The Pigeon Post Principle by cassowary

Anne-Marie is a postal pigeon who delivers letters by flying around in the sky. Help her complete her mail route by flying between curiously-shaped rooftops and pushing giant fans around!
How to play * Use the arrow keys to move Anne-Marie. * Anne-Marie can fly between roofs if there is a straight, empty path between them. * Fans create air currents, which will redirect Anne-Marie if her path runs into one. * Important constraint: If Anne-Marie is already being buffeted by an air current and runs into another air current perpendicular to the one she is currently in, she will turn in the direction of the second current. * Fans can be pushed around. * Do not let Anne-Marie get blown offscreen or into a solid object, or you will fail the level. * Touch all the mailboxes to complete the level. * There are 15 levels in total. * Use Z to undo, R to reset, M to mute. * To delete save data, press X then W then reset the page.
Tools used * Programming: zucchinibread.js, my JS game engine * Art: Aseprite * Level design: Tiled + ulvl * Sound effects: The noise generator in Audacity, pxtone, and my hand (for the flap sfx) * Music: Ableton (some electric piano preset) + alto saxophone

post-submission change: fixed a minor sprite layering bug and a bug where the game wasn't saving progress properly
| Link | https://github.com/cassowarii/ld53 |
| Link | https://cassowary.itch.io/the-pigeon-post-principle |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/the-pigeon-post-principle |
Ratings
| Overall | 5th | 4.405⭐ | 212🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 13th | 4.29⭐ | 212🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 54th | 3.924⭐ | 212🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 20th | 4.398⭐ | 213🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 49th | 4.22⭐ | 213🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 13th | 4.295⭐ | 207🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 123th | 3.272⭐ | 197🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 29th | 4.126⭐ | 208🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 26🗳️ | 19🗨️ |
I failed on level 12. :cry:
Definitely would make for a nice mobile game if you develop post-compo, great work for doing it with your own engine too!
That was tough! I was able to make it through every level though with some persistence.
Every level felt really well thought out. I was surprised none of them felt like throwaway levels which is very common in LD puzzle games. The music is probably some of the best I've ever heard in a LD entry. While I was playing I was thinking to myself "Wait, does this music ever loop?"
Wasn't sure about the puzzle potential at first but you wring a lot out of the fan mechanic. Up to level 11 (will be returning later when I have time) and every level so far has been delightful and instructive.
Beautiful sax playing! The game would be charming without it but it's really the cherry on top.
First LD53 game I've played and I doubt anything else is gonna top this, tbh.
Especially love that music. It's really relaxing. :notes:
EDIT: I went back just earlier and finished the other puzzles.

There was only one thing I didn't like: When the "level-finished-music" interrupted the cool main music after each level.
Art is cute and stylish, music is just beautiful. I was a bit sad every time it was interrupted to congratulate me on finishing level.
Puzzle design is flowless, with a frequent "oh? a-haa!" moments. I wish there was option to choose level, so if you get stuck on one levels you can at least look at later ones.
Overall - great entry!
Loved listening to the smooth sax throughout.
The animation for flying between platforms was really satisfying.
The only think I would suggest is not to stop main theme playing when winnin or loosing. Kinda breakes that awesome vibe for me
this was tricky already for my tiny brain :laughing:

This is a great puzzle game!
The wind mechanic is really interesting; it feels similar to the traditional slipper ice puzzles (a la Pokemon), but the way the air streams interact and the fact you have to fly into them from an angle make for some fresh puzzles.
The art and music were very nice and polished. I particularly liked the animation for gliding and then flapping right before landing --- feels very lifelike! I imagine you looked at some reference to nail that down. It was also great you managed to get a live instrument into your soundtrack (I might have to try to do that in a future jam...). The soundtrack, relaxed gameplay, and clean art all complement each other.
I drew Anne-Marie and added her to the pixel fan art compilation on [my profile.](https://ldjam.com/users/jeremy-ryan/)

Great job and good luck during the rest of play and rate!
Some of the small details I really enjoyed:
- That all of the sound effects were sonorous to the music
- That the soundtrack continued after the "level complete" screen
- That Anne-Marie would try to fly against the headwind
- The fluttering animation as she landed
- the dopamine hit of a good mail delivery
I found myself unconsciously moving the pigeon to the music like it was a Necrodancer game, haha.
Really great work, the levels ramp up in difficulty nicely :)
Congratulations!
And that sax over there? Who's playing? And you?
The soundtrack captivated me not only because it's a sax (I'm a saxophonist) and not because it's Bossa-nova (I'm Brazilian) but because it was very well performed.
Congratulations!
level designs are tough but satisfying to solve! i am stuck on level 13 agh ;_;
The concept is adorable and well implemented. I love the smooth jazz too! It's really on theme and checks all of the boxes for me, well done!
The only detail I could see improved is the way the music stop for the little jingles.
Well thought out levels, great music and perfect fit for the theme.
Well done!
[Capture.PNG](///raw/94b/d3/z/5b522.png)
Nice idea, mechanic and art.
Also is very solid action - make our game engine (even if it's small).
Really love the sax and the rest of the music <3
I didn't really like the "level won" sound tho, since I think it disrupt the relaxing atmosphere and the rhythm of the chilling background music. I think it should have been a more easy sfx that kept the music flowing instead of stopping it.
Apart for this, everything else is well done. You have some entry levels to explain the mechanics without being annoying, just a few mechanics that works well together, which is nice for a good puzzle, and the levels are actually interesting to solve, and also are made in a way that u can actually stop and realize how to win even without brute force. Maybe the order of the levels should be adjusted a bit, since the last level I think is way too easier compared to others.
The game is very nice, and it's very jam friendly, since it's entertaining but not too hard, and also knowing in advance the number of levels helps in the completion percentage, because players are more keen to keep pushing for some other levels if they know for sure they will be the last one (instead of not knowing if there ill be other 30 levels).
Maybe the only thing is that it feels a bit too pre-made, not like u made this before the jam, but like built out of a checkbox list so to have a proper polished game for the jam. Not really a bad thing, since it's actually very funny, but something I felt like I wanted to note, maybe as a way to push you into something more experimental for your next jam/game, if u like!
Anne-Marie Employee of the Month
The quality of every element is top-notch, and both the game system and level design are mind-blowingly outstanding, leaving me utterly astonished.
This is truly the best of the best!
I'm definitely going to check out your other games now.
Seriously well done!
Great game mechanics and graphics and surprisingly no bugs!
!> I thought level 11 was maybe a bit convoluted for teaching a new mechanic (crossing the winds, assuming this is the intended way to solve the level) and I'm a bit sad it didn't return in later levels
!> Level 14 felt amazing to solve, like setting up a line of dominoes and then knocking them over, loved that design!
It was great getting to develop a mental model for the levels with constraints like "this mailbox has to be the last one" or "this fan is static" which made solving the levels enjoyable. One optional fun thing would have been to name the levels to give them a bit of extra character but that's an aesthetic preference :D
Anyways great puzzle design and I really appreciate having an undo button (I made the mistake of making a Sokoban-like without undo once and regret not having it from the start), had a blast!
Probably took me 20 mins to beat all 15 levels!
Really good entry well done!