A prison for the mage by Aglavra

[raw]
made by Aglavra for LD34 (JAM)
This was a first time, that I created a working game in Unity, so thanks to Ludum Dare for motivating me to do this. I posted some HINTS below, as my concept seems to be unclear to most players. Sorry for that :)

I decided to do to jam (not compo) this time mostly to have extra day of work. I was still working alone, and the only pre-made content, that I used, was two sounds from FreeSound.

Game Engine: Unity 3D
Graphics: Paint.Net, Piskel
Sound Effects: sounds by Fantozzi and RICHERlandTV from Freesound.org
Music: Music Maker Jam
Font: Free font called Emulogic

I will post a web version in a couple of days, now it doesn't work for unknown reason. I also plan to add linux version.
I left 640x480 as default resolution, because I designed the game primarily having it in mind. Write if other resolutions is required.

HINTS:
Controls: arrows or WASD to move, space to jump, ctrl to use magic.
Use the magic on green plants to grow new branches and climb higher.
(Press space bar gently, or you will jump too high.

I'm not very good at level design, so I left limitless jump for you (the more you press spacebar, the higher you fly, no limits), in case you will fall down or get stuck, so you will finish the game faster.

This is a story about a mage, who tries to escape from some kind of strange prison, set in a world of illusions. It has three small scenes.

Ratings

Coolness 59% 3
Overall(Jam) 2.40 1089
Audio(Jam) 2.69 624
Fun(Jam) 1.97 1081
Graphics(Jam) 2.60 884
Humor(Jam) 1.76 836
Innovation(Jam) 2.77 750
Mood(Jam) 2.80 790
Theme(Jam) 3.17 863

Feedback

MadmenProductions
15. Dec 2015 路 18:20 UTC
The speed of walking and flying is conflicting. It just is really lacking in content.
liquidmedia
15. Dec 2015 路 22:44 UTC
it works but nothing to do
馃帳 Aglavra
15. Dec 2015 路 22:47 UTC
@liquidmedia you can use magic on saplings to make them grow, grow a tree to get high and use magic on what you find there.
smatcher
15. Dec 2015 路 22:52 UTC
I feel that you should have embraced the flying (limitless jump) instead of leaving it as a crutch. With some visual effects and tuning it would fit the game nicely.
DrTeaSpoon
15. Dec 2015 路 22:59 UTC
"space to jump" Fly?
Reached the end "infinity"?
really lacking in terms of content. Could use some spell checking.
I like the graphics style though. Makes me want to play old point and click games.
BoltKey
15. Dec 2015 路 23:03 UTC
I finally got it. Took me so long just to realize what to do to progress. It should be somehow more obvious. Also, like MadmenProducitons mentioned, the movement speed is weird. I think it could have been a decent game with this concept, but sadly it is not. What a shame.
馃帳 Aglavra
15. Dec 2015 路 23:18 UTC
@BoltKey Thanks for the feedback. I planned to drop a hint, something like the mage thinking "look what my magic can do here", when approaching the small plant. But sadly I forgot to do it.
Cake_Catastrophe
15. Dec 2015 路 23:38 UTC
Interesting, I kind of enjoyed it for the atmosphere (nice music and 'feel' to the writing) even though it felt kinda broken. The superman jumping was hilarious given that the character walks like an old man.

Overall, a bit odd but charming.
MercuryXGames
16. Dec 2015 路 11:16 UTC
nice game!
tribrain
16. Dec 2015 路 21:22 UTC
Excellent way to apply the theme, nice history, had some troubles with the movement and the jumping. After getting the seconde seed nothing happens.
triello
17. Dec 2015 路 21:42 UTC
Nice pixel art!
PanKamil
17. Dec 2015 路 21:51 UTC
The gameplay came out a little bit chaotic, but in the end - I liked it. You should use this crazy jumping again, in some other project :D.

Atmosphere in this game is amazing, and if it was about some journey instead of growing plants, it would have been absolutely amazing.
Move127
17. Dec 2015 路 21:59 UTC
I love the graphics. The controls don't feel good.
VersatileBox
17. Dec 2015 路 22:02 UTC
Not bad, but it really didn't make me feel anything. I finished it, I understood it and I don't hate it, but I defenitely didn't have fun. The idea is good, though, so I'm not giving it an extremely low rate.
Blobo
19. Dec 2015 路 18:30 UTC
The walking speed is horribly slow. i feel like it's unneccesary for the jump to be infinite, why are we growing a tree then?
Christina Nordlander
20. Dec 2015 路 17:05 UTC
Great storyline, and the graphics are mostly good (if a bit uneven; for example, I love the protagonist sprite and the sun and moon, but the tree in the first level looks pretty clumsy). Good animation on the mage sprite. The music is very good.

It all felt a bit unpolished, though. Might benefit from a post-comp version. In particular, I think that having limitless jump in a game about climbing upwards defeats the purpose.

The writing is nice and evocative, but there are a couple of grammar mistakes (for example, "What can I made of this frozen sapling?" should be "make").

I'm probably sounding more negative than I intend to. Just remove limitless jump and polish up some of the graphics and this will be a very good game.
Kvyosh
20. Dec 2015 路 17:10 UTC
Nice graphics, lack of content and the Jump is just a fly button..
mockthebear
20. Dec 2015 路 22:29 UTC
Foxtacy: I really enjoy riddles, and i really enjoy platformers, you managed to begin creating something really amazing here. Keep it going.

Just as a helpful feedback, as Madmen said: The speed of walking and flying is conflicting. It just is really lacking in content.