Descent into Midnight Trench

damonwakes 2021-04-26 15:15

This is pretty neat for a 48-hour game. The graphics might not have much variety (at least down to about 100 metres, which is as far as I got - if there are other fish I feel as though they should maybe come in sooner), but what's there is good. The controls seem like the real standout element of this for me: it's got a real underwater feel to it, and I love how the harpoon shoots out fast at first and then starts to drift.

One small change that might improve this is a bit of a delay before you can use space to dismiss the Game Over message. I happened to be hitting that button at the point my guy got eaten (which I figure is pretty likely to happen for most people) so the text was only on screen for an instant.

metadept 2021-04-26 15:17

Graphics are simple but I like them; it's a fun challenge to control the diver and harpoon. Reeling in the harpoon made me wish there were more things in the level to fish for. Good job!

thedarkmagi 2021-04-27 15:09

I like the graphics they're nice and simple but solid! Gameplay is surprisingly fun given it's simplisty! Great job for 48hrs.

kfischer-okarin 2021-04-28 09:54

@damonwakes Thank you so much for your detailed feedback. I'm glad to see that you liked the harpoon physics and controls (one of the points I spent quite a bit time on).

It's way too easy and I wanted to add more enemy types - the current one does not really do more than be a background nuisance even at lower depths.

Thanks for the advice with the game over screen. I will add that later.

@metadept @thedarkmagi Thank you!

emanon 2021-04-29 06:31

I managed to beat the game by just sitting a little bit off the left side of the screen and letting go of the controls (seems like basically everything spawns moving leftward so they conveniently move out of your way).

Liked the graphics / general ambiance of the game, and I liked the harpoon mechanic, but the game itself could benefit from a little bit more complexity I think.

heidelbert 2021-04-29 07:23

Great little game! I loved the harpoon even if it seems a bit off but I managed to get quite deep. And although the graphics are rather simple they fit really nicely. Good job!

neowise06 2021-04-29 08:03

Great game, love the harpoon, the graphics were good, i enjoyed playing it

lorwon 2021-04-29 08:09

There is a little lack of mechanics but the game is still fun. The harpoon mechanic is good even if the hit box with the fishes seems a little bit buggy. Good job overall.

pavel-smejkal 2021-04-29 08:12

Nice game, however, I also discovered very soon that there is a sweet spot about 1/3 from the left border where nothing collides with you so I've stayed there (to confirm my suspicion) and reached to bottom. At the higher levels I liked that you need to plan your approach because the swim speed is pretty slow and that the harpoon is more like a safety measure rather than a weapon to annihilate all fish in the game :D

Anyway, good job!

curryrice 2021-04-29 08:14

Very fun entry! The length of the game felt very right, and the harpoon mechanic is satisfying. Would have loved to see a little more diversity in the marine creatures, but hey, the content is already very good, and its a compo game! Very good job

chipperswitch 2021-04-29 08:17

Maybe increase the hitbox of the fish, it took me a while to hit one even when the harpoon tip touched.

I like the art style, the diver and fish are super cute!

miej 2021-04-29 08:18

nice simple mechanics. harpoon was a nice addition to the diving concept

divford 2021-04-29 08:23

Elegant in its simplicity. It feels like it belongs on a C64.

Frustratingly hard (mainly because I got caught up in trying to harpoon things), but I kept restarting.

良いゲームでした　:)

linky439 2021-04-29 21:05

Nice small game! The concept is quite simple but effective. I liked the physics of the harpoon!

Like others, I did find a safe spot on the left side of the screen. Overall, a solid entry.

Congrats!

nandelind 2021-05-01 03:30

I like the graphics, simple but fitting. It's cool how realistic the physics feels - including the sluggish-feeling movement!

quetzakol 2021-05-01 11:57

I liked the harpoon physics though I never had to use it. Overall the game is pretty clean, the graphics are cute, but the fact that I could win while not touching any key for the whole 500m made it rather boring to me :( With a bit more challenge it could quickly become much more interesting.

iaandrei 2021-05-01 14:54

Quite a simple but cool game. Lovely work!

duo-afgebeld 2021-05-11 21:04

Nice game. Graphics are simple but effective. Harpoon motion is cool, but killing fish with it seems to be a hard and sluggish experience. How about making it shoot faster? The fish always start swimming to the right, which means you can win by just staying on the left.