LudumData

Lights Out by niccolo-temperanza

[raw]
made by niccolo-temperanza for Ludum Dare 51 (COMPO)

You don't know where you are nor why you're here. All you know is that it's very dark.

The power of light bestowed upon you will only last for 10 seconds, after that darkness will engulf you. Darkness might not be your enemy, though, there will be times in which meditating in complete obscurity will show you things you couldn't see before.

Good luck, fellow traveler, I hope the path you're on will give you the answers you are looking for.

UPLOADED A PATCHED VERSION WITH A WAY BETTER CONTROLLING CHARACTER, I'D LOVE IF YOU COULD GIVE IT ANOTHER SHOT IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED IT BEFORE!

A CONTROLLER IS STILL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THIS GAME

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ORIGINAL UPLOAD https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J5HhxO0OkXiv26i7L24OfjQS1mdqpSze/view?usp=sharing
SOURCE CODE https://drive.google.com/file/d/13QrPtL_nnRmFa-dI1IBYudafLzx7RhqH/view?usp=sharing
PATCHED VERSION https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sQSnEXFrYwn9PAwSoZXGr6FGsqCTBmou/view?usp=sharing
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/lights-out-1

Ratings

Overall 297th 3.296⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 307th 3.148⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 130th 3.593⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 192th 3.704⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 210th 3.537⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Audio 397th 1.806⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 356th 1.7⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 274th 3.12⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 20🗳️ 33🗨️

Feedback

indigo
03. Oct 2022 · 00:08 UTC
Cool mechanic. I would love to finish this, but unfortunately the character controller makes me want to smash things...
thedashdude
03. Oct 2022 · 05:51 UTC
Got mad at the section where you have to follow the hidden poles over your character's head. Interesting gameplay up until then, and honestly the puzzle of where to go there was neat, but the margins were just way too low to be fun. Best part was a little before then when you had to remember where a solid thing was in the light because the darkness was trying to trip you up.
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
03. Oct 2022 · 09:32 UTC
All I can say is that I'm sorry hehehehe. Thanks for the feedback guys, it was my first time going solo, I'm an artist and usualy I get a lot of help with this kind of stuff, including a custom, from the ground up, character controller built for me!
Maybe playing with a gamepad/controller could help out, once you get used to the clunkiness.
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
03. Oct 2022 · 09:52 UTC
Also, gals and guys, I'm working right now but if you stop by and comment and rate I'll be doing the same and checking out your games! Let me know if there's a way to respond directly to comments also and feel free to message me if you need anything.
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
03. Oct 2022 · 11:12 UTC
And one more thing: I know the character controller isn't stellar, far from it, but I HIGHLY recommend using a controller/gamepad for this!
Ussendayoo
04. Oct 2022 · 12:47 UTC
Simple but efficient graphics !
krakadushka
04. Oct 2022 · 12:49 UTC
Hi! Cool art style - quite simple, but really atmosphere.
I like the idea with ligth - wow!
For me it was quite hard to jump onto the rocks, but, you right, with gamepad it simplier to do rather than with keyboard.
P.S. To respond you should write @ :)
01edward01
04. Oct 2022 · 12:52 UTC
Cool art and atmosphere of the game was so cool. I liked the how you used theme!
cremmy
04. Oct 2022 · 12:58 UTC
We can't change character's speed when he's in air (understandable), but we can change his direction (wat.). I agree with others - margins are too small. How about changing how light works? Make longer distances between checkpoints, and you have 10 seconds of the "dark side vision"?
LDJam user 297867
04. Oct 2022 · 13:00 UTC
Cool idea
I really liked the moment when darkness-only obstacles were introduced - I was like "why can't I jump on this thing", and then "oh, that's why". Adds a nice puzzle side to it!
dod108
04. Oct 2022 · 13:05 UTC
Nice game, quite fun to play. Good idea for the main mechanic, level design could be better. For example the beginning uses the mechanic of hidden platforms too little in my opinion. It would be nice to write down what the controls are (they are pretty easy to figure out, but still). Also if you recommend controller, make sure it works in the menu too.

EDIT: Forgot to mention: graphics is very cool. It would be nice to have some sound effects, it could create a very nice mood.
LDJam user 297867
04. Oct 2022 · 13:07 UTC
About controls: I think a little player assistance wouldn't hurt, and by that I mean something like slight snapping to platforms when you reach just a few pixels lower, or before player's about to fall off an edge make the doll stumble/freeze just for a fraction of a second so the player can react and jump back. Just my ideas though, those might not work in reality
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
04. Oct 2022 · 18:56 UTC
Thank you so much guys, I'll be uploading a better controlling version in a few minutes, I'll make sure to check all your games as well! @oleg20111511 @dod108 @cremmy and everybody else!
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
04. Oct 2022 · 19:00 UTC
Glad to have some Persona fans enjoying this little "game" hehehehe. @oleg20111511
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
04. Oct 2022 · 19:05 UTC
@indigo That goes for you too! Check the new version, maybe you could reach the end this time (I still recommend a controller), I felt bad you had trouble with it, I hope you get to finish the game.
Serxiolas
04. Oct 2022 · 21:57 UTC
I liked the idea and the visuals. Pretty hard to get to the first checkpoint! You can improve a platformer with two words: "coyote time". ;)
Ale
05. Oct 2022 · 00:25 UTC
It's a good idea, but I think the 10 second timer hurts it. When you die on a path that requires darkness to continue, you're forced to just stand there for 10 seconds doing nothing.

The art style was great. Minimalist, but done well!
LDJam user 43351
05. Oct 2022 · 08:21 UTC
Awesome game man! I love the look, and the shaders look super cool. Its a bit hard when jumping on the after-10-seconds-platforms, cause you cant see your shadow on them. But other than that I love the concept!! Well done man!
Raivk
05. Oct 2022 · 17:48 UTC
Neat idea, but it's quite hard! Jumping feels a little bit off, but still managed to get far. Congrats
CaptainDreamcast
05. Oct 2022 · 20:21 UTC
Woah, very effective ending, that looked very cool and caught me offguard.

Very fun take on the theme! I think the 10 second time limit on the light side made for some good speedy gameplay while also adding a strategical element, where to switch. Some very neat platforming puzzles in here.
The effects of the dark world looked super good, those platforms helped with that otherworldly mood, I liked that a lot. I thought the mood was very strong in this, especially during the darkness.
All in all great job!
LDJam user 297867
05. Oct 2022 · 20:37 UTC
New controls feel a lot better, good job! Actually managed to finish the game this time, the invisible maze at the end was cool
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
06. Oct 2022 · 11:58 UTC
@serxiolas Indeed, I have a programmer friend telling me about it, I'm quite ashamed to say this is mostly based on the vanilla UE5 character controller, I'm a game artist and not very good at programming (if at all), as a huge platformer guy not being able to press a a frame before I land and get my input to work is quite upsetting so I can 100% sympathize.
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
06. Oct 2022 · 11:59 UTC
@ale You're absolutely right, at the very least it is the most evident in the semifinal one with the hints at the top, but yeah I agree.
🎤 niccolo-temperanza
06. Oct 2022 · 12:01 UTC
Thanks everybody else as well and rest assure I will play your games!
I play pretty much all the games of whoever was so kind to leave a feedback, the only ones I have trouble with are the multiplayer ones cause I have to try and get to all the games. In the case of local multiplayer I might be able to work with that but yeah.
LDJam user 280624
06. Oct 2022 · 19:33 UTC
What a challenge! I like it =)
LDJam user 288322
07. Oct 2022 · 18:29 UTC
This game reminds me of how bad my memory is... hopefully it'll improve the more I play this :D
cyberfrank
07. Oct 2022 · 19:18 UTC
Solid entry! Really like the nice and simple art style (with cool shaders for the "hidden" rocks). Seems to be no sounds though? Or maybe that's just on my end? Very cool still!
Substain
07. Oct 2022 · 20:01 UTC
great idea, cool use of the mechanic too! You did a good job on the level layout, too.
caeonosphere
08. Oct 2022 · 04:31 UTC
Ah, so we did have the same kind of idea, huh? :D

Like another commenter, I couldn't get past the part with the overhead pillars guiding where to go. Couldn't quite find a camera angle that would give me the depth perception I needed to make it happen. It's a good idea (of course I would think so) and definitely the best-animated character one is likely to find in the compo. How much of the time did you spend on that?
CodeRaurus
08. Oct 2022 · 12:37 UTC
Interesting game, I liked it. The main mechanic is cool and towards the end there is some clever usage of it.

I'd say the controls felt slightly too floaty as some of the jumps required more precision and the character slipped from the edges in addition. The last part could have been bit more interesting and used the previously introduced logic or something. Now you could/had to simply brute force it.

I could imagine hearing some echoing steps in the void.

EDIT: I recommend using proper platforms like itch.io or jolt or such in the future. Downloading from google drive feels always shady.

Good job!
Georgy16
11. Oct 2022 · 05:37 UTC
Cool mechanic and interesting game.
UkuleleFury
14. Oct 2022 · 19:45 UTC
:D Very fun game! Could really use some simple sounds. The patched controls were pretty usable. I didn't figure out that I could control the camera with the mouse until halfway through, but it was pretty ok even without that. I really like your aesthetic and art direction. I wanted the gloomy black cloud things around the edges to be more prominent or involved somehow. I like the new platforms that appear with lights out. Nice use of the theme!