DRIFTDOWN by NoahRo

[raw]
made by NoahRo for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

Drift downwards, deeper and deeper through a procedurally generated frenzy of multidimensional madness.
Where will you end up?

Gameplay footage of the tutorial + the first 2 zones (spoilers):

A bit of DRIFTDOWN gameplay footage

How many zones are there? That you'll have to find out yourself :)

Controls

| Key | Action | | -------: | :--------------- | | A/D | move left/right | | Space | start | | Escape | pause | | Q | quit | | S | skip tutorial |

If anyone wants to check out the music, they can do so here:

DRIFTDOWN OST - https://soundcloud.com/g0rm/sets/driftdown

Too difficult?

If the game is a bit too difficult for you, but you still want to check out the later zones and songs, then this is for you!

Download this settings file and replace the file resources/settings/zones/zones.ron with it.

This alternate settings file allows you to skip every level (by pressing "S"), so you can quickly get back to where you were after a game-over. It also makes the player fall a bit slower, and shortens the levels a bit.
Note, that with these settings, your score will not be counted during the skippable levels.

For the post-jam version, we plan to add proper difficulty balance changes, and maybe some ingame difficulty settings.

Vulkan API support (Windows/Linux)

If you are on Windows or Linux, to run our game your graphics card must have Vulkan support. Modern graphics cards shouldn't have a problem with this.
If you are having trouble running the game, you may want to try updating your graphics drivers.

MacOS issues

The MacOS version has some graphics scaling issues. We still include the MacOS build, because it technically works.
Without access to a Mac ourselves, we cannot effectively solve the visual issues... I apologize to any Mac users.

Hotfixes

| Version | Description | | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | v1.0.1 | Game breaking fix: no collisions. Due to last-minute debugging, we built a version without collisions. | | v1.0.2 | Game breaking collision fixes. | | v1.0.3 | Pre-load levels to avoid lag-spikes. Hide score UI in tutorial level. Tweak some level settings. |

Ratings

Overall 929th 3.5⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Fun 704th 3.477⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1748th 2.477⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Theme 513th 3.932⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 908th 3.682⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 171th 4.023⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1105th 2.438⭐ 18🧑‍⚖️
Mood 738th 3.619⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 58🗳️ 19🗨️

Feedback

Spaint
27. Apr 2021 · 17:32 UTC
Loved the music, graphic style is pretty good too. Pretty hard game tho, and occasional lags killed me a couple of times.
🎤 NoahRo
27. Apr 2021 · 17:45 UTC
@spaint Yup, it's pretty tough... Thanks for the feedback on the lag, I'll look into this for the post-jam version, I'm pretty sure I know what's causing the lag spikes.
StrangerYann
29. Apr 2021 · 11:58 UTC
![06_downwell.png](///raw/269/8/z/418c1.png)

Aye it's neat -
Works well -
Like a proto of summin like downwell -
the skip tutorial is a welcomes freature -
I found the hitzones for the landmasses a bit unforgiving -
It gets old after like 20 mins but 20 mins of fun out of a 72h Jam, I say well-played there :-D :thumbsup: :)
CodeForJoyCaro
30. Apr 2021 · 07:50 UTC
I liked the pixel art and the music, but first level was too easy and second level too hard.
Substain
30. Apr 2021 · 10:27 UTC
challenging pacing, the style fits the music, and I like the semi-random level design
Quoc
30. Apr 2021 · 12:17 UTC
Love the pixel style. Music fits very well. Enjoyed to play it!
Cardboard Box
30. Apr 2021 · 12:50 UTC
That music is BOP. Simplistic concept with just enough things to make a good experience. Love it!
jondkoon
01. May 2021 · 02:08 UTC
Really loved the musics, the art, and the animation. Great mood.

I enjoyed the level transition from 1 to 2, so was hoping to see more, but I would die so quickly on level 2 it was a lot to start from the beginning again. Would have been nice to have like 3 lives or something so you could at least start back at the level you had made it to.

Overall really nice job1
🎤 NoahRo
01. May 2021 · 02:43 UTC
@jondkoon Yeah, a lives system is something we're planning for the post-jam version. We're also thinking about other forms of difficulty balancing, such as difficulty/speed settings, hitbox changes, etc. for the post-jam build.
Thanks for the feedback!
🎤 NoahRo
01. May 2021 · 04:08 UTC
@spaint @strangeryann @codeforjoycaro @substain @quoc @cardboard-box @jondkoon
I've uploaded an alternate settings file to make the game a bit easier, and to allow you to skip zones.
If you still want to check out the later levels and songs, check the updated description for instructions.
Thanks! Have fun playing all the great entries :)
ishmandoo
03. May 2021 · 02:51 UTC
I love this music!!
DoctorTM
04. May 2021 · 00:12 UTC
Nice jam guys. great graphics and music. Very hard though!
Lisichka
04. May 2021 · 12:13 UTC
Cool game! I especially liked the game progression in which the level is complicated and the background changes.
Lucas Viana
04. May 2021 · 14:24 UTC
Amazing! Perfect game
maaxoom
04. May 2021 · 18:38 UTC
Don't know if someone mentioned it, but the second level (green) has no collision?!

Very cool style and music.
🎤 NoahRo
05. May 2021 · 01:57 UTC
@maaxoom I assume you played `v1.0.0`, which we accidentally published without collisions...
Check the "Hotfixes" section of the description.
txanevk
05. May 2021 · 18:32 UTC
Music is so nice! I think it is quite difficult, but it this is the kind of game that makes me spend lots of time trying to do it better.
VixenMink
06. May 2021 · 01:43 UTC
I had problems running this on my end but I really like the concept
🎤 NoahRo
06. May 2021 · 01:59 UTC
@vixenmink Are you running on MacOS, or on Windows and had Vulkan / graphics drivers issues?
I'm aware that there are graphics scaling issues on MacOS (the game is pretty tiny in the top-left corner).
VixenMink
06. May 2021 · 02:37 UTC
@noahro Oooh. I will check and see if that is why it wasn't working correctly. Thanks so much!
BluishGreenPro
07. May 2021 · 19:44 UTC
Very challenging; thanks for submitting it to the stream!
SleepyStudios
14. May 2021 · 06:34 UTC
Really cool little game with a unique style! It was a bit too hard for me (maybe could use some easier intro levels, but I can appreciate the precision and potential mastery of the controls. Great music too!
Swordfish
16. May 2021 · 01:14 UTC
Nice game, getting heavy downwell vibes but that's fine. The music is great. I didn't actually get very far, found it really challenging but I can see myself coming back to play it some more later. I also really liked the little intro slideshow, that was a nice touch.