interesting, I liked the music

Glad you liked it! I am glad with those tunes actually..
The music was created on a mobile phone... glad I am able to load custom sound fonts and tinker with :D / Walk Band is the app...

I liked it (I'm a fan of maze games) but I thing there was too much going on. Between the fruit/enemies/signs in the field, the letters at the portals, and then the hints/riddles, it just made for too confusing of a game.
It would really help to be able to see again the tutorial text that appears when the game first loads, and the riddles and hints.
As it was, I just kept being frustrated by the enemies teleporting me (though this was sometimes helpful and might make for an interesting twist on the game) and stealing my fruit. I didn't realize I could repel them, as I tried once and either it didn't work or I didn't time it right.
Free roam mode is a neat touch though, I feel like that alone could be the basis of a game (play around, customize, then share your level here).

@oter Thank you for your honest comment! Sure, the game is a little crazy, especially if you go for very small maze...
Since *this was still legal*, I took your feedback and spent 20 minutes to add DZEN/CALM mode (no enemies). I suppose it will spear some frustration for *some* players. Others would enjoy the awkward enemies and the interaction with them!

Thank you very much!
I hope you finish the game ! :)!

[dzen-mode.jpg](///raw/659/a5/z/5dcdc.jpg)

It's like a fever dream, not sure what to do, but I'm still going forward.
I liked exploring the levels, although the enemies are ruthless, and since there isn't that many crossroads (levels are just twisted tunnels), it was hard to reach some places, as the enememies were blocking the only path there.
It's positive to see the game in pure HTML5, bravo for the effort.

*To everyone*: **press the SPACEBAR to deflect close enemies**

I may need to make that more obvious.. :D

@rongon Glad you kept going through this *dream fever* : ))) ! Press the LAMP button for a hint if you get stuck... and if your doughnut ate enough watermelon XD

I'm very lazy with reading descriptions and rules so maybe the objective was explained, but I tried to wing it and just dive deeper into the mazes while collecting melons but the quest seemed neverending. The game seemed really well made, but I just didn't manage to finish it.

Thanks, @verttixpertti ! It's ok, no worry :D . I know it requires attention and effort :D You also have hints 💡, exactly for the lazy-ness reason (it's another story IF those hints help as much as I want XD). First usable hint 💡 after eating 10 melons

Super interesting game but the controls honestly felt a bit finicky. I felt like I was always moving too far in a direction than I was intending.

@rsheepdv Yep, finicky by design and technology actually. I have to stand behind this one, since hastily looping through the maze, almost like going to slip into the unfortunate abyss of another frying pan or whale (or a basketball) is part of the "challenge" :D and sweaty mood of the experience. But I do understand. Maybe next time I would provide a 2nd "slower" set of controls too (I was thinking of that).

Thank you!

## Is anybody stuck? Do you want a guide for the levels?

**I am afraid that** if people start looping throughout the maze.. I may get 0 people actually finishing it XDDD :smile: ... *infinity troubles* ...........

I like the visuals in the background! feels like something is watching over you, starring right at you hidden behind the maze! The smooth transitions between these backgrounds feels good too! Goodjob!

I got stuck on level 3, but might come back to it. Very challenging puzzles. I thought maybe the progression of falcons was parabolic, but that didn't seem to work out. Sometimes the number of falcon signs would change when going back up, which confused me. It seems likely that I'm not smart enough to finish this game :thinking:

rather than cussing, just why not using words like numbskull, mushbrain, room temperature IQ? Anyway, good game for w hile

I never got into JS and web stuff but this is a good argument for it. The only thing I didn't like was entering portals and repel being on the same button, so if an enemy sat on a portal, I had to wait.

The sound effects, music, and the UI style contributed to the aesthetic retro flash style aesthetic, except it probably runs better than those games. You got a lot of polish done too and there are a lot of options, like as many as there would be in a finished game.

@robert-li Thank you very much ! Yes, you felt the mood I wanted to bring :)) It's a mood of uneasyness and abstract mystery! Like the doughnut is in a faked matrix or sth.

@boxedmeatrevolution Glad you are that far ^^ ! Use your hints when you eat fruit (I don't rememeber but i think if you use enough hints - if Too stuck, you will get the solution with one of them) **Anyway, I will add a link to a GUIDE for all levels** so that people at least can finish it *for sure*. I **Really** want that! Thanks and glad you were enjoying! :smile:

@mindhijacker Hahahahah.. I hope that didn't bother you too much :/

The rubber duck is not a nice guy. He is cocky and derranged.. turning people into doughnuts.... putting them into mazes. A psycho. Yes, I agree, he not nice :id: Part of the messy mood xD

@bergeronimo Heey : )) glad you seeing some value in JS itself. I will be honest: it's tricky. Check out my tool for rapid observer/command pattern programming: obs-disp

I am thinking of creating obs-disp-phaser (Phaser3) template for rapid and flexible dev of Phaser3 games next (been tinkering with it for quite some time).

For the game, I am flattered! Thank you very much! ^^ For the entering of portals and repell, I wanted to keep controls to a minimum; that's like a part of the mechanics - to be careful if you are on a portal that you can't repel but just enter it... cannot both use a gun and enter your house at the same time thing XDDD

An interesting game. Reminds me a lot of old Flash games. Good work!

I didn't make it past level 0, I think this game is too big brained for me. It was a nice concept though, I think I was like 20 dimensions deep.

@catusfelony xD I like your comment. Please go to portal C :smile:

@digital-bacon Thank you, thank you ^^

# >>>>>>> [My friends, here is your LEVEL GUIDE](https://gist.github.com/AweSkyBear/e73f01ed5061b0a9c11e4348f7f67ccf) >>>>>> <<<<<<

Use it if stuck on ANY level!

**I want you to see the ending cutscene, for sure**!

@catusfelony and @boxedmeatrevolution :D

the game deffo has a bold presence and personality! choosing to represent most stuff with emoji is an interesting choice. I think it sets it apart from many other games stylistically and also leans into the medium of 2023 web-based technology.

Big props to you for doing so much extra work such as a level guide, and I read it and here are my impressions: This game gives me big vibes of mid 2010s rage flash games. Why is level 1 an attention exercise? this game is not conductive to that kind of thinking at all. Which, maybe that was your intention, but this is pretty intense actually and I didn't know what to do because to me this was a real-time dungeon crawler lmao, I didn't even clock it as a puzzler.

Overall, very bold and intense game that doesn't actually communicate with the player much. But that non-communication is so in-your-face yet cryptic that it seems intentional

@snekofspice heheh, you've *felt* the atmosphere Just as I wanted it : )))))) Thank you very much! And am glad All those feelings got invoked! ^^

Yes, you are correct about it all. I will rephrase it as a dungeon crawler too! Great great point@

I don't know if it's visible enough... the game becomes More about Only paying attention ones there are No enemies (**Calm mode checkbox**). But I've introduced major UX mistakes, like not making such stuff apparent enough by default.

Yes... INTENSE is a bullseye word! That was intentional... and I felt those little foes add to the absurd and player-desperate feeling :D

About the guide: you are right.. lvl1 is not, lvl0 kind of is. All levels kind of are - besides the fact you are boombarded with enemies all the time. Aaaand I was in a big haste writing that Guide.. there will be edits.. :id:

Thank you!

There are MANY aspects of this game I *adore*, like the use of web technology, the surrealist setting and use of emoji, the idea of solving different kinds of riddles in a repeating contrived space, and some of the riddles were actually very creative and left me feeling like a genius afterwards! This is when you know you've made a good puzzle game. Though I am very conflicted on whether I like the execution. x)

I managed to solve until level 2 by myself, which felt great! Level 3 was confusing because I had gotten to a room with 7 falcons but they still weren't right. I didn't know that it literally meant "facing right", and after I read the guide I thought that was quite clever. I didn't know that going into other rooms would generate "new" 7 falcons that could be the right ones, I guess this part was just trial and error till I found them? Not sure.

I don't really know where to put this so I'll say it in the middle: the duck character I found unbearably annoying, like a 9 year old kid who just learned the word bitch and wants to say it after every sentence. Felt a bit like trying too hard to be funny x) I think you intended for the character to be annoying but I think it went too far.

Level 4 just didn't work I think. I spent a few minutes going nowhere into portals and just read the guide. I thought zooming in to read tiny words was really clever and went like "ah of course"! But even then, I zoomed in all the way, on the textbox, on the sign, everywhere, and saw nothing. I don't know if the answer is just really really well hidden or if the game broke, but I couldn't have beaten that one without the guide.

Level 5 was fine and to the point, though here is where the enemies really started to get annoying (I know there's an option to disable it but I didn't know I wasn't gonna like them before starting the game). I think there shouldn't have been enemies at all, they just make it more annoying to go from place to place, and considering that level 6 requires the player to do a lot of backtracking through the confusing coordinate system and I didn't want to deal with the enemies *or* risk getting lost and never returning to the same point where I was again, I preferred to just read the guide again and be done. At the end I felt quite tired mentally.

So I'm conflicted! This was one of the most interesting games I played in this jam, but I also was so tired after playing that I was glad it was over. :sweat_smile: Genuinely don't know if I liked it or not, but it was sure very unique.

I guess one main suggestion I have for the, as it looks like, future part 2, is for you to focus on what the game is really good at: the riddles. Get rid of the enemies, give the player more direction if they are going the wrong way (like you did on the first puzzle with the "no" signs), allow them to be able to get back to the puzzle's starting point as quickly as possible if they mess up so it doesn't feel like the game is wasting their time. These kinds of games are very underrated and can be so satisfying, but it's also trivially easy to get them wrong, so the less annoyances and distractions that get in the way of your player and the puzzles, the better. I await excitedly for whatever your mysterious mind has to offer in the coming events.

Anyway, here's a donut-duck:


Wait, I just re-read the description. THERE ARE HINTS??? Bruhhh this should have been said in the game, I could have had a chance to beat the other puzzles. :sob: There were so many weird buttons on the top I just ignored them thinking they were options.

Interesting but a bit confusing take on a packman style game :D I liked little pictures and messages. Watermelon looks tasty. Sometimes when I change levels, the colours are too intense ^^'

I like the music and the concept with the pictures and messages, maybe it's hard to resolve any parts but it's ok for a jam!

Well done! Take a candy! :candy:

Hehe, thank you, thank you guys ^^, @kanity @hagamosvideojuegos

Glad you found certain parts nice!

It's true, the intense colors are again due to a randomly picked color, didn't have time to refine it all.

Hopefully, after being feedbacked aalll the UX things... I now got enligthened of the main issues and will be able to fix them / be aware of them for the future ^^

@fupi (1) I don't know what to say... Wow! You took the time to comment on the WHOLE game!! By doing so.. you've been the *golden* feedback/reviewer.. you just became my *online bestieee* xD. Seriously... thank you very much, my friend! I am **extremely** grateful because you just helped me realize ALL issues that keep this game from being the best possible!!

Aand.. I cracked at the donut-duck doodle XDDDD... geez.. SO good... :smile: *hats off*

So: if I have to be short - thanks to your *details* I now realized obvious things I was oblivious to: like, the main issue with the game is *basic UX*, fixable in less than an hour ;((
Trust me, hints Were for that - to offload A BIT of the mental hardship *which I knew* I was bringing to the player! How often do we explore infinity with challenges (+ undying foes..) - cannot be that easy. I am sorry about the BUG - lvl4 must have revealed the sign texts!!! But that's my bad :// (it's based on the reso and DPI you are that sometimes ctrl+ scroll may NOT trigger the check- only the UI button with the magnifying glass......)

**Now, to the actual points : ))**

**The good parts**: I am glad you found the surrealistic setting nice with all the out of the box stuff. Happy that you made it through some levels on your own ^^ and felt great - that was one of the goals.

**The painful parts**

### Nasty foes

The reason for adding enemies is that it made the game more intense.. like, it was part of the spirit and challenge - and brought additional life to the otherwise empty mazes. BUT I went too far with that - there are ways to make it balanced, like, for example - they could DIE, not continue to thrive, ones you-ve dealt with them (on a global level - not just by re-entering the maze).

### No hints and getting lost easily

You didn't realize there are hints?? Nooooooo xD ... this is my Biggesy blunder - I violated the UX principle - only a few elements onto the screen!! Nobody reads/checks/clicks/cares about more than a few ;(((

Aand I do realize now - should have put special attention to the hint button - it looks LIKE a part of the options since we start with the sound buttons ;// haha

AND the major UX thing - I must have shown a simple dialog with a Single sentence, before each thing - maybe reshow the dialog several times for different things: game start - "You can use hints via💡, when you have 🍉 " , "You can disable foes and just explore the maze puzzles via [ ]" (this could be in-game too.. easy). ,

### Level 3 - the falcons

It is intentionally like this, yes - it was *actual hunting* for the right ones. If you check the source code and levels.ts you can see the hints for each level , if you check for level 3, there are some note that when you figure out the right *branch* that has mazeS with 7 falcons, you have to explore them all to find the right one.. I know.. I am nasty :D It's the worst level.

### Level 4 broken

It's a bug.. I am sorry :// the fact you didn't consider (which is Normal!!!) The buttons at the top made it unbeatable without the Guide

### The nasty duck

Hahaha.. that was kind of the goal - yes, he is so bad and stupid :D He represents a demon, who is exactly like a 9-year old, does not know better. And - another UX mistake from my side - for people who struggle and get tormented in the maze from the 1) puzzles 2) lack of hints 3) lack of way to restart from puzzle start .. 4) nasty foes that hunt you without rest .. it's certainly much more bothering if the main antagonist is an ass too :D (no rest on any level).

For me? My brain is probably with a major bug but I found saying bi*ch was way actually funny (probably too much staying into the infinity hole XD)

### No way to restart from a level

*I didn't make it to a working version of this - it was bugged*. I wanted to bring it in for the reasons you mentioned, but in an infinite maze where you need to Track the entering sequence, I got into a mess and had to ditch it!! I will add it for a post-jam ver for sure!

### Risking of getting lost

Ok, that may be just me but

@fupi (2)

### Risking of getting lost

Ok, that may be just me but that's why the Back-arrow on the portal titles are for - you can just follow it and go back, if you wish, to the Genesis Maze very easily from 30+ depth. Maybe *this* too was either not obvious enough.. or I tormented you mentally way more than acceptable :// and it was easy to miss

## To sum up

You revelaed ALL the issues for me. I will be greatful to the end of the game-design world!
And your doodle is off the charts-cool ! :smile:

**Does it make sense** if I try to address the UX issues now in a post-jam version deployed separately? I believe yes.. if have time will do so will notify : )))

Man, you saved me. I love you.

Todos:
- fix major UX issues: less UI text (before game instructions) / in-game buttons, focus on the important parts via stop-play modals when appropriate
- fix the lvl4 bug
- make enemies globally-destroyable (at least)
- point out better you could play the game withour enemies - a modal which pops Before just starting the game
- point out controls like this too (stop-play-atrention-grab modal)
- point out how to track where we came from : maybe a GIF or sth)
- more hinting like the NO sign for the 0th level (tbh I didn't have the brain left to add such stuff, even if it crossed my mind)

## Fun note?

My brain had more level ideas / mechanics and triggers and stuff (just to name a few - going over walls, colored blocks). But this game is much harder to realize (and test especially the UX) than it looks.. that's the troubles with growing complexity and.. choices. : ))

**Thank you very much my friend**! If any thoughts - let me know ^^ .. OR take a break... :D you deserve it due to mentally over-tormenting you

And.. if ever am creating a 2nd game based on this ---> oh boy... will.I be careful with UX XD + will try to do a *less tormenting* thing. This is my 2nd or 3rd *finished* game in my life, I am learning.

@aweskybear Mate I'm very happy you actually took the time to read my fucking essay and understood all my points completely. x) I'm very sorry if the criticism was painful but I very much appreciate your vision and want to see you improve to your best potential, especially given how nice you've been to me, I think giving honest thoughts respectfully is what friends do to one another.

UX is definitely something that could help a lot, just mentioning all the core mechanics of the game, I'd say hints are an important mechanic, in the menu or somewhere else the player will see.

Making enemies destroyable is a good idea if you really want to keep them. I'd still want to play without them, so maybe give the option to disable them in the middle of the game, because you won't know you don't like them before starting the game. No need for a modal.

The arrows to return to where you were I did see them and I understood what they were for, and I had no trouble using them for the majority of the game. I guess at level 6 I was just tired enough to not want to bother x') If you add a way to maybe restart from the beginning of the level, that would be fixed for me.

And finally I think we'll have to agree to disagree on the duck x) I think there's a way to write a narrator who's an asshole without it becoming annoying (GLADos is a cliche but good example) but if the more childish humor is what you're into, I can't really argue against that. I did even put a poopoo peepee joke in my own game so it's understandable.

Again thank you for taking the time to take in my points and I'm very sorry if I was too negative, I did like your game and I like you too, so very good luck on your future projects! You have insane potential my friend ❤️❤️

@fupi, it's not just fine - I am happy with your feedback beyond what you imagine. And exactly - this is what *true* friends are for - being down to earth and to the point : )))

And a little secret : usually I am the guy with the essays, so not to worry at all :smile: (that's evident for my game, too much text in the wrong places :DD , i am saying it with a smile)

To all final points - exactly as you mentioned I will do.

For the evil duck? Yes, there will be changes for next games -> that's *one* of his sides only XD

Thank YOU! Will keep you posted :p

This was a very trippy game, in a good way; I like the random dungeon approach, where it feels like you can keep diving in to rooms/levels forever. Personally, I felt like there were mechanics that could've been mentioned in the game itself, instead of in a bunch of text before starting the game (i.e. the hint system was hard to discover on my own, and putting it in the row of buttons that control settings like audio/dark mode was a bit strange). Maybe adding some more signs to read that directly say "Press H to get a hint" or something would go a long way.

The "infinity" of this game also mostly confused me, as I didn't really know if I was making progress or not. I feel like there's not really a good way to "undo" your path easily in order to go back to the start and do the correct solution. I know you can technically go back out of the path you originally took, but if you're in really deep, it's a bit cumbersome to backtrack the whole way, so maybe a quick reset button like pressing R to take you back immediately would be a great quality of life change.

Overall though, I really like the idea, and it's super cool that you were able to build this in a JS framework instead of the typical Unity/Godot/game engine approach, so awesome job on the submission! Would love to see this expanded!

@alzhu1 Thank you very much for taking the time to comment! Glad you liked what you mentioned. Your feefback coincides with other's feedback and I will improve on those things : )))
I rrally wanted tove a Reset of some sort but a mentioned, didn't have the time to put it in cleanly (will surely fix this one).

Thank you!

Liked this one a lot! Very different concept, using emoji art was a great idea, and the different tech used to make the game made it quite a unique entry. Well done!

This game was really interesting and awkward at the same time. I am the fast pace and the fact that you can just move into more and deeper dimensions at the edges of each map makes it easily repeatable and someone (like me for example :tongue:) can spend like 15 minutes playing it without thinking a lot of things! Anyway, in general it was good and I also liked the music! Good job and keep up!

I really liked this game and it's challenging puzzling concept. Didn't finish it yet, but I definitely want to. The controls feel natural and I like the faster movement which is essential in this game. Overall - a solid LD54 entry!

P.S.: I'm got some brain damage pls help :skull:

@notinatal ;(((( I am sorry for **tormenting** you..

Please **use the HINT (lamp) in the middle at the top** button - I know it's obscure!!! My greatest UX mistake... nobody notices it (your stream was the ultimate proof.. and the comments above :D)

If too **much pain** ---> use the **level guide (see description)**

Thank you a lot for the kind words! I saw you were in pain on the stream XD ;(

And bravo for getting to level 3 without **any hints**

@ricardobusta , @deadbydeath , thank you very much, guys! Glad you liked the experience!

As for the **entering deeper for 15 min**, you are correct.. the game should have more signs (explicit hints) but the bigger thing - **I have to fix the HINT button** - I have to make it evident for players -> with it, for every 10 watermelons you get a new hint to use (different set for each level you are on). : ))

Thank you!

The game is interesting, it was quite nice to play it, keep working on it and everything will be cool

@egormnc Yes, right, but it also woupd be great if you don't copy and paste the same comment at every game ;)

It kept me playing longer than I initially imagined. Some enemies are almost transparent, just with very thin lines that would practically require a magnifying glass to be seen. But the gif graphics on the page show much better sprites of enemies and items, and I don't know why it's appearing like this here. The sounds are very good and the mechanics are very interesting.

@lincolnsalles Thank you very much for the kind words! : ) I am glad you enjoyed the experience and spent more time than imagined ^^!

Could you please post a screenshot of *exactly* what you are seeing? I understand the difference of the *sprites* (it's actually just emoji font symbols - thus the potential difference on different systems :D - an extreme quirk of the game!) **but** the almost-transparent enemies... this I think I don't understand :))

In any case, very glad you enjoyed it! ^^
Aaaand... as a note - if I even do a 2nd part of this I will probably be using `canvas` and drawing stuff to it that *always* looks the same for everybody. : )

emoji font symbols this, but in the image on your page they are not emoji symbols but sprites. that was my doubt. These emojis are very small on the screen, just their line, the edges are almost transparent because the line is very thin and they are very small, that's it

@lincolnsalles My friend, it must be that your system is different and *is probably* displaying the emojis in a bit different manner. Depending on DPI, default fonts, probably even OS and browser. Example: I had tested the game on an old comp of mine, with older Windows (and probably other different font-display settings) and I get a quite different-looking enemies in the maze xD For one - on the old comp I get a rough black outline on my foe emojis ^^
So, this game is also one big experiment ^^

I *still* would be happy to check a screenshot from how it looks for you ^^ but in any case -> it's not sprites on the GIF / images, it's the game itself with the same ol' emojis :D

NB: it may be possible that the situation is fixable (to look the same everywhere), but I honestly have not looked into the core reason for the difference of emojis on different systems yet (time is limited, not just space :D)

LOL I'm too tired to understand anything, and the duck just laugh at me saying it won't give me any hint. I will definitely retry tomorrow.
CU

Definitely mysterious!

Addictive game. Unfortunately, I'm stuck on level 4.
Great job!

Hey, @Vodzik, glad you enjoy the game!

There is a bug (seemingly) where on some machines even the *correct* mechanic fails :/ .. feel free to take a look at the **Level Guide**: it will unblock you!

## Thank you, everyone for playing the game!

I've learned *a Lot* about game design, what works, what doesn't and etc. And also got a huge pile of inspiration through the awesome games I could try (and marketing.. aaah this little underdog, I also learned a few things about :D). Not to mention UX.. xD

Without *all* of you this wouldn't be possible : )))

Cheers!