Timebound by Ategon

[raw]
made by Ategon for Ludum Dare 51 (JAM)

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Solve puzzles while going backwards in time every 10 seconds. Shoot something to make it move through time. Some doors may need more than one pressure plate to open.


Play the game here (Web): https://team-auboreal.itch.io/timebound


WASD - movement

E - interact with levers, pick up the Box and Key

Left Mouse Button - Shoot projectile to stop something from resetting

Right Mouse Button - Place a Box on the floor (if you have it)

Space - Do nothing and wait ;)

Hold R - Restart level


Credits

Pixel Art - Ategon, vulkaara, Coeur

Coding - Icecube, Leafcutter, Holden, GhPanda

Sound - tumor, Staintocton, Kowara, lisamichelle

Design - Holden, GraphicEdit

Testing - Zilonis123


Team Auboreal Discord

Feel free to join the discord if you wish to be notified about future games from the team, new updates to timebound or just want to hang out with us!

https://discord.gg/JqmaaY32Kt


Ratings

Overall 326th 3.75⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Fun 378th 3.603⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 122th 3.926⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Theme 248th 4.015⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 415th 3.864⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 253th 3.697⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Humor 936th 2.077⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 532th 3.5⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Given 40🗳️ 42🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 257810
04. Oct 2022 · 03:10 UTC
Use of theme works well here. Lots of puzzle games that have the "wait 10 seconds for thing to happen" can be pretty tedious while you wait, but this game elegantly sidesteps that issue w/ the superhot time progression. Nice work!
goldenXD
04. Oct 2022 · 03:19 UTC
Really cool puzzles, interesting use of theme. I like it
DGo
04. Oct 2022 · 03:22 UTC
Loved the game! The visuals and sound design were great and the new usage of the mechanic on the last level got me really excited, I'd love to see more :smile:

Only small notes are that walking felt a bit too slow, and I would've liked that the restart button worked quicker, but overall great job!
IzhVaryag
04. Oct 2022 · 03:24 UTC
Good idea, graphics and puzzles!
FastAndBlast
04. Oct 2022 · 04:10 UTC
Incredible concept and execution, the game design is stellar. One caveat is that the level 6 should've been swapped with level 5, level 5 is literally impossible (for me at least), I could not wrap my head around it until I skipped to the next level at which point I think it might be possible but I'm definitely not smart enough for it lol. Overall very good cohesive art, great implementation and I absolutely adore the scene transitions. Well done!
nardandas
04. Oct 2022 · 06:16 UTC
Really clever puzzles. As you seen on stream. I really struggled at first with understanding some of the puzzles. I don't want to spoil anything, but I really like how the revelations in each level build on eachother. At the end I was at first confused, but because the game had already shown me what to look for, I realized and it was extremely satisfying. The art was nice too! My only real complaint is that the little green outline when something was affected by the laser is a bit subtle, and the companion cube blended in with the pressure plate. Pretty minor.
rosypenguin
04. Oct 2022 · 06:33 UTC
Wow, I have to say these are some of the most clever puzzles I've encountered as a Ludum Dare entry! Love the clever usage of the mechanic on the last level. Very fun and I'd love to see the game expand to more levels.
LDJam user 161618
04. Oct 2022 · 06:43 UTC
Awesome submission. Really great use of theme and mechanics.
StesProject
04. Oct 2022 · 14:21 UTC
It looks great, but I didn't understand the game :/
Excy
04. Oct 2022 · 14:22 UTC
Great art and the puzzles are really unique with the time element, really got me thinking! Some of the mechanics could be communicated a little better in game but once you know what's happening it's great.
🎤 Ategon
04. Oct 2022 · 14:33 UTC
@stesproject The goal of the game is to go over and touch the purple square. Every 10 seconds everything in the level resets but you can shoot something to make its state persist into the next timeline :)
lonagi
04. Oct 2022 · 14:44 UTC
Great concept! It has amazing combination of Superhot time mechanic, every 10 seconds theme and top-down shooter. Also, there is very good animation, lightning. I'd buy it on Steam. Wish you success!
tatawanda
04. Oct 2022 · 14:58 UTC
Cool use of the superhot mechanics. It is lacking a bit of level design to convey what the player should do (separate more precisely the important element), but the animation are top-notch!
Holden22
04. Oct 2022 · 15:04 UTC
@excy @tatawanda Thanks for the feedback! I think you are absolutely right in that some mechanics are poorly communicated. The game could definitely use one or two more very simple levels just to introduce the mechanics. In my opinion that's the biggest issue of the game and also my biggest take-away for the future. It was my first real attempt at gameplay and level design and I've learned a lot, so thank you for pointing that out!
Excy
04. Oct 2022 · 15:16 UTC
@holden22 It's interesting because the level design is really good for later levels so you're definitely capable, no doubt the time constraint of LD stopped you making better tutorials, which I can't blame you for!
Geronimo
04. Oct 2022 · 15:28 UTC
wonderful game! although i played it in the browser and the audio didnt work at all :/, but the levels were very cool, made me feel very smart after i completed them. The hardest one for me to finish was the one with 4 doors, because the ball kept hitting the wall and at the end you have to step on two buttons at once. BUT very good job! very refined game, i wish your team lots of luck in the future!
AndideBob
04. Oct 2022 · 16:30 UTC
A really neat puzzler with some interesting mechanics, what really grabbed me though was the last puzzle! I would love to see more riddles with that last twist on the mechanic!
LDJam user 268934
04. Oct 2022 · 18:22 UTC
I always am amazed how you can make this much puzzels is only 48 hours really nicely done.
Eugenik
04. Oct 2022 · 18:55 UTC
Very original take on the theme!.
SLEEPYMENACE
04. Oct 2022 · 20:32 UTC
Really cool game! I hope you'll forgive me for nitpicking here, but it's so close to being really great that even small things stand out.

Discovering the mechanics on my own was a little rough, but only because the explanatory text is rather subtle. I didn't see the "E" in the second level for the first couple loops, for example, and thought that I just had to shoot the switch.

Puzzle design is really good. They're the kind of "What the hell is this? Wait... Oh, I see!" puzzles which I enjoy a lot. Once you grasp the situation it's all about execution. Very satisfying to solve.

The graphics could've used just one more pass to make sure everything reads well. The cube blended in with the pressure plate so well that I just thought that's the plate looked like that when activated.

And I'm not sure if the audio is actually glitching out, or if it's an intentional stylistic choice. If it is, I think you went a little bit too heavy, the glitching isn't "melodic" or "rhythmic" enough so I thought my audio drivers were acting up for a second.

Overall, even though I sound really critical, I thoroughly enjoyed your game! I liked it a whole lot! Great job!
LDJam user 250426
05. Oct 2022 · 03:02 UTC
Awesome game! The ending is PERFECT.Very clever xD
LDJam user 268647
05. Oct 2022 · 06:47 UTC
Didn't even realise there was a box on the switch until I re-read the controls and saw the right click part. I wish it was communicated to me in game, perhaps also giving the box a different colour to the switches?
Is there a solution to the leash level? Or is it there to end the game on
🎤 Ategon
05. Oct 2022 · 06:51 UTC
@cosmonautical Yep, there is a solution to the leash level
LDJam user 268647
05. Oct 2022 · 07:00 UTC
@ategon Okay I figured it out, that was awesome hahaha
Legolula
06. Oct 2022 · 12:04 UTC
Very cleverly designed puzzles, probably the most innovative I've seen so far, congrats on your entry, a great take on the theme! I agree the tutorial could be improved a bit, the third level took me a while, but at the end I really felt I wanted more of these puzzles!

Also amazing job on the soundtrack, I particularly like the main menu one, I would have kept it for the whole game but I guess that comes down to personal preference.
blobo
06. Oct 2022 · 17:56 UTC
Okay, so I recorded a video and in it I gave up on level six. I went back after I stopped recording (mostly to check if that really was the last level) and figured out the solution. Perhaps that level shouldn't look so similar to level 1? The level I got stuck on in the video was entirely because I assumed I needed to walk over to the lever to be able to push it. I think it should be explained better that that isn't the case.

On further rewatching of my video, I see that lever automatically is pulled on a timer. That mechanic definitely needs better explained.

I really enjoyed the game! The levels are absolutely brilliant, and I had a lot of fun. Great work.

And here's that video I mentioned, for even more feedback: (sorry it doesn't feature me solving level 6 though)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0mrI8y-XII
Holden22
06. Oct 2022 · 19:34 UTC
Wow, thank you so much @100th-Coin for playing and recording the session! It was very cool and instructive for me to watch. I completely agree that some mechanics were not explained very well. We're planning to do a post-jam version of the game with an additional level or two just to introduce the mechanic in a clearer way.

You are only ever able to interact with a lever if you're standing next to it, you were just very unlucky in that you pointed the mouse cursor at the lever at the exact moment the lever flipped because of the timer.

Also, the fact that you assumed you needed to walk over to the lever was part of the design of the puzzle. It was an intentional misdirection, also called "the Catch". If you're interested in puzzle design, I recommend you the following video from GMTK, especially the second part "the Catch":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsjC6fa_YBg
MerlinPerlin
06. Oct 2022 · 22:32 UTC
wow that was actually a lot of fun, wish there where more levels but i know its a game jam so there is not that much time :) bz it was indeed a nice expirience:)
King Zhou
07. Oct 2022 · 01:03 UTC
Man we have such similar ideas! You obviously make a better and finer version haha. Amazing game! Made great use of super-hot-like time advancing mechanic so that I do not feel urged to do things. Nice atmosphere and graphics too. Good job!!
ColeSlaughter
09. Oct 2022 · 03:05 UTC
https://youtu.be/04UQz6th9Ko?t=8680

Thank you for submitting your game to stream!

It took me a while to really learn the rules about what was happening in the game, but once I managed to figure it out, it was pretty fun! I was a bit bummed that the game ended after the Leash puzzle, because I was super excited to see what y'all would do with that mechanic! I definitely think this would be a great project to expand on in the future. :slight_smile:
Malai
14. Oct 2022 · 09:38 UTC
Amazing puzzles in a polished game!
Was hang up in the control room level, because I found out what you have to do in the leash level way to early by accident xD