Cave companion by Josh Bothun

[raw]
made by Josh Bothun for Ludum Dare 50 (COMPO)

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Game description

Having fallen into a hole and gotten lost in a cave, you meet an unlikely companion. Work together to try to escape the cave!

Controls: Move with WASD, hold an item with E, number keys to issue commands.

Developer notes

While I was initially working towards an ending based on the theme, time got away from me as often does with LD! Thus I've opted out of the theme category for judging, thanks for your understanding and thank you for playing!

Ratings

Overall 75th 3.905⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 259th 3.455⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 248th 3.432⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 124th 3.955⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 67th 3.857⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 14th 4.25⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 24🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 278827
04. Apr 2022 · 02:57 UTC
Really cool little world to run around in!
I love my golem bff.
The puzzles themselves were a bit simplistic but it was neat just running around
Aarimous
04. Apr 2022 · 03:23 UTC
I really like the atmosphere you were able to build here. I think this has the start of a cool project. The sound design was amazing. Had some Journey vibes (game not artist).
I named the Golem Gary.
leviathon
04. Apr 2022 · 08:58 UTC
i really love the way the player interacts and creates a bond with the rock golem. i felt a connection through this game. the lighting is really well done i know it can be tricky getting the right brightness in a cave and still show the level and obstacles. im a massive fan of low poly art style it would be great to see some embers/particles coming out of the torch as it was a key part of the game. i noticed i didnt have enough time to read some of the early tutorial prompts but still understood the general idea. i thought the puzzles were at the perfect level of difficulty and were creative and engaging. this game plays smooth as butter the character controls feel like they've been worked on for a month and just feel great
JCMonkey
04. Apr 2022 · 23:04 UTC
the one thing i noticed is that the pathing of the golem from far gets bugged. and if your too close and call the golem and walk away the golem doesnt follow, then call the golem again, and it walks a little bit, then call, then walk a little bit. my golem kept getting hit by the rocks. with better golem controls this could be fun.
Smash City
05. Apr 2022 · 04:56 UTC
Wow this is a real game! Pretty cool. I liked the atmosphere a lot. One piece of feedback: definitely turn down the volume on the footsteps and maybe add a little pitch/volume variation on them while you're at it to make them sound more natural.
Jupiter_Hadley
05. Apr 2022 · 11:26 UTC
This is so cute! I included it in my Ludum Dare compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/hRXrVepHVBk
marcmagus
06. Apr 2022 · 14:04 UTC
Thanks for bringing your game by my stream for feedback! If you’d like to revisit the play and commentary you can view the highlight at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1447203096

The atmosphere was lovely and I enjoyed the "work with your friend" approach.

As we talked about, I loved the attempt at having the golem perform complex actions, I only wished they were better communicated to the player especially when happening off-screen. It occurs to me that a solution I've seen in other games (like Sims) is to have something like a thought-bubble with a symbol that would indicate what the golem is up to, and it might be ok to have something like that on screen-edge to imply that even when they're out of view you can tell what they're doing.
velvetlobster
06. Apr 2022 · 16:53 UTC
I love the windy sound effects and the feeling of isolation like Limbo.
the puzzle aspect of it got me thinking a bit. The light effects make me remember of those atmospheric games where you character is very small in the middle, there is one specific I cant remember the name tho.
Tulio
07. Apr 2022 · 07:55 UTC
This game is great! Congratulations! I love the audio and the concept!
JavaSaurus
07. Apr 2022 · 20:04 UTC
This game is put together very nicely, especially in such a short timeframe. I love the idea of having a creature companion, to gain its trust to solve logical puzzles. Very well done ! Seems like quite the challenge to have coded this in a single jam. Impressive ! Thank you for submitting.
Steve7411
07. Apr 2022 · 20:19 UTC
I love the flat shading and environment design. This is a great introduction to a potentially larger game
Kaldrin
07. Apr 2022 · 20:49 UTC
The golem is cute
The audio and mood are there
But the controls and mechanics feel quite rigid
It was still nice, congrats :)
LDJam user 76491
08. Apr 2022 · 00:31 UTC
Got to the end! I think this idea has some real potential, and the visuals are pretty nice. Though the controls are a bit rigid, the camera is on point, and the golem is adorable. Well done!

![cavecompanion.png](///raw/bca/21/z/4d79e.png)
unpronounceable
08. Apr 2022 · 00:33 UTC
Enjoyed this a lot. Was a bit sad to see it end. Was worried you'd kill off the the golem somewhere in the story, so I'm glad it survived until the end.
Andreia
08. Apr 2022 · 04:07 UTC
I really liked exploring the dungeon with the golem :) The characters and level art were very nice. Great work!
CharQ
11. Apr 2022 · 03:26 UTC
The game was cute and heartwarming =) It was fun to explore the caves with Rocky (I named my golem companion). Definitely nice to be able to play a co-op game by myself.

Thank you for sharing your game on my Twitch stream (MsMiaChar). Please check out my feedback at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1447734991?t=02h03m25s