#scanner sombre

[dooptown]

i played through Scanner Sombre today, and it has such a cool central mechanic that it breaks my heart that its existence kind of prevents any other team from doing something similar

the game is completely pitch black, since you're miles underground, and all you have is a device that emits dozens of small lasers per second, painting every surface they touch with a dot that changes color depending on how far you are from it. You directly map out the cave as you explore, making for an extremely unique and immersive experience

under the cut is where i complain a lot

this game did not need a story. i feel like the devs weren't confident enough for the game to speak for itself, even though it's literally the perfect 'show, don't tell' avenue for both gameplay and story. instead we're spoonfed information about the area we're in via text from the player character's thoughts. i couldn't help but think how much cooler it'd be for the player to just make guesses at what on earth the things they were finding could have been, or how they got there

also, the game is just naturally frightening. Maybe it's cuz i just watched The Descent recently, but the combination of the sound design and pitch darkness just makes for creepy atmosphere. Add the fact that you're not even seeing the environment for what it really is, and instead seeing impacts of a laser. Big missed opportunity where there could be something picked up initially, but when you go over to it it's gone (of course the laser in the game doesn't work as it would in real life, objects painted with dots have the dots move with them...somehow)

But instead of leaning into that natural, subdued, subtle horror (which happens enough in the game that i was pleased with it at least), the game throws in some glitchy effects and a ghost plot. I've always preferred my horror to be grounded, so this might just be a me issue, but dramatic music stings and glitchy effect humanoid shapes popping in suddenly had me rolling my eyes

this is where i talk about my ideal version of this game:

first, you begin at the entrance of the cave. There'd actually be some light here, but quickly as you get deeper the light disappears. You'd set up a sort of base camp here before going deeper into the darkness and using the laser scanner to paint your map

the caves would either have to be huge and expansive or randomly generated in some way. Considering nothing would really need to be rendered digitally, it wouldn't be a huge undertaking (that i know of). At certain, arbitrary points you could set up new camps, but you'd be limited to a certain number of how many you could set up. These camps would also have lanterns by them, and would act as your save points

Since i love being totally immersed in stuff, i think that water shouldn't reflect the dots you place. Sure, it's pretty, but it makes no sense. The laser might have enough fidelity to understand when it's hitting water and not render, but water should remain black, and sound queues will tell players when water is nearby (again, like in the actual game)

Rappelling and other climbing mechanics should be integrated, allowing for even deeper traversal, and the deeper you go the more inexplicable discoveries you make (eg: a completely square room among the caves, manmade structures like in the game, a creature that moves constantly so you have to have your laser on it while you try not to make too much noise)

in conclusion, i loved this game purely for the gameplay it provided, but think it got totally kneecapped by the narrative. I hope someone else comes along and picks up this idea and runs with it (if introversion software would let them)

[the-text-party]

If you can, buy scanner sombre!!! PLEASE SUPPORT IT!!!!

It's a horror/adventure game on steam and it's just amazing!!!!

The visuals are BEAUTIFUL

Songs are BANGERS

The lore is UNIQUE

The ending is JUST... WONDERFUL

The atmosphere is YES

ITS AMAZING!!!! TRUST ME!!

Not a sponsored segment, I just love the game <3 <3

[kahtide]

I'm looking forward to this one! We're playing Scanner Sombre, a title from one of my favorite indie devs, Introversion Software. Cave exploration has never been more gorgeous. Check it out this Wednesday (09/28) at 7pm PST. Don't miss it! twitch.tv/kahtide

[veebs-hates-video-games]

Getting a bit ahead of the curve with this post so I don't forget to include stuff because one of them has already gotten hidden from my library.

Someone described a picture of an egret with a very long neck as a snake bird, which reminded me Snakebird exists. Either it's a lot harder than I expected or I'm just not very good at it, but I like the concept and the aesthetic and all that. I don't expect to finish it though because I'll definitely hit a wall at some point with the way the puzzles are progressing, and then I'll get distracted by doing something else and forget to get back around to this one.

And then Scanner Sombre is the one that was the lucky winner of getting the "hide this game" button pushed on it. I think it might not be a very good game? Definitely a terrible game for me personally. It's an amazing tech demo though, and a very pretty and fun toy to mess around with for a little while, and I also enjoyed thinking about how they could've pulled off the visuals of the central mechanic. But then after about ten minutes it just got increasingly more boring and more unpleasant to play as an actual game, and this is as someone who frequently likes other walking simulators.

It started getting a bit tedious because the text is so sparse, and because of how the game works everything looks exactly the same, so there really wasn't much carrying it forward for me once the novelty started to wear off. Then I got to the lake and it felt like the game was actively trying to make me hate playing it. I made it to the next section after that and just gave up and uninstalled it because I was straight up not having a good time and had already literally fallen asleep at least twice while playing it.

It's totally coincidentally made by the same people who made Darwinia though, which Steam recently keeps suggesting I should play. Little does it realize I already finished it almost 20 years ago before I even had a Steam account, and it was pretty good.

[rabelaisian-crow]

Just watched a playthrough of Scanner Sombre again

Fuckin awesome game, man

[espers-n-espurrs]

So, once you are fully recovered, you should absolutely check out a game called Scanner Sombre, it's so atmospheric and uses a lidar mechanic as the main way to see

the paranoia would get me.

[gender-gaming-and-gears]

Was going to liveblog playing Scanner Sombre. but I forgot. I'm going to re-enact it now brb

[samusmaximus2k]

Hi I'm playing a scary explory game called scanner sombre, it's about LIDAR tune in if you wish

[crabs-and-bongos]

I tried a game called Scanner Sombre last night, it was really cool - you're in a cave system, but have no light. You can only see with a LIDAR gun that 'paints' points of light on things you shine it on. You have to make your way out using only that. The ending was... frankly terrible, but getting to that point was a lot of fun.

Somehow it was already in my library, but it's only like $2 on steam, you guys should check it out, it's well worth a couple of hours.

[eskewcity]

hello! any recs for recent indie games you've been playing or generally any you've found this year that you'd recommend? i really want some to play over the summer (i love horror obvs but i will take any you recommend)!

of course!

if you like horror, please play the crooked man! If you’re someone who was familiar with the surge of jrpg horror games in the early 2010s, then you might have heard of this one. I decided to play it earlier this month because I completely forgot the plot and it’s totally worth it! It’s very clearly inspired by silent hill but i still think it has a style of it’s own and I really enjoyed the story. also I 🫶 David Hoover

it’s also a part of a tetralogy called the strange man series that is about… strange men. I won’t say it’s the best but it’s quite cheap if you get interested after tcm and it’s one of those series where the creator decided every past character needs to be in the next game somehow in increasingly ridiculous ways.

I’ve also been playing Eastshade which is kind of Skyrim but without the fighting and where you are a painter. It’s a very beautiful game and it’s always fun to explore to see if there’s any secret quests you can find.

not so recently I finished we happy few which is not good but not bad! It definitely did not turn out the way I remember it looked in demos years ago but I still had fun with it.

also finished old city: leviathan a few months back which was pretty neat. I definitely liked it more in the beginning than towards the end but some of the writing absolutely slaps. You’re playing as a city dweller in an abandoned sewer system learning about a war between the three ideological groups that had formed. if you’re okay with some dense reading it can actually get quite interesting.

I played the inheritance of crimson manor which was a fun spooky time. It’s basically just exploring a Victorian mansion and solving puzzles but I thought it was neat!

the painscreek killings is somewhat the same but you explore an entire abandoned town to solve a murder! it has some annoying backtracking but it was really fun for me since there was such a diversity of places to explore.

I almost forgot this but this has probably been one of if not my favorite game to play this year but mundaun!!!! It’s this beautifully created horror game where all the textures were hand sketched by the creator. It takes place in Switzerland and it’s about the protagonist visiting their old village after their grandfather passes away. It involves a lot of Swiss folklore and the character is fully voiced in Romansh which is not something I’ve encountered in games before.

If you would be interested, I also just added a lot whole bunch of game to my wishlist including - subway midnight, hylics, umurangi generation, you must be 18 or older to enter, how fish is made, how to say goodbye, scorn, scanner sombre, hypnospace outlaw, yomawari: lost in the dark, Spookware, rain world, everything, one dreamer, a little to the left, norco, glitchriders the spaces between, lone survivor, unheard, the enigma machine, world of horror, not for broadcast, anodyne, cats and the other lives, gruund, slay the princess + more i am too lazy to list

hope this helps! :)

[stellastarcrash]

kintype list for mobile users

Kintypes

Primary

Snow Leopard (pantheria uncia) 

Mackenzie Valley gray wolf (canis lupis occidentalis) 

Pallas cat (otocolobus manul)

Fictionkintypes

Primary (pretty much all past lives)

Avryllan Balaren (Elder Scrolls Morrowind OC)

Astrid (non-canon changeling/human hybrid) (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Whisper the Wolf (IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comics)

Surge the Tenrec (IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comics)

Stella Star (Starcrash)

SCP-3165 “Dog Teeth” (Jenny) (SCP canon)

Cloudtail of ThunderClan (Warrior cats)

Haley (Stardew Valley)

Cody the Kittypet (Warrior cats)

Athena (Fallout 4 OC)

Keeva MacKailean (Werewolf OC)

Kipcha (The Sight by David Clement-Davies)

Protagonist (Scanner Sombre)

Frostfur of ThunderClan (Warrior cats)

Secondary (not necessarily past lives, but literally me)

Sunderstar of ThunderClan (noncanon, Warrior Cats)

The WAU (SOMA)

Kalix MacRinnalch (Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar)

Mae Borowski (Night in the Woods)

Luci (Disenchantment)

Rowena MacLeod (Supernatural)

Alphanea "Alfie" Tolman (Alfie comic, 18+ only)

Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)

[hyperfixation-symposium]

Okay I know no one remembers this game also it's 2am but.

Qsmp Scanner Sombre AU. Scanner Sombre is genuinely a game that changed my perspective on life and everything and I just.

The idea of the previous members stumbling upon echoes in that way on the island, descending both literally and metaphorically deeper into a cave,,

As they delve deeper into it they slowly understand but soon realize the ones most lost are themselves.

I just. Need it. I also need someone else to understand this game like I do at 2am. Okay bye

[gaames-sekkai]

re-write from 20200801

⸖"Scanner Sombre" by Introversion Software - UK: the creator of "Darwinia", "Prison Architect", "The Last Starship" https://www.introversion.co.uk

experience in a completely unlit world ●strongly recommend avoiding spoilers ●short play time ●indie

"Scanner Sombre Launch Trailer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NFlo9FEfaY

⸖

[maximuswolf]

trippy game recs?

trippy game recs? im looking for a game that looks freaky. something akin to LSD Dream Emulator, Scanner Sombre or Cruelty Squad. being on steam would be the best for me. specifically i'm looking for a game with a bunch of colors and it looks like i am on an acid trip and something with a retro look to it. thanks. Submitted July 08, 2024 at 10:02PM by NebbyChan https://ift.tt/nCf8xHz via /r/gaming

[bee-vai]

Nonsensical Nonsense – 8. Improvised Conclusion

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 This drawing is part of a series of them made for an art class I had to take, that were not necessarily made for any artistic purpose, but often still ended up being somewhat fine. I am posting two versions of those drawings: the first one is a scan that was cropped due to my scanner not being large enough, but that is being posted as the second, uncropped, scan, was made after that for a while they were involuntarily stored in a manner that slightly damaged and adulterated them from their original forms. Of course, both scanners used different colour profiles, which also explains most colour differences between both scans; the second one is somewhat closer to reality to the first, although maybe a bit darker than reality. Each one of those drawings is also associated with a track in my album Nonsensical Nonsense. It's a piano in a non-existing room playing the Art of Fugue.

🇫🇷 Ce dessin fait partie d'une série d'eux faits pour un cours d'art plastique que j'ai dû prendre, qui n'ont pas forcément été faits pour une raison artistique, mais qui ont tout de même fini par être à peu près convenables. Je publie deux versions de ces dessins: une version scannée et recadrée car mon scanner n'était pas suffisamment large, mais que je publie tout de même car la deuxième version, non-recadrée, a été scannée après qu'ils aient été, pour un moment, involontairement rangés d'une manière qui les a légèrement endommagé, adultéré de leur forme originelle. Bien sûr, les deux scanners utilisaient des profils de couleur différents, ce qui explique la plupart des différences de couleur entre les deux versions; la deuxième est légèrement plus proche de la réalité que la première, quoique peut-être un peu plus sombre que la réalité. Chacun de ces dessins est aussi associé à un morceau dans mon album Nonsensical Nonsense. C’est un piano, dans une salle non-existante, qui joue l’Art de la Fugue.