essentia

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.31
Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.78
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★2.84
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.00
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.92
Audio★★★★★★★★★★1.12
Humor★★★★★★★★★★1.84
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.16
Coolness★★★★★★★★★★60%
Controls:
WASD to move
Space to jump
Mouse click to interact

Software Used: Unity and Photoshop

This was my first Ludum Dare competition. I set out to create an experience that was not only visually appealing but also thought provoking. I started practicing pixel art recently, so the art direction turned into an interesting blend of pixel art and paper cutout art (Example: http://tinyurl.com/cwx489e). I was struck by the way that the shadows gave depth and detail to the simple shapes cutout from the paper.

The ending is very open-ended, interpret it how you will.

Thanks for checking out my game, hope you enjoy!

Note: The textures will probably render better in the EXE version.

Comments31

Sakuyan
Sakuyan29 Apr 2013, 02:37
THAT IS THE BEST CAVE I'VE EVER SEEN
jgnilka29 Apr 2013, 02:37
This was awesome
mrexcessive29 Apr 2013, 04:24
Very clever... Nice shadows as you say... The Valve/tap before the boat doesn't work after restart, which is a shame.
Suese
Suese29 Apr 2013, 04:26
Not sure what to do after "Free yourself", flew really high and found nothing. Great work though. Needed some sound and some way to lose (a challenge)
bastiandantilus
bastiandantilus29 Apr 2013, 04:29
Cool... but did I get to the end, or did I miss something?
cahman29 Apr 2013, 04:32
The visuals were fantastic. I flew all the way to the top, but couldn't go any further. Hope I didn't miss anything...
andrewkennedy
andrewkennedyauthor29 Apr 2013, 05:00
Thanks for the encouragement everyone! It seems that the ending was a little too open-ended though. Next time I'll be more deliberate!
FuzzyWuzzie29 Apr 2013, 05:01
Really great gameplay! I really enjoyed the combination of platforming + point & click! Graphics were really cute!
Jack Zackowitz29 Apr 2013, 05:53
Couldn't tell if the game was over after getting wings. good work though
Jonapulse
Jonapulse29 Apr 2013, 06:31
You almost lost me with the generic side-scrolling at the start--but then it kept changing and getting awesome. nice.
mortus
mortus29 Apr 2013, 07:17
Great graphics! Sadly, there seems to be few bugs that make game hard to play. Moving playform in cave left without me and I can't find it again. And restart won't help, only starting from the beginning.
Kiwiboi29 Apr 2013, 09:07
Cute game, I like the graphics :)
deige10129 Apr 2013, 21:04
Great graphics and feel! got a little bored on the initial walk, but dont let that be weiging you down.
GeorgeBroussard5 May 2013, 06:05
Interesting. You should develop this further. I got to the end and flew around but found no exit.
GameNacho8 May 2013, 04:39
Great game! I like how it jumps right in, and all the different interactive objects really fit well for this game, great job!
Kvisle
Kvisle11 May 2013, 00:35
Lovely art-style, a little confused by the ending.
recursor
recursor11 May 2013, 00:35
The source link is broken
euwaku11 May 2013, 04:31
Is that a very sad ending? Maybe I'm over interpreting but flying as an angel, dead, finding no exit, no way to go, was really a nice poetic finale.
mollymus11 May 2013, 07:27
Pretty neat game! Not sure if I completed it or not though?
Mago11 May 2013, 07:27
Great job! graphics are amazing and conxept is great
Jod11 May 2013, 08:39
Really liked this one, very beautiful art style. Getting wings was awesome. :)
lotusgame11 May 2013, 09:13
A really cute start ! The end is a bit frustrating as it takes a while to understand it's over. With a music, the experience would be nicer.
Zccc
Zccc11 May 2013, 14:20
This is great, very unique :)
Madball11 May 2013, 17:35
It seems like a piece of art, but it`s too abstract. There is not enough gameplay. The beginning was too long, the rest was too short. From the graphic side the game is awesome.
...what is that gray ball anyway?..
sP0CkEr212 May 2013, 03:40
really nice -- some nice background music would have been good -- great job!
Benjamin12 May 2013, 15:45
I had 2x bugs that forced me to restart from the beginning.
The first time, I somehow broke my jump... It means that my character can't jump as far and high than before. If I use the restart icon, it brings me back to the the purple crystal cavern and I can't pass the first jump anymore. So I add to restart. On my second try I was in a hurry to reach the cloud zone and I missed the 3rd green platform two times. on my third try I saw it sinking in the abyss and it never came back. Once again the restart icon was no use T_T ... I didnt had the courage to restart a third time because of the long sequence. For the part I visited, the gfx are very good, and the game have a nice athmosphere.

I'm surprised I was the only one experiencing thoses bugs... My config is window xp on some old netbook NC10.
ethankennerly
ethankennerly12 May 2013, 19:01
The collocated instructions and introduction of colors interested me. If you continue to develop this, I couldn't figure out how to make the boat go. I clicked the ore and it rotated, but the boat did not move.
xploitgames
xploitgames14 May 2013, 19:53
Lovely pixel art style! A great spin on the theme. Draining of color was unique. Would have really liked to hear a soundtrack.

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