Ludum Dare #35compo

SandShifter

by nesis

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.63

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.36

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.81

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.66

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.63

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.26

Coolness★★★★★★★★★★17%

Shift sand shapes to find your way through a series of challenges in a mysterious desert temple.

===

If you're falling through the level, please make sure you've downloaded the latest version :)

Let me know if you think this game's mouse sensitivity needs changing!

If you run into any bugs, please let me know what version of the game you played so I can squash these bugs quickly for you :) (eg, "StandaloneLinuxUniversal_5.zip")

Feel free to tweet or DM me @llnesisll for bugs, too!

===

Edit:
- bugfix for HTML5, fixed mouse not being re-captured properly after hitting Escape to unlock it.
- bugfix for falling through the floor. So many people falling through the floor. I wanted this game to have sand, not quicksand! D:
- bugfix of a bugfix: mouse cursor is now instantly requested to be captured by the HTML5 version - previously required a click before mouse cursor capture occurred.
- bugfix: Collisions. Collisions what are you doing? Collisions stahp.

Genres: puzzle

Tools: Unity

Comments69

AustinSpafford18 Apr 2016, 02:27

There's a lot of potential with this idea! It was particularly fun to increase the sizes of the stacked cubes in order to lift their edges to walk them around.

Maysickdev18 Apr 2016, 02:36

Very fun! Taking volume from the cubes was very satisfying. I wanted to clean out the entire level.

Hyoga-3D19 Apr 2016, 00:11

I had some problems on the Web version cause my mouse did not stay looked on the game screen, so I keep click out of the game.

The look of the sand is very nice and the game has some great puzzles.

nesisauthor19 Apr 2016, 02:54

@AustinSpafford and @Maysickdev

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you liked my game :D

@Hyoga-3D

Thanks for trying out the web version - I totally missed that I messed up my code for capturing the mouse! I'll make a small update when I get home tonight, so the mouse gets captured correctly :) Thanks for your patience despite that bug!

joemid19 Apr 2016, 03:56

Great job. I had some problems with the camera, but amazing COMPO accomp!

Brian Mayberry19 Apr 2016, 03:58

This oozes with style and potential. Extremely well presented, progression with new doorways in a central hub was just so well done. Fantastic concept, really hope you expand on this one!

Paskal007r19 Apr 2016, 18:13

Fun core mechanic (mine was similar, so maybe I'm a little in a conflict of interest XD), awesome aestetics.
Tried web version, at first it didn't lock the mouse, but then it did when I clicked on the middle of the play area.
Went through the floor on level 2 tho.

Skruffye19 Apr 2016, 18:26

Interesting concept, I wasn't able to play more than one level though, because I fell out of the world every time I entered level 2 (HTML5 build).
I'm guessing that later you get to place sand as well as pick it up. Nice take on the theme, could have done with some ambient sound though.
Good job. :)

WeaverDeveloper19 Apr 2016, 20:12

Very good, though it could do with a lot more content. Most of the game was spent approaching those big doors.

It's a good platform for making some very nice puzzles.

purrpurr19 Apr 2016, 21:17

I enjoyed playing this, albeit a bit disappointed by the level count. But don't get me wrong, it's not criticism! Might just have wanted more time with the game. The mechanics do have potential. They might even be something worth playing around and tinkering with further.

Just Tom19 Apr 2016, 22:53

The web version on itch.io works but the ludum dare web version gives "500 Internal Server Error"

Regardless it looks lovely and it's fun to play; maybe speed up the sand giving and taking mechanic (big blocks can take a while)

Stellar!

TeamScripta20 Apr 2016, 00:44

This is a great concept, playing the web game, the mouse capture seems to still be an issue, I'll come back for another go, though. Totally worth it!

adamprack20 Apr 2016, 02:16

Neat stuff! It was a cool mechanic (and it took me minute to figure out I was 'storing' volume.) The look of it was cool, though the physics could get a little wonky if you mess around at all.

Arvydas20 Apr 2016, 02:28

Love the idea! Just needs more added to it, once being sounds/music.

doombrowski20 Apr 2016, 02:42

Before even starting this game, I put on Darude - Sandstorm. Conveniently, there was no sound to conflict with this. Was this on purpose? So people could play Sandstorm?

Malvern20 Apr 2016, 06:06

Wow! The shapeshifting mechanic is really awesome! I think you have something to expand on with that.

I did think the game was a little easy though, I wish there had been another level after the third one.

zillix20 Apr 2016, 06:33

a brief but well-made experience! I loved the aesthetic, and the gameplay mechanic was pretty neat. well done :)

ekx20 Apr 2016, 12:34

Wow! Amazing idea. The only complaint i can think of, is that it gets very hard to hit the cubes when they've shrunken beyond a certain point.

DevelopTech20 Apr 2016, 12:56

I liked the mechanic and how you introduce it to the player. It's a pity that there are only few levels.

ekkiiiii20 Apr 2016, 13:20

Awesome mechanic! Very addicting, would play this longer if there were more levels.

BubsyPoochies20 Apr 2016, 13:54

This entry is purely awesome, the mechanic fits perfectly the theme and opens a lot of opportunities for great levels and the presentation is fantastic. Walking calmly through the sand kind of reminded me of journey ;)A truly impressive game for the compo, congratulations! Would love to see more of it!

I'd recommend download it to play, since I found some problems with the pointer in the web version (even after the fix I read in the edit, somehow it isn't working for me)

Congratulations!!

APantaloni20 Apr 2016, 15:00

Interesting concept. Mouse sensivity is fine for me. Minor nitpick: maybe there's a little too much empty walking space at the end of the levels. I would love to see this developed into a full game!

cudabear20 Apr 2016, 15:34

This is an awesome basis for a first-person puzzle game! I actually really wish there were more levels, since it seemed like the levels you developed barely cracked the surface as to what these mechanics you designed could do.

I loved the art style, really suited the idea of shifting sand.

My only complaint is that it took a long time to walk between levels, ideally that could take less time.

Well done, a great entry!

ezombort20 Apr 2016, 16:12

Very cool idea! I found myself trying to hold down the shift key all the time to run/sprint to the next portal :) Well done!

AlexLamarche20 Apr 2016, 16:48

Really enjoyed this game :) It needed a nice soothing background sound though.

Mr MadCat20 Apr 2016, 17:42

Interesting concept. I think it has some potential. Too bad there was only one real level to play with the mechanics, since the other had more of a tutorial character.
But all in all well done.

nk20 Apr 2016, 19:48

I really dug the aesthetic here - big blocky brutalist buildings in a desert tickles my fancy it seems. Mechanic felt solid enough to perhaps build something more substantial around too. Shame there wasn't time for any more demanding puzzles!

CaptainPilot20 Apr 2016, 22:38

Interesting concept but then feel out of the world in level 3 :(

tjxx21 Apr 2016, 00:01

Great concept, I really enjoyed playing through it. I was having some problems with collisions (weren't working), but I see the potential in it.

Sabina Lis21 Apr 2016, 19:04

i want to take more volume out of things, nice idea!

tsedate22 Apr 2016, 00:38

This was fun! I would like to see this expanded into a whole game that really focuses on this mechanic.

guoboism22 Apr 2016, 01:19

Great art style! Mechanic is potential! Nice to first person view puzzle like this!

IvanFon22 Apr 2016, 01:20

Really fun mechanic and wonderfully made for the amount of time! I liked the style of graphics and adding some music could really set the theme. Good job!

LOSTALLOY22 Apr 2016, 07:24

I'd love to see more of this!

Verz22 Apr 2016, 07:33

Very nice take on the theme. I liked it a lot!

kik072922 Apr 2016, 09:52

The visuals remind me of Journey, and the gameplay of those heat gun levels in Ratchet and Clank 2

PixelStuff22 Apr 2016, 12:15

Great concept, the only issue for me is the 10% time walking. maybe lower the size of the level a little bit.

toastedgames22 Apr 2016, 15:13

Cool game... it's very short though...

Vantaug22 Apr 2016, 16:13

It lacks sound, but that is about it. Amazing stuff for a comp!

SHLFStudios22 Apr 2016, 18:15

rad. i like the mechanic in this. audio would have really helped the mood, but i really like how you setup going from one level to the next. the Twitter button in game didnt seem to work, fyi.

Hectigo22 Apr 2016, 20:05

It seems like you ran out of time with this one, but there's definitely potential with the mechanics. Interacting with the sand could be sped up.

Sir Magic22 Apr 2016, 20:27

This could potentially be a great idea! Maybe with a little bit more than just a tutorial, this could be a great game.

meganukebmp22 Apr 2016, 21:18

Fun game. Sometimes draining the cubes could be a pain. Needs some locking. Other than that it was great.

kleinzach22 Apr 2016, 21:31

I was genuinely sad to see the end. Great mechanic, and would love to see you expand this in the future! Also neat how you put the twitter sharing icon into the actual game. Having menus and such around in the game world is a good idea!

Naca22 Apr 2016, 22:07

A bit short, and it needs some ambience sound in my opinion, but the atmosphere looks great and your puzzle concept can be expanded so much! Good work!

Reiv23 Apr 2016, 15:36

Nice concept! It was fun to play. Too much walking to get to every level thought but overall is a great game!

OnePixelMonster24 Apr 2016, 15:58

Really cool idea, I hope you stick with and add more!

randomhuman24 Apr 2016, 16:50

Really great mechanic, and I love the way all the text is part of the world. I wish there were more levels, I was just getting into it (though I'm hardly one to talk in that regard :P)

emmelineprufrock24 Apr 2016, 21:22

Really meditative and interesting. I really enjoyed this.

tanjent25 Apr 2016, 20:25

This is the best game I've played out of about 60 games so far. Super - awesome. Extra bonus for making it in 3D and it pulls it off so beautifully with the sand toned graphics and a streamline mechanics of working with up/down disappearance relative to the ground. Please make this a real game, make it happen! .... bonus idea for extra levels/world: make the world/level rotate around in 90 degrees. And get some nice music + polished GFX.. Sweet.

marmpa26 Apr 2016, 12:57

Nice game.REally nice level design

blubberquark26 Apr 2016, 14:06

Native version hangs on my linux notebook (I half expected it to on sandy bridge integrated graphics), but the WebGL one worked.

Insality28 Apr 2016, 06:50

sweety graphics and game mechanics. Good job!
The mechanics and level design rly done well, but when i walking to exit or new portal level, i got a little boring (its take a lot of time ;))

Wan28 Apr 2016, 06:55

Nice job! The game is well polished, worked perfectly for me, and the core mechanic is really awesome. I found the level design underwhelming though: I couldn't wait to see how this mechanic would translate into puzzles, but the first 2 levels felt just like a tutorial, and level 3 was just more of level 2.

For 48 hours that's an impressive amount of work though, if you had only one more day to add interesting levels this would have made a top 25-worthy entry I think!

Uson Chen28 Apr 2016, 08:17

The idea is innovated and the graphic is comfort style, my favor.

BloodJohn28 Apr 2016, 18:21

very interesting sensation from changing the size of the cubes

BulletsArePeopleToo28 Apr 2016, 20:37

Cool mechanic wish it had more puzzles.

okoto29 Apr 2016, 05:14

I fell into nothing when I entered the second level

kabel30 Apr 2016, 22:38

Interesting! Could be expanded!

Reis Mahnic3 May 2016, 05:52

Really neat game! Fun core mechanic, and BEAUTIFUL visuals!
It's too bad you couldn't get sound in, but this is INSANELY impressive for a compo entry and I think you made the right choice in focusing on the visuals and mechanics.

trulyvile3 May 2016, 18:18

Great concept! I'd love to see this idea taken further, it could probably result in some really challenging puzzles. The aesthetic of the whole thing was really neat too, sort of a similar mysterious vibe to Myst or other early 3d games.

I can't criticize for a lack of audio but I would like to mention that some ambient desert sounds or some faint music would make the atmosphere even more interesting.

ermrk3 May 2016, 20:44

I really liked the menu. It is awesome.

Lucario12k4 May 2016, 04:09

Great idea for a game! Would've really liked a run button and some more levels, but whatever.

RockNRedPanda4 May 2016, 21:48

Amazing, really enjoyed the experience mate. I loved the art style. Please make this a full puzzle game.

syst3m_ERROR5 May 2016, 18:45

Lots of potential! I would have like to see more done with the idea!

Miziziziz6 May 2016, 05:19

very polished, but definitely could've used some audio. Reminds me of Scale a lot.

LeReveur6 May 2016, 14:03

I disappeared into the floor, just before reaching the exit door of the third level (web version), but I saw enough of this game to say that's a fun, an innovative puzzle game, well done ! :)

waveformmodulations6 May 2016, 14:12

The touching story of a vacuum cleaner lost in the desert.