LudumData

Pheromone by Croped

[raw]
made by Croped for Ludum Dare 59 (JAM)

An alien ant at one end of a room, a hole at the other, and a bunch of things in between that will kill it. Luckily, it's blind and trusts you. Draw a pheromone trail from the ant to the hole, press Go, and it walks whatever you left behind. Mess up? Let go and try again. The ant has all the time in the world.

Controls

  • Hold LMB — draw the path (toggle option available in settings)
  • Space or click Go — start the run
  • Escape — pause

The path must start at the ant, end at the hole, and be drawn in a single stroke.

Thanks for trying our game!

PS: If you like a challenge, try beating our best times:

Screenshot 2026-04-23 145839.png

PSS: I did upload a fixed Windows version that adresses the UI not scaling and reset best times sry for that. Also Android Version is up now with slighly scuffed UI/Camera Aspect Ratio but i wanted to make it work on Portrait and just release for ppl who want to test on mobile.

Link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vF5sCyDqW6OG2CiY66bnoYAy_JXdu7WI/view?usp=sharing
Link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pLKueGRGm-sOz9sXBEAd-jlgJme0FagX/view?usp=sharing
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/59/pheromone

Ratings

Overall 385th 3.611⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 241th 3.667⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 211th 3.741⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 479th 3.648⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Humor 472th 2.636⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 559th 3.4⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 24🗳️ 27🗨️

Feedback

plutonicrock
Apr 23rd · 15:19 UTC
Really love the concept! Amazing completion and content execution for just a two people group!!
boumusic
Apr 23rd · 15:19 UTC
Such a neat take on this theme, I loved that satisfying moment of finally figuring out the right pathing to barely dodge the obstacles and successfully making it to the end, well done!
Pegasus
Apr 23rd · 15:26 UTC
This is a really cool little game, I liked how simple it was. Felt it could have been cool to see even more levels with different obstacles because the core seems really slick. Great job!
LDJam user 407703
Apr 23rd · 15:31 UTC
I really love your project. It’s easy to get into, the difficulty ramps up nicely, and the execution is great. Definitely keep working on this!
Yorsh
Apr 23rd · 15:35 UTC
Fun game! Gameplay works well, graphics are good. There are enough levels to so that it doesn't feel too short. I think a different screen after beating the last level would have been quick to make while making the end more satisfying.

The challenging game design goal in this kind of puzzle game is to make thinking more effective that randomly brute forcing levels. Here it's a bit in between imo. So pretty good but not quite perfect yet.

Nice work!
Kenpachi
Apr 23rd · 17:08 UTC
Hi beat your times bro, some levels i did probably different :-P![Screenshot 2026-04-23 185801.png](///raw/2f6/96/z/727bc.png)
Kenpachi
Apr 23rd · 17:09 UTC
not all of them, I try harder. nice game
hirqshi
Apr 24th · 00:00 UTC
THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! Finally some creative interpretation. Love the idea and how polished the game came out. Great job. Even tho the timings of the obstacles were confusing af, I loved the game nontheless. Great job!
Trexxak
Apr 24th · 23:35 UTC
wow! This did something very interesting - I got a feeling of why ants do the things ants do. The weird lines? The walking at the edge of the room? unintutive loops in the path? They obviously try to not get in the way of rotating swords :DDD But in all seriousness: That "aha" effect sold it for me! Also great visuals! At first I thought it was sprites until I saw the aforementioned swords :D
Theogen
Apr 25th · 06:59 UTC
Very cool puzzle idea! For some levels the solution was much simpler than it seemed at first (usually just going in a circle for a bit), which I like a lot in puzzle games! Beat all 10 levels.
Mastoast
Apr 25th · 13:54 UTC
great entry, with solid work on visuals and sound design, that give a great feeling when drawing paths. I would love to see more levels with more diversity of obstacles
Gabrijel
Apr 25th · 14:19 UTC
Interesting and fun game. There is potential for some more complex obstacles, but that would probably require more control/information about ant's position during drawing. Nice game!
rhewid
Apr 25th · 20:40 UTC
![as.png](///raw/0b3/21/z/72b80.png)

Cool game, good art, nice music. Love me some highscoring!
baconlord42
Apr 26th · 20:14 UTC
![Screenshot 2026-04-26 131333.png](///raw/05d/76/z/72c67.png)


great game
Prismapunch
Apr 27th · 03:01 UTC
Loved the idea for the game, liked the vibe and I liked the timing of your path being the main puzzle to solve. Would be cool if you could make a puzzle that ended up spelling a word. Great work!
VenomousMouse
Apr 27th · 09:57 UTC
Very nicely done mechanic, great visual and sound. Cool game.
Grizwhirl
Apr 29th · 22:58 UTC
Little bugger is too fast for his own good sometimes, but had a blast navigating him through
Mibi88
Apr 30th · 10:54 UTC
Interesting mechanic, a proper ending would have improved the game. i was a little confused that the same level was presented to me again, when finishing it. Simply returning to the menu would've also been better. The graphics and the sound effects are nice.

Well done overall!
neowhoru
Apr 30th · 11:27 UTC
Reall great game! i was at the end wondering why the last level repeats over and over again haha. But besides this i really love the puzzle mechanic - was a bit tricky sometimes :)
Ausstein
May 03rd · 10:09 UTC
Very nice puzzle game, would be nice to have some online leaderboard, its very easy with unitys own online leaderboard service these days:)
HagamosVideojuegos
May 04th · 05:35 UTC
I really enjoyed the game, it was engaging and fun to play!

The only thing I felt was missing was some kind of end game screen. I actually replayed the final level three times thinking they were similar levels with different timing, only to realize it was the same one again. That said, at least I managed to beat my record on the last level, getting it down to under 7 seconds! :laughing:

Overall, the game was fun, fits the theme well, and you did a great job, well done! :ant:
Gecko64
May 04th · 12:44 UTC
Really enjoyed the amount of levels, and main puzzle element of the game, getting through all 10 levels. The style was really cool and the take on the theme was great. I would suggest maybe the ability to see the previous line placed when failing a level. Other than that Good job!!
Emsea
May 06th · 07:52 UTC
Dropping a long over due comment here. Really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to play this game [on stream.](https://www.youtube.com/live/fCwnxSEAlQY?si=QMmqQMxew2wkrSa6&t=11977)

My thoughts are shared in the VOD. Hope we see you back for LD60. ✌