LudumData

Frosten by Kaech

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

[Controls: Use WASD to move and SpaceBar to Jump! ESC for the Menu to replay the level with 'Play Again' or return to the Title Screen]

Frosten is a platforming game with a twist: Every 10 seconds your current block is frozen at your position, and you respawn at the nearest checkpoint! The music stays in sync with the freezing to help you time your jumps and keep things interesting.

Have fun avoiding the spikes and jumping into your almost-doom at exactly the right time... Timing is key!

If the first few tutorial levels are too boring and you're in a hurry, skip ahead to level 6 from [Select Level] on the main menu!

This was a two man project, and everything here is completely custom from scratch and made in Unity, Blender, and Bitwig Studio. This is our first game jam! It was VERY hard on Kaech who didn't sleep much. Please support him with your feedback =-D

I (Cypheus) hope you love the music. I just started doing music production a few months ago and would love your feedback on the soundscape. There's about 5 minutes of completely custom music in the game! We'd love if you stuck around to hear it all at least once!

(This game had game-breaking bugs when we first uploaded, but we just uploaded a version that doesn't crash on Menu or Death! Yay!)

If the embedded version here on LDJAM doesn't work, it's also on itch.io: https://cypheus.itch.io/frosten

Link https://cypheus.itch.io/frosten
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/frosten

Ratings

Overall 680th 3.429⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Fun 744th 3.206⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 283th 3.671⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Theme 420th 3.829⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 805th 3.271⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Audio 399th 3.457⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Humor 740th 2.537⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Mood 859th 3.132⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Given 55🗳️ 46🗨️

Feedback

Elliescape
04. Oct 2022 · 02:13 UTC
I thought your game was a very creative and original idea!
Human Writes Code
04. Oct 2022 · 07:47 UTC
Interesting idea! I liked the character and the music was really good. Since timing is key, I was always going to struggle :laughing: Overall, great work and congratulations on your first LD game. I sympathise with @kaech - game jams are pretty punishing! But you should be proud of what you achieved in such a short period of time.
DileriumL
04. Oct 2022 · 11:19 UTC
At first I didn't liked it. But then I understood mechanics and game became fun. Thank you for you great work!
GodDoesPlayDice
04. Oct 2022 · 11:21 UTC
This is the kind of game that makes us love Ludum Dare. Here is a rethinking of the classic gameplay and a good use of the theme.
Very cool!
Core Foliant
04. Oct 2022 · 11:21 UTC
Hmm... Very interesting idea and how it is working)
hansj
04. Oct 2022 · 11:26 UTC
This is a really original mechanic, love it! It's really frustrating to die when you miss the timing though!! Good contribution, thanks for sharing!
frenchbread
04. Oct 2022 · 11:28 UTC
Very interesting & well-designed game. Challenging levels. Player mechanics a bit annoying sometimes but I think, but it only adds a bit of complexity and keeps engaged like retro games do.
Chocolat-Endive
04. Oct 2022 · 11:29 UTC
Nice idea! Since it is a puzzle game, I'm not sure the fact that there is some kind of permadeath here helps the game. It may be better if death would just cause the character to begin a new loop. This and a "reset" button could help the game to be more engaging, I think.

I hope you enjoyed you first LD, it always is a very special experience. Hope that @kaech is feeling better!

Overall, that's a pretty big amount of work for two people in three days. Good job!

(and the music is nice and fits the mood of the game)
LDJam user 299852
04. Oct 2022 · 17:49 UTC
The idea is very nice! Good 1st LD entry!
I agree with @chocolate-endive regarding the death. It's too easy to die in some levels and then you lose all your block-placing progress, I think the game would be way more fun being more forgiving.
Personally I find the music a bit too "gamey" but it works well with the game.
Congrats!
loligxp
04. Oct 2022 · 17:52 UTC
Interesting idea, definitely a creative way to utilise the theme.
The music is really nice as well.
Eugenik
04. Oct 2022 · 22:50 UTC
Nice games I had a fun time grandma did too x).
Alchemic
04. Oct 2022 · 23:40 UTC
Pretty neat idea for a mechanic! However, having to wait around for the timer can be a bit annoying, especially if you die to spikes after having placed down 3 blocks already. I think having a life/HP system - where you just respawn without resetting the level on death - would be a good way to make it less frustrating.

Other than that, nice level design and music!
Hawkin
05. Oct 2022 · 02:23 UTC
The asset design was very nice! I especially liked the background village. The game was a new take on the "use past versions of yourself" puzzle. I did however find myself mostly waiting for the 10 second timer to finish, so it mostly felt like a limitation rather than a challenge.

Nice job on the music and sounds!
ThatANoNoWord
05. Oct 2022 · 02:34 UTC
It's a nice platformer game. The physics feels very slippery, since your character doesn't react to actions very quickly. The camera is also too focused. Being able to change the camera's size would help immensely. Other than this, great idea, and great game!
LDJam user 300873
05. Oct 2022 · 03:06 UTC
Awesome job on the music! This jam was also the first time I wrote and produced music, it is a fun skill to learn! The triangle was a nice touch.
ArtofLuba
05. Oct 2022 · 03:15 UTC
Very interesting concept and mechanic. I'm not sure if it was intended as a rage-game or not, but anyway I was hoping that I could speed up the block construction by yeeting myself into the spikes and "leaving something behind", so to speak. For future iterations, a 5-second option would be and excellent addition. Otherwise, I enjoyed the ice-skating feel and the ominous Christmas-themed music.
ActuallyTheMoon
05. Oct 2022 · 07:49 UTC
My only nitpick is that i wish i could see the levels before i selected my block order, but aside from that Really cool concept for a puzzle game! Good stuff!
elysiagriffin
05. Oct 2022 · 11:35 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/1609823066?t=2h42m42s

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

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
BoClow
06. Oct 2022 · 07:35 UTC
Cool concept!
I enjoy these type of games where you basically make your own path to the level.
Despite the music I had some trouble to determine where the ice block would freeze. I don't know if it was the bit floaty jump or I just didn't get into the rhythm.
MrBamboo
09. Oct 2022 · 18:34 UTC
Nice game ! I found a little bit long to wait until the ice block is ready to freeze at his place. Could be nice that the timeout is 10 secs but be able to press a button to freeze it in place at the needed/wanted moment
Juutis
09. Oct 2022 · 19:19 UTC
Great job on the music and visuals!

The core mechanic here is cool but it's a bit rough on the edges. The floaty/slippery movement (which kinda makes sense given the icy environment) combined with the precise timing and having to restart the whole level when you die makes the game very punishing.

I think the game would feel more fair with a few very simple quality-of-life changes. Like the previous commenters have mentioned, not losing your "level building" progress upon dying would be great. Additionally, I think the game could remember the order of blocks so you wouldn't have to rearrange them every time when you restart.

Also, the first jumps of level 7 are very tricky for no apparent reason, other than just frustrating the player for the sake of it. :grin:

Still, the game kept me in its grip all the way to the end. There was a surprising amount of content! I spent a good 15-20 minutes on it.
LDJam user 298496
10. Oct 2022 · 17:28 UTC
Really interesting idea, nicely put together.

It would be great to be able to place blocks on demand (perhaps you can and I missed it?).

One bug I spotted, standing beneath an up/down block will push the player forwards/backwards in the scene.
Tommo
10. Oct 2022 · 19:14 UTC
Really liked the combination of bits you had to think about here! The music and graphics tied together well too.
🎤 Kaech
11. Oct 2022 · 07:03 UTC
@matt-ravenhall Being pushed back into the scene is already fixed and will be added in the post game-jam version. You can't place blocks on demand(we only had it as a debug option), because we wanted to stick to the theme of the game-jam
Tuile
11. Oct 2022 · 15:29 UTC
I remember enjoying playing this on stream, and getting way too relaxed over the music! Like I mentioned then, I think the background art tends to distract the player from seeing everything too well, and the earlier levels could have more to do within the 10s while we're waiting. The point where it solidifies is also tricky, and I had a hard time getting the timing right.

Otherwise, a very solid entry! Thank you for making it, I think getting to choose in which order the blocks spawn was a nifty mechanic!
Bloham
19. Oct 2022 · 19:26 UTC
I like that you introduced new blocks and had levels! It was a little bit frustrating, that the ice spikes made you restart the level instead of putting you back to the last spawning point. Genreally a good game though and reminded me of the old games in cornflakes packages in the 90s. Music and sound are also well made.
Yoni
19. Oct 2022 · 20:02 UTC
Cool❄ game, man! 🥶

I had fun with the puzzles and played through all 8 levels. It probably took me 15-20 minutes to play through. Nice puzzle design!

A couple of things that I found annoying were:
1. Switching between keyboard and mouse every time I lose. Moreover, the "play again" button and the "done selecting blocks" button were not in the same spot on the screen so I had to move the mouse and click twice every time I lost, which was... often :)
2. The controls (particularly the ratio between jump height and walking speed, and the slide-to-stop) made the game pretty difficult and I kept dying. Moreover, I'm not sure but I think there's a bug where your momentum is not reset when you respawn, which caused further deaths.
3. Restarting the entire level when dying makes the game much more difficult :)
4. I wish it would remember my chosen block order when I die, rather than always going back to the default one.