Charon by EthanKessler

[raw]
made by EthanKessler for Ludum Dare 49 (COMPO)

A game about an old man and his boat. As you drift through the endless abyss, you use whatever you can find around you to steer your boat away from the rocks. Keep the furnace fuelled with the debris you find and see how far you can get!

s3.png In the game you do all you can to steer clear from the rocks using the barrels you find around you

s1.png You're tethered to the belt of floating debris near the centre rocks so that you can fuel the furnace powering the boat

s2.png

s4.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5gkygIh-3M

See how far you can get!

Ratings

Overall 397th 3.212⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 514th 2.538⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 150th 3.692⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Theme 203th 3.769⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 219th 3.596⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 327th 2.94⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 85th 3.731⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 32🗳️ 31🗨️

Feedback

🎤 EthanKessler
03. Oct 2021 · 15:41 UTC
Thank you so much for stopping bye :D
bluemaus
04. Oct 2021 · 02:40 UTC
Cool atmospheric game. I like the music and the graphics, the steering of the ship is really innovative. I had a hard time putting the barrels down without them rolling away lol
Lovor
04. Oct 2021 · 18:03 UTC
Yes this very atmospheric game. But have some issue: very need pause, lose by nothing, lose if geneartion bad. Overall game cool.
jka
04. Oct 2021 · 18:06 UTC
Cool concept, though I was a bit confused on how to play. I didn't really a lot of barrels to steer with, it seems. Maybe I just did something wrong though. :sweat_smile: The artwork is awesome, as is the music!
robert18
04. Oct 2021 · 18:07 UTC
Fun game, really unique as well! was difficult getting the barrels to stay on the ship
Pincushion
04. Oct 2021 · 18:18 UTC
Beautiful start screen and music. Cool idea. I had a hard time getting and managing barrels. The balancing act was fun, but tough. They're pretty... unstable. I kept jumping off the boat reaching for falling barrels. It might benefit from providing more barrels at the beginning to ease the player into it.
🎤 EthanKessler
04. Oct 2021 · 18:24 UTC
@pincushion Thank you so much for playing. It really means a lot to get this kind of feedback from people playing the game. More barrels at the start is definitely a good idea haha, and I plan to expand the game a bit so that its not just barrels and lots more debris from other ships floating around :D
TomBuston
04. Oct 2021 · 21:19 UTC
Nice game!

The indirect control of the boat is a great idea

As said above, more barrels could be useful. I could see them flying above me c but couldn't understand how to reach them. Using them both as a steering device and as fuel is a good idea though!
pdotjpg
04. Oct 2021 · 21:36 UTC
Love the atmosphere and the idea! Using weights to steer your ship is a really cool mechanic. Execution could use work. I found the game really difficult. The barrels are quite rare, and once you get hold of one, they're very unruly. Easy to lose one overboard. I'd add railings to the ship - feels like the game would still be difficult enough.
PKZinpo
05. Oct 2021 · 04:03 UTC
Using weighted objects to steer and maneuver a ship is actually a really cool idea! I also really like the ambience and the looks are very clean. Personally, I think that it was quite easy to lose a barrel from it rolling off the ship haha, so the gameplay itself was kind of difficult. Overall though, I really liked it, and it was a great job!
FaberNull
05. Oct 2021 · 05:11 UTC
Nooo come back barrel.

Really good usage of the theme. I like the setting as well, it really makes me want a Far:Lone Sails style game set on a boat like this. Great work :D
🎤 EthanKessler
05. Oct 2021 · 05:58 UTC
Thank you all so much for playing. The feedback is really helpful and I'll be sure to adjust the game in the future accordingly :D
reccy
05. Oct 2021 · 19:14 UTC
Nice work, this is a super unique idea! I really like games that play around with movement or controlling vehicles in this sort of way, so I definitely think this idea could be expanded upon. I think having an easier way to stow the barrels would be nice since it's way too easy to lose the barrels.
Alex Chertilin
06. Oct 2021 · 18:30 UTC
I like the experience, pretty innovate ang good theming
freeworld
06. Oct 2021 · 18:31 UTC
Great style, models, music and mood! I also like the idea for the gameplay, unfortunately I was struggling to get enough barrels for fuel and steering most of the time - and the rocks are big and hard to dodge :P

I liked being able to run around on the boat and look around, definitely interesting to have this in first person view.

Good job!
SleepyStudios
06. Oct 2021 · 18:42 UTC
I liked the game, I thought you explained most mechanics really well in the tutorial and the gameplay made sense but watching your gameplay video you somehow got multiple barrels? Wasn't really clear on how to get more than the one so I could only survive for a short amount of time. Nice work though!
🎤 EthanKessler
06. Oct 2021 · 18:51 UTC
@sleepystudios The barrels would drop directly down onto the boat when you steered under them :D I probably should have done a few more illustrations to better explain that :sweat_smile:
@alex-chertilin & @freeworld thank you all so much for playing and the feedback is really valued.
Betamorfosis
06. Oct 2021 · 19:11 UTC
The mood of this game is really good, just the right sounds at the right timing. Took me a second to get used to the gameplay but the tutorial helped. Still not that easy ahah. Overall good experience :).
LDJam user 265725
08. Oct 2021 · 10:15 UTC
Nice game which fits the theme really well and where I enjoyed the atmosphere. Steering the boat with weighted objets could be a nice mechanic but I didn't enjoyed it that much.

I think it's because you linked two objectives to the same mechanic which rely to randomness (to be clear, it's not by nature bad but it's really much harder to balance). For instance, a barrel serve as fuel AND as a way to steer the boat, meaning that all of a sudden the furnace can use a barrel you were using to control the boat. In the same way, you have to steer the boat to avoid floating rocks AND to collect barrels. So sometimes, you need a barrel to keep the furnace burning but getting it will throw you to the rocks.

Here's the leads I'd follow :
- Get three zone to stock objects, where they couldn't escape (seing your barrels rolling overboard is kinda frustrating). Right and left zone would serve to steer, middle zone as the primary reserve for the furnace.
- A grapling to get more easily objects floating around.
- New types of objects. At least one which cannot be used by the furnace so you'll be sure it didn't disapear.
- An evolution of the steering according to the weight : the more it weight, the more you steer (maybe it's already the case, I just wasn't able to be sure).
- Maybe use the player as the weight himself.

At the end of the day, just my cents, hope it could help your reflection.
Itzemii
09. Oct 2021 · 16:27 UTC
I love the atmosphere and the game idea.
Unfortunately I had a hard time getting any barrels. They were in the air and I clicked them and nothing happened. Then some times another felt on my ship, I was able to move. Then one exploded when landing on the deck. I did not get it.
Even I really like the idea and the mood of your game!
🎤 EthanKessler
09. Oct 2021 · 17:14 UTC
@itzemii thank you so much for playing :D The barrels will drop whenever the boat is directly underneath them. I ran out of time to properly telegraph the engine's mechanics, but essentially the furnace behind you always needs barrels for fuel, and the barrels "exploding" / disappearing occurs when the furnace is replenished. There was an audio effect to show what was happening but it seems to have broken :sweat_smile: Nonetheless thank you! I worked really hard to get a good atmosphere, so I'm glad you enjoyed it :D
Piper Thompson
10. Oct 2021 · 20:59 UTC
didn't really get the concept of the gameplay, but loved the overall atmosphere, and how the notion of unstablenes was conveyed through graphics and controlls! Great artstyle and Mood! I am impressed
lesinvisible
10. Oct 2021 · 21:07 UTC
The game has fantastic mood and feel to it! The gameplay is a bit confusing, but the main point for me here was the atmosphere.
coolestdoggie
16. Oct 2021 · 14:59 UTC
Thanks for the experience! It was incredible! I love the skybox!
M2tias
21. Oct 2021 · 18:50 UTC
Pretty cool aesthetic. I bet 24 hours (jam) would have made it so much better. I'm not sure if the boat was supposed to look like that or if it was rushed, but handrails would have been nice. I was afraid I'll drop. The game had a nice calm atmosphere, but the gameplay was chaotic and panicked. I wish it would have been slower or completely different, so I could have enjoyed the experience calmly. Well done!