The Fool's Descent by NicMagnier

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

You might be a fool but you have your bow and arrows to help you exploring the dungeon.

The goal of the game is to reach the end of the dungeon. Use your bow and arrows to progress. Find coins. Go back to the start of the dungeon to upgrade your gears. Be careful of the falling arrows!

Notes: - Teleporters take you back to the start but there is no shortcut to go back where you were. Take this opportunity to find hidden coins you might have missed. - It is possible that a body of a skeleton might block your progress :(

Controls: WASD to move (up or space to jump) Aim with your mouse Shoot arrow by holding the left mouse button Buy an item with left mouse button

Screenshot 2021-04-25 at 23.17.37.png

Ratings

Overall 412th 3.5⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 238th 3.674⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 449th 3.217⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 406th 3.652⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 611th 3.152⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Audio 612th 2.682⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Humor 316th 2.81⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 649th 2.913⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 53🗳️ 25🗨️

Feedback

ty_
26. Apr 2021 · 09:06 UTC
cute little game! the graphics and sound combined are super cool. it's a little annoying when i get teleported back by accident, but that's a part of the game! good job :D
Kitsomo
26. Apr 2021 · 09:07 UTC
Fits the theme quite well. It took me a while to understand how to proceed to next terrain, but when I found out that some walls burn , i got excited, really cool mechanic. I did not like the way refilling worked, I think it makes the game pretty slow. Overall was a fun and innovative game
Slowfrog Again
26. Apr 2021 · 09:23 UTC
Pretty slick game!
The first time I got stuck because I burned a skeleton in the middle of a small corridor. And since they're permanent, I had no possibility to make any more progress.
azakharov
26. Apr 2021 · 09:23 UTC
Well, boss fight is 10/10. What are torches for in bright locations?
43sam
26. Apr 2021 · 13:12 UTC
Really enjoyed this. I like that the skeletons staying on fire and the bombs created more obstacles each time you went back to the start which kept the game interesting rather then tedious. Also really liked how some of the mechanics interacted like the arrows falling on skeletons or the blocks being burned and the skeletons walking off. One thing I would change is the camera. It lags behind when moving forward which makes it hard to see what's coming. I found for platformers it's better to leave the camera with the character centered but that's just my preference. Great job on the game!
🎤 NicMagnier
26. Apr 2021 · 14:16 UTC
@slowfrog-again yes unfortunately it is possible to be stuck because of a burned skeleton. Sorry about that. This is one of the many things I didn't had time to fix.

@azakharov I put some torches at the beginning just to get used to the interaction while you can see them from afar. After sleeping on it I think it would have been better to get coins by lighting the torches instead of the chests.

@43sam Thank you so much :) A big focus for me for this jam was to have this type of mechanic that create some domino effect and unplanned events. I also had a camera at the beginning with a soft focus on the character but I replaced the system to take more into account the cursor to see where you aim but it doesn't work well enough. Thanks for the feedback.
wowa
27. Apr 2021 · 09:25 UTC
I did it! This was fun! Well what is there to say.. it is definitely worth playing! Very well done!
Parsafari
28. Apr 2021 · 10:02 UTC
Very cool game! I loved the sound effects and the art style. The pixely screen effect was very neat! Good job!
Langotriel
28. Apr 2021 · 10:39 UTC
I enjoy it when a game explores its mechanics beyond what is obvious at first. The early barrel placement on an elevated platform that you could only shoot down by hitting the ceiling and waiting for the arrow to drop was a nice example of you exploring the mechanics in a creative way. Really appreciate stuff like that <3

Well done :D
onnofal
28. Apr 2021 · 19:00 UTC
Looks simple, but there is unexpectedly a lot of mechanics in this game and it is progressing nice. No barriers, everything works and plays well. I did not event mention the arrow shooting, and that is important and very enjoyable. And as written, feels good to find out how stuff works myself.

Accidental teleporting back up did not bother me, but maybe the slowdown when I needed there to resupply, breaking my exploring (and arrow shooting - never enough of it and arrows running out so fast).
C4Scar
29. Apr 2021 · 04:28 UTC
I had a lot of fun playing this! I really liked shooting arrows and it was interesting how the fire was used as a double edged sword at times.
Sheepolution
29. Apr 2021 · 23:19 UTC
Nice game! I like how the arrows fall down a short moment after you shot them in the roof, and how there's a puzzle using that mechanic. Too bad the skeletons can block your way and don't just disappear when they're dead. The main character looks kinda silly but other than that I like the aesthetics, and I think it's nice that you have an option to turn off the CRT filter. Good job!
brian-mayberry
30. Apr 2021 · 20:41 UTC
Really feels like the demo to a full size puzzle game! Tons of fun, plenty of challenge without being "too much" for casual players. Ran into a few "bugs" with falling onto burning corpses and instantly dying even with full health that made traversing a bit too difficult at times. Suggest a small cooldown on when the player can be damaged again to adjust for that a bit. Great game, good work, congrats!
🎤 NicMagnier
01. May 2021 · 09:34 UTC
@brian-mayberry thanks for the kind words. I did implement a damage cooldown but it seems at some point it broke for some reason. It is one of the bug I have listed and will fix.

@sheepolution Thanks for the feedback. The post process shader might be a bit too much but I always try to have shortcuts to disable feature if I can (even though I didn't document it so I guess you earned an achievement for discovering it)
Fonics
01. May 2021 · 17:13 UTC
Very fun game! One of the few game this long ive ended up fully completing so far for this jam. I feel like some music, even just a super simple chiptune would have really added to the game, but other than that this was a really fun little jam game and it feels like it could definitely be expanded to a full game. I loved the boss "fight" as well. Great entry!
TentacleMax
01. May 2021 · 17:31 UTC
very fun game! It wasn't really clear that I can press and hold fire (instead of just click), but I tried and it works!
RafaBriet
01. May 2021 · 23:02 UTC
Fun game. Loved how the arrows interact with the environment. The only problem I had was with the dead skeletons blocking the way.
jandourek
04. May 2021 · 17:07 UTC
Pretty fun game! I liked the emergent gameplay with the fire and I think you can really build on that. Maybe the dungeon changing a little bit when you return to it would be nice, since walking through the same place multiple times gets a bit boring. Other than that, good job!
jk5000
04. May 2021 · 17:57 UTC
Super simple and fun little platform game. I wish the game had some music and some better sound effects, but else a good jam game. Well done.
cavedens
07. May 2021 · 01:06 UTC
nice mechanic with the shooting. good job.
ardorugus
13. May 2021 · 02:52 UTC
How do you cease the fire (not to hurt yourself)? Overall, here's a nice small game with cool mechanics and physics. Seems, needs some tutorial (like on working with lanterns, or shooting flames at walls), and I didn't quite get the E button. Plenty of portals to return to replenish supplies, however maybe if you make an option of confirming the teleport, it'd be nicer. I'd love to see more lore and play this game to some style-related music, but it's already a very nice experience, made me go for a while, so, thanks!