LudumData

Inks by mahalis

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

Inks is a game of color. Consume others to deepen yourself.

screenshot

This is my 15th LD compo entry, and I’m proud of it—the scope was small enough that I had enough time to polish it, and even, for once, add music. (I’m not a musician, so the rhythm’s weird in places, but I think it sounds generally okay.)

How to play

Chase smaller / paler blots of ink and avoid larger / deeper ones. Your prey are green; your predators are purple. Consume everything to win.

To move, use the mouse cursor, WASD, the arrow keys, or either thumbstick on a game controller.

Software used

  • Unreal Engine
  • GarageBand
  • Substance Designer
  • Audacity
  • Affinity Photo
Link https://mahalis.itch.io/inks
Link https://mahalis.itch.io/inks
Link https://github.com/mahalis/inks
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/inks

Ratings

Overall 304th 3.625⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 345th 3.484⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 436th 3.234⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Theme 767th 2.924⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 33th 4.353⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Audio 309th 3.391⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 118th 3.864⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 32🗳️ 50🗨️

Feedback

Lorwon
26. Apr 2021 · 12:57 UTC
The ink effect is really good, the sounds effect and the music are simple but they fit very well ! The only advice I have is to increase the difficulty, the game is quite easy. This is a really good compo entry, nice job :)
🎤 mahalis
26. Apr 2021 · 16:50 UTC
Thanks @lorwon! My games often end up being too difficult because I’m so used to playing them, so I’m kinda glad to have ended up on the other side of the scale this time. :slight_smile:
morphine
26. Apr 2021 · 18:14 UTC
5 stars for graphics - that's a given. This reminds me of one of those .io games that were all the rage a while back! Very short, very sweet. Thanks for submitting!
dhim
26. Apr 2021 · 18:17 UTC
Oh yea you have a Mac entry. I'll try it after diner! Oh no :
```
You have macOS 10.13.6. The application requires macOS 10.14.6 or later
```
Poroporo-su
26. Apr 2021 · 18:25 UTC
Woaw nice and clean! :sparkles: The idea of deepening the tone is lovely! It reminded me of the beginning of Spore a bit.
metadept
26. Apr 2021 · 20:15 UTC
The inky visual effects are really beautiful. Pleasing and minimalistic. Well done!
matthewrobo
27. Apr 2021 · 05:12 UTC
![1619500240-Inks-Win64-Shipping_PxFrQMfq12.png](///raw/165/32/z/40421.png)

Absolutely a visually stunning game. Did have a weird graphics driver error but it didn't impact anything.
teenythanos
27. Apr 2021 · 06:25 UTC
This is SO beautiful!! You compo folks are mind-bendingly awesome.
VeryGenuineCraze
27. Apr 2021 · 09:44 UTC
This game is really beautiful. Nice work on the ink effect!
The experience was a bit to short :cry:
Klaaswag
27. Apr 2021 · 12:59 UTC
Beautiful game! I loved playing around for a bit!
nigeynige
28. Apr 2021 · 11:49 UTC
This was really great! I liked the interpretation of the theme, and the way the other ink blobs could surprise you by shifting colours themselves. Just an overall very pleasant five-minute experience.
Sand-Gardeners
28. Apr 2021 · 16:46 UTC
Short but very sweet game, the mood and especially the ink effect are really well done!
Dandeleon
28. Apr 2021 · 21:25 UTC
Visually a very pleasing game with a good difficulty curve. Although I hoped there was a bit more depth in it as there is only one thing to interact with on the screen, smaller or bigger blobs. With a bit more space where you loosely follow the player around and maybe some walls as obstacles this could turn in a beautiful fully fleshed out game. Good job!
impbox
29. Apr 2021 · 09:25 UTC
Lovely visual effects and mood,
The mechanics were not particularly interesting or innovative but very well presented.
At some point all the purple blobs just turned green and I picked them up and won, not sure how that works.
Was problematic not being able to see my mouse cursor as when it goes off the edge of the screen you lose input and I couldn't get keyboard input to work, it would always follow the mouse instead.
🎤 mahalis
29. Apr 2021 · 20:31 UTC
@impbox Thanks! That’s fair; I didn’t have an idea for a particularly innovative mechanic so I’m happy to just have executed reasonably well. The idea with the green / purple thing was as an indicator of what’s bigger or smaller than you; once you’re the biggest thing around, it’s all cleanup. Hard to read that with the indistinct shapes, though. Sorry to hear you had input trouble—when you haven’t moved the mouse recently it’s supposed to ignore mouse movements and let you use the keyboard/gamepad instead, but there must be some bug in what’s supposed to do that.
rosypenguin
30. Apr 2021 · 00:45 UTC
Really nice work with the shader; the ink blobs had a soft, watercolorey feel that was so pleasing aesthetically. The art and music together with the minimalistic approach set a wonderful, zen-like mood. The gameplay was on the simpler side, but I have to say the interpretation of the theme is a unique one I haven't seen yet! Great compo entry!
meownsk
01. May 2021 · 05:20 UTC
Absolutely great for compo! Visuals is just beautiful.
I wish the game was much slower (and player slower too) more like Osmos. Also it is so short...
ty_
01. May 2021 · 05:38 UTC
this is so cute! i love the vibe and the ink blobs are really aesthetic and watercolor-feely. i also love how you can see the blob change color to know which ones you can consume! feels really nice and polished, good job :D
James Macgill
01. May 2021 · 15:44 UTC
So polished for a compo. Love the mood of the graphics and the sound. Gameplay just frantic enough to be fun.
Likirus
01. May 2021 · 15:54 UTC
Agar.io in pretty! Simple but beautiful game. The ink has a really nice and satisfying shader effect.
Hydezeke
01. May 2021 · 16:02 UTC
Really beautiful! I liked the bounciness to the movement- it provided a nice challenge to weaving around the larger objects, and made it flow really well. I was disappointed when it ended. Would love to keep expanding.
ted
03. May 2021 · 03:36 UTC
Short, sweet, and a graphics treat!
MrPouletBZH
03. May 2021 · 10:39 UTC
The game is gorgeous, and with a controller is an extreme pleasure to play, I wouldn't have say no to a longer experience! The approach of the theme is really smart, you did an excellent job, well done
Iak
04. May 2021 · 19:43 UTC
Such pretty o.o I like it. I want more Ink-blob games.
VixenMink
05. May 2021 · 13:12 UTC
I would have never thought of the idea of deepening ones color for this year's theme. Fantastic job
Brad Make Games
09. May 2021 · 21:41 UTC
As others have stated before this game is really pretty, even if it is short and simple. Along with the cool visuals, the music works here and the sounds are nice touches. The gameplay itself is basic but clean and engaging. I wish there was more to the game, but overall this is a great entry.
Hruhf
10. May 2021 · 14:01 UTC
The art style was very nice, big props for that. Simple but satisfying gameplay, it was a nice touch to have the blobs colour coded to make it easier to discern your relative size.
The audio felt kind of busy for me to fit with the aesthetics though, seems to just be me though. I.e. the sound effects were nice and so was the music but when both are going at the same time it was kinda distracting.
It would have been nice to have some sort of indicator for the mouse as I kept losing track of it until I got used to the controls.
tangiblegames
11. May 2021 · 21:48 UTC
Graphics alone are making it a zen-like experience... almost. When the action intensifies, all soothing qualities are lost, and it turns into a story of survival. Nothing new in mechanics, but the art style is enough to make this game stand out.
I imagine it becoming a nice game for an iPad :)
kavehes
15. May 2021 · 14:32 UTC
Small but efficient, great work on the visuals !
The sound effect were maybe a bit jarring with the aesthetics of the rest but that's mostly nitpicking on my part ^^