LudumData

plunge. by niterich

[raw]
made by niterich for Ludum Dare 48 (COMPO)

"I know it's down there somewhere. And I won't leave until I've found it."

screenshot1.png

Explore an abandoned skyscraper in a flooded post-apocalyptic world. Find and trade scrap metal to expand your salvaging capabilities and explore deeper into the building. What will you find down there?

NOTE: You NEED to purchase the Pink Keycard in order to win, so don't run out of things to salvage.

ALSO NOTE: While you can swim upwards when you first spawn, there's nothing up there

4/26/2021: POST JAM UPDATE 1: Based on feedback, updated the HTML version with the following minor fixes:

  • Increased starting air supply by 50%

  • Fixed a bug where the game would crash when ESC was pressed

  • Fixed a bug where the aiming reticule would not accurately represent where the click is

  • Introduced a new bug where the end cutscene will repeat if you try to restart the game. Whoops. Oh well, you've already finished the game at that point, just refresh the page if you want to play it again.

Link https://nickhenley.itch.io/plunge
Link https://nickhenley.itch.io/plunge
Link https://nickhenley.itch.io/plunge
Link https://nickhenley.itch.io/plunge
Link https://nickhenley.itch.io/plunge
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/plunge-1

Ratings

Overall 347th 3.583⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Fun 367th 3.458⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 340th 3.417⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 156th 4.021⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 469th 3.417⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Audio 164th 3.688⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Mood 157th 3.761⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 46🗳️ 24🗨️

Feedback

GarethTheDestro
26. Apr 2021 · 14:14 UTC
Very cool use of the theme. Targeting objects was a bit difficult at first but I got used to that. Really cool spin on exploration.
ville
26. Apr 2021 · 14:30 UTC
I liked the idea, atmosphere and music, but had rather annoying problems with the HTML5 version, where my cursor did not align with the game cursor, and picking things up didn't match what I was pointing at the screen. I had multiple dives where I ended up salvaging nothing as I spend my time trying to pick up something, but failing. That, combined with low O2 amount made the beginning a bit grindy. I'll try the windows version later, as I really enjoyed the idea!

Also, I managed to get the web version freeze by pressing ESC a couple of times :shrug:
🎤 niterich
26. Apr 2021 · 14:41 UTC
@ville Thank you for your feedback! I think there's a difference in how the HTML and Windows versions lock the mouse: on Windows it should snap the mouse to the center before locking the mouse, while in HTML it just locks the mouse where it is. And pressing ESC should close the game, so technically it's working as intended. I'll try to implement your feedback around the end of the day.
Yamzho
26. Apr 2021 · 17:13 UTC
Great idea, it is hard to pick objects sometimes. Well done !
LDJam user 237588
26. Apr 2021 · 17:25 UTC
I had the same issue with the objects picking. Nice job anyway!
robinfaury
26. Apr 2021 · 17:32 UTC
Super nice game! You right about the HTML version and the cursor. I click right on the center of the target before diving and it works well.
Squeg Inc.
26. Apr 2021 · 17:47 UTC
The first thing that struck me about this game was the incredible audio design - fantastic job on that!

While the game takes a while to get used to figure out how to play, once you do that it's fantastic - especially for a jam game! My only gripe with the game is that finding items can feel a little unintuitive and the low o2 levels in the early game feels slightly tedious.

Overall, a solid, fun, and well-put together game. Good Job!
mdotedot
26. Apr 2021 · 17:53 UTC
Difficult locking things. Nice blub sound but the music didn't really fit the theme in my opinon.
BubakGames
26. Apr 2021 · 18:41 UTC
I like the mechanics. The graphics are great.
pdotjpg
27. Apr 2021 · 09:35 UTC
Out of all the LD48 I've played so far, this is probably the one I'd most like to see turned into a finished game. The setting and mood are really cool and work wonderfully with the gameplay loop.

Was this inspired by the music video for Radiohead's "Pyramid Song"?
🎤 niterich
27. Apr 2021 · 14:17 UTC
@pdotjpg Thanks for the feedback! And it sure was inspired by Pyramid Song, right down to the piano-driven music track with odd time signatures.
Vincent ABEL-GRIMALT
27. Apr 2021 · 17:13 UTC
great Game especiallly on a compo. and loved the music too !!
Eugenik
28. Apr 2021 · 14:24 UTC
awesome game! great work guys.
kroltan
28. Apr 2021 · 16:22 UTC
The song was beautiful and fitting! It feels like some sort of weird siren's song, which kind of fits well with what the ending implies, given we were running out of oxygen the whole game...

The game itself was fun, maybe a bit more vertical maneuverability would be convenient, but it works fine as is. The upgrades are very nicely thought out, too.

Impressive compo!
StrangerYann
28. Apr 2021 · 16:38 UTC
It's neat, good one. Bit dark - muddy and a bit murky - great for the mood and vibe but it gets in the way of the gameplay a bit I found

couldn't figure out what to do with the pink card ^^#

Good game, nicely done (y) :)
eharp
04. May 2021 · 00:20 UTC
Really interesting entry. I like the mood and exploration mechanics. I found some of the navigation a bit awkward, particularly if I got too close to terrain, which I seemed to stick to. I was also confused by picking up the final item, the fade out was unintuitive and if I tried to pick it up again it seemed to restart so I wasn't sure I was done until I just let it happen once.
LelulaGames
04. May 2021 · 21:20 UTC
The idea behind this is lovely. I enjoyed finding that balance of finding junk to sell, and keeping O2 going. I think if you actually had to rise when you needed O2, like subnaughtica, and swimming was made easier then it would be a fantastic game. For swimming I kept wanting to press space and shift to go up and down like in most games. Having to point in the direction I wanted to go was a little obnoxious when walls, and big items were in the way. But all of that were minor quality of life things.
epb9000
11. May 2021 · 04:01 UTC
I found "it"! I love the mood and the exploration. Some more unique markers would have made navigating a bit easier, but then again, I'm also directionally challenged. Took a few attempts to find my way back to the door.