Sammy and the Orb by morrilet
Sammy and the Orb is a puzzle platformer set in an abandoned laboratory. You play as Sammy, a small, set-upon robot who discovers an orb that can manipulate time and bring in objects from other dimensions. Puzzle your way through five unique levels and help Sammy fulfill his mighty destiny!
Gameplay
You can create three types of platforms for traversing the world.
- The Standard platform is just your run-of-the-mill solid platform.
- The Conveyor platform moves things left or right, depending on how it was placed.
- The Gravity platform bounces anything it touches.
You can place up to three platforms in a single life, and you can have up to nine active platforms at any given time. Platforms are incorporeal when first placed, but will solidify after you die.
Placing platforms is contextual, meaning the platform you place depends on what you're doing.
- If you're in the air you'll place a Standard platform.
- If you're moving left / right you'll place a left / right Conveyor platform.
- If you're standing still you'll place a Gravity platform.
Controls
- A / D - move left and right
- W / Space - jump
- Shift + Space - place a platform (see Gameplay)
- Hold R - respawn
- Hold Shift + R - clear platforms
- 1-4 - Emote
Credits
Ethan Morrill-Ploum (@morrilet) - Programming - Set construction - Level Design
Jeremy Helsel (@jih7) - Programming - Level Design
Sean Greer (@sean-greer) - 3D Everything - Box Art
Noah Century (@noah100) - Soundtrack - SFX (didn't make the build - likely in a future release!)
A super special thanks to Poco Quinn who did UI pop-up art for us just hours before the deadline.
Ratings
| Overall | 1065th | 3.327⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 1249th | 2.942⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 880th | 3.269⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 1356th | 2.962⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 910th | 3.442⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 862th | 3⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 865th | 2.614⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 1130th | 3.077⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 47🗳️ | 34🗨️ |
And I don’t know how to cancel the placed platform.
Then I got stuck
Suggestions:
- The controls are a bit strange
- Sometimes the physics of the blocks changes when you reset
- Some more background decorations to help give the levels more character
Good job!
@iron-leonem Thanks for the feedback! All valid points. We've since discussed how we might go about tweaking the controls, but obviously that'd have to be in a post-jam build. SFX were a little lacking indeed, but that came down to time, unfortunately. We had the assets but didn't have the time to get them in-game. Physics is a whole other can of worms, but I think a lot of the button issues had to do with the colliders needing some love. Thanks for playing!
@dyguests Not sure if you played this before or after the controls list went up, but holding Shift + R for a few seconds should clear your platforms.
@ukulelefury Hm, interesting - I haven't seen that issue before, but I don't doubt it. Maybe it's a framerate-dependence bug? Either way, platform placement (shift + space) is unlocked after you get past the first door so that block needs to come down. Definitely something to investigate if we make a post-jam version.
@pleb2 Hey, thanks for the Portal call-out! I got that vibe a bit myself once I saw some of the finished levels come together. Definitely all good notes, too - we'll keep those in mind if we revisit this.
edit: I made a mistake when typing. Please, I'm sorry about that. When I said, "... I could do by holding the shit ...", there was a missing "F" in the word shift (I wanted to write shift and not shit hahah). I noticed this when rereading my comment now. I don't know if you noticed that I was rude, but it definitely wasn't my intention. I'm really sorry, my friend. :)
@amin-jk000 Thanks - and yeah, the physics need some work, unfortunately. Trusting the Unity physics system can have... mixed results.
@usenrame Thanks!
@100th-coin Good to hear it! And thanks - the puzzle design was really fun for us this time around.
@vphyre Glad to hear the controls weren't *too* off-putting. Using one key for everything sounds good on paper, but I think we've learned that it needs a lot of teaching in-game to feel natural. Thanks for playing!
@ava-skoog Yep - you guessed it! You gain the ability to place platforms after you get through the first doorway. I have heard reports that people are unable to get the box at the top of that room, though, and I think that's a framerate / physics issue. Unfortunately we don't have a fix lined up for that just yet. Thanks for playing, though!