Jenry Javelina by PBG
Jenry Javelina!

My submission for LD49. A silly 3D platformer about a javelina (they are kind of like pigs) who is running across some rocky, unstable desert terrain.
How to play
move: arrow keys OR WASD
jump: Z or J
climb: hold the jump button when you are against a wall, but you can only climb as long as you have stamina!
Help Jenry get to the cactus at the finish line!

The game wont start!!
Sometimes you may need to click the game window once the title screen pops up to get things moving. Then try pressing Z or J.
Tools used:
- Engine: Lovr https://lovr.org/
- SFX: Pico-8 https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
- 3D models: Magicavoxel
- Editor: VS Code
- Color Palette: Pico-8
- Music: Yours truly :)
Ratings
| Overall | 109th | 3.845⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 62th | 3.94⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 297th | 3.262⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 128th | 3.976⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 249th | 3.488⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 108th | 3.643⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 134th | 3.23⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 257th | 3.244⭐ | 43🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 74🗳️ | 73🗨️ |
@goldenevolution wow! I did manage to squeak out a no-death run once, but i also made it :). Nice job! I had really wanted to mix up the level design more, but i of course ran out of time. I was envisioning a curving mountain range, or even spiraling up a mountain, but of course that didnt happen.
The game is solid and nicely shows a proof of concept for a game mechanic.
Well done!
@delta-key yea, the camera controls are not great. If i get some time for a post-jam version i would like to add mouse controls for true WASD-mouse control, or gamepad controls.
A few notes:
- Having manual camera control or placing it behind and higher up would help with depth perception / knowing how far away the next block is (can I make the jump?). The top-down view trades off being able to see further into the level ahead for more understanding of distance between blocks. Since being able to look ahead does not seem to play as an important role as being able to judge distances, I think the camera should be angled somewhat downward (above and behind the player).
- Another solution to depth issues is to have better lighting with shadows cast from blocks and the player onto other blocks (not just directly below the player (but keep that too)).
- The depth issue is not as big as in other platformers because in this one you can land on the side of a block and climb it, making it more forgiving.
- Since the view is often filled with a block (when climbing it), any texturing on the blocks would have helped me understand how i'm moving up or down when climbing (height perception). Horizontal stripes (slightly darker shade of the color) would perhaps work, although i'm not sure it's the best (would have to test it to know). The particle effect did help though, since I could tell I was sliding down because of it.
- Sometimes the camera would bug out and wiggle back and forth rapidly for a bit at the starting platform (not a big issue / rare).
- Sometimes I would move through the cactus and it would not register the collision (also not a big issue).
Well done.
My biggest gripe is that the four levels felt like the same. I am not sure there is any difference between them, to be honest. Anyway, no big deal, but if the game has multiple levels I expect some variation, even if just increasing difficulty.
But kudos and thanks for making this game!
@caiustsm thanks for the feedback! Camera is a big issue. First thing I want to do in a post jam version is implement some camera controls. I agree that the lighting sucks - the engine I'm using does not have any canned solutions for lighting, and this was the best I could do at this point. Casting shadows from the blocks would really help with depth perception, as would textures. The dust effects, as you noted, were my quick way to indicate contact. Thanks for the tips!
The current camera works pretty good as long as you're just moving forward but a manual camera would definitely be better.
I kind of wish there was more opportunity to climb around things -- Like if there were some walls that extended up into the sky that you had to climb around.
Overall a great jam game though!
The game looks good, controls are steady, and the music doesnt get boring or intrusive.
And I absolutely love the little thumping of the hooves on the ground, there is something about it that makes you wanna run around and hear it over and over.
The climbing is awesome an gives you sometimes a chance to escape after making a mistake.
Solid work, reminds me of the good old games.
I like Jenry's look as well! Maybe such a voxel look would be nice for the pillars as well.
Great entry!

I think that the music should be louder.
It is a bit too quiet relative to the jump sound.
An on-screen indictator pointing to the objective would be nice.
I feel that the jump needs to be higher and go further.
I kept missing jumps because it felt like I would go farther.
The camera tends to take bad angles or positions.
Either too low which makes gauging jumps hard or behind a platform blocking the player's view.
Overall, I think this could turn out to be a fun platformer.
I agree that the camera is not up to the task. It's not horrendous, but it could be better. I'm gonna play with it a bit.
I'm not crazy about the jump arc - it is simultaneously really short but also floaty. Generally, I don't like making giant super Mario jumps in 3d games - I think they are really hard to get right, and it often ends up being really sloppy unless you know exactly what you are doing (and I don't). Still, I would like something that is snappier.
Thanks for giving it a go!
I do wish there was a way to rotate the camera independent of movement, but once you get into the swing of the game the auomatic camera actually seemed to do a good enough job.
Go Jenry!
Although sometimes I feel that randomness played against me I didn't mind giving it another try, because it was very inviting and responsive.
@kumber I really need to texture the blocks or something - its tough to tell where these textureless blocks are.
@binaryprinciple thanks! its not a great randomization algorithm, it can really screw you over pretty often. thanks again!
@kumber I really need to texture the blocks or something - its tough to tell where these textureless blocks are.
@binaryprinciple thanks! its not a great randomization algorithm, it can really screw you over pretty often. thanks again!
Good job!