The Ancient Tower by Skosnowich

[raw]
made by Skosnowich for LD36 (JAM)
Version 1.1.0:
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Due to various comments mentioning, that this game needs checkpoints, we added some. We let the version without checkpoints up as well, for those who like some more challenge. The checkpoint mechanic is a really simple one and there is no visually indication that you reached a checkpoint. We hope, this keeps the frustration level a bit lower. :D

Controls:
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“A” or “left” - move left
“D” or “right” - move right
“W” or “up” - jump or climb ladders up
“S” or “down” - climb ladders down
“Enter” or “Space” - interact with levers

To execute the jar file, you need Java 8 installed on your machine. It was tested on Windows and Linux.

Game Description:
=================
You and your friend are adventurers who want to enter an old medieval tower. It is said that there lie ancient artifacts, but also you’ve been warned of the dangers of the tower.

Nonetheless you go for the tower. You feel strange as you stand before it. It appears tall and mighty and you kinda feel attracted to it. Your friend, as well, seems to have these feelings. Excited for the ancient artifacts you approach the tower.

As you enter the tower you suddenly blackout…

Waking up, you look around and try to find your friend. You don’t see anybody, just a room and some way up.

You stand up and try to move ahead, but.. you can’t. Some strange power hinders you of all movements.

Suddenly your body moves on its own, you have the strange feeling that your friend controls you with his own movements.

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In this game you control two heroes at the same time. You have to get to the top of the tower and discover the ancient artifact that awaits you.


About us:
=========
Team members:
Matjes
Skosnowich

Hello there, we are two guys who participated in the Ludum Dare for the first time. We did all of the programming using Java and libGDX. The music was generated by http://abundant-music.com and then polished in LMMS. For sound we used http://www.bfxr.net/. We found most of the graphics on http://opengameart.org/ and did small parts ourselves.

Feedback

Jupiter_Hadley
31. Aug 2016 · 16:28 UTC
Challenging, well made game! I included it in my compilation video series of Ludum Dare 36 games, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/6fURV7WMVCQ
monkeybit29
31. Aug 2016 · 21:52 UTC
pretty cool idea, I think more than anything it needs a checkpoint system, nice job
Omiya Games
02. Sep 2016 · 23:28 UTC
Thought it was a pretty clever game with a nice set of puzzles that truly demonstrated the potential of your mechanic. Felt the controls were both floaty and slow; I would have appreciated a little movement to make it feel more natural (note, though, for this type of game, faster speed can be a detriment).

Other observations include:
* It was easy to fall off of the moving platform, so some sort of physic relativity would have been nice on those.
* Checkpoints would have been nice.
* The spikey wall platforming felt kind of pointless for this game. It simply felt like yet another platformer at that segment. The switch-door puzzles were more interesting.
JonathanG
03. Sep 2016 · 10:58 UTC
Wow this game is super difficult, I was getting used to the controls but resetting to the very bottom every time was just too frustrating and I stopped. The jump sound effect is a bit loud/repetitive. Cool idea though.
Insality
03. Sep 2016 · 13:32 UTC
The first impression what it is very very difficult and have the frustration emotions because there is no checkpoints.

But complete the game with just 2 deaths and got laught from "What the damn technology it is" :D
Ok, cool game, sounds and general entry

+Dont like jar executables :)
Kizler
04. Sep 2016 · 04:55 UTC
I really like the concept of trying to play two characters at once. I tried to imagine how gameplay would work for myself, and I believe you nailed it.

The controls seemed floaty sometimes, but that allowed for me to manipulate jumps a tad bit easier. Unfortunately though. The game was much too hard for me... I couldn't get past the second door. :(
DaanVanYperen
04. Sep 2016 · 12:49 UTC
Enjoyed the overall concept! Mechanics are easy to pick up.
blubberquark
05. Sep 2016 · 10:47 UTC
I think the floaty controls work to the game's detriment. I'd rather move fast, die fast, retry fast.