Welcome to your first day here at the Church of the Cosmic Void! First of all, I'd like to remind you that we're definitely not a cult - furthermore, any and all use of that word will result in a week's stay in the behavioural consciousness configuration chamber.
Anyhow, we've stationed you on feeding duty. Ernest, one of our prized interdimensional abominations, has quite the appetite, but the poor fellow's not the brightest. We've been hard at work all day HARVESTING organs and bones for his dinner, just see to it that he makes it to his meals. Best watch out for any nasties on the way, some of the monsters 'round this cult don't take kindly to newcomers. Did I just say cult? Oops.
This game veered a bit from what I'd originally planned and only extremely loosely sticks to the theme of harvest. Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy!
Best played in full screen.
Controls:
Left and right arrow - movement
Space - jump
Up arrow - direct Ernest to stop
Down arrow - direct Ernest to lie down
Left control - direct Ernest to turn around
Z - Place a jump rune for Ernest
X - Place a dash rune for Ernest
C - Place a projectile rune for Ernest
Enter - Pause
Art, animation, programming, design and development by Alex de la Cour.
Music and sound effects by Eric Matyas (www.soundimage.org)
Thank you so much @iluvatar, I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Now it's time to breath again and play some entries :)
Ah yea, I do follow her (and have been meaning to check out her games since forever - they look so good!) but it was unintentional - it must have been knocking about in the back of my brain.
@bas-van-den-berg@fluburbio thank you!! It was tough figuring out the control scheme, I wanted to have some mouse and UI elements instead of all keyboard but I ran out of time.
Enjoyed the graphics quite a lot. It takes a bit to get used to it, but this way of controlling Ernest is definitely interesting. Let's save the demon piggy!
@sergio-crypto thanks!! It was tough getting the controls to feel intuitive, I wanted to have some mouse/UI to direct Ernest and keyboard to control only the player character but didn't have time to implement it.
@lerg thanks for the feedback!! I only just realised, there's a small tutorial before the second level where it tells you to press control to turn him around but I completely forgot to add that to the instructions as well. Going to do that now for the page here and on itch, and add it in the game instructions when I've got a second.
Interesting game! I love pixelart and I admire your graphics! Regarding the text of the tutorial I can't see it well (it goes out of the screen in GNU/Linux) and it was difficult for me to understand the game at first. For the rest, remarkable game!
very lovely art and fun gameplay, love it a lot. but i actually stuck at the level that you first get projectile rune. the problem is Ernest dose not stop when i press down or up, not sure if it was intended.
Really interesting concept. Love the visual. Levels are not so simple). Last level beaten after 10 attempts. The dash ability is too quick. Would love more strategic/puzzle gameplay instead of quick run.
@efilheim thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the art and the game. Ernest can be a bit tricky to control, but in all my playthroughs during development he does what he's told as long as he's facing the player at the same ground level.
@milq thanks for the nice words and the feedback! I definitely did make the tutorial text too small - that part was severely rushed through in a blind panic at the end!!
@haotian-chen thanks for the kind words and also the feedback! I played through the levels quite a lot and didn't come across this issue - were you standing in front of Ernest and on the same ground level? He only obeys those commands if he can see you (a feature that I'd probably discard or improve if I did it again!)
@ghpxi thank you! I feel like I'm constantly reining in my desire to make games too hard and never quite getting it right, but I intentionally made that last level really difficult - it took me about half an hour to complete it when I was developing!
I was able to beat the game, but it was tough! You have to be on the ball with movement and rune placement. The penultimate level in particular took me several dozen tries.
It was a good mix of puzzle and platformer. Often times I knew what I had to do, but had to practice getting the moves down to do it all in one go. Or I might think I knew what I was doing, but forgot the pig can only be commanded if he's looking straight at you and had to figure out how to adjust. It was very engaging!
One gripe I have is that knowing which runes to use where demands knowledge of what obstacles are coming up later in the level. (Because you might use a jump rune where you should have used a shoot rune, and then you find out later that you needed that specific rune for another part of the level.) And there's no way to know what's coming up since the level restarts quickly after you die.
The controls also threw me a lot. The attacks halt your movement and the jump wasn't as tight as I would have liked. I kept failing the jump over the fire in the second-to-last level since I had to walk up to the fire, place the dash rune, walk back to give me space to build speed, run forward again, time the jump right, then place the jump rune on the other side, all before the pig beats me there. It was a bit frustrating having to play the rest of the level and do the awkward crouch under the purple skull thing before I could make another attempt.
I also think you introduce mechanics a bit too quickly. A few more levels in between that ease you into the different runes could have helped the learning curve. But I know, it's a jam game and all that.
Overall though, I had a lot of fun! A very cohesive, fun, and unique game all the way through!
ohhhhh so you have to stand in front of him, that make sense. i try again and finish the game! (that level is still pretty hard though, even harder than the final level for me) A real nice work, still I feel Ernest move a little to fast for me to check what come next and set up rune, maybe a overview of the whole map before level start will be good? overall, wonderful job!
Wow wow wow.. What a beautiful entry, the art is as good as the unique concept. Having to make sure your abomination stay alive as well as your own player is a good puzzle/platformer concept. I had to alt-tab out of the game because I knew there was a "turn-around" command but couldn't remember the the input for it. Masterful entry!
@zungryware thanks for playing and for the feedback!! I absolutely agree with not knowing the level layout to start with - I think if I'd had more time or if I update this I would start showing the map and then press a button to zoom in and start playing to avoid deaths that feel cheesy or unfair. I also agree there should be more levels to give the player a chance to ease in and get to grips with the current mechanics before introducing something new. I really appreciate the critiques and the kind words :)
@anstabo thank you so much for the kind words!! I actually meant to put a control scheme in the pause screen but by the end of the day on Monday my brain was far too pooped and I forgot :X
Really cute game! Great job on the graphics. I felt the hitboxes were a bit punishing. Especially while getting the boar under the flying things it got quite tight.
@nardandas Thank you!! I agree - I used a box collider for the boar but with his wings and slope of his back I think something a bit more custom would have worked better. I appreciate the kind words and the feedback!
The art is very cute! Well done! Sometimes the hitbox seems a bit punishing but overall it has some great ideas. You may want to look into "unity pixel perfect cameras" for this, without it, the game has some jittery pixels. Also why did you choose "z" for interactions, that's breaking my fingers on QWERTZ keyboards lol
Awesome sprites and graphics overall. Also, very polished, which is impressive for a 72 hour jam. I love how the progression goes and how you teach the player in each new step. Really enjoyed the puzzles. Congrats!
@tosmaster ahhh sorry - I didn't even consider other keyboards! My last game had two keyboard control schemes, I'll keep that in mind for the next one.
Wow! This game is great! I haven't felt so challenged in a while. The gameplay idea is very original and I can see this game popping up in steam or mobile market. Would have been great to see this extended with more levels and features to be added!
One of my favorites so far. The pixel art and the animations were amazing and gameplay mechanics felt well thought. However I think controlling Ernest wasn't so intuitive. Often times he didn't react to the controls and just kept running to whatever hazard was ahead. However really cool entry.
@alex-de-la-cour! Nice to see you here! I Love to see how your projects in Game Jams are more and more complex each time!
Your art is gorgeous as ever, and the gameplay here is pretty interesting! It may use some tweaks... Ernest move a bit to fast, or you may have a limited uses of a whistle to call him back to you, to fix some minor errors.
There's some space for some upgrades, but the game is already amazing! Congratulations o/
@upcharlie thanks for the feedback! I definitely struggled to implement the controls, even when I was playing over it they didn't feel great but I didn't have time to figure anything better! Definitely something to look at for the post-jam updates!
Love the graphics, and the puzzles were nicely designed! I do wish that the tutorials were shown within the actual level (like an engraving on the walls). It does feel like the mechanics are introduced too fast and all at once, separating the mechanics between more levels would be beneficial. Overall though, I loved the gameplay and puzzles!
I loved this, played it right until the end! Definitely want to see this become a full game!
It might be worth experimenting with changing one thing. Instead of Ernest moving automatically and pressing up or down to stop him, make it so that he doesn't move and you have to press a button to make him move forward. Maybe even a button to toggle movement on and off. It would make it easier to control, but that might be counter productive and remove the challenge. I think it's worth testing out.
I actually think your game and the game I developed for the jam have some similar mechanics, very cool!
@nan-taty thanks for the encouraging words, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm very much in the planning phase for expanding on this, there's a few traps and abilities and ideas that I had to leave on the cutting room floor that I want to go back and implement, along with a whole ton of polish!
@spacecadet ahhh thank you, I appreciate the kind words! Controls are definitely fiddly and something I want to improve on but Ernest should always react to your commands, it's just necessary that you're standing in front of him and at the same height level so that he can see you, he's got a bit of tunnel vision.
@erivas-soulares hey man, thanks for playing, I'm glad you dug it! That's a really good idea about the whistle!! I'm going to go back and expand on this game a bit, and I'm 100% going to use that as a limited ability :)
This is a really cool idea ! I had a lot of struggle at the beginning because I didn't get that you needed to be before Ernest to make him stop. Otherwise, a great entry, amazing art.
I didn't manage to jump over the long path of fire (i mean my little red hood didnt, the doggo can dash throught). I really like the care given to details, such as animations, graphics, audios, and the fact that the dog only obeys us when we are in his field of vision.
@multipixels thanks for the feedback! I definitely agree, I'm already working on spreading everything out and building up slower for the post jam update :)
@cappa-games thanks for playing, hanging around until the end and the kind words! I definitely toyed with the idea of toggling Ernest moving or not but I think it would take away from some of the challenge. I'm already planning and working on expanding it though, and I've got a few idea to make controlling him a bit less hectic and clunky!
@mololo@gregormack thanks! I definitely need to reconsider the control scheme and figure out something more intuitive, but I'm glad you played and enjoyed!
@roroto-sic ah yea, that's a tough bit - need to be quite quick placing the rune, stepping back and taking a running jump to get over it. I'm glad you appreciate the work - thanks for playing and commenting!
Absolutely amazing game. Very nice graphics and extremely well polished. Impressive for 72 hours. Quite difficult to place everything in time and move yourself to the correct location too. It might have been a bit easier if the creature would always listen to orders, not just if the player is in front of it. Nevertheless, one of the best games so far.
@likirus wow, thank you so much for the nice words and feedback! There's definitely plenty of balancing to do, especially with regards to controlling Ernest, but I'm really happy you enjoyed it so much.
The art is very pretty, I really like the player and the hog characters. Also the concept of instructing your companion is very appealing, reminds me of Abe's Odyssey series.
However there's more way to go in the sense of making things more self explanatory. The instructions are infinite walls of texts, that are not there where you need them. For example at the beginning of the "jump rune" level, you cannot see the instructions again when you fail, and anyway it would be best to put the instructions inside the levels where you need to use them, and not beforehand. Eventually I refreshed the page several times to see if I missed anything.
Except that, when I eventually got hang of things, I enjoyed it :)
Wow, what a cool idea!!! Loved this! Great entry for a jam, really. Some nitpicky notes for postjam: (if you're up for that? :))
I personally feel like the player should be (near) invincible to completely focus on guarding and protecting this vunerable thing ^^
The controls are a lot, but you build the first levels around teaching players the mechanic, which is awesome! (y) I then however wouldnt tell the players about all the controls at the "how to play" or here, OR mention that it will be taught to them gradually :) ideally, you'd maybe also put little reminders on the screen? :) (for the runes at least?) I personally also like to combine keyboard with mouse controls instead a bunch of keyboard controls only (which can become overwhleming fast), so maybe that's something to try here? I would make the WASD completely for player control, crouch down leftclick since that is used the most I feel and turning around on RMB maybe? or however you like :) Also, I couldn't always tell Ernest to crouch down which might be intentional, so maybe add an indicator when it is available/range :)
the graphics and music was awesome and the level design very neat, loved this idea :)
LMK if you do a postjam, I'm curious what you do with this neat entry!
@brusi hey, cheers for playing and for the feedback! I'm currently making a start on a post jam update - that's a really good idea about having the instructions in the levels when introduced, it'd certainly help make more sense of the controls and gameplay - thanks for the advice!
@angiemon thank you for playing, for the kind words and the feedback! I'm new to all this so I'm always up for some nitpicky notes - I'm currently working on some post jam fixes and looking to make a decent polished demo of 10ish levels for this, so all tips and critiques are really welcome. Initially I was planning some mouse controls but time got the better of me - it's definitely on the agenda! The rest of your advice is also gold, I appreciate it :)
A fresh concept, I never played any game with this mechanics. I loved it. The sprites, music etc. are also very polished. The game looks ready to be shipped tbh. Had to replay same level multiple time because Ernest is too fast :smile: and doesn't wait for commands but really enjoyed :smiley:
So this is the bases for a really great game. I mean it's already great, but this could be turned into a full product. It looks amazing first of all, not just sprite work, but the animation too. The game mechanic is great and has tons of potential. I liked that you needed to be in his line of sight for him to obey you, that is what elevates it from other indirect control games. As others, and even yourself, have said the controls are a bit awkward. I believe given more time you'd be able to find a control scheme that works. It still works well enough though for a jam game. Loved it.
Tough, but fair (and fun!) I loved the graphics and character designs, in particular Ernest- if only the rest of the cult would warm up to this total sweetheart :pensive:
Remembering to stay in line of sight, and keeping the right distance to time commands correctly, added a layer of difficulty I'm not used to and I enjoyed the extra challenge. Best of luck with the postjam demo, and may Ernest get the feasts he deserves!
@oddballdave thank you so much!! I'm particularly proud of the animation in this, it was a rush job but I think I'm going to keep most of them post jam! I'm glad you appreciate the mechanics, hopefully with a bit of work I can figure out a nice, intuitive control scheme :)
The sprites are super adorable. I was quite confused as to how to play a bit, but that's not unusual for me! The graphics and presentation are awesome!
What a gem this entry is! The puzzle mechanics work really well, the levels are nicely designed around introducing them, and the art is beautiful, consistent and polished.
I had some trouble with the level where you first get the projectile runes, downstairs you have to stop Ernest from hitting the tentacle on the right, then place a dash rune in front of the fire, and catch up with him to place the jump rune before he walks back into the fire. It seemed nigh impossible, given that you can't do a running jump while placing a rune, and he doesn't react to orders if he's walking the wrong way... I did manage in the end, but I felt that part could use a little balancing.
Anyway, I've grown quite fond of Ernest, the little rascal.
Very interesting line of sight mechanic. I wish there was a way to hold him in place while allowing yourself to move around and place runes, that might make it a bit more relaxed and fun. On the other hand, having to do things "together" just reinforced the tamer and pet working in tandem image.
I'm usually a bit hesitant to give high overall scores to entries that don't follow the theme, but this one deserves it across the board. Well done!
Excellent game! Visually very impressive. It was quite a challenge though, especially since you couldn't give commands and move at the same time. Like @ditam I got stuck trying to place down a dash, jump over the fire, and place down a jump before Ernest ran back into the fire. Regardless, well done!
@ditam thank you so much for the kind, thoughtful words - it's nice to hear you enjoyed it! I'm looking to develop this further post jam, I think the way Ernest is controlled will definitely need some balancing and I'm looking at some novel ways to use abilities and the environment to keep him still but I think having him moving by default definitely adds to the challenge.
By the way, for that fire pit - there's a mechanic to send Ernest in the other direction (left ctrl) but it's kind of buried in one of the other instructions screen (the tutorials were super rushed right before I submitted!), so if he turns and walks back to the fire pit you can turn him around right before he walks into it and then run ahead and place a jump rune! It's still tricky though!!
@mharring thanks for the nice feedback! I feel like I constantly have to rein myself in from adding five interactions like that every level, my natural inclination is definitely to make it really difficult but I'm definitely working on it! Although there is an easy/easier way to get past that part (I explained in my comment above)
I'd say getting so far from theme is positive thing, especially if it creates little gems like this game. Came here because thumbnail, stayed because game was good
@jormarysky thank you for the kind words!! I definitely think it's better to treat the theme as a way to inspire you to make a game rather than rigidly sticking to it to the detriment of what you want to do. I'm really glad that you liked it!
I loved it! Ernest is adorable, the gameplay is fun (as you and others have mentioned, the controls are a little difficult). I would love to play a full puzzle game like this some day :D
@friedyeti thank you!! I hope to have a full game of this some day - I've spent the last week working on a big upgrade and overhaul, hopefully I'll have something cool by the summer.
The graphics are obviously stellar, gameplay is imaginative and fun as hell. I love to command the little cute piggy around!
Anyway, overall one hell of a good game, I'm glad you joined this time :)
PS: Is the Cosmic Void an easter egg/reference to our dear pixel art colleague from Twitter? Not sure if you know her.