LudumData

Oxylunky by daandruff

[raw]
made by daandruff for Ludum Dare 51 (COMPO)

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A small game about exploration

The objective of the game is to explore the depths of the sea and find your way to the bottom to find what's there. That might seem simple, but with only a limited supply of oxygen, that might prove harder than you think.

Dive down deep below sea level and find your way to your next oxygen supply. Who knows what you will find?

* Non-compo version of the game *

As I did realize that parts of the game was a bit frustrating, I've added a few options to the game in this non-compo version. Remember, this is not the version you should base your rating on. I only added it since I wanted to give the option to try out the game in a more relaxed way. Also, this version might end up getting more features as I'm actively developing it. - If this is against the rules to include on the compo-site in any way, please tell me!

Non-compo version

Link https://games.kothe.nu/ld51/
Link https://github.com/daandruff/Ludum-Dare-51
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/oxylunky

Ratings

Overall 105th 3.75⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Fun 288th 3.222⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 219th 3.333⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Theme 107th 3.944⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 70th 4.028⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Audio 29th 4.009⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Humor 281th 2.385⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Mood 28th 4.028⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Given 39🗳️ 44🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 237413
03. Oct 2022 · 05:30 UTC
Nice exploration game! I like that you build knowledge of the map each time you "die". Great submission
SpeakWithPlants
03. Oct 2022 · 05:34 UTC
Neat exploration game! Simple but creative. I liked figuring out how to tell where the air pockets are. It was occasionally frustrating to restart from the beginning each time (maybe some checkpoints could relieve that feeling), but it was enjoyable to find the next safe spot. Good work!
Matt Green
03. Oct 2022 · 05:42 UTC
Easily the best game I've rated today. Took me 20 minutes to beat (and that required cheating). If I didnt have access to the source, I woulda played it all day.

The sound effects were sublte and set the mood nicely. The art was great. I loved the little roll effect on the diver to simulate swimming.

Such a great game. Jeez. No notes.
sdelay
03. Oct 2022 · 06:03 UTC
14mins 55secs to beat! Kept me in for all this time.
The atmosphere is well polished, we can notice every detail: screen waves, shading, algaes, white oxygens tips, sounds, disturbings eyes.

Great job!
PeterClark
03. Oct 2022 · 06:10 UTC
Very well done.
For info I got frustrated to restart from the beginning each times. Maybe if sometimes you restart just from a couple of "air" spot ago, and sometimes you have to do it entirely again, then it reduce frustration and still make it not easy.
Another thing is on the logic side, the air tank refill kind of makes no sense, why not just say it's your body oxygen tank. 10 seconds without to breath is fine. :-)
Anyway congrats! Great job!
LDJam user 5243
03. Oct 2022 · 07:31 UTC
@peterclark The air tank (lack of) logic didn't hit me before you pointed it out. I was so focused on the diver theme and what would make a logical UI representation that I didn't realize that it was goofy. Well... I'll just blame it on time-dilation. ;)
LDJam user 236416
03. Oct 2022 · 09:56 UTC
Hey there. Your game reminded me about LD48 with "deeper and deeper" theme. Ha-ha!
What I really like:
1) graphics
2) audio
3) in-game tips.
What can be improved (from my point of view):
1) controls - a bit tricky
2) collision detection - diver can go behind ground (black areas)
LDJam user 5243
03. Oct 2022 · 10:22 UTC
@xpycm Thanks for trying out the game! About the collision detection, did you ever get stuck in a place you shouldn't be or clip into voids? The diver is supposed to be able to go behind the very edges of the blocks and almost disappear (Like swimming in seaweed), but not clip further than that. Some areas are also hidden behind edges like that, but should be revealed if you swim far enough into them.
LDJam user 236416
03. Oct 2022 · 10:42 UTC
@daandruff I did not get stuck ever. I guessed such behavior was intended, but it is still a bit confusing for me.
LDJam user 5243
03. Oct 2022 · 11:09 UTC
@xpycm Alright! Yes, feel free to not like it, that's totally fine. Just wanted to make sure that nothing was broken :)
Henrik Ganard
03. Oct 2022 · 12:06 UTC
A nice looking game. Checkpoints along the way would have made me happy but either way, a nice game. Thanks for making it.
Ani
03. Oct 2022 · 13:48 UTC
The atmosphere is great with all the subtle movement in the environment. Like others have already said, checkpoints would be lovely, but I'm happy that the air pockets were persistent at least!
muzakefron
03. Oct 2022 · 14:44 UTC
lovely game!!!!!!! loved the atmospheric audio & all the different paths 2 explore....more of a difficulty progression might have helped, but it never felt overrly hard i think
Flamus
03. Oct 2022 · 15:50 UTC
Nicely done! Amazing feeling of the game:) good job
OldDog
03. Oct 2022 · 16:14 UTC
I LIKE THIS GAME SO MUCH!!!!!! ,game feelings very nice ,although is hard to find the hide area ,,,I stuck in the 4th or 5 th area I cant remember,,,,,although every time I dead will restart from start point make me feels bad ,,,but I just try again and again ,,ps and water shading are so nice and game color so nice ,This is my top one grapghic game in this game jam
thesnide
03. Oct 2022 · 16:17 UTC
wow... bringing such a good immersive (pun intended) game in 2 days is impressive.

gg!
LDJam user 5243
03. Oct 2022 · 16:30 UTC
@olddog Thanks! Feel free to test the non-compo version that has a few options (like checkpoints) during gameplay :)
Nash
03. Oct 2022 · 16:33 UTC
The game has a very strong athmospehre. Not many games manage to actually capture the feeling of being underwater so you can take this as a big achievement!

The beginning of the game is quite tough for a new player. I like how it immediately teaches about the hidden air pockets but the game was a bit frustrating at first because I was not progressing at all. The lack of checkpoints was also a bit jarring - especially later in the game.

But overall, the overall athmospehre is the best I have seen this jam. Good work!
Jacob Diaz
03. Oct 2022 · 17:34 UTC
The audio is perfect, I love the exploration and discovering air pockets. I also really appreciated the tips after my first couple failures!
waffleworksgames
03. Oct 2022 · 19:16 UTC
The atmosphere of this game is fantastic. Great audio, graphics, and general mood. I'm glad you let the discoveries remain visible on later attempts- it would have been really tedious otherwise. It eventually got kind of frustrating having to reset back to the beginning once I made it far enough, but it looks like you addressed that in the post-jam version with checkpoints which was a really good decision.
TerraCottaFrog
03. Oct 2022 · 19:24 UTC
At first I was frustrated by restarting every time, but after I realized what the tell was for the patches (it was pretty clear in hindsight, I don't know how I missed it initially) the game opened up and the threat of restarting really added tension to the close moments getting closer to the bottom.

The atmosphere is really good and like others have said really gives you the feeling of getting deeper and deeper into a dangerous situation.

Awesome work! My only feedback would be to clearly say what pockets look like. They are hard enough to find by the end and it could prevent some frustration at the beginning. Even opening with the tip about hidden pockets having a tell would help, instead of the "Again?" tip, which should be the last one.
nyxkn
03. Oct 2022 · 19:43 UTC
Game idea looks really solid. As already mentioned, it is indeed quite frustrating and checkpoints would have been super helpful. At the same time, I do admit that getting that close to dying all the time adds quite a bit of tension and makes it really immersive. You almost feel like gasping for air in real life! Nice water sounds. Well polished entry; good job.
Vhalenn
03. Oct 2022 · 20:05 UTC
I loved this atmosphere ! Still hard to understand at start because of the "hidden blocks".
blk_dg
03. Oct 2022 · 20:37 UTC
Great atmosphere, the sound was really spot on and adding to this strange eerie atmosphere, really cool entry
DzejPi
03. Oct 2022 · 21:15 UTC
Absolutely amazing atmosphere! Seems that the main issues I would mention were already resolved in non-compo version. Hidden blocks could give player a little bit of a hint to make it kinda easier. Either way, great entry, loved it!
pinnyo
04. Oct 2022 · 00:24 UTC
Great mood, the little ambient sounds really add so much. Movement in the water also felt right. I'd say make the very beginning of the game more obvious as what to do. I skipped most of the how-to, so that might be my fault.
Falk Hoeppner
04. Oct 2022 · 04:58 UTC
Very cohesive look and feel, love the little details in the environment. Having to start from the beginning every time was a bit frustrating, but it did give me time to take in the mood of the game more. Well done!
Roroto Sic
04. Oct 2022 · 08:33 UTC
The sound design is fantastic ! Art is great ! The game is really fun to play ( unfortunatly i'm to bad to go deeper than the cat eye creature haha)^^. i would love to play a full released version of this game :)
m0dsat
04. Oct 2022 · 08:42 UTC
This is genuinely a nice game. I enjoyed exploring, and finding hidden areas was a rewarding experience. The game is very punishing and while I like that you respawn at the surface I think you could have put in some short cuts, as replaying areas become trivial and frustrating without adding anything good. So a passage that can only be accessed from below would be a good way to let players skip cleared areas. Managed it in just under 18 minutes and had fun all the while. Thanks for a great entry!
ruruie
04. Oct 2022 · 08:50 UTC
This game has great atmosphere but my main issue I think is that it's of two minds about exploration; being bounced to the surface punishes taking risks with air to explore but you're also meant to explore to find paths and air.
elysiagriffin
04. Oct 2022 · 08:50 UTC
Thanks for submitting your game for me to play on my stream!

If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1608912292?t=0h24m45s

Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
LDJam user 5243
04. Oct 2022 · 08:56 UTC
@m0dsat Thanks for playing! I've added checkpoints to the post-compo version, but the idea of one way passages form below didn't cross my mind. That's a really good alternative to checkpoints that I really like! I'll be sure to put that into the game in the future.
HagamosVideojuegos
04. Oct 2022 · 09:43 UTC
One of my favorites!

Good control, original use of the theme, good art...

Well done!
chitoyuu
04. Oct 2022 · 10:15 UTC
The atmosphere and graphics are on-spot, although as others have pointed out the lack of checkpoints and most air pockets being hidden made the Compo version a bit too punishing. The amount of care that went into the presentation is impressive nevertheless. Good work!
Gangrue
04. Oct 2022 · 10:44 UTC
Great game, I enjoyed it a lot and felt absorbed into the world. Only issue I see is that your character moves extremely slow and restarting is painful.
shimmerscale
04. Oct 2022 · 15:13 UTC
Fun game! I liked the minimalistic audio, it really added to the mood, as did the color palette. The controls felt nice and kind of floaty (in a good way) without being too hard to use.
PBG
04. Oct 2022 · 16:03 UTC
Very cool, excellent mood. I have to admit that I gave up somewhat quickly - I suspect there is a hidden bubble somewhere (no tell) that I will need to progress, but every experiment costs me 1 minute of swimming back to where I was. Not sure how I would address this. This would make a cool procedural game! Very nicely done.
LDJam user 5243
04. Oct 2022 · 16:06 UTC
@pbg Thanks for trying it out! Yea the post-compo version already has optional checkpoints to remove the need for going back down all the way again. And I've actually started to work on procedural levels already! I want to make some kind of roguelike of this I think :)
zimny11
04. Oct 2022 · 16:51 UTC
Nice game! I really like the graphics and the whole idea of diving (also this is the worst air-tank I ever saw :P). Sound design is also excellent. The hidden paths and air pockets are super nice game mechanics, but... As other pointed out, starting from the surface every time, in a game about exploration, and in game that "save points" (pocket ow air) are hidden makes it a bit frustrating. Anyway, good job!
LDJam user 268934
05. Oct 2022 · 13:00 UTC
Love the relaxing background sound. cool hud display you really feel the tention. I wish you could swim a little faster. Nice job on this Compo
Stefan Laimer
07. Oct 2022 · 13:25 UTC
Great game! Like the others said, some checkpoints would be nice so you don't have to start from the beginning every time but otherwise it's amazing. Great job!

Edit: Just saw that you already put in checkpoints in the updated version. That makes the game so much better!
MelekTaus
08. Oct 2022 · 12:40 UTC
Very relaxing game and great mood. But as mentioned here, without checkpoints, it gets a little bit frustrating. Rated your game already and I came back to play your updated version again, and hell yes, so much better :v:

Also, I'm impressed with what you've done with pure HTML/CSS/JS without `canvas` here :heart:
LDJam user 5243
09. Oct 2022 · 11:36 UTC
@melektaus Hey, thanks for noticing :D I wanted to see how far I could push it without canvas. It gives you a lot of options with css-animations, but in the end, it's quite performance heavy. (Started out on a Raspberry Pi, but had to switch over to a better computer once the level started to get bigger) I'm currently porting it over to C so that I can do a bit more stuff with it, but it's a cool experiment.
LDJam user 298734
10. Oct 2022 · 07:40 UTC
is there a way to dive faster？I seems dont have enough time to reach the check point at all
LDJam user 5243
10. Oct 2022 · 08:25 UTC
@projectcolorball As the tutorial states, there are hidden air pockets that you need to find by swimming close to walls. The tutorial also has other information that you need to play the game. There is only one visible air pocket when you start, and that's supposed to be far out of reach. The post-compo version has an easy-mode with checkpoints added if you still think it's to hard.
LDJam user 298734
10. Oct 2022 · 08:33 UTC
@daandruff ok I will try again
LDJam user 298734
10. Oct 2022 · 08:53 UTC
![hsdsg.JPG](///raw/eee/84/z/52fa2.jpg)
It looks like a bug？
glenugie
14. Oct 2022 · 11:06 UTC
The atmosphere of this one was great, the visuals, audio, and gameplay are all combined into a nice cohesive whole. Not my style of game personally, but I can recognise the craftmanship here. I do like that you retain your map through death, to give a notion of progression. Very good work!
Ava Skoog
18. Oct 2022 · 15:01 UTC
Really great mood in this one. Different audio above and below the surface is a nice touch. The controls were mostly nice and movement did feel very watery, but for some reason I got confused on occasion and expected the controls to be inverted 😅 I did initially misunderstand the air pockets, thinking they'd be in grey nooks and didn't realise they'd be hidden under the black walls so it took a couple of tries before I tried swimming into them and finally found one heh. Looks and sounds nice but got quite difficult—as others have already mentioned, checkpoints would've been really nice because eventually it did get demotivating having to do it all over again every time. On the whole, however, a really nice entry!