The Creature Below by hissssssssss

[raw]
made by hissssssssss for LD29 (COMPO)
***05/11/14***
The first of hopefully several Post-Compo versions is up! It comes with a lot of changes and bugfixes.

After falling into a hole, you stumble on a frozen underground lake, and at its center, a palace of ice and stone. Can you brave the palace, and the creature lurking
beneath its depths, to find your way home again?

Search the dungeon for the tools that will help you escape.

If the creature gets too close to you, it will break through ice and snow to kill you, but on stone you have a little safety.

----CONTROLS----
A, S - switch tools, if you have any
SPACE - use tools if you have any
Arrow Keys - move

SPACE will confirm at the title screen and continue at the Game Over screen.


*****
Sounds like this wound up pretty difficult! Here are some tips:

TIPS:

1. If you stand on stone for a while, The Creature loses track of you and goes away for a bit. He`ll start hunting you shortly after you walk on ice or snow again. Use patches of stone to your advantage!

2. The Creature isn`t very maneuverable. Sliding in different directions while on ice helps keep him away from you.

Ratings

Coolness 67% 3
Overall 3.22 508
Audio 2.55 669
Fun 3.03 540
Graphics 2.47 1010
Humor 1.83 965
Innovation 3.09 535
Mood 3.03 514
Theme 3.34 490

Feedback

Enzo42
28. Apr 2014 路 12:02 UTC
So hard
馃帳 hissssssssss
28. Apr 2014 路 12:05 UTC
Enzo42: Which parts did you find hard? Was it a problem with how the creature tracks you? Or was it the regular enemies?
ccglp
28. Apr 2014 路 12:33 UTC
I think that the creature is very fast, or you very slow, but quite nice Legend of Zelda's like game
Conchlab Games
28. Apr 2014 路 19:33 UTC
I really want to try this out, the graphics look nice, too bad I'm on linux
馃帳 hissssssssss
29. Apr 2014 路 01:19 UTC
Conchlab Games:

I should have been more clear! The source is .py, so it should run on Linux too!
馃帳 hissssssssss
29. Apr 2014 路 01:28 UTC
Conchlab Games: Let me amend that: it's Python 2.7, but has a dependency on Pygame 1.9. Pretty sure Linux and Mac come with Python 2.7, and Pygame can be downloaded at http://www.pygame.org/download.shtml
xbcw
29. Apr 2014 路 03:19 UTC
Nice and creepy.
GameGrape Corporation
29. Apr 2014 路 03:24 UTC
Great try! :D I like it :)
XrXr
29. Apr 2014 路 03:25 UTC
I like the sliding mechanic! The game is pretty difficult, I couldn't get too far away from the starting room.
Also kudos for using Python and packaging it :D Python ftw!
馃帳 hissssssssss
29. Apr 2014 路 03:27 UTC
XrXr: Thanks! Getting the movement on stone vs. ice took some tweaking, so it`s nice that the ice has a good feel to it.

If you stand on stone for a while, the creature stops hunting you temporarily. And of course, he can`t kill you on stone either. Patches of stone are your safety net.
gene-z
29. Apr 2014 路 04:29 UTC
Interesting,, but hard
ajfischer
29. Apr 2014 路 04:29 UTC
Quite nice but hard!
Solifuge
29. Apr 2014 路 07:39 UTC
Hi, this is Vector from the Victory Garden team! (posting under Solifuge's account)

This is neat, though due to the nature of the graphics I had a pretty hard time figuring out what to do and how well I was doing it. I really like the design of the player character, though I think that the game could generally feel more "featured" with either smaller rooms or a quicker walking pace. I wasn't actually able to get much of anywhere.

However, I really liked the way the different textures of ground made me move in different ways, and the combination of running from monsters aboveground and below was pretty new! Thanks for the entry, and good luck~
Therrato
29. Apr 2014 路 13:37 UTC
Like the game, as constructive feedback: it was unclear where i had to go it would maybe be help full if it had a minimap, it took me a long time to find out that one of the rooms was bigger than the others and that it moved along with you, this could have been easier to notice if the door was placed in a position so that you see the map move
KyleDAudio
29. Apr 2014 路 17:27 UTC
Pretty fun Zelda-like gameplay. The creature's pretty creepy, thanks to the sound! :)
Rusky
30. Apr 2014 路 02:09 UTC
That was intense. Good challenge level, awesome atmosphere. Pretty engaging.

Also btw, it runs fine in Wine if you don't want to figure out Python versions.
Crowbeak
30. Apr 2014 路 13:40 UTC
I don't find the game too hard. It might be too hard if creatures reset when you die, but they don't. The hardest thing for me to deal with were the blue snowman things. That last run through the tunnel with the wings was tricksy.
馃帳 hissssssssss
30. Apr 2014 路 15:17 UTC
Crowbeak: The tunnel escape was definitely designed so that A) it's impossible without the wings and b)it looks dangerous and you panic even if you have the wings.
SuperMsp10
01. May 2014 路 02:04 UTC
nice graphics
alvarop
01. May 2014 路 08:47 UTC
Very, very hard game. Had a hard time figuring out some of the puzzles. But! It was fun to explore and discover the mechanics that made progression possible. Keep it up!
XenosNS
01. May 2014 路 23:38 UTC
Very nice. Like the idea of avoiding the creature below you. Reminds me of Adventure on Atari somewhat. Sliding was fun too.
Almost
03. May 2014 路 00:56 UTC
When I go through stairs it puts me below the other side making me go through again if I am holding up. it would be better to put me on the opposite side of the stairs so that I am moving away from them.

Also the blobs have a ton of health.

There is a tall vertical section where I walk slowly. I made it really far by juking up and down but eventually died. I do not know if it is meant to be possible or if some equipment elsewhere makes it easier. (A bit later I found an item to move quickly, so I assume it was not meant to be possible)

It probably shouldnt say game over since you don't lose any equipment. Instead, it could respawn you instantly at the last room you entered (or at the start as is)

I did beat it though, with 3 deaths.
ChuiGum
04. May 2014 路 01:09 UTC
Fun, like the graphics too
javierecf
04. May 2014 路 01:18 UTC
This was interesting, but really hard, (really loud too). The fact that you can only use one item at any time, made it really challenging, you need to really think everystep. I did not pass the last tunnel though.
ActionRemix
04. May 2014 路 03:23 UTC
I'm loving all of the short Metroidvanias in this jam
v3games
04. May 2014 路 03:39 UTC
This definitely gets a 5 for fun. I've played very few LD games where I thought "I wish this was longer". I played all the way through and really enjoyed each mechanic. Good work.
mrjohnson22
04. May 2014 路 20:43 UTC
I had fun with this one, even if it was a bit frustrating at times. For instance, it's a bit tricky to control which direction you're facing (which is important for using weapons), and the monster is probably a bit too fast (and maybe even follows the screen? It felt like it when going through the final corridor).

Despite that, this is a fun submission. And let me say that the sound used for the monster was perfect, as it did a great job of both building tension and indicating when you're in danger (I'm giving you a high Audio score just for this).