Play game
DETOUR's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Devlog | #1 | n/a | n/a |
| Theme | #3 | 3.150 | 3.150 |
| Gameplay / Fun / Engagement | #15 | 2.525 | 2.525 |
| Overall | #18 | 2.519 | 2.519 |
| Art Style / Visuals | #32 | 2.325 | 2.325 |
| Audio / Sound Design | #41 | 2.075 | 2.075 |
Ranked from 40 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game interpret and use the theme?
DETOUR interprets THE LONG WAY HOME as a constant tradeoff between distance and danger.
The player is trying to get home with limited fuel and a fragile car. At each junction, they must choose between a short, rough route that saves fuel but increases the risk of wrecking, or a longer, safer detour that consumes more of their remaining fuel.
There is no perfect route. The journey home is shaped by the risks the player chooses to take.
Devlog Challenge?
Devlog link
https://ryanpond.itch.io/detour/devlog
Easter Egg Challenge?
Did you use Farclip and want to be considered for the Farclip Award? (optional)
Game Engine?
Game Engine / Tools (Other)?
Audacity, VS Code
Self-made & used stuff?
Have you joined a game jam before?
Roughly how much time did you spend developing? (in hours)
27
Anything else you'd like to share about your game or development process?
DETOUR was built solo in Godot over 7 days. I focused heavily on keeping the scope small and making one core tradeoff, fuel versus danger, matter throughout the entire game.
All in-game visuals were created from simple shapes and Godot's 2D lighting tools. Sound effects were sourced from appropriately licensed libraries and edited/mixed in Audacity. I used AI as a coding/debugging assistant during development, while writing, integrating, testing, and balancing the game myself.
I also kept a daily devlog documenting the process, mistakes, and design changes along the way.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
An excellent game that fits the theme perfectly! I really liked your interpretation of it, and I’d say it captures the essence of “The Long Way Home” beautifully.
The art, despite being simple, is fantastic. I especially liked the dynamic lighting, which, combined with the nighttime setting, gives the game a lot of charm. It really captures the feeling of driving through the night, particularly thanks to the way you designed the environment and obstacles.
It would be great to see a bit more variety along the long route, at least in terms of what we see in the environment. I don’t think you’d even need to add new obstacles; I feel like a few small environmental details would be enough. Maybe random events happening along the roadside, like someone hitchhiking or a broken-down car? It could even be a great opportunity to include some Easter eggs!
A fuel indicator would also be a great addition, along with indicators showing how far you’ve traveled versus how much distance remains, as well as your vehicle’s health. These are all important pieces of information that players need to make the best decisions.
Your devlog is also fantastic! I really liked how well-organized and informative it is. I also appreciate that you took the time to share your thoughts after playing other games from this jam, which undoubtedly made your overall experience much more valuable.
Congratulations on the project, and best of luck in the jam!
Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback! Really glad the lighting and atmosphere landed for you. That was one of the things I spent a lot of time experimenting with, so it’s been cool seeing how many people connected with it.
I completely agree about the environmental variety. I think I was so focused on keeping the scope manageable that I underestimated how much a few small roadside details could do for the experience. The hitchhiker and broken-down car ideas are great examples. They wouldn’t necessarily need to affect gameplay to make the world feel more alive.
And you’re absolutely right about the HUD. You’re actually the second person today to mention that information, and it’s been a recurring theme throughout the feedback. Especially since the whole game revolves around making informed decisions about fuel and damage!
Really appreciate you taking the time to read the devlog too! Best of luck on the jam.
Nice. Simple to play and understand. It would be nice if there were stats at the top of the screen that showed remaining fuel, remaining distance and number of crashes/lives left. Otherwise, a solid submission and good interpretation of the theme :)
Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it!
You’re definitely onto something with the HUD. A few people have mentioned wanting better visibility into fuel, damage, and remaining distance, and I think that’s one of the clearest takeaways from the feedback.
I was trying to keep the interface minimal, but I think I took that a little too far. Especially when the entire game is about weighing the risks of each route. Players need that information to make meaningful decisions!
Really appreciate you playing and sharing your thoughts!
Nice, it reminds me of the old car games for phones back in the day. :)
Haha I love that comparison! There’s something about those old phone games where the mechanics were simple but you could spend hours playing.
this is actually a really simple game, yet it feels really polished!
but for me the game got quite hard for me when i played it, even when i try going through detour ( probably skill issue haha )
overall a really good game
Thank you! And honestly, probably not just a skill issue haha.
I’m curious though. What was giving you the most trouble? Keeping the car on the road, avoiding damage, managing fuel, etc.?
The detours are supposed to be the safer / more relaxed option, so if those still felt pretty difficult that’s actually really useful feedback for me.
Nice entry!
Choosing between a risky shortcut and the (long) safe road is a very fitting idea for the theme, I really like that the whole game is built around exactly that decision!
The lighting with the headlights in the dark looks really nice, I fell in love with the dynamic lighting here!
Overall everything works, but for me it got a bit boring after a while, maybe due to lack of music (?) The gameplay is quite simple and not much happens on the road. Some small events or things passing by could make a drive feel different and give you more reasons to actually think about which way to take.
Visually the simple shapes are fine, but a bit more detail would help with that too.
Audio is the part I'd work on the most: there's no music at all, and the driving sound got a bit annoying after some time :/ A calm night drive track, or even a little radio you can switch on, would fit this perfectly, and some more variation in the engine sound would already change a lot. The core idea is really strong though, with some more content and sound this could be a really cool little road trip game! :)
Thanks! The radio idea is actually really interesting. I hadn’t thought about treating the music as something in the car rather than just background music, and that feels way more fitting for this.
I also like your point about things passing by on the road. I was trying to keep the decision between shortcut/detour as the main thing you’re thinking about, but I can definitely see how the safe stretches especially need something happening so they don’t just become waiting for the next choice.
I’m curious. If there were a radio, would you want it mostly as chill background music, or would little radio interruptions/weather reports/news/etc. make the drive more interesting for you?
Thanks for the detailed feedback :)
For me a radio with actual reports/news and music would be incredibly funny tbh :D Like a "real" radio.
Like ridiculous weather forecasts and news segments? That could be a lot of fun to implement.
Good Job ! love the minimalistic visual with the small lighting around your car make it very nice .
Love the decision making sometime after doing a shortcut ill jsut take a detour to relax a little bit XD
Good job !
Thanks! I’m glad the lighting and route choices landed for you. The “take the long way just to relax a bit” comment actually fits the vibe I was going for really well. Appreciate you playing!