FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD56 → Light Cave

Light Cave

By glaciereclipse

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall1663.5221
Fun1663.3621
Innovation663.8121
Theme2223.3022
Graphics1233.7022
Mood2133.1620

Comments

schsam 2024-10-07 03:16

Fun game! I like how many levels there were and how simple but effective the ruleset was. If you were going to continue working on it, maybe one could make the motion smoother, but overall really liked it!

namnam 2024-10-08 13:03

I like the gameplay, a bit too hard from the begining, maybe the creatures that slow you down would have been nicer to start ^^ Not sure why the creature had to desapear once used, one mistake and you can not retry :/ I had a bug at one point and then the link with the creatures was lost even after dying.

glaciereclipse 2024-10-09 00:25

@schsam Thanks! Yes the movement was reworked and rushed towards the end of the jam, so that was the result of it haha. @namnam Thank you! Yes I've noticed this bug post release, I've pushed a new version now that fixes it. Also yes I should've added a restart button, maybe next version :)

damdoshi 2024-10-12 15:34

I think it does not work well on my computer. The action button makes my character teleporting from a side of the spot to the other side before coming back and starting again so fast it is hard to go anywhere x')

zyrconium 2024-10-12 15:38

This is a really neat idea, and you do a great job of introducing the various mechanics. The level design is a little unforgiving for my taste, it's very precise and every mistake is a restart.

Also, the artistic style comes together really well with the constrasting light and dark elements.

damdoshi 2024-10-12 15:45

Well, I have reached the end "Mario Warp Zone style", using the behaviour the game has on my computer. I'll rate graphics and theme - cause I have not really seen other side of the game as you should have certainly designed it.

henk 2024-10-12 16:24

This was just too hard for me; I got to the level with the vertically moving firefly before I had to give up. IMO some of those jumps require waaay too much precision.

Graphically, I thought it was nice, and the movement felt solid. I would have liked to hear some sound or music, though.

glaciereclipse 2024-10-12 16:38

@damdoshi Damn that sucks :( Do you have any additional info to share? Is it a 144hz monitor or higher, what browser? So weird that it happens.

@zyrconium @henk Yes sorry about the difficulty haha As I designed the levels some levels were too easy for me after hours of playing with the mechanic so I thought I should make them way more difficult, lesson on my part to go easier on jam games. Thank you for the feedback!

damdoshi 2024-10-12 17:15

I'm using Chrome on Ubuntu Mate, on a Thinkpad T laptop - I know nothing about my screen. Maybe it is a delta time problem.

rufenerd 2024-10-12 22:39

Oof so hard! I'm bad at these kinds of games but might have helped to know what the critters did, or at least a bit more discoverable. That said, I had fun! I kept playing even though I was dying over and over.

dabuliaoyidianer 2024-10-13 07:13

I love the gameplay,but it is hard when the game begin.

atmospherium 2024-10-14 01:47

Great job here. Definitely hit a skill blocker for me, but enjoyed the parts I was about to get to. The mechanics are nice and simple in concept, but you've built some great variations that let complexity (and difficulty) feel organic and easy to understand (even if I couldn't quite execute). The art is clean and clear, definitely focused on making the puzzle solving clear, but with great lighting and particle flourishes along the way to make it feel polished.

thomas-gelman 2024-10-14 05:54

This game has some interesting ideas in it! The core mechanic reminds me very much of specter knight from shovel knight's ability to home in on lanterns, and the mechanics are introduced in interesting and clever ways. However, I think that especially the earlier level designs start off too difficult, and demand a bit too much precision from the player. I think giving them more space to use the mechanics and get familiar with them would encourage them to stick with the harder levels as they come in later. I also think that the controls could be a little better, mainly in that space is very commonly used for jumping in other games. This isn't a huge issue, but something I thought I'd note.

All of this said: this is an impressive amount of level design and mechanics for a compo entry! The aesthetics are pleasing, and I enjoy the level resetting effect of everything smoothly moving back into place rather than the standard screen-wipe we see in other games. Some music, even royalty-free (if that's allowed for compo) would help this entry, but nonetheless this game still sets a good mood.

Nice work, would love to see this polished up some day!

thesmellofoxygen 2024-10-14 22:57

Neat, clean yet pretty, and simple yet difficult. I hit a skill wall on the second "stasis light motes" that slow your fall, but that's a me problem with platformers. Kept introducing cool new twists. A little atmospheric music would have really been the cherry on top.

dustin-zhang 2024-10-17 13:29

This is a super interesting concept! I do agree with some of the earlier comments that the first couple levels could be made a bit easier.

f1krazy 2024-10-18 13:14

I agree with the previous comments, the game is too unforgiving. I still hadn't gotten the hang of how to use the orange critters when the game threw this at me:

ld56-1.png

...and while I did sort of get the hang of it, I still found myself throwing my hands in the air and giving up because I haven't the slightest idea how you're supposed to do it. No matter what angle I approach the first orange critter from, I either yeet myself into the ceiling spikes or fall short of the second critter, every single time.

I can see what you're trying to do here, and it would be a very enjoyable game if it all came together, but I'm afraid it's just not clicking for me at present.

timhugh 2024-10-18 16:57

Similar feelings to others, I dig the concept and overall think the execution is really great, but the ramp up is a little steep in terms of figuring out the feel and mechanics before hitting more challenging puzzles. Solid effort and with a little extra polish I would have no complaints!

glaciereclipse 2024-10-19 13:01

@atmospherium @thomas-gelman @thesmellofoxygen @dustin-zhang @f1krazy @timhugh Thank you all for the valuable feedback! Yes I agree with all of you about the difficulty, I should've focused more on the level design and introduced the mechanics a bit slower and easier but I was worried that if I make it too easy it would not be interesting, it's always my struggle with making these puzzle platformers, how to balance the level design to make it not feel too easy and not too hard. I wish I could've added music but I just ran out of time later on :( I appreciate all the constructive feedback, thank you very much!