Neon Speed Gauntlet by Empty Set

made by Empty Set for Ludum Dare 51 (JAM)

NEON SPEED GAUNTLET is a fast-paced platformer where you only have 10 seconds to beat each level. Roll and bounce around to get to the goal as fast as possible.

itch.io page: https://empty-set-games.itch.io/neon-speed-gauntlet

CONTROLS AND TUTORIAL - Unfortunately, there is no in-game tutorial due to time constraints. I strongly suggest reading at least the controls here!

Arrow Keys - Move.

Z - Jump.

X - Dash. You can dash in 8 directions by holding the Arrow Keys!

You can only Dash once in the air... Usually (more on this later).

If you Dash into a wall or floor, you will automatically Dash-Roll along the wall/floor.

You can press Z (or X) to jump out of a Dash-Roll.

Important! - Wall Jumping out of a Dash Roll resets your ability to Dash in the air!

Try this: Dash into a Wall -> Roll Dash -> Wall Jump -> Repeat!

RULES

You have 10 seconds to get to the portal at the end of each stage.

If you run out of time, you'll lose a life, but must still reach the portal.

If you run out of lives, you'll return to the level select map.

Each area on the level select map consists of four stages back-to-back.

Once you complete an area, you'll get an area score.

You get 100 points per second remaining, and 250 points for each gem obtained.

Go for a high score! Feel free to share high scores for each stage in the comments. Unfortunately, scores do not currently save when the game is closed.

SCREENSHOTS

neonspeedgauntletscreenshot145.png

neonspeedgauntletscreenshot99.png

neonspeedgauntletscreenshot79.png

neonspeedgauntletscreenshot10.png

Version 1.0.1 is a hotfix that fixes minor issues and should have minimal effect on most normal gameplay.

Full 1.0.1 Changelist:

-Fixed a bug which caused screen transitions to fail to display properly in the hub.

-Fixed a bug which would cause an unusually short Roll Dash on the ground in rare (sub-pixel perfect) cases. As a result of this fix the properties of Roll Dash are very slightly different.

-Removed a dev cheat which could instantly skip levels, which was supposed to have been removed before release.

-Changed the name of the .exe from "LD51" to "Neon Speed Gauntlet".

Version 1.0.0 (Jam Version)	https://drive.google.com/file/d/16EG3uA8ESg9MRpUnl0gA9IuDmXpfQ7tc/view?usp=sharing
Version 1.0.1 (Hotfix)	https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PkagKAAlUMcG2h5XIzXGWnwKlXgPvMmq/view?usp=sharing
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/neon-speed-gauntlet

Ratings

Overall	543^th	3.552⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Fun	445^th	3.534⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	920^th	2.914⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Theme	1013^th	3.121⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	651^th	3.534⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Audio	564^th	3.155⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Humor	798^th	2.42⭐	27🧑‍⚖️
Mood	920^th	3.054⭐	30🧑‍⚖️
Given		50🗳️	32🗨️

Feedback

ChillerTyp

04. Oct 2022 · 14:54 UTC

I like the graphics. Nice job.

LDJam user 276121

04. Oct 2022 · 14:58 UTC

Game feel and aesthetics are fantastic, love the changing colour palettes. Going back to the start of a stage is a real momentum killer for this kind of game though.

Elros

04. Oct 2022 · 15:02 UTC

The game is nice, but not the best fit for the theme. If you could design the puzzles to work around the mechanic "every 10 seconds the player dashes" or maybe "every 2 seconds the player jumps and every 5 seconds the player dashes", it would be a better fit, and would also be a cool twist on the ordinary dash mechanic.

Overall I did enjoy it however, the movement is quite polished, well done!

Moonblast

05. Oct 2022 · 01:49 UTC

It's a smooth ride, the colors are psychedelic.Anyway, it's a fun platformer

pauly3d

05. Oct 2022 · 01:51 UTC

Solid platformer - the level graphics are simple but servicable, but I love the little guy's design. The physics feel good, the dash made sense, but I couldn't the wall-jump down. Idk if that's me, my keyboard, or the game needing some leniency. But hey, I kept going back for one more try, so take pride in that!

Cogent.Invalid

05. Oct 2022 · 01:58 UTC

Nice movement mechanics and level design! I appreciated the dynamic music, too.

I think I would've preferred if I were able to retry stages over and over until I got them right instead of losing lives - maybe at the end of the stage you could choose to instantly retry it or lose a life.
There were some times I tried to dash diagonally into a wall but didn't quite make it because of how the dash slows down at the end. I also kept expecting to be able to dash upwards next to a wall and wall-jump out of it. Other than that I thought controlling the character was a lot of fun.

unpronounceable

05. Oct 2022 · 02:01 UTC

Graphics were very good. Liked the layering on the music between the hub and entering a level. Controls were good and felt responsive. The lightning hazards were confusing, thought they would kill me and didn't notice them draining my time at first. Wasn't able to beat the final level, felt like it required too perfect of execution for how long I had to play. In all a good game and a solid entry.

khaotom

05. Oct 2022 · 02:04 UTC

I like the optional gems as an extra layer of challenge that the player can choose to engage with or skip. I instinctually tried to skip the game over screen by pressing escape but that closed the game entirely and I lost my progress.

BoxedMeatRevolution

05. Oct 2022 · 03:03 UTC

Super fun! Main problems are: no sound effects (makes timing things hard), running at 30 fps instead of 60 fps (why???), no input buffering (that's a killer in this game), no quick restart button (even for whole stages), using same button for jump and dash. Still had a ton of fun getting good scores on all stages though, 2106, 2059, 1292.

Igor Morgun

05. Oct 2022 · 18:11 UTC

Nice game,good concept

Brainloaf Studio

08. Oct 2022 · 01:14 UTC

Cool platforming mechanics! I like the art a lot, and the way the music shifts between levels is a pretty awesome touch. The wall-dash to jump recharge is tricky but is really cool when you do pull it off. I wish there was a way to easily reset a stage, or return to the map (I accidentally jumped into the first portal more than once), but outside of that I didn't run into any issues. Well done!

jandourek

09. Oct 2022 · 00:01 UTC

Holy shit this game is difficult! Took a lot of time for me to get used to, and the third level felt impossible at first but eventually I managed to clutch it. I liked the art style and changing color palletes. The level design is also nice, but the game is extremely punishing if you mess up even once. I think the game could use a bit of leniancy with the controls so you can more easily recover from a bad jump. Other than that it was pretty fun!

(My high scores were 1300, 1109, 92)

Tex Killer

09. Oct 2022 · 04:48 UTC

The game looks and plays good, well done!

It was a bit difficult, and that is usually ok, but having to return to the level select and having to go through everything again just to get another chance felt very frustrating. I tried the second area many times and then gave up after reaching that area's last stage and failing. Maybe there should be a difficulty setting to start with more lives or something? Or maybe going back to the start of the area after failing instead of the level selection screen.

Despite the difficulty I did enjoy the game. Great job!

DodyMan

09. Oct 2022 · 14:23 UTC

Surprisingly hard! The graphics are quite nice! :)

LDJam user 250825

10. Oct 2022 · 15:56 UTC

Neat, another platformer with a dash mechanic :D I closed the game before writing the comment but I had the first two stages completed with 1xxx and 2xxx scores. I couldn't get through the third one after many attempts as failing felt so punishing with the long 0/0/0 stats screen and the run-of-shame back to the level. I think a quick restart button would have made it less frustrating. Also not sure if you had a small one but I recommend having a bit of "coyote time" where you can jump after falling off a platform, it makes the game feel less punishing for small mistakes.

All-in-all solid entry, even through a bit much to run through on every attempt I like the idea of having a hub world. Well done with balancing the lasers by taking away time and not insta-killing you. I especially like the color scheme changes having an effect on the timers, nice detail on that!

BayLock

12. Oct 2022 · 06:06 UTC

Great game !! really good concept. Got stuck in middle for a while but figured out the way later. Awesome work for a limited time jam. You should go with this concept further. A little more work from the SFX sides would have done wonder, but then again the time was limited so I can understand the complexity. Overall really good job. Please do check out my submission as well.

aeveis

13. Oct 2022 · 05:26 UTC

I got to stage 3 but couldn't beat it. I figured out how to dash on the walls but I would keep running into the lightning and not have enough lives to finish the stage. Overall liked the platforming but would like more feedback for when I'm on the wall and when I can dash. I liked the different palettes and the hub world, nice job!

zoglu

15. Oct 2022 · 09:24 UTC

Nice idea, the dash roll is an original move !

Honey Pony

15. Oct 2022 · 18:12 UTC

I really like the wall-dash mechanic in this game. I am in general a sucker for platforming moves that take a couple inputs to pull off successfully, as I think it's a lot of fun to get dynamic movement out of a precise combination of inputs--it makes those moves feel difficult, and therefore very satisfying, to pull off.

I do think, for the difficult platforming sections (i.e. stage 3) I might have preferred platforming challenges that were not so strictly timing based... I found that I couldn't really appreciate the platforming in stage 3, as I was more worried about not messing up the timer. As others have said, easier ways to restart would have also helped here. Especially because, if you mess up something early in the level, you kind of know that you're doomed, but you have no way to quickly restart.

That said--stages 1 and 2 are actually really fun with the time pressure. The wall jump move feels fast and satisfying, and flying through those levels with it is just fun.

And I do like the platforming in stage 3. The second section of it especially feels fun, trying to dash precisely in between the lightnings. I just haven't been able to get through all of it with only 2 lives so far. I came very close... but ran out of time in the last section.

pickens-inc

15. Oct 2022 · 21:46 UTC

A very solid entry! The palettes are super slick and the vibe is pretty cool. The lives system is a touch confusing and it'd be nice not to have to start entirely from scratch, but I do appreciate how it felt to beat a level in its entirety without failing. The controls were a little confusing and/or a touch inconsistent-feeling at times but in general I think you did a great job.

spudboy

18. Oct 2022 · 06:52 UTC

The player controller is so close to feeling *really* good. I think just making the player feel faster overall would do a lot to make this game feel super satisfying.

Doccrazy

19. Oct 2022 · 19:57 UTC

There's so many nice big keys on the keyboard like spacebar, why does it have to be x/z, which is super annoying to reach on a german keyboard? Like your game though, especially the music.

epeachyband

21. Oct 2022 · 08:16 UTC

I like the visuals but wall-jumps were very hard to execute.