Trumpet-chan's Dungeon by Narwaffles
My Ludum Dare submission
Help trumpet-chan escape from the depths of the dungeon in this short puzzle platformer.

Controls:
WASD to move, Space Bar to use special ability of item, E to interact/pick up item, R to drop item
If holding trumpet:
J/K/L to press valve Space to play
If holding torch:
Space to throw torch
If holding nothing:
Space to jump
| Youtube | https://narwaffles.itch.io/trumpet-chans-dungeon |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/trumpet-chans-dungeon |
Ratings
| Overall | 2158th | 3.024⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 1984th | 2.929⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1604th | 3.095⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 2009th | 3.214⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 1717th | 3.238⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 1138th | 3.125⭐ | 22🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 503th | 3.5⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 1633th | 3.143⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 29🗳️ | 13🗨️ |
Second of all, since torches didn't "respawn", using one wrong would render the rest of the game impassable, which forced me to kill my character to restart. This should be an easy one to fix.
Finally, the level design - which is probably the most important feature of these types of puzzle platformers - was lackluster. I think this is in part due to the game's core concept and functionality - it sounds really interesting and unique on paper, but when you think about it it's really, really constraining. Pretty much the only real "puzzle" you can create involves dropping the trumpet by a torch, then going up to bring down a ladder. The only way to build on this is to add layers of this same sequence, which is not particularly fun.
Graphics gelled together really well and the sound design, from music to sound effects to mixing, was absolutely on point. Letting me press the valves on the trumpet was a cool novelty even if it didn't affect gameplay, and killing zombies was really satisfying thanks to the audiovisual responsiveness. I also enjoyed the writing of the trumpet character - gave the game some good personality.