Turning Signal by InkyH

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

Hey, future humans!

We built the ultimate robot, designed to serve humanity’s greatest future needs.

Turns out it’s a total disaster — can’t turn corners, mixes up colors, and freezes under pressure.

Launch day is almost here…

So grab the red & green signal and help this clumsy bot pass the test!

90f183a1bc95e16f581ce00858994756.png


v1.1 Update is Live! Here's what's new:

Mobile / Touch Support: Added on-screen touch buttons for a smoother experience, making it much easier to play on mobile browsers.

Improved Tutorials: Added new in-game guides to Level 01 and Level 05 to clearly explain the Red and Green signal mechanics to new players.

Pause Functionality: Added a pause feature! You can now stop the clock to plan your robot's route and solve tricky puzzles without the time pressure.

Ratings

Overall 375th 3.625⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Fun 213th 3.7⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 343th 3.5⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 480th 3.646⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 515th 3.563⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Humor 301th 3.13⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 513th 3.479⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Given 35🗳️ 28🗨️

Feedback

MajoMirez
Apr 20th · 21:57 UTC
I couldn't get to play properly, the E key doesn't seem to do anything (green button?) and the Space key just turn the robot clockwise, I passed the first levels just using Space, but from level 5 I couldn't solve the puzzles (If this is a bug, there's still time to fix it)
ROWLING
Apr 21st · 01:27 UTC
It would be even better if we could change it to wasd control direction. It's difficult to quickly change direction in the same place, and I always die because of this problem,ahaha
LDJam user 259103
Apr 21st · 01:52 UTC
I like the spritework, and the story at the start is nice! I was a bit confused on the controls - E didn't appear to do anything, while Space seemed to just turn the robot, rather than "marking the direction as incorrect". Perhaps I just misunderstood the instructions. There also appears to be a bug with level progression, where after a few levels completing them no longer automatically advances to the next one. I had to manually select the last few levels through the menu.
EvyCl
Apr 21st · 01:52 UTC
I agree that it's bit hard to turn in place using only the spacebar, maybe WASD or arrow keys would have been better, or a direction selection where you have to time your spacebar press at the right moment to go the direction needed. But the guiding the robot idea is very for to me
Victoria715
Apr 21st · 02:09 UTC
OMG nice creativity!It is a little hard to change direction in such short time.And I don't know how to use the E key.
LDJam user 372231
Apr 21st · 02:15 UTC
I liked the puzzle logic of pushing just one button in order to turn around! graphics and music are very cute
Ming Xu
Apr 21st · 02:24 UTC
@majomirez In later levels, you need to pick up the items and place them on the corresponding tables. Press the E key in front of an item to pick it up.
Alex O
Apr 21st · 02:27 UTC
Really liked the music and the overall vibe of the game. Pretty simple and nice puzzle
Ming Xu
Apr 21st · 02:28 UTC
@python-b5In later levels, you need to pick up the items and place them on the corresponding tables. Press the E key in front of an item to pick it up thank you for your appreciation.
Ming Xu
Apr 21st · 02:31 UTC
@evycl Yes, thank you for your suggestion. We want to add a little bit of difficulty by using only the spacebar.
Ming Xu
Apr 21st · 02:34 UTC
@victoria715 You need to press the E key in front of certain toys and objects to pick them up, and then place them on the corresponding colored containers.
Ming Xu
Apr 21st · 02:38 UTC
@nadia-pixel Thanks! I'm glad you like it.
🎤 InkyH
Apr 21st · 09:06 UTC
@alex-o glad you enjoy it! We tried our best to make the puzzles elegant without being overly complicated.
Jamope_
Apr 21st · 12:56 UTC
Great idea! It's a bit difficult to control the movement with space only, but the game is fun!
Fis
Apr 21st · 13:01 UTC
Nice game! Made it until the end - pretty difficult with the patterns, but the fast retry makes you figure it out quickly.

A volume slider would be great!
Mr. TJ
Apr 21st · 13:41 UTC
really a funny clumsy robot though i sometime accidently kms haha
LDJam user 423872
Apr 21st · 14:41 UTC
The idea for a puzzle is interesting!
🎤 InkyH
Apr 21st · 16:43 UTC
@fis Thanks for completing the game! We made the puzzles tough on purpose to let players learn through quick failures, so I'm so glad that clicked for you. Also thank you for the volume feedback!
LDJam user 240296
Apr 22nd · 18:54 UTC
Nice puzzle! But green signal is confusing, I stucked for a while on the level where u need to place thing on table. I've managed to grab the thing, put it on the table and then level restarts. Maybe it could become less confusing if there was a text "E" appearing above the robot on time when you need to press it. Still the game turned out fun, nice entry!
🎤 InkyH
Apr 23rd · 04:43 UTC
@neshtyak Thanks for your suggestion and I'm glad you enjoy the puzzle!
LLlarsO
Apr 23rd · 18:21 UTC
Or keep the green button away or greyed out till it is needed. :)

Apart from that the controls feel good. I had no problems with the placing of the objects.
The riddles are good and you have a nice progression system in terms of the difficulty of the levels.
🎤 InkyH
Apr 24th · 05:38 UTC
@lllarso Thanks a lot! Grey out the button is a great idea!
Kvn
Apr 29th · 14:48 UTC
Very fun game, the graphics and sound effects are also amazing!!
Euler Moises
Apr 30th · 02:10 UTC
The art is very beautiful. Even though it's simple pixel art. You chose the colors well.
Your music is cheerful and has a cool timbre. What program did you use to make it?

I found the gameplay very cool. The main mechanic is very interesting. The fact that the character takes a short break when you pick up an item disrupts the rhythm of the game a bit. Perhaps in a future version this will be a point to discuss.

Another thing I would like to comment on is the difficulty curve. There are a lot of very easy stages and then a complicated stage appears, then 2 or 3 more easy stages and another complicated stage appears. Carefully thinking about learning curves allows players of any level to learn to face the challenge more naturally. If I were a more impatient player, I would give up on your game after the first 3 deaths (I've seen players give up after the first one due to sheer impatience).

Luckily, I'm a stubborn old mule and I managed to overcome your challenge.

Thank you very much and congratulations!

![Sem título.png](///raw/23f/f1/z/72f68.png)
🎤 InkyH
Apr 30th · 06:43 UTC
@euler-moises Thank you so much for this incredibly detailed and thoughtful feedback!
We're really happy you enjoyed the art style and music. For the music we actually used a track from a royalty‑free library, so we can't take credit for how it was made — but we're really happy it worked well for you!
You're right about the difficulty curve. We'll definitely take your insights to heart. Huge respect for sticking with it and beating every level!
Thanks again for playing and for helping us get better. Really appreciate you!
Akuta Zehy
May 02nd · 11:21 UTC
Since no lock is here so I just jumped to the final one and passed it.

In terms of puzzle-solving, it presents a classic parity problem, yet the gameplay also evokes a bit of a *Tetris* vibe. The additional pause function is a truly good improvement.
🎤 InkyH
May 04th · 07:56 UTC
@akuta-zehy glad you jumped ahead and still enjoyed it! Really happy you enjoyed the parity puzzle and Tetris vibe. And thanks — the pause button was added based on player feedback like yours, so that means a lot!
dk5000p
May 04th · 11:52 UTC
The controls are a little clunky but also feel the levels might be too easy without the clunkiness and kind of fits the story. Good artwork and on theme.
Kyle Farwell
May 05th · 04:33 UTC
Well done! The art & sound was very cute and cohesive. Pretty fun and challenging puzzles.
Carraka
May 05th · 05:37 UTC
It took a while to get a hang of the turning controls, but I agree that the clunkiness was sort of the point. I only wish that the level didn't reset if I ran into a wall. It was frustrating to start over again so many times.
cedaoan
May 05th · 22:56 UTC
Nice graphics and audio! such a cute and warm game. i had the samiliar feedback, maybe arrow key or some other ways to turn the robot as well? But overall, it's fun!
VenomousMouse
May 07th · 08:16 UTC
Nice visual, sound and mechanic, cool puzzle. Great game.
Alekcey Ovalnyi
May 07th · 21:08 UTC
The visual is not bad, but such games are not for me at all, so do not expect objectivity.