{"id":2202,"edition":12,"categories":8,"features":0,"size":11760,"name":"The Emerald Serpent","authors":[{"name":"Alex Swan","url":"https://alexswan.dev","login":"BoldBigflank","gh":636964}],"description":"

You are trapped by a superstitious puzzle master who will test you with Physical, Mental, Skill and Mystery challenges. Reach the 13 in each one to banish the puzzle master and win the game.

\n","source":"BoldBigflank/js13k-2024","stars":0,"dc":"https://alexswan.io/js13k-2024","comments":[{"at":378973994,"author":"Ryan Tyler","login":"tyler6699","gh":50468,"url":"https://carelesslabs.co.uk","text":"

Very good game, played and completed in Browser but will come back to try in VR. Really nice challenges, all fun and stressful even in a browser!

\n

Could see this extending and being a larger game, was like the TV game The Cube!

\n","games":["The Fear Factory"]},{"typ":1,"at":379039490,"re":378973994,"author":"Alex Swan","login":"BoldBigflank","gh":636964,"url":"https://alexswan.dev","text":"

Ha it’s funny you say that, two of the challenges are “heavily inspired by” the British game show The Crystal Maze.

\n

Thanks for playing! I’m glad it works out well enough on desktop.

\n"},{"at":379385754,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Great combination of a couple of solid mini games. Good visuals, with attention to detail like using bloom.

\n

There are perhaps no real surprises here, but what is best about this game is how everything is at a good level, where most games are lacking in one or more areas.

\n

Great work!

\n","games":["The King's Crowns"]},{"at":379547551,"author":"João Lopes","login":"lopis","gh":2715751,"url":"www.jlopes.dev","text":"

Interesting puzzles. I think the one with the grid of numbers if confusing since is makes some weird floating point sums (0.3 + 0.3 + 0.3 = 1). The puzzles themselves are fun but the game left a bit too rough for me: the sudden scene changes, the loud harsh noises, the fast animations.

\n","games":["Thirteen Terrible Stunts"]},{"typ":1,"at":380464874,"re":379547551,"author":"Alex Swan","login":"BoldBigflank","gh":636964,"url":"https://alexswan.dev","text":"

Thanks for playing! I agree, doing 0.3 wasn’t ideal but I liked it more than making fractions for every tile (25/3, 16/3, etc.). I do appreciate your other feedback too, this would be better with a bit more polish.

\n"},{"at":379559341,"author":"Jure Triglav","login":"jure","gh":238667,"url":"https://juretriglav.si","twitter":"juretriglav","text":"

Lovely pack of mini games! I’m a big fan of the clock game, feels quite intense. I had some difficulty playing the snake game, as if the targeting didn’t quite sit right with me, I couldn’t be precise enough - but that’s likely a personal preference.

\n

Nice sound effects, and the minimalistic graphics are doing a good job too. Well done! I do wonder why you decided on a combination of games instead of polishing one of them to a shine? Of course, my favorite for polish, levels and twists would be the clock game :)

\n","games":["The Dandelion Wars","plusminus13"]},{"typ":1,"at":380464560,"re":379559341,"author":"Alex Swan","login":"BoldBigflank","gh":636964,"url":"https://alexswan.dev","text":"

Thanks for playing, and thank you for the kind words! I’m not sure why I keep trying to do many mini games and end up with 2-4 each year, I guess I’m doing my best to create an escape room experience. I’m glad that I didn’t have to reduce scope this year and got the number of games I planned this time.

\n"},{"at":379570556,"author":"Jerome Lecomte","login":"herebefrogs","gh":1383818,"url":"herebefrogs.com","text":"

I’m left wanting more puzzles! (but I know generating content is hard)

\n","games":["SUP3RFR1GHT VR"]},{"typ":2,"at":380426549,"author":"Akbar Sultanov","login":"akbartus","gh":54757270,"text":"

Theme: The game flips the narrative surrounding the number 13. Instead of invoking fear, it embraces the number through fun challenges, such as creating a snake with 13 segments or achieving a sum of 13.

\n

Gameplay: The gameplay is enjoyable, but there’s room for enhancement. Introducing additional elements and a more engaging environment could elevate the experience. Additionally, players should have the option to exit mini-games at will and return to the main game seamlessly.

\n

Audio: The audio complements the game well, but some sound effects could be smoother. A few adjustments would enhance the overall auditory experience.

\n

Innovation: This game stands out as a good example of puzzles in XR. With further refinement, it has the potential to become a must-try title in the genre.

\n

Graphics: The visuals need improvement. Adding more dynamic elements and ensuring the mini-games align closely with the central theme would greatly enhance the aesthetic appeal.

\n

Controls: No issues here; the controls are responsive and intuitive.

\n"},{"at":380456115,"author":"Jasper Renow-Clarke","login":"picosonic","gh":26137750,"twitter":"femtosonic","text":"

Some fun mini games in 3D.

\n

These played really well on desktop also.

\n

Very well made puzzles which used the 3D well - great job.

\n","games":["rollermaze"]},{"typ":2,"at":380461699,"author":"Sébastien Vandenberghe","login":"sebavanmicrosoft","gh":17340329,"url":"https://babylonjs.com","twitter":"babylonjs","text":"

Theme: Is it not more a reverse Triskaidekaphobia ? Despite the nuance there are a lot of references to the number 13 which I appreciated.

\n

Gameplay: I love mini-games and puzzles. I wonder if smoother transitions between games could influence the overall feeling.

\n

Audio: Nice audio effects but missing an immersive background music.

\n

Innovation: I enjoyed the minigame challenges and never encountered the clock mechanics in a room before.

\n

Graphics: This is great for 13k and maybe better lighting could help.

\n

Controls: All good and responsive.

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380464288,"re":380461699,"author":"Alex Swan","login":"BoldBigflank","gh":636964,"url":"https://alexswan.dev","text":"

Thanks for your feedback and thanks for playing! I’m glad that most of your suggestions are what I would have done if I had more time to put into this project. I intended to have a puzzle master become more angry/afraid as you solve each puzzle (which would have helped with the theme as well as transitions between puzzles). I’m glad to hear that what was there worked well.

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380465300,"author":"Kieran Farr","login":"kfarr","gh":470477,"twitter":"kfarr","text":"

Innovation: I liked having a variety of games. It’s worth noting that you’ve come up with a few different minigames, each of which could have been its own submission. There is a lot to explore here, good work! The wall timer concept was surprisingly fun and challenging.

\n

Audio: I enjoyed the audio style, it reminded me of C64 or “bitunes” audio which complements the retro feel.

\n

Theme: I liked the concept of a retro game collection, and most games adhered to the 13 requirement, but games seemed to be somewhat random and didn’t have an obvious thematic element connecting them together.

\n

Gameplay: There’s a good mix of easy and challenging elements, providing varied difficulty levels but some minor issues like NaN errors when adding up rows/columns (after removing numbers) detract from the experience.

\n

Graphics: The visuals seem to intentionally embrace a classic low poly game style. Some minigames are nicely polished, some have room for improvement.

\n

Controls: The game works well with a single controller which is a positive. I liked the control scheme for the snake chase game, but some games within the collection were confusing and required a few tries to figure out.

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380500159,"author":"Fernando Serrano Garcia","login":"fernandojsg","gh":782511,"url":"http://fernandojsg.com","twitter":"fernandojsg","text":"

I loved the possibility of having different and very original challenges within the same game. The interaction feels great, and the sound really helps, especially in the clock challenge. Without a doubt, one of the best this year, and I would love to see a more polished version because I think it has a lot of potential.

\n"}],"results":{"theme":{"rank":9,"min":2.4,"score":3.6,"max":4.6},"innovation":{"rank":2,"min":2.4,"score":4,"max":4.4},"gameplay":{"rank":5,"min":2,"score":3.8,"max":4.6},"graphics":{"rank":10,"min":2.6,"score":2.6,"max":4.6},"audio":{"rank":7,"min":1.4,"score":3.2,"max":4.2},"controls":{"rank":5,"min":2,"score":3.8,"max":4.6},"primary":{"rank":6,"min":14.2,"score":21,"max":24.8},"label":"WebXR"}}