Project Orpheo by zondarg

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

-- TOP SECRET -- Welcome, volunteer! The extremist organisation H.A.D.E.S. has placed nuclear devices deep in sleeping volcanoes and threatens to cause a new ice age by detonating these! You have to go down there and defuse the bombs! To protect you, we will provide the prototype of the ORPHEO suit. This will keep you safe from the heat and enable you to fly using a jetpack. Downside is, it is very heavy - so you won't be able walk in it. But beware, the extremists have placed many traps in the volcanic caves!

GOOD LUCK! -- END OF MESSAGE --

Made for LD48 Compo in less than 48h (did not have much time this weekend..), so I went for a classic, short, retro, 80s inspired platformer (my first, actually) with a cheesy story. :rofl: I hope it is playable and has not too many bugs.

Created using Godot Engine, Pyxel Edit, Audacity, Bfxr, OpenMPT and my Miniak Virtual Analog Synth for this 80s sound.

Playable in browser via itchi.io, but the windows version runs better, as usual.

screenshot1.PNG

ld48<em>screencap</em>01_480.gif

Ratings

Overall 378th 3.551⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Fun 328th 3.51⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 694th 2.765⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Theme 370th 3.713⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 375th 3.551⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Audio 186th 3.635⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Humor 405th 2.569⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Mood 434th 3.273⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Given 55🗳️ 77🗨️

Feedback

Tim77
26. Apr 2021 · 01:57 UTC
This was cool. Thanks for a fun experience. I got 160+ m deep last time I thought to look. I diffused the device but then died on my ascent! Pretty epic vibe - reminiscent of old school games. The weight of the suit was great - just right - easy to get around but requiring some skill for finer maneuvering around obstacles. I did feel the need for some more agency or control over my environment at times. I mean I would have liked to be able to blast some stuff! But I understand that wasn't the vibe you were going for. Great effort for a weekend. Keep up the good work!
rhoff95
26. Apr 2021 · 03:14 UTC
Cool game! Would have liked to see the background or some visuals indicate this was a volcano rather than a underwater cave or something. Art style is really cool.
🎤 zondarg
26. Apr 2021 · 10:55 UTC
@tim77 Thanks for the kind words! The shooting mechanic was one of the things that I dropped because of time constraints, since it was not absolutely necessary. It would have been nice to have some destructible walls or even flying attackers, true.
@rhoff95 Actually, I tried a parallax cave background, but it was not pretty and made everything less visible, so I disabled it (its still in the code though) and then had no time left to rework it.
Blue05
26. Apr 2021 · 15:20 UTC
Nice game! I liked how the character controlled and that mastering the movement is important to do well.
hungryroy
26. Apr 2021 · 15:32 UTC
Nice graphics and catchy bgm. Very challenging game, the control scheme is certainly unique and takes some getting used to!
Gilokko
26. Apr 2021 · 15:41 UTC
I enjoyed playing this game very much. Loved the premiss, the graphics, the sound... It was phenomenal! Great job! :thumbsup:
TheWinrawr
26. Apr 2021 · 23:16 UTC
Fun game! I like the flying mechanic with the gems, it makes the game slightly harder as you progress but not so hard that it becomes frustrating. I also like how you have to journey back up the cave - even though you're taking the same path, it's more challenging because of the added weight.

I will say that it does feel weird not being able to walk as an astronaut. If that was intentional, I would have probably used a small ship or a rover as the character instead. I also think the checkpoints should be permanent instead of collect-them-and-disappear gems, as if you get hit when you're going back up the top you can easily get sent back all the way to the bottom.

Overall, great game! I had fun with it.
jamr
27. Apr 2021 · 03:38 UTC
Nice game! The movement feels great -- kind of reminds me of some NES era games. Background music is incredible too, as was the opening sequence.
Alexey Kuzovkov
27. Apr 2021 · 09:39 UTC
I liked this game a lot. It's pretty challenging and the map is well designed. I have a suggestion that it would be even more challenging if your jetpack could run out of fuel. Even so, great job!
Spydercrawler
27. Apr 2021 · 15:45 UTC
This was pretty neat! You totally nailed the difficulty level - challenging, but easy enough that you can complete it in a limited time frame. I did notice that sometimes you would get stuck on corners of tiles when trying to move from a lower position to a higher one. Even so, the core gameplay was pretty solid - I really liked the flying mechanic, which made the game feel entirely distinct from other platformers I have played.
🎤 zondarg
27. Apr 2021 · 16:43 UTC
Thanks for all the kind words and time invested in playing!

@thewinrawr Actually thats why there are two ways to go down (and up again), so if you take the other one on the way up, you get an unused checkpoint crystal.

@jamr Glad you liked it, I wanted to recreate the feel of some very old games only dimly remembered from childhood days. Fort Apocalypse anyone? :slight_smile:

@alexey-kuzovkov Good idea, maybe for a "high difficulty" mode?

@spydercrawler Yes, I noticed that too, but only after the deadline. I think the collision box on these edges is slightly sharper than 90 degrees.
Jupiter_Hadley
27. Apr 2021 · 16:46 UTC
Very nice game. I included it in my compilation video series of a bunch of LDJAM games!
https://youtu.be/joQCxT9jLww
joonamo
27. Apr 2021 · 17:56 UTC
This felt like a long lost Commodore 64 game! Nice job!
Corporation
27. Apr 2021 · 19:51 UTC
Cool game! Controls actually felt responsive enougth and extended of feeling being deep in the water) Pixel art is nicely done, but for some reason it was very jittery even on windows build(
MaggardJosh
28. Apr 2021 · 00:53 UTC
This really did feel like an NES game! A nice amount of difficulty, though I do wish I could have built up some more horizontal speed. Felt pretty sluggish after a while. Overall really enjoyed the game, good job!
Skleembof
28. Apr 2021 · 01:09 UTC
I really liked the overall vibe of the game. The pixel graphics, sound effects and music made the experience very interesting.

Flying around in the jetpack was fun but it definitely could have used some more mechanics. It would be interesting if you added some mechanics that were used to counter specific traps/obstacles instead of just relying on the jetpack for everything.

great job putting this all together for the jam
Kraemahz
28. Apr 2021 · 01:47 UTC
That right path feels a lot harder than the left path! I tried going that way back up and there is very little timing between the laser gates and turrets.
incobalt
28. Apr 2021 · 02:19 UTC
This was quite a nice little package! My only complaint with this is that the curved walls don't match their collisions, but otherwise it's very nice! Excellent music and the gameplay felt very expected. I got Jetpack vibes for this, but underwater. I liked how you say you can't walk, but you can shimmy very slowly, which felt expressive.
Starlight Glimmer is best poney
28. Apr 2021 · 17:52 UTC
That's one way to avoid making walk animations, you madlad.

My only complaint is that backtracking isn't fun so the way back could have been something else (unless I missed it)
John Gabriel
28. Apr 2021 · 17:55 UTC
I could swear I remember a concept like this on the NES, but for the life of me I can't name the game right now. Anyway, hello fellow Godot user! I had fun with this one. It's a simple mechanic, but well used. A couple of things that could be improved on:

* I think you can fix the tilemap seaming by turning on "pixel perfect" in the options
* The camera margins mean that it's occasionally tricky to see what's ahead

And who uses volunteer workers to prevent nuclear winter...?
Goutye
29. Apr 2021 · 08:26 UTC
I actually got addicted to the mechanics and tried again and again until I defeated the whole thing! Had great fun, thank you! :smile: Congratulations on the game :v:
cogcomp
29. Apr 2021 · 19:32 UTC
Now this is the kind of game I like. :thumbsup: Not too original but just a couple of unique touches and a well balanced level. Well done!
asdehielo
30. Apr 2021 · 22:51 UTC
Nice game with great pixelart and sound design.

I have 2 suggestions:
- There should be a way to walk on the ground, but I understande this is difficult in a game jam, as it requires resources on animations and programming.
- The lives system seemed unnecessary, as it just added frustration to me.

Good game overall, good job!
breadstix
30. Apr 2021 · 22:53 UTC
First of all, playing with a controller is a great addition. It also seemed to make it a little more easier for me. I'll admit I got stuck time and again trying to get past the first checkpoint area. The thing is I kept playing for a while which I tend to not do a huge amount for ludum dare games. The mechanics are fun and everything fits well together. Great job!
gregfagan
30. Apr 2021 · 23:00 UTC
I like it! Would like to use WASD to control though. The level had a good variety of obstacles.
BarelyEvenGames
30. Apr 2021 · 23:05 UTC
I played your game! Check it out!
https://youtu.be/DHfy_7ZtjHk
🎤 zondarg
01. May 2021 · 13:25 UTC
Thanks everyone for the kind words and helpful comments! I appreciate the time you invested in playing, an I'm trying to rate and comment all your games in return too, may take some days though.
Some replys to comments:

@jupiter-hadley @barelyevengames Thank you both for playing my game and giving it video coverage! :slight_smile: :vhs:

@alaah yes, that was the idea behind the two paths, so at least half the way would not need to be backtracked exactly the same.

@john-gabriel There certainly is, at least there are several games from the 80s era that build on a similar but not quite same type of flying mechanics. Some of them I played a lot at that time so they probably served as source of inspiration somehow. Just to name.. Dropzone (C64), HERO (VCS2600), and the aforementioned Fort Apocalypse (C64). Thanks for the hint with the pixel perfect switch, will try this out!

@goutye @cogcomp Glad you liked it! :slight_smile:

@breadstix Oh nice, didn't test controller support at all :grin: but yes, I think there is a default controller mapping for the D-Pad in Godot, so ..happy it does work (but probably only in the Windows build, not HTML?).
trieckaga
01. May 2021 · 19:29 UTC
Very cool entry, the gameplay is simple but engaging, also art style and soundtrack are great, I really like it
felo07
02. May 2021 · 05:41 UTC
Ideia is good, but for me the character is a bit to heavy, is a good game for only 48h, congrats
Homlet
03. May 2021 · 16:04 UTC
Fun game with good difficulty progression. Some checkpoints on the way up would be a nice addition. Good job!
Frank Gevaerts
03. May 2021 · 21:14 UTC
Works pretty well! I managed better than I expected with my horrible gameplay abilities :) Graphics, sound effects and music are all pretty good.
DoctorTM
03. May 2021 · 23:24 UTC
Nice compo! Great audios and sounds. Interesting mechanics - can't move much without the thrust - took a bit to get used to it.
Scruffylooking2121
06. May 2021 · 23:16 UTC
That was really fun. I managed to make it to the bomb but couldn't quite escape. If only I had 1 more life, like I assumed when I saw the remaining man symbol. My mistake. I liked the "Can't move on the ground" idea. That made it an interesting challenge to time the obstacles. Nice job!
RajatG
07. May 2021 · 07:00 UTC
Really nice game. Great audio, good graphics. Really awesome Compo game. Goodjob man :)
Enjaku
10. May 2021 · 22:39 UTC
I enjoyed this game. The controls were easy to use but still required careful timing. The artwork fit well, with the traps matching the game nicely.
Kurama_Youko
12. May 2021 · 18:12 UTC
Reminds me of the water level in TMNT (NES), but this one is good, lol. I got to defuse the device and was going back home but, you know, s*** happens.
TyronePemberton
29. May 2022 · 18:30 UTC
nice game