Obelisk by Orcolom
Obelisk is a puzzle game that is built up from 9 chunks.
Chunks have bridges that drop down when they align with each other. Two lit chunks can be swapped with each other. Some of them are linked together with connectors and can be rotated from a distance. Some have walls that divide the chunk into two parts. Sometimes you're joined by a partner and you have to get through the level together.
Your objective is to get everyone to the shrine. Some levels have multiple solutions so how you get there is up to you!
link
https://orcolom.itch.io/obelisk

- W A S D to move
- Q and E to rotate the senders / connectors
- Tab to switch character
link
https://orcolom.itch.io/obelisk

We're 3 students, 2 of us entering for the first time and 1 who has done it once before.
@Orcolom: Twitter Programmer
@Stroeckx: Twitter Programmer
@sooi: Twitter Art, music

link
https://orcolom.itch.io/obelisk
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/obelisk |
Ratings
| Overall | 86th | 3.941⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 194th | 3.529⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 129th | 3.697⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 616th | 2.879⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 52th | 4.5⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 153th | 3.613⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 603th | 1.962⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 178th | 3.667⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 54🗳️ | 6🗨️ |
Other than that, nicely done.
The player should not be able to fall off the level, but we know there is a bug in some levels that makes it possible.
The controls feel a bit off when you start playing, but we believe(d) that is more logical otherwise you always need to have 2 buttons pressed to move.
So I'm not really a Puzzle Guy- but I did enjoy this. I sort of gave up after the 4th? or was it 5th level since the pace wasn't my type of game. xD
Regardless- I enjoyed it until it got "hard" (where i had to think). I really like the style of the art and this nice intelligent atmosphere the game provides. :)
It's definitely a game worth remembering. :D
Unfortunately I didn't play it to the end, but I may come back to it at some stage...
Some minor criticisms:
It wasn't obvious at first what was going on with the tile-swapping. I click 2 things, they rise and then come back? or something?
It's not immediately obvious (And I kept forgetting) which of the rotation tiles is the "handle" and which is the one that gets turned.
But when i did realise how everything worked, this turned out to be a very well made game! good job!
The thing where the movement angles is not obvious from the perspective was really hard for me, I went left when I wanted to go right, and left when I wanted to go up.
I like puzzle games though and this was cool!
The only downside I see is the controlls that felt a bit weird.
But really good job guys. Super good entry!
@ironchest I have not seen that happen yet as in my mind its kinda obvious as you technically still move left and right according to the screen. But that being said you are not the first and definitely not the last who find the controls strange.
@gerardb Thanks for the feedback! response above ^
although just like @ironchest I found the movement very difficult and unnatural and I never really got used to it
This is an excellent game with fantastic graphics and gameplay but, it's let down by just a couple of minor issues (that can be easily fixed):
* The movement controls - they don't feel natural to me at all.
* The walking sound effects seem out of place
However, apart from these issues I think this is fantastic and my scores reflect that! Nice work!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmUpejMpTcM
* Occasionally activating the sensors (with Q/E) just stopped working, so it was impossible to rotate the connected platform. It's possible there was a mechanic behind this, but if so it wasn't explained.
* Once, a bridge that as far as I could tell, was lined up perfectly, didn't descend. It's possible they weren't really lined up, but they sure looked like it.
* I don't think being able to fall off the edges adds anything to game, it shouldn't be possible at all; if it's a bug that's hard to fix, make it so that if you fall off, you respawn on the platform you fell off of, rather than restarting the level. When this happened at the very end of a long level (combined with the previous item), that's where I ended up stopping playing.
Anyway, those three things aside I think you have something really awesome here. The aesthetic is great (reminds me of a more muted Monument Valley), the audio is nice and atmospheric, and the mechanics are interesting, and they're used to build well-designed puzzles. Very good job, I'd love to see more of this.
It took me a few minutes to figure out how the bridges worked, mainly because there are some that look like they should be aligned, but really aren't. The perspective can make it hard to tell.
I would've preferred two-button controls. I just couldn't get used to mapping WASD to diagonal movements. Maybe make a configuration option?
Still, very impressive game, especially for only 72 hours!
The only bad thing I can mention - the sound of steps is too loud and music loop is too short.
And that's all. Everything else is amazing - game mechanic is smart and unique, I loved the feature with the sister most of all. Level design was great and style reminded me of Monumental Valley. I think you guys can make a really cool games together - because this one is wonderful. I have not much to say about it - so good the game is!
Even though this game is isometric I don't think the controls should have been skewed 45 degrees, especially since you can roam freely on each tile. If you want to have controls on the diagonal, you should use a control scheme like q, w, a, s. Just as an America centric example.