Negative Zone by Phoenix Fireflower
Negative Zone is a unique puzzle platformer in which you control two girls who explore a barren wasteland. The world is split up in black and white. Only the black girl can move through the white world, while the white girl can only stroll through the black world.
Both girls can turn themselves into a 'block' which creates a hole in the world, allowing the other girl to pass through parts of the other world. (see screenshots for how this works, it's difficult to explain in words).
Your goal is to KEEP yourselves ALIVE by collecting pieces of food scattered throughout the levels. After all food is collected, lead each lady to the exit to finish the level.

| Youtube | https://phoenix-fireflower.itch.io/negative-zone |
| Youtube | https://phoenix-fireflower.itch.io/negative-zone |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/negative-zone |
Ratings
| Overall | 251th | 3.963⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 236th | 3.893⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 67th | 4.148⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 2304th | 2.911⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 1612th | 3.321⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 239th | 4.018⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 30🗳️ | 39🗨️ |
I feel like there are a few tings that could tip this game over into something excellent - an aesthetic that's clearer, and maybe a lot more minimalist (why not just some small squares that can expand into big ones when they anchor, for example?), less floaty inputs, and puzzles that you can't softlock (like I managed to in level 3 because of a lack of proper walling) would make this a stand out game.
As is, congratulations on making something that I had real fun playing and lit up the little lightbulb in my head once I realised the mechanics of passing through each other. Very satisfying!
Good job :)
At some point the level became mind boggling, but still not too hard :smile:
The only thing I'd suggest to improve is give a hint on how many levels there are :smile:
Another improvement is the change to a square. Currently, you center the square around the current position of a girl and then snap the rectangle to the right space afterwards. Much nicer effect would be if you synchronized these two animations: shapeshift into square and move this whole animation towards the final position. It would feel so organic. It's not that bad this way either, but that one piece would really shine.
Next point I want to suggest is to animate the girls a bit. They are animated during the walk, but having an idle animation for the girls would be important than for the doors (although I appreciate the animation on the doors as a cue to where the exit is, which is a good UX).
The last thing that could be improved is jumping. It feels somewhat clunky, but I've tried such things and I know these things are hard to do right...
All in all, very nice job here. Keep up the good work.
I enjoyed the game (and also completed it), it was a good puzzle game to make in such a short amount of time. Took a few attempts to win at each level but got there in the end. Definitely good game!
Graphics fits pretty well, I just would have preferred to have a chill music to go with the game, but this is personal :slight_smile:
Good job!