LudumData

Reflex Redeemer by LDJam user 271014

[raw]
made by LDJam user 271014 for Ludum Dare 53 (JAM)

title_wide.jpg

>>>> Play on itch.io! <<<<

Deliver lost souls to redemption at seraphic speed! A fast-paced first-person action game inspired by Neon White and Sonic Adventure 2. Features 18 levels, original heavy metal BGM, and an in-game timer that saves your best times per level.

Controls (also explained in game)

  • Movement: WASD
  • Look: Mouse
  • Jump: Space
  • Dash: Left click
  • Pause: Tab
  • Restart level: Tab, then click the [Restart] button

If you want to reset your save data, hold [Backspace] on the level select screen for 6 seconds. A message will appear indicating that the data has been reset. Refresh the page and the game should run as if it were the first time.

Wondering what a "perfect" time is? It means you were within 3 seconds (or better) than my personal best for that level.

Credits

This game was almost entirely a solo endeavor by me (Mediflect), but Hydezeke (@hydezeke) was kind enough to do some foley for the sound effects!

Known Bugs

  • The level textures look weird/glitchy when playing in the browser on a Macbook Pro. I have no idea what's causing this; probably some WebGL jank. Try downloading the PC build (which should work on Windows/Mac/Linux) and see if that fixes the issue.

  • Sometimes the camera will randomly jerk in a direction shortly after starting a level or unpausing. This is a WebGL-only quirk and I haven't been able to find a consistent solution for it. If it's really bothering you, you can download a PC version of the game on the itch.io page, where the bug doesn't happen.

  • Framerate gets a little crunchy on levels that have a lot of mines. I might address this in a hotfix.

Post-jam Hotfixes

  • Switched the pause button from [Esc] to [Tab] to avoid a conflict with fullscreen in the browser
  • Fixed an issue where Abandoned Soul: Parallax was unplayable due to the UI not appearing
  • Fixed an issue where the dashing sound would sometime start playing before the level started in WebGL builds
  • Added a workaround for the low-pass filter effect that wasn't working in WebGL builds

Tools used

  • Unity 2022.2.17 (engine)
    • (this was the worst version of Unity I've used in a long time. I don't know if it was the combination of packages I was using or what, but the editor would constantly spit out null refs, lag on displaying updates to the inspector, take 30+ seconds to recompile/enter play mode... I probably lost 2+ hours of time all things considered.)
  • ProBuilder (3D modeling and level design)
  • Visual Studio Code (coding)
  • Cubase Artist 12 (music)
  • Bfxr (like, one sound effect)
  • Audacity (audio editing)
  • Photoshop CC 2019 (texture editing)

External Assets

Some of the textures are from the Tiny Texture Pack by Screaming Brain Studio, which I paid for. Aside from that, everything was made from scratch specifically for the game, the only exception being the credits music, which is an original composition I made in the past.

Link https://mediflect.itch.io/reflex-redeemer
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/reflex-redeemer

Ratings

Overall 56th 4.214⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Fun 12th 4.464⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 240th 3.768⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Theme 981th 3.411⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 607th 3.661⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Audio 122th 4.054⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Humor 825th 2.7⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 160th 4.074⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Given 27🗳️ 38🗨️

Feedback

ChanceA
03. May 2023 · 19:51 UTC
Honestly this is my favorite entry so far. I was totally absorbed up until the very end. Thought the difficulty curve was pretty good, I really liked that you have some freedom in how you navigate the levels. It feels so satisfying to bounce around and the level design and variety was quite good. Would've been cool to have a little more going on with the music, but what was there was nice. Great work.
Defrag
04. May 2023 · 02:40 UTC
Really tight blend of speed-rush and control, feels awesome. Jumping puzzles can be tricky, especially when the dash is look dependent, but I felt like the demon things weren't too difficult to hit. I made it through 7 levels I think before I kept dying too much to keep progressing. The tutorial does a great job onboarding the different mechanics too. Excellent jam entry.

Oh, and I think I feel you on the Unity delays. I am still using 2020.3 for a main project, and I feel like it is much faster on reloads than 2021. I haven't tried any 2022 versions yet, but I'm not surprised to hear that it isn't a major improvement.
Alexsandro
04. May 2023 · 03:59 UTC
This game is very good, I think it needed to be presented in a better way, this is very important. I see that they even put a lot of information about it, but what people are looking for is good gameplay, some images of the game with catchphrases, such as "jump as much as you can", "Use your thrusters wisely", "Wait or jump? it's a big question when your time is running out" you need to sell the game in the best way, alias it is your game. Some people won't know how much this game is worth just for lack of a good presentation.
Cheaptoads
04. May 2023 · 04:00 UTC
really neat game, love the music! excellent tone. i wish that filter effect could be dialed back like 20%, makes the game a little hard to see. i dig the way you introduce the subsequent abilities/ elements. nice work!
DanielB
04. May 2023 · 04:04 UTC
Good stuff, really enjoyed it. 18 levels is a lot!
jdemattos
04. May 2023 · 04:06 UTC
I love the concept of a first person platformer and believe there is a lot of 'meat on the bone' to the idea, and room to expand upon and elaborate. I really enjoyed the feel of the game and the use of assets was very intelligent to create something that legitimately had a good amount of gameplay! Theme was nailed and I enjoyed the music.
picross
04. May 2023 · 04:06 UTC
Woooooo this was great! My fav level was Fissure. Super well done level design and character movement. I liked the complexity of the mechanics you created by limiting the abilities in different ways. Great work. If I had one complaint it would be that it's a little tooooo similar to Neon White perhaps, but it's a great game so I don't blame ya.
NuiN
04. May 2023 · 04:07 UTC
awesome game, found a way to pretty much fly too, very nice
kyleflick124
04. May 2023 · 04:09 UTC
Really nice game! as you explained, the inspiration from Neon White and Sonic Adventures 2 is really perceptible, but the mechanics were pretty solid and fun, I enjoyed trying different approaches for each level. Also, the game design is really good, with each level increasing the difficulty and speed. good job!
khaotom
04. May 2023 · 04:12 UTC
This is a fantastic skill game. Love the combination of high flying abilities. I really like the look and metal vibe of it too, like old school 3d games. Nice work!
🎤 LDJam user 271014
04. May 2023 · 19:05 UTC
Thanks so much for the feedback everyone! I'm glad folks are enjoying the game. I'll do my best to rate and leave feedback on all of your games as well.

@chancea - I really really really wanted to add more music but I ran out of time! The original plan was to have a different track for each set of 6 levels.

@alexsandro - This is good feedback; I did my best to tutorialize through level design but some more explicit explanation of mechanics/strategy probably would have been good.

@cheaptoads - Were you playing on a Mac by any chance? I've heard from a few folks that the levels look kinda glitchy on Mac. As far as filter effects goes, there's a modest amount of vignette/film grain/bloom, and then some lens distortion when you dash. Is that what you were referring to?
Cheaptoads
04. May 2023 · 23:40 UTC
@mediflect - yeah. damn, on a mac- seemed glitchy, didn't want to hate on it if intentional... what you are describing sounds way cool- i'll ask my collaborator to run your game on a linux box.
*just tried again on an older, non m1 mac, and it looks great!
🎤 LDJam user 271014
05. May 2023 · 21:04 UTC
@cheaptoads - Awesome! Thanks for giving it another go. Sorry the first experience was a little rough, I really have no idea what could be causing that. I was just using basic textures and the standard URP lit shader :(
Roolow
06. May 2023 · 02:19 UTC
THAT WAS GREAT! A lesser game of this style would've gone for super meat boy hardness which would still be fun but less dynamic. I had a few times where I thought I was toast, but I had a miraculous recovery and was suddenly with a fighting chance. But of course you also having the "perfect run" stuff puts the challenge there for people who want it. Really fun, I was grinning until winning.
BodhiAgora
06. May 2023 · 04:59 UTC
killer soundtrack, fit perfectly. Love the platforming elements and the tight controls. I can't particularly articulate how, but between that heavy riff, the mines, and movement, this almost felt like old school battletoads type platforming but in first person, which is faaaaaaantastic. Great job!
BalimaarTheBassFish
06. May 2023 · 07:43 UTC
Great job! This was an interesting game to play, the visuals were fun, movement was smooth once I got a handle on it. All in all a fun experience!
LexUor
07. May 2023 · 02:01 UTC
Very addictive game with great music! Played with great pleasure!
YurisCat
07. May 2023 · 04:19 UTC
It's really not easy for one person to complete most of the content for a game, especially a 3D game. I'm glad you were able to achieve it. I really like this game!:heart:
lillatorp
07. May 2023 · 22:29 UTC
Looks, sounds and feels like metal :) Like the audio and the speed. Not easy to complete though. Great job guys!
KlasW
07. May 2023 · 22:42 UTC
NICE, will come back and play more! Did not have the time to finish, but what I experienced in the first couple of levels has me hooked. Love the art style and audio, makes me nostalgic of doom. Really good controls. For some reason there is a visual glitch in firefox, but it kind of makes everything better, could inspire a post process effect. I think I like the "firefox version" more!

![Skärmavbild 2023-05-08 kl. 00.41.16.png](///raw/5f5/14/z/5b941.png)
ahistyap
09. May 2023 · 20:40 UTC
Very fun game! Every new level feels like a new experience and strategy to play with, the fast-paced gameplay is really fun, the collisions of the mines are pretty forgiving too! Nicely done!
hani
10. May 2023 · 09:55 UTC
There is a ton of potential here. I like the implementation of the theme as well as the 3d elements.. I wish there were more movement options like sliding and bhopping - and some of the UX was confusing at first, but that is nit picking on my part.. this is a jam game and a great one!
nrankin13
12. May 2023 · 17:03 UTC
This was awesome. I played SO MUCH SA2, so as soon as you mentioned that, I was sold. I'm a dingus and played with a trackpad, but still generally had an excellent time.

There were a few levels which caused my system to lag -- the minefield in the second set being the trickiest as it made timing jumps harder -- but overall it's well-engineered. Liked the music, too!
LDJam user 314423
12. May 2023 · 18:14 UTC
This was really fun. Not sure how closely it really fits the theme ;-) but it was so good I played the whole thing.
The music is good and really adds to the experience.
I quite liked the motion mechanics and the way they're displayed, plus the demons that you can use. It felt really intuitive despite not being familiar gameplay to me at all. As I said, I had a lot of fun overall.

One thing I would remark upon is that I found the level selection menu slightly unintuitive, somehow it wasn't clear how to start the game. Might just be me being silly though.