MikeMikeMakes

Escape Into the Darkness by Linky439 2025-04-10T21:02:57Z

I found the game super challenging in Firefox, it went too fast, but when I switched to Safari the speed was just right and I had fun getting to the end. Perhaps a bug that movement is faster in Firefox?

The field of vision dimming worked very well with the sound. It felt claustrophobic and hunted. Great choice. I also enjoyed the fizzy sound of the light coming back and became a bit pavloved to that sound.

The setting works well with the theme and I like that it gives a bit of an uncomfortable feeling: all that trash and that net is coming from us, but now we're the ones being caught by it.

The difficulty level in Safari could be higher. It only took me two tries to make it to the end. Additionally, it might be fun if the field of vision shrinks more slowly (and even farther). Make it feel yet more creepy.

That said, this is a jam game and I understand there simply isn't time for such finetuning. I had fun with what was made :)

Gleaming Depths by Kurakurture 2025-04-11T22:12:06Z

This was lovely to play. The art is simply amazing. Polished, readable, and with a distinctive charm.

The sound design is also great. The sound effects for each action are satisfying and appropriate to the action.

I also enjoyed the gameplay concept. I've not seen fishing done in this way before.

I have only two minor gripes: 1) I found myself getting annoyed having to load the dice manually each time (drag mouse from fish to the various dice, back to fish. Shoot, repeat). Perhaps there could be a button to load. Or there could be an upgrade of some sort that helps you load automatically. 2) I wished there was some way to improve my odds beyond farming dice, especially when tackling the larger fish. Shooting at the biggest fish became tedious rather than enjoyable, because of how much farming it took to get enough powerful dice. Perhaps some way to upgrade the harpoon (have more dice on it) or a way to increase the odds of each dice (loaded dice?) could make the later game more enjoyable.

All in all, very polished. I enjoyed it a lot.

The Cleaner of the depth by Egor Iv 2025-04-15T19:32:20Z

Agreeing with everyone here: the art is simply stunning.

The sound design is also great, though I'd love it even more if there was some sound effect for the teeth cleaning (maybe there is? But I couldn't pick it out). It would make me even more immersed.

I enjoyed the way the camera moved and rotated as I walked around. It was immersive (somewhat following the path I was walking) and unsettling (as if my position, literally and figuratively, was unstable. Very appropriate). I did occasionally have the camera almost move the bird out of screen when nearing the left edge. That was a bit too unsettling ;)

The way the game simply resets to the start screen when you get eaten was brilliant. It reinforced the feeling that I (the bird) was entirely insignificant to this giant reptile, so I better be careful.

I'll echo @jimmothysanchez, it would be nice to have some kind of end game condition. An acknowledgement some sort that the cleaning is done.

Super lovely game. I'm impressed that it's so polished in so little time.

Party Crasher by gamebuilder 2025-04-11T21:53:48Z

I think I made it to the end? Where there is no further "right" to go (past the red monster). This experience was baffling, but also intriguing. I played it several times to interact with everything and see where it ended.

I love the monster designs. They look mystical and bizar. I would love to be able to interact with them more. The music works well with their strange appearance. Gives the game an ominous, occult vibe.

Collecting the eye from the painting in the beginning was very neat, though it took me a few tries to realize what it does (lights up the dark!).

I don't mind that I didn't understand what was going on. I feel like the artwork works with that kind of strange, difficult to grasp game. I do wish there'd be more gameplay, some way to gain information from the game by doing things/interacting with stuff. Give me a sense that I'm unraveling the mystery, even if I might never fully understand it. More things like the painting with the eye, maybe a different way to interact with the monsters.

Mr. Money's Phenomenally Soggy Water Removal Romp by Rhoka 2025-04-15T20:00:58Z

Incredible work for a jam game. So many different mechanics all working in harmony.

Excellent use of humor and foreshadowing. All in all, a fun take on incremental games.

A small gripe with the gameplay (as has been pointed out already) is that the manual moving of water becomes pointless towards the end. Maybe there is more profit to be gained there by giving the manual aspect some twist.

Additionally, I'd personally enjoy it if the item quests were more than just fetch quests. They're funny and they encouraged me to explore, but that exploration didn't lead me anywhere new. I'd enjoy them more if they felt like more than an arbitrary obstacle towards the next upgrade.

That said, having those obstacles towards the next upgrade do work in a mechanical sense; it forced me to do more than collect water and it made the water collection feel less tedious as a result. I just feel there's a greater potential in these quests somewhere.

Despite my two gripes, I enjoyed this game a lot.

Holy Moly! by Thomas_Bringer 2025-04-10T20:06:09Z

I'll echo all the praise so far: great game! The movement is smooth and sending mole fellow underground is satisfying. Hitting the farmers (and avoiding bullets) could use some work, but it didn't dampen my enjoyment too much.

Also, a great opening tutorial. Clean and effective way to tell players everything they need to know. Kudos.

And I love the title :D

I did find myself wanting more variety in the game play once I got past the first few farmers, but that's totally acceptable for a jam game.

Home Deep Home by YogurtTheHorse 2025-04-09T20:50:52Z

The little guys are too frigging cute and I love the environmental story telling.

For me, it feels the game can use a bit more balance. It seems you need a lot more of the collector jar things than the rest. Also, it would be nice if you can't place objects somewhere they can't be used (I put a mining rig at the end of a tunnel, but it seems to do nothing there).

Controlling the little guys was frustrating, but that also fits their personality. I would personally enjoy a bit more control over them. I didn't like the loop of scrolling around, carefully clicking on a dude, then clicking on a location, and then realising that my dude is not listening and I have to do it again. Maybe making them easier to select would help with this frustration? Not sure. It all depends on how you want the interaction with the little dudes to feel.

I did enjoy that there wasn't perfect control. It made the dudes feel more alive and added to the whimsical feel of the game.

I guessed the dancing places are to keep your guys chilling in a spot you want them to be in/near? If so, that's a nice touch. It works mechanically and with the vibe of the game. Also, it was fun to see them dance AND not have them wander off. Win-win.

Vanity Check by NoNumbersGames 2025-04-09T19:57:40Z

I really enjoyed the character art. They're memorable and, along with the music, make the game stick in my memory.

The music was a nice touch. The kisses and farts and piano themes add humor and personality.

The fighting was rather rough for me. It swung back and forth between being too easy and too difficult. Also, one time a vanity simply vanished when I went out of range and didn't come back. Was that supposed to happen?

I finally decided I'd just not fight the vanities... Only for them to get me at the end (which I deserved).

While I like the idea of exploring the depths of my mind like a literal web/maze, on my second playthrough I found myself getting annoyed with being lost. The layout isn't too difficult, but once rooms are cleared there are no markers to remind me where I've been. Perhaps for a future iteration, some room details could help? (Depends on the vibe you're aiming for, though. If you want players to feel confused and lost, ignore me ;) )

The writing was bare bones, yet still managed to be funny.

This game has character. I'm glad I got to play it.

Focal Depth by parkuhrmd 2025-04-10T21:23:57Z

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.

Squirrel swirl by rucksack 2025-04-10T19:47:54Z

Pretty adictive. Seeing the squirrel horde growing and running around was so satisfying. This has so far been the game I've played the longest!

I did find myself getting annoyed that I couldn't branch the path. It adds a puzzle element, which had it's own kind of enjoyment, and it forced me to go deeper (appropriate for the theme). I understand the choice. I do wonder if there's a way to mitigate the annoyance, while still maintaining that puzzling/go deeper element. Maybe add an option for branching paths, but they're more expensive? Or they are an upgrade the player works towards (which would make the branches feel super satisfying)? Just spitballing, only you know what the game should look, feel, and play like ;)

It'd also be cool if there was some sign on the ducks to show the effects of the towers. Now, I upgraded the towers haphazardly because I couldn't gauge what they were doing. It would be fun to see the effect of each tower and it could help players understand what their towers are doing (and what effect they maybe are missing).

Lock Smith by Flying Butter Studio 2025-04-09T20:28:44Z

Oof, that timed level made me feel all kinds of ways. Did NOT enjoy it, but in a way that was likely intentional.

Unfortunately, I got stuck on the puzzle after that (maybe my own stupidity? Maybe a bug?) and so didn't get to see the end of the game.

Love the title. Works in many ways.

Because of the timed level (and having kids myself), I wouldn't play a more polished version of this (knowing that it's coming would just make it worse), but I would recommend you make a more polished version; this game has legs. The narrative and the game play reinforce each other and that's a rare thing for a game to do. Great job.

Excapade by Ch48 2025-04-10T20:22:12Z

Nice art. I especially liked the design of the enemies, they added a lot of character to the game and made me curious about the lore.

Breaking the blocks feels nice and hoovering up coins was fun. Getting to upgrade your tool and then speeding through things felt wonderful.

I did wonder: is there any point in engaging the enemies or is it always better to run?

And in one level I couldn't find the shop. Is there always a shop and my dumbass just missed it, or is there sometimes no shop? If the latter, it might be nice to telegraph that to players. I enjoyed finding the shops, it made me explore the level fully rather than blasting towards the exit. Also, the shop felt like a relief (chance to heal and get stronger). It could add some nice tension if I know in advance there's no shop in a level. And it would change my approach to the leve, which you could design for.

There's a lot of potential for adding gameplay depth to this. I enjoyed the proof of concept. Good luck building on it!

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-09T20:00:41Z

@sam-gorman Thanks for the kind words!

We're intending to continue the game, at least for our own enjoyment. I really want to create the level 2 design that we had to leave on the cutting room floor for this jam.

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-09T20:55:50Z

@duckmaniac Thank you for the feedback and bug report.

Yeah, the final platform should really be more obvious. We ran out of time and didn't play test it enough. In general, the mechanics of it all should be more clearly telegraphed to players. A wise lesson for the future.

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-09T20:57:26Z

@3Deimos @gustavo-henrique-de-moraes @baturinsky

The enter key only works when in range of a body. Unfortunately, we did not telegraph this AT ALL (except for a small text pop-up, but that wasn't enough), so likely that's why you couldn't progress. Our bad! Thank you for attempting to play it anyway (:

(Also, there might just be a bug. We're looking into it)

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-09T20:59:23Z

@heiden-bzr You are correct that the mechanics weren't explored enough. You probably got plenty far ;)

We had plans for deepening the ways in which you can use the body switching, but we ran out of time. Hopefully, we can do more cool stuff with it in a future version of the game.

Thank you for playing!

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-10T18:59:19Z

@Baturinsky

For ENTER to work, you have to be within range of the next body. The location in your screenshot is not within range. I realise with your feedback (and that of others) we need to explain this concept more clearly (and probably also show it visually through some kind of UI).

To get access to the body on top of that island, you have to activate a set of stairs. This you do by getting across the wall in the middle. For future versions of the game, we'll make these elements clearer.

Thank you for giving the game a try!

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-11T22:18:07Z

@gquibao Thank you for attempting it! You got pretty far :)

For future editions, we'll make next steps more clear and/or add a tutorial at the start so players are more equiped to understand the game's logic.

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-15T19:12:05Z

@papu-kweh What a shame it didn't work. Thanks for providing the details and trying the game in a few different ways.

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-15T19:14:30Z

@floppynub Thanks for the kind words! And yeah, making the puzzles was a challenge. Coming up with them is one struggle and then actually building a level that works the way you envisioned is a whole 'nother thing.

That's where gamejams are great. They forced us to make a thing and throw it out there. Otherwise, we'd still be tweaking stuff and we'd have no idea if the core concept even works ;)

Towards the Light by MikeMikeMakes 2025-04-15T19:15:51Z

@caffeinetrip Thank you!

We're excited to continue this. All the feedback has been both helpful and encouraging.

We'll post any future updates on ldjam.com.

Game and Physics: Water Cat by MoD_Wiz 2025-04-10T19:11:42Z

Love the animation on the cat. Almost makes me want to bounce him for the heck of it ;)

Great mechanic, though towards the end the levels became a bit repetitive. That might also be a result of this being a jam game; it's hard to add complexity in 72hrs. Would be fun to explore this puzzle concept further, with some extra twists on the core idea.

Aside from the lack of diversity in the puzzle solutions, this feels polished. Great work in so little time.