LudumData

Then Came A Stork by LDJam user 352022

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made by LDJam user 352022 for Ludum Dare 53 (EXTRA)

In "Then Came A Stork", you play as a stork!

The world has drowned itself and what remains are a few islands with even fewer people. Birthrates are at a critically low level and apart from the lack of sleep-interrupting baby laughter, humankind dwindles. But there is a hero on the horizon: a stork. Long believed to be the stuff of myths told before the advent of video game consoles, the stork does indeed exist. And not only that, it lives up to the old stories.

However, in times of anguish, the stork is more than just a symbol to sing about while sitting next to a bonfire. The stork delivers; more specifically, it delivers newborns. It crosses epically vast oceans and drops babies with the precision of a combat jet fighter. The only difference: it delivers babies and not bombs.

Experience aerial locomotion with organic stork wings. Majestically cross oceans while conversing with lovely NPC friends. And if you stick around long enough in this world, you may find something fishy.

Do all that in "Then Came A Stork".

CONTROLS: Turn: RIGHT and LEFT ARROW / A and D Drop: SPACE BAR Pause: ESC

A game by Kim Vu and Christopher Bonk.

Art, Code and Gameplay: Christopher Bonk (@bonkibot) Sound, Music and Narrative: Kim Vu (@mowpea)

Screenshot1.png Screenshot3.png Screenshot4.png

Link https://bonkibot.itch.io/stork
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/then-came-a-stork

Ratings

Given 18🗳️ 10🗨️

Feedback

jk5000
22. May 2023 · 21:01 UTC
I overall like this game very much. The visuals is good, and the sounds is well used. I would have preferred a voice acted narrator, because reading while playing is a bit difficult, and I sadly missed some of the story. I was also not able to get to the end, because I missed some information. I believe I should push a button or some thing like that, but I was not sure exactly what I was suppose to do. Anyway, this is a very well made little game, and I hope you will find a way to make people play this game, because it really deserves to be played. Well done.
🎤 LDJam user 352022
23. May 2023 · 17:28 UTC
@jk5000 thank you for playing and for your kind feedback! We are aware that reading and flying simultaneously is quite annoying and hopefully we can figure out a way to fix it (for example voice narration)
I'm so sorry you weren't able to reach the end. If you ever happen to replay, the button would be the space bar (same as the baby drop) :-)
Ovidios
01. Oct 2023 · 22:08 UTC
This was really neat! Visually pretty (except for the flickering of the player stork, which was a little irritating), and the soundscape was nice and eerie! Just some very strong vibes all around!

(And I didn't mind the reading and flying simultaneously either, personally!)
LDJam user 374126
02. Oct 2023 · 18:20 UTC
Love it!!! The easy mechanics is my jam... and the aesthestics is on point!!! Laughed several times after crashing... so much fun!!!
Jeffrey Hwang
02. Oct 2023 · 23:16 UTC
I'm not sure if it's just me, but web build doesn't run for me :(
AncientEntity
03. Oct 2023 · 03:32 UTC
Enjoyed this one a lot! A good twist on the theme. Found the art and sound to work well together and it honestly just looks really nice! Accidentally crashed during mission 1 as I didn't take into account the baby weighting the front of me down. The player controller felt solid as well. Good job!
Kyleah
03. Oct 2023 · 03:47 UTC
This game is really fantastic! It looks great and has a great and creative narrative! Good job!
Lovewerk
03. Oct 2023 · 03:48 UTC
This blew me away. Multiple objectives, fleshed out flying mechanics, a second flying mode. Then the music kicked in and the story started getting juicy. And finally, the way it ended. Just wow.
T C
03. Oct 2023 · 04:45 UTC
Great entry, super atmospheric! Only downside was some pacing issues while backtracking, but fun, great checkpoint system, and very good delivery. Nice work!
LDJam user 374809
03. Oct 2023 · 12:18 UTC
It was playable on itch, but on LD I got:
Error
The following features required to run Godot projects on the Web are missing:
Cross Origin Isolation - Check web server configuration (send correct headers)
SharedArrayBuffer - Check web server configuration (send correct headers)

The white text is hard to read when the BG color gets bright. With an outline or something it would be easy to read on both dark and light colors. The text is pretty far away from the character you're controlling too so I missed some of it.

The aesthetics and sound were well done. Like the explosion when you lose too.
JOZGames
03. Oct 2023 · 15:26 UTC
https://prnt.sc/Y_F8RKUOZRSR
LDJam user 237588
03. Oct 2023 · 18:20 UTC
Loved the ending
Jagman
04. Oct 2023 · 10:51 UTC
Oh my god... its really nice and great game. Sounds, lighting effect, idea... have really good feeling about that. Good job guys!!!
fizzbark
08. Oct 2023 · 10:00 UTC
Beautiful and interesting, although it crashed during the ending reveal. Lots of clever details - the text/voices syncing up with not just the words but actual syllables is an impressive trick. You also mixed up the theme - delivery was the last one 🙃.
Shaggy
11. Oct 2023 · 17:58 UTC
Nicely done! Surprisingly intense mood!
knexator
12. Oct 2023 · 15:40 UTC
Art/story/sound/polish are top notch, but the gameplay is waaay too slow
Daniel Boghossian
19. Oct 2023 · 21:33 UTC
This game was extremely adorable. I absolutely loved the concept, story, and theme, and felt as if they all fit together really well. I was very immersed during the entire experience. I also really appreciated the debug slider, that was a nice touch. I wish the gameplay was more dynamic, and provided more player agency. It was really only a left and right button, and turning into the helicopter with space was the most exciting part. It would take away from the calmness of the game, but I could see a dash being exciting, especially with the wackiness of controlling the bird. Otherwise though, good job!
BenjaminW
12. Apr 2024 · 06:55 UTC
I agree about the gameplay being too slow. Most of the dialogue is finished shortly after you reach the objective so there's no point in it being this long, for what I feel is not the best payoff. I realise it's a game jam but if the empty space was filled with a bit more something it would justify the length.
manabreak
15. Apr 2024 · 14:25 UTC
Loved the mood here, it felt almost like it's an intro sequence to a larger adventure game. Nice job. :)
dedos
15. Apr 2024 · 19:03 UTC
Very interesting idea, had a lot of fun driving the stork.
karln
15. Apr 2024 · 22:57 UTC
Wow, this is really impressive. Beautiful (visually and feels-wise) and crammed with content.
Vary
16. Apr 2024 · 03:28 UTC
Ohh this was a vibe. The visuals are wonderful and I LOVE the dialogue audio, you really get a feel for the different personalities even though not a single word is spoken. The long stretches of flying were made calming with the visuals and the audio working together so perfectly. I really like the last bit too, I didn't expect the camera and player change, that really elevated this entry for me. Great job!
Moonblast
16. Apr 2024 · 07:15 UTC
Beautiful graphics and sense of atmosphere, and the sound effects are very interesting. Overall it takes constant practice to master the controls and is worth playing over and over again!
kyunru
16. Apr 2024 · 20:51 UTC
Oh no, I think I just accidentally killed a baby oO I really liked the game, the music fits well. Initially, I was killed by the wall and thought that was the end. It wasn't clear that I had to go upwards, but I managed to overcome it ^^
Coda Highland
18. Apr 2024 · 02:30 UTC
I really like the overall aesthetic. The angular design works a lot better than I would have expected! Good sound design, too. And the control scheme is odd and awkward, but clearly intentionally so -- it's charming and it fits what you're doing.

Though I will caution you: The stork-summoning ritual is broadly considered NSFW. ;)
GreenRadiation
19. Apr 2024 · 10:01 UTC
Wow, I didn't expect such quality from a game jam game. You've achieved wonderful sound design and music, and even the plot turned out completely differently than I expected. Great job, 5/5!
Pfannkuchen
19. Apr 2024 · 10:30 UTC
Wow, that's a really cool game and concept! It felt a little bit scary and the end, so you really achieved this sense of atmosphere! And the controls are balanced between easy and hard perfectly! Love the sound design and the graphics too!
Cshep99
20. Apr 2024 · 15:03 UTC
that was really nice! i loved the flying mechanics, and it even had a story!
safalevent
07. Oct 2024 · 23:38 UTC
Loved the sound design! Also couldn't find my way and felt a bit frustrated dying repeatedly at the start.
nehe
08. Oct 2024 · 02:24 UTC
ok i genuinely almost cried the story and the mechanics go hard
wzjo
09. Oct 2024 · 08:53 UTC
the graphic is delicate, good experience.
Vindicta
09. Oct 2024 · 13:32 UTC
Cool. I like it!
Chocolat-Endive
09. Oct 2024 · 21:03 UTC
When when the game start, intriguing just after, then it become moody and more intriguing, and even deep at the end. Everything wrapped in a game with perfectly balanced controls (with just enough twists in the gameplay), suberb pace management, fitting graphics, etc.

If I had to say anything less good about this game (and believe me, it's hard), it's that some of the voice are a little less great than the others (I'm not sure about the voice of the professor for example).

I want 2 or 3 hours of this game.
LDJam user 398553
10. Oct 2024 · 21:13 UTC
wow, great idea and gameplay! though I didn't immediately understand that I needed to grab the basket and just flew forward for a long time haha
p0l4r
11. Oct 2024 · 18:46 UTC
Very well made, the VTOL got me. The story and graphics were great, but the gameplay was a bit boring. Also the stork seemed to have a stuttering issue when flying. But overall a really strong game.
AllenW
14. Oct 2024 · 02:37 UTC
I dig the vibes! The background is so simple but so beautiful to look at. The package I was supposed to pick up using VTOL was a little easy to miss, I ended up flying past it for a long time before turning back to find it.
derllie
08. Apr 2025 · 13:50 UTC
the gameplay is incredibly smooth and engaging! I can’t put it down! also graphics is awesome!
Maksim Shalaev
08. Apr 2025 · 15:16 UTC
Loved the ending
Houmgaor
09. Apr 2025 · 21:36 UTC
The story unrolls itself really well, all the surprising elements are well arranged, and the story is simple, yet effective. The graphics are excellent. The phase between two delivery is a bit long though, maybe adding a distance to next target could make it less long.
Color and Form
14. Apr 2025 · 15:07 UTC
nice game!
AToxigner
18. Apr 2025 · 07:29 UTC
Gameplay experience was fun, love it!
FireSlash
20. Apr 2025 · 05:25 UTC
Wow, the polish here is really high. Loved the treatment you gave to the voices. The story is delivered in a simple yet effective way, and the gameplay, while not particularly deep, serves as a nice vehicle to deliver it with.

Nice work!
good.enough
Oct 01st · 22:51 UTC
This brings back memories. During the rate and review my little brother got stuck playing this game and couldn't put it down. And now he's gone. I mean, not gone gone-he's in Texas-but we used to hang out all the time, and I haven't seen him in months.
kristinamay
Oct 07th · 13:34 UTC
This was so cute. The first time I wrecked my stork with a baby in tow, I barked out the biggest laugh, I was NOT expecting to literally explode! The controls were a little finnicky but excellent sound design and polish, I loved the little storytelling bits while I was flying. Also I didn't realize this was so old! It came up as the top option for playing and rating for me, oops! Still good though!
maximumoverkilt
Oct 07th · 19:16 UTC
I liked it. It was minimal and moody.
Arthur Mairs
Oct 08th · 22:07 UTC
The art style and feel of the game was very great for it being a jam game! I thought that dialogue was pretty funny and I just liked flying around as a bird! Well done!
danicoredj
Oct 09th · 18:36 UTC
cool
Ntimi
Oct 11th · 13:32 UTC
Thanks for the game! A lot of commenters wrote that they felt that the game was too slow, but I really liked the empty sections where you gave the mood the time to shine. And I feel that you did very well building the atmosphere of the sea. The flat shapes combined with the parallax layers work great - and you built the sound environment masterfully.
It felt a bit like a mood-driven, storytelling version of flappy bird - simple controls, enough to lean back and enjoy the story.

The web build did not run for me, unfortunately... (did you modify the index.js file in the web folder, as by the embedding guide?) ... but the windows version worked great.

One small nitpick - I crashed into the ground a few times - Thanks for adding checkpoints to restart where I left off, they helped me - I was just taken aback every time I was moved back to the game start menu, where I had to select "start game". Having that text change to "continue" would have felt safer. :)
Overall, great entry!
Ginger_Kyoko
Oct 13th · 11:38 UTC
I liked the graphics and sounds. It took me a while to figure out the controls, and they seemed a bit complicated at first, but I got the hang of it. The stork's voice acting is cool and funny. Unfortunately, I never really got to the end (my stork just flew under textures)
![Снимок экрана от 2025-10-13 14-31-37.png](///raw/9cb/66/z/6f597.png)
Doridie
Apr 27th · 21:31 UTC
A very humorous and surprisingly deep game. There were so many unexpected delightful moments — the explosions and the second flight mode really got me. From a gameplay perspective, I would have liked a bit more indication of where to fly or drop things. At one point I went too far in the wrong direction and thought, “these distances are huge!” But it’s great that you can skip through the levels and still experience the awesome ending if you get lost.
blinry
Apr 29th · 20:07 UTC
So many surprises! The VTOL moment and the underground moment were something that I'll think back to! Flying feels really good, and I love the little details like the ship in the background, and some music for a long passage.

Thanks for making this! <3