LudumData

Phil by Turncoda

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

title.png

In an abandoned power station, a lone service bot blinks to life. Find power crystals around the area and use them to open doors, charge your blaster, refract your blaster shots, and illuminate this mysterious wasteland. Made with LÖVE!

Press ESC in game to view the controls.

screens3.png

Post-Jam Update: Added Checkpoints

Many people have reported getting stuck, which is totally understandable. I added checkpoints to the game so that you don't lose too much progress if you do end up getting stuck :smile: You can check out the newer version right here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zu31X-a5KQ

At last, we're releasing a time lapse of the first 3 days of development by Turncoda and I, featuring a play through of the game at the end of the video.

If you for some reason want to play the version we submitted for the jam, those links are still available below! The only difference between the two is the existence of checkpoints, which has no effect on gameplay except to reduce wasted time.

Windows https://www.dropbox.com/s/ymm1e8gwdar1mtl/Phil_win_x64.zip?dl=0
macOS https://www.dropbox.com/s/6lwzcjjaqbhvmw6/Phil_osx.zip?dl=0
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/phil

Ratings

Overall 225th 3.667⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 283th 3.364⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 161th 3.571⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 657th 3.1⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 380th 3.636⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 258th 3.381⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 436th 3.19⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 11🗳️ 19🗨️

Feedback

Bocodillo
01. Aug 2017 · 03:37 UTC
Those are some very well designed puzzles, just enough complexity but not too difficult. The latter part of game gets a little long winded but otherwise the gameplay is fantastic. The design of the game space slowly teaching players about how the various games elements work (rebounding shots from crystals is cool) is another great feature. The music is pleasant, if a little repetitive but the graphics and shadow effects are fantastic. Great game!
logiraffe_justin
01. Aug 2017 · 03:47 UTC
The background music in this game is fantastic. I love the artwork. The little jets behind my movement are perfect. The puzzles are brilliant. Really, this game is great all around! Good job you two!
stevenjmiller
01. Aug 2017 · 04:14 UTC
Great game! The puzzles are very well designed and the mix of pixel art and dynamic shadows looks amazing.
WillData
01. Aug 2017 · 05:02 UTC
I got stuck but the puzzles were fun and made sense! Good entry!
elit3dgaming
01. Aug 2017 · 07:16 UTC
Great game, puzzles are challenging but I managed to get far. Unfortunately I got stuck in a section and couldn't get back out, oh well :P
Syl-WhatsUpDesign
02. Aug 2017 · 05:29 UTC
Great guys, I specially love the music. I am usually not a big fan of Pixel Art but here that works very well !
mactinite
02. Aug 2017 · 18:34 UTC
Very well made puzzles, though I did get trapped near the end. I really like how much mileage you get out of these crystals cramming 3 mechanics into them! I only really have two gripes with the game (and they are kind of subjective One is that movement should be locked to a grid, there were times when I'd have to move the crystal 2 or 3 times so my shots were refracted where I wanted them to go. The second being that there should be some form of checkpoint system + a reset button. Near the end of the game I got myself trapped while experimenting and was unable to get out. All in all a solid entry!
franfox
03. Aug 2017 · 09:01 UTC
I like the basic idea and the art but I got stuck in the first room for many minutes, maybe I'm very bad but me feeling was the game was broken :( After going out the first room, the second puzzle take me a while... I think a better design level progression would improve the whole experience to keep the players playing with a success feeling. I hope it helps 👍
bentglasstube
03. Aug 2017 · 09:10 UTC
This was a terrific little puzzle game. I really enjoyed the art style and the music. The puzzle elements were introduced wonderfully by showing me instead of by telling me. I, like others, did get trapped later on in the level but still found it quite enjoyable.
automatonvx
03. Aug 2017 · 18:24 UTC
Cool game, the graphics were cute, agree with machinite that at least the placement of crystals should be locked to a grid.. as picking them up and putting them down a few times to get them in the right spot is a bit annoying.. Also I would have preferred if it was divided into distinct levels, that way if you accidentally trap yourself you can quickly just restart that section. I liked the music, but the loop is a bit short so it gets repetitive quite quickly. The lazer splitting mechanic is cool, shooting stuff is somehow always more fun than sticking things on switches. I found it a bit weird that I could trigger the same looking thing by sticking a crystal on top but also by shooting it... the switch looks more like a thing to step on than a thing to shoot to me. Nice work
diptoman
04. Aug 2017 · 05:58 UTC
Those were some superbly designed puzzles, and a great progression for teaching the mechanics. I especially liked the 2nd last one, being able to loop one light over and over. Completed the game without getting stuck. The pixel graphics and music blend together well to create the mood(though the music wasn't looping, it stopped). The shadows help there too. People have already stated the usual issues.

What I especially liked was that there were no walls of text to get the player started, and you managed to do it solely with the design of the level, which is exactly what games should do! Great entry, congratulations.
HuvaaKoodia
04. Aug 2017 · 14:11 UTC
An ok puzzle this. You got a lot of mileage out of a the crystals, which is a sign of good puzzle design.

The last problem had me stumped for a bit, I tried a much more convoluted solution and couldn't quite get past the door in time. Then I noticed the tunnel next to the door.... Yeah, silly me for not using my eyes!

Would have liked some more levels of course, but such is the curse of the jam (most entries are content light).

Fine job in all. Puzzle design is something I tend not to even try so I gotta give you props for that too.
Wheffle
05. Aug 2017 · 03:30 UTC
Awesome puzzle game! Figuring out that last puzzle by setting up an epic relay felt really good. I like the art and the sounds, the music wasn't too bad either. It seemed like a very polished game, very respectable for LD. I did notice a spot where you could get stuck (the crystal behind a door that opens when you shoot a switch, the switch isn't accessible on the other side of the door and it closes behind you), but I recognized the danger and managed to not get stuck. Also it would be a nice QOL tweak to snap the dropped crystals onto a grid, sometimes their shots wouldn't line up if you didn't place them perfectly. Other than that nothing else came to mind, I had a great time. I'm pretty terrible at coming up with puzzles and executing them, so I'm always impressed with a well done puzzle game for Ludum Dare. Nice work!
ToonTeamJ
05. Aug 2017 · 15:45 UTC
The puzzles were very nice, although a tutorial could be useful. I never figured out how to get past the weird little holes in the ground.
Baski
05. Aug 2017 · 16:08 UTC
Nice puzzles and graphics :)
MarkWolf
05. Aug 2017 · 16:21 UTC
Indeed, this a nice puzzle game with solid and progressive game mechanics. A bit hard to me too. I really like the graphics and what I suppose to be shadow effects. A wider game window would enable to appreciate them better.
REDKAY
06. Aug 2017 · 16:28 UTC
I kinda found it difficult to understand the game
elysiagriffin
14. Aug 2017 · 05:38 UTC
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/165203584?t=06h39m11s

Here’s my live playthrough of Phil on https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin :)
Jupiter_Hadley
03. Sep 2017 · 19:14 UTC
Nice concept! I included it in my Ludum Dare 39 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqlTLOajPzI