The Hidden Unknown by CubeX

[raw]
made by CubeX for Ludum Dare 48 (COMPO)

There's a cube down in the hidden unknown, and you want to check it out. Unfortunately, there's something called a bunch of rocks in the way. :frowning2:

To get through these rocks, you have a trusty terrain deformer at your side. Just click with it and it'll start removing terrain. However, this terrain deformer takes power. Fortunately, you have a generator you can unpack and place it wherever you want, and it'll wirelessly start giving power to you.

Unfortunately, that wireless power will only reach a certain range away from the generator, so you can't go very far away from the generator without losing power. Fortunately, the generator supplies infinite wires that you can place within the range of the generator to extend the signal.

However, you can only carry five wires at a time, so you can't just go trigger happy with the wires - you have to keep coming back to the generator for more.

Are you ready to go deeper and deeper in the caves? Play this game and enjoy.

Ratings

Overall 762th 2.971⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Fun 826th 2.544⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 405th 3.294⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Theme 254th 3.882⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 716th 2.882⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Audio 554th 2.891⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 415th 3.309⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Given 43🗳️ 54🗨️

Feedback

ThatmanRobin
26. Apr 2021 · 03:00 UTC
Overall pretty cool, definitely unique idea, would of liked to of had more generators though.
🎤 CubeX
26. Apr 2021 · 03:06 UTC
@thatmanrobin I would have if I had thought about it, unfortunately I didn't! :(
Choppers
26. Apr 2021 · 03:18 UTC
I like your concept, and the terrain deforming looked good. It was a little bit complicated though, somewhat of an introductory are could have helped explain the mechanics maybe.
🎤 CubeX
26. Apr 2021 · 13:11 UTC
@choppers I was going to introduce a tutorial, but as with a lot of things I wanted to add, I ran out of time :(
Goutye
26. Apr 2021 · 16:38 UTC
Well done in implementing the random terrain and deformation of it! :clap: You may want to fix a bug (bug fix are accepted after the 48h limit) blocking the player when we put a wire on the ground. We are stuck and cannot escape! Otherwise, Congratulations, great entry! :smile:
🎤 CubeX
26. Apr 2021 · 16:40 UTC
@goutye Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I noticed you could get stuck inside the wires, it would be an easy fix so I'll change it right now :)
ancooper
26. Apr 2021 · 20:20 UTC
I was dig up outside a rock field. And fall into rocks. Ha ha. Speedrun strategy :smiley:
🎤 CubeX
26. Apr 2021 · 20:24 UTC
@ancooper Yay I love speedrun strategies!
Chensu
26. Apr 2021 · 21:34 UTC
Cool game, love it. Always fall in love with terrain deformation
🎤 CubeX
26. Apr 2021 · 21:35 UTC
@chensu Thanks! :D
Stewmega
27. Apr 2021 · 00:06 UTC
The sound design lends to the claustrophobic feel.
NoCymer
27. Apr 2021 · 00:51 UTC
Pretty nice game, love the terrain deformation, maybe a little intro to the game wouldn't have hurt, anyway cool concept!
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 01:02 UTC
@stewmega Thanks! That's surprising to hear, given that I made the sounds in like 15 minutes :)

@nocymer Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, I wanted to add an intro to the game but I unfortunately didn't have time :(
FlashViper
27. Apr 2021 · 02:54 UTC
Nice game! The speed of the terrain deformation got to me after a while, and I got stuck a few times. But that's fine. What matters is that you were able to make a cool game in under 48 hours!
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 02:58 UTC
@flashviper Thanks! Yeah, you kind of have to cut some corners to get a game for the compo!
LDJam user 249000
27. Apr 2021 · 14:42 UTC
Great game! Made a straight tunnel to the bottom, but as I was flying up it at high speeds, I hit a wall and glitched through it and got stuck lol.
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 14:49 UTC
@karlhk Yeah, that's unfortunate. Unity's colliders don't really work well at high speeds lol
Eugenik
27. Apr 2021 · 16:03 UTC
I have now also rated your game
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 16:28 UTC
@eugenik Thanks! It helps a lot
johnryanaudio
27. Apr 2021 · 17:07 UTC
@cubex Thanks for the Linux build, it worked :smile:
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 17:15 UTC
@johnryanaudio Yay! I always like it when people can play my game :)
LocustJin
27. Apr 2021 · 18:20 UTC
Little strange game but in a good sense.
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 18:22 UTC
@locustjin Thanks!
Vasco Freitas
27. Apr 2021 · 18:41 UTC
This is pretty cool and fun for a while, if there were more things to do (such as collect resources) I could see myself playing this for a long time. Sometimes I would put a wire and it wouldn't give me power, I'm not sure why. Definitely felt some sense of claustrophobia as I went "deeper and deeper" into the mine. Well done!
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 19:08 UTC
@vasco-freitas Thanks! I wanted to add resources at first, but soon realized that I wouldn't have had enough time to do so. :(
Bobafett89
27. Apr 2021 · 19:20 UTC
It's a good game, and i see potential in it, but it would have been nice if there was a tutorial, also it was very easy because you can just dig down and when you have 0 wires just go up very fast take wires and jump down. Especially I liked simple graphics. Well done!
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 19:22 UTC
@bobafett89 Yeah, I wanted to include a tutorial but I ran out of time. Thanks for the nice words though!
BOOtak
27. Apr 2021 · 20:04 UTC
While I definitely wish it had more gameplay to it, I really like the concept and digging mechanics. The style and the atmosphere are on spot as well. Nice entry!
🎤 CubeX
27. Apr 2021 · 20:30 UTC
@bootak Thanks! I wanted to add a bit more gameplay to it, but as with a lot of things I wanted to add, I ran out of time :(
ziggykac
28. Apr 2021 · 07:18 UTC
The consept's fun and the visuals are nice. It'd would be cool if you expanded on the consept after the jam :)
nerdysl0th
28. Apr 2021 · 07:49 UTC
What I liked:
- the minimal visual aesthetic
- the overall mood established by the ambient audio and lighting

What I didn't like:
- no apparent objective besides searching for the elusive cube
- no WASD controls, only arrow keys
- no indication as to the range of the wires, nor what they were connected to
- the lack of ability to remove wires I placed by accident

While it's pretty apparent I wasn't a fan of this game, you seem to be pretty new to game dev, and this is your first LD entry. Honestly, I'm impressed you managed to complete something in time for compo! Keep improving, I'm sure you'll do better next time!
axeltherabbit
28. Apr 2021 · 13:18 UTC
Nice first LudumDare, keep it up!
As other people said I was quite confused about the controls, a little tutorial would have helped.
good job!
🎤 CubeX
28. Apr 2021 · 14:00 UTC
@ziggykac Yeah! Hopefully I can do that soon enough because this game does have quite a lot of potential to be a full game.

@arbe Thanks for the compliments! Although this isn't my first ludum dare (I'm just on a new account for a few reasons) I am still learning and it's good to know what you didn't like so I could improve on it later. :smiley: It helps a lot!

@axeltherabbit Actually, this isn't my first ludum dare, I'm just on a new account for a few reasons but thanks for the feedback! Yeah, the controls weren't great but they were what I could think of in my limited time frame.
HPA97
28. Apr 2021 · 15:29 UTC
Interesting and unique mechanics which is nice. Maybe map the right mouse button instead of E would be better, so I don't have to move my hand across the keyboard, but not a big deal considering you aren't supposed to spam it. I wish it was smoother to move around the rocks as I often got a bit stuck in the rocky walls when moving around. A solid entry, great job and good luck on your future projects!
Wuppos
28. Apr 2021 · 15:56 UTC
I really liked the atmosphere of this game. Even though it was very minimalistic with the art, the fade to dark really increased the deep underground feel, and the white circular mouse cursor also felt really fitting (maybe because it looked a bit like flashlight?).
The information on the screen was big and clear, which I liked a lot. There was not more information than there needed to be. What I did not like so much is the feedback to the player. Sometimes I put down a wire and it apparently did not give me power. Then another time I put one a lot further away, which did work for some reason. I still am not entirely sure what the rules are. Does it need line of sight?
I think a wire or even a simple line connecting the poles could clarify that a lot.
Then, I also think it would have been nice to find things along the way. Some treasure to find and make the search exciting ^_^ Perhaps you could have found more generators, which would be an amazing find, since you would not have to go all the way up again.
As a final point of feedback, I think the choice of buttons was a bit odd. I was not sure what an easy position was for my hands. Usually I kept my left hand on the arrow keys and my right on the mouse, but when I needed to place a wire I had to lift up my hand and bring it all the way to the E key (so much work, I know :P).
I hope you dont take the feedback too harshly and that it is somehow useful! I thought the visuals were amazing, but that the gameplay needed a bit of work. Thanks a lot for making this :D
🎤 CubeX
28. Apr 2021 · 16:45 UTC
@hpa97 Thanks! Yeah, the controls weren't very good.

@wuppos Thanks for the feedback! I'm not taking the feedback harshly at all, in fact, I like the feedback! My biggest issue for my games has always been controls, and it's nice to know what works and what doesn't. About you being able to find treasures/generators/etc, I would have added things like that in if I had time, but I unfortunately didn't :( The wire mechanics also weren't great, and I wanted to add a line between two connected wires, but I couldn't figure it out before my time ran out. Again, thanks for the feedback!
Borabee
29. Apr 2021 · 02:33 UTC
Very entertaining game! I really liked the mechanics and overall mood and I liked that you kept the artstyle minimal bc it suited the game well. My only complaints are, like other people said, it would be nice to have WASD (I think arrow keys with mouse is always a bad idea plus with the E as well it was quite uncomfortable) and a visual indicator of the wires' range! Also, at one point I fell trhough the wall near the left edge of the map haha Haven't found the cube yet but will keep trying later. Well done!

(oh and terrain deforming was really nice, I'm a bit of a programming noob so I wouldn't even know how to go about implementing that kind of mechanic :o)
🎤 CubeX
29. Apr 2021 · 14:10 UTC
@borabee Thanks! I do have to admit, the controls kinda sucked. I also did want to add a visual indicator of the range of the wires, but I couldn't figure out how to do that. The collision of the terrain... well, we don't talk about that. :) But seriously, thanks for the compliments!
Srynetix
29. Apr 2021 · 16:41 UTC
Good concept, I like the minimal visual style, the atmosphere really makes you feel like you are hopelessly alone, deep in a cave.

Without explanations I was a little lost in the game, I randomly clicked anywhere and kept going back to the bouncy thing at the beginning and then I figured it out :) (more visual indicators could also help a lot).

One last thing, destructible terrain is always something I really like to play with, so good job :grin:
🎤 CubeX
30. Apr 2021 · 01:21 UTC
@srynetix Thanks for the feedback! I did want to add a tutorial but I ran out of time before I could do so. Thanks for the compliments on the destructible terrain, it was my first time doing it and I'm glad it worked out well :)
Emperor Eagle
01. May 2021 · 01:46 UTC
Consistent UI and graphics (I particularly liked the post-processing). The atmosphere sounded good with the cave sounds you had in the background (although some more sound effects like when you hit the ground, and when blocks crumble would have been nice). Sometimes I would fall through the rocks. I assume that is because you fall through some at the start of the game and some bug from that is playing through into normal gameplay. The core gameplay of moving your mouse (very smooth) and removing rocks was very good! The movement was all right, but you often got stuck on the walls. I didn't mind getting stuck though as I could use it to propel myself up easier. I found the cube/square at the bottom of the game which gave me a sense of accomplishment! Overall, good game, but some more features would be nice!

Also just realised this was a compo entry so an extra well done!
🎤 CubeX
01. May 2021 · 18:05 UTC
@emperor-eagle Thanks for the feedback! I would have liked to add some more features and to make the collision a bit better, but I didn't really find the collision problems while making the game and I ran out of time to add extra features. As for the atmosphere, thanks! It was really fun to add and I'm glad you enjoy it.
Runuchok
03. May 2021 · 16:16 UTC
Moma, look, i'm flying! At first, I was strategies my digging, to be able to return to generator for wires. But as soon as I realize I can fly, digging straight down becomes one and only strategy! Idk is it intentional, but to make a "thinking" gameplay - flying should be limited, like a jetpack that recharges only when you landed or something like this! But overall good job, making terraform mechanic in 48hr!
johnryanaudio
05. May 2021 · 13:04 UTC
Great compo effort! I really enjoyed the concept and the unique digging approach. It took me a bit of time to get the hang of the mechanics, but that's when the fun started.
automatonvx
15. May 2021 · 11:57 UTC
I really like the Thomas was Alone style aesthetic but the gameplay is a bit lacking as it stands, its just a matter of place the wires at the limit and keep going down then backtrack (which is sort of annoying and not fun) to restock the wires. Also the movement doesn't feel great, its meant to be a jetpack but behaves like infinite jump and does not limit the speed. I like the terrain deformation and (i'm assuming procedurally generated) terrain. The aesthetic, sound and lighting made it quite atmospheric. So feels like it has potential but to me is missing some crucial elements to spice up the gameplay. Still Compo time limit is prety restrictive so good effort all the same.