Celestial Waltz by gasgiant

[raw]
made by gasgiant for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

Celestial Waltz is a meditative game that allows you to explore the beautiful instability of the three-body problem.

Designed and developed by Ivan Pensionerov.

Music: Waltz of the Flowers (by Tchaikovsky)

Ratings

Overall 547th 3.667⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1269th 2.896⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 80th 4.063⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 221th 4.104⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 363th 4.021⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Mood 81th 4.188⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Given 24🗳️ 25🗨️

Feedback

Simon Brecher
04. Oct 2021 · 18:36 UTC
Fits topic well.
SamDemaine
04. Oct 2021 · 19:34 UTC
brilliant name, fits theme pretty well, overall good job!
Furfel
04. Oct 2021 · 19:45 UTC
The three body problem is all in all interesting to be used but this doesn't seem to be a game, rather a toy. What is the objective? What is the goal? But the graphics generated by this a very pretty.
🎤 gasgiant
04. Oct 2021 · 21:41 UTC
@furfel Yeah, it is really more of a toy, than a game. I thought about making a pool game with gravity, but it turned out to be a terrible idea.
glebshik
05. Oct 2021 · 18:11 UTC
Pretty cool! During the game want to get up and start dancing the waltz.
pabulum
06. Oct 2021 · 17:30 UTC
That was beautiful dude. Great job! I could see this combining really well with a music building game where the interactions builds to different sounds. A way to poke the simulation would have been great too like if your mouse had gravity when clicked or something. But super clean and oddly hynotic. Well done.
LDJam user 139668
07. Oct 2021 · 19:48 UTC
beatiful game, but it took me a while to understand that i can't control inside a game
terryg
07. Oct 2021 · 19:49 UTC
It was a very interesting experience. the music fit well with what you are trying to do. Overall it was good.
kyboon
07. Oct 2021 · 19:51 UTC
Very cool idea and interesting take to the theme! This is obviously not a complete game yet, but it totally has the potential to become one, once you added more elements to the game, like a goal, and some other factor.

Here's some of my idea (take it if you like it, ignore it if you don't): the goal can be making two body collide and one survive, or making them not separated too far away for x distance. You can even add some new factors like player-generated gravity, or other celestial body passing by.
MTabasco
07. Oct 2021 · 19:59 UTC
This is just gorgeous. I can't barely imagine the maths behind this, but I'm a huge fan of Cixin Liu's trilogy about the three-body problem and I was familiar with it. The way you portrayed this phenomenon is fantastic and proves you have very good taste. I've sent it to some physician friends already and they like it too! :smile:
rubr
07. Oct 2021 · 22:04 UTC
I somehow made the celestial objects split apart and now I'm sad :c
![unknown.png](///raw/66d/8/z/47c26.png)
Still, absolutely loved it!
TomatoLamp
07. Oct 2021 · 23:08 UTC
I agree with everything said here. Great mood and theme but would benefit from informing the player their calculations are only done before pressing space - an easy thing to miss that might have some people clicking away before seeing your hard work.

Good job finding something so unique to convey and executing it so cleanly!
NiceKot
09. Oct 2021 · 23:54 UTC
Wonderful job. Great music choice and great take on the theme. I like this a lot.
sakura_magika
09. Oct 2021 · 23:59 UTC
it's always nice to listen to some tchaikovsky, and it really fit with what you're going for here!

at first it was really beautiful watching the orbs weave in and out, but unfortunately, i never got a sense for how my inputs were effecting the game; i never had a sense of control. eventually, my orbs just drifted apart, and i was sad.

is this just a simulation, or is there actually a goal, like, don't let them crash together, or don't let them drift apart?
LDJam user 246128
10. Oct 2021 · 21:19 UTC
Cool idea with nice implementation. Although I think for the sake of "meditative gameplay" something should be done about how easy it's for them to split apart and never meet again. Like, they don't seem to gain infinite speed, yet they seem to never stop, I'm not sure how it works behind the scene.
rubenwardy
13. Oct 2021 · 20:30 UTC
As someone interested in space, I love this a lot. The graphics are nice
Jeff Kerman
17. Oct 2021 · 10:06 UTC
Really nice experience. I am interested in how you draw the predicted path of the objects at the start. We also set our game in space and played with unstable orbits but didn't have time to do predicted paths.
benskca
21. Oct 2021 · 00:41 UTC
The design is very elegant and makes for a really pleasant and relaxing experience, and I think you managed to display a lot of information in a very clear and intuitive format - its always nice when a game feels so natural it needs little to no instruction. I think it could be fun if you allowed the player to vary the masses of the bodies, as it would let you see the cool behaviour that comes out of the restricted 3 body problem in particular (like the chaotic orbits of a planet orbiting a binary star). Really great job! :smile:
vivyhasadream
21. Oct 2021 · 04:44 UTC
it's very entertaining to watch the balls moving. and it shows the three body problem in a visual way very well, and fits the waltz!
thanks for bringing up this beautiful art.