LudumData

U-Bot by fargred

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

screen02.png

Description

You are U-Bot - the newest automated diving unit equipped to handle the deep seas of alien planets. Can you reach the bottom of this strange ocean? What will you find there? And... what will find you?

Controls

Zoom left or right with the arrow keys or A/D.
Temporarily slow your descent with (holding) Space, W or Up - but be careful, the booster energy recharges slowly...

screen01.png

About this project

This is my first participation in a LD and it was a ton of fun. I came with no gamdev experience (only some general programming skills), but learned a lot during the process. Sadly, I don't have the time left to add sound and any other of the dozens of things on my ToDo list, but I'm still very happy I made it to the end with an actual working game.

Until next time!

Tools used

Unity + Piskelapp.com

Link https://fargred.itch.io/u-bot
Link https://fargred.itch.io/u-bot
Link https://fargred.itch.io/u-bot
Link https://fargred.itch.io/u-bot
GitHub https://github.com/redfarg/LD48_UBot
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/u-bot

Ratings

Overall 763th 2.969⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 705th 2.875⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 872th 2.172⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Theme 404th 3.656⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 719th 2.875⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Humor 505th 2.3⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Mood 766th 2.583⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Given 32🗳️ 42🗨️

Feedback

Budark
26. Apr 2021 · 11:27 UTC
Noice!!
Kubbl
26. Apr 2021 · 11:32 UTC
The HTML5 version didn't work for me, but i just downloaded it. I think it's a great little game, but i unfortunatly wasn't able to get past the anglerfish. Also I somtimes hoped you could descend faster, maybe replace the slowing down with speeding up/dash.
azakharov
26. Apr 2021 · 11:33 UTC
First 200m are too long and little boring. But after it's absolutely different game)
mosaic
26. Apr 2021 · 11:34 UTC
It's a nice little game. You could have improved the game feel a bit by adding sound and animations, but as you said, time is an issue in Game Jams. For what it is, especially with little prior experience, a very well made game!
AnthonyHarmitage
26. Apr 2021 · 11:36 UTC
Nice, didn't expect something to change in quality as the depth goes, but I was slightly wrong)
🎤 fargred
26. Apr 2021 · 11:51 UTC
Thanks everybody for your feedback so far!

@kubbl Dang, that's unfortunate. Can I ask what browser you are using and what error you got? And yeah, I might have overdone it with the difficulty a bit (especially as spawning is fairly random and thus sometimes simply unfair to the player). Thanks!

@azakharov Thanks for the feedback! Agreed, I probably could have trimmed that down to 100m or so...
ccglp
26. Apr 2021 · 11:54 UTC
Very nice entry for your first game jam :) I would have increased the difficulty curve a bit at the beginning, but I managed to play the entire game, 804m :) The difficulty is nice when the big deep-dwelling fishes appear
Kubbl
26. Apr 2021 · 12:25 UTC
@fargred I used the edge browser. The problem was I could start the game, but couldn't control it. I just tested it again and it worked just fine, don't know what was going on.
🎤 fargred
26. Apr 2021 · 12:40 UTC
@ccglp Thanks! :) Good point, the first zone drags on a bit long. And good job on beating it!

@kubbl Alright, that's a relief. Thanks for letting me know!
seanarooni
26. Apr 2021 · 19:18 UTC
hey this looks familiar ;) I really liked your controls, very responsive. you were successful imo in creating the illusion that you were descending, i think the parallax bubbles helped a lot with that. good difficulty curve, i didn't mind the extended intro giving me a chance to get used to the controls. the big waves when you hit a new section were a nice touch, and the slowing mechanic was quite welcome. i liked your graphics, especially the larger sea creatures in deeper water. congratulations on your first compo game!
ditam
27. Apr 2021 · 00:00 UTC
Congrats on your first game and welcome to LD!

It's a neat little game, the scope is modest, but it's well polished. The movement is smooth and the hitboxes seem to be fair as well. The slowdown mechanic ends up surprisingly useful too.

Some checkpoint system could be nice, I had some technical difficulties at 600 meters, but I wasn't looking forward to having to do the slower parts of the descent again...
AndyKSWong
28. Apr 2021 · 03:04 UTC
At first, I accidentally died at 190m and thought I've seen everything... then I replayed the game after seeing the comments. That's a totally different experience! Great mini game! Great job on your first LD game.
DragonsBeardGames
29. Apr 2021 · 22:42 UTC
Fun little game, the start was a little bit slow but overall enjoyed it
Secret Magic 404
29. Apr 2021 · 23:25 UTC
Just when I thought it was too easy... it started becoming more and more challenging!

Great difficulty curve and flow... Well done :smile:
Jason Wilson
01. May 2021 · 01:41 UTC
Cute little pixel art robot and the underwater creatures were well done. Difficulty curve is well done. It definitely ramps ups at a fair pace.

Something to consider adding would be some powerups. Shields or bombs could add a bit more strategy to the game and give the player an element of risk vs. reward if they are found in trickier spots.

Great game. Well done for 48h!
🎤 fargred
01. May 2021 · 13:15 UTC
Thanks everyone for your nice feedback so far, its very much appreciated! <3

@jason-wilson A great suggestion, and actually something that was on my ToDo-List: I wanted to make a collectible shield upgrade that gives you a single safe from a collision. Time just wasn't on my side in the end... :)
OadT
01. May 2021 · 14:23 UTC
Too bad you didn't had time to add sound effects, I think that would have added much value (but I also run in exactly the same issue) The sprites look great! Sometimes the enemies seem unavoidable, but using W I got around it most of the time indeed.

Nice work and congratulations on finishing your first LD game!
finntastico
01. May 2021 · 14:30 UTC
Reverse space invaders :D I wish I would have been able to defend myself against the creatures by shooting them haha. The first time I played it I didn't realize I could have slowed down, skipped the instructions I guess (oops).

Graphics-wise, I loved the little "U-Bot"! :D I would encourage you to do pixel art again next time and try to own/immitate that look. You could also try to limit yourself to a small color palette, there is a nice video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdXpUIATzO0

Cheers!

Edit: lol i didn't mean to embed the video like that, but somehow ldjam does that automatically
crazyMouse
01. May 2021 · 14:36 UTC
cool game, I got to the anglerfish but I always die there. it was fun to play!
🎤 fargred
01. May 2021 · 14:39 UTC
@oadt Thanks! Yeah, that is one of the problems with the random spawning, sometimes it's simply unfair. However, it motivates me to look into some more sophisticated ways of doing it to give players a fair chance at all times. :)

@finntastico Thanks a lot, especially also for the suggestion! Making the pixel art was definitely more fun than I would have expected it, and I'm most definitely gonna stick to it next time and will try to improve my skills!
KinGelaim
02. May 2021 · 09:30 UTC
Great game. Well done for 48h!
Jonrei
02. May 2021 · 15:47 UTC
A very nice game. I would love some animations for the jellyfish
NoCymer
04. May 2021 · 20:38 UTC
cool game lovely pixel art, a fun little endless runner, however i notice that if you go on the left side you have almost no obstacle to doge. Anyway great work!
Kotzi
05. May 2021 · 10:38 UTC
Great first submission, congrats!
radmccool
08. May 2021 · 23:54 UTC
the lack of sound kind of works for an underwater game like this. i think with a bit of polish this could find a nice home on mobile. theres something relaxing about just sinking into the depths
shp
10. May 2021 · 14:37 UTC
it's simple but it works, well done!
loveapplegames
14. May 2021 · 21:20 UTC
Nice game, simple, but challenging. Could use some more polish though. Difficulty suddenly increases with the angler fish. Maybe instant death on touch is a bit too harsh. I am missing animations. Enemy movement patterns could be more interesting and realistic.