Grandma by smiley

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

Screenshot 2022-04-03 at 22.19.09.png

Screenshot 2022-04-03 at 22.05.48.png

Grandma

Grandma is sick. Her coughs are getting worse for each day. She speaks about a magic flower down in the caves that can give her a few more days before she finally joins grandpa. Am I brave enough to find the flower and give her a few more days before the inevitable happens?

The game has been tested in Firefox, Chrome and Safari. Safari doesn't work at all. Chrome and Firefox seems to differ in the input button mappings for the Xbox controller.

https://games.snukey.se/ld50/WebGL/

How to play

Move with A and D.

Jump with Space.

J to Dash.

K to Shoot.

WASD to aim the shotgun.

The game also works, and is easier to play, with an Xbox controller. Playstation controllers might work but hasn't been tested.

Stuck?

Think about the shotgun and what happens when you shoot. Combine that with your other abilities and you will make it!

Trivia

This is Nicklas 16th time participating in Ludum dare.

Tools used:

  • Unity 2021.2
  • Aseprite
  • Ableton Live with Sylenth1 and Poldolski software synths. Using factory sounds.
  • Audacity
  • BFXR
  • https://yal.cc/r/20/pixelfont/ to create TTF-font from Pixel font.

All graphic, music, audio and code was created during the two days compo. No assets from Assets store was used. A few standard Unity provided packages was added and used (Universal shader pipeline and Cinemachine).

Credits

Programming, Graphics, Music and Sound effects - Nicklas Löf

Check out Nicklas Spotify page at https://open.spotify.com/artist/37f28088QfzRXbxG6kzZmN

Ratings

Overall 231th 3.576⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Fun 259th 3.455⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 510th 2.788⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 505th 3.121⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 298th 3.47⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 181th 3.5⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Mood 167th 3.545⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 33🗳️ 43🗨️

Feedback

Cary Stanley
04. Apr 2022 · 02:45 UTC
Nice Game!! You did a great job with the music, and I was engaged trying to complete it (I actually played it all the way through). The wind at the end was unexpected.

Very glad the game had checkpoints ;)

One minor feedback: I played the game a few times from the start and no way to skip the game start dialog the 2nd/3rd time
rex64
04. Apr 2022 · 07:58 UTC
Neat!
N.O. Games
04. Apr 2022 · 08:13 UTC
It's a really nice game. Love the look of it and the gameplay is interesting and fun. One minor improvement that I think would really improve the game is "coyote time." It would just make it feel so much better to jump from ledges.
🎤 smiley
04. Apr 2022 · 08:46 UTC
@cary-stanley Thanks :) I was actually thinking about the skipping of the start dialog (since I watched it myself a bunch of times) but was mostly thinking nobody will play it more than once :)

@n-o-games there is actually a little bit of coyote time but I had to minimize it because I did run into some issues and forgot to expand it again after solving the issue :(
owca
04. Apr 2022 · 10:03 UTC
Nice. I like the music.
ABRDs
04. Apr 2022 · 13:44 UTC
There are some tough spots in the levels, such as the lava pit with the falling spikes, but only because those spikes did not reset when respawning. Also the windy bridge was difficult to content with. Music and visuals were great, just would love to see some more gun-jump mechanic training opportunities, as the dash is well used!
Kosmosael
04. Apr 2022 · 14:21 UTC
Cool ambiance, awesome graphics and music.
Enjoyed playing your game, many thanks, keep it up!
DzejPi
04. Apr 2022 · 15:00 UTC
I absolutely loved this! This is an incredible amount of content to make in 48 hours, especially with three different songs, stuff like wind and using checkpoints everywher. You are super talented!
I love Ableton - great choice of DAW. I will definitely use it the next time as well. I am trying to force myself to like FL Studio enough, but I just can’t; its workflow is so incredibly awkward compared to Ableton.
Graphics are absolutely amazing and coherent, the camera is fluid, love the light effects and the parallax effect, puzzles are well designed and the little story is heartwarming.
When it comes to controls, then using `j` for dash felt slightly awkward; I would prefer double space, ie press space to jump and when in air, press space again to dash, but that could be my personal preference and it’s nitpicking anyway.
Excellent job, you should be proud!
JOrbits
04. Apr 2022 · 15:33 UTC
Cute, although also a little sad game ^^
I like the different mechanics you implemented, like the wind, dash and the gun. It keeps the gameplay interesting. Also I kinda like that the game was rather easy, the checkpoints were very forgiving.
If you plan on expanding this game in the future you could maybe add a secondary objective, like collecting gems, which are a bit harder to get.
sephyr
04. Apr 2022 · 17:17 UTC
Good Job! Very good job on the art and sound. The game is very nicly polished!
Liked the idea and the mechanics with the gun. :)
Not seeing the floor and falling into spikes - not cool :D
Stuntcomposer
04. Apr 2022 · 18:32 UTC
Really nice and moody game. The dashjump is used in a really good way and not just a gimmick, and the gun mechanics also set things apart from the normal point-and-shoot action.

Really good work on the gfx and music as well, the in game music reminds a bit about Jean-Michel Jarre, and that is not a small feat!

Keep up the good work!
Tygrak
04. Apr 2022 · 18:50 UTC
Interesting music! I didn't really figure out an intuitive way to use the keyboard controls, j+k being bound, along with space for jump and the arrow keys/wasd makes me reach around the keyboard too much awkwardly. I liked the pseudo double jump with the gun but it was really hard to execute for me with the current controls. Maybe the controls could have been reorganized in some way? :) I also never noticed the spikes on the first time and always died to them at first, but that isn't too much of an issue because of the nice respawn system :).

That was a lot of nitpicking, hope it doesn't sound too negative :). I enjoyed the game and managed to finish it :). Good job :)!
darandin
05. Apr 2022 · 07:00 UTC
This is a solid game. It was definitely difficult to get used to the controls, but the rest of the game is really nicely done. Sad story. Thanks for uploading!
SMdG
05. Apr 2022 · 15:43 UTC
Really loved it. Liked the mechanics you introduced and loved the ambient music.
Marc Grabow
05. Apr 2022 · 16:06 UTC
Great atmosphere, I feel sad about grandma and want to help her!

Love the art style!

The controls were a bit awkward on the keyboard, I guess they are better on a controller. I recommend at this point to remind the player how to fight because all those buttons from the start screen I couldn't remember.

![Screenshot 2022-04-06 000451.png](///raw/194/3/z/4caab.png)
PurpledArtFrog
05. Apr 2022 · 16:21 UTC
Nice look to this one :thumbsup_tone1: The intro maybe a bit long... with longer intros it might be an idea to enable some sort of speed up. Really the feel of movement. Also nice atmosphere and lighting :thumbsup_tone1:
LDJam user 279546
05. Apr 2022 · 16:46 UTC
Very pretty and good sounding game. Gameplay challenges were cool as well. The tutorial books were very appropriately placed and introduced some really cool mechanics!
Levi Koger
06. Apr 2022 · 00:54 UTC
I played the whole thing, and I didn't expect to. I usually just play jam games for a minute or two and move on. I enjoyed it! I have notes to make it a little less floaty and improve the camera, but ultimately I think it's great for a jam game. Good job, mate.
paulhocker
07. Apr 2022 · 03:21 UTC
raelly well done platformer with mechanic with the gun launch. will be playing this some more to finish it. thanks for making the game.
🎤 smiley
07. Apr 2022 · 16:34 UTC
@abrds yeah I wish I had spent some more time on those areas but I did really wanted to send the game to the compo instead of the jam :)

@kosmosael thank you :)

@dzejpi thanks :) I have been an Ableton user for almost 10 years now and I love the workflow in it. I am proud but I see flaws I should have improved :) Double space for dash is an excellent idea, or hit jump again while in air.. why didn't I think about that during the compo.. I guess I played the game too much with the Xbox controller.

@jorbits yeah.. might do a post-compo version in the near future :)

@sephyr thank you :)
@stuntcomposer thanks. I'm using lots of ARPs so kind of cheating ;) see ya around I guess ;)

@tygrak Input controls are always difficult. I actually looked up how Celeste handles input on PC and most people said WASD and J+K so I went with that.

@darandin thanks :)

@smdg I had some luck while playing around in Ableton. I'm using a few midi effects which makes it easier to get those dark mystic chords.

@marc-grabow Yeah. Inputs are always difficult and in a real game there should had been reminders or even a tutorial :)

@purpledartfrog I had that in mind but figured people will only play once and I have seen people on streams just skipping the intro completely and didn't know the objectives or the story at all. But skipping trough each part could have been added.

@jzucc12 Thank you :)

@levi-koger Nice that you liked it. I have the same habit on not spending too much time but sometimes you find a gem that you just need to finish. Not saying my game is a gem but anyway ;)

@paulhocker Thank you :)
Black Flag
08. Apr 2022 · 11:10 UTC
I really liked the graphics and I also liked your story take on the theme, especially how you intertwined it with the gameplay. I also liked the way you showed the text in the game, I've not really seen that way of communicating before, having the text float up like that, but I actually really liked that! The lighting effects and particle effects definitely added to the polish of the game, and I though the checkpoints were fair too! The overall game felt like a complete experience and its impressive you did all of that in a jam!

The enemies didn't seem to be too much of a threat, like I seemed to touch them and they didn't damage me, but the other platforming challenges were fun and the breakable platform also felt like a good way to break up the gameplay (pun maybe intended) and add some variety to the gameplay. The cutscenes at the start and end were also a nice way to set the story, some sound effects in them might have been nice, but that's a nit pick because what you managed to achieve in the jam time was very good!

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience, and this is a really great game!
tgiant
08. Apr 2022 · 12:54 UTC
Oh this was a nice game to play. The polish in the game is really well done for a weekend.
I liked the check points and the blizzards that one had to go through.
Music was fantastic. Very well done.
SAGIII
09. Apr 2022 · 09:38 UTC
Hello! I didn't save grandma unfortunately. The game is cool I can see some inspiration on Celeste maybe? I like the gun mechanic I saw it coming since I earned it. Anyway the game is cool I gave an average of 4/5 gg.
🎤 smiley
09. Apr 2022 · 13:55 UTC
@sagiii thanks that you liked it. Yeah I meant it to be a Celeste/Spelunky mix but in the end I didn't get much of Spelunky traps into the game. I tested your games and wow that was really good! :)
🎤 smiley
09. Apr 2022 · 13:57 UTC
@tgiant thanks :)
@black-flag the floating text was mostly me being lazy :D and not building a proper dialogue popup. And yeah I meant for multiple enemies with different attacks but yeah.. 48 hours is just 48 hours :)
lesinvisible
09. Apr 2022 · 17:51 UTC
Wow, it's amazing how much of stuff you managed to put into this game gamplay mechanics wise: dashing, rocket jumping, wind mechanics, etc. Looks very impressive and the game was addictive enought to figure it all and get to the end. Some of the jumps were a bit unfair, but this was mitigated with generous checkpoints. The only point is that the spritework for characters seems kinda limited, but this was also mitigated by the lighting which you made.
🎤 smiley
09. Apr 2022 · 18:03 UTC
@lesinvisible thanks. Yeah I should have spent a little more time polishing but I was kind of sick and tired at the end ;) and you got me. I'm not very good on pixel art, this was kind of first time in a long time I participated on my own so I had to do the art too.
Arttu Halonen
10. Apr 2022 · 09:45 UTC
I really liked the lighting and the sounds, solid entry! The character controller felt a bit hard to control precisely, but platformer character controllers are notoriously hard to fine-tune, especially when you only have a weekend. Also the wind was a bit hard to read, but I was eventually able to overcome it. Overall nice job! Grattis!
tanis
10. Apr 2022 · 20:41 UTC
Nice entry. I wish you could just skip the intro, though. The lightning feels nice and adds that touch of "magic" to the game
jordantanner
11. Apr 2022 · 19:14 UTC
@smiley Hey man, nice entry! I had some trouble getting the dash to work. Maybe I'm missing something? I didn't get super far, but I have to say, the music blew me away. Super atmospheric and moody. Excellent chord selection. Gave me a bit of a Hyperlight Drifter vibe, which I love. Rating high in the audio category for that reason. Nice work!!
BinaryPrinciple
13. Apr 2022 · 00:09 UTC
Nice graphic it help a lot with setting myself up for the adventure. The controls were great with a lot of potential, there was a point that I had to shoot myself higher and then dash and it felt so good. I like the delay and recoil of the shotgun and how it adapts on your gameplay. Great game!
Jackaljk
17. Apr 2022 · 21:25 UTC
You've put together some interesting mechanics! I think they would work better on a more frantic and silly game. The theme is only there in the story which is quite weak, but the game looks really good. It's moody and the music fits that well. Nice job!