Fastigrades

by kyrio
co-authored: @helicule, @jack-s, @nah
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.81
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.81
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.17
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.88
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.15
Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.75
Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.90
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.66
_I've experiments to run; there is research to be done._ - TardiGRaDOS

Tardigrades, also known as _moss piglets_ (fair enough) or _water bears_ (why), are eight-legged microscopic animals with an unexpected ability to survive extreme conditions, including deep sea or _the vacuum of space_. They are expected to be able to survive global extinction events.

Needless to say, if they weren't such _slow walkers_, as their name means in Latin, they would definitely have replaced us at the top of the evolutionary pyramid.

Deep, deep within the tiling of an unsuspecting lab bench, a group of research-minded tardigrades are experimenting ways to alleviate their aforementioned slowness. Help them escape the lab and fly as far as possible through the inhospitable environments only their species can navigate.

How to play

- :mouse_three_button: Use your mouse to navigate the menus and select your equipment.
- Left-click or Space bar to start aiming the cannon; tap again to fire
- Fly as far as you can using the Dash and Brake powers (see below) and try to reach... outer space?!

During the flight:
- :mouse_three_button: Left-click or :arrow_right: Right arrow: Dash to gain some altitude (available again after 2 seconds)
- :mouse_three_button: Right-click or :arrow_left: Left arrow: Brake (available again after 2 seconds)
- :atom: Atoms and UFOs are bumpers, reach them to bounce right up!
- Toxic waste and asteroids are normal obstacles

Note that for some reason, the music doesn't loop in the Web version - this seems to be an engine bug in Godot 4.3, as it works just fine in desktop builds.
Genres: platformer
Tools: Godot

Comments27

Iaroslavik
Iaroslavik8 Oct 2024, 09:45
Interesting, good job 😌
LDJam user 320773
LDJam user 3207738 Oct 2024, 10:15
pretty simple little game! had a bit of fun with it.
the start screen would do rather well with the controls just in the background, on the page had to awkwardly scroll past the game to figure out the controls. otherwise I would love to see a live readout of the distance travelled while you are sailing, this would allow you to figure out how well you're doing and less finding out at the end
Kerdelos
Kerdelos9 Oct 2024, 20:31
It was way harder than I expected to reach outer space but I did manage to meet UFOs !
I like the funny atmosphere coming from the game, the fanfare when I launch into the air and the funny environment storytelling in front of the canon made me smile.
Too bad the music doesn't loop in the web build because it's a great fit to the game.

Well done :)
Rambar
Rambar10 Oct 2024, 12:21
Super addictive, and the game feel is great! The physics is nice too. It was funny to sometimes be in a situation where I thought my tardigrade would stop (because of obstacles or just my speed decreasing), but to graze a bumper and ending up regaining speed! I flew almost 15cm 😎 Great job everyone!!
Dean Goodson
Dean Goodson10 Oct 2024, 21:32
I love the art! I really enjoyed mastering my strategy and timing haha. Great job hehe
Deantwotwo10 Oct 2024, 21:37
Great job! Super cute. I love that i get to choose a cosmetic, only for swap haha great addition to the gameplay :p
Cliff Coffee
Cliff Coffee10 Oct 2024, 21:39
Fun and cute with a really well done presentation! I found the game to be hard even after many tries until I figured out right arrow and left arrow are not the same as A and D on the keyboard - and also learning that you can still move a bit once you land on the ground.
NeoAwesomeon
NeoAwesomeon10 Oct 2024, 21:39
Ah, the classic catapult game. Reminds me of good times playing flash games. While there wasn't anything too innovative with this, it was still a great time. I managed to get to 295.43 on my best run. I absolutely have to give my complements to the art and sound of the game. Both were very charming! Nice work.
hatik10 Oct 2024, 21:42
very chilling and addictive game
Kyrio
Kyrioauthor10 Oct 2024, 21:48
@cliff-coffee Oh right, A and D aren't mapped in the game. You can use the mouse buttons or the arrow keys. I tend to prefer the keys but you still need the mouse to pick an item, which is a bit of a UX problem, haha.

@neoawesomeon Yup, definitely some Flash inspirations here, particularly one game with a certain _yeti_... At 295 mm, you must have reached space! I always wonder if people will manage to see that second biome. There is actually an end to the level but it's a bit further still!
Mikeandtherest10 Oct 2024, 22:52
A very nice game, I've spent already too much time playing it :D. It's hard to master, but fun after you get a bit used with the controls (i.e. the right timing to use them).
Cam Moore
Cam Moore12 Oct 2024, 15:14
I almost made it to the relaunch! This was a fun idea :)
WiNic12 Oct 2024, 15:19
got the hang of it relativly quick. Its a really funny short game I enjoyed playing.
RamboBeans12 Oct 2024, 15:35
Very simple but also very fun game! Great job, played this quite a bit, but barely missed 300 :weary:
wt6412 Oct 2024, 15:48
Awesome job!! The assets create a cohesive mood, and is fun to play. I know how short the jam is, but would've been awesome to hear more music, great fit!
TheBookSnail
TheBookSnail12 Oct 2024, 16:23
Played on my phone #nobreaks. So close to being 100% phone compatible. Very smooth looking graphics. Love that it included water bears.
betovf
betovf12 Oct 2024, 16:37
Simple but fun and very humorous :laughing: Good job!
Nivbeth
Nivbeth12 Oct 2024, 17:38
Nice little game! :slight_smile:
xand
xand12 Oct 2024, 18:05
Great little game that I replayed quite a few times. The graphics are consistent and fit the game well. Great work!
EX3D0
EX3D017 Oct 2024, 20:00
Simple but really fun! It doesn't do anything super crazy but trying to time the dash and braking to hit a boost or avoid an obstacle was fun. Being able to swap the hat in between runs was a really cute touch!

Tardigrades are also just really underappreciated animals so it was really cool to see them.
Fractal
Fractal18 Oct 2024, 17:57
Nice and addicting, although it was pretty hard to avoid the obstacles. I got up to 248mm or so. Well done!
yancharkin
yancharkin19 Oct 2024, 14:27
Simple but much more addictive gameplay than it appears at first. Great job!
Ginxel
Ginxel24 Oct 2024, 01:03
That's a great title! The graphics are super cute and the mechanics feel polished! I'm so happy someone made a game about Tardigrades for this jam's theme, it's perfect
Kyrio
Kyrioauthor24 Oct 2024, 10:46
Thanks so much @ginxel! We were a bit stuck looking for ideas until Saturday morning when @helicule suddenly said "how do you feel about tardigrades"? I don't remember how we landed on "let's throw them in a cannon" but tardigrades definitely helped us find a game idea :smile:
JustMars24 Oct 2024, 20:46
Genuinely fun (and funny!) entry. The core gameplay was really satisfying with solid obstacle placements and suitable physics. Controls would have been nice to have been shown in game (it took a while to realize that one could also break), but other than that, not much to note. Great graphics, great audio, great humor. Connection to the theme was a bit hard to decipher without reading the description, but I guess one could sus out the animal's tiny size from the fact that the unit of travel was in millimeters xD.

After numerous tries, I made it to some sort of wall with pillows, is this the end?

Anyways, an amazing jam entry. I enjoyed it very much. Keep up the good work y'all!
Kyrio
Kyrioauthor26 Oct 2024, 13:58
@justmars Thank you! We had to put the controls in the description because there wasn't much time left to put them in the game, but at least it's fairly straightforward to guess how to launch and dash (braking is not always needed, haha). Next jam I'll remind myself to make the controls screen first so I don't forget until the end. And yes, you reached the end!

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