The VortExperience by Hawkin

made by Hawkin for Ludum Dare 50 (JAM)

Welcome to V.E.X.! We know you trust us with all your science. That's why we're glad you're partnering with us! Come on in and be the first to participate in this exciting experience.

Post-Jam Update! - Version 1.1

Scientist animations
Vortex vacuum effects
Goo spawner break mechanic
Narrator mute option
Gameplay pacing updates
Minor UI and artwork polish

Version 1.0 was made in under 72 hours (50 total development hours + 14 hours sleep + some job on Monday). Inspired by one of my favorite games.

The tutorial should walk you through how to play. But just in case: * Movement: WASD * Pickup: walk over object * Throw: Click and hold (to charge) * Aim with mouse

ld50<em>game</em>sm.png

Known issues: * If you press 'space' to skip the tutorial while a voice audio is playing, the tutorial will end once the audio ends.

Art Credits:

Character animations based on a reskin of https://opengameart.org/content/ikaros-extended

Vortex sprites from https://opengameart.org/content/cosmic-time-magic-effect

Link	https://hawkinberry.itch.io/vortexperience
Link	https://hawkinberry.itch.io/vortexperience
Link	https://gitlab.com/hawkinberry/vortexperience/-/tree/main/Scripts
Post-Jam v1.1	https://hawkinberry.itch.io/vortexperience
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/50/the-vortexperience

Ratings

Overall	667^th	3.548⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Fun	830^th	3.25⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	687^th	3.321⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Theme	188^th	4.107⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Audio	100^th	4.083⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Humor	86^th	4.119⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Mood	580^th	3.583⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Given		53🗳️	87🗨️

Feedback

04. Apr 2022 · 21:50 UTC

Funny. Maybe would work better if the vortex was growing rather than shrinking

06. Apr 2022 · 02:16 UTC

I absolutely love the voice acting! Reminds me of Portal! I played a couple times and this was as far as I could get. It seemed almost impossible to go for longer than that because of how fast the portal was closing. Overall I really liked it!

![vortex.png](///raw/e30/44/z/4cf66.png)

06. Apr 2022 · 02:32 UTC

@toastertot now that's a score!! I think I've only gotten close to that once or twice. It really makes me wish I had put in time to add a leaderboard for this one. Nice job!

(And yes, Portal was 100% the inspiration here haha)

06. Apr 2022 · 03:54 UTC

Great job! The voice acting was awesome. Very funny :)

06. Apr 2022 · 06:13 UTC

Such great writing and voiceover work! Very reminiscent of a valve title. I really enjoyed the little world you built, and how self aware everything was. I think the task probably could have been a little bit less menial, as there was little room to play creatively, and thus the experience felt less worth trying to do "well", but other than that I had a great time with the game.

Thanks for the submission, and congratulations!

06. Apr 2022 · 07:34 UTC

I was a bit tired of referential humor, but the good voice-acting, and '... unstable ... I'm not really supposed to use that word' won me over. Also it seems to go for being it's own thing _just_ enough. Also you just went for it ... there are a lot of lines.

At first aiming took some getting used to, but once you found a spot to park your mouse and your character, so that the goo drop-off isn't that far away then it becomes almost easy. I got about 90 and a half seconds that way.

Lastly, I do appreciate the character selection-screen.

06. Apr 2022 · 07:42 UTC

This was really fun and funny! The story definitely fit the theme much better than I expected.

06. Apr 2022 · 08:32 UTC

Nice game. I would have liked an option to disable the voice lines while keeping other sounds on.

06. Apr 2022 · 11:46 UTC

@feilkin great suggestion, thank you!

06. Apr 2022 · 12:30 UTC

@adamcyounis your feedback means so much! I was much happier with my scope management this time around, but I definitely put more time into additional voice lines over progression. I'm glad it was able to balance out

@remco I'm glad it did it for you! That particular line was born out of the 4 hours of brainstorming and always falling back to "yeah, that's just unstable though"

I did try to think about ways to force the player to not just stand in one place (maybe boring), which is why I added a bit of randomness to the spawner. I definitely had more ideas that I knew I wouldn't get to in time. Thank you for the feedback!

06. Apr 2022 · 12:37 UTC

Did you pitch your voice or did you get someone else to help out? As a fellow voice-over-entrepreneur i know how time consuming the recording and editing really is xD

You really went all in there on the voice lines to carry the game. I think its worth it and makes for a very quick but enjoyable experience.

That might have been unintentional but the tedious/repetetive task lets you focus on the little jokes more.

06. Apr 2022 · 18:50 UTC

actual voice acting! You are brave! I enjoyed the retro feel and controls of the game! I think it would have been more intense if the vortex was getting bigger.

06. Apr 2022 · 20:48 UTC

Feels very portal-esque.

Mechanics are simple and worked as expected. the hit box shrinking with the vortex was a nice touch since it made me shift my strategy late game.

Nice work!

06. Apr 2022 · 22:57 UTC

@willoxs I'm going to say that was intentional (it wasn't) haha! The game kind of wrote itself, I feel, and I was just hanging on. I'm honestly surprised it all came together. Thank you!

@stilettomenace You're not the first person to think of the vortex growing! I can see how that would make it more intense. But for me personally, shrinking was more in line with the theme and an easier "end" to define. What do you think?

@fireslash thank you! I wanted to have the vortex even sucking the goo in like a vacuum, but that just didn't make it

06. Apr 2022 · 23:04 UTC

Really great game! I honestly thought the story was going to be a bit darker, but I'm glad it ended up being a more goofy story and no one gets eaten by the vortex. Awesome audio, and loved the lil animated notes after the game ended! Lots of fun things to discover. Great work!!

07. Apr 2022 · 03:58 UTC

Some clever voice lines in there. Fun when games are self-aware. Enjoyable game!

07. Apr 2022 · 12:25 UTC

Thanks @jitspoe it was fun hanging out on stream! Waaheee!

08. Apr 2022 · 03:49 UTC

It's a pretty funny game and I really enjoyed the voice over! I think the mechanics can be polished a little more (more synchronous indicator for strength, it takes two clicks on my mousepad for me throw), but the highlight for me was really the script. Nicely done.

08. Apr 2022 · 03:59 UTC

Interesting game! I can tell you're leaning very heavily into the humour, and it works! The voice lines really are what makes this game interesting, and well done on getting some voice acting in there! It's refreshing to hear actual voice-over in a game jam game. The throwing feels very satisfying, you get a nice arc from the goo and more often than not I felt like it went where I wanted it to. I did find after a while it got a bit repetitive, and I would have liked for some more variety to be added in, or a quicker throw to make it a bit more manic as the portal closed in. Once it hit a certain spot I didn't feel challenged, more resigned to my doom (although that does fit in with the theme). Overall though this was presented really well, and an enjoyable time!

08. Apr 2022 · 04:22 UTC

Fun & liked the humor and voice. Great job!

08. Apr 2022 · 04:27 UTC

Neat game! The voice acting is very clean and interesting. One thing to nit pick is I feel like the style of the background is not the same as the character.

08. Apr 2022 · 04:33 UTC

Love your game!

I like how you added in a vocal tutorial so that way you can listen while trying to figure stuff out.

An idea, maybe add in a pull for the vortex to grab the goo since it is a vortex?

08. Apr 2022 · 04:37 UTC

@quack-doctor Kind words, thank you! Yes, polish and play testing are always the holy grail. I'd love to do better next time!

@porcus-pie I absolutely agree with you on all counts there. I'm going to take your suggestion and experiment with a shorter charge to see how that changes the play. I also imagined putting more story beats in to alter the play style, but we know how that goes :) Thank you! Great feedback!

@alan-t Good eye! The character animation was from another artist that I reskinned, while the background I drew myself (I'm still improving my pixel art, clearly). Because I didn't do the animation myself, I abstained from the graphics category :)

08. Apr 2022 · 04:46 UTC

@vixenmink Oh you don't know how much you read my mind haha. Here's that "stretch goal" part of my planning board for this jam. It wouldn't have been too hard at all, but you can tell I leaned into some other aspects a lot more :)

![trello_snapshot.png](///raw/319/53/z/4d7f1.png)

08. Apr 2022 · 04:51 UTC

That's awesome! Are you planning on having any updates for a 'post-jam' release of your game? I'll follow you just in case so I can get notified :)

08. Apr 2022 · 05:21 UTC

Super fun game and hilarious voice acting! I would have loved to see other elements start to enter the room over time, such as different types of goo or other obstacles. Might be something to consider if you make a post-jam version of this game. Congrats on completing an awesome entry!

08. Apr 2022 · 10:51 UTC

Hey hawkin, thanks for submitting your game to stream! The voices really sold it for me, here's the vod if you'd like to rewatch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1449607637

08. Apr 2022 · 11:44 UTC

@justcamh thank you for the link! It was a blast hanging out

08. Apr 2022 · 11:45 UTC

@joe-cowman absolutely! Great feedback, thank you for playing my game!

09. Apr 2022 · 13:00 UTC

Loved the Portal-themed aesthetic! The looping track really conveys that feeling.

09. Apr 2022 · 13:23 UTC

The science topic really attrackted my attention! Also, the theme was really accurate and it fits perfectly with the choosen one. The art is also nice!
I like the idea and the implementation but i found it a bit difficult to mantain the vortex open! Maybe it's because I haven't practiced enough.
Anyways! Good job with this game! I liked it!

09. Apr 2022 · 19:19 UTC

Nicely done! I really enjoyed the voice acting that you had in the game. The bit about "the more you add the faster the vortex is shrinking... but don't stop now cause Science" was pretty great in my opinion. Nicely polished submission!

10. Apr 2022 · 03:18 UTC

Pretty well done and the voice acting really makes this entry great! The mechanics are a bit repetitive and not really that fun but the audio and funny story as well as the nice little touch of animation when the dude leaves puts things together. The character selection is cool. But overall well done.

Good job!

LDJam user 158900

12. Apr 2022 · 06:38 UTC

This game is really fun

12. Apr 2022 · 22:30 UTC

Great experience and great voice acting! :D I would have liked the portal to be pixel art as well, to keep the visual style consistent but that's only a minor issue. You definitely nailed the "science experiment in a video game" athmosphere, so great job!

12. Apr 2022 · 23:00 UTC

@lazzor Thank you! So my thin attempt at writing the portal into the story as "interdimensional" (like, not even from the pixel art world) didn't fool you, eh? Haha

13. Apr 2022 · 03:44 UTC

Nice game! The voice acting is very amusing, and gives me heavy Cave Johnson vibes (I will also definitely not mention how Carol is very similar to Caroline). The gameplay is simple, but works well enough. However, it seems to be more used as a vehicle to continue driving the story and the humor rather than anything else, so it's not exactly what I was focusing on here. The graphics are functional-nothing super amazing, but work well with establishing the mood and keep gameplay easily readable. The audio is also well done. Overall, great entry!

13. Apr 2022 · 10:39 UTC

@proxy-games thank you for playing and the feedback! I'm glad you had fun with it. You know, "Caroline" must have been lodged in my subconscious, because I didn't remember that detail until after the fact (watching some Cave Johnson after submitting).

BinaryPrinciple

13. Apr 2022 · 17:16 UTC

The voice adds a lot of personality making it funier.
I appreciate that even if the core loop is simple it has a strong player feedback when you hit the vortex.
My recommendation are: a couple of pipes that will shutdown and up from time to time so you have to run more around the room, or balls with different power ups. What if... the scientist is so evil that puts you in a treadmill?

13. Apr 2022 · 21:19 UTC

@binaryprinciple Those are some nice suggestions! Thank you for playing, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

14. Apr 2022 · 10:09 UTC

Nice entry, the voice was a very good choice :smile: I'd suggest having more pipes and other actions to do, than just throwing the goo into vortex. Maybe the pipes could get clogged, and would take some time to free them, so you would have to use other ones, or even have different types of goo :thinking: Just some tips, as I was just throwing the stuff from same position repeatedly :sweat_smile:

15. Apr 2022 · 19:37 UTC

Really nice game! I was trying to do my best and made it to over 130 secs on fifth attepmt. Wonder if there is an alternative ending. Voice acting is great!

15. Apr 2022 · 20:38 UTC

The whole game seemed like a tutorial, maybe too much intro to the overall idea and gameplay. The base mechanics felt fun, though. Thanks for making this game!

16. Apr 2022 · 00:40 UTC

@noiyy Those are some excellent ideas, thank you! The story definitely has more potential, I think

@bullex The way I made the system, there is definitely an upper limit. Seems like it is around 130 seconds!

@ardorugus Yes, it turned out pretty short, didn't it? :) I focused a lot on the voice and story rather than extending the gameplay.

16. Apr 2022 · 19:57 UTC

I guess there isn't really much to be said here. Great humor, kinda repetitive task. I do want to point out that I really enjoyed the music.

16. Apr 2022 · 20:16 UTC

Thanks @vonfuzzius ! You might be the first one to point it out. The music sort of sat in the background, and I didn't spend too much time on it, but it had the sound I was looking for :)

17. Apr 2022 · 05:45 UTC

Heya Hawkin!

[Thanks for submitting your game to stream!](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1457327946?t=01h24m09s)

As usual, I will always approve of voice acting in any capacity in an LD game. The personality in this one is *chef's kiss*

20. Apr 2022 · 02:38 UTC

@vixenmink Check it out! Your idea in action :D

![vacuum_2.gif](///raw/319/53/z/4e344.gif)

20. Apr 2022 · 02:52 UTC

Omg yess! Can't wait to test this ingame once you finish everything. I have you followed on itch.io

21. Apr 2022 · 19:48 UTC

Awesome! I liked that the speaker was joking in the background during the game :ok_hand: