Experiment #56 by ildfuglen

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

You are Experiment #56, a seemingly innocent hamster in an underground volcanic laboratory, whose purpose is to generate power for the evil scientists. However, it seems the wheel you've been running in is about to come loose.. perhaps you can escape?

How to Play

  • W/A/S/D or Left Stick - Accelerate Up/Down/Left/Right

  • Space or Controller South (Xbox A) - Grapple

  • R or Left Bumper - Restart From Last Checkpoint

  • Escape or Controller East (Xbox B) - Exit Game

Escape the laboratory! BreakFree.gif

Swing across obstacles! Swing.gif

And avoid the lava... Lava.gif

Thank you for playing!

Ratings

Overall 108th 3.848⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Fun 51th 3.985⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 124th 3.758⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 477th 2.803⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 103th 3.909⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Mood 241th 3.3⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Given 25🗳️ 38🗨️

Feedback

HolyBlackCat
04. Oct 2021 · 11:48 UTC
Nice game! Liked the grapple playground at the end. The energy system felt a bit weird.
SternGames
04. Oct 2021 · 11:55 UTC
hard as hell but cool 4/5
Biped Potato
04. Oct 2021 · 12:00 UTC
really cool game the physics really make it fun!
Biped Potato
04. Oct 2021 · 12:03 UTC
still feels a bit unrealistic though that i can do this. you dont need to make the hitboxes smaller for this game as if you fall you're most likely going to die anyway lol.
![Untitled.png](///raw/880/f3/z/44996.png)
Faux_Grey
04. Oct 2021 · 12:32 UTC
This is both fun and funny.
Poor lil hamster
squimmy
04. Oct 2021 · 13:46 UTC
Funny, cute and interesting.

It took me a little while to get my head around how the controls work, but once I did, they felt intuitive and responsive.
gamepopper
04. Oct 2021 · 16:11 UTC
Really enjoyed the challenge with this one, the rope physics were really good as it felt easy to carry momentum between platforms. I can understand why you can't rate audio but it felt odd having zero audio in the game.
RatoGodoy
04. Oct 2021 · 19:00 UTC
loved this game, i played this with my friends and we laughed a lot, it was lots of fun, i did get stuck into some parts but it was no biggie, the rope system added great depth to the gameplay
silkworm_sweatshop
04. Oct 2021 · 19:17 UTC
Fun! I'm a sucker for grapple mechanics. Nice art, definitely wish there was audio though, even simple things for feedback.
Mathiouza
04. Oct 2021 · 23:46 UTC
Really cool! I don't know if it was intended, but it is possible to skip some parts of the level. Like I was able to make that looping and I saw that an other part was open so I did that instead ahah x)

And the art is great!

Great work!
RumiaObsessed
05. Oct 2021 · 01:28 UTC
Interesting booster mechanic, though it isn't very intuitive. I ended up getting stuck in many places without any way to build meter. Good game overall!
potkirland
05. Oct 2021 · 02:20 UTC
good and innovative mechanics. really neat graphics. it looks really cool. overall a great game just a bit too difficult.
Beck Haywood
05. Oct 2021 · 03:01 UTC
I love the dynamics of this game, I think it had a perfect difficulty it was hard while you were learning the physics but then you got to show off you knowledge later on in the levels 5 stars!!
CodeRaurus
05. Oct 2021 · 07:24 UTC
1st try: I couldn't start the game by pressing space (A) in the menu, even though instructions tell you so.
Maybe I didn't understand something, but I wasn't able to get moving from start. At all. I noticed the wheel turning red, but nothing happened when the wheel was full. I expected it to launch me off. I tried grappling as well, but that didn't work.

2nd try: Okay, I tried using controllers and now I got to actually play the game, awesome! The game has nice mechanics and I really enjoyed the momentum. I don't really see the theme, though. Maybe it's just me. I would highly recommend double checking the keyboard controls.
zimny11
05. Oct 2021 · 11:48 UTC
Nice game. The hook mechanic is a little wacky at times, but nothing game breaking. I guess the A and B buttons at menu are for controller, but I got confused for a second that after pressing A on the keyboard, nothing happened. I like the graphic design and the game concept. Good job!
mhorth
09. Oct 2021 · 21:12 UTC
Oooh this was fun! I really like the playground at the end, I will remember that idea for the future. You have players practice mechanics to get through the level, and then (assuming the mechanics are fun like yours), they'll want to just keep playing with them in a sandbox. Really neat.

Literally the only thing I can complain about was that you could swing into the ledge that you're supposed to get to, but if you're too low in the swing, it's just over. Didn't cause too much trouble since you have checkpoints (nice) and I could just keep my pivot points in mind for the next run. But I'd be curious if it would improve the game feel if you could "mantle" edges that you are right below.

Nice job!
etrealjunior
10. Oct 2021 · 14:47 UTC
Congratulations for the game, it's a lot of fun and the mechanics are very nice, the art for post jam can evolve, to become a commercial game, the idea is good even though it's not innovative, but it has an extremely charismatic character, he's the key point of your game, I hope I have helped, if you can also give feedback on my game I will be very happy, a big hug.
Alexthehuman2
10. Oct 2021 · 16:26 UTC
Really enjoyable game, the physics are interesting enough for the immersion of it, like getting enough velocity to flip around a normally undoable obstacle. The Artstyle compliments it further with the theme of the hamster going into a "volcanic" laboratory filled with "lava" that acts as part of the obstacle. A very well polished game, good job!
yikescloud
10. Oct 2021 · 16:44 UTC
Very enjoyable game, the hamster is so cute! A sonic and spiderman combine, very clever and neat mechanic. Your game graphic is very nice too.
Untitled Studios
10. Oct 2021 · 16:58 UTC
Saw this game on alex's stream- it's super fun. Well designed, great mechanics. It's visually cohesive, and generally feels very polished. It could use a wider camera view or tighter levels designed around the lack of visual information (the caution signs do wonders, but there's room for more)

4.5/5 fun, 4/5 overall, great job!
gimbalock
10. Oct 2021 · 17:09 UTC
Great game. Usually I find these kind of platformers to difficult to control, but you managed to find a nice balance. The artwork looks good aswell. Good entry!
JoeShanahan
10. Oct 2021 · 18:12 UTC
I love any game that manages to replicate the feeling of swinging on the ninja-ropes in Worms Armageddon, the momentum in this felt really great! The postjam stuff was too hard for me, but overall I really liked this game!
RookRules
10. Oct 2021 · 22:26 UTC
love the physics, grappling for the win
elysiagriffin
11. Oct 2021 · 14:27 UTC
Hi there! Thanks for submitting your game for me to play live during my Twitch stream!

If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1173664587?t=2h15m27s

Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady

https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
BluishGreenPro
11. Oct 2021 · 21:15 UTC
Making difficult games is always a fine balance; if possible, try to reduce the "iteration time" (the time it takes to attempt a challenge again). The faster you can get back to a point in the game where you failed so that you can give it another try, the better.
pfs
12. Oct 2021 · 21:27 UTC
You started with a good idea with great potential to make a fun game yet you didn't really focus on the hamster movement mechanic. Instead you added the hooks which are a completely different mechanic and steal the focus from the hamster. I think you should have focused on the hamster movement and created a few tricky levels where you balanced the hamster in challenging environments.

The art, especially the hamster was great and even though I criticized the hook mechanic it was actually well implemented and fun.
necauqua
12. Oct 2021 · 21:32 UTC
Wohoo, I liked the gameplay although it took time to not suck - agree with the above comment about reiteration :)

Really nice art too!

Also tip of the hat for the Linux build
johnnysix
12. Oct 2021 · 22:23 UTC
I struggled with a couple of challenging hills, but this has lots of scope for more puzzles etc, especially with boosts to the rocket power / the grappler. Maybe some kind of trampoline/ springs too.
xpoho
13. Oct 2021 · 06:26 UTC
Хомяк, беги! Беги как можно быстрее!

Спасибо за игру ^_^
llaumegui
13. Oct 2021 · 07:51 UTC
A bit challenging and you don't always know if you can use your hook but overall it was really cool
BougieBirdie
15. Oct 2021 · 01:36 UTC
Thanks for sending your game to my stream! I really enjoyed it :heart: :mouse: :heart:

Loved the grappling hook mechanic, it was just such a delight when you get the hang of it and, dare I say, get into the swing of things. I would love to see where else you go with this game, and I can't wait for the sequel where I get to bust my hamster pal out to go frolic in the happy meadow.
LDJQ
16. Oct 2021 · 03:05 UTC
The grapple mechanic is super fun to use!

Obviously music and sound effects would make the game better, so more useful feedback would be that I found the in-game instructions hard to understand.

*Thank you for the Linux build by the way.*
HacksawUnit
17. Oct 2021 · 20:29 UTC
Lots of great feedback here already! I'll just say I loved the feel of the grapple, just wish I could have used it in more places, even if not really 'needed' by gameplay. Although, knowing where grapple is possible does help 'signpost' where it's needed to progress. Anyway, great gamefeel, some nice polish- and like others have noted, a little audio would have done a lot. Overall, awesome entry!