Agaric Abyss by chris-delta

Description
In Agaric Abyss, you are a small mushroom creature in a small mushroom world underground, grow and spread mushrooms to journey to the surface. With your gardening prowess, you construct your own path forward!
There is one small post-compo fix in the compo version, that being I tweaked a few parameters to make the platforming feel less awful. To toggle back and see what the physics were originally like, press G.
Links
Follow the things I make on tumblr
Controls
Note: WASD and IJKL perform the same function as the Arrow Keys - Move with LEFT and RIGHT! - Jump with UP or SPACE - Pick up water droplets with DOWN or CLICK - Infuse a held droplet with Spores with DOWN while standing on a mushroom cap - Infused droplets will create new mushrooms when they touch an appropriate surface - Infused droplets will lose their spores if they touch other droplets - Aim with MOUSE and throw a held droplet with CLICK - Water a mushroom with a held droplet by using DOWN while standing at its base - Release a held droplet with DOWN while not near a mushroom - Hold DOWN while standing at the base of a mushroom to uproot it
Changes in the Post-Compo Version - Spores are more visually obvious - Better water placement - In-game tutorial
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/agaric-abyss |
Ratings
| Overall | 168th | 3.571⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 209th | 3.3⭐ | 22🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 79th | 3.737⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 137th | 3.75⭐ | 22🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 100th | 3.952⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 183th | 3.167⭐ | 20🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 371th | 2.125⭐ | 18🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 66th | 3.762⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 30🗳️ | 12🗨️ |
Really nice job!
Unfortunately, it's too difficult for me. I managed to progress up a few ledges before getting stumped by an area that seems way too high to reach. Even after building an elaborate staircase of mushrooms I still couldn't figure out a way to get up. I think the game may have been a bit better if the difficulty increase was more gradual. It would also be nice if you could jump through the mushroom tops from below.
I think with complex controls like these, it is important to have an organic level design that introduces mechanics bit by bit. It's probably a lot to ask for in a game made in 48 hours, especially after you put a lot of effort into the mood.
The game looks and sounds fantastic and creates this very dense atmosphere. I have to ask: How did you produce the wind sound? Did you tune a synth until you got it right? It can't be a real recording. Very well done. I also loved the water effects.
I think if you polish the controls and level design, a post-jam version of the game could become really great.
The wind sound was actually quite easy, I basically just poked at sliders in [bfxr](http://www.bfxr.net/) until it sounded right. If you want to try that yourself, I find that the most important piece in general for making nice atmospheric sounds is to turn 'compression' down.
If you'd like to play a version that introduces controls and mechanics more gradually, you should check out the current post-compo version, which adds an interactive tutorial to deal with some of the control weirdness.
Thanks to you and everybody else for the feedback so far!
All jokes aside, this is a pretty chill game. It's nice and relaxing to slowly build my way up. In a way, it reminds me a bit of Grow Home. Unfortunately, the frustrating platforming in the compo version can interrupt the flow of the game. Also, it took me quite some time to figure out how to play (I didn't realize that growing mushrooms meant growing NEW mushrooms) but it was pretty simple once I figured things out. Again, apparently the post compo version remedies this issue, so it seems that you've already addressed most of my problems with the game. With the negatives out of the way, I have to say that this is one of the more visually striking games of the compo. The minimalist aesthetic suits the game nicely and the mushrooms wiggling and bouncing is very smooth. The visuals along with the audio make for a calm atmosphere which I enjoyed greatly. This is certainly a very well made entry which is apparently made even better in the post compo version.
I can see that there is a variety of fauna to encounter in this game, each with their own unique platforming traits. I rather like that idea, I think there's a lot of potential for that to make a very deep and engaging game. Unfortunately, I only got to the sideways growing mushrooms before I had to give up.
Jumping from mushroom to mushroom is just kind of finicky. It is rather difficult to gain height with only the basic mushroom type, since you effectively have to grow an entire staircase. If there was some way to climb the stalks of such mushrooms, I would feel much more free. Another thing that would have made my experience smoother would be if I could jump straight through the bottoms of mushrooms, rather than having to do lateral aerial maneuvers just to get on top of a mushroom. From a aesthetic standpoint, I do like that the mushrooms jiggle around when you walk on them, and that they have a curvature to them, but it sometimes gets in the way of making that precise jump.
I'm super impressed with how deliberate this game feels. It just feels like you put a lot of thought into this idea and executed on it very decisively. Definitely a Ludum Dare favorite of mine.
Oh right, and we did manage to make the transition time shorter, and movements less sluggish. More levels weren't added though due to technical difficulties. More info is at the bottom of this page! https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/$19665
I'm impressed with the level of quality you managed to fit in given 3 days, those water shaders and the mushroom physics felt just right. I really liked the idea of a platformer where you have to grow the platforms, but it might have been nice to have some way to destroy plants, sometimes it felt like I had way too many shrooms and they were just getting in the way.
Otherwise, great game! Had a unique and fun idea.