Ludum Dare #43compo
Soul Traveller
You are an entity cappable of possessing bodies of other living beings. Unfortunately after possessing a new body the old one dies.
This game is a moody puzzle-platformer. Don't expect it be too easy! Sometimes you'll have to come out with an original way how to overcome an obstacle.
The game has 3 levels with 3 types of bodies to possess with different abilities.
Have fun!
Mini post-mortem of my progress: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/soul-traveller/mini-post-mortem
Controls
- WAD or Arrows ... movement
- S or arrow down ... possessing body of a wretch
- space ... action (depends on current body)
- R ... restart level (there are checkpoints but in case you'll stuck somehow)
Used tools
- Godot engine
- Inkscape
- Gimp
- FL Studio
- Audacity
Walkthrough
Spoilers! Play the game first!
Comments71
nkrim3 Dec 2018, 03:34
Really fun! I loved how the puzzle and platforming elements meet, and the open level design makes it really fun and natural to explore and it feels very satisfying to figure out (or just stumble upon) the solutions. Along with just the aesthetic and the game-feel, it all makes for a really fun and satisfying experience.
Frank Gevaerts3 Dec 2018, 15:44
A very solid game overall! I liked how dying wasn't too terrible (I died a lot!), which gave it enough of a puzzle so I didn't get frustrated.
Ace173 Dec 2018, 18:06
Visuals, audio, and mood are perfect.
The controls are awkward, though, (especially the jump button behaviour), and the physics glitchy (you can get temporarily stuck on platform corners). I had a *very* hard time getting through the first level, where you must jump from very small platforms.
The controls are awkward, though, (especially the jump button behaviour), and the physics glitchy (you can get temporarily stuck on platform corners). I had a *very* hard time getting through the first level, where you must jump from very small platforms.
Jiri Hysek3 Dec 2018, 18:30
@ace17 Oh, really? Thats unfortunate. It behaves so well on my laptop, that I was quite satisfied with the controls. What version are you using? Windows? Anyway, thank you for the feedback and I'm glad you like audio and visuals. It's a shame that controls doesn't work well on your computer :-/
Jiri Hysek3 Dec 2018, 18:32
@rombus Thanks for your feedback, I'm happy you like the atmosphere. If you are stucked in a puzzle, check out the walkthrough video I've added to the description.
Jiri Hysek3 Dec 2018, 18:35
@nkrim glad you figured it out :) I wasn't sure whether some puzzles aren't too hard, I was thinking about putting some hints.. but it wouldn't be so satisfying, was it? :)
@frank-gevaerts happy to hear that, it's hard to ballance difficulty in compo game (there's just no time for it) so I'm always affraid of making it too hard and get people frustrated...
@frank-gevaerts happy to hear that, it's hard to ballance difficulty in compo game (there's just no time for it) so I'm always affraid of making it too hard and get people frustrated...
Zsolt3 Dec 2018, 19:17
The visuals and audio is very nice.A bit hard or just i`m noob but i very liked it. (:
Tosunami3 Dec 2018, 19:26
Awesome game, awesome mechanics, could be polished and published ! couldn't play but watched it and it seems awesome!
jk50003 Dec 2018, 19:30
A super interesting and well made LD game. Well done.
angelnm3 Dec 2018, 19:49
I see the walkthrough after play the game, and I see that there are multiple ways to complete the levels, very interesting. The graphics and the audio combines perfectly with the game.
vilix644 Dec 2018, 10:14
Cute, I guess?
An amazing entry. Good job. :slight_smile:
An amazing entry. Good job. :slight_smile:
Derek Volker4 Dec 2018, 11:30
The only flaw is that it is too short, but in the timeframe avaiable is perfectly understandable. Loved the limbo-like graphics, clever gameplay and level-design, easy to understand and moody sounds. Perfect. Outstanding job!
Kasperejros4 Dec 2018, 11:34
Graphics is amazing. Also the atmosphere it creates is priceless.
boundtotheearth4 Dec 2018, 12:32
I really like how some parts of the levels are designed (not sure if was intentional though). For example, theres a part in the last level where the shooting guy can't pass through a smaller path, but there's already a normal guy walking along inside the path, to show that a normal guy can pass through while the shooting one can't.
Jiri Hysek4 Dec 2018, 13:10
@boundtotheearth Thank you, I'm glad you like it! This particular part is intentional. A yellow guy may should look taller (so intention would be more obvious) and there should be better designed puzzle where you have to possess smaller guy to walk through.. but I was running out of time, so the last level is a bit sloppy :) I just hoped a player kills smaller guy in a shooting frenzy and after that he realizes that he needs him alive to pass :)
@zsolt @tosunami @jk5000 @angelnm @vilix64 @derek-volker @kasperejros: thanks for the kind words! I'll play your games as well :)
@zsolt @tosunami @jk5000 @angelnm @vilix64 @derek-volker @kasperejros: thanks for the kind words! I'll play your games as well :)
Renan Moura4 Dec 2018, 18:07
nice!
Arvejeitor4 Dec 2018, 18:16
The art style looks a lot like Limbo, and I like it!
DrSkort4 Dec 2018, 18:21
This game reminds me of LIMBO and I like it. The music is really fitting and sets up the mood. The characters look great ( aswell as their animation ) and the game mechanic is really creative. I really loved to play this game, because it's mechanics were really well used. There were only a few little things I can criticize. The birds fly route is kinda weird, because birds normally don't fly in a perfect sine wave with the average of the cycles being parallel to the ground and they yellow shirt guy doesn't fit well in the game. The whole game is black and white and I think this makes it so appealing. Theses guys are especially highlited, maybe because they are dangerous? Nevermind, I just found it a bit uncommon, but these things are just nitpicking. You created a great game and the thing I most want is more and longer levels.
Erick Santana Rodrigues4 Dec 2018, 18:22
Amazing!
Smeax4 Dec 2018, 18:49
Really enjoyed playing this game! I've got a few glitches with the collision system but other than that I had a blast :) Well done!
zuzupd4 Dec 2018, 18:50
Wow, this is great. Normally, I do not like platformers, but this has a perfect mood and reasonable difficulty. I love it.
themarioga4 Dec 2018, 19:27
Amazing graphics, very envolving atmosphere, fits the theme perfectly, and so catchy. Love it!
Zombie Virals4 Dec 2018, 20:21
Great job!! I had a blast with this one, for 48 hours man! I think you have me sold on at least trying the Godot engine now too!!
Jared York4 Dec 2018, 20:29
Love the game! The mood really stands out, I like it. Sometimes I do tend to get stuck on the tops of ledges though, it seems to be a collision issue. Other than that, I really enjoyed it!
Vimlark5 Dec 2018, 00:54
Really great. The visuals and level design are very nice. I loved getting through the level then grabbing the bird to go back through the again, great use of mechanics and design.
mtanton5 Dec 2018, 03:44
I really enjoyed this. I got super excited when I figured out I could sacrifice into one of the birds. I also love the style! Awesome job!
drtizzle5 Dec 2018, 06:58
Very nice atmosphere! The idea is really good, and so are the puzzles that come with it. I had a bit of a hard time controlling my character, and I couldn't get past level 2. Also the overtaking of a body could be a bit faster. The music and visuals are really nice and moody!
Overall a great job!
Overall a great job!
Jiri Hysek5 Dec 2018, 09:12
@drtizzle @jared-york @smeax Okay, okay! :) I've fixed the collision box of the player(s) and jumping to platforms is also a bit more forgiving now. I'll publish a post-compo version with those changes when I came back from a work. Thank you for your feedback and I'm happy you like it despite those small glitches :)
@drskort Thanks for your feedback, I'm glad you like it! Bird's movement is more like flappy bird (which was kind of intentional) than real bird's fly. I only decreased falling speed (comparing to flappy bird) because I'd like it feel more like flying then constantly falling like a brick. About a yellow guys - Limbo wasn't only inspiration, I was also inspired by the Sin City movie (music and yellow guy kind of reference on it) :) There are more color element - a blood, exit emits blue light, yellow guy with yellow bullets.. i like it that way but it's subjective, anyway thank you for your opinion.
@zombie-virals awesome, try it! I cannot judge it's 3D stuff but for 2D games is Godot really great!
@mtanton @vimlark @themarioga @zuzupd @erick-santana-rodrigues @arvejeitor @renan-moura Wow, thanks guys for a lot of positive feedback!
@drskort Thanks for your feedback, I'm glad you like it! Bird's movement is more like flappy bird (which was kind of intentional) than real bird's fly. I only decreased falling speed (comparing to flappy bird) because I'd like it feel more like flying then constantly falling like a brick. About a yellow guys - Limbo wasn't only inspiration, I was also inspired by the Sin City movie (music and yellow guy kind of reference on it) :) There are more color element - a blood, exit emits blue light, yellow guy with yellow bullets.. i like it that way but it's subjective, anyway thank you for your opinion.
@zombie-virals awesome, try it! I cannot judge it's 3D stuff but for 2D games is Godot really great!
@mtanton @vimlark @themarioga @zuzupd @erick-santana-rodrigues @arvejeitor @renan-moura Wow, thanks guys for a lot of positive feedback!
franfox5 Dec 2018, 09:39
Nice job! I really appreciate how you guys could make a game like this in the compo mode, it's awesome. Love the music and the visuals and how the theme was implemented, very clever, it reminds me Abe's Oddysee. Well done!
NisePandaKun5 Dec 2018, 10:03
I love how the lighting in the game comes from the player character. It builds on the gloomy and mysterious mood of the game.
The soul taking mechanic is really creative, especially having to use of the dead bodies as a platform to jump higher. And possessing the bird was an amazing moment in the game.
Overall a really good game!
The soul taking mechanic is really creative, especially having to use of the dead bodies as a platform to jump higher. And possessing the bird was an amazing moment in the game.
Overall a really good game!
Jupiter_Hadley5 Dec 2018, 13:36
Neat concept! I included it in my compilation video series of games from the Ludum Dare, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/1t-6rdylBrI
rk3Omega5 Dec 2018, 15:52
Amazing entry. The atmosphere is on point, the audio is just so nice. Gravity and movement are very nice as well. Collision was awkward though, you can get stuck on the corners. It feels like you're using capsule collision with very round corners. Personally I'm not a fan of capsule collision. I feel like regular square collision has a much better feel to it.
Your ground detection is also slightly off, it wouldn't register as grounded when I jumped at the edge of a ledge. Again possibly due to the collision shape, but you could also fix this with coyote time, where the player has a small window after being ungrounded that they can still jump.
The duration of the soul travelling felt a little long and awkward, but that's a personal opinion. I think half the time would have a better feel to it. Thanks for making such a great game, plus Godot ftw. ;)
Your ground detection is also slightly off, it wouldn't register as grounded when I jumped at the edge of a ledge. Again possibly due to the collision shape, but you could also fix this with coyote time, where the player has a small window after being ungrounded that they can still jump.
The duration of the soul travelling felt a little long and awkward, but that's a personal opinion. I think half the time would have a better feel to it. Thanks for making such a great game, plus Godot ftw. ;)
Jiri Hysek5 Dec 2018, 16:10
@rk3omega Thank you for your feedback! Collision box is not capsule, it has custom shape, which is almost the same as the shape of the body. Which causes problems because he just have such a big head :)
About ground detection and coyote time - I kind of like when it is a bit forgiving. You are probably right about duration of possessing... I originally intended to make some puzzle situations where you have to think about correct timing of possession, but I didn't have time to handle properly a situation when possessed body leaves area before possessing ends, so at this point it 2s duration of possessing does not make sense.
Anyway, I'm happy you like the game and thanks again for the feedback :)
About ground detection and coyote time - I kind of like when it is a bit forgiving. You are probably right about duration of possessing... I originally intended to make some puzzle situations where you have to think about correct timing of possession, but I didn't have time to handle properly a situation when possessed body leaves area before possessing ends, so at this point it 2s duration of possessing does not make sense.
Anyway, I'm happy you like the game and thanks again for the feedback :)
xPheRe5 Dec 2018, 16:26
Good entry! It reminds me of The Swapper and, of course, LIMBO. Good to see other Godot projects, specially if sharing the source code. A great experience overall. Thanks!
Morricore5 Dec 2018, 19:15
I'm stuck.
Jiri Hysek5 Dec 2018, 19:26
@morricore what do you mean? arrow down doesn't work? Or your beak is just stuck in the wall? :D
Morricore5 Dec 2018, 19:38
@jiri-hysek uh, confused, I press space, and flit, but I want to change body. Somehow forgot, that for context action I should hold arrow down.
Jiri Hysek5 Dec 2018, 20:19
@morricore yeah, you are not alone.. originally i was using space for changing body but when i added flapping and shooting, i thought that space would fit better for this and moved changing body to unused down arrow.. maybe there could be better key, but don't know which one since i wanted game to be easily controllable either by arrows and wasd (a lot of people prefer wasd, i like arrows more)
Morricore5 Dec 2018, 21:20
@jiri-hysek I don't remember controls from PC hotseat games. Maybe you can find out good ideas for controls in this games.
velvetlobster5 Dec 2018, 22:17
Its Limbo with a bit of super meat boy perhaps ... graphics are nice!
Maissara6 Dec 2018, 02:00
Really Nice Game Experience!
The only note I wanted to point out is that the jump react is slow when I press it while walking.
The only note I wanted to point out is that the jump react is slow when I press it while walking.
randomphantom6 Dec 2018, 14:38
Really cool mechanic! I always love Limbo likes, but this reminded me of Swapper which was another cool atmospheric platformer.
I would prefer the jump to not continuously activate if you held the jump button. Also, running off the ledges when you wanted to jump instead, seems to happen more than often because of the ground detection. Otherwise, the platforming was cool with the varied mechanics. Great graphical style with the shadows, and lovely mood and audio makes this really well done!
I would prefer the jump to not continuously activate if you held the jump button. Also, running off the ledges when you wanted to jump instead, seems to happen more than often because of the ground detection. Otherwise, the platforming was cool with the varied mechanics. Great graphical style with the shadows, and lovely mood and audio makes this really well done!
hav246 Dec 2018, 14:43
Someone said Limbo? :) The game is really good and has various mechanincs in it (possessing characters/birds, shooting) with a really good atmosphere. The graphics is cool, I always fall in love when I see those shadow effects in those type of games. Well done! :)
Lazertrax6 Dec 2018, 20:50
This game has a very interesting mechanic, I really love it. The lighting effects are nice, the possessing mechanic and the tiny puzzle elements are very satisfying! You should really expand on this game post jam and make it into a full product :thumbsup:
Thomas Lagana7 Dec 2018, 15:31
Nice graphics and atmosphere !!
Gaming Night8 Dec 2018, 11:06
Super nice game ! love the light effect :)
tanis8 Dec 2018, 11:29
Super fun! Loved the characters and the mood! And the music is spot on! Very polished game, you did an awesome job!
Verbante8 Dec 2018, 13:47
Cool game! It'd be fun to be able to move around in menu screen. Long capture time was unnecessary imo, since you can capture stuff even when they are outside your capture radius. Might have felt more satisfying with a shorter capture time also. Bird feels so cool. Good work on lighting effects. I liked the background and level design. My brother found shooting animation fun. I also made a platformer in godot, so it's nice to find another one.
TheOneThatNeverWas8 Dec 2018, 14:22
Amazing entry! Good job to the team. The art and mood are very good and the gameplay is awesome too.
Jeremy Ryan8 Dec 2018, 14:25
That first "Day 1" screenshot looks all too familiar :)
Neat entry. I like the visuals and the main mechanic. The puzzles were an appropriate difficulty.
Neat entry. I like the visuals and the main mechanic. The puzzles were an appropriate difficulty.
Shito8 Dec 2018, 14:49
Some cool graphics and sounds you got there. I especially liked the moving shadows. The mood is very dark and consistent. I also like your approach to the theme and the idea of possessing bodies. :) Sadly, for me it was not too much fun because I suck at riddles. And I got stuck at some point. But overall it's a cool game.
Jiri Hysek8 Dec 2018, 15:17
@shito Thanks! If you got stuck, look at walkthrough video I've added to the description. It should help you :)
@theonethatneverwas My one man team thank you :)
@lazertrax I'm glad you like it, maybe I'll expand it to the full product, we'll see...
@randomphantom Thanks a lot for your feedback! I'm making post-jam version and I already fixed continuously jumping and fiddling with colliders.
@maissara Thank you for your feedback.. I didn't noticed slow jumping but I'll investigate it. Anyway, I'm glad you like the game :)
@jeremy-ryan @tanis @gaming-night @thomas-lagana @hav24 @velvetlobster Thank you a lot for kind words, I'm really happy for the positivity I'm reading here..
@theonethatneverwas My one man team thank you :)
@lazertrax I'm glad you like it, maybe I'll expand it to the full product, we'll see...
@randomphantom Thanks a lot for your feedback! I'm making post-jam version and I already fixed continuously jumping and fiddling with colliders.
@maissara Thank you for your feedback.. I didn't noticed slow jumping but I'll investigate it. Anyway, I'm glad you like the game :)
@jeremy-ryan @tanis @gaming-night @thomas-lagana @hav24 @velvetlobster Thank you a lot for kind words, I'm really happy for the positivity I'm reading here..
kaeveris8 Dec 2018, 15:22
This is a great game! I love the puzzles and that you have control over how you want to finish a level, there's more than one possibility. Graphics and music are amazing!
marvalgames8 Dec 2018, 20:47
Solid all around. Besides the obvious looks of the game. Really like the puzzle level design. Pretty great for short period, Also the different mechanics were a heck of a touch. Birds and bullets. Didn't see that coming :) (Spoilers???) . My favorite so far. Only struggle was some of the jumping HAD to be to precise. Hit head too much also. A game like this doesn't gain anything from that.
rumor8 Dec 2018, 21:29
Awesome, caught this on Twitch and had to try it for myself. Amazing work, even apart from being a compo game. Graphics especially are top notch. Tough but fair platforming, and thoughtful puzzle design. Don't know what else to say. I want to see more!
arkinrev9 Dec 2018, 18:37
I really liked the possession mechanic, and the snappy controls were fantastic. The birds were a nice touch and changed up the gameplay quite a bit. Fantastic work!
miziziziz10 Dec 2018, 06:05
great visuals, audio, and effects! Mostly felt good to control characters, my only critique is that it would be nice if you could jump for a couple frames after walking over an edge, otherwise it feels sometime like you pressed jump and your character didn't jump.
I really liked the birds. The gun guys were cool, but I wished they contributed more mechanically to the puzzles; they mostly were just used like a different colored regular guy
I really liked the birds. The gun guys were cool, but I wished they contributed more mechanically to the puzzles; they mostly were just used like a different colored regular guy
Antoine Vion10 Dec 2018, 21:51
Hi !, Nice game, I like the concept and the mechanic, it was fun ;)
The mood is so cool!
very nice job ;p
The mood is so cool!
very nice job ;p
Game-mon10 Dec 2018, 22:48
Really fun game with really nice game concept. The mood is amazing. Feels a bit dark and scary, there's a very cool atmosphere thanks to the good graphics & audio. Congrats! :D
samh10 Dec 2018, 23:39
I enjoyed the run and took time to explore everything. Even got the hidden explorer message! :-) It was a bit short but properly teases the mechanics, and it may become something quite nice if you continue development on this game. Overall it has that unfinished touch while still remaining an enjoyable experience. The graphics are very nice; I concur with the above comments about it having a bit of Limbo feel mixed with Super Meat Boy. The references are pretty obvious I think :grin:
I’ll keep an eye on the forthcoming developments!
I’ll keep an eye on the forthcoming developments!
Jiri Hysek11 Dec 2018, 00:01
@samh Congratulations! As far as I know, you are the first who explored areas which were intended to remain unexplored :) It was a shame there wasn't a time to give bigger role to the bird so I thought a lot of you guys would at least fly around the level. But there is only one who found the message(s) so far.. :)
Geckoo133711 Dec 2018, 06:55
Amazing project with an unusual gameplay. Aesthetic is great and all fits with the theme. maybe the best game for this 43th LD session. Thank you for the darky experience ++
MKnooihuisen13 Dec 2018, 02:56
This was a lot of fun to play! I have absolutely no complaints, thanks for submitting it to our form through Twitch. The Play-through happened on Episode 3 of "Dare to play" and started at around the 90-minute mark. https://twitch.tv/cyberlightgames
Jiri Hysek13 Dec 2018, 09:29
@mknooihuisen Thanks a lot for playing! It's a shame I couldn't be live on stream (in this part of the world was deep night). But I watched it now. It was fun and it was quite interesting for me - it looked like a bit slow on your computer. I can imagine the platforming must be much harder when it not works fluently, I really admire your patience! And some strange bugs I didn't see before appeared (like possessed one disappears during possessing him.. this is not intended). So your video provided me loot of valuable feedback. Thanks a lot again!
PhilStrahl18 Dec 2018, 02:12
Wow, another very polished puzzle game from you that's easy to pick up and makes me feel real smart :) Here's me happily jumping into a saw blade … more than once.
elysiagriffin18 Dec 2018, 19:34
Hey jiri_hysek! Thanks for submitting your game for me to play on my livestream!
If you'd like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/346056526?t=26m22s
Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D
💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
If you'd like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/346056526?t=26m22s
Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D
💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
shiqichuan25 Dec 2018, 15:24
Nice lighting effects! Hope there are more level. However there're some bug with the blood particle.
Psychedelia28 Dec 2018, 23:36
Great atmosphere. The visuals and audio go very well together. I liked the introduction of your core mechanic!
MyFriendTames29 Dec 2018, 05:01
It's a really nice game :smiley:
FireBug29 Dec 2018, 20:25
A clever game design! I checked the video to see other ways of solving the puzzles, I'm impressed! Jumping was a little difficult, but the art/lighting and music really establish a mood befitting the gameplay.
I really like that each possession is a checkpoint, but I can't get past the second level though x__x
Congrats on the entry!