{"id":2169,"edition":12,"categories":8,"features":0,"size":13295,"name":"The King's Crowns","authors":[{"name":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602}],"description":"

After centuries of reverence and grave robbing,\nBy bandits, emperors and pharao’s alike,\nThe Tomb of Alexander the Great was destroyed,\nPresumed lost for ever.

\n

Unbeknownst to all, the body of the King was re-taken,\nTo be interred in his home country.\nNow, there in the ancient mountains of Macedonia,\nAlexander rests for ever, in the Valley of the King.

\n

But even now his tomb is not safe, not safe from you!\nAfter years of travel and research,\nYou have located the Valley of the King,\nWhere now you must solve the final riddle;

\n
    The King's Crowns\n\n    13 crowns King Alexander possessed\n    13 crowns by the Devil oppressed\n    13 crowns for Day and Night\n    13 crowns that show the King’s might\n    13 crowns with a cursed spell\n    13 crowns that lead to Hell!
\n","source":"SamuelVanEgmond/The-Kings-Crowns","stars":3,"post":"https://thekingscrowns-blog.glitch.me","comments":[{"at":378928406,"author":"xem","login":"xem","gh":1225909,"text":"

Incredible graphics and ambiance

\n","games":["O HIII BAD SKATEPARK","EMOJIPHOBIA","GREAT PLUMBER 65"]},{"typ":1,"at":379202850,"re":378928406,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Thanks for your feedback! I did definitely try to find out how far I could take this in the constraints (including my own skills of course)

\n"},{"at":379138446,"author":"Luke Cann","login":"lcapps-luke","gh":14251746,"url":"https://www.lc-apps.co.uk","twitter":"cannl","text":"

Great visuals though i couldn’t tell which crowns were the devils

\n","games":["13 Curses"]},{"typ":1,"at":379203039,"re":379138446,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Thanks for playing!

\n

I was / am sort of worried if I made that part of the puzzle not too hard to figure out. Without giving it away, perhaps a small hint; you are right, you can’t tell which crowns are the Devil’s, but you can definitely find the crowns which are not from the Devil :-)

\n"},{"at":379414899,"author":"hybr85","login":"hybr85","gh":64992538,"text":"

Very nice looking! Fun ending.\nTook me a bit to figure out how to switch day and night. Collisions would be better if they slid around obstacles, especially on desktop.

\n","games":["1:13 AM"]},{"typ":1,"at":379577321,"re":379414899,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Thanks for your feedback!

\n

The collisions were somewhere on my ToDo list, but I never got around to it.

\n

The switching sounds familiar. Even I had sometimes problems finding the gate during play testing. That is why I added the sky beam on the gate because I was afraid people would miss the day/night switch all together.

\n

Thanks for playing to the end! :-)

\n"},{"at":379570908,"author":"Jerome Lecomte","login":"herebefrogs","gh":1383818,"url":"herebefrogs.com","text":"

The gameplay seems to rely heavily on trial-and-errors, which feels quite punitive. The landscape is very nicely detailed, but the thumb-stick motion caused me instant nausea (because the view changes rapidly which contradicts my body feeling no motion).\nNice job extending the default hand models ;p

\n","games":["SUP3RFR1GHT VR"]},{"typ":1,"at":379578029,"re":379570908,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi Jerome,

\n

Thanks for playing!

\n

Like I mentioned in one of the other comments, it is not supposed to be trial-and-error, but you definitely need to figure out the trick to finding the right crowns. I was a bit afraid people would miss the significance of the day/night switching. I hope you did figure it out in the end, otherwise you have experienced hell quite literally :-P

\n

Getting teleport to working was just to much work in the time and space available. I’ve done that before so it would definitely be something to put in. I don’t get nauseated myself in VR otherwise I would probably have started with teleportation :-)

\n"},{"at":379641684,"author":"João Lopes","login":"lopis","gh":2715751,"url":"www.jlopes.dev","text":"

This game looks amazing. But I felt completely lost. How can I distinguish the crowns? They all look the same to me.

\n","games":["Thirteen Terrible Stunts"]},{"typ":1,"at":379661908,"re":379641684,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi João,

\n

I feared that people would have that problem :-(

\n

If you walk around the ‘good’ crowns are very obviously different (unless you are color blind, but even then there is a clear difference). So just walk around until you spot a different crown.

\n

But even then, you can only safely get the crowns at the right time of day. Go to the sky beam to change the time of day.

\n

Good luck, and thanks for playing!

\n"},{"at":379671606,"author":"Ryan Tyler","login":"tyler6699","gh":50468,"url":"https://carelesslabs.co.uk","text":"

Really nice game, love the changing of night to day and back by walking through the portal. Had fun running about swinging those arms as if I was running!

\n

Lots of effort has gone into the environment!

\n

I was stumped on what to do with the crowns, I collected a few in the day and died, collected a few in the night and died, I did enjoy the environment but never got more than 2 crowns after 15 minutes.

\n","games":["The Fear Factory"]},{"typ":1,"at":379721270,"re":379671606,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi Ryan, thanks for playing, and thanks for you kind remarks!

\n

I love your remark about swinging your arms. A while back I played Happy Run VR, which was definitely on my mind when creating The King’s Crowns!

\n

As I gather from the other comments, you are not alone in not figuring out the puzzle.

\n

The tricky thing is there a 26 crowns, of which only 6 or 7 (later fewer) are highlighted at any time so you already have to really search for them. But the ones that you do find you can’t grab because it is the wrong time of day, so you have to remember where they are for after the day/night switch.

\n

Even when you do everything right, finding those last one or two crowns usually takes me a while too :-)

\n

I hope you’ll give it another try!

\n"},{"at":380232145,"author":"Roman Miniv","login":"RomanMiniv","gh":50551993,"text":"

Collected all the crowns! In fact, when there were no daytime crowns left, I took a big risk as to which crowns to collect next, but I made a guess and it turned out to be true - I felt really adventurous :).

\n

Although I was actually a bit confused until I read your color tip and that’s when it started.

\n

I played on Desktop, not through WebXR, but the world was great anyway! Share a few words about how you did it :).

\n

The noise was also nice, more like the sound of water than wind, but it was like there was no water :) but after a while I wanted to turn it off, so it would be nice to have that option.

\n

Also, I would like to have more matching of the theme, since the theme is the fear of the number 13, and here you have to collect 13 crowns and then you win, so it is the exact opposite.

\n

I think it would be even more interesting if there were traps throughout the quest to maintain interest, but I understand that there is so much! It’s really impressive to fit the whole world into such a small size.

\n

By the way, when I was looking for crowns, I had to remember the path to them, that is, orient myself in the world :), and also when there were several crowns close to each other, I tried to remember the approximate path to them, and then I oriented myself to flowers, trees, mountains , it was really interesting!

\n

Very cool! It was fun and interesting for me! Congratulations!

\n","games":["How it started"]},{"typ":1,"at":380277929,"re":380232145,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

I had the theme in my head as having to evade the 13 crowns of the devil, but that left the game without a goal, so in writing up the story it became more the finding of the 13 crowns of the king.

\n

I’m glad you figured out the ‘puzzle’. From the other comments, not getting the trick seems to have been a common problem among the players. The way you describe it is exactly how I wanted it to work, including having to retrace your steps since things look different at day or night, and a bit of risk once you have only two or one crowns to go!

\n

Good catch on the wind/water sound. I recycled that from my entry from last year, where it was water, now with some extra filtering to get it ‘windy’.

\n

You’re not the first to ask about a write-up, so I’m currently working on one. But that will take some time, there is baked shadows and lighting, generated meshes and textures, shaders, controllers, etc.

\n

Thanks for playing the game to the end! (I played yours to the end as well, but I’m sure that took me less time :-) )

\n"},{"at":380265722,"author":"A Doucheboard Warrior","login":"ghost","gh":10137,"text":"

I like the graphics of the game and the kind of way 3D, however I’m a bit lost how to play it and which are the goals

\n","games":["13 Order"]},{"typ":1,"at":380278283,"re":380265722,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi Juan,

\n

You’re definitely not the only one. I had hoped the sky beam to find the gate and the different colored crowns were enough, but on the other hand I also wanted to see how big I could make the level, so some players just missed the differently colored crowns and / or the time gate, and without both you have no way of finishing the game.

\n

In short:\nFind the 13 crowns of the king while avoiding the 13 crowns of the devil.\nFind the King’s Day Crowns at night, but grab them by day and vice versa.

\n

Good luck!

\n"},{"at":380320408,"author":"Almar Suarez","login":"wololoa","gh":10622012,"twitter":"repunkgame","text":"

The environment is outstanding - there are so many details! The animated hand, the vegetation moving with the wind; the day-night cycle - it’s really really really good.

\n

I honestly wish there were no crowns to take (I really don’t get which ones I should pick and which ones I shouldn’t), but just focus on pure exploration. Despite this, your asset generation and scene building are amazing!

\n","games":["DECK 13"]},{"at":380338542,"author":"NoNiMad","login":"NoNiMad","gh":2399961,"url":"https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@nonimad","twitter":"NoNiMad","text":"

Nice game! I got confused at first, like others it seems, but reading a few comment got me started and once I understood the rules it was an enjoyable search with the ambience and the chill graphics.

\n

I feel like the same concept with different maps and more replayability would make a really cool twist on the memory puzzle kind of game! :)

\n","games":["13 Bubbles"]},{"at":380367630,"author":"Jasper Renow-Clarke","login":"picosonic","gh":26137750,"twitter":"femtosonic","text":"

The game got a bit spooky when it got dark.

\n

I got told off for trying to pick up a crown, and immediately burnt!

\n

The graphics are impressive and the levels expansive and fun to explore.

\n

Not entirely sure what I was supposed to be doing. But it was really impressive nonetheless.

\n","games":["rollermaze"]},{"typ":1,"at":380429292,"re":380367630,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi Jasper,

\n

The goal not being clear seems to be the consensus :-(

\n

See my remarks below for some hints.

\n

Thanks for playing!

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380426065,"author":"Akbar Sultanov","login":"akbartus","gh":54757270,"text":"

Theme: The game effectively captures this year’s theme, featuring 13 crowns and the fear of selecting the wrong ones.

\n

Gameplay: The gameplay is very good, showcasing custom hands and a variety of scene objects. The music and grass movement create a special atmosphere. However, the main objective can be unclear at first, so additional instructions or hints at the beginning would benefit new players. Since it is an exploratory game, incorporating teleportation-based movement could enhance navigation within the scene.

\n

Audio: The audio is excellent and adds to the overall experience.

\n

Innovation: The game creatively utilizes day/night cycles and the search for crowns, which is a nice touch.

\n

Graphics: The graphics are very nice—no comments here.

\n

Controls: The controls are easy to use, with no issues or additional comments needed.

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380429288,"re":380426065,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi Akbar,

\n

Teleport was definitely on my “if I had more time / bytes left” list.

\n

I already added the sky beam on the gate because I expected people to have a bit of trouble on the goals, but for the other comments that was clearly not enough.

\n

Thanks for Playing

\n"},{"at":380440290,"author":"Alexander Petrov","login":"baturinsky","gh":632779,"twitter":"baturinsky","text":"

Impressive graphics, but couldn’t figure the gameplay. Can’t figure which cronws are which. Maybe they should have more distinct look than just the hue?

\n","games":["Terra Mobilis","Triskaidekagenesis"]},{"typ":1,"at":380499391,"re":380440290,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi Alexander,

\n

Thanks for playing!

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380461961,"author":"Sébastien Vandenberghe","login":"sebavanmicrosoft","gh":17340329,"url":"https://babylonjs.com","twitter":"babylonjs","text":"

Theme: Love the idea of the 13 crowns riddle but I wonder where is the fear coming from in this case?

\n

Gameplay: This really feels like a complete game with all the various interactions, environments, audio and even moving grass!!! A tutorial would be nice to help guiding new users.

\n

Audio: Amazing experience.

\n

Innovation: I love the “twin worlds” offered by the time of the day.

\n

Graphics: This is really good what you did for a 13k demo.

\n

Controls: Intuitive and reactive.

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380499734,"re":380461961,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Thanks for playing and voting!

\n

It’s clearly not fear in the horror sense of the word, since as long as you don’t interact with the crowns you are safe. But I did definitely get a bit anxious when I had all but one crown but wasn’t sure if I had retraced my steps to the right one :-)

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380475738,"author":"Kieran Farr","login":"kfarr","gh":470477,"twitter":"kfarr","text":"

Graphic: Great graphics and immersion feeling for 13k! Very impressed with day night contrast and adaptation of the environment between each. Nice glowing and extra effects around the crown and devil death mode. Nice natural elements like waving grass, terrain coloring varying by elevation, etc.

\n

Audio: Nice ambient sfx to set the mood

\n

Gameplay: Unsure what to do at first, didn’t understand why i couldn’t choose a crown or significance of day / night;

\n

Innovation: Impressed with large area and high quality graphics under 13k! Impressed with day/night mode too!

\n

Controls: Basic VR controls with joystick movement that is not always great for all users, but bonus points for a very polished desktop mode!

\n

Theme: Seemed pretty on track with core theme – integrating 13 into the plot and adding some medieval spooky mystery.

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380500033,"re":380475738,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Thanks for your kind remarks.

\n

Your remark on gameplay seems to capture the consensus. Still not sure myself if I would want to improve on that. Figuring out of the mechanics is half the fun, but on the other hand, it looked like some players quit before they figured it out, so perhaps I didn’t hit the optimal curve there.

\n

Thanks for playing and voting!

\n"},{"typ":2,"at":380501379,"author":"Fernando Serrano Garcia","login":"fernandojsg","gh":782511,"url":"http://fernandojsg.com","twitter":"fernandojsg","text":"

The visual aspect of the game is very well done, and the changes between day and night are also very well achieved.\nI might consider changing the arm model so that the entire arm doesn’t rotate when moving the hand, or maybe just showing the hands without the forearm.\nAnother thing I would change is the control system, since even when using the left joystick, the rotations make me feel dizzy. Trying to make it smoother, or maybe rotating 90º instantly could help.\nGreat job!

\n"},{"typ":1,"at":380503748,"re":380501379,"author":"Samuel van Egmond","login":"SamuelVanEgmond","gh":95985602,"text":"

Hi Fernando,

\n

Thanks for playing and for voting.

\n

I added the arms because especially on desktop the floating hand was a bit jarring. I couldn’t make up my mind about the arm model in VR so I left them in, but in the end forgot that I still had to make that decision :-) In VR, they are a bit silly, but still, I kind of like the arms over the floating hands. Clearly something that could be improved upon.

\n

Teleport & snapturn was on my list, but I ran out of space and time.

\n

Thanks again!

\n"}],"results":{"theme":{"rank":5,"min":2.4,"score":4,"max":4.6},"innovation":{"rank":6,"min":2.4,"score":3.4,"max":4.4},"gameplay":{"rank":9,"min":2,"score":2.8,"max":4.6},"graphics":{"rank":2,"min":2.6,"score":4.6,"max":4.6},"audio":{"rank":4,"min":1.4,"score":3.6,"max":4.2},"controls":{"rank":7,"min":2,"score":3.6,"max":4.6},"primary":{"rank":5,"min":14.2,"score":22,"max":24.8},"label":"WebXR"}}