FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD50 → Outrun the Darkness

Outrun the Darkness

By flyingkaida

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall9793.3035
Fun8413.2435
Innovation10072.9535
Theme3563.9335
Mood4813.6835

Comments

zaza 2022-04-04 19:50

The "darkness" is terrifying! I feel that the difficulty ramps up too much too soon, but overall I enjoyed the game and specially the mood

2022-04-04 19:57

Love it! Could see this becoming a long-term project, maybe roguelike platformer

tengusheath 2022-04-04 21:07

The random generation makes the game pretty hard. I kept dying from falling down into nothing.

flyingkaida 2022-04-04 21:14

@zaza Thanks for the input! I'll remember that as I rework it after the jam! It is procedurally generated so maybe you just got a REALLY hard run the first time too?

frozenfire92 2022-04-05 01:32

Great jam entry! The theme worked well with this game, and it was pretty fun to sprint/run while launching off platforms. I made it 210 blocks as my best.

Feedback: - I wish the run was a toggle instead of hold - Its fun to run/sprint in the air, but it often leads to running out of energy too quickly. Maybe batteries in the air? - It can be a bit disorienting to start the run/sprint in the air

deylinia 2022-04-06 19:46

Really cool game! I couldn't get past 100 blocks it was tough! I like that the levels change even when I lost.

I also really liked the build up sound effect as the darkness came in, but it did get WAY too loud.

I did notice you can sprint in the air, I'm not sure if that was intended or not.

flyingkaida 2022-04-06 20:31

The sprinting in the air became a "feature" after I had running cranked up for testing chunk generation and launched myself with a ramp and it was so fun I put sprint in JUST for that. So yeah it was "intended" after finding it. And it is a biiiit louder than I was hoping it was. Something I will take into consideration as I tinker with it in the future. Thank you so much for trying the game!

vitor-milioni 2022-04-06 21:41

I really liked it, it's very cool that it's a more maze-y and pathfinding infinite scroller, and still mantains the genre's simplicity, the running consuming flashlight power was a great touch, and the pixel art is simple but very well made and fits just great. Amazing entry! out of the infinite runners i played it's one of my favorite!

kepsert 2022-04-07 00:21

Great little submission! Very high on fun, will definitely have to play more of this! I love the feeling of sprint-jumping or running up slopes while sprinting. I'm not sure if it's intended, but I absolutely love it!

I'm not sure if sometimes it was requirement to fall down in order to spawn on top of the platforms, but it if was hats off to you! I loved how it pushes you to actually reach the inevitable, losing energy when you fall!

sarah 2022-04-07 02:12

I like the darkening effect as your flashlight goes out.

flyingkaida 2022-04-07 13:14

@kepsert Thank you!!! The sprint jumping was something I found when I ramped up the speed to test the chunk generations and sent myself flying on accident. After that I knew I needed to make a faster speed after turning down the run speed to keep that feel. Wasn't originally intended but darn it if I wouldn't keep that in there somewhere. Makes it WAY funner! . And yes, the popping back to the top was intended. I could have spent time coding it so that you respawned on the last block you touched. But I also knew RNG may not be your friend and would get stuck. So that was always part of my plan. Falling isn't your enemy, the darkness is. ~~but it does eat your energy a little.~~ Thank you for playing!

@sarah THANK YOU! I originally wanted a cute game but as I started coding, the more moody spoopiness just kept coming up until I went with it. The fading out and the music becoming so all consuming just felt so right for this. I SO can't wait for the next one! Hanging with all of you while we all coded was wonderful, and helpful rubberducking was GREATLY appreciated! Now to polish my skills for the next jam! \o/

essence 2022-04-07 13:36

Very cute jam entry! Love the soundtrack, love the aesthetic. Id say would have loved to explore and play the levels out a bit more as the darkness engulfs you surprisingly quick. But overall love it!

amkingtrp 2022-04-07 14:32

very interesting concept that has potential for expansion. Really liked the sort of "mad dash" feel of it but would have preferred a the torch power drain to be a bit more forgiving so you got a bit more time, even if you miss the batteries.

flyingkaida 2022-04-07 15:00

@amkingtrp Thank you! I was thinking the same actually. My friends and I have been talking about potential additions to it. From more time, to shadow enemies you use your flashlight to fight, different 'zones' like desert and dungeon, and npcs and towns to go to. I really look forward to continue tinkering on this after this jam! It was a very rewarding experience. Thank you for your input!

jaspior 2022-04-07 15:47

I didn't understood what w and s do in the gameplay. Anyway, nice game!

pixelydian 2022-04-08 02:44

Very nice! Your character sprite is adorable :). And her little sound effects when she jumps. Controls feel good and I appreciated being able to use a controller. Although I couldn't figure out which button was the run button? So I held shift with my pinky while I used the control lol. Anyway good atmosphere with the lighting and the music. Good job!

makerart 2022-04-09 08:35

Great! this game remind me The Legend of Kage (1984 Taito). You have to add more trees and jumping all over the tops of em.

eggsscrambled 2022-04-09 18:54

Nice! If I had to offer any suggestions Id consider making the player run by default instead of having to hold down shift.

jordantanner 2022-04-10 03:11

Fantastic use of the theme -- using brightness and the intensity of the music to communicate with the player was a very cool idea. The pixel art was also extremely lovely! Well done, super solid entry!!

hatmajaster 2022-04-10 08:45

Nice effects and procedural generation! Managed to do 245. Don't know if its a bug, but I managed to jump in the air after dashing.

flyingkaida 2022-04-10 12:03

LoL. Originally half way through making the game I found that out and it WAS a bug then. I had the speed cranked all the way up to test all the generation. Launched myself, and had to make sure that after I lowered the speed again that I made a third speed JUST to launch yourself. It was too fun. So yes it's the whole, "A feature not a bug" thing XD

applestreet-games 2022-04-10 15:12

Sound effects make the darkness approaching quite anxiety-inducing. High score was 341 after a few runs.

Thank you for sharing!

charred-axolotl 2022-04-10 17:18

I thought this was really cool! The darkness set the tone really well and it was surprisingly atmospheric as it approached. My only trouble was with the separate controls for sprinting and running. My hands really didn't like the layout of having one finger on shift, one on ctrl, and one on space. Maybe a double-tap could have also induced sprinting, or just giving us the option to use other keys like Z and X.

Overall, though, this was really neat! I'm really excited to see what you produce in the future.

euler-moises 2022-04-11 11:26

Congratulations on playing the game yourself. I hope one day to have that courage. I think you managed to accomplish the objective well.

Attention, because at times the jump and the directional do not work together.

Congratulations!

flyingkaida 2022-04-11 11:38

The jump and the directional do not work together? In which ways? I'm planning on working on this more and that might help XD

arachnid56 2022-04-11 18:08

Hey, great concept! the increasing darkness and sound really increased the tension. Good job :)

hilkojj 2022-04-11 18:17

Nice to hear you'll be working more on this. I liked it so far. The intense sound effect as the end nears really adds to the immersion! :)

xparker 2022-04-11 19:12

Awesome and very solid entry. has the old mario feel to it.

ruud-cremers 2022-04-13 15:19

Nice work, especially for one person. Cute sprites, and I can appreciate the effort that went into the background as well. I wish the runs lasted a bit longer though, I usually feel like I'm doing pretty well but just get no batteries to spawn.

bougiebirdie 2022-04-14 00:36

Oh man, that atmosphere when you run out of time is going to give me nightmares! :cold_sweat:

Great job! The coyote jumping is very forgiving, and I needed all the help I could get