A Road to Awe
A downloadable journey for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Maybe I am growing old. Maybe the world I knew is on the verge of collapse. Maybe I need some artistic routine and discipline to pretend it will be alright.
A Road to Awe is a kind of intimate year-long game jam, with a focus on level design and ambient music. The game itself offers a contemplative first-person experience. You simply walk the road, one day at a time, wondering what comes next.
In 2017, every day, a new section has been added to the road for you to explore. The game has been updated through Itch's early access system, so anyone following the project could get new content automatically if they used the Itch app.
The road is now complete, and includes 365 levels.
- Details on the game concept can be found here.
- Daily pictures can be seen on the game's blog.
- The Twitter hashtag is #aRoadToAwe.
- The author is of course on Twitter.
- Also on Tumblr and Pinterest.
Mouse controls
- Left click to move automatically where the pointer is.
- Keep the left mouse button down to move continuously in the direction you're looking at.
- Keep the right mouse button down to look around.
- Keep both buttons down to move and turn at the same time.
Keyboard controls
- WASD or Arrow keys to move.
- Escape to pause/resume the game or quit.
Gamepad control (Xbox controller)
- Left pad to move.
- Right pad to look around.
- Trigger buttons to strafe.
The road has come to an end, but the journey continues. Feel free to come along. You are invited.
If you like A Road to Awe, I'd recommend trying The Egg for a similar atmosphere, and RPG in a Box, the game engine I'm using.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- The end of the roadJan 01, 2018
- External mirrorNov 05, 2017
- September TravelogueOct 07, 2017
- Gamepad supportAug 15, 2017
- Updated controlsJun 18, 2017
Comments
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I have just a little question. If you made this game in 1 years each day, do you made 365 lvl ? (I played 20 lvl just to see the work that you made)
Yes, there are 365 levels. Technically speaking, 367 if you count the title screen and the week selection hub. And about a dozen unreleased experimental levels I made before in order to plan the whole thing. There are screenshots on the official website.
Wow pretty cool
Hi! This game is a really cool game I have a great time playing it! I like the concept of the game and would be awesome if more features are added and I made a video on youtube in INDONESIAN! Check it out! TERIMA KASIH!
Hi! I'm glad you like the game, thanks a lot for sharing your video :) I'm always interested in watching people play a Road to Awe. Don't hesitate if you have suggestions for improvements.
Your welcome! It is a really relaxing game but maybe need a little bit improvement on the control, I hope the best for your games :D
Hi! The controls have been updated, as described in this post: https://lectronice.itch.io/a-road-to-awe/devlog/3173/updated-controls
You can now hold the left and right mouse buttons to move in the direction you're looking at. I hope you'll like it :)
Wow! Greaat! Thanks :D
I don't know if it is just me but the game just seems a bit slow... I am not trying to criticize your game (I couldn't make anything better) but it just seems a bit slow. Could you make like... a sprint option?
Thanks for your feedback! The game is intended to be slow: it's one year in the making, a little bit every day, with quiet ambient music, and an emphasis on looking around along the way. Also, the engine I'm using doesn't support custom controls or options yet so I can't set up such a feature at the moment. This doesn't mean it won't happen, because I've been thinking about additional modes to experience the game differently, and a "turbo mode" is a nice idea. But if it does, it probably won't happen before next year, once the game is complete.
It would be cool if it remembered where you'd gotten to last time you played! Also why not enable 'mouse-look' all the time?
Thanks for your feedback! I agree this would be a good idea, but this is not possible at the moment because the engine I'm using (RPG in a Box) is still in alpha and doesn't have a save feature yet. However, as a kind of workaround, there's a special (not very well) hidden room that allows you to jump between "weeks", so you don't have to start from the begining every time.
About enabling the "mouse-look" all the time, this would also be a new feature of the engine. Currently, I don't have a lot of control on the player view. There's some kind of undocumented trick you can use though: holding W or the Up arrow and the right mouse button will allow you to kind of turn with the mouse. This is in fact an accidental feature, but the engine's developer and I found it rather cool :)
I have a lot of respect for you taking on a project like this! I took the liberty to play it for my channel and depending on my community's feedback, it might become a recurring series as I join you on this road you are creating :)
Many thanks for your kind words and your support, I'm really glad you liked the concept enough to make videos about the game. This is great to see you find it inspiring. And your audio comments are very helpful, seeing how you play and react, what the game means for you, this is invaluable feedback for me :)
Also, maybe you've already found it, but there's a somewhat secret (yet quite easy to find) way to navigate between levels that works a bit like a warp zone. This may help if you don't want to do the whole trip from start every time.
I have found the warp zone :) Can I assume that the white squares are levels I haven't visited yet? Or is there any other way that I can easily identify new levels? The video has been well received so it will return as a ongoing series which is why I am asking.
Great to hear you're going to make a series :) Well, if you look around, you'll notice there are twelve "branches", one per month. Each light will lead you to the Monday level of each week. I'll add one light on every Monday. Currently, when the game starts, you're automatically sent to the latest level. Going forward will loop to the the title screen, but if you go backward, you can walk through the past levels in reverse order. Also, you may not have noticed this yet, but each day of the week has its own colors. I hope it helps. Thanks again for your interest!
That explanation will help me a lot, thank you:)
This is a totally rad idea and I wish you pure luck and success and fun in 2017.
Thanks! I'm eager to see the results of this probably totally crazy idea :)