Skycrawler
There is no point worrying about gravity as long as you've got something solid under your feet. And up here, whetever direction you choose, if you walk long enough, the gravity will get you right back where you started.
Defy gravity, jump and maneuver. Solve various platforming puzzles that will have you flying from one corner of the screen to another.
Interesting stuff to read:
* Some of my thoughts on a level design
* The inspiration behind SkyCrawler's core mechanics
* A technical rundown of level transitions in SkyCrawler (part 1)
* A technical rundown of level transitions in SkyCrawler (part 2)
* A technical rundown of gravity in SkyCrawler
Comments85
@jmoocow2003 I mean, with the theme "Stuck in a loop" repetative music becomes a feature. And the creature at the end, well, I'll be honest, it was a pain to come up with AI for it, so I decided to leave it only as a one-time encounter.
@gammaromeo I do add some more puzzle elements, like spikes or platforms that fall if you land on them. But I try to stick to the idea that the gravity mechanic should be the only thing on player's mind.
:purple_heart: :dart: :frog:
Yeah, this is probably one of my favorite entries so far this time around.
I believe you can add more puzzles! And maybe even introduce rotating elements in the level, there's so much potential for this game! Don't give up team :smiley:
You add a lot of mecanism to your game! It add a possibility and you use it well in a great level design!
A very solid entry, good job!
The art was a mixed bag for me though. While the animations and the main character looked gorgeous, the rest of the environments seemed a bit off for me. The clouds were a nice addition but those could use some more polish as well. But that's all really nothing that actually reduced my fun. Seeing that this was a solo projects, it's all the more impressive what you achieved. Good job!
The whole environment art feels lacking, because, well, it actually is. All the levels are basically two 9sliced sprites, stretched, flipped and tiled.
There actually was more to it initially, I had some tiles to add variation, I was planning to make a dissolve shader instead of just alpha fade out. But whenever I've added new stuff, it would break something that was already working. So I've decided to cut it all, leave the bare minimum and just polish it.
Also, a little sneakpeak at what graphics were like 6 hours before I finished:
Congrats
The controls did feel a little awkward to me; I would often find myself changing direction as I landed from a jump, which felt uncomfortable. I think I would probably like them better if they were screen-relative rather than character relative, but perhaps other people would feel differently?
Death also felt a little unforgiving; the levels are moderately large relative to the character's move speed, and I didn't generally feel like the gems in each one felt like part of a unified "whole" puzzle; it often felt like missing a jump required me to re-solve the previous one or two "puzzles" (gems) rather than just the one I was on. Perhaps if there were fewer gems on each level, and where there are multiple gems they should be part of the same jumping puzzle? When I return to the central island after getting a gem I feel like I should be "done" with that gem, and I shouldn't have to collect it again because I failed to collect a different one.
Though in many ways that speaks to the slickness of the presentation; the way the levels flow into each other is excellent, and it does a wonderful job of making the game experience feel like a unified whole. With a bit more time and art variety I think this could be the basis of a really great full game, so I look forward to seeing what you do with it!
I liked the music (even though it became a bit repetitive after a while), it fit the game enough.
The movement and the control of the character in general is nice and intuitive.
At first, I thought you loop also when falling of screen, but it is also ok to lose to make it more interesting.
The thing I liked most was the fact you always built up the level starting from the middle pieces. It's a little touch that for me increased by a lot the immersion and made it feel more like a journey than a level select! I think they say it is more diegetic as level progression.
The dark thing near the end was intriguing but then the game ended sadly =( When the temple appear tho I was surprised, it's cool!
I'd say similarly to a poster above, the death was a little brutal in that missing one jump at the end of the level would mean you have to repeat everything, which felt a bit more frustrating than tough.
Overall very cool, and I love the art at the top of this page too :D
If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/767511277?t=2h54m30s
Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D
💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
I don't know if you invented the gameplay or if you were inspired by an already existing game. In any case I've never played a game with this mecanic before and I loved taking it in hand! I finished all the levels... And my verdict :
I want more !!!
Especially since you present the mechanics of the dark creatures in the last level, there is so much potential and possibility of variations. I'm a fan!
I think you can make a real game out of it, if you want to of course, because the concept can really go far I think !
So far it's my favorite game that I've tested out of all this Ludum!
Thank you very much!
Just had some difficulties with the inverted controls when you are upside down or on the sides. I understand the way it works, but my brain gets fked up (even if it did not prevent me to reach the end). An interesting kind of control would be to move the player toward the direction you are pointing with the controls.
I see myself agreeing with another comment here, too: You should pack this game up and just sell it commercially. Feels very complete! Good job!