It's Nice Down There by TheJonu

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

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You are in your house alone.
You hear your mom calling for you.
She asks you to bring a jar of pickles from the basement.
You open the old wooden door.
You say to yourself "It's Nice Down There" as you step on the wooden floors to the dark abyss.

Changelog - 29.04 - resolved level spawning issues (saws spawning near a ladder on 5th floor) - fixed enemy triggering (red block enemy was sometimes misplaced on 4th floor)

Ratings

Overall 929th 3.5⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1169th 3.179⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1294th 2.936⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Theme 814th 3.718⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 673th 3.872⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Audio 457th 3.679⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Humor 642th 3.015⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Mood 349th 3.949⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Given 74🗳️ 61🗨️

Feedback

Cinderblade
27. Apr 2021 · 01:36 UTC
Loving the graphics of this one!
Juliofesch
27. Apr 2021 · 02:35 UTC
very good job! loved the art. keep it up
woahitsjeff
27. Apr 2021 · 02:37 UTC
This was a neat game. I really enjoyed the graphics and the effects. The ending was *mwah* chef's kiss. Thanks for sharing!
OffworldDemon
27. Apr 2021 · 02:42 UTC
I got the pickles. Great game!
symmeteer
27. Apr 2021 · 02:51 UTC
Nice job!
Mololo
27. Apr 2021 · 07:45 UTC
Found the Pickle.

I like the art design, the gameplay was fun and I loved the death messages, very helpful :)

Solid Game overall.
smiley
27. Apr 2021 · 16:03 UTC
Great mood in this game! Nice mix of the graphic music and sound effects. Well done. The only thing I missed was a full screen button.

Now I need to go and get some pickels...
tetrapteryx
27. Apr 2021 · 16:05 UTC
That was delightfully creepy! I loved the audio and visuals, the glitchy effects were awesome. I learned to never store my pickles in the basement.
Moski
27. Apr 2021 · 16:24 UTC
So yeah, just going downstairs. No biggie.

![firefox_3oM0FHxhap.png](///raw/519/z/40c77.png)

Fun factoid: I ended up playing the game twice because I missed a bit while taking a screenshot of the ending. It really helped that it was one of those short-but-sweet experiences, with solid movement (though wonky in just one bit with the stairs) and a very... unsettling atmosphere.

Graphics and sound went hand in hand to make this one of those psychological horror games I like so much. I mean, it has actual horrors too, but not of the "big scary in your face kind". I appreciate this a lot more. I'd usually try to come up with feedback, but honestly, none comes to mind. (Save for that bit with the perpendicular stairs, a saw at the top and some blocky blobs below. I could have done with the saw being moved just a few pixels to the left to not hit the player while already on the stairs. But that was otherwise minor).

Fantastic game! Love it from start to end! Does what it intends to do and does it just right! Kudos! :whale:
PowerAnze
27. Apr 2021 · 16:36 UTC
I am not sure if that is intended or not, at the last floor the five rings spawned directly behind the ladders. That setup made it impossible to get through. Luckily a restart of the game fixed that issue.

Intended or not, that showed that the colliders for the enemies are far larger than the enemy themselves, atleast for the rings. I feel like there was a tonal clash, voicelines and setup funny / visuals and music creepy, for me it was just neither in the end. The gameplay itself, while a bit wonky with the hitboxes and weird movement, was engaging enough for me to want to finish the game.
Mizatorian
27. Apr 2021 · 16:42 UTC
Was a bit too difficult for me. Where's the easy mode? Couldn't even get past the cat. Now I know why i dont play platformers. Muhahahaha. The mood of the game was really good, with the glitches, eerie music and sounds. Creepy... Cant believe you did that during one weekend.
shadow30
27. Apr 2021 · 22:15 UTC
Short, creepy, fun! Nice entry.
AfroAnt
28. Apr 2021 · 15:18 UTC
The title and the word "pickles" made me expect a more light-hearted game! The movement was a bit floaty, especially when pushing up/down when not on a ladder. Sprites and music were amazing!
GamesBySaul
28. Apr 2021 · 20:09 UTC
Now that was creepy, and what an ending. The audio really made the game! Nice work!
felo07
29. Apr 2021 · 00:14 UTC
It was fun, I liked the graphics, but the sound effects wasnt matching with it. It was to 'real' for a pixel game. Good game =)
KepperSnapper
29. Apr 2021 · 04:45 UTC
Short but cute little entry, I loved it! :) Great atmosphere! Overall really fun!
Magna
29. Apr 2021 · 10:43 UTC
Nice ambientation, hitboxes a little bit too big sometimes but overall a great experience
Devastus
29. Apr 2021 · 11:45 UTC
It was pretty nice down there! Maybe a little bit wonky controls but backed up by nice atmosphere, really liked the glitching effects. I think mom needs to consider a renovation for the basement though (or moving out), didn't seem like a good place to store pickles.

Short but on point. Well done!
Tofubravado
29. Apr 2021 · 15:54 UTC
I like the crazy glitching madness as you're just moseying down to the basement for pickles. It made me smile. Good sound, I like how it got creepier. Well done.
obrunomarques
30. Apr 2021 · 08:44 UTC
Very cool game with nice graphics and sounds
Amaroq
01. May 2021 · 23:45 UTC
Very well set mood but damn I didn't expect the pickles to be that dark O_O. Controls were a bit floaty but pretty responsive so that was ok. Overall great entry :D
LDJam user 236404
02. May 2021 · 09:24 UTC
Nice game.

Really, nothing more to say.
Tris250
03. May 2021 · 18:00 UTC
This game is really good, the graphics are great, the music is great, and the story is interesting. However, I regret that we cannot use the arrow keys, as I have an AZERTY keyboard.
Super Hadoken
05. May 2021 · 08:44 UTC
Cool game with nice atmosphere. The ending was unexpected, I was enjoying that!
Ryan Dotsikas
09. May 2021 · 22:36 UTC
Great job, I really liked playing this. You absolutely nailed the mood. I loved the overall glitches and SFX, and how the text would get all messed up as well. So many of those small details come together really well to contribute to the spooky atmosphere. I dont have any complaints at all, nice job!
blobo
12. May 2021 · 22:49 UTC
Ooh, I love the atmosphere with this one! The glitchy tiles begin to have a nice rhythm to them, adding to the music of the game. Pickles acquired. Great job on the artwork!
WiredOverload
13. May 2021 · 22:31 UTC
Great feeling game. The atmosphere was done very well, with the sprite effects adding a lot while being unobtrusive. The progression into scarier monsters was also done well, although it did highlight how short the game was. I liked the platforming puzzles that you had in the game, but it did feel like you were pretty heavily limited by not including some sort of jump, and I'm not sure how many more puzzles you could have done with only ladders and enemies if you ever wanted to expand it. Overall great game!
Teto
14. May 2021 · 10:18 UTC
Amazing entry! Totally agree with previous comments that the mood and atmosphere was incredibly well executed. Looks great and hit the theme in a unique way. I was super confused how this was going to play out with the super simple concept and no explanation to what gameplay could be but was very pleasantly surprised by it.

Maybe adding some kind of "hide behind something" mechanic could enhance/switch up gameplay a little but for a jam game, the one mechanic is done well and means you have a very well polished game so well done!

I didn't finish it unfortunately as I'm terrible at timing and coordination so I had to rage quit but I still enjoyed what I saw of the game. Mum will have to go without pickles this evening I guess :(
automatonvx
14. May 2021 · 18:54 UTC
Fun entry, pretty atmospheric, the glitchy effects are pretty interesting and add extra tension, although the sound when the play gets a little annoying after a while if it happens alot. Made it to the end was shorter than I expected also weirdly I struggled most with the cat right at the beginning compared to teh rest of the levels. Good job
Mighty Mufflon Games
16. May 2021 · 11:14 UTC
This was an intense experience, especially the end!

Even though there isn't much gameplay it was really enjoyable.
The level design, graphics and sounds are great. Just an awesome entry.
1studio
18. May 2021 · 08:35 UTC
A prety simple, but well executed idea with nice graphics and audio.