Abyss by Pandalk

[raw]
made by Pandalk for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

"a game about a submarine moving where the light does not shine"

abyss.gif

Our game for the Ludum dare 48, hope you'll enjoy playing it as much as we liked making it. :)

Ratings

Overall 371th 3.85⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Fun 471th 3.65⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 182th 3.95⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Theme 145th 4.233⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 929th 3.667⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Mood 55th 4.417⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 42🗨️

Feedback

impbox
27. Apr 2021 · 01:59 UTC
Score 365.

Very cool effect with the sonar sticking to things. Very efficient way to get great atmosphere. Nicely done!
Enjoyed it for quite a while but it began to drag on, I think you need to show some sense of progression to keep players interested, different landmarks or something, change of terrain. I wasn't sure if the terrain was randomly generated or hand-made. It'd be awesome to see interesting things passing by, plants, animals, interesting shapes. Lots of cool stuff you could do with it in the future. The camera was interesting, constantly moving down and to the right at a fixed speed? It was problematic sometimes when I wanted to go down but the camera wouldn't show me below me.
MaximeGammaitoni
27. Apr 2021 · 02:05 UTC
yeah very nice game !!
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:06 UTC
@impbox Many thanks on your feedback, it's in fact a unique looped hand-made level but we aim for the procedural generation, you got it for the camera. We'll think about it in the future ! It's in fact a reboot project since one of our teammates lost his cat. Glad to hear you still enjoyed it.
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:06 UTC
@maximegammaitoni Thanks dude !
Ethanthopkins
27. Apr 2021 · 02:07 UTC
I agree with @impbox. I like how the sonar matched the beats of the music as well. I thought the game was beautifully done. Althought the graphics were so simple it just worked.
Jesse J. Jones
27. Apr 2021 · 02:08 UTC
Really nice atmosphere! Loved the feeling of it. The minimal graphics and music work very well together. Would be nice if the Esc button worked to bring up a menu to quit. And agreed that it could use a goal of some sort to feel like there's a reason to keep going. Overall great work! :)
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:10 UTC
@ethanthopkins Many thanks for you feedback, it puts a smile on our faces after those rough 72 hours !
impbox
27. Apr 2021 · 02:12 UTC
=( *hugs* so sorry to hear!
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:12 UTC
@jesse-j-jones Thanks a lot ! We really aimed for the atmosphere in first place, but we know there's a lot to improve, we'll take your feedback into account for future improvements !
Cheese Team
27. Apr 2021 · 02:13 UTC
I really liked "Lo-fi Beats to Study and Drive your Submarine to".

Really, though, great job. It fits the theme perfectly, and is fun to play.
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:13 UTC
@impbox What doesn't kill you makes you stronger *flash from Vietnam incoming*
impbox
27. Apr 2021 · 02:17 UTC
Oh this also gave me Dark Echo vibes, which is a really cool game, having an enemy that your sonar reveals could be very scary!
🎤 Pandalk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:22 UTC
@impbox that's something that I tried to achieve a bit with an obstacles that had spikes kind of looking like monster teeth :p I lacked time to make more complex geometry or add moving parts to the game, but that's definitely something on my radar ;)
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:26 UTC
@cheese-team Happy to hear that ! Doesn't reflect the weekend overall mood tho, we have many things on our list to implement in the future ! Thanks
starling
27. Apr 2021 · 02:30 UTC
love the art <3 and how it beats in time with the music
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 02:32 UTC
@starling Thanks, glad you enjoyed it !
Villanelle
27. Apr 2021 · 07:13 UTC
The music is very in sync with the gameplay and the art is very pretty. The game fits the theme perfectly and the mechanics are innovative as well, even though its a submarine game I enjoyed it very much because it had another take on the subject! The difficulty is adequate and the level design is nice, gave me a very fun experience overall.
Bauke Regnerus
27. Apr 2021 · 08:30 UTC
Lovely monochrome graphics and the music implementation is great too. The sonar concept is really cool. Got repetitive after a while and not feeling any sense of progression. But overall I really love the minimalist approach.
Almighty Games
27. Apr 2021 · 08:38 UTC
really loved the use of sonar in your game. the echo-location stuff is something you don't see very often. The black and white monochrome color scheme is really hot too. Great job!
JoelChrono12
27. Apr 2021 · 12:14 UTC
Hey, I cant play your game because it doesnt have a Linux version, it looks pretty awesome. Reminds me of Dark Echo, but in a submarine!. I hope you do a port it cuz I would love to play it. I will save my ratings for when you do :D
Jorenkv
27. Apr 2021 · 14:54 UTC
I love the concept and especially the atmosphere!
foresherd
27. Apr 2021 · 15:28 UTC
I really enjoyed it! Using particles as the sonar was a very clever technique that I assumed saved a lot of time - really genius! The random generation was also good. It felt a lot more organic with the way it meandered about, never going in a straight line.
Lucky Zucc
27. Apr 2021 · 16:14 UTC
Reminds me of a mobile puzzle game I used to love, forgot the name though. Nice job!
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 17:00 UTC
@villanelle Thanks on your feedback sir, it was kind of a challenge to create something simple but entertaining, glad to hear our goal has been reached !
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 17:03 UTC
@bauke-regnerus Thanks for playing it, and yep, we already think about improving many things, implement procedural generation and other "biomes" is one of the feature we target !
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 17:04 UTC
@almighty-games Thanks on your feedback ! Really appreciated :)
GrimsBaldruk
27. Apr 2021 · 17:22 UTC
@joelchrono12 Hi there ! Gonna upload a Linux build on itch.io asap, would be glad to have your feedback since we cannot try it out ourselves :) Thanks for your comment !
Nun Chuck
28. Apr 2021 · 03:32 UTC
Love the concept! I personally enjoyed the setting and the overall tone of the game. The music created the perfect ambiance to get lost in this game. The controls felt a bit sluggish, and it would be nice to see the sonar wrap its self around horizontal areas to give help the user see the map/outlines a bit better. It was very clever to have the sonar refresh to the music. Keep up the great work!
GrimsBaldruk
28. Apr 2021 · 17:31 UTC
@nun-chuck Thanks a lot for your feedback ! Yeah controls may need a rework in the future, those a really basics controls. About the sonar, of course it may evolve but our goal was that we didn't want the player to know too much about what surround him, we will try to think of ways to improve the way it's done while keeping that idea intact
louhol
29. Apr 2021 · 19:59 UTC
synchronisation with music enriched my game experince. like the visuals and simplicity. i wish there was an explosion when you crash. nice work!
GrimsBaldruk
29. Apr 2021 · 20:59 UTC
@louhol Thanks for your feedback ! That's good idea, we'll keep your comment in mind for future improvements !
techsec
30. Apr 2021 · 00:02 UTC
This game is just a vibe. It's a very much a zen like game. Only issue was that sometimes you would have to wait for the camera to follow you which was annoying as you would have to patient. Or maybe that was a feature to extend the "zen" of the game having to learn to wait lol.
Simpathey
30. Apr 2021 · 01:43 UTC
Loved the vibe and the art. Was very fun!
Paroxysmal
30. Apr 2021 · 02:51 UTC
Very cool use of minimalism. Amazing how a simple concept can make a great game...good job.
Rudenko
30. Apr 2021 · 02:58 UTC
Nice game, music is good nice and chill mood, cool minimalistic graphics, and idea aswell
jitspoe
30. Apr 2021 · 07:32 UTC
Really innovative mechanic. Would be great if the pings stayed in sync with the music. You could even have more or less intense music depending on the environment so you have more frequent pings when there's less room to move around without hitting something.
etrealjunior
05. May 2021 · 00:38 UTC
Congratulations I loved your game, it is very relaxing, beautiful music and art too, an excellent job you did, a big hug, and I await your evaluations regarding my game.