Dr. Deeper

by tthe

co-authored: @littlemaow, @macibacsi56, @ringabell, @zoolee-art

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.43

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.02

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.27

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.93

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.66

Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.07

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.54

Hi, my name is Dr. Deeper,

And welcome to my brain! My extremely stressful job tends to overflow my dreams with thoughts, and I sometimes have a hard time putting the pieces back together. Help me navigate my memories, so that I can regain my sanity to help other people again!

Controls

* `A` and `D` to move
* `SPACE` to jump
* Push against a wall to slide, and reduce your falling speed

Running the game

If you have the latest 64-bit Java runtime environment install, you can use the _JAR_ download. If you want to make sure however, that the game will run perfectly you can download a slightly larger distribution (_JAR(with JRE)_) that contains everything. Just unzip the file, and run `start.bat`.

_Tested with AdoptOpenJDK 11 on Windows 10 64-bit_

Comments28

mitch_heisenberg26 Apr 2021, 22:52

The graphics are very original! I liked the parallax effect!

Eckkert27 Apr 2021, 03:08

High five from the team that made another therapy game. :)

ttheauthor27 Apr 2021, 07:52

I am trying to update the download links, but it seems impossible at this time ... Here are some alternative download links if you prefer direct ones. I also made an upload with an included JRE, if you do not know what Java you have installed, you should use this one:

* JAR: https://storage.googleapis.com/ludum-dare-games/ludum-dare-48/ld48-v1.0.jar
* JRE+JAR: https://storage.googleapis.com/ludum-dare-games/ludum-dare-48/ld48-v1.1.zip

davidmcarati27 Apr 2021, 08:51

Very interesting game...I like the concept and how team figured out on provided theme. Worth playing)

Elektroney27 Apr 2021, 09:45

Nice

Merpui27 Apr 2021, 10:02

I like the mood this game sets with the graphics and the well made parallax effect :)
I needed some time to get used to the wall jump mechanic, so finishing a level became a bit challenging. But I'm sure that I was just acting stupid at first :D

Well done!

retrome27 Apr 2021, 14:04

Interesting concept and nice graphics! Health indication is pretty atmospheric.

A couple of remarks:
1. Jumping out of walls is pretty hard. Sliding helps a little.
2. Font looks small on 4K display.

Good job!

guladam27 Apr 2021, 16:59

What a concept!
What a great visual style! :v: :eyeglasses:

I loved it, it was a beautiful experience.
The parallax background and the platforms.. So cool!
Great take on the theme as well of course.

If you like some constructive feedback, I can only rant about a couple of minor technical difficulties:
- Dialogue text is a bit small and hard to read, even a 1080p display
- Character control feels clunky sometimes, but I got used to it after a while

The127 Apr 2021, 17:01

Nice game! I really like the background effect. Controls feels just right. Overall nice game. Good job!

Spiderbat208927 Apr 2021, 18:09

Very fun sometimes the controls were hard to use but I love the way you implemented the theme

Attala27 Apr 2021, 18:29

Very nice graphics. A bit too difficult for my taste, but I'm usually not a platformer guy. Liked the concept and execution. Good job.

assface27 Apr 2021, 19:40

Nice lil game! I loved that you added some narrative elements in a platformer. The parallax effect was nice, but a bit distracting at times. Really solid game though! Makes me wish I was better at platformers :)

pedrocoden27 Apr 2021, 19:44

Wow, I really enjoying it!

ksonyanya27 Apr 2021, 21:00

We haven't managed to play the entire game (I want to hope that Dr pulls himself together), but had lots of fun on the stream!Graphics are cool, brains look very real and there is a lot of them! I also liked how the story is related to the level content and design, it's really nice that you made an effort to make the experience as consistence as possible.
Thank youuu and hope we come across again in the future!
Link to the stream (timecode is set to Dr. Deeper): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1002881859?t=00h26m07s

JLMast27 Apr 2021, 22:49

I liked it, I want to also note that the font is small on a 4K screen!

Zettelkasten27 Apr 2021, 23:02

This game implemented the theme perfectly. I loved its visuals, its atmosphere, and the story it went for!
The platforming mechanics (especially the jumps) were a bit goofy and took some getting used to, but it's definitely playable.

morrilet28 Apr 2021, 02:56

This was an interesting take on the theme. The platforming was a little finnicky at times, and I'm still not sure whether or not the double-jump mechanic was intended. Still, there was a solid amount of difficult platforming here and cramming a narrative on top of a 72 hour deadline must've been a tough one. Nice work!

lectvs28 Apr 2021, 06:51

The platforming mechanics need a bit of polish and consistency, but I had fun with the game!

LDJam user 24278728 Apr 2021, 08:21

A very unique game. I thought the platforming felt a bit uncontrollable though. Overall nice job

kristof28 Apr 2021, 19:46

I like the idea and had some fun playing. I got a bit frustrated with the unpredictable controls and did not make it to the end though. Still, a solid entry. Well done!

Substain29 Apr 2021, 13:15

Some improvement ideas:
- The brain elements acting as end of level points were hard to distinguish at first
- I feel like the double-jump was not intended
- Had the feeling there was story missing at the end
- The game over messages was not accurate ;)
- The game elements weren't obvious (the first time I reached a checkpoint I thought it is a portal)

In the end, it was a really cool game, especially a nice take on the theme.

pnkvrt29 Apr 2021, 13:58

Interesting game! The visuals are unique. The gameplay was fun. Sometimes the flying glasses/socks in the foreground clash with the background and it gets a bit confusing for the eye but I'm being nitpicky. Jumping up walls was very difficult sometimes and sometimes very easy? Not sure why. Regardless I think this is a very interesting entry and I enjoyed playing it. Great work!

Melon_spirit30 Apr 2021, 03:40

Hi, the visuals looked great though I did have a hard time at first finding portals. I was intrigued by the use of lwjgl....our programmer @funemaker built his engine with it and our game was made with it. Are you using your own engine?

ttheauthor30 Apr 2021, 18:36

@melon-spirit Hi, I used libGDX to program the entire game, which in turn uses LWJGL 2. We love LWJGL though, I have used it for many projects :)

Hare Software30 Apr 2021, 20:48

The game reminds me very much of Nevermind, which is also a game where a psychologist has to travel inside someone elses mind to discover what is wrong with a patient. Very interesting and unique take on the theme. I do think the controls need some extra work, since it was rather hard to perform some of the moves reliably. I hope to see more of your work in the future, best of luck!

Klaus Peter5 May 2021, 11:54

I liked the idea of the game. Exploring the mind in a playful way is an interesting concept. But the way the levels were designed and the mechanics worked made this a not so fun experience. Having to restart a level every time I touch *anything* was very exhausting. Checkpoints would have been nice.

Berlm15 May 2021, 04:52

The graphics :heart_eyes: ..

Adnonymous516 May 2021, 19:14

I love this game conceptually - very interesting take on the theme without it being a stretch. The environment art is cool, but the characters look a little out of place and are hard to see anyways, given their relative scale. The movement is a little janky, it seems like the floor catches my feet pretty often, and the wall jumping feels a little inconsistent. The hazardous objects in the environment are also pretty hard to identify, they don't stand out all that much. I do love the usage of foreground objects, (though some of them are little large) and the way the screen starts turning bright white before you die. Very cool aesthetic ideas at work here.

Other games by @tthe

★3.31

★3.45

Journey of the flowers

★3.31

LD52