LudumData

DOT-DASH-Protocol by nullval

[raw]
made by nullval for Ludum Dare 59 (COMPO)

GREETINGS COMMANDER.

YOU ARE OUR NEWEST ENTRANT IN THE DOT-DASH-PROTOCOL UNIT.

WE USE HIGHLY ADVANCED LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATION WITH OUR DROIDS TO EXPLORE REMOTE PLANETS AND ALIEN SPACE STATION.

FROM OUR LAST MISSION, SOME OF OUR REMOTE DROIDS HAVE NOT TELEPORTED BACK TO US.

WE NEED YOU TO MANUALLY STEER THEM TOWARDS THE GREEN TELEPORTER PADS AND AVOID ANY HAZARDS.

GUIDE1.PNG

YOU CONTROL YOUR MOVEMENT BY PRESSING THE SIGNAL KEY (SPACE IS DEFAULT).

REMEMBER TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE ON SCREEN TRANSLATION.

Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/59/dot-dash-protocol

Ratings

Overall 103th 3.607⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Fun 106th 3.5⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 48th 3.839⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Theme 33th 4.25⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 207th 3.143⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Audio 219th 2.5⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Humor 123th 2.692⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 236th 2.87⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Given 42🗳️ 35🗨️

Feedback

Jacat
Apr 20th · 03:14 UTC
The concept is really great. It even makes me feel like I’m learning machine language. However, the player controls feel a bit awkward. I think it would be much more comfortable if lines and dots were assigned to two separate buttons.
richjbaron
Apr 20th · 03:18 UTC
I actually think this is a really fun dynamic, but without any live feedback it's really hard to get the timing between a dot and a dash right. Something visual or auditory to help really would have made me get super into this.
LDJam user 280624
Apr 20th · 03:19 UTC
Wonderful game! I liked that the control scheme is constantly changing, so you always have to stay on your toes.
Tanjou
Apr 20th · 16:33 UTC
I really like the concept! I feel like controls could work a little faster to make it more dynamic, but the idea is pretty fresh
StormSword
Apr 20th · 16:48 UTC
I literally had a smile playing your game :D
Really good idea and lovely art, good job :)

I also found a bug, when I started the game, I was thrown out of bound x) (but it only happens once and only when I tried to replay the game).
NBumgardner
Apr 20th · 20:37 UTC
A quick to learn game with a cute setting. At first I thought I could continue text with Spacebar, making it truely a 1-button game. I like how the robot pauses while you type. In a longer game I think it could be funny if a super long message pushes the moons away or does some Easter egg music.
sebastianscaini
Apr 21st · 13:05 UTC
Really interesting and challenging control scheme. I really liked it!
j3m
Apr 21st · 13:28 UTC
OMG, I instantly fell in love just from the fact that you actually made me tap out Morse code for real instead of just giving me two different buttons for dot and dash. I felt like I wanted to send longer sequences, like what if you're only allowed to send one message every 10 seconds or something, so you have to pre-program a whole sequence of moves?
CrimsonTrouper
Apr 21st · 14:28 UTC
Amazing controls! This game took me a while to finish and it was great! It really reminded me of some school robot simulators to study early programming, but with a twist. Great use of theme!
PurpledArtFrog
Apr 21st · 16:55 UTC
Oh my.... this is freaking awesome. I'm pretty amazed at what you achieved and how solid it feels. Obvious controls - even though Jesper couldn't figure them out :wink: It all seemed to fit together and compliment eachother.
Oh yeah - and just posted the rating.
LDJam user 234567
Apr 21st · 19:58 UTC
![Capture d'écran 2026-04-21 215530.png](///raw/744/93/z/721db.png)

Because I was stressed, I pressed the space bar on autopilot without knowing which code to enter :smile:

I liked it
Helagos
Apr 21st · 20:21 UTC
Very interesting movement mechanic. It's not so easy because we need to think twice before making a move because of the signals changing. Well done !
gdman
Apr 21st · 20:33 UTC
Interesting game with simple but clever idea. Challenging at times, because it's not easy to predict change and change signal midway, has to restart last level. Stop command is helpful! Transparency on cheat sheet sometimes makes it hard to read.

![s01.png](///raw/24e/f3/z/72209.png)
TotallyNIANCHU
Apr 22nd · 17:35 UTC
A good idea which really fit this theme!Maybe make a difference or make it more clear when player change "." into "-" would be better.
henk
Apr 22nd · 20:45 UTC
That last circle coming in from the left was a bit of a troll... My winning strategy for this was to just spam the spacebar whenever the codes changed to give myself enough time to re-learn the new stop code :P
soundgnome
Apr 23rd · 05:00 UTC
Interesting concept and really enjoyable to play, great work!
Avhatar
Apr 23rd · 08:15 UTC
Simple and punchy concept. Had a great time playing through it. Toward the end I started missing some challenge — I was expecting some kind of gotcha beyond just the input swap, but the game ended before I got bored. One suggestion — reducing the transparency of the sphere's range circles would be a good call, I didn't notice them for quite a while.
![Screenshot_14.png](///raw/6fc/d1/z/726c4.png)
woona
Apr 23rd · 10:41 UTC
Good job! I played to the end and didn't have any issues!

The idea with unconventional controls is unique but I can see how it can become annoying after a while. Also, you can cheat by just holding space for as long as you want. 😁 Would be cool if there were some moving obstacles to dodge so it's not just a maze.
Gecko64
Apr 23rd · 11:10 UTC
I really enjoyed the constantly changing controls and having to stay on my feet. I would suggest if you were to continue creating more levels get onto maybe making moving aspects to the levels to add more difficulty. The game was great good job :)
Sootaloot
Apr 24th · 22:29 UTC
Really nice concept, think it would be awesome if it was a bit faster so it's more challenging :) But great work, very enjoyable
Jacky San
Apr 27th · 17:30 UTC
Very interesting concept ! Good job :smile:
Jimbly
Apr 29th · 00:18 UTC
Lovely little game! I made it to the end, died once, and that felt pretty good. Really interesting take on a one-button game. I just wish that one button also advanced the dialog! :)
Dragonayzer
May 03rd · 23:16 UTC
![gbKfQk7LII.png](///raw/4da/d2/z/73101.png)

A pretty interesting game! I wish there was a bit more feedback on when the codes changed, and the order of codes changing threw me off.

Overall I enjoyed the game, that was a pretty unique experience!
Emsea
May 07th · 00:20 UTC
Really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to play this game [on stream.](https://www.youtube.com/live/Ho1IFp0qgAc?si=bVTbD_DGlFGKzmQ7&t=4424)

My thoughts are shared in the VOD.