{"author_link":"\/users\/josh-bothun","author_name":"Josh Bothun","author_uid":1027741,"comments":[{"id":774719,"author_name":"LDJam user 278827","author_uid":"278827","epoch":1649041058,"text":"Really cool little world to run around in!\nI love my golem bff.\nThe puzzles themselves were a bit simplistic but it was neat just running around","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":774771,"author_name":"Aarimous","author_uid":"aarimous","epoch":1649042587,"text":"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).\nI named the Golem Gary.","format":"md","likes":2,"spam":"N"},{"id":775574,"author_name":"leviathon","author_uid":"leviathon","epoch":1649062712,"text":"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","format":"md","likes":2,"spam":"N"},{"id":781055,"author_name":"JCMonkey","author_uid":"jcmonkey","epoch":1649113492,"text":"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.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":784757,"author_name":"Smash City","author_uid":"smash-city","epoch":1649134569,"text":"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.","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":787740,"author_name":"Jupiter_Hadley","author_uid":"jupiter-hadley","epoch":1649157964,"text":"This is so cute! I included it in my Ludum Dare compilation video series, if you\u2019d like to take a look. :) https:\/\/youtu.be\/hRXrVepHVBk","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":802272,"author_name":"marcmagus","author_uid":"marcmagus","epoch":1649253890,"text":"Thanks for bringing your game by my stream for feedback! If you\u2019d like to revisit the play and commentary you can view the highlight at https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/videos\/1447203096\n\nThe atmosphere was lovely and I enjoyed the \"work with your friend\" approach.\n\nAs 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.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":803454,"author_name":"velvetlobster","author_uid":"velvetlobster","epoch":1649263981,"text":"I love the windy sound effects and the feeling of isolation like Limbo.\nthe 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.","format":"md","likes":1,"spam":"N"},{"id":808853,"author_name":"Tulio","author_uid":"tulio","epoch":1649318124,"text":"This game is great! Congratulations! I love the audio and the concept!","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":812065,"author_name":"JavaSaurus","author_uid":"javasaurus","epoch":1649361894,"text":"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.","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":812171,"author_name":"Steve7411","author_uid":"steve7411","epoch":1649362775,"text":"I love the flat shading and environment design. This is a great introduction to a potentially larger game","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":812368,"author_name":"Kaldrin","author_uid":"kaldrin","epoch":1649364540,"text":"The golem is cute\nThe audio and mood are there\nBut the controls and mechanics feel quite rigid\nIt was still nice, congrats :)","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":813296,"author_name":"LDJam user 76491","author_uid":"76491","epoch":1649377889,"text":"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!\n\n![cavecompanion.png](\/\/\/raw\/bca\/21\/z\/4d79e.png)","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":813303,"author_name":"unpronounceable","author_uid":"unpronounceable","epoch":1649377998,"text":"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.","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":813876,"author_name":"Andreia","author_uid":"andreia","epoch":1649390836,"text":"I really liked exploring the dungeon with the golem :) The characters and level art were very nice. Great work!","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"},{"id":824100,"author_name":"CharQ","author_uid":"charq","epoch":1649647598,"text":"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.\n\nThank you for sharing your game on my Twitch stream (MsMiaChar).  Please check out my feedback at https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/videos\/1447734991?t=02h03m25s","format":"md","likes":0,"spam":"N"}],"format":"md","images":["ldjam-media\/sha256\/fc\/fc0a9593a924091256c037108e9f33d3d37137175d04f9048c42fb9f91eff95e.png"],"links":[{"url":"https:\/\/minornine.com\/games\/ld50\/CaveCompanion-win64.zip","text":"Windows (Recommended)"},{"url":"https:\/\/minornine.com\/games\/ld50\/ld50-src.zip","text":"Link"},{"url":"https:\/\/joshbothun.itch.io\/cave-companion","text":"Web (Worse Colors)"}],"metadata":{"g_key":"82479","g_author":"1027741","g_event":"LD50","g_eventkey":"110","g_subevent":"COMPO","g_urlkey":"387270","g_title":"Cave companion","g_status":"WAYBACK","g_place":"75","g_commentcount":"16","g_site2_node_id":"283518","g_hide":"N","g_has_icon":"Y","g_rqueue":"0","g_random":"0"},"nds":{"n_key":"283518","n_urlkey":"387270","n_parent":"276397","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/50\/cave-companion","n_slug":"cave-companion","n_type":"item","n_subtype":"game","n_subsubtype":"compo","n_author":"27741","n_created":"1648834855","n_modified":"1768677437","n_version":"884559","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD50","removed_author":false},"_superparent":9,"_trust":3,"author":27741,"body":"![ld50-2.PNG](\/\/\/raw\/d5c\/6\/z\/49e80.png)\n\n# Game description\n\nHaving fallen into a hole and gotten lost in a cave, you meet an unlikely companion. Work together to try to escape the cave!\n\n**Controls**: Move with WASD, hold an item with E, number keys to issue commands.\n\n# Developer notes\n\nWhile 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!\n","comments":16,"comments-timestamp":"2022-04-11T03:26:38Z","created":"2022-04-01T17:40:55Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"grade":{"grade-01":23,"grade-02":24,"grade-03":24,"grade-05":24,"grade-06":23,"grade-08":24},"id":283518,"love":0,"magic":{"cool":124.58887614752,"feedback":24,"given":26,"grade":23.666666666667,"grade-01-average":3.905,"grade-01-result":75,"grade-02-average":3.455,"grade-02-result":259,"grade-03-average":3.432,"grade-03-result":248,"grade-05-average":3.955,"grade-05-result":124,"grade-06-average":3.857,"grade-06-result":67,"grade-08-average":4.25,"grade-08-result":14,"smart":2.5645188136742},"meta":{"author":[27741],"cover":"\/\/\/content\/d5c\/6\/z\/49e81.png","grade-04-out":"1","grade-07-out":"1","link-01":"https:\/\/minornine.com\/games\/ld50\/CaveCompanion-win64.zip","link-01-name":"Windows (Recommended)","link-01-tag":[42337],"link-02":"https:\/\/minornine.com\/games\/ld50\/ld50-src.zip","link-02-tag":[42332],"link-03":"https:\/\/joshbothun.itch.io\/cave-companion","link-03-name":"Web (Worse Colors)","link-03-tag":[42336]},"meta-timestamp":"2026-01-17T19:17:17Z","modified":"2026-01-17T19:17:17Z","name":"Cave companion","node-timestamp":"2022-04-04T20:03:47Z","parent":276397,"parents":[1,5,9,276397],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/50\/cave-companion","published":"2022-04-04T00:31:33Z","scope":"public","slug":"cave-companion","subsubtype":"compo","subtype":"game","type":"item","version":884559},"text":"![ld50-2.PNG](\/\/\/raw\/d5c\/6\/z\/49e80.png)\n\n# Game description\n\nHaving fallen into a hole and gotten lost in a cave, you meet an unlikely companion. Work together to try to escape the cave!\n\n**Controls**: Move with WASD, hold an item with E, number keys to issue commands.\n\n# Developer notes\n\nWhile 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!\n","title":"Cave companion","wayback_recovered":true,"wayback_source":{"capture":{"original":"https:\/\/api-jam.ludumdare.com\/vx\/node2\/get\/284001+284002+284003+284004+284005+284006+284007+284008+284009+284010+284011+284012+284013+284014+284015+284016+284017+284018+284019+284020+284021+284022+284023+284024+284025+284026+284027+284028+284029+284030+284031+284032+284033+284034+284035+284036+284037+284038+284039+284040+284041+284042+284043+284044+284045+284046+284047+284048+284049+284050+284051+284052+284053+284054+284055+284056+284057+284058+284059+284060+284061+284062+284063+284064+284065+284066+284067+284068+284069+284070+284071+284072+284073+284074+284075+284076+284077+284078+284079+284080+284081+284082+284083+284084+284085+284086+284087+284088+284089+284090+284091+284092+284093+284094+284095+284096+284097+284098+284099+284100+284101+284102+284103+284104+284105+284106+284107+284108+284109+284110+284111+284112+284113+284114+284115+284116+284117+284118+284119+284120+284121+284122+284123+284124+284125+284126+284127+284128+284129+284130+284131+284132+284133+284134+284135+284136+284137+284138+284139+284140+284141+284142+284143+284144+284145+284146+284147+284148+284149+284150+284151+284152+284153+284154+284155+284156+284157+284158+284159+284160+284161+284162+284163+284164+284165+284166+284167+284168+284169+284170+284171+284172+284173+284174+284175+284176+284177+284178+284179+284180+284181+284182+284183+284184+284185+284186+284187+284188+284189+284190+284191+284192+284193+284194+284195+284196+284197+284198+284199+284200+284201+284202+284203+284204+284205+284206+284207+284208+284209+284210+284211+284212+284213+284214+284215+284216+284217+284218+284219+284220+284221+284222+284223+284224+284225+284226+284227+284228+284229+284230+284231+284232+284233+284234+284235+284236+284237+284238+284239+284240+284241+284242+284243+284244+284245+284246+284247+284248+284249+284250+284251+284252+284253+284254+284255+284256+284257+284258+284259+284260+284261+284262+284263+284264+284265+284266+284267+284268+284269+284270+284271+284272+284273+284274+284275+284276+284277+284278+284279+284280+284281+284282+284283+284284+284285+284286+284287+284288+284289+284290+284291+284292+284293+284294+284295+284296+284297+284298+284299+284300+284301+284302+284303+284304+284305+284306+284307+284308+284309+284310+284311+284312+284313+284314+284315+284316+284317+284318+284319+284320+284321+284322+284323+284324+284325+284326+284327+284328+284329+284330+284331+284332+284333+284334+284335+284336+284337+284338+284339+284340+284341+284342+284343+284344+284345+284346+284347+284348+284349+284350+284351+284352+284353+284354+284355+284356+284357+284358+284359+284360+284361+284362+284363+284364+284365+284366+284367+284368+284369+284370+284371+284372+284373+284374+284375+284376+284377+284378+284379+284380+284381+284382+284383+284384+284385+284386+284387+284388+284389+284390+284391+284392+284393+284394+284395+284396+284397+284398+284399+284400+284401+284402+284403+284404+284405+284406+284407+284408+284409+284410+284411+284412+284413+284414+284415+284416+284417+284418+284419+284420+284421+284422+284423+284424+284425+284426+284427+284428+284429+284430+284431+284432+284433+284434+284435+284436+284437+284438+284439+284440+284441+284442+284443+284444+284445+284446+284447+284448+284449+284450+284451+284452+284453+284454+284455+284456+284457+284458+284459+284460+284461+284462+284463+284464+284465+284466+284467+284468+284469+284470+284471+284472+284473+284474+284475+284476+284477+284478+284479+284480+284481+284482+284483+284484+284485+284486+284487+284488+284489+284490+284491+284492+284493+284494+284495+284496+284497+284498+284499+284500?authors&parents&superparent"},"object":"objects\/sha256\/d8\/d89cebfdc4e878689d497d85ffe73b246d9dacf1e143da52100311b622a0b16d","record":"shard-0\/json-live-urgent-v3\/records\/780d5275ac188a0c5b7165587d223b39b9d5b0ad4f1b2d5db20e1bd11cb4da02.json","sha256":"d89cebfdc4e878689d497d85ffe73b246d9dacf1e143da52100311b622a0b16d","source":"https","stored_at":1784022414}}