The Penguins Below by michaelaranda

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

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The penguins have embarked on a dangerous mission to transport a ton of fish through enemy territory. Will your steady hand guide their submarine safely around mines and depth charges, or will the penguins be ended by what they love?

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Ratings

Overall 95th 4.116⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Fun 245th 3.884⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 33th 4.233⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Theme 19th 4.536⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 274th 4.163⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Audio 91th 4.107⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Humor 123th 3.988⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Mood 176th 4.012⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Given 77🗳️ 74🗨️

Feedback

zapdos2
04. Oct 2021 · 22:47 UTC
Great theme, graphics and audio. Works very nicely together. Also love the squashed penguins, nice touch! :)
Gameplay-wise it's kind of frustrating to control, so not really that fun to play, but that's almost the point of the theme this time, I guess. :P
nopogo
05. Oct 2021 · 10:18 UTC
136 was my best distance, I love how the ballast doesn't exactly match so keeping it steady is always tricky. Very addictive gameplay, cute art, love the use of the theme!
shmador
05. Oct 2021 · 10:21 UTC
Very nice game, cool graphics and mechanics, really well done. my score 312
madjackmcmad
05. Oct 2021 · 15:39 UTC
I am not a very good penguin captain. But this is an enjoyable game even if it frustrating, the true spirit of QWOP. Great work. Also, very good submarine audio.
The Enigma
06. Oct 2021 · 20:01 UTC
Super neat game. Love the cartoony graphics and it fits the theme really well. Good job!

The addition of the box adds so much to it as well, that is a galaxy brain move.
KuKuRammus
06. Oct 2021 · 20:02 UTC
That was SUPER fun, one of the best games I've played during this event! Sound design adds so much, great job guys! :thumbsup:
essarrgee
06. Oct 2021 · 20:02 UTC
Very cool game idea! The game is pretty difficult to get used to and I wasn't able to make it far, but I still enjoyed it! The art and the sounds were really nice too!
kingslee142
06. Oct 2021 · 20:02 UTC
Really nice game, I like the graphic. You nailed it with the sounds really suits to the overall vibe Its quite fun to play. Well done!
Copito
06. Oct 2021 · 20:07 UTC
top marks in humour since I laughed out loud when I realized I couldn't control the sub anymore because the driving penguin had been squashed by a box. It was total genius to put that there
PanWezio
06. Oct 2021 · 20:16 UTC
Nice job! Very fun to play. The squeak sound of smashed pinguin does the job right ^^
Spidd
07. Oct 2021 · 12:58 UTC
Simple yet very clever idea, also great art style. Good job! :)
TheGamerASD
07. Oct 2021 · 13:01 UTC
Really cool game, I love the idea and graphics.
PowerAnze
07. Oct 2021 · 13:02 UTC
Oh wow, I am bad at coordinating my fingers for this game. The visuals and audio work well together. You mended a oppressing atmosphere perfectly with the absurd penguin crew and I love it. Especially the little squeak when one of the penguing *accidently* gets crushed.
digitaldude555
07. Oct 2021 · 13:21 UTC
Very interesting concept and you did well with the theme, I never could quite grasp it and didnt progress far into the game.
Antrimplato
07. Oct 2021 · 15:45 UTC
Cool idea, simple and fun gameplay, nice job!
LDJam user 261208
07. Oct 2021 · 16:04 UTC
The artstyle is awesome man! Good job! Also the theme was really well used there!
I loved it
Surfa
07. Oct 2021 · 20:45 UTC
Nice idea, quite difficult and a little frustrating to control. The penguins are super cute so sad when you accidentally squish them. Art style was interesting and sounds were good. Some creepy music could have added to the ambience. Very impressive game for the time limit. Feels a lot more polished then some entries (include my own).
LuhUchiha
07. Oct 2021 · 22:27 UTC
Very interesting mechanics. Frustrating until you get at least a little bit used the controls, but very interesting: good work!
Fluorescent
08. Oct 2021 · 00:30 UTC
It is super fun and came out to be VERY hard to control, but in a great intentional way ;) Poor little penguins smashed by the crate make me sad...
From the technical perspective, it all seems sound. I would add restart for space or smth, as after using 2 hands with the keyboard reaching for the mouse is depressing.

You know the game is good when the only thing that springs to mind in terms of suggestions is to get a different key bind for an action!
Sestren
08. Oct 2021 · 00:50 UTC
Everything about this game is top notch! The sound is very atmospheric, the graphics are well done and cute. The little details are amazing, and the gameplay is challenging but well done! Perfect fir for the theme, as well. My high score was 220, but I feel like I can do better, now that I'm getting the hang of it.
LDJam user 156819
08. Oct 2021 · 01:46 UTC
Super cool idea with the controls in this game. It's less about tight timings and narrow targets and more forces you to think about your moves and exactly how much water should be in your ballast reservoirs. I fumbled with the controls a bit, cause my instinct was telling me [Q] and [P] were "up", but they weren't "up" in terms of submarine movement, so it tripped me up a few times. Very neatly put together, awesome vibe.
MrTroy
08. Oct 2021 · 04:15 UTC
Made it to 193! I refused to give up!
FrankieWhispers
11. Oct 2021 · 05:40 UTC
Amazing idea and fun. Way to go on adding losing one or both penguins with a crate when unbalanced.
potkirland
11. Oct 2021 · 17:52 UTC
i think this game is pretty fun and easy to enjoy but hard to master. i believe it can be mastered. it is all intuitive and fluid! :thumbsup:

- it felt like the back side water tank had more levels than the front one so it confused to adjust them to equalibrium. i dunno why it might be visuals or it might be physics. but that kinda prevented me from controlling it.
Webox
11. Oct 2021 · 18:39 UTC
This is great, super fun game, loved the idea it's amazingly original!! Art and sound desing are also awesome. Great entry, I see this on the top
Puebebe
11. Oct 2021 · 23:43 UTC
Graphics are pleasing to the eyes and audio is pleasing to ears, together form good mood.

After 5 minutes I used to controls and got how to steer submarine gently.

There is fun in playing The Penguins Below, but cause of only endless mode, after few minutes, sligth boredom appears.

Overall cool game ;)

![ludumdare396.png](///raw/aa2/21/z/4812a.png)
BougieBirdie
12. Oct 2021 · 18:05 UTC
I love the hand-drawn look of everything.

It was quite frustrating when I murdered one of my penguins and couldn't control that ballast anymore, but at the same time that seems totally fair since I... murdered the operator.

Very fun game!