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Caves of Altamira's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Jam Theme | #4 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Satisfying Answers | #5 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Emotional Depth | #7 | 3.833 | 3.833 |
| Immersive Atmosphere | #8 | 4.333 | 4.333 |
| Overall | #8 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Puzzle Fairness | #10 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| General Enjoyment | #10 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Innovative Gameplay | #11 | 3.667 | 3.667 |
| Logical Consistency | #18 | 3.667 | 3.667 |
Ranked from 6 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
What makes your game a Mystery Game?
Caves of Altamira is a mystery game that half combines the ideas of a detective game and an escape game. Central to the story is the mystery of the disappearance of a large group of people in a cave system, and the player must solve puzzles so that the main character can progress through the cave to uncover the mystery. The story is “on rails” in the same way that Umineko no Naku Koro Ni is, meaning that the player watches the main character uncover the mystery and can make assumptions and guesses as to the truth meanwhile, but does not make choices or affect the outcome. However, the puzzles provide the bulk of the gameplay in a way that ties into the story by the end.
How does your game integrate the jam's theme "Last Message"?
The player begins with a note which they cannot read. It is written in an ancient language which is not fully understood by the characters in the game. Believing it to be left behind by the disappeared group, the main character sets off initially to find out whatever they can about the disappearance and decode the message with the knowledge they acquire in the ancient cave system. This note, this “Last Message”, may be the key to finding the truth.
Does your game use generative AI? And if so, in what way?
No.
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Comments
Incredible atmosphere and creative use of "last message" as a puzzle-solving mechanic! Funny you compare it to Umineko -- it reminds me more of the shrines in Zelda BotW. I could easily see an expanded game with many more puzzles to solve and world to explore. Nice job!
Amazing artwork ^v^
[I played the jam version of the game]
I enjoyed this! I didn't encounter a single bug, which is really impressive for a game jam. The first puzzle didn't have the solution I expected (I thought it would be attraction at the top and action at the bottom - like it's being propelled up the slide and then caught by a magnet at the top), but after that (and after filling out the words) it all felt a lot more cohesive. Really great job!
It's supposed to be two attractions, one at the top one at the bottom, your suggestion of attraction at the top and action (energy) at the bottom actually makes a ton of sense 🤣
I unfortunately couldn't get past the first puzzle. I walked around and sometimes clicking on the character shot energy beams onto the nearby circles, but then nothing. I'm on the Mac jam version.
The puzzles are quite challenging and require some pretty big leaps sometimes. The first puzzle requires you to use the first symbol to move the sphere from the bottom to the top, you then need to use another symbol to power the sphere once it's at the top, then use the final symbol on the door to open it. We could have done with some more hints in hindsight 😅
Ah, gotcha! But what makes the sphere move? I don't think it moved no matter what I did, even with the first symbol lit up.
If you use the first symbol (Two arrows pointing at each other) at the bottom of the ramp and at the top of the ramp the ball should roll up to the top
Hi, which of the two archives is better to download?
Please use the one that is not marked "Post-Jam" if you are rating the game for the Game Jam. The Post-Jam version contains some fixes but was submitted post-deadline.