the kind of feeling I was going for. It's good to hear I was actually able to capture it.