The Colorsmith by Jordan Ottesen
Descend through a world of abstract color as shades get deeper and deeper in this puzzle platformer.
https://jottesen.itch.io/the-colorsmith
Jam Notes:
As a solo dev, I figured I'd go for the Compo (hard mode jam) where I make everything myself in 48 hours. I stayed true to that as I only used assets I created during the Jam. That not only includes the coding, but the sound effects, music, ideation, everything. I started with literally nothing and now have a game. Which I like :)
The theme was "deeper and deeper." I figured there would be a lot of games about digging or deep sea diving, and I wanted to be original. So I started thinking of other meanings of the word "deep." Initially, I was thinking of making some sort of philosophy game about Plato or something. Like, "wow man, that's deep." But I struggled thinking of a fun mechanic with game about ancient greek philosophers..
So I decided to go with deep colors. The deeper the colors get in the game, the farther you progress. Mostly. I figured it would be fun to have each level be one color, then the player strives to make the level as a whole a deeper and deeper shade of that color. To further drive home the theme, I made every level progress downwards.
I honestly wasn't sure if I'd have time for this Jam. We just got our 2nd does of the covid vaccine, and while I feel just fine, my wife is down for the count. So I got to full-time dad this weekend. After the kids went to bed, I worked on this game. So I only get two nights to work on this, starting at 8:00p. So I've probably cumulatively put in less than 10 hours on this game. Probably the most efficient I've ever been with any game jam game...
Anyway, thanks for playing!
Ratings
| Overall | 18th | 4.224⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 13th | 4.25⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 70th | 4.053⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 224th | 3.921⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 47th | 4.263⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 9th | 4.289⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 223th | 3.083⭐ | 32🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 57th | 4.066⭐ | 40🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 34🗳️ | 39🗨️ |
as a compo this is double impressive, I cant imagine jamming something so cohesive together in the 48 hour window. congratulations for accomplishing such a cohesive game under those restrictions!
Sure I do think the levels are linear, but it is so stimulating to progress across the color shades and see the clever design on the next screen.
I love the pac-man effect and how it is introduced to the player on level 1.
the avatar really pops and is fun to watch run around. The small details like her their idle animation, the pop jump sound, and the particles and 'color switch' animations really glue everything together.
Nice Job!
I really don't have anything negative to say. Great job!
I liked the art style and the music is soft and relaxing. Interesting puzzle and unusual mechanics. Thank you for your game, I really enjoyed it
The game is super well polished, the mechanic is well designed and the flow of the game is superb. You absolutely nailed the platforming movement, feels very precise and correctly paced. I love the art and the music as well, great entry! Congratz! The only nitpick I have is that the character style doesn't seem to match the background, but this is more personal preference than anything else.
I hope you decide to keep working on the game post-jam, I need more levels :sweat_smile:
Cumulatively I really did make it in about 10 hours (12 if I'm counting all the time I spent tweaking my itch.io page, writing the blurb, making the thumbnail image, blah blah). I have a tendency to map out my game development plans in my head throughout the day, so while I watched my kid at the playground, I was thinking about the game design and coding logic. I have a problem. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thanks again, your genuineness is heavily appreciated. Do you have a game in the Jam? I'd love to play it.
Also, I saw on your profile you're from Brazil. I served a mission in São Paulo Brazil and Sorocaba. Lived there for two years! Aquela cidade tem um espaço especial no meu coração :)
Oh, you lived here in São Paulo for 2 years? That's so cool! Do you mind telling me what sort of work you were doing here?
I do have a game in the jam, called Dahla's Journey, you can play it from the "Games" tab on my LD profile. I'd be honored if you'd play it :heart:
In São Paulo, I was inviting people to follow Jesus Christ as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I made some amazing lifelong friends there as we talked with anyone who wanted to learn more about our religion. My mission in Brazil really shaped the rest of my life honestly, wouldn't trade it for the world. A church leader recently gave a talk that I think captures the core of my beliefs. He certainly words it better than I ever could lol:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/41soares?lang=eng
( you make the game solo wow...)
I love the visuals and audio too, both great!
- maybe the character graphics doesnt match with the game
- I found 2 bugs, but its completely normal for a jam, but just to let you guys know (1 stage pink, when I came from top and touch the first square, and (i think) 1 stage yellow, when I go left i didnt appear on the other side)
great game for 48h congrats for the team!
@jimbly Thank you for the thoughtful feedback! You're further confirming my suspicions and the feedback of many others. The levels are designed too linearly/predictably. I'm excited to start designing more engaging puzzles in the post-compo version :)
@felo07 thanks for the praise, feedback, and heads up on the bugs! I'll let "the team" know (lol jk, it's just me) and I'll dig into those for sure.
@luis-giron holy wow, that is extremely high praise. I'm flattered. Thank you thank you! I'll be sure to give your game a go soon! Just need to see if I can get my hands on a PC... you don't happen to have an HTML5 version of your game do you?
I found the simplicity of the game excellent! I just think the sfx could be a little softer and a soundtrack is missing. Even if it was a few loose notes with a good reverb. Think about it!
Congratulations for the game!
I think I will ultimately invest in this idea. All of the positive feedback has been very encouraging.