LdDB
Ludum Dare #55jam

Dwarven Escape

by zklau
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.20
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.12
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★2.89
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.07
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.55
Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.35
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.20
My last minute entry for Ludum Dare 55, Dwarven Escape and also my first time using Pico-8 :smile:

You get caught in a sudden volcano eruption. To save your life you run underground, but the magma hot magma caught up with you. Mine your way through all the layers all the way down to your base where you will be safe. Mine ores and summon lost dwarven souls to help you get there faster.

If this version is too hard, I uploaded an easier version on itch https://klauss.itch.io/dwarven-escape

CONTROLS:

Movement - ⬅️ ➡️
Jump - X
Mine - (⬅️,➡️,⬆️,⬇️) + Z
Summon Souls - X + ⬆️
Pause Menu - P

TIP:

Use "Teleport Top" from the pause menu to get back up if you fell​

KNOWN BUGS:

The controls might be a bit buggy

Credits:
-Music by https://snabisch.itch.io/
-Game engine https://www.lexaloffle.com/

Tags: #arcade, #pico-8, #pixel art
Genres: survival
Tools: PICO-8

Comments22

your16 Apr 2024, 02:36
Well done! This felt like a really good entry to play, I appreciate having a controls and how-to-play in the game itself, it's genuinely really nice to have that! Now onto the gameplay, it is really fun trying to dig down and watching your summons catch up to you and help you out! I do wish there was some sort of way to pick which column the summoned dwarven soul spawns on, though! Overall a really good jam entry and a real treat to play!
Rustywolf16 Apr 2024, 12:25
Pico 8 games always impress me, I love how much you've achieved with it!
Rokevicius
Rokevicius16 Apr 2024, 12:28
Fun game, maybe score points that appear when you mine a ore can be to flashy, but overall nice game! And done on PICO-8!
muriel16 Apr 2024, 12:28
Incredible entry, nice pixel art, good FX it makes me want to know more about pico 8 being honest :)

keep it up ;)
Dogshroom
Dogshroom16 Apr 2024, 12:34
I adore PICO-8 games and this one was just a perfect small arcade game. Absolutely loved this one. Didn't quite get why do I summon lost dwarves but who cares.
zKlau
zKlauauthor16 Apr 2024, 12:53
@dogshroom haha, thank you, I'm glad you liked it. The part with summoning lost dwarven souls sounded better in my head, lol :smile:
Muraena16 Apr 2024, 14:24
Big fan of the intro cutscene and the overall look is incredibly charming. Struggled with the controls a little but that’s on me for not reading properly at the start
minjutin
minjutin16 Apr 2024, 15:07
What a cute PICO-8 game! It's always wonderful to see nice pixel art yes
Fraggy16 Apr 2024, 17:13
Interesting concept! Really liked the pixel art
Pigeonic
Pigeonic16 Apr 2024, 22:08
Foarte super ideea, imi place mult cum ti-a iesit pixel artul! Mi-a dat vibe de Gandalf pierdut in minele din Moria :)) Bravo si mult noroc in continuare!
MatheusCunegato17 Apr 2024, 01:16
Very cool entry, I just love that Pico-8 aesthetic, and you nailed it. Congratulations on your first Pico game, awesome work!
Mealky
Mealky17 Apr 2024, 01:23
Nice entry !! Really impress to see some Pico 8 games !
kuggenhoffen
kuggenhoffen17 Apr 2024, 09:52
The game was pretty fun and I like the idea. Great sounds, graphics and music. I'm not sure if I missed something but couldn't get too far, I only could mine to around the second type of rock and then the game ends. Does the game end when the lava hits unmined rock or how does it work? Even mining on the top it seemed super difficult to make it any deeper.

Great job on the game!
zKlau
zKlauauthor17 Apr 2024, 11:49
@kuggenhoffen Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. Yes, the game is supposed to end when the player hits the lava or if the lava hits the top level. To finish the game you mush mine all layers and reach the bottom without the lava hitting you or the rocks. I noticed the version I posted here was harder and because of that I posted an easier version on on itch io.
GettingRekt
GettingRekt17 Apr 2024, 15:03
Great vibes in this game with incredible music. I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing. I just mined, spam summons and failed every single time. I guess from reading the comments that I need to strip mine the whole place so I suppose I give it another shot because of the banger music. Nice job!
Lazzor17 Apr 2024, 15:23
Nice game, though i first had to familiarize myself with the controls. I agree with @kuggenhoffen that it is not very clear that you have to mine all of the rocks. I thought i just had to get to the bottom as fast as i can, primarily in a straight line. But i liked the overall responsiveness and feel of the game!
Baluj17 Apr 2024, 16:54
It's a good game, but I feel like the controls are weird.
prcastro18 Apr 2024, 01:22
I loved the pico-8 aesthetic. The only feedback would be to speed things up a bit and make more clear how much I need to summon a new worker. Other than that, great submission!
recursiveanomaly18 Apr 2024, 04:28
Great game! I love the feel of the art, especially the cover. Thanks for the game.
zKlau
zKlauauthor18 Apr 2024, 05:56
@prcastro The price for summoning is available when you press P, I did not say where to find it so its my bad. Thank you
Found a bug?
Tell us on Discord