Ludum Dare #54compo

Dimensional Grove: The Rotational Odyssey

by brandann

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.50

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.23

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.52

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.18

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.96

Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.41

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.76

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.48

Dimensional Grove: The Rotational Odyssey

a game about limited space, dimension-flipping mechanics, and the contrasting aesthetics of a colorful forest and a dark, surreal dimension.

---

Controls

NOTE: LEFT CLICK ON FLOATING ORBS IN THE DARK DIMENSION TO COLLECT SPRITE ENERGY!

Mouse - look around

Mouse Left Click - shoot or collect energy sprites

Mouse Right Click - toggle dimensions

A or Left Arrow - Move left

D & Right Arrow - Move Right

Space - Jump

---

In a distant realm known as Verdantaria, a once-thriving forest was shrouded in mystery and guarded by the enigmatic Guardian Tree. For centuries, the Guardian Tree had preserved the balance between light and dark, serving as the gateway to an alternate dimension. In this lush and colorful forest, flora and fauna flourished, creating a vibrant ecosystem. You, the player, awaken in the heart of the vibrant forest, chosen by the Guardian Tree to wield a unique power – the ability to traverse between dimensions. In one dimension, you'll explore the awe-inspiring and surreal landscape of twisted trees, and shadowy creatures. In the other, descend into the darkness to revive your power.

Your quest is clear: restore balance to the realm, and clear the monsters. To succeed, you must navigate through both dimensions, battling dark forces, and gathering fragments of the forest's fading magic.

Can you harness the power of limited space and dimensional manipulation to save Verdantaria and restore its once-pristine beauty? The destiny of this captivating realm lies in your hands.

Collect Energy sprites from the "other" dimension and defeat the 3 bosses!

you must navigate using both dimensions to access sprite energy without the monsters grabbing you, swap dimensions, collect energy, and fight to stay alive!

Thank you for playing my Ludum Dare 54 Entry, let me know you gave it a shot so I can play yours in return.

<3 rirukiru

a new slime is born

flip between the colorful forest and a dark, surreal dimension

its always watching

creeping

fight to stay alive

---

Tools

Beep Box - Background Music (https://www.beepbox.co/)

Garage Band - Sound Effects

Procreate - Art Creation

Paint.net - Art Editing

AutoCad - 3D Models

Unity3D - Programming

Gif Brewery - GIF Making and Editing

Genres: adventure

Tools: BeepBox, Paint.net, Unity

Comments15

flowby2 Oct 2023, 17:32

Quite fun. Totally spent the first run figuring out how to refill ammo. The idea with the two dimensions is very nice =)

MushBoOM2 Oct 2023, 22:11

funny game, simple and effective !

Duckwings3 Oct 2023, 00:46

Cool idea! It might be interesting if the simulation in one dimension kept going while you were in the other so you couldn't just camp there forever.

kairuma3 Oct 2023, 01:09

Took some figuring out but I enjoyed it. I like the art!

LDJam user 3524903 Oct 2023, 02:04

Woah, that was a whole lot of fun, and the prettiest game I've seen so far this jam. The way the music and mood shifted between the two dimensions was surreal. The only game-play aspect that didn't quite work was that the little creatures never got close enough to be a threat (since you have to circle around the room so much for refills). Otherwise it was really cool dodging bullets in slow motion while jumping between dimensions.

Victor Perotto Pioner3 Oct 2023, 14:53

Congratulations, I thought the game was really fun!
I just missed sound feedback when we receive some type of damage.
The idea of being able to move on just one axis was really something different, the art is beautiful, I loved that you can still see the enemies even in the dark dimension, I just think that in addition to the boss's life it could have an enemy counter, as you you can just avoid enemies and focus completely on the boss. Congratulations, the level of polish and detail is great!
Ps.(i played a second time just to take a pic)

Martin Bousquet5 Oct 2023, 12:02

It was not clear what to do at first, it took a few minutes to understand, but once I did it was fun to play, and quite easy. Nice concept! Doesn't really fit the theme though.

KeichiTS6 Oct 2023, 01:01

Very interesting camera usage and theme application here.

The graphicas are amazing and i cans see a lot of work for a 72h game.

Congrats!

Greytyphoon6 Oct 2023, 01:18

Using S to change dimensions didn't work for me, but right-click did. Like others, I had a hard time figuring out how to recharge at first. Actually, it also took a while to figure out how moving worked (maybe draw a circular path on the ground to convey the idea?), and what the bar at the bottom meant (that one's on me, it's pretty obvious).

Once I got the idea, I had a blast. It looks very nice, 5⭐, and it quickly becomes natural to move in a circle.

There was a playthrough where I pushed the first boss too far behind, behind my own tracks. Not being able to look back became problematic. I had to shoot him from the far side (love how the projectiles have gravity btw) and it worked out, but maybe you could make it impossible for bosses to get pushed so far back?

The HTML5 version of the game didn't capture my mouse, so there was once a moment where I turned too far, clicked outside of the game hoping to fire, then couldn't recover because putting my mouse back in the game meant aiming away from the boss. I'd definitely recommend others play the downloadable version of the game.

One of the best entries I've seen in the Compo so far, nice job!

LDJam user 3213336 Oct 2023, 01:34

I like your concept here, not something I ever would have thought to do for the theme and which I think fits it in a neat mechanical way. As others have said, reloading not being explained more clearly held me back at first, and then felt clunky after I did get the hang of it, to switch dimensions to grab the pink ball, only for it to be on the other side of the barrier there.

I also have a random note, that the mouse cursor was hidden but not locked while in fullscreen on the web version so, for example, I once moused to my second monitor by mistake. I know it's a small thing, but I just thought I'd mention it because it should be an easy fix and good for QoL.

But nitpicks aside, I was really, really impressed by all you managed to do during the 48 hours for the Compo. Well done!

Mastoast6 Oct 2023, 16:36

Really solid entry, the game is beautiful, the music is nice and the concept is really cool
I especially liked the obstacles in the other dimension, forcing you to go back and switch dimension again after, it gives a nice dynamic in the game

MonsieurDuck6 Oct 2023, 23:52

Like others said, figuring out the game takes a very long time, but once you figure out to get back ammo it becomes a blast to play.

khaotom7 Oct 2023, 06:26

The way to get ammo is very interesting though I did not figure it out until I watched one of the gifs in the description. After that I managed to defeat the bosses! Cool game.

noya14 Oct 2023, 21:40

The graphics are great and the visual style of the two dimensions creates a unique, tiny world. 😊 The slow-down of the music on the dark side is especially cool. It was challenging to beat the three bosses. I think some visual / audio feedback when taking damage would help a lot. Switching between dimensions feels satisfying. The rotation mechanic is an interesting idea and I think there is room for more experimentation (e.g. platforms for up and down movement? rotating up and down? reflecting projectiles from dome walls?). Well done! 💜

SleepyStudios20 Oct 2023, 15:38

Cool take on the theme! I liked the graphics and art style with the mix between 2D and 3D objects. It was a bit confusing at first but I got there in the end.

Other games by @brandann

compo

Sparkle Slime Mushroom Man

★3.27

LD52

compo

LD Jam 46 Keep It Alive

★3.23

★2.84