Deep Sleep
You are stuck inside a nightmare dream. Something lurks in the darkness... Something in the depths of your own mind wants to pull you even deeper. Someone will escape this dream for sure. The question is - who is that going to be? Deep Sleep is an entry into our 10th Casual Gameplay Design Competition, with the theme of "Escape", and our community of judges awarded it with the 1st place prize.
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Wow. Haunting. Fun. Just the right difficulty. Do hope there's a sequel coming though - some content in this one went unresolved once I woke up...
This is my favorite game out of the CGDC 10 contest.
I love these types of horror games.
The graphics are simple but well done and the grainy texture is a great touch. Background music is perfect in setting the creepy mood.
The interface is done well, and I like when you don't have to click and drag an object from the inventory to use it on the screen (you only have to click on it from the inventory and it moves automatically with the cursor).
The puzzles are logical and flow well.
Wow, incredible theme and atmosphere! The puzzles were pretty logical (although I got stuck at one stupidly obvious place as I tried to attack a ghost with everything in my inventory).
However, a couple of times it seemed like I had action limitations - like I couldn't put the rag in the water until after I needed it. Restrictions like that tend to confuse me because I think "I already tried to put the rag in the water!" I tried to play it through a second time to confirm but now I can't seem to pick up the rag.
Another minor quibble is that sometimes pixels delimiting objects were too small, like the armbone. Even after I looked it up in the walkthrough, it took me several seconds of clicking around before I managed to pick it up.
I love the reference to the Broken Sword series with the lucky piece of coal. =)
I cannot say express how scared I was to even continue playing this masterful piece of work, to the point where I had to break away from the game to regain my nerves. I must admit I'm a sucker for these types of games, but you have done an excellent job of capturing the innate mystery, fear, and power of the subconscious mind. The graphics serve only to heighten this effect by allowing us as players to extrapolate from the scant visual information you have provided into something more frightening than anything else could have done. Ambient sound also contributed to the mood, and I was tempted to remove it for fear of encountering anything remotely threatening. Overall your interpretation of the theme further cements this game as a little gem of an experience.
Excellent job! A complete game even with walkthrough, a back story, eerie music...ambiance. Wow! Can't wait for the sequel.
Deep Sleep Walkthrough
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Check the green vase for a key.
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Go right and unlock the dresser with the key. Collect the blue cube.
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Head left again, to find
a skeleton in the bed. Collect his arm.
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Leave the room to the right, and follow the stairs down, through the kitchen, and into the basement.
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Pick up the cloth.
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Go to the furnace (but not right up to it). Pick up some coal from the heap on the left, and put the bone in the metal box on the right of the furnace.
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The bone now acts as a lever - pull it to switch the furnace off.
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Go back to the kitchen and then right, to a room with a leaking pipe. Use the cloth on the puddle of water to get a damp cloth.
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Take the damp cloth back to the furnace, and use it on the handle to open the door.
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Take the key from the furnace floor, then click the back wall.
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Click and drag your mouse to clean the wall, which will reveal a 4 digit number. It's randomly generated, so write it down.
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Go back upstairs until you're outside the room you started in. Head north to the balcony, and follow the stairs to the office.
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Take the phone off the hook, then open the desk cupboard for a flashlight.
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Use the key from the furnace to open the top drawer of the desk to get some batteries for the flashlight.
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The door in the kitchen is now open. You'll need the flashlight to get through.
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Go forward and collect the gold statue if you like.
It doesn't do anything.
Then go left and forward twice more to get outside.
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Climb in the lower window to get inside a tiled chamber.
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Enter the code from the furnace wall into the console to unlock the door. Then open the door by clicking the very top of the lever next to it to rotate it.
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Use the flashlight to light a path.
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Go north until you see the pickaxe on the wall. Once you grab it
the door opens and a monster starts chasing you.
Run back to the tiled room and close the door.
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Go back out through the window, and down to the bottom of the stairs. There's a hook here you can take.
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Make your way back to the kitchen, then upstairs, so you're back outside the starting room. The door to the right is blocked - but you can break through it with the pickaxe to clear a path to the beach.
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Collect the net, and combine it with the hook you picked up from the stairs.
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Take your new 'net with a hook' to the stairs outside to the tiled room (through the door in the kitchen). Use the hook/net combo on the uppermost window to gain access to a radio room.
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Take the gold key from the wall and unlock the blue cube with it, to get a shiny blue gem.
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Head back to the beach where you got the net. Go to the lighthouse, and climb to the top.
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Put the blue gem in the lighthouse light source.
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Go downstairs again to find
the shadow creatures are coming after you!
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Run back up to the to of the lighthouse, and use the levers to point the light at the shadow creatures.
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Wait a few seconds for them to be destroyed, and you've won the game.
Whoa. That was spooky and compelling. I never thought I'd get goosebumps from a pixel-art ghost/demon thing. The artwork was excellent and the gameplay was logical. A really excellent job.
I liked the pixelated look and the Submachine style rooms. I got stuck a lot because I couldn't find a lot of the hotspots. Otherwise, a good game!
Gah! I really hate scary stuff. But, I loved this game! When...
The shadow creatures were coming toward me, my heart was in my throat.
Now... I'm afraid to go to sleep.
Gee, Thanks.
And, um, good work!
:)
Really good and well presented game... hits the wait balance of puzzle and coherence. Interesting style and plot as well.
Great atmosphere! There was a true spookiness and sense of foreboding through out the game, I was totally creeped out. I love the way you added tension and urgency, not something you often find in point and click games, especially not so effectively. Exploring the space in, around, and outside the house and the way it changed made the environment feel so much bigger and inclusive, not the usual claustrophobia. Definitely looking forward to the sequel. Amazing job!
I predict this will land First place in CGDC #10. There are a few bugs but if they are cleaned up, it will be 5's across the board.
Deliciously creepy with some really wonderful puzzles. I too only really got stuck when I kept trying to hurl different items from my inventory at the shadow monster (I'm a little worried that if I ever meet with a real danger, I'll just start chucking the contents of my purse at it instead of running) - even so it was just the right amount of challenging. I loved the little touches, like brushing away the ash to find the secret code or that bloody crank for closing the tile room door. Can't wait for a sequel.
Very well done, though I do admit that I had to follow the walkthrough quite a bit - guess I was not clicking the right pixels, or not thinking the right way (or I just don't see the logics). I also find it found it amusing that there were 'red herring' items, and I admit to have gotten confused about their appearance.
Nice atmosphere, btw!
Judge Kerning's judgement of DEEP SLEEP:
Every now and then, we have a game that comes out of nowhere to steal our hearts and drown our souls in its marvelousness. Deep Sleep is one such game, already garnering rave reviews and high marks for its near flawless execution in story, atmosphere, and gameplay. What rouse us from our slumbering slog through this fun competition is that the sampling size of Deep Sleep promises inciting mythology that could possibly rivals the best of PNC genre, such as fan favorites MOTAS, Alice is Dead, Myst, and even the impenetrable Submachine.
THEME (4 out of 5)
The theme of escape is put to good use here, though the mystique of the game become more about unraveling the mystery of the dream as the story progresses. As the environment becoming more warped and twisted, escape become less of requirement as exploration became more a necessity. Not to say that escape is still one of the motivating factor of escaping from the nightmare, which was actually explored three times to frightening effects through simple yet brilliant gameplay device.
IMMERSION + APPEAL (5 out of 5)
Seeing abstract menu pop up. Oh that's nice, a poetic tidbit of someone famous. Boom, slipped into the room without any rhyme nor reason. Click click click HOLY DAMN WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ROOM!!!
Instantly hooked from that moment because of brilliant decaying effects with the pixels, crumbling our expectation into what's possible with the medium and how it could lend to the story and atmosphere of the game. Further bolstering the atmosphere of game is varied environment that's subtly warped and twisted with each other, establishing and solidifying the dream-like state of our character. The pixel arts are put to excellent uses here, pushing the boundary of realism through restrained replication of everyday artifacts into blocky constructs. The grain effects are well done too, highlighting the tension of being in one's dream.
The monster's appearances are nicely timed and are dealt with by smart gameplay incorporation within the surrounding, making the fact known that you're truly powerless against the dream demons. Chilling.
CONCEPT + INNOVATION (5 out of 5)
The game pushed beyond what's expected of PNC genre. Sure the dream reality is the popular destination for multiple art games, but Deep Sleep took the concept and ran with it. We are gifted with the glimpse of how frightening nightmare can really be and how torturous escaping from it can really be.
PLOT + COMPOSITION (3 out of 5)
The plot, while very inciting and fascinating, is basically a simple glimpse of the inner working of typical nightmare. What keep the game fascinating is how well the game is actually paced, giving us morsel of plot after every minor or major progression, including the monster encounters and the newspaper clippings and the open-ended conclusion hinting at possibly grander mythology.
Those who are disappointed with the light serving of the plot should have a heartfelt reminder: Remember how light the story is in the first Submachine game? The creator, Mateusz Skutnik, blew the doors wide open with Submachine 2 and never looked back.
Deep Sleep has the exact same potentials to be something marvelous in the future if sequel is indeed being considered.
GAMEPLAY + TECHNICALITY (5 out of 5)
Simple and well constructed without any noticeable drawbacks. Navigating the rooms can be bit clumsy because of few hidden hotspot, but the directions are clear and it is easy NOT to get lost in the environments. The interface system is well implemented, only needing to make very few clicks to move the items around and interact with the surroundings. NO BUGS, TOO.
OVERALL (5 out of 5)
Deep Sleep can be called the Submachine of CGDC10 Competition (as of this review) and a definite Top 3. If no other games in the competition even come close to matching the quality and brilliance of ambitiously grand Deep Sleep, then we already have our Game of the Show.
Sincerely,
Judge Kerning
Wow, after seeing your Twitter picture I didn't doubt this would look good, great job and hope you win :D
The darkness quickly becomes cumbersome rather than spooky.
While it is necessary for the atmosphere, it can be incredibly difficult to find the right place to click when you cannot see what you are supposed to be clicking. I should not have needed a walkthrough, but since I could not see several important graphics, it because necessary.
It becomes especially tiresome when after each probing click, your item returns to the inventory.
sgtdroopy
There is an option to turn up the brightness in the options menu that may help you a little.
Well polished, incredible atmosphere. Definitely a favorite so far.
Creepy as all get out. Well done.
Wow! Definitely my favorite of the competition. It fit the theme perfectly, had an engaging story, and the puzzles weren't too hard or too easy. I loved the spooky atmosphere. And by "loved" I mean "was terrified of".
Great job!
Reminded me a lot of the Submachine series but not so much to make me feel like it was a copy - especially since it is a good one to copy! But one difference I really like is the "action game" addition of running away from ghosts. Nice job all the way around!
Good game, good game.
First, the bad: The darkness sometimes made it hard to see things. I found two items without even seeing them, just by clicking around. Also the movement felt a little 'guessy' without anything to tell you where you could go next, though I soon got used to that, and actually enjoyed the adventure of exploration.
Other than that, this game was great. So far my favourite, and I've not got many left to play.
Great job.
Definetly my favourite. It was great that I actually knew where I was clicking instead of guessing with the change in the cursor for pickable items.
It scared the s out of me how those creatures chase you, but I was a bit confused on how they got to the beach.
If there was a storyline this game would have been downright perfect - the writings on the walls were a great touch.
Congrats and thanks for the great game.
@jacqueline
About the part you were a bit confused on...
I figure they got there because, in dreams, no matter where you run, those nightmare monsters always seem to be right behind you. Well, at least in my bad dreams they are.
I think that's why this game scared me so much, too! Because I really have had dreams like that!
Anyhow, they don't need a way to get to the beach. They're monsters... they just get there. And it's a dream, so nothing is completely logical anyways. I'm sure holes can be poked in my theory, but that's how I got around the monsters reaching the beach part.
Picked up the cloth, then worried I did something wrong later on in the game, so I restarted. Problem is, now I can't pick up the cloth anymore, even if I restart again. It's been rendered unclickable on all subsequent attempts. If it helps to know, I'm running the game on Opera.
I don't know how I get myself to play these sort of games... Left my heart racing several times.
Thank you all for your kind comments, suggestions and critique! :)
@Akarroa
Thanks, I'm working on fixing this problem! Temporary solution would be to refresh the page and then start a new game.
The
100-odd black pixel blob
managed to spook me!
I ended up liking this game, but if it hadn't been a part of this competition, I probably wouldn't have played it... mostly because I found the graphics unappealing. I know that lots of folks like the pixelated/8bit aesthetic, but when the typeface is a drag to read, and the objects I'm picking up aren't identifiable without mouseover, it's not much fun for me. The music/sound effects, and the general theme of the game were great, though.
That was amazing. The story was immersing and I loved the ambiance, especially the
bit with the phone. Also, I thought the shadow monsters were kind of cute.
Excellent game, thanks for sharing! Good atmosphere, including the sound effects. Well designed puzzles. The only part I found a bit clumsy
was when the game called for repetitive actions, like opening the door with the rotating lever, cleaning up the furnace wall, tearing down the wall, etc. Those were unnecessarily clickey and killed a bit the mood for me.
I thought this game was absolutely fabulous. I have one more game to play before I will have played all of them, but so far this one is the clear winner for me. My only suggestion would be to allow use of the flashlight in not-"too dark to see" areas for those of us with tired eyes. I know we could turn the brightness up, but I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere by doing that, so I just strained to see. If I could have used the flashlight to brighten up just the area I was looking at with my mouse, it would have allowed me to see better without ruining the atmosphere, and would have felt totally appropriate. Other than that one thing, though, I LOVED it. (Got stuck chucking things at a ghost too, but I figured it out eventually!)
Wow, this made my heart pump, but in a good way! The crank was a little annoying and I was confused on the furnace code- I still had a damp cloth that made sense to try to clean it with and there also seemed to be the kind of smudging on the code box that indicates an order puzzle. But this was a great game- and it didn't rely on jump scares!
Good, God. I was actually quite frightened. I'm so glad I didn't play this at night. I'm playing the CGDC #10 games in order, and this has to be my favorite so far.
Just got chills while being chased down the corridor by the black ghoul....twice!! Fabulous atmosphere.
Congratulations on the first place!
A well deserved win.
This game was so good I would have paid to play it. I hope we see something similar, and expanded greatly to last hours.
Omg! Stephano! I can't believe No one here got that reference! Anyways, great game, I felt my face drain of blood when
That shadow creature was coming.
How on earth did this win? It has all the parts of a bad escape game � no changing cursor, mystery navigation, inventory that refuses to be used, literal pixel-hunting � with the added "bonus" of that stupid pixellated flickering. I'm truly baffled.
It's pretty simple: it won by being scored higher than all the other entries by our community of 288 judges: http://bit.ly/CGDC10-Scores Did you participate in the judging? All you had to do was sign up to be a judge and score 5 games to have your scores counted.
I just have to say I am super glad this game won. As soon as I played it I knew I would have voted for it if I could have. This game wasn't just about escaping, but about making you feel DESPERATE to escape.
@Reka:
I personally do not feel that these elements make an escape game "bad" per say - it may make it very frustrating for some players, but by no means are they "required characteristics" of any escape game. That is for great reason too - most (literal) escape gamers would in fact be turned off with changing cursors, for that sometimes makes the game too easy. In fact, I think most veteran escapers enjoyed the red herring items that have been provided in the game, as it is a very nice diversion to the norm of escape games.
I may not have been able to complete this game by myself (I admit that I had to use the walkthrough) but I believe that this game is one of the top games in this competition. It's a game I do not mind taking first place - congrats on that!
As Jay explained above, the voting process involved ranking the game in five categories and you can get my perspective on why this game is so remarkable in my review (which was written before I knew who the winners were).
But, I think all the comments here, by Anon and the other players, some of whom were judges, do the best job of pointing out why they loved it so much. Gameplay matters, yet a game will truly stand out when it resonates with the players on a deeper level while presenting an engaging experience.
That means, though�because of personal tastes and perspectives�not everyone is going to have the same feelings about a game, so not everyone will like it. I know there are some games that I've seen fans go bonkers over (I won't mention specific titles) where I was, at least on a personal level, not as impressed. As a reviewer, I understood why the game had appeal, but I just wasn't effected the same way by it and that left me feeling a tad alienated in my opinion.
It's okay, though. That's probably how it's supposed to be with things like games, films, books...art.
5 mushrooms for the game itself but minus 1 mushroom for the unnecessary difficulty in playing. If I hadn't known from the walkthrough that I could put the human bone near the furnace, I would have given up after a couple of tries rather than picking it up and clicking around for at least 20 tries.
Aside from the annoying game-play, it was beautifully creepy. I almost got too creeped out after I picked up the phone. Brrr.
really good adventure game. so hard to close the door when you're using a tracking pad on a laptop. the pixelated blob was so scary because I can see it slowly coming at me, I really got that jolt of urgency.
Pretty good game. The controls were a bit of a struggle-- when speed is a factor its cruel to make the hotspots for self-defense so tiny and wonky.
But it was mostly great! I especially like the little nods to other great games-- the lighthouse stairwell rooms are exact copies from the Submachine lighthouse, and when I had coal, a diamond and a pickaxe in my toolbar there were heavy shades of Minecraft.
New version uploaded: Includes some changes suggested by Mateusz Skutnik in his feedback - for example, cursor changes over active areas.
still in the middle of playing, but I need to start over again because I clicked slightly outside of the game screen on a picture link for another game. I think any link on a game page needs to open in a new window instead of loading in the current window.
Was there a secret endint that he knew it was not a dream, because on kongregate, one guy said their was an extra part of the note on the back of it, and it made me wondered, @Joyius i did @ Reka, stfu!
What happens if the creatures catch you?
Can the creature catch you? What happens? Oh... nothing.
You can find out without having to start from the beginning. The game should save your progress up to the point before it started chasing you.
Yes, so a word to the wise, do NOT play this game at 3 in the morning when you are suffering from insomnia. I think I jumped out of my skin a few times. *goes to find skin* But that does mean a job well done. :)
Damn that was good.
Wow! This whole thing gave me chills, I really enjoyed the game. Reading other comments, it seems like a lot of people disliked the darkness of the game and pixel hunting, but I didn't have either one of those problems. I didn't need to use the walkthrough, although I did have to stop and think a few times. Overall, I loved this game.
Although a fine game no way should it have beaten freewill cycle 2
Yes, the game was interesting.
But why isn't there a 'horror' tag at the top of this post. Not all of us are horror fans -__-
I'm sorry if it was more horror than you were expecting, especially if it caused you a bad experience with the game. I think the review does a sufficient job of describing what can be expected in the game and, although it's rather subjective, I feel "horror" is reserved for those adventures that include more gore and/or gruesomeness. To me, this was a very scary game, but much more a surreal thriller than a horror show. But, I will add the tag.
Thank you for the feedback!
Oh god the atmosphere is terrifying! I have to stand there and pluck up my courage every time I'm forced to enter a dark room.
OMG the radio room was another type of horror altogether. THEN WHO WAS PHONE!?? D8
I honestly screamed (Not ear-splitting, but it WAS out loud) whenever those THINGS showed up to get you. This is the best game as far as I'm concerned. An atmosphere of creepy dread, lost of questions, real moments of panic but not too heavy on the jump-scares. It's like reading a really good scary story.
@malone.audrey,
I agree! I was impressed by how a few pixelated images and eerie sounds could cause such a visceral reaction. I love to come across such artistic games such as this. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well!
Stephano!
I'm having trouble:
What box by the furnace?! AGH! I already saw the guy burn, was that bad?
This game definitely had my heart pounding!
Gamergurl: I also saw the guy getting burned but still managed to win, it doesn't seem to affect anything that I noticed. I think it's just a jump scare.
I know this sounds stupid, but I played the game with no sound and i don't know what the guy on the radio/phone said? I don't want to play the game again because I can't sleep as it is. Good thing I never remember my dreams!
Apparently, according to the next game, Deeper Sleep, there is a traveler like you who was helping you get to the lighthouse.
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Game of the week
Walkthrough Guide
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Deep Sleep Walkthrough
Check the green vase for a key.
Go right and unlock the dresser with the key. Collect the blue cube.
Head left again, to find
a skeleton in the bed. Collect his arm.
Leave the room to the right, and follow the stairs down, through the kitchen, and into the basement.
Pick up the cloth.
Go to the furnace (but not right up to it). Pick up some coal from the heap on the left, and put the bone in the metal box on the right of the furnace.
The bone now acts as a lever - pull it to switch the furnace off.
Go back to the kitchen and then right, to a room with a leaking pipe. Use the cloth on the puddle of water to get a damp cloth.
Take the damp cloth back to the furnace, and use it on the handle to open the door.
Take the key from the furnace floor, then click the back wall.
Click and drag your mouse to clean the wall, which will reveal a 4 digit number. It's randomly generated, so write it down.
Go back upstairs until you're outside the room you started in. Head north to the balcony, and follow the stairs to the office.
Take the phone off the hook, then open the desk cupboard for a flashlight.
Use the key from the furnace to open the top drawer of the desk to get some batteries for the flashlight.
The door in the kitchen is now open. You'll need the flashlight to get through.
Go forward and collect the gold statue if you like.
It doesn't do anything.
Then go left and forward twice more to get outside.
Climb in the lower window to get inside a tiled chamber.
Enter the code from the furnace wall into the console to unlock the door. Then open the door by clicking the very top of the lever next to it to rotate it.
Use the flashlight to light a path.
Go north until you see the pickaxe on the wall. Once you grab it
the door opens and a monster starts chasing you.
Run back to the tiled room and close the door.
Go back out through the window, and down to the bottom of the stairs. There's a hook here you can take.
Make your way back to the kitchen, then upstairs, so you're back outside the starting room. The door to the right is blocked - but you can break through it with the pickaxe to clear a path to the beach.
Collect the net, and combine it with the hook you picked up from the stairs.
Take your new 'net with a hook' to the stairs outside to the tiled room (through the door in the kitchen). Use the hook/net combo on the uppermost window to gain access to a radio room.
Take the gold key from the wall and unlock the blue cube with it, to get a shiny blue gem.
Head back to the beach where you got the net. Go to the lighthouse, and climb to the top.
Put the blue gem in the lighthouse light source.
Go downstairs again to find
the shadow creatures are coming after you!
Run back up to the to of the lighthouse, and use the levers to point the light at the shadow creatures.
Wait a few seconds for them to be destroyed, and you've won the game.
Posted by: Ben
|
September 5, 2012 1:00 AM