{"author_link":"\/users\/dob","author_name":"dob","author_uid":1001644,"comments":[{"id":625861,"author_name":"PurpledArtFrog","author_uid":"purpledartfrog","epoch":1619441939,"text":"Thank you very much for your entry - I hope you had great fun making it :smile:\n\nVery nicely done :smile: I liked the idea and the execution :thumbsup_tone1: \n\nI hope you'll drop by mine and give it a spin :wink: \n\n:purple_heart: :dart: :frog:","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":625909,"author_name":"TwoWolf","author_uid":"twowolf","epoch":1619442322,"text":"It's a nice prototype. I thought it wasn't possible to lose but fortunately I found out it wasn't like that. I think you can make a couple more levels just to get a feel that it's a puzzle.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":638536,"author_name":"verysoftwares","author_uid":"verysoftwares","epoch":1619504071,"text":"pretty original and easy to get into.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":638605,"author_name":"LelulaGames","author_uid":"lelulagames","epoch":1619504529,"text":"I love puzzle games, and this certainly was unusual. I think there's potential. I couldn't quite figure out the mechanics of where the explosion happens, but I felt like it was there to grasp, I was just tired. Could use some music to liven it up, but otherwise a great looking game.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":638693,"author_name":"Runuchok","author_uid":"runuchok","epoch":1619505246,"text":"E-e-e-ha!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":657877,"author_name":"hutchings90","author_uid":"hutchings90","epoch":1619584263,"text":"~~Great music and sound effects! Those centipedes were intense!~~\nThis comment was for [Soil Surfer](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/48\/soil-surfer)","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":657913,"author_name":"hutchings90","author_uid":"hutchings90","epoch":1619584554,"text":"Great sound effects and voice acting!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":657939,"author_name":"metadept","author_uid":"metadept","epoch":1619584856,"text":"It's got some interesting puzzle mechanics and it's well polished. I appreciate that you took time for tutorials and considered colorblind accessibility in your design! Honestly I found it a bit frustrating because the puzzle mechanics are complex and difficult to reason about. For example, having so many different sizes of rocks feels like a lot to keep track of and plan around. All that said, it's a perfect exploration for a game jam and your execution was spot on. Great job!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":657973,"author_name":"Numex","author_uid":"numex","epoch":1619585237,"text":"Decent relaxing puzzle game. Nicely done :thumbsup: ","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":657986,"author_name":"dob","author_uid":"dob","epoch":1619585297,"text":"@hutchings90 Centipedes? You might have the wrong game here. :-)","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":658141,"author_name":"DoomMustard","author_uid":"doommustard","epoch":1619586616,"text":"I like this idea, and really want to see it expanded upon. I could see it being a really fun arcade-style score grinder, or just a spicy puzzle game, or a highly addicting cross between both similar to candy crush. Its really fun to try and set up for massive combos, even though there isn't any benefit to doing so. I like the symbols on the rocks to help colorblind people which is something I think many people forget to think about, myself included. I did find it difficult to tell how big the rock I was holding was sometimes.","format":"md","likes":2,"spam":"N"},{"id":658305,"author_name":"Scruffylooking2121","author_uid":"scruffylooking2121","epoch":1619588008,"text":"I laughed so hard at the voiceover when I collected a gem.  Sound was good.  Theme was well used.  I stayed up later that I should trying to beat the final level.  I didn't get there, but I want to try again tomorrow.  Great puzzles.  Humor was excellent.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":658550,"author_name":"hutchings90","author_uid":"hutchings90","epoch":1619590013,"text":"@dob Ha! I don't know how that happened :sweat_smile: I updated that comment with a link to the game that I meant to comment on. I did play your game, though. My second comment is about your game :slight_smile: ","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":658591,"author_name":"mDuo13","author_uid":"mduo13","epoch":1619590425,"text":"The voice samples were funny, and the flavor text was some nice light humor. I don't know how deep the mechanics go, but they were fun to play around with and the game lasted long enough to do some cool things with them without overstaying its welcome, so that's very nice. It would be cool if there were some mechanic other than bombs that would let you dig the edges.\n\nIt's a pretty satisfying, short little experience that feels pretty complete for a compo game. You could probably do more with it, but it doesn't feel like anything is missing. My only complaint with the gameplay is it was really hard to tell which rocks were bigger than others, so I kind of gave up trying to figure out how to set up the perfect combo and just dropped more rocks until they lined up. Maybe if there were not as many sizes it would be easier to tell them apart.\n\nThe graphics are charming and functional, with no issues with contrast or anything like that (just the rock sizes). I'm OK with that.\n\nThanks for this. I hope you become as rich as your character with the dubious rock-dropping hobbies.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":658595,"author_name":"mDuo13","author_uid":"mduo13","epoch":1619590449,"text":"I'm guessing the centipedes comment was intended for https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/48\/soil-surfer","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":671223,"author_name":"miej","author_uid":"miej","epoch":1619686823,"text":"sfx got a little repetitive after a while, but otherwise, nice straightforward submission!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":671285,"author_name":"Slowfrog Again","author_uid":"slowfrog-again","epoch":1619687574,"text":"Quite a polished gem of a game :wink: with a nice twist on the old match-3 mechanics.\n\nI'll second @doommustard comment that the different sizes are not easily compared, but that could be fixed in a post-jam game (make the difference more obvious, add a number on the gem, preview where the gem will go).\n\nVery pleasant experience nonetheless and definitely style points for parentheses legs.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":671410,"author_name":"DivFord","author_uid":"divford","epoch":1619688962,"text":"I played it to the end! The puzzle mechanic was interesting, and the overall presentation was very nice.\n\nThe rock sizes caught me out a lot. I think fewer distinct sizes with more obvious differences would be better. Quite often I dropped a rock in only to find it was bigger than I though, and everything got messed up.\n\nAlthough I'm not colour blind myself, I really appreciate that you gave the rocks contrasting symbols as well as colours. That's such a nice consideration, and the kind of thing that often gets forgotten under time pressure.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":671715,"author_name":"Masaru","author_uid":"masaru","epoch":1619693029,"text":"As a little addition to what others have said, the character could be a bit faster, other than that : well done !","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":672254,"author_name":"felixmreeve","author_uid":"felixmreeve","epoch":1619700215,"text":"Loved it, really impressive mechanics for such a short time span. The match 3\/rock size interactions are great, and the cascading bombs feel great when you pull them off. Fun sounds too! Thanks","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":674918,"author_name":"chtimy","author_uid":"chtimy","epoch":1619724600,"text":"The concept could be very simple by just aligning the rocks horizontally, but the feature with different size of rocks brings a very good game design, i like it. \nFor a compo it's successful, congrat!\nThe design is simple but efficient !\nThank you for your game !","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":677757,"author_name":"RubixNoob13","author_uid":"rubixnoob13","epoch":1619764941,"text":"Great little puzzle game, and I especially like the larger rocks falling to the bottom, as it adds an extra layer of challenge to the game! Really solid entry!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":679783,"author_name":"GameDev and Architecture","author_uid":"gamedev-and-architecture","epoch":1619798672,"text":"Interesting little puzzle game ! :)\nThe mechanics may be simple but they bring lots of depth.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":680229,"author_name":"StrangerYann","author_uid":"strangeryann","epoch":1619805105,"text":"Intresting - the puzzle mechanic took me forever to understand!\n2nd level was tough - i got lucky\nI think the controls need to be righter - when your little character moves from left to right\ngood surprise over all\ntakes a while to get used to\nbut it's fun and original\nwell done :)","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":683460,"author_name":"mr forty two","author_uid":"mr-forty-two","epoch":1619871545,"text":"Great game! Very intertesting and original concept for an overused base game (Most match-3 games are the same). It was quite difficult to tell apart the different sizes at times, and I often got caught out and messed up my plan. I also often kept expecting the rock to go to the top of the rocks of its repective size not the bottom, which confused me a bit. I'm sure this concept could make for interesting puzzles, though none of the levels were too hard. The graphics were simple, but nice, and I quite liked the voicelines for the sound effects. It had the best tutorial in the jam I've seen, and adding in the symbols too help colourblind people is great. I like how the levels gradually introduce more colours and mechnics.\nAll in all, I love it. Brilliant!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":684414,"author_name":"LDJam user 236545","author_uid":"236545","epoch":1619886839,"text":"Physics be damned, indeed! The difference between horizontal and vertical mechanics was a refreshing take on the match-3 formula, and it had a good relation to the theme.\n\nGreat work!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":685225,"author_name":"kr4ft3r","author_uid":"kr4ft3r","epoch":1619899996,"text":"At start it felt hard and I was burdening myself with how will I ever manage to line up them stones, but at level 3 I noticed if I just keep randomly dropping them in then eventually things ends up working out. On a second reloaded I started realizing I got some of the rules wrong previously and game became more enjoyable.\n\nReaching diamonds does feel good. What I like the most is graphics and choice of colors.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":685912,"author_name":"g12345","author_uid":"g12345","epoch":1619912409,"text":"The rocks a re nice looking, the voice acting is great, and the mechanics are complex. I finished the game but i did use all my bombs at the last level because i was tired by then.\n\ni think it took me to the final level until i realised that the blue rocks aren't the same as the green ones. They look similar to me when small and the smaller rocks seem to have less colour. But i still finished the levels in my first go.\n\nI was (pleasantly) surprised the simple rules already have that much complexity!\n\n","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":686422,"author_name":"LDJam user 245161","author_uid":"245161","epoch":1619929222,"text":"The idea of \"heavier tiles go to the bottom\" is interesting, but I'm not sure how to progress past level 1? I got to this screen, pressed every key and clicked everywhere... all I could do is restart\n\n![Screenshot 2021-05-01 211808.png](\/\/\/raw\/9ad\/b3\/z\/41fab.png)","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":687388,"author_name":"paulhocker","author_uid":"paulhocker","epoch":1619962225,"text":"i thought this was a very uhnique and interesting game. i thought the game mechanic was really interesting and engaging. it felt like a cross between tetris and go. really well executed. thank you for making this game.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":688349,"author_name":"dob","author_uid":"dob","epoch":1619982046,"text":"@ultimatewalrus Sorry about the confusion. If you click on the Victory banner or hit a key while the mouse is in the window, you should advance to the next level.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":689366,"author_name":"LDJam user 245161","author_uid":"245161","epoch":1620015977,"text":"@dob ah thanks! Could've sworn I clicked there.\n\nI played all the way through. These puzzle mechanics are \"ROCK\" solid! A lot of these types of gamejam puzzle games either end up being mindless, or mostly dependent on random chance. I was forced to think out my moves and actually be careful, especially in the last stage. Great job!!\n\nIt makes sense, given you seem to be behind some well known puzzle games. I've never tried Snood but I saw someone tweeting about it just the other day, haha.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":693853,"author_name":"MinThaMie","author_uid":"minthamie","epoch":1620215099,"text":"Super fun :) love the graphics and the fact that it's playable in the browser! Especially als a Mac user that is a great plus! I liked the combination of the 3-in-a-row with physics. I found it quite tricky sometimes to estimate the place where the rock would end up!","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":700765,"author_name":"Jack Lance","author_uid":"jack-lance","epoch":1620774758,"text":"I like that some of the levels presented an interesting set up to think about as opposed to just being random colors around the grid like many match-3 games like this.\nThe mechanics were also pretty new to me, I've never seen anything like that. Sometimes the combos were quite satisfying. I feel like if you are planning to continue working on this, rewarding combos would be a good idea! :)","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":702984,"author_name":"tiffi_gaming","author_uid":"tiffi-gaming","epoch":1621020458,"text":"Physics be DAMNED! :D","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":706756,"author_name":"Jos\u00e9 Bonilla","author_uid":"jose-bonilla","epoch":1621364421,"text":"I liked the game, it's a good compo entry. I played two times and managed to get the victory in both. My main feedback would be that I did not find a way to lose (lol), is there it? A time limit would also be nice. Overall good execution, congrats!","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"}],"format":"md","images":["ld48\/wayback-placeholder.png"],"links":[{"url":"http:\/\/planktongames.com\/ld48","text":"Link"},{"url":"http:\/\/planktongames.com\/ld48\/game.js","text":"Link"}],"metadata":{"g_key":"77121","g_author":"1001644","g_event":"LD48","g_eventkey":"109","g_subevent":"COMPO","g_urlkey":"372407","g_title":"Hole Town","g_status":"WAYBACK","g_place":"556","g_commentcount":"36","g_site2_node_id":"246522","g_hide":"N","g_has_icon":"Y","g_rqueue":"0","g_random":"0"},"nds":{"n_key":"246522","n_urlkey":"372407","n_parent":"233335","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/48\/hole-town","n_slug":"hole-town","n_type":"item","n_subtype":"game","n_subsubtype":"compo","n_author":"1644","n_created":"1619241509","n_modified":"1776352520","n_version":"746975","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD48","removed_author":false},"_superparent":9,"_trust":9,"author":1644,"body":"# Hole Town #\n## By Dave Dobson ##\n\n**Platform:** HTML5 (JavaScript, CraftyJS)\n\n**Genre:** Puzzle\n\n**Levels:** 7\n\nIn **Hole Town**, you play a top-hat wearing industrialist who is trying to recover gems from deep underground. Your only tool to collect these gems is the local rocks. In violation of any semblance of realism, these rocks can produce explosive bombs when you combine them the proper way, and you can use these bombs to dig deeper and deeper into the ground until you've recovered all the gems.\n\n**Gameplay and Rules:**\nMove your industrialist back and forth using either the left and right arrow keys or A & D.\nDrop the rock you're carrying with either Space, the S key, or the down arrow.\nWhen you drop a rock, it will fall until it reaches the bottom of the hole or a rock larger than itself. Any smaller rocks it passes by will be moved up one space. \nIf you create a horizontal row of three or more rocks, they will disappear, and the middle rock (or rocks, if your row is more than three long) will turn into bombs.\nBombs fall down to the bottom of the hole where they form, and they blow up the bottom of the hole, making it one space deeper, and causing all rocks in the hole to drop down one space.\nThere are five sizes of rocks.\nThere are five colors of rocks (including symbols for colorblind players or for general convenience). Not all levels use all five colors.\nYou win the level when you blast out all of the gems it contains.\nLater levels may start with some rocks in place, or you may get free bombs to use. To use a free bomb, hit the B key, and you'll drop a bomb in the hole where you're standing.\n\n![thumbnail.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c66\/z\/3cde0.jpg)\n![Gameplay1.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c66\/z\/3cdb0.jpg)\n![HelpScreen.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c66\/z\/3cdb6.jpg)\n\n**Tools:**\n\nThis is an HTML5 game that uses the CraftyJS JavaScript library for games.\nFor sound, I relied on my mouth plus GoldWave audio.\nFor graphics, I relied on PowerPoint and GIMP. Yes, his legs actually are literal parentheses. Style points for that?","comments":36,"comments-timestamp":"2021-05-18T19:00:21Z","created":"2021-04-24T05:18:29Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"grade":{"grade-01":39,"grade-02":39,"grade-03":39,"grade-04":39,"grade-05":39,"grade-06":37,"grade-07":35,"grade-08":34},"id":246522,"love":0,"magic":{"cool":94.742330639567,"feedback":50,"given":32.875,"grade":37.625,"grade-01-average":3.311,"grade-01-result":556,"grade-02-average":3.135,"grade-02-result":571,"grade-03-average":3.662,"grade-03-result":210,"grade-04-average":3.635,"grade-04-result":417,"grade-05-average":3.041,"grade-05-result":667,"grade-06-average":2.771,"grade-06-result":594,"grade-07-average":3.439,"grade-07-result":141,"grade-08-average":2.781,"grade-08-result":701,"smart":2.4295039463168},"meta":{"allow-anonymous-comments":"1","author":[1644],"cover":"\/\/\/content\/c66\/z\/3cd3c.jpg","link-01":"http:\/\/planktongames.com\/ld48","link-01-tag":[42336],"link-02":"http:\/\/planktongames.com\/ld48\/game.js","link-02-tag":[42332]},"meta-timestamp":"2026-04-16T15:15:20Z","modified":"2026-04-16T15:15:20Z","name":"Hole Town","node-timestamp":"2021-04-26T01:52:03Z","parent":233335,"parents":[1,5,9,233335],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/48\/hole-town","published":"2021-04-26T01:23:47Z","scope":"public","slug":"hole-town","subsubtype":"compo","subtype":"game","type":"item","version":746975},"text":"# Hole Town #\n## By Dave Dobson ##\n\n**Platform:** HTML5 (JavaScript, CraftyJS)\n\n**Genre:** Puzzle\n\n**Levels:** 7\n\nIn **Hole Town**, you play a top-hat wearing industrialist who is trying to recover gems from deep underground. Your only tool to collect these gems is the local rocks. In violation of any semblance of realism, these rocks can produce explosive bombs when you combine them the proper way, and you can use these bombs to dig deeper and deeper into the ground until you've recovered all the gems.\n\n**Gameplay and Rules:**\nMove your industrialist back and forth using either the left and right arrow keys or A & D.\nDrop the rock you're carrying with either Space, the S key, or the down arrow.\nWhen you drop a rock, it will fall until it reaches the bottom of the hole or a rock larger than itself. Any smaller rocks it passes by will be moved up one space. \nIf you create a horizontal row of three or more rocks, they will disappear, and the middle rock (or rocks, if your row is more than three long) will turn into bombs.\nBombs fall down to the bottom of the hole where they form, and they blow up the bottom of the hole, making it one space deeper, and causing all rocks in the hole to drop down one space.\nThere are five sizes of rocks.\nThere are five colors of rocks (including symbols for colorblind players or for general convenience). Not all levels use all five colors.\nYou win the level when you blast out all of the gems it contains.\nLater levels may start with some rocks in place, or you may get free bombs to use. To use a free bomb, hit the B key, and you'll drop a bomb in the hole where you're standing.\n\n![thumbnail.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c66\/z\/3cde0.jpg)\n![Gameplay1.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c66\/z\/3cdb0.jpg)\n![HelpScreen.jpg](\/\/\/raw\/c66\/z\/3cdb6.jpg)\n\n**Tools:**\n\nThis is an HTML5 game that uses the CraftyJS JavaScript library for games.\nFor sound, I relied on my mouth plus GoldWave audio.\nFor graphics, I relied on PowerPoint and GIMP. Yes, his legs actually are literal parentheses. 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