RainDrops by Geckoo1337
RainDrops is my entry for the 57th LudumDare session. I imagined a game in which you have no depth perception walking in the darkness. Fortunately you can throw some bubbles which create ripples on surfaces, allowing you to get (more or less) an idea about the environnement. Also sounds help you according to the depth - the distance. Use mouse buttons to create ripples - right to throw bubbles, left for RayCast forward (try on your foots for the best render). Only one rule - find the exit (the red sphere) in this strange maze. More a technical demo than a full game, but I guess that this entry could interest some players. Have fun! I wish you the best ++
WASD for movement like in other FPS games
RMB to throw bubbles - LMB to ripple on the surfaces
PS : You can download the executable on the Itch.io project page (link below - scripts and shaders inside the Zip file) or you can play here the Web version (please play in fullscreen mode for a better experience).
!!! I don't know if this game is suitable (or not) for those you have a photosensitive epilepsy seizure because of the colored ripples. It seems smooth without any aggressive lights, but be wise !!!
PS2: I made a PostCompo version with some technical improvements and MORE RIPPLES - easier I guess. Available on Itch.io ++

| Game and scripts | https://geckoo1337.itch.io/raindrops |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/raindrops |
Ratings
| Overall | 57th | 3.795⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 94th | 3.545⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 10th | 4.273⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 195th | 3.341⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 104th | 3.705⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 67th | 3.682⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 55th | 3.886⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 25🗳️ | 28🗨️ |
With the other game, you seems to start sort of a collection of games-where-you-are-somewhat-blind, and I like this, it's a different kind of game experience. You're not the first, there are some other games like this (including one I can't remember the name but where you're a blind and the environment discovering looks like spreading paint), but you're doing well, and I will try what you will came with the next time you'll grow this collection :stuck_out_tongue:
The mood is good too, and there's a lot of color for a game where the player is blind :joy:
@lereveur You are the first who said to me that you reached the goal. Great :cake:
Your main idea is really relevant - I have my own approach about the game experience. I am not a player who likes the beautiful aesthetic with an AAA budget, burning my graphic card. Instead I am always searching for a new concept - something which brings a feeling, a dilogy or a double-meaning. I love when someone asks himself in order to know "*How can it be possible? How does the code work?*". My favorite games inspire me. I talk about **Manifold Garden, The Unfinished Swan, 0°N 0°W, Beyond Perception (free on Itch.io - very cool!), boxlife, Closure, SolarGun, Xotic, Scanner Sombre, Antichamber or Portal**. For this project, I was inspired by a tiny game which was made for a LudumDare maybe 10 years ago (LD26 with the theme *Minimalism*) - **Dark Echo**. Finally it became a full game available on Steam for a buck. This is the same gameplay, but mine in 3d when DarkEcho was in 2D only. For RainDrops, I am doing some stress tests in order to know if the texhnical concept could be integrated into a solid scene with many meshes. So thank you for your comment. Thank you for your feedback. I will rate your project soon. I wish you the best ++
Well done :)
However this game is really great - the idea is fantastic and you really have to look where the edges and walls are.
The music is very well done and adds to the experience. I think that the lack of an object (like a laserkun or something) adds to the surreal feeling of this game
Well done my friend, I really liked yours. When I finish, I will share a screenshot :heart:
P.s. when I read @lereveur 's comment, I shouted out loud: BUBBLES?! Went back and tried right click. Flopmp flomp it did: BUBBLES!!! This makes my next runtrough so much better! Thus some feedback at last :grin: Maybe somewhere other than the description you need to explain the controls :) Like the main menu for instance :)
Also a falling/landing sound effect could be quite useful in case you do fall off the platform. I did in my first playthrough and hadn't realised I had at first, which was pretty confusing.
Otherwise overall a good game! I had fun!

In general, I stay in this dark space, it's much better here than in my room!!
Игра крутая))
As you say, it's more of a tech demo than a game, but it was still a nice experience. Both the audio and the video were pretty solid (though the titles/font could have been made to fit a bit better ^^). The method of exploration worked fairly well, though for the most part I only used the bouncy balls. I guess I can see the appeal of the raycast, but you get almost the same thing (just half a second later) by sending a bouncy call that way too. It was cool that the maze had interesting shapes in it and differentiating the walls by colour made it much more navigable. I made a whole circuit around the lower section before I thought to start looking for a way to climb up :D Oh actually, being stuck in front of a ledge and trying to navigate with the rubber balls is a bizarre experience: without a point of reference it is hard to tell that you are *not* moving even though you think you are, so it suddenly feels almost like the walls are moving away from you!
One minor thing: maybe at the very beginning, it would be good to give the player at least *some* idea of the camera orientation etc. If this were part of a larger game, maybe the maze entry still has lights or something. I got the idea of where I was actually looking and how sensitive the camera was to mouse movement soon after I started spamming the bouncy balls, but there are some of the things that are just different from game to game and doubly so in gamejam entries :)
At first, I didn’t know how to reach the goal — it was so high up! So when I saw the steps, I let out a happy squeak.
Also, the ambient sound is so peaceful and adds a great atmosphere to the game. All in all, I really enjoyed it — thank you so much!

@designernap you did it boy! Thank you for your comment :cake:
I just went into the weekend playing your game with the knowledge that the right mouse button throws balls. I must say: it's much more fun like that.
The first time playing, I constantly felt lost. After playing with the balls, I felt in control and found my way pretty quickly. Maybe... maybe even too quickly? Are there other parts of the level to explore? I would have loved a longer experience, like Stardust. This felt like a successor. Stardust was satisfying in the sense that you could literally see your progress while playing. RainDrops feels satisfying in the sense that you're always in the present—no way to "look" back, if you know what I mean.
Sometimes I felt like my character was sliding or falling off (especially with the yellow pipes near the end). I don't think that was actually happening. It just felt like that—kind of like when it feels like you're sliding backward because the train or bus next to yours starts moving 🙂
Fun game!! I'll change my ratings accordingly.
*Хотелось бы в конце увидить уровень при свете)))*
вот интересная идея. круто!
A really good entry. Thank you for the good time.