LudumData

VoltRush by Reiv

[raw]
made by Reiv for LD 39 (JAM)

sparky<em>menu</em>_player.jpg

Screenshot_1.png

Run fast as you can and get to the top of the tower before you run out of energy!

CONTROLS

Move - Arrows or WASD

Welp, a really short game for this LD. Gladly I managed to make some music this time :) I still have a lot to learn about gamedev. I believe I figured out a way to be a bit more efficient at Game Jams thought.

THERE ARE SOME AUDIO ISSUES IN THE HTML5 VERSION! I will try to find a way to fix it later, sorry.

You can download the Windows file in the itch.io page too.

EDIT:

Thank you all for the valuable feedback! I believe you struggled a lot with this game because there's not enough contrast between the background and the stuff you can interact with (My bad). I will pay more attention to that kind of things from now on.

HINTS

  • You can step on pipes and the dark gray structures.

  • There's no "win" screen. You finish the game when you reveal the message "Thanks for playing".

  • On some point of the game there's a shortcut.

KNOWN ISSUES AND BUGS

  • Near the end some of the spikes almost merge with the background, you can barely see them, be careful, you will probably die there a lot.

  • You can get stuck on moving platforms.

  • On the web version the music overlaps itself when you restart the game.

HTML5 (web) https://reiv.itch.io/voltrush
Windows https://reiv.itch.io/voltrush
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/voltrush

Ratings

Overall 232th 3.653⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Fun 113th 3.75⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 653th 2.653⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Theme 217th 3.813⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 262th 3.938⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Audio 282th 3.319⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Mood 329th 3.391⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Given 15🗳️ 15🗨️

Feedback

TheCodeFactory
01. Aug 2017 · 23:17 UTC
This is actually **really** good! The graphics are SO good. I wish I could do make such detailed pixel art. I really hope you get more ratings. Don't forget to rate other people's stuff - that's the only way you can make it to the front page.

**Update** :
Yay! It's getting more ratings. :smile: Hope you can get higher up on the "Graded" list. My game made it to the top 10 in 1 week. I'm *sure* yours can do it in 2!
Lamm
03. Aug 2017 · 03:05 UTC
this game is so good the gameplay and mechanics are very good, you should add more content to this game good job
JohnDunaske
03. Aug 2017 · 03:10 UTC
I thoroughly enjoyed this game, and will play again :grinning:
Godot35
03. Aug 2017 · 03:13 UTC
The game's short length and tight controls accommodate its gameplay, making this game very fun to play. It was a nice touch to add a restart button so the player could restart if they had a lost run. If I would recommend anything to add, it would possibly be an end screen upon completing the game.

Nice work!
simonhutchinson
03. Aug 2017 · 14:33 UTC
I did it! This was pretty fun, with surprisingly satisfying controls. I like that you have music too, though I wanted the loop to be a little longer so it didn't repeat as much. Keep up the good work!
rosypenguin
04. Aug 2017 · 05:16 UTC
A simple and straightforward speedrun platformer, I dig it! Nice precise platforming physics and the level design was thought out, with just the gap sizes between platforms and multiple paths for a bit of exploration despite the time limit. Some of the background elements are the same color as the spikes, that threw me off a bit but didn't take away from the gameplay. Overall, gameplay, art, and music all meshed really well together, and you hit the theme to a T!
Olmes Daraviña
04. Aug 2017 · 17:04 UTC
Excellent sound excellent gameplay, the controls are very easy to use, it is understood that must be done from the first moment the game begins
bombjack
05. Aug 2017 · 10:20 UTC
very nice game design. The art and sound are good too. :smile:
fmdkdd
05. Aug 2017 · 19:03 UTC
Sweet graphics there (the main character is adorable), and the game plays quite well. I found myself nodding to the music trying to climb the tower. Good job!

A suggestion: I would color the checkpoints differently, to not confuse them with a power up in a hurry. I found a couple of issues: you can get stuck in mid-air by jumping into a platform that is moving away; jumping again unstucks you. Near the top of the tower, there are three lightning bolts: the middle one kills you and you start at the last checkpoint. Lastly, the sound effects are a bit too loud compared to the music, and the music plays on top of the existing music when you restart (I was playing the HTML version, so you might already know of these).

In any case, thank you for a very nice entry.
LeviDSmith
07. Aug 2017 · 03:04 UTC
Nice little platformer, which I think uses the theme well. I wish I could have restarted at a checkpoint after I lost all power, instead of having to go all the way back to the beginning. I had some issues with falling off moving platforms and getting stuck one platform. The auto-jump also threw me off sometimes, so maybe don't let the player jump again until the up key is released. Some additional gameplay features (such as enemies to shoot at) would help as well.
Tymus
07. Aug 2017 · 09:12 UTC
Simple but cool platformer, the music's pretty nice too (you should avoid playing the song on restart if the music already playing, because if you die a bunch of time, the songs layer and it's quite noisy)

Overall it's a cool experience :D
Thygrrr
07. Aug 2017 · 16:04 UTC
Solid jump'n'run entry that deserves more reviews and more love :heart

Likes:
- good graphics, good gameplay mechanics
- soundtrack and sounds and clear instructions in the game

Challenges:
- there was a weird teleport effect at one time and I don't know if it was some kind of trap or something I did (there was a fork in the possible paths to go).
- more feedback on death would be rewarding

Overall:
- underrated entry
- decent jump and run!
Aterlamia
07. Aug 2017 · 16:08 UTC
I liked the game a simple design but well executed. I liked the sound even if it was a pretty short loop (i think) but in this case it was so upbeat that it did not bother me. I did find 2 bugs 1 in the html player if you press R it will restart the game but does not end the previous music so i had 2 loops mixed (probbaly what you meant with audio problems). ALso i jumped up when under a moving platform and i got stuck. But keep it up it was fun to play
Le Slo
07. Aug 2017 · 16:20 UTC
The mechanics are classic but I was immersed from second 0, the music helps a lot, and I think we both know the problem when you go back to the menu. Simple but perfectly executed. You have the usual bug when falling next to a moving platform towards you, some moments of blocking. Good job.
sgt3v
07. Aug 2017 · 16:25 UTC
Very solid platformer, good job. Game is just balanced, some platformers are so frustrating to play for me. Only things made me confused at first is the background color and obstacles are a bit indistinguishable due to their colors, they don't stand out and look like a piece of background. Overall very good work!
Spetsdod
07. Aug 2017 · 16:25 UTC
Nice little jumper. Just hard enough to be a challenge, but not so hard as to make it frustrating. Took about half a dozen attempts to make it to the end. I hope you continue to make content for the game and add more levels. It is a good game and deserves more content. Thanks very much for the entry.
Peter Sheehan
07. Aug 2017 · 16:27 UTC
I really like the graphics and the gameplay was cute and simple. I thought that it was kind of easy to die as you got further, and then to spawn back at the start was kind of annoying. I think there should have been checkpoints.
Pio
07. Aug 2017 · 16:34 UTC
The gameplay is simple, but fun and challenging. Nice art and music. This is a very good game.
MMM
07. Aug 2017 · 16:39 UTC
ok, this is the best game I've played here so far
jhandsy
07. Aug 2017 · 16:47 UTC
Nice job! I really enjoyed it! Your music and art were both great! The gameplay was a bit basic but fun and well implemented!

There was like, ONE spike row that was so hard to see that I died on it twice before realizing it was there, haha.
orcdraco
07. Aug 2017 · 17:09 UTC
The game has a really cute graphics and the gameplay is really fun. Nice work! :)
Fran Segura
07. Aug 2017 · 17:28 UTC
Fun little game, loved the graphics and level design but having to restart the game from the start every time energy runs out it's a bit annoying. Anyways, you did a great job :D
WillData
07. Aug 2017 · 17:35 UTC
I think a lot of entries attempted the same concept but failed due to some odd collisions or slidey controls. Your platformer was definitely cream of the crop. I did kinda get lost towards the end without much certainty of where to go or what to do next but I think other than that you created a good entry.

1 bug to report! When I ran out of power the music track started over but also played on top of the previous music track so it was 2 of the same song at different times playing over eachother. Made playing more than one life a bit tough.
cpv
07. Aug 2017 · 18:12 UTC
Amazing game! Going over the mentioned bugs, overall has nice graphics and interesting game play. And the audio is nice. It challenges you to make it to the end.
Shell Pirate
07. Aug 2017 · 18:33 UTC
This was a good effort! I liked the graphics style and especially the warm and muted color scheme. That said, quite a few things blended into the background and you could have definitely made them stand out more (for example the pipes which really looked like background objects at first as well as the spikes when the backround got lighter in certain areas). The soundtrack was pretty good, although it overlapped itself when restarting (can't put too much blame on you for that as I had much the same issue). The gameplay wasn't too innovative but it was a solid platforming experience. I only wished the camera didn't keep the player so close to the bottom of the screen; it makes it unnecessarily difficult to see what's below you. Other than that, solid entry!
Freedom Is Slavery
07. Aug 2017 · 18:42 UTC
Great gfx. Cool game, though it felt very short, maybe I used some shortcut.
PhilStrahl
07. Aug 2017 · 19:00 UTC
That one was a fun experience! Enjoyed the music and the sound effects and the platforming was quite solid and Mario-like, meaning that knowing your way you could blaze through. My only (and biggest) complaint is that I couldn't really tell what was meant to be background and what I could land on, so maybe having a little less contrast in the (beautifully pixeled!) background graphics and a little more in the platforms would have helped me tremendously.

Also, in this location I died multiple times without really knowing why. I took a screenshot and, lo and behold, the spikes are almost of the same color as the background! :( This was why I put the game down eventually because when I'm in a hurry, I can't stop and look for almost completely camouflaged spiked.

![2017-08-07 20_55_54-GameMaker_ Studio.png](///raw/648/1/z/8c1f.png)

Still: Very good job, lovely platforming, lovely art, funky music. :)
PhilStrahl
07. Aug 2017 · 19:11 UTC
Regarding the separation between BG and FG, here's a quick mockup of how I would have personally approached this :)

![mockup-3.gif](///raw/648/1/z/8c23.gif)
Surovyi
07. Aug 2017 · 19:12 UTC
Hey! This is a good game! Enjoy the style, sounds, difficulty level. Seems like this game is really underrated somehow. Good job! :thumbsup:
Marin0104
07. Aug 2017 · 19:15 UTC
@philstrahl: omg, thank you for giving me that screenshot to solve that mystery :)

@reiv: Your entry is a very nice one! Despite the above issue that makes me to put it down, it is a really solid and fun to play platformer! Definitely one of my favourite games so far!
h.attila
07. Aug 2017 · 19:46 UTC
Really nice made little game, the presentation really is excellent. I found it too easy and short though, I was able to reach the end too quickly. It's not always obvious which objects are for decoration and which can be jumped on, sometimes the same looking items can act both ways. Also, a victory screen would've been nice.
diptoman
08. Aug 2017 · 04:04 UTC
Nothing groundbreaking, but well polished and fun. I enjoyed it - the controls felt right for speedrunning. :)
Schu
08. Aug 2017 · 20:41 UTC
Nice work! I wouldn't say it's very innovative because it feels like a pretty standard platformer with a timer added in to fit the theme. But I think it looks fantastic and plays really well! Impressed it was done in such a short amount of time.
SVR_Audio
08. Aug 2017 · 21:24 UTC
Good game, good concept, the audio is good, the main song is really cool, I loved, but some sfx were too loud, the art is cute, a good and old pixel art, the gameplay is good and it has a very smart mechanics, but the best thing is the level design, very cool game, great job.
🎤 Reiv
10. Aug 2017 · 00:16 UTC
Thank you guys and gals for the awesome feedback! I'm taking note of ALL the suggestions you gave me. All of you are right, is not enought contrast between the background and the stuff you can interact with ( my bad :D)

Thanks for taking your time to point out the weird stuff going on as well. (I will update the description with this known issues).

@philstrahl That screenshoots are really useful, specially the mockup! I really appreaciate it! :)
ProdigalSon
10. Aug 2017 · 03:16 UTC
Sonic the light bulb, running/jumping at the speed at the of light (literally) ;) The emphasis on "rush" is truthfully there but in a fair way. I personally would've preferred to having me tap the jump button to jump again rather than continuously jumping as it helps to keep the platforming in rhythm. However, there must have been plenty of testing since I never felt like a death was cheap and even though I felt I was running and jumping blindly because of how fast I moved, I only died because I took too long and ran out of power. lol
polona
10. Aug 2017 · 12:32 UTC
I like the graphics. The game was fun, simple jump and run. It motivated me to play the game more than 10 times.
thaaks
10. Aug 2017 · 13:12 UTC
Nice little platformer that fit the theme really well. The music and sound are good on the first play ;-)
The difficulty is pretty good, at least it got me motivated to play several times to progress a little bit on each try.
I liked the graphics. Overall a really fun platformer, well done!
GanbareGamesKyle
13. Aug 2017 · 06:34 UTC
Great jam game! Fast-paced, visually appealing. The only two nitpicks I have are that the camera is centered too high so it's hard to see where you need to land at times. And in the heat of the moment it is way too easy to hit the R key instead of the E key at the end (unless that's just me).
elysiagriffin
14. Aug 2017 · 05:56 UTC
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/165203584?t=07h36m07s

Here’s my live playthrough of Voltrush on https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin :)
DDRKirbyISQ
15. Aug 2017 · 06:30 UTC
The ol classic LD platformer. Pretty decent!
mspawa
18. Aug 2017 · 01:58 UTC
I suck at this kind of games xD But it was fun to play.

I really love the graphics and the sound effects, really cute jump sound.
You really have to run fast in order to finish it!

Good job :)
Alexandr AndroidDev
19. Aug 2017 · 17:16 UTC
simple platformer. no clear difference between background and foreground items. In some reason on the top of tower person start teleport.