Path of the Pogo by Human Writes Code | LudumData

Path of the Pogo by Human Writes Code

made by Human Writes Code for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

What's more unstable than a pogo stick? Well, maybe it's a man who tries to navigate a dank and dangerous cave while ON a pogo stick!

It's finnicky. It's brutal. It's punishing. It has a jamming song on loop.

Welcome to Path of the Pogo!

If any of you crazy pogo jumper flippers make it to the end of the game, please post a screenshot of your stats. I promise to be very impressed! It can be done... I beat it in playtesting... it's just super hard

CONTROLS

Use A and D to balance/tilt on your pogo stick.

Hold down SPACE to charge a pogo jump.

Release SPACE to pogo jump!

Press ESCAPE while playing to pause and bring up the sound settings.

HINTS

Lava, spinning saw blades and swinging axes should probably be avoided. I mean, what are they even doing in a cave anyway?

CREDITS

HumanWritesCode (that's me, HI!) did the programming, art, sound effects and music for the game. I made the whole thing on my lonesome.

HTML5/WebGL	https://humanwritescode.itch.io/path-of-the-pogo
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/path-of-the-pogo

Ratings

Overall	731^th	3.537⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Fun	1060^th	3.13⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	366^th	3.667⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Theme	245^th	4.074⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	730^th	3.63⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Audio	531^th	3.463⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Humor	215^th	3.815⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Mood	817^th	3.352⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Given		31🗳️	48🗨️

Feedback

04. Oct 2021 · 09:54 UTC

I love the way the guy automatically becomes a casket when he dies.

04. Oct 2021 · 10:41 UTC

Cool game but player rotation could be a little bit slower bcs game right now is VERY hard

04. Oct 2021 · 10:42 UTC

This is cool! Took me a while to figure out how to bounce effectively. Might be useful to have upright stability depend on how much momentum you have (e.g., how many good, successful pogo jumps you've just made). Also, feels like there is some hidden mechanic waiting to be turned into something fun inside of how you can just hold left/right and spin. Did Commander Keen's pogo sticking inspire you?

🎤 Human Writes Code

04. Oct 2021 · 10:58 UTC

@zarkonnen Yeah, I tried that out to save some time animating the player death and liked it so I kept it. Glad you liked it, too. Thanks for playing!

🎤 Human Writes Code

04. Oct 2021 · 11:00 UTC

@indiemoose At some point in development, I decided to make it particularly difficult. Does that make me a bad person? The answer is... probably. :laughing: Thanks for playing!

🎤 Human Writes Code

04. Oct 2021 · 11:02 UTC

@secretrobotron Yeah, there is almost certainly a "spinning" mechanic that could be leveraged but you need god-like reflexes to make it work. I like the idea about increasing stability based on performance! Wish I had thought of that! And, surprisingly, Commander Keen was not an influence! (I'm ashamed to admit that I never played the Commander Keen games). Thanks for checking it out and giving awesome feedback!

Peace Of Cake Games

04. Oct 2021 · 15:07 UTC

Me: "Ha, this won't be so bad! I've unlocked every level of Celeste, one of *the* most brutal games ever created, and I can beat some of the hardest levels without dying!"

Also me: proceeds to take about 9 minutes getting the first two collectibles, and then immediately makes a beeline for the first thing in the level that can kill you, and learns that collectibles are not saved when you die.

Oh, and can't forget how for several tries I kept attempting to use the arrow keys even though I had read the controls on the Itch page and Ludum Dare site. After playing so many games where it says "Use WASD" and it secretly has arrow keys support, I tend to try arrow keys in games. Yes, I'm that dumb.

Alright, now that that's out of the way, go stick the music on Spotify, I want it on my playlist. 👍

🎤 Human Writes Code

04. Oct 2021 · 22:23 UTC

@peace-of-cake-games Me during development of this game:

![5p9hgu.jpg](///raw/e03/21/z/4628f.jpg)

Thanks for checking it out!

04. Oct 2021 · 23:02 UTC

Delightfully difficult game, I lost count how many times I took a warm bath in the first pit.

I did manage to get myself stuck on a ledge and no amount of wiggling could get me free, had to restart (was near the beginning anyway so no big loss).

![Path Of Pogo Stuck.png](///raw/050/53/z/46705.png)

While I don't think many would use it a restart button might be handy, will help for the times when stuck like this, and for those who wish to grind for a PB or just want to nail that first bounce.

🎤 Human Writes Code

05. Oct 2021 · 00:30 UTC

@jammygunns Ah, that's no good. I'll see if I can replicate getting stuck on the ledge. I assume you mean you were stuck under a ledge? I can imagine how that would be possible.

I did consider "R" to restart run (probably should have implemented it) just because you die so often that that 5 second wait to respawn could become infuriating.

Also, I play tested this a fair bit and about 70% of the time I died in that first lava pit so don't feel alone in that.

Thanks for the feedback and thanks for playing!

05. Oct 2021 · 00:39 UTC

@human-writes-code it happens when the pogo has been fully charged and then the characters knee seems to pass through the ground after falling.
End result is you end up stuck like in the picture.

🎤 Human Writes Code

05. Oct 2021 · 05:29 UTC

@jammygunns Huh... that's a weird one. I'll see if I can come up with a fix.

05. Oct 2021 · 06:27 UTC

Cool game! Unfortunately, I didn't have any audio on my browser (Firefox 92.0 on Linux). Guess the jamming song has to wait! EDIT: okay this is a general issue on my side for all web games since this morning, no worries. EDIT2: Fixed! *spins and jumps in rhythm again*

Oh and spinning my way to the first part is just hilarious, IRL pogo sticks should definitely have very powerful reaction wheels inside them.

🎤 Human Writes Code

05. Oct 2021 · 08:20 UTC

@cagibi Glad the audio fixed itself for you! Also be careful what you wish for... adding wildly overpowered rotational forces to pogo sticks *could possibly* have unwanted consequences!

Thanks for taking the time to play my game!

05. Oct 2021 · 09:39 UTC

Way too hard for me, but I loved it anyways :D. Great idea, haven´t thought of a Pogo stick in years, until you send me into that dungeon. Love the jumping animation and the casket you turn into by dying. I would have prefered a beginning that is a little easier. Overall great submission.

🎤 Human Writes Code

05. Oct 2021 · 10:49 UTC

@westmave Thanks for playing. You're probably right about the starting section. Jumping to that first platform is super dangerous.

05. Oct 2021 · 11:50 UTC

I like the idea! but the game is terribly difficult to beat XD

🎤 Human Writes Code

05. Oct 2021 · 23:15 UTC

@alareo Thanks for playing. Yes. It is extremely hard to beat... but just imagine the feeling of unmitigated joy once you reach the end and get to see your game stats on the final screen!

06. Oct 2021 · 06:58 UTC

Ended up getting more height just making the player spin wildly. At one point I got stuck on a slope.

06. Oct 2021 · 10:16 UTC

Extremely difficult! Lots of deaths involved. Thinking I got far only to go through a tiny gap in the floor right into the lava was truly heartbreaking. Did not continue after that. Frustrating but enjoyable!

06. Oct 2021 · 10:29 UTC

Really cool concept for the game controls. Kinda reminds me of "Getting over it". A bit too difficult for me though. Good job!

🎤 Human Writes Code

06. Oct 2021 · 11:19 UTC

@japayne Getting Over It was a loose inspiration. Thanks for playing!

🎤 Human Writes Code

06. Oct 2021 · 11:22 UTC

@bridgeonastick Thanks for giving it a proper go! It was designed to be frustrating and stupidly hard and, almost certainly, unfair. Is that good game design? No. Not at all. However, I had originally intended to work subtle references to making the players "unstable" through playing the game. Never really got around to putting in the elements that sold that idea, though. Glad you found some enjoyment in it!

06. Oct 2021 · 11:56 UTC

like the idea

06. Oct 2021 · 19:55 UTC

Fun idea, but like you said very tough. I did get stuck quite a few times on the first step after the hill and had to refresh the game, maybe that was just me but it was a bit annoying. Good take on the theme, though. I really loved the absurdity of pogo-ing around a cave!

06. Oct 2021 · 22:05 UTC

This is just excellent, how else can I describe it? Graphics and audio are great. Humour? Top points. I think it fits the theme very well too (how can you not consider the premise to be 'unstable'?). The only thing it isn't is fun (well, in a gameplay sense - in a broader sense I think it can still be considered 'fun'), and that's by design so who cares? Really great work!

07. Oct 2021 · 00:21 UTC

Graphics, audio and humor done perfectly. Difficult but engaging. Good job and solid jam game :)

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 00:23 UTC

@svemir I will take a look at this issue with getting stuck on things when I get some free time as a couple of people have reported it. There are probably a few things that might be causing it. Thanks for playing and giving it a fair chance despite the issues!

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 00:25 UTC

@destroyertech Yeah, fun is kind of subjective. As a developer, I found making the game hard to be quite fun. As a player, I think the game would just frustrate the hell out of me after a little while. Some people love a ridiculous challenge, though. Thanks for playing my game!

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 00:26 UTC

@cakts Thanks for checking it out!

07. Oct 2021 · 02:24 UTC

Really hard to control game. very frustrating to be honest. 10/10. awesome work for a one man only team

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 05:03 UTC

@andresbochi Thanks for playing! I'm glad you found it hard to control and frustrating :laughing: I am starting to think that maybe I was a little bit *too* unfair now, though.

07. Oct 2021 · 12:42 UTC

haha its so clever! you are on a pogo stick and as such are super unstable and have to spin and flail around to try to make progress through a cave. I frankly wasnt able to get very far but had fun doing it and would love to see some sensitivity options or play around with tweaking how the jumping worked or something because while this was fun I feel like it could be mega fun in the future. I loved the graphics and the cave layout was clever. the shadows on the platorms were really cool. what a cool game. Nice work!

07. Oct 2021 · 12:52 UTC

I love spinning and then catapulting myself into lava. I also hate this experience thank u

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 13:44 UTC

@peterfiftyfour :laughing: Ah, that gave me a good laugh. Thanks for playing!

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 13:46 UTC

@fabdynamic Thanks for playing my game! Yeah, if I was to visit the game again after the jam I'd probably build the movement mechanics again from scratch. There are some fun aspects to the current system but if control was a bit more predictable then it would give the game some much needed depth.

07. Oct 2021 · 19:47 UTC

Very cool idea, but difficult game, couldn't pass the first lava part :p

I got the same bug as already said in other comments, every time when the pogo is fully charged, but releasing doesn't do anything.

Your pixel art is pretty good and the music was really nice!

Good entry ;)

07. Oct 2021 · 20:40 UTC

That was pretty unforgiving - it took me like ten minutes to beat the first moving platforms. Then i tried to jump over the saw and immediately fell back down...

I think i am not made for the rage games xD

07. Oct 2021 · 20:41 UTC

mood 5/5 xD

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 23:24 UTC

@rolly Yep. Most of my play testing ended in that lava. I have only finished it once and I feel like it was mostly just dumb luck in some parts. I'm sorry to hear you got the bug where you stick to the ground... I still haven't been able to replicate it while debugging (but I've triggered it in the final build so I should be able to fix it for the next build I do)

🎤 Human Writes Code

07. Oct 2021 · 23:25 UTC

@willoxs I, too, am not made for rage games. Making rage inducing games turns out to actually be kind of fun, though! Thanks for playing!

08. Oct 2021 · 04:24 UTC

OMG it's so hard haha but honestly it's hilarious. It's actually really fun but I'm just so so bad at it haha. I'm also incredibly sleepy so that probably isn't helping my case xD

I found the jumping noise a bit jarring/loud compared to everything else, but the graphics are really cute and I love them.

I'd love to see someone who is good at games try and beat it though, seems like it would be a really entertaining rage game :3

08. Oct 2021 · 05:46 UTC

Game with interesting concept. It's a different interpretation of the theme.

The graphics are nice, they match the game's proposal.

The sound is nice too.

The different gameplay is the core of the game. I think it a bit complicated to understand how it works, but with a few minutes playing it's possible to get the hang of it.

Good job!

🎤 Human Writes Code

08. Oct 2021 · 07:36 UTC

@sarah Don't worry. I'm really bad at it, too. Thanks for the feedback about the jumping noise... I think you're right. I guess it's just one of those things you add in early and tune out. Thanks for playing!

🎤 Human Writes Code

08. Oct 2021 · 07:36 UTC

@vphyre Thanks for the feedback and thanks for playing!

17. Oct 2021 · 04:40 UTC

I was frequently reunited with my own true love in this game: lava. Tricky control totally fits the theme. If only I had any sort of skill. Loved the audio loop.

🎤 Human Writes Code

18. Oct 2021 · 04:27 UTC

@ebp9000 Thanks for playing! I, too, have spent a lot of time in the lava. Sometimes I forget what progressing in a game even feels like.