Down - The game by zubspace

[raw]
made by zubspace for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

About

Down is a mix of dungeon crawler and realtime strategy game. Command your minions to the next portal, leading deeper down. Levels are procedurally generated.

Here are some ingame screenshots:

down-preview.gif

I would like to work further on this project. How can I make this game more fun? Would love to hear your input!

And a warning to all fellow game devs: This game is what happens, if you overscope a project. It was meant to be released for the Compo, but I was nowhere near playable after 24h and it therefore went to the Jam. Now, after nearly 3 weeks of laborious, long evenings, I can present you the post-jam version, showing you, how the game was meant to be. I like, how it turned out, but gee, I'm bad at time estimates...

Anyhow, have fun and thanks for playing!

Tech:

  • Godot 3.3
  • Aseprite, Paint.NET, Inkscape, GDX Texture Packer
  • SFXR and Audacity for sound effects. Recorded on a Zoom H1n

Post-Jam changes/additions:

  • Added bombs
  • Added merchant
  • Added final boss fight
  • Improved level progression
  • Self recorded sounds
  • Positional audio
  • Decals and particles
  • Better, custom pathfinding system with AStar2D
  • A ton of bugfixes

Ratings

Overall 552th 3.739⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 469th 3.652⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 484th 3.587⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1021th 3.565⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1053th 3.565⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Audio 643th 3.5⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Humor 481th 3.25⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 632th 3.696⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 25🗨️

Feedback

slimabob
26. Apr 2021 · 21:58 UTC
Wow! Impressive for a game jam! The cutscenes were great, and it's always really cool to see an entry using Godot. I liked the art style and even though the sounds were basic they added a lot to the experience! I totally feel the over-scoping problem. Never enough time to do everything you want to!

Great work on the game! :v:
AwrGameDev
27. Apr 2021 · 03:54 UTC
This was a great game! It took some getting used to the controls without having any instructions, but it wasn't too terrible to intuit. Love the little art style.

Only thing I noticed was that the minions prioritized combat over going into the portal sometimes.
🎤 zubspace
27. Apr 2021 · 07:56 UTC
@slimabob Thanks for your feedback! Godot is really great. Unfortunately sound effect fell a bit short. I also need to figure out how to do positional audio with Godot..

@awrgamedev Thank you! You are right about the missing instructions. Will fix that. Minions won't jump into the portal if they are currently attacking someone.
blobo
15. May 2021 · 17:12 UTC
Are those levels randomly generated? That's super impressive, and I had a lot of fun with your game! I think it's a bit of a slow start when you just have one character. it really feels like all I'm doing is waiting- though it's much nicer once all the prisoners are freed. Anyway, nice work!
marksht
15. May 2021 · 17:12 UTC
Post jam version is incredible! I use Godot too)
🎤 zubspace
15. May 2021 · 18:07 UTC
@100th-coin Yes, the levels are procedurally generated. It was difficult to get right and not yet perfect, but very flexible. Rectangular and circular rooms are placed randomly with a few restrictions. Like the entrance is usually placed in the north and the portal in the south. Then more rooms are placed around them. Prisons must intersect existing rooms. It's also possible to use some [cellular automata](https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/generate-random-cave-levels-using-cellular-automata--gamedev-9664) to add some variation. Hardest part was placing rocks, because I needed to make sure, that every room is reachable. Thanks for playing, really appreciate it!

@marksht Thank you! Godot is awesome :)
Neowedge
15. May 2021 · 20:57 UTC
Great game! Tutorial is difficult but once yo know how to play is very funny. Congrats!
Aprioriface
15. May 2021 · 21:02 UTC
Good game. It was interesting to play.
It was hard to realize how to kill enemies, but maybe i missed some tips.
As a result it's cool game
OddballDave
15. May 2021 · 21:04 UTC
This is good for a jam game. I like the visuals, and the audio was really good. I had plenty of fun playing. The game did crash when my minions reached the portal on level 6 though. My only suggestions would be more variety, but I'm guessing you figured that already and as it's a jam it's easily forgivable.

Good stuff :8ball:
Hunter X
15. May 2021 · 21:14 UTC
The initial concept is fun and there's a lot of potential for future additions here! Might be useful if the workers would head to any targeted tile instead of just ones close to them, and there were a couple of cases where they would get stuck in a side corridor when using the rally tool (interesting way of defining movement; I'd be interested to look in the source code and see how that was handled), but aside from adding more objectives/variation it's a pretty solid game. As a side note, the game did freeze a couple of times in the post-jam version when using the rally tool, but I'm not entirely sure what caused it (possibly something to do with nearby combat?).
🎤 zubspace
15. May 2021 · 22:10 UTC
@neowedge Thanks alot!

@aprioriface Minions are a bit dumb, yes... If they are idle or digging and see an enemy, they will automatically attack. But if they stand on a rally path, they will follow it, except if they are hit a few times. Needs a bit of practice. But yes, sometimes they seem to behave like headless chicken, lol...

@oddballdave Yeah, had it crash on me a few times, too. But it's hard to reproduce. Will look into it some more. Thanks a lot for playing and the feedback!

@hunter-x Yeah, the rally tool needs some work... It's a bit complicated, because it should work even if you make shortcuts and draw through thin walls. I sample the mouse frequently and assign the current mouse position as a target to tiles, where the mouse was before. Your minions, as soon as they step on such a tile, will then try to use AStar to follow the path, but sometimes they seem to try to go through walls. The code is a total mess and I'm not very proud of hit lol... By the way: I also wanted to add a world map like in "Slay the Spire" and add different objectives like "Rescue the king", "Defend the castle" or "Protect someone"... Well, sometimes I get a bit ahead of myself and want to do too much.. Thanks for your feedback, though. Appreciate it!
DoctorTM
15. May 2021 · 22:46 UTC
Very cute jam. Nice mechanics, took some time to get used to them (especially with the bombs, I killed so many of them XD). Art and sounds are good. Nice job!
🎤 zubspace
15. May 2021 · 22:52 UTC
@doctortm Thanks for playing! Yeah, need to be careful with the bombs :) But they are so fun to use! hehe
filgru
15. May 2021 · 23:18 UTC
Haha! I've exploded my whole crew! They should be more careful :) Very cool idea for a game! I like the art work and those subtle animations of the characters. The painting of the path works well. It took me a little practice before I've menaged to control them in a right way. Sometimes those minions don't listen to my commands, they just attack :) This music is perfect choice for this game. Overall I had a lot of fun playing it! Great work!
🎤 zubspace
15. May 2021 · 23:28 UTC
@filgru Thanks for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, those minions have a bit a mind of their own, lol. If they get hit twice, the will go into attack frenzy mode and completely ignore you.
Donamougou
16. May 2021 · 08:57 UTC
(Played the post jam version)
The start of the game is maybe a bit slow, but once you reach the little crew, it's really enjoyable !
Love the graphic style for the characters. Music is simple but enjoyable, and do the job !

Unfortunatly I had a freeze on the second level :/
this is the kind of game i'd like to play a full version of !

Awesome game ! congratulations
🎤 zubspace
16. May 2021 · 12:19 UTC
@donamougou Thanks for the feedback! And sorry about the game freezing. Seems to happen randomly... :(
Laurari
16. May 2021 · 15:29 UTC
I am not good at this type of games :sweat_smile: but I really enjoyed it, specially the mechanics of painting to lead them to some place :smile:

great job with everything, art, graphics... I would like more types of minions, though I just made it to the 3rd level, so I'm not sure if there are more hehehehe it'd be awesome to understand a little more about each type of minions (do leaf minions prefer range?)

I got some freezes while playing, and it always is when there are many minions fighting and throwing pickaxes, could this be the reason?

btw, am I the only one that exploded my own kind twice?? xD still really fun!! amazing job!!! :trophy:
🎤 zubspace
16. May 2021 · 15:50 UTC
@laurari Thanks a lot for playing and the feedback! Yeah, currently there are only two types of minions. The normal ones with a short range attack and the minions with the feather on the head have a long range attack. Unfortunately the game is not heavily optimized. This is something I need to take more care of in the future. :)
Yword
16. May 2021 · 16:03 UTC
Cool, it is fun and challenging, and the idea and mechanics of commanding minions is really great too!
🎤 zubspace
16. May 2021 · 17:57 UTC
@yword Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it!
Roolow
16. May 2021 · 22:01 UTC
Wow, this it is very satisfying to use the bombs, or free the little guys to expand my force. I love these kinds of games, reminded me of pikmin, and this has a cool core "destructable walls" base that I think could lead to some very interesting stuff in a full game. But Im impressed with what you've done in the jam alone. Thanks for this!
🎤 zubspace
17. May 2021 · 05:15 UTC
@roolow Hey thank you so much for your feedback! Haven't heard of Pikmin before, but I see, this is a game I have to look into. Thanks for the recommendation! :)
MacDoom
17. May 2021 · 21:12 UTC
Great game man! The painting tool to guide the miners is so intuitive, and putting the item selection on 123 on the keyboard just felt logical. Congratulations on the tune, just wished for the next levels to have their own theme. Randomizing the levels is also a radical good choice for replay value. Excellent work man!
🎤 zubspace
17. May 2021 · 21:50 UTC
@macdoom Thanks alot! You made my day! Cool that you figured out the tool shortcuts by yourself. Should mention them in the tutorial..
leekanarchism
18. May 2021 · 21:32 UTC
Nice game! Haven't played anything like this this jam, very original.

I found the controls very intuitive, I was confused when I started playing but figured it out within 10 seconds which is a sign of good design! It felt like most of the levels got a bit auto-pilot-y in the jam version of the game, but looks like you've got extra mechanics in the post-jam version which I'm sure help spice it up, I can see a lot of potential ways to expand the game. Nice work! :)
🎤 zubspace
18. May 2021 · 21:56 UTC
@leekanarchism Hey, thanks a lot for your kind feedback! Have a lot of ideas how to expand the game. Thinking of a world map where you can decide how to progress through the world. Different level goals and more monster types. Now I just need time to actually implement that... :)