Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → NTMalichi
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 57 | Depths | Pogo Dwarf | compo | 146 | 3.46 | 3.38 | 3.44 | 3.34 | 3.46 | 3.21 | 3.06 |
Loved the atmosphere and I think that if the ocean had more versatility it could have been awesome :) I also found that in most cases using the mouse to detect enemies was much better than using a sonar, maybe remove the mouse light and replace it with a different indicator so the sonar would play a much more important role?
Took me some time to understand why am I sinking lol :P but once I got it it became a really nice puzzle game. The level with the crossy-road like whirlpools defeated me. Really nice entry!
I love it
Perfect 5/5 on every category for me, easily one of if not the best game I've played here. I was about to say the game became stale when the mission was to count to a million, but you managed to completely surprise me a few moments later.
Amazing game
I'm ashamed to admit level 2 defeated me :O Loved the concept!
Very nice! I think it would have been perfect if the rope was a little bit more responsive
You made this in 48 hours?!?!?! WOW this was awesome, such a cool concept too. I'm truly amazed by this entry. On level 4 for some reason my inputs broke, but it worked again after reloading the level.
Cute little game, I think the swimming speed should be increased (or at least upgradable - did I miss it somehow?) Not sure if it's intended but mouse wheel also counts as mouse clicks here so it makes the gun a laser beam basically XD
Fun game :) In my opinion the character moves a little too fast for the camera zoom. It makes it hard to react to the next obstacle, making the game more about memorizing the layout of level. Nevertheless it was a fun experience
Not me dying on 685 while trying to touch the pole :cry: :cry: Loved the game! glad to be your 20th review :)
really cute game and really cute artstyle (both graphics and audio). Love it
I love the artstyle and animations :) On level 4 I got a bug that my submarine spawned inside a wall so I couldn't move, on a second run of the game it didn't happen
It was a fun little game, good job :)
Hollow knight vibes XD
It was a really cool experience, I wish it was longer though. I love the art and the animations, it all feels so smooth and really well made! There's seems the be a bug where the walls / fences are not lined up correctly in some cases, in 2 out of my 3 runs it basically soft-locked the game as I couldn't get to the last farmer and kill him. Besides that I loved it
The "No Man's Sky" we needed ;)
Nailed the atmoshpere! Graphics are great and lights are on point. Really nice game :)
That's a really cool concept and the graphics are beautiful!
Love it
I only managed to get 4 out of the 9 possible endings, but nevertheless I loved the concept! The tension building in the very last few seconds is on point.
I also failed at the bucket level :laughing: But that's a really really innovative game! The physics are great, the commentary is funny and overall I liked it very much!
I wish there was more control over the character, I felt like I can't really control the horizontal movement very well (maybe it's just me though). I think that either slowing down the fall (some sort of slow motion) or somehow being able to control the jumping force (and not just falling) could make the game much deeper (hehe deeper). Slow motion could maybe make it more trick-oriented, and controlling the jump is more like those games where you have to control every limb separately.
Everything about this game is just absolutely beautiful. Sound and art design are crazy good. Amazing entry!
Atmosphere is done really really well. puzzles are nicely done, great job!
Thats so cool! love it
Cute little game! I think it is not punishing enough - I felt like I could stay in the red for way too long / take too many hits before dying. Like the only reason I did die eventually is by intentionally going into the red and checking out if I'm invincible or not
Stunning game, I love the art and the sound design. I love the little details - main character is called flint and it creates small sparks when jumping - BRILLIANT. A great game :)
That's awesome! love the art and the music, I was nowhere near succeeding XD lost all 8 pizza slices 5 seconds into the game lol. Loved it
That is such a cute game, the controls are unique and I love the delicate balance of each character being simple enough so it can be played as 1 person, and on the other hand each character a crucial position so it can be played together with a friend. Great game!
@ghettobastler @osh-studio That's an interesting idea, love it! (spoiler - further into the cave there's actually a special stone that makes your jumps much higher)
And regarding the stairs @ghettobastler @aleksey-salion, the trick is to fully compress the pogo and just barely tilt the dwarf ;)
Thank you all for the feedback!
@aleksey-salion @placeholders After further investigation it seems like in some cases the physics just don't work properly and that's probably what's causing the jump to not be high enough :( Sorry about that. May I know what OS / browser you are using? I'm also adding Windows and Mac builds to download
@gettingrekt Getting to the purple rocks in itself is an incredible achievement!
@aleksey-salion @placeholders @msd There was in fact a bug causing the physics to be inconsistent - making the "Impossible" jump actually Impossible.. I've uploaded a fix to that issue hopefully it will resolve the issue as well, I would appreciate if you could give the game another round <3
@immortalfox Seems like youv’e been blessed by the red stone gods (AKA my lack of programming skills). Seriously though, thats the best compliment I could have asked for, thank you!
@ghettobastler Thank you for giving it another go! I appreciate it so much :)
@leparlon yeah I totally get it, currently the precision is by timing both the jump and the rotation correctly, but I also think that with better controls I can set harder jumps, so better controls are high on my Todo list post-jam! I appreciate the feedback
@andrewkennedy Thank you! Yeah I agree the controls need a revamp and I totally intend on continuing working on this game :)
Also - Getting there is really impressive, congrats! LMK if you want a spoiler on how to make it past this jump ;)
Thanks @aleksey-salion , I believe I managed to fix the issue causing it if you want to give it another go :)
@rustywolf @aleksey-salion @javasaurus @ollulf @anstabo @haokai-xu-1999 @subsolar @chocolatedoodads @pigeon-dp I’m seriously so humbled by all this reaction! Thank you all so, so much!
@ollulf I'll check into that!
@enad96 IMG_4658.gif
@bossusuprem I actually have not heard about Pogostuck before but I definitely gonna give it a go! And that is SUPER impressive you completed the game in 8 MINUTES!! I only managed to complete the game in a single run yesterday and it took me 16 minutes, just WOW.
@mr-mesmer That's actually hilarious XD
@jonathan-vinesar I’d say the double diamond jump is the hardest jump in the game and the one that gives me the most trouble too, good job getting there!
@ugly-robot I LOVE this suggestion, exactly the type of polish this game needs. That’s an advanced tech that is not required but may save a few jumps for casual play and I totally can see it being used by speedrunners for squeezing longer / faster jumps! Amazing, definitely gonna implement it in future releases. Thank you!
@phasmantic it’s not a browser issue, this slope is basically pixel perfect if you want to make it in a single jump, but the intended way is to try and “fight” the slope by continuing jumping when you land, a tech I did not properly introduced at this place so its on me
@mibi88 Hi! Can you please elaborate about the imprecisions you've experienced? Because the game is indeed hard and might be frustrating, but as far as I can tell very precise and deterministic, and if that’s not the case I want to fix it.
@mibi88 Oh, I get it. Yes currently the controls are time based (both tilting and compressing), I will add a feature in future releases to changed the controls from being time based to being position based. (Both angle and compression will be controlled by the mouse position).
And I agree the game IS hard right from the beginning, but it also is really good at making you better at it real fast, you learn new techniques as you go and learn from your mistakes.
Anyways, I appreciate you giving time to play the game and giving feedback:) Thanks!
@leparlon Im sorryyyy it’s not my fault he got lost to a different cinematic dimension, I was just there to record it :(
@python-b5 Thank you for the response! Yes the game is indeed hard right from the beginning but you do figure out consistent setups and tricks as you go. Control remapping and other control options will be introduced in future releases 100%
@camer-the-dragon That’s so awesome you managed to beat the game!! I truly appreciate you taking the time to do it! And yeah I’d say the last section is hard just because of the clipping issues XD guess I’m gonna have to replace Unity’s default physics with one of my own in the future (or at least introduce more safety checks)
@verttixpertti Hi! Can you elaborate where this happens to you? As I said before the game should be pretty deterministic and if thats not the case I want to fix it. The only known major bug right now that I know of is clipping through the floor when falling really fast
@jtap Thank you!
@bossusuprem HOLYYY SUB 3?!?!? Damn That’s actually really close to a perfect run!! When I tried to beat your previous run I aimed for 6 minutes because the triple diamond jump is so hard for me and in my best attempt I got there at 2:20 but you got there faster and beat it 3rd try!!
There’s no way I’m even attempting to beat that XD
GG! You are the PogoKing!
Mind if I share the insanity of a record?
@atsh lolll Thanks! <3
@braeden I get you, I had to close Unity way too many times which really slowed down my work XD
jk, but thank you!
@deadroach I just watched your VODs and I gotta say that: 1. You are really entertaining, definitely gonna follow and join your next streams (if you allow it XD) 2. I fully take it as a compliment that this game is a punishment for you 3. This jump is REALLY hard, but possible, once you get the hang of it it you can do it pretty consistently afterwards, and the fun part is that it’s the beginning of the hard part of the game :P
I’m now working on polishing the game, this also includes more consistent physics and inputs, and better difficulty curve :)
Even though I ruined your short-stream day, I really appreciate you playing my game, Thank you!
@deformhead I also wonder the same thing!
He's a special little fella I guess :laughing:
@papaver Thank you!
Love the graphics and audio, I wanted to experience the game more because the lore had promise, but about 80% of the times I pressed space the character just did not jump :( especially when carrying the other person.
@hinamarina your fix worked! 100% of my jumps went through :) Lovely game! There's a small bug where if you jump and mid-air press D then it shoots and then you can jump again, but I actually enjoyed abusing it XD
Awesome! Love the balance between making money and staying alive
Really nice and cozy game! The dialog sounds were annoying a bit but other than that I enjoyed it!
That was a simple yet really nice game! I agree with @adamg I also kept steering from the perspective of the vehicle so it was a bit frustrating when I missed an oil can because my brain did not function :( Also regarding oil - I understand why it's here but I don't really liked it, it felt more like a way to make the game longer and require stops between attempts instead of a real mechanic e.g. there were some cases where an oil can did not spawn so even though I played well I still lost, which I think defeats the purpose of these type of rougelikes.
Having said that, It's really understandable that balance is not the first priority in a game Jam and it's still a really nice game! Good job!
Really cute concept! Maybe allow holding the mouse button instead of clicking
That's really an impressive game to be made in just 48 hours!! I almost made it out but I think the last RNG was what killed me, is there a check that given the correct choices every round is possible? Nevertheless you really nailed everything here, mood, art, idea - love it
@protzz Hi, I might not be the ideal person to write this since it is also my first Compo, but I took the time before the event to familiarize myself with the rules properly. Look, I truly understand your view and I was team “Just upload it and we’ll forget” (even though that for some people it’s still not enough) BUT what you’ve uploaded is not the source code for the game.
The source should be full, including all art and scene setups you’ve created, not just “the code”. That’s the rules of the Compo and if you’re not able to follow them you should switch to Jam / Extra.
I understand you are pushing for a steam release and that’s the reason you can’t share it fully - I get it, but it’s not really an exception. The sources should be publicly available if you are in the Compo, you can always “start over” in a private code base and keep it to yourself. I think you’ve gained plenty of attention for your game (both here and on itch.io - and I truly am rooting for you!) and your real win will be a successful steam release. But you just can’t ride two horses at the same time.
Regarding the use of AI - there’s a big difference between taking an AI image and polishing it (not Compo viable, at least without opting out of the graphics category) to generating reference images and creating it from scratch by yourself (Compo viable).
I know the criticism might be overwhelming, but I think you need to reflect on what’s best for your game right now - the bad taste it leaves on some people or a chance at a “win” in the compo as is. Hope you take the right course of actions here on.
On a personal note - I liked your game and I would definitely wishlist it on steam.
@protzz You know, I was actually rooting for you. But saying I was just telling you this so I can try and take out a threat - that's offending and rude, you really lost me as a supporter. I really wanted you to understand the situation and fix it (for all I cared, and like I said - I would have been fine with just uploading the source code). If I was all about "winning" here I wouldn't rank high any other game really. Actually in most cases if I had nothing good to say about an entry here I just wouldn't rank it. I think 95% of my feedback was mostly positive up until now. I think you don't understand the spirit of the competition and you should really reflect on yourself.
And yes - source code (including art and scene setup) IS A BIG DEAL. The idea is that you don't "own" what you've made here, that's the rules of the compo and you have to respect that. The reason is so other can use it as inspiration, or even just copy it and use it - and that's completely fine, you signed up for it. Also - when publishing the game, there was a checkmark for "I provided source code for my game", so saying just "forgot" to upload it is either a blatant lie or complete foolery. You said you are taking responsibility for the mistake - how exactly? By just saying you do and nothing else? You can't just decide by what rules to abide and what not.
And also - I think many of the messages here are really polite and pointing out some crucial stuff about your entry (AI usage + no source code) and instead of reading, understanding and acting accordingly, you just strike back and think that everyone here tries to steal your throne. I'm bummed by the way you're acting, that's childish, not respectful and not in the spirit of this jam.
I'm not going to continue discussing it here, I hope you make the right decisions from now on.
Hi @protzz, the curiosity got the better of me and I had to re-read the thread. I hope you are still here.
Look it’s okay to do mistakes, and it’s also okay to own up to them. I think you deleting the game and your profile was the last outcome anyone here wanted. I think there are much simpler solutions and I hope you still read this and decide to bring the game back.
If it eases your mind - I don’t hold any grudge against you, I get that the wave of criticism was overwhelming and that you had to go into a defensive state. You are indeed passionate about the game and I still hope seeing you on steam.
Hi @protzz, I want to try and set things right.
I apologize if I offended you in any way. I should not have intervened since there was already enough criticism going on. I thought maybe as a newcomer too I could try and help you “save” the situation but I might have made things worse.
I really did try to get you to do the two simple things that for me would completely correct all the wrongs and would have satisfied you staying at the Compo: 1. Dropping out of graphics if AI was heavily used - which I’m not going to discuss because it’s a grey area, I do believe you put hard work into the graphics if thats of any comfort. 2. Either submitting full sources or switching to the jam Like I said in my previous messages for all I cared doing these would have been 1000% fine by me.
I felt your response to my message was insulting, I was accused of doing something I didn’t do - I really did try to help and I had good intentions. So I responded accordingly.
A few hours later when I logged back in and saw you took out your entry I was truly saddened. This was never what I aimed for and I believe nobody did. I get why your response to me was offensive - there was a huge wave of criticism going on already and I just joined in. Like I said before, I’m sorry for that - I should have stayed out.
Just so you know - I really liked your entry, I hope you somehow can bring it back. And I hope you have a successful steam release. I’d surely support it.
@protzz I do get it, and in hindsight - maybe I should have not intervened. I'm sorry that this is the experience you've had.
I get that you are passionate about game development, BUT, I think that everyone here shares your passion about game development. And that's the reason that when it looks like (emphasis on the looks) someone is not playing by the rules it's causing anger and uproar.
I think that the main reason people (me included) criticized you, was not your your submission mistakes, it was your lack of cooperation. You didn't want to upload the source code initially because you are going for a steam release. And after some time when you finally accepted that you must, you only uploaded the code itself (which the majority of the community here thinks is not the author's intention - https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/deepdarkfantasies/source-code-compo-rule) Also - the way you talked about the Jam was infuriating. It seemed like it was a shame for you to be in the jam and not in the compo. I think that if you would have just said "I accidently missed it somehow, sorry, uploading now" no one would have cared too much about it (If all files where modified within the right time range of course).
But this + AI usage + files dating back to before the jam (didn't check it myself, just echoing what someone else wrote) + game that is not really in the theme of the event (which is absolutely fine by itself, but another thing that might raise suspicion) + constant promotion + early steam release announcement - It all piled up and looked really suspicious, you MUST understand that. This is how it looked externally, even if it's not what really happened.
I understand that it's painful to experience criticism, especially since it's your first event, but I believe that you should have taken it as a lesson, do what people with more experience in this type of events tell you and learn for next time on how to properly attend the competition. If I was in your shoes, I just would have said "sorry, understood" and switched to the jam. (Or opt out of graphics + share my full source code) Definitely would not have tried to fight it back, because even if you "win" this fight, you still lose because people are left with bad taste.
I hope we can all learn from this to the next event, I hope to see you there.
Lovely game! The orange platforms always fool me :(
I love the attention to the little details! It felt really scientifically accurate (even though i can't validate any of it lol). You got me at the end, wasn't expecting it at all :O Gave me a certain maze game PTSD lol
that's a really great entry! love it!
Got 256 :) (If I was him I would have just accepted my fate)
That is so beautiful, I love the art and I loved the story. Sadly I got a black screen at 100% so I could not finish the game :( I started having *deep* thoughts maybe it was intentional and I needed to reflect on myself by looking at my screen's reflection? lol, anyways I loved it! Great game!
Amazing
That is cute, I think the systems can be expanded and with more fleshed out art it can be a really nice game :)
By far the best audio design entry in this jam! And I was willing to say that before even reaching the change of phase at the end of the game! Really beautifully done!
What did I just experience? 10/5!
OMG I did not expect that I'm laughing so hard here, great game!