Lex Temporis by ImmanentDeath

[raw]
made by ImmanentDeath for Ludum Dare 51 (EXTRA)

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Reach the top of an active volcano before it’s too late.

Lex Temporis was made for Ludum Dare 51 and its theme “Every 10 seconds.” It features a hostile environment where fire rains from above and rises from below, and whose inhabitants seek to expel you from their territory. You must reach the edge of this inferno before the music ends and time runs out.

Play on Itch.io | Play on Newgrounds

If you enjoyed this game, you might like that one game I’m making.

How to play

  • WASD/Arrow keys = Move/Select
  • Enter/Space/K = Attack, if enemies are nearby
  • Esc/P = Pause
  • Back = Unpause

Changelog

v1.0.1 - Fixed a bug where parallax scrolling of falling ash wasn't set correctly - Fixed a bug where sometimes the player would switch back to an idle frame after being defeated - If there are no enemies nearby, the player now switches to their attack animation and stops moving for a moment like normal, but doesn't create a fireball - Made shortcuts a little wider and easier to walk through, as well as the path in the last scene - Added another shortcut to the second to last scene - Added a few more safe tiles to the last scene

Screenshots

LexTemporisScreenshots.gif

Ratings

Given 19🗳️ 4🗨️

Feedback

ChrisGauthier
11. Oct 2022 · 02:42 UTC
Fun game! The mechanic with the lava lakes heating up and cooling off was a really cool touch. I couldn't figure out how to beat the purple wizard dude (I'm guessing he's a wizard?); the spacebar wouldn't do anything, and he'd just finish me off with a single giant fireball lol.
Lone_Wolf
11. Oct 2022 · 02:56 UTC
The controls felt a little clunky, but I may just not be familiar with the style you're using.

Other than that nice work! I didn't make it to the end but you can't say I didn't try a lot :P
🎤 ImmanentDeath
11. Oct 2022 · 03:55 UTC
Thanks! @chrisgauthier That character is undefeatable and extremely powerful, the goal is to reach the end before they find you when time reaches 0. Valiant effort, though!
LDJam user 185813
11. Oct 2022 · 23:01 UTC
I really like the art and gameplay!
juxipolo
12. Oct 2022 · 03:02 UTC
There were a couple times where I was confused about whether a tile was walkable. I think the rock walls are maybe a little too similar to the floors.

The lava coming up through the cracks looks really nice.
Blue Pin Studio
12. Oct 2022 · 04:41 UTC
Not bad! I wasn't sure what the theme had anything to do with it, but it was a solid entry, the art and sounds are well done :)
Lachlan James
16. Oct 2022 · 10:55 UTC
Very cool. Love the aesthetic and the overall mood of it. Nice classic audio design. Visually very strong, and generally plays pretty tight (though had a little bit of weirdness with the movement).

I noticed there was an audio/visual cue every 10 seconds, but beyond that couldn't figure out if the theme was otherwise implemented.
F1Krazy
16. Oct 2022 · 12:50 UTC
I love the music and graphics, as well as the game's generally ominous feel, with the constant countdown and the eerie noises of whatever's chasing you sounding every 10 seconds. The lava that cools and hardens is a great game mechanic as well, that forces you to pay attention and not just race wildly through the level.

The enemies made things a bit too hard, IMO. The fact that you stop moving when you shoot makes it too much of a challenge to dodge their attacks *and* chase them away, *and* you're losing even more time all the while, *and* if you're standing on cooled lava, you'll invariably get caught out when it heats up again and lose *another* chunk of health before you have time to react. The fact that they're only chased away instead of being killed also feels rather unsatisfying.

I have no idea how close I was to the end, but there's a section where you have to walk on cooled lava and get to a safe spot while avoiding the enemies' attacks and shooting back, and I simply could not juggle all of that *and* the rapidly-diminishing timer, and died with less than a minute left on the clock.

On top of that, I also found it very hard to tell where you were meant to be going sometimes, as there are some areas that look like paths but aren't, and some areas where the path is only one tile wide and you have to spot where it is and thread yourself through it, and all the while that's wasting even more time.

Overall, this is a game with some great presentation and a strong central premise, let down by (IMO) unsatisfying, overly-challenging gameplay. It needs some balancing and level design tweaks to really bring the best out of it.
Jonathan Lorenz
21. Oct 2022 · 16:23 UTC
Got a bit of a Gauntlet mood from this game. Not sure how the theme is incorporated in it, but good work overall!