Ludum Dare #48compo

DD-7 - Underwater Exploration

by james-gillespie

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.47

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.18

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.00

Theme★★★★★★★★★★4.14

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.96

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.21

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.68

Explore the deep in the DD-7 underwater exploration vehicle.

Thanks for looking at my submission for Ludum Dare 48. Made by me in 48 hours in Godot and Aseprite.

It has been a while since I last got into gamedev. Busy life and all that, but this has been a really rewarding weekend. The level design fell apart a bit towards the end leading to a bit on a sudden ending. But I am pretty happy with what I have finished with.

Genres: adventure

Tools: Aseprite, Godot

Comments32

LDJam user 23514625 Apr 2021, 19:42

This game is really calming

liammasters25 Apr 2021, 21:01

The art and underwater physics are awesome!

Mizatorian25 Apr 2021, 23:44

the graphics are great. I had a hard time maneuvering the drill though. Rotation was really tough and slow. Did not expect a whale

JGUR26 Apr 2021, 06:54

Great detail in the graphics, quite enjoyed the depth meter in the corner there great work on that. Would like to add I feel the game can be improved with a little more content the further you go down, but overall nice work!

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 07:05

@jgur Thankyou! I completely agree with more content deeper down, time and brainpower got the best of me there.

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 07:06

@zykra Thanks, might pivot to just a game with whalesongs in the background

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 07:07

@liammasters Thankyou so much, probably the most effort into those things I have done for a jam game

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 07:08

@mizatorian Yeah the rotation could maybe be a bit faster or have less drag, was hard to get right once I had played it a lot testing. Glad you found the whale! :)

lokt0226 Apr 2021, 07:52

Very good atmosphere! I was scared when the lights turn off. But it was very hard to control this submarine, I am stumble every rock

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 09:31

@lokt02 I guess it isn't supposed to be easy to control, the movement is the main challenge of the game. Thanks for the comment!

IndigoWolf26 Apr 2021, 11:49

Love it. Really solid work bud, gives a great atmosphere. Only thing I noticed was the collision bounding seems to either be too big or not rotate with the player.

NorthernDonut26 Apr 2021, 12:01

the art is fabulous, love the whale he is really cool, movement is difficult by like you say it isn't suppposed to be easy to move around a heavy drilling machine under water haha.

Robotex26 Apr 2021, 13:13

Very nice game. Very similar to ancient Moon Lander game. I love the graphics.

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 13:21

@indigowolf Thanks :) The collisions seem fine for me, do you have any more detail?

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 13:22

@northerndonut Thankyou! I was quite proud of the whale haha.

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 13:22

@robotex thankyou so much

IndigoWolf26 Apr 2021, 13:28

@james-gillespie It seemed that when I was rotated the round, pink obstacles would still make contact with the ship even when it appeared to be a reasonable distance away.

James Gillespieauthor26 Apr 2021, 16:37

@indigowolf Oh yeah, they pretty much just attack when you get close, but that distance does respect the colliders shape. Could probably do with a better visual indicator of the range.

Attala26 Apr 2021, 16:41

Neat relaxing game which can be stressful sometimes. I really like the sounds and music. The vehicle could turn a little faster, although it's a slow paced game. Kudos on a solid entry!

Stampizi26 Apr 2021, 16:43

Very pretty game, I too enjoyed the whale. I didn't quite understand what was happening once I got to the end, I thought I had run out of energy, but then the end screen popped up. I did enjoy how the deeper you went the darker it was, that was neat!

Goutye26 Apr 2021, 17:07

I love the mood of this game! The art is perfect and feel great as you progress deeper and deeper! Thanks for the game, and congratulations! :smile: RIP my mining drills at the bottom of the sea!

vegmuffin26 Apr 2021, 17:45

Art looks really good! I just struggled getting the controls right. :)

BinaryPrinciple26 Apr 2021, 17:58

I felt like the rotations controls were inverted, and gave me some fight.
Once I manage to get a strong grip to it I was able to move forward. I like the simple and strong mechanics and how it push me to go deeper.
Sound and music were very calming and add it a lot to the experience.
One funny thing, my game have the same mechanic of moving your ship up to slow down and down to speed up. Great minds...

xlambein27 Apr 2021, 08:31

Nice game, I like the general mood, and the graphics are lovely. I can't make up my mind on whether it would've been better with music, or whether having just silence works best for a marine exploration game like that.

The controls were a bit clunky at times. Rotation is very slow, as is the upwards direction/brakes, whereas the left/right movements are quite fast!

A pleasant experience overall!

kristof27 Apr 2021, 17:41

Very nicely done game. I liked the mood as you slowly descended into the darkness. Cool whale sounds ;-) I guess the controls were supposed to feel a bit janky. But I think I would have preferred the W key to move me into the direction of my drill, if that makes sense? Good work overall!

LDJam user 24016827 Apr 2021, 17:57

Nice entry! The controls felt a bit clumsy, I'd personally love it to be faster and more responsive. Cool graphics and concept, nice job!

LDJam user 23693527 Apr 2021, 18:57

Turning's a little sluggish especially, but I don't mind the pace in this game. Kinda got a "Lunar Lander" thing going on under the sea. Was a bit short and not especially difficult, but I liked the atmosphere well enough and graphically, I really dig it. Heh. Dig.

Akronsus28 Apr 2021, 13:17

The whale got me xD nice game, a bit short, but nice :)

AR Borno1 May 2021, 16:13

It is a good looking short game.. Great Job.

Gordy Keene2 May 2021, 19:22

Never quite got the hang of maneuvering, the controls felt really laggy.

loveapplegames5 May 2021, 20:35

Looks great, very atmospheric. The ship seems out of control though. It responds slowly and erratically. It seems like it randomly starts to rotate at some point or it gets stuck.

Liam15 May 2021, 10:46

Loved the whale and general atmosphere, I kind of like the slow controls, felt like how an underwater craft might behave but definitely some room for tweaking.

Other games by @james-gillespie

★3.37

★3.62