Our first Ludum Dare, and our first game jam. Please enjoy!
Follow Marvin on his journey to deliver his message as he slowly powers down. You as the player will also lose power as your controls become more and more limited as systems progressively shutdown. Find new ways to beat levels and solve puzzles as Marvin's functions change.
Controls: Arrow keys or WASD to move R to restart Space to use drill function
Changelog: -Redesigned nearly frame-perfect jump in level 4 (see comment from @baby-dino-herd)
DISCLAIMER The Windows version contains a few bugs not present in the Flash version, including a visual glitch and significant lag near the end of the game. For this reason, we recommend trying the Flash version first.
Great game! Neat story that combines the theme and mechanics well. Dig the parallax effect with the background and makes Marvin feel more alone in the expanse of the caverns. Solid game guys, Keep up the good work!
At first I was a little unimpressed ... but you really did a great job of introducing 'running out of power' in an interesting way through the game mechanics. Was a little sad that I got stuck and couldn't make a jump I needed to that only had a little bit of headroom. Agree with @walterp about the parallax effect; it's simple but very effective.
Great game. Followed the theme pretty well. The jumping and block pushing felt good. The only thing I'd say is maybe I don't quite get the ending. It was just a black screen with some transmission text that went by real quick (That was probably the point). Good job!
@logicon211 I completely understand the confusion with the ending. It was sort of thrown together in the eleventh hour (figuratively, of course) and we left some of the story unexplained. It is relieving to know, however, that you finished the game ;) Thanks for the feedback!
Great game, the mechanics were solid, the music became quite repetitive after some time. At first i didn't think it was following the theme, since it's jetpack power didn't run out, but as i continued the game i understood your usage of the theme. Also, there's a healthy number of levels for a game jam. Overall, nice job!
The game was slow at first but then it got more and more interesting the further I got, as it became more puzzle-like. It was very different and interesting to play through. The ending seemed a bit rushed but totally understandable in 72h.
ryluu - Your name sounds familiar! I think we met irl. lmurstid? The degrading controls look like a cool mechanic and the screenshots have brilliant cave colors. I wish I could say more: the flash game won't load due to the following error: "Access denied: Anonymous users do not have storage.objects.get access to object itchio/support/Game.swf"
really cute game! i love the idea, it almost made me sad at the end haha. the way you turned the rocks into a puzzle mechanic was really nice. good job! :grin:
Wow really surprising entry, very good game, the art is good, loved the background, and the just fits just right as it should, but the gameplay is what makes this game unique, very smart mechanics, a intriguing game. Really good, the interpretation of the theme was fantastic !
I had to switch browsers because Flash didn't work on Firefox, but Chrome seemed okay with it. Not sure what's that about.
Didn't care too much for it at the beginning, because it's very slow, but it got better after a while. The graphics are very good (especially the background) and the controls feel pretty good as well. There's maybe a bit too much gravity involved. I feel like I can barely stand a chance against the velocity when falling, but when jumping into the air I accelerate like crazy.
Not working in my browser and I'm not feeling comfortable to install another one just to play one game. Is there a possibility for a standalone version? Love the screenshots though and would like to play much.
The art is very cool. Especially the use of colour to make contrast between the bg and foreground. The gameplay was very unfair when (i think its at level 3) there are some rocks that you can press space to make them fall, and right after that you see that they block your path. And you have to restart the level and waste about 15 seconds just for that. When designing games, think about the player's experience. It's not about making the player think "oh, the developer was very genius to make such level" but making him think "oh I'm so smart to figure this level out!". And, in general, making the player feel good. I'm not saying "never make the player fail", but make it fair and close to the checkpoint. If you look at most platformers the first time you die you have a checkpoint right behind you.
I think having to trial and error some puzzles is frustrating in this game because you have to do things you've already beaten over again. I also think the music was very repetitive, but other than that this was a charming entry and I liked the camera effects as you got closer to running out of battery. Nice work man :)
Theme was implemented in a unique way. The platforming was a bit frustrating sometimes due to a large hit box. Beat it first try though. I like the music and sounds. Overall nice entry :D
good game! the color palette is great. i'd suggest maybe the foreground shifting hues a bit as you get deeper into the cave, but its better not to do that and keep the contrast than to go too far and lose what is and isn't part of the platforming. i thought that most of the platforming was nice too, save for the leaps of faith in the beginning and some annoying issues people before me have pointed out.
Cool and polished entry! Fun to turn the usual concept of gaining more abilities over the course of a game on its head and do the opposite. And a little story to go with it. Nicely packaged. The final part of the game felt a bit like the death march at the end of Journey.
Simple but effective graphics. I really like the little rocky edges in the tileset. Nice sound effects and very fitting music that captures the urgency of the situation.
The message prompt at the top is a really nice touch that helps the player understand the game without being intrusive. My only complaint from that perspective would be that it would have been nice to have had a boulder to drill at the very beginning of the game, because that mechanic confused me at first, and I thought something had gone wrong when nothing happened as I pressed space (expected to be supposed to drill into the walls of the level before I found the first boulder).
It's interesting that the reset button is a necessary mechanic as the player realises their mistakes and need to redo stuff. The levels were just short and easily navigable enough that it wasn't a pain even to reset near the end of one. Nicely balanced.
For some reason, the game won't load in both Firefox and Internet Explorer for me. That's too bad, as I really wanted to try this game after having read about the shutdown-mechanic.
A lot of you have been running into problems with our Flash release; thank you to those who brought it to our attention. We've released a Windows build so that more people can enjoy our game (as per the suggestion of @mr-chelnoque). Unfortunately there are a few bugs in this version, including a visual glitch and a laggy ending, so please try the Flash version first. It is still functional, and for those willing to try, the Windows build will be there.
Thank you for your kind words and constructive criticism!
Anyway, I played the windows version... It's fine. I got to the black screen.
I also wanted to say that the room where everything turns red when you enter (and when you die)... I died a lot in that room and it because completely red and I had to restart.
This was very cool. You've got a pretty good assortment of puzzles, especially for a jam game. At first it just looks like normal platforming, but then you realize you need to step back and think about your approach to each level.
I really like how losing your various capabilities opens up new puzzle possibilities. It's kind of like the NES game Blaster Master...except in reverse. The physics had a really good feel also.
Comments34
Thanks for the feedback!
It's a good game, good job!
The degrading controls look like a cool mechanic and the screenshots have brilliant cave colors. I wish I could say more: the flash game won't load due to the following error: "Access denied: Anonymous users do not have storage.objects.get access to object itchio/support/Game.swf"
I also really liked the pixel art.
Didn't care too much for it at the beginning, because it's very slow, but it got better after a while. The graphics are very good (especially the background) and the controls feel pretty good as well. There's maybe a bit too much gravity involved. I feel like I can barely stand a chance against the velocity when falling, but when jumping into the air I accelerate like crazy.
Overall nice little game. Good work.
I loved finish that game :)
And the music is really great! Good work!
Simple but effective graphics. I really like the little rocky edges in the tileset. Nice sound effects and very fitting music that captures the urgency of the situation.
The message prompt at the top is a really nice touch that helps the player understand the game without being intrusive. My only complaint from that perspective would be that it would have been nice to have had a boulder to drill at the very beginning of the game, because that mechanic confused me at first, and I thought something had gone wrong when nothing happened as I pressed space (expected to be supposed to drill into the walls of the level before I found the first boulder).
It's interesting that the reset button is a necessary mechanic as the player realises their mistakes and need to redo stuff. The levels were just short and easily navigable enough that it wasn't a pain even to reset near the end of one. Nicely balanced.
I like it! Nice job! c:
That's too bad, as I really wanted to try this game after having read about the shutdown-mechanic.
Thank you for your kind words and constructive criticism!
Here's my discussion with leafo in the chat:
> g12345: quotes on the game: "For some reason, the game won’t load in both Firefox and Internet Explorer for me."
> leafo: well, for whatever reason the person who embedded this game used our "html5" mode, and uploaded an html page with the swf on it
> leafo: so they aren't using our swf embed code, which is tested
> g12345: ah...
> leafo: so they could have just messed up their implementation
Perhaps this will help you fix the flash version.
I also wanted to say that the room where everything turns red when you enter (and when you die)... I died a lot in that room and it because completely red and I had to restart.
Otherwise, it's nice.
I really like how losing your various capabilities opens up new puzzle possibilities. It's kind of like the NES game Blaster Master...except in reverse. The physics had a really good feel also.