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[emiaj]

is it time? is an experimental art game on the topic of old age.  When is life no longer worth living?  Arrow keys to move, spacebar to interact with objects.  Created within a week for a competition at an art gallery in Burlington, VT.

You can download it here: http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/other/is-it-time-when-is-life-not-worth-living/4598/
Controls: Arrow Keys and Spacebar.

For more information about the game and its message check out: http://jaimefraina.com/other-stuff/design-documents/is-it-time/

Thanks in advance for your feedback.  I'd really appreciate a review of this game and feedback on what you think of it, good or bad or suggestions on things to add.

[deathtotheweird]

Please introduce yourself in this thread before asking for some feedback. It's always appreciated to have people presenting themselves before asking for some help.

[emiaj]

I'd really like some feedback on this project, so if anyone would like to play it for a few minutes and tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate it.  I believe that this game has a pretty powerful message and it's definitely worth checking out.

Thanks.

[superflat]

Sounds a little like Stephen Lavelle's 'Home', which I loved.  I'll give it a go when I have a Windows machine about...

[emiaj]

Sounds a little like Stephen Lavelle's 'Home', which I loved.  I'll give it a go when I have a Windows machine about...

It is very similar, but different in a few ways as well.   This game was actually created a few months before Home was released.

[Destral]

Reminds me a bit of

.

[Nuprahtor]

I like the concept, especially less understandable words in progress and different furniture every few days.
This game hard to play, but it is obvious why. It's not fun. But it's great.
I like it.

[emiaj]

Reminds me a bit of

.

Hmm It does seem to be like that as well.  It's weird that there are similar concepts to this game that I've never heard of..  The way I came up with the concept is when I heard my grandmother talking outloud to her husband who died a few years ago just before going to bed.  "When will it be my time to be with you again," she said.  I thought that was one of the saddest things I could hear and brings up deep emotions since it's a possibility for all people to end up in that situation.  


And Nuprahtor, that's exactly the resonse I wanted to hear: "It's not fun. But it's great."  It's like going to see a depressing movie.  No one has fun while watching, but they go to see them anyways.  I believe that games can do the same.

I'd like this game to reach a broader audience...  I'm really new to the indie scene any advice on what to do with it?

[superflat]

I'd suggest porting it to Flash (there's great libraries out there which make it relatively simple.)  Newgrounds have been known to showcase some more 'arthouse' titles.

[Lode]

I'd suggest porting it to Flash (there's great libraries out there which make it relatively simple.)  Newgrounds have been known to showcase some more 'arthouse' titles.

I agree, then I'd be able to play it on Linux, and Newgrounds is indeed quite friendly towards this type of game.

[ithamore]

I don't think you're supposed to be able to walk off the screen, but I can keep walking until I pass out and then reappear at the foot of the bed the next day.

I like the walking animation.

[emiaj]

I'd suggest porting it to Flash (there's great libraries out there which make it relatively simple.)  Newgrounds have been known to showcase some more 'arthouse' titles.

I agree, then I'd be able to play it on Linux, and Newgrounds is indeed quite friendly towards this type of game.

I'll try to get a Flash version up soon.  Thanks for the advice.  Since I'm making a new version of it, anyone have any suggestions on how to improve it?

[emiaj]

Check out what people are saying about this game on reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/frtf1/when_is_life_no_longer_worth_living_a/

It's also on digg if anyone wants to start up a topic about it there:
http://digg.com/news/gaming/when_is_life_no_longer_worth_living_a_heartrending_experiment_on_the_topic_of_old_age

[Noyb]

Made it until day 11 before deciding it was time. I thought the design was really strong. I began the game with the intention of sticking it out as long as possible, but it led me towards the inevitable end gracefully. Kudos.

Spoilers:
The feeling of dependency was very strong with how the player character relies on her daughter to bring her food and give her company. I found myself waiting by the door often. The subplot where the TV goes out was especially heartbreaking since the player is completely powerless to do anything about her depression. The game gave a strong impression of what it's like to slowly lose senses. The aphasia was rather striking as it goes from semi-understandable to completely incoherent. I also appreciated when the tinnitus started masking the oven's timer bell, and was very impressed when one day I thought the daughter never arrived, but it turned out I just couldn't hear her knocking. Also that the appliances were still present and usable even when your sight is nearly gone and all of them are not discernible.

[Guert]

I personally feel as if the game doesn't give the player a good reason to constrain its interaction with the game world. The first thing I wanted to do is get out of the house. Take a walk, look at other people, go in the backyard, do something. All the game tells me is "There are no reasons to open the door". That's it. No justifications, only a limit to my personal freedom within the world. I understand that the character is old but I know many old people who are pretty active. I didn’t see why you constrained the player inside the house with only little interaction with the game’s world. I feel that, if you want to tell the message efficiently, you need to give proper reason to the player on why he/she cannot interact with the outside world. Why no telephone? Why can't I go outside? Why can’t I entertain myself? Why can’t I have a pet? Why am I so dependant on my daughter? I raised a kid for god sakes! I can surely do a meatloaf. Do I take medication? Is this why I’m so slow? All these questions could be easily answered in the game. All these questions would give context to the player and explain the restrictive nature of the game. If I have to take pills every 30 minutes, I can’t really go outside too long. If the outside world is grey and boring, I won’t want to go outside. If I can cook but I run out of ingredients, and I can’t go outside, I understand why my daughter has to fetch me stuff.   

The message you seem to tell is that when you are old, just lay down and die.

• The character is colorless, making it more lifeless
• The character is slow and simply moving around is a chore
• The character has little interaction with the world: it cannot go outside nor peek outside the window, phone someone, grow plants, have a pet, play games, etc...
• The character has constant needs that deplete extremely fast for no apparent reason giving the impression that the character is simply decaying quickly
• Whenever the character goes to bed, it can commit suicide (when you choose the time of your death, that's pretty much what it is)
• The game offers little reason to neither play the game nor explain why it constrains the player so much

I do like the fact that the daughter is colourful. I wish I could interact with her a bit more. Do I have grandkids? If not, is she married? I want to know who my daughter is. I want to know why she’s not coming by more often or why she has to leave quickly. I also like your goal of showing this to an audience and make them see how life can be for certain person. Some people have little interactions and their lives are depressing. However, you have to show us why they feel this way. Show us why they don’t simply get up and change their lives. For example, one could say to a smoker “stop smoking. It’s easy, all you have to do is stop” but the smoker won’t find this easy at all. There are reasons for this. Habit, addiction, feelings… It’s not the act of smoking that is hard to quit, it’s the other factors around it. That’s kind of what’s happening with your game.  I say to the game “snap out of it, go outside, have fun, enjoy life” and the game tells me “no” and doesn’t tell me why. What I feel you need to do is tell me “No I cannot because A, B and C”. And then I’d go “oh! I understand your message. I now have sympathy for people who are living the same situation” and so forth.

That’s all I gotta say for now  

[im9today]

you have truly expressed the futility of life/being really bored because you are old as balls

i will show this to my granpap (he is almost dead)

granpap broke his hip in the bath but i could not find this in the game, add this for now 9/10

[Ice Water Games]

I played, immediately thought it was time. Almost stopped playing before I went to sleep, but when I did, and it asked me, I just said yes.

The message you seem to tell is that when you are old, just lay down and die.

If this was the feeling you wanted to get across, it is successful, but I sort of disagree with the intentions.

[Xishem]

I liked this game. It wasn't fun, but it was good. It struck me in a certain way, although I do agree with Guert on many levels.