baldurs 2025-04-08 08:14
If you turned this into some subnautica horror blend game where you are constantly defending your tether against spooky sea creatures it would go hard
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD57 → Focal Depth
By tosmaster, PQuiskamp, parkuhrmd, A.D.Chaos and LenaF0203
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95 | 4.05 | 30 | |
| Fun | 190 | 3.75 | 30 | |
| Innovation | 122 | 3.87 | 30 | |
| Theme | 18 | 4.44 | 30 | |
| Graphics | 322 | 3.89 | 30 | |
| Audio | 75 | 4.05 | 28 | |
| Mood | 80 | 4.16 | 29 |
If you turned this into some subnautica horror blend game where you are constantly defending your tether against spooky sea creatures it would go hard
Very nice! This is a lot of content done in this short amount of time. Shows how much can be done in a grate team ๐ I Like the idea with the oxygen supply which extends your explorable area!
Really cool game!
I got softlocked near the end because I took the hose out from the farthest beacon and couldn't get it off, so I couldn't continue on another path ^^'
A few things that could improve it: - Changing the font is quick and easy, and can really make a game feel that much more polished - The focus doesn't seem to work that "whale" when the fish is far away, and I couldn't understand how far my reach was exactly to take the pictures. It works perfectly for the closeups tho like the crab - The popup text at the bottom should take the place of the previous one when spawned, otherwise you have to wait between each popup to know if you're successfuly taken the picture or not. It might sound small but it definitely adds up and ends up taking quite a chunk of the play time.
Great visuals and idea though :) the oxygen beacons and how you have to wait a little bit before continuing works really well with the fish-watching gameplay I really liked it
Gorgeous game and love the throw-back to your other Ludum Dare game :)
"Deep amnesiac" made me laugh.
Very atmospheric, both the art and the music, tho not sure what the banging sound is? Also, when I was up close to a school of fish and had the focus adjusted to be clear, it still said I need to adjust the focus, not sure if that was intentional. Otherwise I think this is a very quality entry and it does set a really good atmosphere, liked the mechanic where you need to extend the tether by supplying oxigen to the red post things
This was fun, and I love the underwater vibe. I think the beacon tether was a nice touch, since it added a bit of challenge but also helped me decide where to go next. It was so exciting when I saw the first shark!!
I had quite a baffling bug where my character would continuously turn to the right, which meant I had to keep fighting to keep my camera still and not spin clockwise the whole time. It was better after I lowered sensitivity and sometimes I could stop the spinning by moving my mouse left and right a few times, but still strange!
Nonetheless it was an enjoyable game to play, I love the combination of the bright and varied sea life and the tension of travelling further and further away from safety. The photo camera was a nice way to give the player a reason to explore while progressing through the game too.
I would've loved to get some feedback from the camera while you're adjusting focus to know when you've got it right-- sometimes it felt like you had to take a photo before you could tell whether it was properly focused or not.
Overall loved your entry, great work to the whole team ^^
Had a great time exploring the ocean floor, it went way deeper than I expected. And the ending? Just fantastic! Also the fact that you incorporated the theme twice is brilliant! My favorite creature :arrow_right: :crab:
@leophyte Thanks for the in-depth (ha) suggestions! I'm sorry for the soft lock, we will test it again and push a fix. The other suggestions are all good points. I will have to check the camera focus code again if anything is wrong. The popups should be an easy fix :)
@bakuzen Thank you for the kind words! Maybe there was a problem with a game controller that was plugged in? I don't think we tested for that. I'll look into it.
very atmospheric
Very nice game! I loved the art style and the music. I saw a shark :D
I like the idea, art and music, very nicely done. Kudos!
I really like that you have to think about the oxygen hose at the same time as taking the pictures. Really sets the mood of being in the place and doing work. The mood is great, and it feels mysterious and interesting to explore and look for fish. Really like the ending too. Great job!
I frequently found myself going "ooh, new fish!" and trotting off in that direction. Great feeling, great vibe. Thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The art is wonderful. The fishes are recognizable and cute, the colors vibrant, and the helmet around the field of view is such a nice touch.
I struggled getting the focus right and sometimes couldn't figure out why it wasn't correct when the fish seemed good to me (probably too far away?). Some indication when it's right would've helped me.
I was also wondering: is there ever a downside to just immediately taking the oxygen hose with out? You don't have to connect it right away and you can still use the camera. Maybe there is something I was missing about that interaction. It felt like the picking up of the oxygen hose was an unnecessary extra step, because you should just always do it right away. It did feel more grounding that I had to remember to do it.
Wonderful entry.
oh damn what an ending! this is my favourite submission so far. exploration and mood were top tier
would be nice to get more feedback on taking pictures e.g. too far away or already captured and reconfigure the controls (e.g. I kept trying to leave the camera mode with esc)
Awesome entry, love it! The atmosphere and how the sound creates a strange feeling & helps you find the next step is a great detail. I found myself taking a moment between oxygen connections just to take pictures and appreciate.
The depth of field can be a bit tricky to manage, and it's not always clear why the focus isn't in the right spot, but the mechanic itself is awesome. The menu with the collected species is also a great touch, I love the art in it.
Overall, it felt like this could be a full game, and it's well-polished. Great work!
Nice entry ! Enjoyed discovering the map you created, the game lets you take the time to enjoy the scene. A complexe project for that short of a time. GG !
I loved how you used sounds to create an atmosphere of being on the ocean floor. Exploring the depths is fun and the ending is perfect! The only thing I didn't find enjoyable was adjusting the focus, I couldn't figure out in which direction I should adjust it so just did it randomly.
Still, a great game! Congratulations on finishing it and adding so much content!
Wow what a game, the pixelated art style fits well with the concept and the music is sooo Subnautica especially those bell-like instruments doing arpegios, it reminded me a lot of underwater exploration in Subnautica and that since of "what's behind that corner over there". I enjoyed this one a lot.
Also I totally thought I was going to get jumpscared in the end lol, thanks for not giving me a heart attack I guess.
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Solid jam game! The sound design is excellent.
I did feel like it was missing some kind of global objective โ something on-screen to track your progress, like โ2/10 photos takenโ or anything along those lines.
The camera mechanic and your take on the theme as *depth of field* was a really cool twist, though!
That's awesome! I enjoyed cataloguing all the different species, chilled and then tension suddenly started to build up and the ending turned out to be surprising :D Environment is beutiful and carrying that qxygen hose around kept me busy enough. Amazing work for a game jam's scope!
james cameron simulator lol... very nice idea, i enjoyed search for new species... Nice entry !
Very relaxing game! I really enjoyed the atmospheric audio & colorful 3D retro-vibe scenery! Good job! :clap:
Incredible game. The graphics and audio were great and the gameplay was very interesting and on-theme! The level design was great and it left me wanting to explore other oceans and more species. If I REALLY had to nitpick, I'd just say the walking speed was a little slow for me. Even still, this game is amazing even outside of a Game Jam. Great work!
This is really cool! I like the world, and the colours. I also really love the idea of taking pictures and discovering wildlife! I did have a bit of a problem with the movement being too sensitive so it was HARD to get good pictures, but since I'm a pro photographer, I managed!
This is one of my favourite entries, I love the overall vibes and finding all the fish! At first I was worried it would be spooky like subnautica, which could be a vibe but I like the chill! Well done!