Below the Ocean

What a fantastic game! Not only is the tether mechanic incredibly fun and well implemented, but it's combined with other elements in so many interesting ways. I was surprised by just how many mechanics you managed to fit into this game in 72 hours. On top of that, the music, visuals, and just overall atmosphere of the game are top notch, with into/outro cutscenes and a victory dance to boot. Overall, an amazing game!

@superpokeunicorn Thanks for the feedback!!! I'm glad you like it!

Insanely good game! Pretty hard to find a flaw in this lol. Mechanics, music, graphics, difficulty, level design are all top notch.

Brillant entry again, absolutely amazing how everything is well drafted.
Deeper and deeper are the game mechanics, congratulations.

@famicon80 @mlho7 Thanks yall! Glad you like it! :blush:

This feels more like a demo from a finished game than something made within 72 hours for a game jam.

The mechanics work really well with the theme and are excelently implemented.
The music is extremely catchy but doesn't overstay its welcome.

At times the player's movement feels a little too floaty which resulted in a few deaths.
My only grip with the game is the gems, some were a bit too hard to collect and I would've liked to have been given the opportunity to quickly go back to a previous checkpoint and retry, especially as I overshot gem 4 and had no way of getting back to it.

@littlew00d Thanks for the detailed feedback!

I feel like the floaty-ness was kind of necessary to sell the underwater setting. It could probably have been tuned a little better, or some of the areas made more forgiving to better fit the physics. The gems being a side-mission/optional-goal left me with the feeling that it was okay to make them harder to get as an added challenge. A backtrack teleport system would definitely be a convenient feature I hadn't considered, but I can only do so much in 72 hours minus the time needed to do human things like eat and sleep lol :wink: Thanks again!

Wow. What a game. Just using 2 colours to such effect is a true skill. How you made this over a weekend is mind boggling! Little details, like how the air supple cable will make the character bounce back and forth as it moves, and the overall super fine tuned physics of the whole game, make this a truly stunning LD entry. Looking forward to seeing more games from you.

Great vibes! Everything gels together real well.

@oddsocks Thanks for your feedback and kind words!
@cacciatc Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

Wow, really neat little game. I love the attention to detail and all the content you managed to create in such little time. Great job !

@valden Thanks for your feedback! Once the mechanics are in, the levels almost design themselves. I had to force myself to stop making levels because I could just keep going.

Wow that is my 7th game I am rating this jam, and it seems I already struck gold. This game has really nice Celest vibes (which was a pico-8 gamejam game befor). I am really impressed by the polish of this little gem :) keep it up and maybe take this further!

@akronsus Thanks! I love Celeste, and definitely "borrowed" a few ideas from it! :wink:

10/10 My favorite from the Jam so far! It introduces so many cool ideas and explores them in fun and interesting ways without getting tiresome. Congrats on your achievement with this one!

@dude-the-hero Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like it! Hopefully you find some more favorites along the way!

Yeah it's fully understandable that it's really hard to fit a small amount of features into a game jam entry within a tight deadline; I should know, I restarted and made a completely different game within 10 hours.

Floatiness was probably the wrong word to use to describe the controls as it worked really well to show that the game took place underwater. I was mainly referiing to the left and right movement of the character felt like it was going from one extreme to another and didn't allow for precise platforming controls.

This is still my favourite game out of the dozens that I've played through!

@littlew00d I actually worked on an FPS for this jam for 3-4 hours before I scrapped it an started this... An FPS was big a leap for me. I have much more experience with these 2D platformers. I think that was the best thing I did this Jam :slight_smile:

Playing with it a bit more, I think you're refering to what I'd call "slippyness", like the acceleration and deceleration speeds.

I'm glad it's your fav lol I'm sure you'll find some more gems along the way! :thumbsup:

I was a bit concerned by the clunky base controls when I started playing, but the tether mechanic and bubbles were really really neat! The tether is definitely a neat and innovative mechanic, I'd love to see it expanded upon in the future!

An amazing game, I actually really wanted to play it and finish it. Super polished and the physics based tether worked great and made for really unique puzzles. Some coyote time on the wall jumps would have been nice, but an overall great effort! Well done!

@trensient Thanks for your feedback. When you say controls, do you mean the inputs, like wasd and space to jump? Or the movement physics like speed, jump height, gravity, accelerate and decelerate? I feel like platformer physics are hard to nail down, and one of those things you just cant satisfy everyone with. Maybe there should be sensitivity options like an FPS's mouse input. :shrug:

@corbeng Glad you like it! Thanks for your feedback. I gotta look into coyote time the wall jumps, I hadn't thought of that!

Fun fact time; the tether's swing mechanics were basically discovered accidentally. I was just doing the under water theme and wondered what the lifeline/tether would look like. I let the line interact with the blocks and discovered the player could swing and get caught up on things. I thought about doing a recoil/reel mechanic where you could pull yourself up and down and stuff but didn't bother with how well everything else was going.

@ismael-rodriguez Thats how game development goes a lot of the time haha. Yeah I had also thought about a reeling mechanic while playing, but I think the time spent on polish and level design was more worth it. Again, very well done :)

I usually don't do this but this a straigth 5 stars in all categories (even when humor just comes from the sloppy rope physics).

THIS IS AMAZING, like really, if you ever make a full game out of this, I'd buy it and play it and suggest it to all my friends. Really, this is absolutely impressive. Great Level Design, great Audio, great Mechanics, perfect diffuclty curve, all mechanics well explained without the need of words.

Just WOW. Really.

(I will keep the game on my hard drive, because I feel like I want to replay it some day)

Could you tell me how you came up with all the mechanics and what you did on which day? I am curious how this litte masterpiece was made. ^^

@leorid Thanks for your excited feedback! I'm really glad you liked it!

I'll write up a detailed blog post for you and anyone else who's interested about the dev story. I'm excited to share the adventure.

This is such an amazing game! I love it! 5 stars all the way!!

@spaghetti-inc Thanks! 5-stars!!! LESSSSS GOOOOO lol Thank you! :smile:

All this positive feedback has me hype'd! Thanks yall!

@ismael-rodriguez You deserve all the positive feedback for your amazing game!

Awesome game! I already looked forward to it last weekend. You did a very good job here on graphics, sound and mechanics.

Ok this is fantastic ! It's honestly crazy that this was made in this short amount of time. The tether mechanic is one of the most clever I've seen yet, there's a lot of potential for a great Celeste-like game ! Amazing submission !

@tankou Thanks for your kind words and feedback! Kinda lucky it came out as well as it did!
@talios Thank you! I love Celeste, its definitely an inspiration!

Very nice :) Made it to the end :D

@robbzenone Thanks for playing and your feedback! :thumbsup:

This game is absolutely phenomenal... It's jaw droppingly good. The art style and music/sound is so amazing. I wish I could listen to the music on loop.

It's such an innovative game. I was happy with the retro style platforming, but when the tethering mechanic appeared I was just blown away. It's really the perfect idea and it plays so well. It feels super polished. I love this game.

Seriously nice work. I'm really impressed.

I had a real blast playing your game. It's full of good design ideas, audio and graphics are spot on, controls are just perfectly tight. Awesome. Without a doubt one of the best entries in this LDJAM. Well done and thanks for this delightful moment.

Very very good game. I like the graphics and sounds

This was so good I forgot I was playing a jam game. Really well done!

This is absolutely fantastic. I can't believe you made this during a jam! Congratulations!!

Fantastic game! One of my favorites this jam! So simple, yet so interesting! Bravo!

@arancutter Thanks! I was worried people would hate the music lol I'm into hip-hop, and have been trying to sneak some dope beats into my games ^_^ glad you like it!

@paulloz @robotex @darqweful @pierre-poupin @sadsmile Thanks yall! I really appreciate your comments and positive feedback!

Wow, that's some really solid and super fun game. The graphics really fit and are done well. The gameplay is fun and the difficulty curve is pretty balanced. There're a couple of issues though. The first one is the wall jump. It feels kinda awkward and I end up just simply falling most of the time. Maybe put a koyote time after getting of the wall or give a fraction of time before you get off the wall when press the direction key in the opposite direction of the wall. The second complaint is with the yellow cubes. It is directly not clear how they work and I think I did not fully deciphered them, just brutforced my way trying every possible idea. Nontheless congrats, this game is awesome.

Really good game! The puzzles are fun, love the setting, the music and sounds add a ton to the experience. The artstyle is cute. Great work!

@lootgrounds Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like it! I've had a bit of feedback from others regarding the wall jumps. Coyote time would def help people there. I think the problem may come from people's experience with other wall jump system. Maybe I could have better explained it in game, except I don't want to be too wordy, or provide too much instructions.

In my game, you only need to be pressed up against a wall to jump; you don't need to press any inputs away from the wall. I think some people are pressing away, pulling themselves off the wall, and still trying to wall jump. Coyote time would def help relieve this issue.

Regarding the yellow blocks. If you managed to complete the game, or make your way passed first 2 of them, I think you understand all you need to know. If your tether is touching a block, it powers-up the line and allows you to open doors by touching the "power-nodes" while powered. Maybe I could have instructed players with words, but again, I try not to overdo instructions and just use conveyance, and that may have backfired in your case.

@pnkvrt Thank you! I appreciate you feedback!

Honestly an incredible game! :D played till the end died 46 times got 3 diamonds. would love to see a continuation. 5 stars all the way.

@firas-mourad Thanks for your feedback! 46 deaths might be a lot, I'm not sure because you're the first to report lol

This game is brillant! Love the music, ambient and fx are perfect. Biased to say I like the graphics coz this low color and smal res are my jam. I feel game mechanics are inovative and could notice the celest(pico8) inspiration. I love it, easy top 5 games in this ludumdare.

@didigameboy Thanks! Glad you like it! Celeste is def an inspiration :wink:

What a great entry! Loved the tether mechanic. Sounds and graphics were lovely as well. A nice difficulty ramp. Really cleverly designed and executed. Good job! Only feedback I'd give is perhaps the controls could be a tiny bit more responsive. PS: loved the ending! This is definitely one of my top 2 games thus far.

@tarcisiotm Thanks for your feedback! I agree on the controls/physics part. That's been one of the most pointed at issues so far. Thanks again!

I'm curious what your other top game is! :)

Hi, @ismael-rodriguez

The other one would be this unexpected, recursion heavy tower defense game.

Once again, good job on this entry!

Oh my god dude! I loved it, what a polished, complete experience! You can really feel the underwater physics. I played it all the way through the end, really love the level design, I really liked how the elements sort of take you right till the puzzle, e.g. the tether getting over and swinging you up, or swinging all the way up to discover an oxygen tank, its really smart work! Really, what a top quality game!

@amar-ravi Thanks for your feedback! I wondered if the "only going right" was the right thing to do. Or if I should have done more drop-down-to-lower areas. I actually tried not to over think that because I really just wanted to highlight the mechanics, so I just kept going right :)

Saw your post at the start of the weekend showing the mecanic so I came back to see the final product. I love this game so much clever mechanic, beautiful art and genius level design!

@rawb Thanks for checking back!!! Glad you liked it! Thanks for your kind words and feedback! 😁

such a hard game, but the music and art are phenomenal, congrats!

@felo07 Thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated! I didn't think it would be very hard, I know theres some spikes I've second guessed 😅

Dang, this is a ridiculously good game. Was a lot of fun how you played with the tether mechanic as the levels progressed. Wonderful job!

Great mechanics, very creative! Got the queen's pearl :)

@willjardine Thanks! Got lucky finding that tether mechanic!

@pixel-lifetime Thanks! Glad you like it, and recovered the Queen's Pearl!

Wow, this was fantastic. The tether mechanic was brilliantly executed, and the level structure did a fantastic job of teaching and slowly ramping up the difficulty. Putting the player on a leash made for so many interesting puzzles, and I was really blown away when switches were added to the mix. This was a really clever idea. I'm struggling to come up with some criticism here, but I think I would have liked a more responsive wall-jump when you're heading away from the wall. Really though, excellent work. This is easily in my top three so far!

@morrilet Thanks for your detailed feedback! Wall jumps, among other physics and inputs have been a problem for a lot of people. :shrug: Tried my best :smile:

That's just amazing. I was smiling like a kid playing this. I lvoe the art style, the mood, the sounds, the theme, the mechanics...Nothing bothered me in the slightest. 5/5.

Amazing work! I found the mechanics fun, and it was exciting to see what kind of obstacles you would come up with.

@yorsh @taikinaaa Thanks yall! I very much appreciate your feedback!!! :smiley:

This is my favorite entry so far. Excellent use of minimal color, the tether mechanic is lots of fun, and I love how you handled the transitions between areas -- that slight overlap and the shared O2 container really ties them together. The floaty underwater physics are frustrating sometimes, but it's the good kind of frustrating. The "this is different from what I'm used to so I need to recalibrate myself for this new environment" kind. I managed to get all the diamonds with about 33 deaths, and I wasn't bored once.

@pizzasgood Thanks for your detailed feedback! Very appreciated. I did move away from using the overlapping camera zones after the first 3rd of levels, it was a little too limiting, but it was a neat trick :) glad you noticed.

Absolutely amazing game, definitely my favorite of the jam. I loved how there were many types of movement mechanics and how you used the tether in multiple ways.

The graphics and music/sound effects were also super good; the physics felt great to me and it feels like a rare underwater platformer that's extremely fun to play!

I managed to clear with 17 deaths my first time around; I'd love to go back and try a couple casual speedruns.

Very good entry!
Solid and polished

the movement is a little weird, but i got it! Very good game man, loved the art style, music and sfx

This is so impressive, definitely could see this being a much larger game, as somebody said before, feels like a demo for an already existing game. Great job!

Holy crap! Can I get this on the switch? lol seriously this is a super highly polished game. I'm very impressed by this level of quality in such a short amount of time. Great work!

Beautiful game, would love to play a full version with even more uses of the mechanics! Very fluid gameplay with great polish, nothing to really critique!

Amazing work!

I love it! The music is daaamn good it gives you the mood.

Nice entry dude!

As a fan of Celeste I loved the vibes of this game. The gameplay is great and its so visually appealing, you bought me with the eyes. This game also fits the theme very well and the oxygen tank mechanic is a pretty nice touch. I'd only change the difficulty curve of the game, 'cause the very first diamond is a little too much challenging when you don't even know how to perfectly control your character's jump yet, for example. Besides that, I loved the experience. Such a great entry!

@herman-chau Thanks for your feedback! I didn't immediately realize I was making a big scary underwater level (people hate water levels right) until it was too late lol It turned out not to be so bad I guess :)

@alexascher @aaronacus Thank you! I appreciate your kind words and feedback! :)

@pedonho The movement was tricky, people are on both sides of it, could def use a bit of tuning tho. Thanks for your feedback. Glad you like it!

@bamallama @norris-eldridge @okamit Thank you! Are you sure you want a game full of water levels? lol

@ismael-rodriguez Haha well yes since it's so fluid! It's not slow and imprecise as all the water levels that have turned imfamous over the years! As long as the gameplay continues to surprise and innovate during the course of the game I think it could definitely work as a longer game!

@okamit :) haha thanks! That's a tall task, I may be up to it, we'll see ;)

Games like this makes me want to Jam more. I want to reach this level. Extremily elegant core mechanic, clean levels design, solid game feel. You pretty damn good Ismael. Maybe someday we can something together. TOP5 in my eyes for sure.

@villanelle I'm huge fan of Celeste too. I had no idea a platformer could be anything like THAT.

I totally agree with your point about that first diamond (technically 2nd :wink:). I should have removed a few of those spikes next to it. Diamonds were among the last things to go into the game, even though I had them in mind from the start, and I guess I figured that an optional challenge should be harder than every thing else, but yeah, that diamond should def be a little easier to grab. There's a few other areas I'd like to smooth out too.

AND Thank you for your feedback!

@publicidadeba Thank you! :)

I was telling a non gamer non dev friend about this event. I explained how I can recall a time when I *dreamed* of being proficient enough to make a game in a weekend (didn't even need to be "good" lol). In some ways it feels like an accumulation of all my life experience going into a 72hour game.

Thanks again for your kind words :)

Simply amazing on so many levels. The atmosphere, the polish, the puzzle difficulty balance.. And you don't have to be genius to finish the game either, just give it some time.

One guy managing to do so many screens as well, when most of others would do 2-4 and then apologize for not doing more. That's some level of jam mastery.

I really appreciate that you didn't go the more typical route of a diving game and make oxygen a depleting resource that you have to manage, but rather you made it a spatial limitation. It not only makes for a fun and challenging game mechanic, but it also doubles as a story-telling and mood setting element. On top of all that the audio and visuals are a perfect cherry on top. Freaking sweet!

Fantastic idea with swinging. It's like playing Celeste with a twist!

@kr4ft3r Thanks! I learned about the level problem from my last entry. LD47 I spent so much time on other things I left a LOT of unexplored mechanics on the cutting room floor. So I tried my best to explore a few different mechanics in a more fulfilling way this jam.

@quite-good Thanks! I'm not sure I ever considered using oxygen as a resource, if I did, I immediately discarded it and never brought it back up lol.

@chrissx2 Celeste is the king of the indie platforming mountain lol I love that game! A huge inspiration. Thanks for the comparison, it's unreal type of flattering :smile:

Thanks yall for playing and your feedback!

Easy contender for top-10 games of this jam, amazing level of polish and attention to gameplay. Outstanding music / mood, and an original tether mechanic that was really fun to play with. Fives across the board, outstanding work!

First 5/5 I've given this ldjam. Very solid game, you took one mechanic and really honed it into a fun game.

Amazing game! At first I thought this was just gonna be a regular platformer but then you introduced the swing mechanic and everything changed. Really well done! I have no feedback other than I wish it were longer :smiley:

This was awesome! I am a huge fan of celeste and this really gave me those vibes. I really liked the gameplay mechanics, and usually you see one, maybe 2. But here, we got the wall jump, the tether, the bubbles, then electricity for powering switches. This was incredible! I think the only thing that could possibly change is the hit boxes on the spikes seemed a little brutal.

Fantastic game! I was constantly surprised by the new mechanics that kept appearing throughout. the best part was they all worked super well! This is absolutely one of the better games I've played so far. Very well done.

Oh and the music is incredible, it is so simple, yet never felt repetitive and fit the game in the background so well. Loved it!

Cool idea, I enjoyed it very much. I like that you can't loose and only death counter increases. Good job!

Really fun game! Extremely polished, fun art even if it was mostly 1 bit. THe thing I liked the most, other than the music haha, is the level design. You really managed to teach the player at the right moments what to do and what not to, mostly because of how the spikes were places. Most of the time I knew what to do from the moment I entered the room, so congrats! Also the ending was really cute, my guy had some dance moves haha. Great submission!

I like the limited palette style art you've got there, and wow those tether mechanics are an awesome addition to the puzzles!

At first I was worried that the rope wasn't gonna be used in a meaningful way as more new platforming aspects were introduced, but you really nailed blending all of the mechanics together! Sometimes it also felt like there were multiple possible solutions, which was nice :D If you develop this further I think some more tricky puzzle sections would be cool. Overall probably the most fun entry I've played yet, definitely need more than 10 minutes of this!

@karlipoppins @aaranos Thanks for the fives! *high fives* lol Thanks for your feedback too! :smile:

@frenchie Thank you for your feedback! Another platformer, with a lil twist :slight_smile: I got lucky with it honestly.

@tanner-shelton I love Celeste, great game! The spike hitboxes are 1 pixel less than the visual, maybe 2 would be better :shrug:

@link270 Thank you! I tried to keep things interesting, every room should have a new idea, or combine some old ones. Seemed to work :)

@antvelm Thanks for your feedback. Anti-frustration mechanics are important to me. I don't like repeating areas. The death counter is a neat score keeping feature and also a motivation for players to try and do their best.

@cekitian Thank you! I spent way too much time on that dance animation! lol

@maytch Thank you!!! the pseudo 1-bit pixel art was VERY easy to make. I think adding that touch of color helps how it all hits your eyes. Thanks for your feedback.

@nitero Thanks! I was worried I made it too long for the jam, so 5-10 minutes is all we get for now lol. I had to kind of force myself to think of ways to make the tether interesting, because after those first 3 "swing" rooms, I started to run out of ideas, which Is why the bubbles + jets carry the game for a few rooms. Once I thought of the powered tether, that helped bring the tether back into the mix, and the last room tries to use everything all together. Glad you liked it!

Hey, congrats on making all that, it's great. Nice audio and visuals right through, with excellent level design to boot!

@aaants Thank you! I appreciate your feedback! :)

Awesome game. I really enjoyed playing it. I love the use of the oxygen tank and the tether puzzle, really smart. It made me though of celest in the begining with those diamond. I'd say the only problem that gave me trouble is the inertia in the movement, had a lot of trouble for the second diamond where you have to precisely land between two spike. Nice work!

@tbaudon Thank you! Celeste is a huge inspiration, not gonna lie :smile: I also wish I made that diamond a little easier, but I figured they were optional so it's okay to be hard :shrug: People have given all kinds of feedback on the movement. Some people had issues, some people think it's good... more :shrug:

Thanks again for your feedback!

Phenomenal work on this. I'm a sucker for 1-bit art and so I loved the art right off the bat. The audio was nice and calming. The gameplay was really well done and polished as well. The water and rope physics were awesome and have potential for some really cool puzzles. And of course, you met that potential and then some. Every level in this game was designed beautifully. I loved the mechanics in play and the combination of mechanics for later levels like the bubbles and air currents. I honestly did not have any problems with this game apart from some nitpicks.
I got stuck at the level after you learn about how you can swing because I didn't really think about wrapping the rope around a cube to swing there. Maybe a little hint would have helped but I guess it could also have just been me being slow to realise it lol. Moreover, some of the levels kinda felt like I got a little lucky with my swings since the rope got a little too tight at somepoints. Maybe increasing the length of the rope at certain levels would help alleviate this. Also I felt that the sprite for the yellow switches seems a little out of place in comparison to the rest of the game.
Other than that though, amazing entry. Definitely one of my favourites from this Ludum Dare.

@badpiggy Thanks for your detailed feedback.

The 1st rope "puzzle" was actually the first room I built, it was kind of a proof of concept for how the tether could help or hinder the player depending on their path. I think the idea was that players would find that 1 block odd, and figure it must be important. I worried I might lose some people here because it's not really intuitive. Everyone seems to have eventually figured it out. :slight_smile:

I actually think the 2nd rope "puzzle" should have replaced the 1st, I just didn't think of it while jamming :slight_smile:

I considered adjusting the tether length based on the rooms, I also considered allowing the player to adjust the lengths. But opted against that stuff to avoid over complicating things for myself at the time.

The yellow blocks were place-holders that I never got around to replacing. I actually wanted to animate something.

Thanks again for your feedback! I love talking game-dev :smile: maybe too much

Great concept ! love the swing mechanic ! Good stuff

I really loved your very unique rope mechanic, which gave new opportunities in low-gravity setting :) Good job! The game somewhat seemed to struggle to find its way between being a "puzzle" (rope length, optional gems etc) or a "manic platformer" (spikes, precise jumps & lots of sliding). Some levels were a little bit frustrating because of that, imho :) But anyway, I enjoyed it a lot!

You just can't go wrong wit black+white+color. The music/sfx also fit quite well.
Using the save points as wire connections was a nice twist.
This game is neither to long nor to short.

TL;DR: Good job!

I just got to the end of the game. The first part is fine, but becomes really great when I finally reached the golden blocks. It also took me a long time before I understood how the bubbles worked.

You've done so much in 72 hours! Also the black white blue graphics style is great too!

Such a nice game, it probably needs to be a retail game.

The difficulty curve was PERFECT.
I didn't feel like I was overwhelmed at all, each new puzzle was well explained.
The atmosphere is amazing, the visuals are simple and clear.
I loved that you made the spikes blue, it fit the game nicely.
Overall excellent execution, one of the best entries this Ludum Dare!

@itsisaac Thanks for your kind words of feedback!

@deepnight Thank you for your feedback. I never intended to make the main path a "manic platformer". I had my wife test the game, and she doesn't really play games like this; so when I see her clear the rooms (with *some* trouble), I expect most people playing LD games (and indie platformers) to be able to clear them with *some* trouble.

I'll admit, I'm not sure if I found a good balance of platforming vs puzzle solving. I've had feedback from both directions regarding that topic.

@jordgubben Thanks for your feedback! I was worried the game was too long :slight_smile:

@g12345 Thanks for your feedback! Which part of the bubbles gave you trouble? The double-jump? Or the floating on jetstreams?

@madnukin Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like them! I think the blue spikes was a nice touch too :slight_smile:

Very fine dual purpose design here

@jormarysky Thanks for your feedback! Def tried to get more than one use out of the mechanics.

Great game! I loved every minute of it, despite being terrible at it (I got close to 50 deaths). The graphics, music, and gameplay were extraordinary, and the game mechanic of the oxygen line was really fun and innovative! The color palette for the graphics was also really nice, and I like how organized it was with each color portraying a particular purpose. The puzzles themselves were also very well made. I'm honestly surprised you were able to make it all in one weekend - I was expecting to see that a team of people made this, not just one person. Overall this game was really good. Well done!

@eoshadows Thank you for your detailed feedback! Glad you liked it, and were able to push through all those deaths and complete it! While I did make everything myself, I did have the help of my wife to help bounce ideas off of and playtest. It also uses a good amount of tools (Unity 2D Tilemap, 2D Pixel perfect) and some code-base from older projects (player controller, scene controller, sound controller).

When I looped the tether around the block to tighten it up for a jump, I almost laughed out loud.

Perfection.

@ted HAHA Hopefully that was a laugh of joy!
Thanks for your feedback!

@ismael-rodriguez It was absolutely a laugh of joy! :)

Fantastic game, it couldn't have fit the theme any better! Great art, great music, and clever puzzles.

@dorigami Thanks for your feedback!

Enjoyed it a lot, really cool mechanics and a challenging game while still being chill. Great work!

@felixmreeve Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like it!

I just LOVED IT !!! I am amazed when I realize that only one person managed to do something so good in just 2 days. This can become a very easy commercial game. The puzzles are very well thought out, the physics are very good and this "Monochromatic" palette has a very special charm.
The music is great and has everything to do with the game.
My sincere congratulations!

@euler-moises Hey thanks for your feedback and sharing your end screen! 8/8 diamonds in pretty good time! Good job! Glad you like my game :blush:

The mood you set in the game is great. The jump and the controls were appropriately "floaty" as they should be underwater. The music and sound effects combined with the retro graphics and polish to make for a very fun and challenging little game. I really enjoyed it.

A fun and well-made platformer. The idea is simple, but very polished. The level design was simple enough that even a beginner didn't have much trouble progressing. I liked the slow introduction of new mechanics. The music was nice to listen to and didn't tire out. My only criticism would be that the wall jumps could use a bit of grace time to start after leaving the wall. Overall a very good, fun game!

Fives across the board. I DEMAND A FULL VERSION ON STEAM RIGHT NOW!!!

Seriously, this game is gold. Everything is so on point. Graphics, mechanics, physics, music, sound effects. I have no critiques, only compliments. Congratulations!

@recursor Thank you for your feedback! Glad you found the "floaty" movement appropriate and not too bad! :slight_smile:

@tommytheitguy Thank you for your feedback! I should have known the wall jumps would be a problem. I did have to coach my wife through them, but I just chalked it up to her being a non-platformer.

@danmedeiros THANKS SO MUCH! Super flattering to hear people want a full game! :blush:

I loved the mechanics and game design. The art and music fitted, very well, with the theme of the game. Congratulations to the developer.

@yurikun Thank you for you're feedback! Glad you liked it!!! :smiley:

My dear friend congratulations, you made a game to be proud of, he is beautiful and subtle in details, I just have something to say "I appreciate the opportunity to have known your work", a big hug, and I await your evaluations regarding my game.

@etrealjunior Thank you for your feedback! I very much appreciate your kind words! Thank you! I've been working my way down the list of commenters and will definitely play your game and provide feedback!

this was all around a great game and I was very happy to be able to play it. great art/music and mechanics

Wow, this game is amazing, I have no idea how you managed to make it so fast. The movement feels nice, the game overall is super polished and the puzzles are good too!

speechless. in my opinion one of the best games, originality and great mechanics

Really good game. Definitely feeling the Celeste inspiration. It's amazing how much you were able to include in the game, so many mechanics, and they were presented very well! I really liked the music as well. Great work!

@gorethumb Thank you for your feedback!!

@ziggykac Thanks! I'm working on a "post-mortem" that's taking more time than it took to make the thing lol

@javicoder Thank you! Glad you think so!

@suppi Thank you!, Def some Celeste inspiration!

I'm glad yall like my game, and I appreciate your feedback!!!

WOW, that's a blast! I simply fell in love with the game! It looks good, it sounds good, it feels good! a masterpiece! I'll give it the best score I can! Congratulation for the entry!

This is definitely the best game I played on this jam. Congrats!

@bionikmonster I guess I'm way to critical on myself to use the word "masterpiece", but I'll admit it's a pretty good jam game :sweat_smile: Sometimes all I see are the flaws, even when everyone says its good... but I'm flattered by your feedback! Thank you!

@kotzi Thank you for thinking it's the best! :smile: I've seen some REALLY awesome games this LD. I feel like this is the strongest LD I've ever seen. A bunch of very polished and unique games, all with different takes on the theme!

It's the first time I give a perfect score in this jam ! Everything feels incredibly polished, and the concept is really original. I love that kind of platformer a lot, and the rope mechanic is a very fun twist on the genre, that give birth to a lot of level design ideas.
The only thing that I think could be improved is the size of the spikes, that does not seem adapted to the jump height, and make some jumps harder to do than necessary. I would have made them a little smaller.

This was awesome, and beautiful too! amazing in every aspect, and more so considering the limited time available to do it. Congrats

@jrevel I should have made the spiked just a little more player friendly! I couldn't round out all of the corners in the time, but it looks like most people make it through :slight_smile: Thank you for your feedback!

@wanderix Thank you for your feedback! Glad you like it! The limited time helps force some decisions which is good and bad, but I do think it helps bring some of the best ideas out!

This is remarkable! So simple and so polished. Nice one! Cannot figure out how to go up where is arrow up (cannot jump to the platform - seems to be unreachable). Is there some double jump or something? UPDATE: Figured it out. Nice!

@8bitcharlie Thanks for your feedback! I noticed some people having trouble with the first real tether "puzzle", I probably could have done a little more to teach some of those mechanics, but people seem to figure it out eventually (or watch someone else do it :shrug: )

Wow! Some puzzles took a bit to figure out but that's what they're puzzles for! So very polished, only noticed one tiny moment where my chain went through a block but hey ;) Fantastic work for 72 hours on your own!

@chartle Thanks for your feedback! I had the chain break through the blocks a few times during testing. I tried a few things to prevent it, but never totally solved it. They repaired themselves directly anyway and didn't hinder the game too badly so I just let it go. I have some ideas on how to better prevent that by supplementing the unity physics with some code. We'll see how it goes post jam! Thanks again!

One of the best games at LD48 so far! Awesome idea! I like the simplicity of the graphics, everything's clear, no unnecessary objects.. I like how the colors are balanced in this game. Music/sounds are cool. Very good idea for the game mechanics with the swinging rope. The levels are built in a smart, challenging way, especially at the very end. This game is diablo good!! Congratulations!!!

What a great game! Such a clever game mechanics and level design! I rarely rate with all five stars, but your game is totally deserves it!

@filgru Thank you for your detailed feedback! Glad you like my game! :smile:

@dmitry-koblyk Thank you so much! I appreciate it :smiley: 5 STARS LETS GOOOOOO!!!! lol

Really great game! :star::star2::star::star2::star:

Really nice game! I really enjoyed playing your game! The mechanic you used here is really nice and well implemented! The game feels really polished and the music suites it perfectly!
Great game!

@ancooper Thank you! Thanks for sharing your score! 8/8 Diamonds! Nice!

@tucan Thank you for your feedback! :smiley:

Really loved the tether mechanic, the pixel art, the color palette, the sfx for jumping and grabbing jewels, the music, the dance at the end. The yellow squares were a cool addition, although I almost got stuck trying to get one of them.

I love the game as is but here are some ideas for the future:
- adding enemies
- moving platforms
- bubble streams that change currents / direction
- jumping on the chain as it's moving??? if it's gold / taught?
- pause
- high scores

I liked that you could tab through the instructions, and how consistent and polished the music and graphics were. Super fun and addicting game! Great job!

@alessandra Thank you for your very detailed feedback! I'm glad you like my game :smile:

I like your suggestions. I considered most of them for the jam, but time was limited of course.

Not sure what you mean about jumping on the chain though.

really awesome game! The game machanics feel great, and I really like the sfxs in there! The only thing I'm having hard time is the wall jumping part, every time I want to jump to the other side I always fall down, maybe in the future developing you can add a boost or something to make it easier? Anyway, really concept and I was thoroughly enjoing it very much!

@zlan100 Thanks for your feedback! I've heard a lot of people had trouble with the wall jumps! I should have known! :face_palm: There's a lot tuning to do on those wall jumps (and other physics) for the post-jam work I'm planning.

Best game so far, very engaging. I don't have really anything bad to say about this game, considering the time frame we all had. Great job!

Very cool game! I love the art color music and mechanics! Going for the diamonds was a little frustrating at times but novel enough where it was easy to get over. Great game!

@e-e-wick Thank you!!! I'm flattered about it being the best so far. Hopefully you come across some other good gems! There's a lot of them this LD!

@c4scar Thanks for your feedback! I def should have balanced the diamond challenges a little better, AND told players they're totally optional. Thanks again!

This is so beautiful!!
And it's impressive how this game was made in the jam!

@neithernathan Thank you! Glad you like it :slight_smile:

Awesome! Usually not a fan of floaty physics but it fits so well with the theme and works really well here. Nice mix of precision and puzzle platforming, the tether mechanic is really fun and different too. On top of that everything is super polished.

@silkworm-sweatshop Thanks for your feedback! Floaty physics could have been a little better, but were also kinda necessary to sell the setting :shrug: Good enough for a 3day jam I guess :smile: Thanks for playing!

@ismael-rodriguez

Yeah that's what I meant. This game needs the floaty-ness :slight_smile:

Very nice.

I could learn a thing or two from the sfx and level design here. I'm not great at sound effect design but you've made some really satisfying yet simple ones!

@ddrkirbyisq Thanks! Glad you like!

I've learn a lot by playing other jammer's games. You can borrow the good stuff, and discard what you don't like, and just practice on refining everything in your own style!

Thanks again for your feedback!

I loved it! Nice game!

Thanks @pandapixel Glad you loved it! :slight_smile:

Incredible entry! The water and rope physics were perfect and made just jumping around feel great. I was really surprised that newer levels kept adding mechanics and they all fit perfectly - this is a really solid entry and could definitely be expanded into a full release. The amount of levels created was also very impressive.

The music really nailed the Water Level Vibe standard set by Donkey Kong Country.

The ~~strawberries~~ diamonds were a great optional challenge, though like in Celeste I was often too impatient to go for them.

@neontropics Thanks for your feedback! I DID have that Donkey Kong Country water theme in mind while making the music!

Glad you didn't go crazy trying to get the diamonds :smile:

Beautiful game! You managed to pack a very solid gameplay together with awesome art and sounds. Love the mood of the game and the difficulty. It's not too easy and not so hard to make you want to throw it out of the window :)
Very well done! Grats!

@tanis Thank you! Glad you didn't want to throw it out the window lol Thanks!

I don't usually play puzzle platformers like this, but I definitely enjoyed this one a lot. The first puzzle that required me to wrap the cable around a stone was a great "AHA" moment.

Well done!

@liero116 Thanks! I love designing those "AHA" moments! The more of them, the better!

Nice work, I loved the atmosphere and the gameplay!

@thegamerasd Thanks! Glad you like it 🙂

Short, beautifully executed, and what an amazing puzzle idea, really really well done! Also, I'm happy that I was able to get all 8 diamonds, so that's a plus xD Specifically on the audio side, really cool music and effects, they work greatly with the art. Congratulations on a great game!

@waltsontanaka thanks for your detailed feedback! 👍

So far this has been one of the best games I've played on LD! Great work! The minimalism paired with the ambient music is just amazing. The mechanics are very subtle and the level design fits perfectly! :clap:

@leorean Thank you so much for your feedback! I appreciate it :)

Fantastic work, one of my favourite entries in this LD! Really complete experience, smart puzzle/level design, very well tuned, all in all I'm astonished! I want to play more of your games now!

@pat-cleaver Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like it! More games here; https://ismaelrodriguez.itch.io/ :wink:

I really enjoyed your game and paid tribute in voxel.

It is a very solid game with a well-finished game design. It is a type of game that is hard to believe it was made in a few hours.
The oxygen cable gimmick was very well implemented but the general theme "Deeper and Deeper" was not very well explored in a creative way, it could have come out more than expected.

@leyaotang Thanks for your feedback! You're probably right about the theme being under represented. I may have been able to do more with that. More vertical/going-down areas, this *is* mostly left to right... :shrug: Oh well :sweat_smile:

Well, I'm thoroughly impressed! The graphics, sound effects, music, and mood were all top notch. I'm particularly impressed with the number of mechanics you were able to implement. This felt very polished for a game jam game. Well done!

@etrealjunior Wow thanks! I love it!!! 💘 I really appreciate the gesture! 😁

@mharring Thanks! I appreciate your feedback!!! 🤓

This was incredible! I love the tether mechanics I want to ask you how it was maaade it was super cool! Everything about this game is super compelling and fun! Congrats on such a fantastic game!

Very Celestey. The double-use of the bubble (double-jump + bubble stream) is brilliant. 💯

@chrisap Thanks! Glad you like it! The Tether is made using unity's built in physics, 2D Hinge. I wrote a script that instantiates all the links depending on how long I want it and then it sets up all the connections.

@mattwoelk Thank you! :) Glad you like it! Celeste is a huge inspiration!

I envy you such a game, the mechanics are very nice and well thought out.

This game is a combination of superb graphics and audio, fantactic executed common gameplay elements and add a whole bunch of novel (also great executed) gameplay mechanics that make a lot of fun. Astonishing work, definitely on my top list so far!

@locustjin Thanks! I just make it up as I go lol

@oadt Thanks for your kind words of feedback!

Really loved this! The mechanics were well implemented, the levels were well designed, and the game's aesthetic is just gorgeous. :D I was a little sad when I got the 8th diamond thinking that was the final room, but you threw in a whole suite of those wiring puzzles at the end that it felt so complete! Definitely among my favorite jam entries here. :)

@meep Thanks! I love that you loved it! :slight_smile: I have a head-canon reason why there's no diamonds passed the 8th.

Wow, this is so fun and polished! I'm very impressed! I loved the mechanics, the art, and the music! A+! :)

@boon Thank you so much! I appreciate your feedback! 😊

I learned a lot, thank you

Very cool!

Time: 11:19
Deaths: 22
Diamonds: 2/8

I really liked the rope/tether mechanic, and I thought that you made good use of it through your level design and with the checkpoint system that allowed you to change your tether point. I got frustrated with the fact that touching the side of a spike kills you, even when you are moving away from the base of the spike or moving laterally (not moving towards the pointy bit). One of the early diamonds required some jumping that was too precise for me so I gave up on it and many of the later diamonds. The normal levels seemed to be a pretty good difficulty for me though.

One other point: It was tough sometimes to jump away from the wall as I would step off of the wall and no longer be able to jump. It would be nice if there was a small grace period that allowed me to jump even though I am no longer touching the wall.

@pengda You're welcome? Not exactly sure how to respond to that lol. Thanks for your feedback 😅

@almost Thanks for your feedback, and sharing your score. Your def right about that first diamond and the spikes, and the wall jumps. Got a lot of feedback about those things. I'll do better next time 🙂

Wow what an amazing game! Right away I have to say that the level design of your game is practically perfect. In terms of mechanics it is probably the most different game from this game. The interpretation of the theme is very creative. Anyway, your game is extremely good. Congratulations.

@vphyre Thank you! I appreciate your feedback, glad you like it! :)

Mano! Parabens pelo 2nd lugar nas 2 categorias! Seu jogo tava incrivel mesmo. Foi minha primeira Ludum, eu nao entendi muito bem o criterio de avaliacao, pelo que vi voce ja participou varias vezes, poderia me explicar? hahahaha

@felo07 Thanks! I'm pretty hyped about the results. I'll be happy speak with you in detail if you have Twitter, send me a DM!

@ismael-rodriguez Congrats on the rating! I was curious how this one did since it was one of the ones I reviewed that really stood out.

@aaranos Thanks! Obviously would have been nice to get that gold :sweat_smile: Silver aint so bad though! I've got a lot of great positive feedback from this jam!

Very tight entry, especially the music. Those patches are super lush. Are you using a VST?

@ultimatewalrus Thanks for your feedback! My go-to VST is Nexus 2.

我英语很差，不能用英文表达我的意思。
通过玩你的游戏，感觉到你是很专业并且富有创造力的人。
你的游戏让我在关卡设计方面学到了不少，特别是关卡中各项“挑战”的组合结构。
总之，非常喜欢你的游戏，已经关注你了。

My English is very poor and I cannot express my meaning in English.
By playing your game, I feel that you are a very professional and creative person.
Your game has taught me a lot in level design, especially the combination structure of various "challenges" in the level.
In short, I like your game very much and I have already followed you.

@pengda Thank you so much for your feedback! Glad you like my game :)

Hello, perhaps I just missed it, but is your source code available? I was interested in how you set up your unity project. Great game! Thanks...

@superunknown No source code, but if you have specific questions I can answer via twitter DM; @ishyrodriguez

I really like the sea related mechanics you did, well done. The physics tether being the base for everything works well and is done really well