Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
A jam submission

The Prisoner's DilemmaView game page

A short game about whether to trust your opponent to spare you, or to fight them
Submitted by Fishified12 — 8 hours, 6 minutes before the deadline
Add to collection

Play game

The Prisoner's Dilemma's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Innovation#6243.0833.083
Theme#8453.1673.167
Gameplay#10692.5832.583
Enjoyment#10722.7082.708
Overall#11812.6112.611
Visuals#14182.3332.333
Audio#15571.7921.792

Ranked from 24 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does the game fit the theme?
The Prisoners Dilemma is a thought experiment about whether or not to trust the other prisoner

What code and assets did you not make from scratch during the jam (if any)?
Fonts

How many people worked on the game?
1

Leave a comment

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

Comments

Submitted

I didn't really understand how to play the game, but after a while I did, and I wish there could have been sound effects and music, however, I really liked the concept, and it could become a fun game if you expand it :)

(1 edit)

It has the potential to be something like Swords and Sandals with the gameplay.
Good job, fits the theme well

Submitted

Fantastic game, I think you could definitely add more updates to it once the jam is finished.

Submitted(+1)

The game loop is short enough that it has a really strong, just one more try vibe! It was fun and a cool response to the theme but I am way too trusting xD

Submitted(+1)

This was fun! I ended up doing a lot of fighting - it felt too risky/too much of a punishment to Spare. I did end up winning one of my playthroughs which was satisfying. And I do wish there was some sound effects or music!

Submitted

A game that lives up to its name! The first session, I selected Fight each time, and luckily the opponent Spared so I won pretty fast. Second session we both chose Fight... I liked being able to purchase upgrades/boosts with the money I won from previous rounds, however the combat itself was a bit buggy; at one point, I turned, and when I tried turning back around my weapon didn't, so I was attacking behind me. If the combat was more polished it would have been a solid game loop!

Submitted

A simple and fun little game XD

Fun fact: apparently you can win by choosing Fight every time, as long as you win both fights XD

On my first playthrough, I think I only had to fight someone once. Everyone else was nice enough to spare me!

Submitted

Sweet and Simple Game, in addition to what other ppl have said, I think if the combat had a bit more juice (parries,dodges,dashing?) it would be more enjoyable.

Submitted

Love the twist on the classic prisoner's dilemma. Simple to get into and enjoyable!

Adding some sound effects (and music!) would've been great.

I personally don't see a reason to ever spare. If I spare and the other fights, I instantly lose. Feels like that should be more forgiving (maybe just take half my health instead). I think that adds a lot more startegy.

Really clever idea! Good job!

Developer(+1)

Thanks for the feedback.

I ran out of time for sfx, probably could have done it though if I didn't spend the first 3 days on UI.

That's a good idea to make spare worth it, I'll add that after the jam finishes.

Submitted

Pros:

  • Simple yet thoughtful premise, like a slightly twisted version of the original prisoner’s dilemma
  • Fits the theme “Trust No One” well, as you don’t know what the other person is going to choose (fight or spare)
  • Enjoyable gameplay

Cons:

  • The win/lose scenarios are quite abrupt in my opinion, like if I just lose one fight/spare scenario I automatically lose the entire game (as opposed to some sort of handicap or me losing money or something). Also I don’t win by fighting all inmates or anything, it just seems quite random
  • Art could be developed a bit more (lowkey very tiny detail though haha) and some sfx or music would be nice!!
  • There’s no real reason to press spare each time, perhaps adding an incentive to pick “spare” other than just so both get lots of money, such as if both of us clicking fight results in some bad effect for us both?? Idk

This has lots of potential!

Developer

Thanks for the feedback.

Yeah, ik i should have made spare better, didn't have time for that though.

I also ran out of time for sfx.

tbh I probably could have fixed these if i didn't spend the first 3 days working on UI.

Submitted

It looks good, and the idea is great. Keep working on it.

Submitted

I kept jumping on their shoulder to dodge and I kept winning

Submitted

Nice idea. I liked it. Won a knife vs pistol fight by jumping on my opponent shoulder xD

Submitted

A fun concept! It doesn’t seem to be very rewarding to try and spare people yet as you probably know. Also if you get the pistol nobody can even get to you before the round is won. Any plans to build this out more? I’d like to check back later if you do!  

Developer

Yeah, I'll do some updates after the jam, mainly making spare actually worth it.

Developer

Though after the jam I'll be working on other projects so don't expect frequent updates.

Submitted

It was a fun idea to put the prisoner's dillema into a game. The best choice is to always fight till you reach the end.

One thing I can say is that the amount of coins given to player at each stage should be increased, there might not be so much fights, and most of the items will be unused because I didn't have the money to buy it.

Developer

Thanks for the feedback

Yeah, I know that fighting was probably the best choice every time, I probably should have made the fighting AI better, and maybe increase coin rewards