Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
A jam submission

WaldsterbenView game page

A 2 minute story game of a woodcutter's last moments.
Submitted by Gandeldalf — 1 hour, 19 minutes before the deadline
Add to collection

Play game

Waldsterben's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Atmosphere#54.4354.435
Art#154.2174.217
Overall#173.7103.710
Theme#183.6523.652
Polish#223.5223.522
Sound#273.5653.565
Gameplay#532.8702.870

Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Leave a comment

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

Comments

Submitted

Strong atmosphere, but I can't help to hold it against the game that it is just a short timer until death with seemingly no way to impact it on my end. While I get that there is a message in this, it felt too depressing with no agency.

That being said, if depressive is the mood you want to go for, you did really well with the dialog, the visual design and the post processing. Personally it would have made sense to me if the campfire would have been dying down over time, too, but that's a bit nitpicky, I'll admit. 

Submitted(+1)

For being only two minutes long, it has a really good atmosphere. That said, I would have liked something more at the end, a moment where "the tension keeps rising," but I loved everything else (especially the music).

Host(+1)

The atmosphere is very creepy, and the whole monologue was good as well, added a nice layer to the mushroom gathering lol. The art is pretty cool, for what it is the game is cool, wished there was more to do tho. Just having a destination to walk to while the monologue goes on would be a great addition. Overall I enjoyed the game, congrats on finishing it!

Developer

Yeah agree, more to do or a destination to walk to would have been great but I ran out of time. I originally planned it to be a cooking game where you cook your last meal, or to have a destination to walk to till you see the source of the infection but I decided to focus more on getting it polished on a good 2 minute experience. I'm glad I have a mushroom cooking minigame for a second ending so at least it adds a bit of gameplay haha

Thank you for playing it!

Submitted(+1)

Very cool look and style. I enjoyed the monologue delivering the story, great job!

Developer(+1)

Thank you :)

Submitted(+1)

I love any game that even slightly reminds me of Dark Souls. This game reminded me of the forest from it. The environments and atmosphere are very well done.

Developer

oh cool! I never played Darksouls so I didn't know it was similar to that area

Submitted(+1)

The atmosphere of this game is great!
I was kinda sad when it ended, I was keen to see more of that world.

Well done on doing this Jam solo. That is quite the achievement :)

Developer

Thank you, I tried my best! :)

Submitted(+1)

Simple walking simulator, interesting execution of theming! not much more to say, but thank you for the mushroom off that guy's corpse c:

Developer

You're welcome! I watched the VOD of you playing it and you laughing at the mushroom ending really made me smile :)

You did made me realize I should have made the mushrooms pickable by left clicking, otherwise it is not that clear haha

Submitted(+1)

i had been hitting e to pick them up, thinking they were going into an inventory of some kind, only to realize at the end i had just been violently flinging them over my shoulder the whole time because i wasn't holding the button hahaha

Developer

Oh gosh, yep that needs to be fixed hahaha

Submitted(+1)

7/9 mushrooms cooked! I think I will need more strategy to get to 9. Grabbing mushrooms felt a little bit precarious, like my hand was a gravity well sucking it in. Kind of fun, but I also noticed the mushroom I was holding would sometimes just slip out behind me.

The vibe itself was neat and I enjoyed the cautionary tale revolving around a very current environmental issue and its impact on local communities. The fact that you stayed away from generative AI entirely and were vocal about it felt meaningful too, not just because I'm inherently in preference of human-made art, but also because that approach helped reinforce the message, rather than seem like a contradiction. The outcome was also a really coherent and enjoyable aesthetic well scoped to a 7-day development timeline. Nice work!

Developer(+1)

Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed the game! I wanted to be a bit vocal about AI being bad for environment without being too obvious and I'm glad you caught it

If you need strategy tips, I can tell you can throw mushrooms to save a bit of time, or perhaps collect some.. colorful mushrooms from hidden-ish locations, they  ;)

Submitted(+1)

3/9 mushrooms cooked

Loved the moody melancholic atmosphere, the darkening, the peaceful dread. Great job . Also i saw you did this with no caffeine at all, you got my respects...

Developer(+1)

Thank you! I will say I did drink 1-2 black teas that do have some amount of caffeine in it but don't think it affected me much. Luckily my excitement to do game jamming has made me finish this game and I'm really happy about that 

Submitted(+1)

Nice and sweet, the art made the atmosphere really good.

Developer

Thanksies~ I spent roughly half of the jam on getting the atmosphere and art correct

Submitted(+1)

The atmosphere and direction is 10/10 for me.  No important complaints. 👍

Developer

Thank you! ^^

Submitted(+1)

A short but sweet experience, I really liked how the world gradually decayed away until it was just the fire, picking up and walking around with the mushrooms was quite fun too, great job!

Developer

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it ^^

Submitted(+1)

Nice little experience! The graphics are on point and i like the story that you tell here. Short but impactful.

Submitted(+1)

ahh I had to play it twice just to cooke more mushrooms! Nice experience, would love for it to be a little longer

Submitted(+1)

Played alone at night, got a bit goose bumps! =) Short, complete, give emotions, I much liked it.

Developer

Glad to hear :) 
Goose bumps is exactly what I was aiming for

Submitted(+1)

I collected 0 mushrooms but at least I got to die in peace. Liked it a lot, it's an interesting narrative:)

Submitted(+1)

Loved the atmosphere. Great game

Developer

Thank you! I'm glad to hear  ^^

Submitted(+1)

Really enjoyed the atmosphere of the world. The graphics are great, well done. Vibes remind me of David Szymanski's games especially Squirrel Stapler.

Developer

Thank you! I spent quite some time to get the graphics correct. 

Developer(+1)

Now I think about it, I actually haven't played any David Szymanski games yet (except watching Iron lung in the cinema) I should play some of his games for inspiration 👀

Submitted(+1)

Awesome idea! Congratulations on making this with your restrictions. You really have to rush to get 9 mushrooms, that was quite the challenge. Nicely done :)!

Developer

Congrats on getting 9 mushrooms! Yeah I wanted it to be an optional challenge for people who want it haha. I hope you enjoyed the reward for doing it :)