Shunk Stark by MS ANNOTATION X
A short 2d platformer made for Ludum Dare 47.
Theme Stack in a loop
Objective
Reach the level's end, before the timer hits zero, and avoid the red platforms, because they will decrease your hearts.
To Know
If you run out of hearts, the level will restart.
If the countdown timer reaches zero, the level will restart.
How to play?
A, Q, Left arrow - Move Left
D, Right arrow - Move Right
Space - Jump
Hold Space - Jump Higher
Esc - Menu
M - Mute/ Unmute Audio
R - Restart
Credits
Made by MS ANNOTATION X
Music by Freedom Trail Studio
Change Log
V1.0.1
- Fixed the resolution of the game.
Any feedback, I appreciate!!
Have fun!



Ratings
| Overall | 1356th | 3.071⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 902th | 3.262⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1652th | 2.012⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 1622th | 2.341⭐ | 43🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 1397th | 2.679⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 28🗳️ | 56🗨️ |
Took me some tries to finish the 6th level ^^
And I loved the music!
good work
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"The music was great too…for a while then I had to mute it so I could concentrate on the last level lol."
I do see people find the last level a bit hard, to be honest, the level is a bit difficult for me too!
The gameplay was hard without being frustrating, which made it really fun and addictive.
Would have loved to see a few more levels!
The simple graphics are really well done and the animation is a nice touch.
Good job for your first ludum dare entry!
Different animations for walk, idle and jump states, would make it even more juicy.
I wish there was some visible exit object to collide, because sometimes it looks like you made in time but you didn’t. Also some feedback when you die/win even if just a sfx.
i watched you giving cool feedback on other games
just requesting to give on mine too lol
Loved the music btw! Could have done with some sfx though!
I don't know if it's the lack of info visibility but I can't figure out how to play this game. I can beat the 1st level by going right, but I can't do that for the 2nd level. Am I missing info or is something being cut off on my screen?

***Edit** Make sure to download "Shunk Stark x V1.0.1 (Beta).rar", and not version V1.0 of the game.
I actually really liked the level design. Levels 5 and 6 had the tight precision I really like in platformers (funnily enough, the game I made also requires good timing and spacing so you might like it). There were certainly a few jumps where you get a tad nervous because you have to jump super close to the edge. I think that's a great feeling, and for me is what makes a platformer memorable to me.
Short and fun. I wouldn't have minded harder levels either because the loops are only 6 secs long so dying doesn't feel that bad, and you get lots of chances to correct your timing. Thanks again for the fixed version!
"I didn’t really get the “stuck in a loop” theme from it" The game matches the theme by replaying the level.
The game restarts/you will replay the level, when the timer reaches zero, your hearts reaches zero, you fall down, or if you restarted the level manually.
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@barravelbzh Thank you for playing!
"out of subject i might say" If you mean it doesn't match the theme, I don't think you are correct.
Here are my feedback:
_Positive points
- Responsive controls
- Clean geometric art style
- Great animation on the cube
_Negative points
- The jump is a bit too imprecise for me
- The level 6 was too frustating, certainly because of the impreicision of the jump
- The music is quickly repetitive
Overall: gg for your work!
I liked:
- The tight and precise controls, I felt in total control of my character at all times.
- The music choice is quirky.
- The levels were well designed.
- The time limits were precise but totally doable.
I didn't like:
- The graphics are way too simplistic and flat, I prefer when games have some more character. Just personal preference.
- There was no feedback to the player that red platforms hurt you aside from your health decreasing. I only noticed it in the final level, in the others I just jumped on top of red platforms without worrying.
- For some reason your input sometimes isn't recognized when the level reloads. Sometimes if you hold the key while dying you will restart the level already walking, sometimes you won't.
- The theme is underutilized. I get that the loop is supposed to be the level restarting, but that's just how platformers usually work. Many games this jam have used the theme in the same way as yours, so your game could have done with some new spin.
The jumping curve is a bit different than what i am used to.
This has one common denominator - too precise ground check. You're not allowed to jump when you're just a tad bit on the edge of the platform, and then you're allowed to jump again only when you're back on the ground. This means that if the player hits the jump button just a little bit later, still on the edge of the platform, but out of range of the ground check, or just a little bit sooner, a frame or two before the ground check returns positive, the character just won't jump.
That is perfectly alright, it's not a bug, it works as intended, but it FEELS wrong and frustrating! So what you do when you want the player feel good is you actually cheat the physics, you record both player input and player ground check and do the action as long as those two overlap each other, but not necesarilly when they happen simultaneously. As I did to many other platformer devs this jam, I do recommend to you as well these videos which are just great both as inspiration and as knowledge base https://youtu.be/yorTG9at90g https://youtu.be/8QPmhDYn6rk
Unlike some others, I like the artstyle very much, especially the animation work, which is like the artstyle itself very subtle but works well enough and makes the game feel more alive! Also the colour scheme worked well for me :)
What I didn't get was the last level - I left only with one heart and only then I realized how I lost the other hearts (some feedback is missing) and I was unable to finish the last level - is that the intended behaviour? Should I have just more hearts to spare? In levels before I encoutered many deaths that lead me to abovesaid - I didn't jump off the edge of the platform or was unable to do a fast land-jump on a platform and just fallen to my death.
But the foundation is really strong, the movement feels really tight otherwise which usually isn't the case with Unity, so you did a great job! Congrats!