LudumData

Pollen Pusher by Quail Weaver

[raw]
made by Quail Weaver for Ludum Dare 58 (COMPO)

Press [R] to reset or [U] to undo :cry:

Have you ever wanted to be a bug? Did you play my previous game Trepth and think "wow all these bugs are great but where are the bees??" Well then this game is weirdly, Specifically, catered to you, stranger! This time, you're a bee. That's really the only difference :wink:

2025-10-05 16.04.51.gif

I've been considering making a Hexagonal Sokoban game for a while.. And when I saw the theme "Collector", I knew that now was the time. That's exactly what I made: a hexagonal-grid-based blockpusher game.

Also it has a level editor!

2025-10-05 20.58.26.gif

I forgot to write down a bunch of the hotkeys in the editor so I'll say them here: - [C] copy current space - [P] paste copied space - [M] modify current space (change flower/pollen colors, rotate arrows) - [R] clear current space - [U] undo (works in the editor too! :slight_smile:) - [enter] print level as JSON to the console.

Have fun :smiley_cat: AND POST PICS OF YOUR CUSTOM LEVELS IN THE COMMENTS !!!! mwrawrwarwarawrrr

In case you don't feel like finishing all the levels: to enter the debug menus, press the 1 + 2 keys at the same time anywhere in the game!

Itch Mirror https://quail-weaver.itch.io/pollen-pusher
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/pollen-pusher

Ratings

Overall 26th 3.947⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 27th 3.75⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 33th 3.895⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 111th 3.526⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 52th 3.921⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 26th 3.842⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 66th 3.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 36th 3.895⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 16🗨️

Feedback

plastus
Oct 05th · 22:33 UTC
Hi, I initially checked out your game because a friend of mine is doing a bee game for this jam aswell :D
So I thought a game made by a humble bee enjoyer must be great. Here is my honest feedback:
What I liked:
- The win texts (yippee :3)
- The concept of collecting pollen (I especially loved when I had to put multiple of the same kind into the hexagon and it filled itself out :O)
- The bees of course! (Hexagons are the bestagons)

What I didn't like:
- In the first level where you can die, I did (:skull:) and I didn't know how to reset, because it is only shown in the next level
-> Connecting to that point: The music stopping. The cozy vibe got washed away, when the bee drowned :(

I guess besides that it was a nice experience :D
🎤 Quail Weaver
Oct 05th · 23:13 UTC
@plastus hhhhh I suspected that might be an issue :disappointed: glad u figured it out though! :cat:
LDJam user 336676
Oct 06th · 00:05 UTC
i really liked this one, i had an AHA moment when i realized i could push 2 of the same blobs together to make one big one to make the game easier
CamComDuck
Oct 06th · 02:46 UTC
I found the movement a bit confusing, but really appreciate the compass UI to help fix that. The art is super cute and sounds complement the bee well. I think its a bit too easy to get soft locked on a level, and feels frustrating when its the last pollen at the very end, but I understand this is my fault too haha. I think also introducing the R for reset earlier would be nice, as I was refreshing the page each time before learning the keybind. Overall, the game flow of slowly introducing mechanics is extremely well done and makes it easy to learn while playing, which is the best kind of tutorial! Especially for this style of puzzle game.
Jesús González
Oct 06th · 02:48 UTC
Do this require color vision? Or maybe I'm just dumb.

If it doesn't I'll give it another go!

I'll rate the audio, graphics and mood in the meanwhile. All 5/5. Really polished.

And the controls. Really good idea and execution there.
pres2300
Oct 06th · 02:48 UTC
Great job designing this game! The controls took me a minute to get used to, but that's probably just because my brain is tired from the jam. I appreciated that you had a key in the corner of the screen. This was a really great puzzle game, well done!
Threeli
Oct 06th · 02:53 UTC
Wow, this is slick as heck. After a second the controls became second nature, and they work really well! Great audio work as well as the visuals. Just the right amount of quirk. Brilliant stuff, and I'll keep messing with it. It has a very addictive quality (for me as it were)
🎤 Quail Weaver
Oct 06th · 02:56 UTC
@jesus-gonzalez yess sorry, there are three distinct colors of pollen (the blobs) which don't mix :cry: I tried to use brightnesses to ensure that they'd be visually distinguishable without color vision.... But based on your comment it seems like it wasn't enough :( sorryyyy and I will do better in the future !!!
Sthor726
Oct 06th · 03:14 UTC
Really like this one!! The aesthetic is perfect and I had a good time working through these puzzles. Very impressive for a 48 hour jam.
bad_fetus
Oct 06th · 04:11 UTC
I'm not entirely sure what the goal is in the Sink level — only two targets but three kinds of pollen as far as I can tell. That's where I gave up.

Well done on pulling off movement on a hexagonal grid — not sure if you came up with it or if the movement scheme already existed elsewhere but I was pleasantly surprised at how fast I got used to QWEASD movement and got proficient at it. Good work on getting the sokoban QoL in there as well with the undoes. Great work!
av_shustov
Oct 06th · 09:40 UTC
Cool. The controls are very weird and unusual, but it's styled really well!
Alex Mulkerrin
Oct 06th · 16:36 UTC
Great novelty in doing a sokoban game on a hexagonal grid. The presentation is delightful, especially the tiles. Not sure why the music stops when the bee goes for a swim, it is going to get out, right? D: Anyway making a fully featured level editor is very cool.
🎤 Quail Weaver
Oct 06th · 18:03 UTC
@alex-mulkerrin according to all known laws of navigation bees cannot swim :crying_cat_face:
F1Krazy
Oct 07th · 13:34 UTC
I'm not very good at sokoban, let alone hexagonal sokoban, but I really enjoyed this nonetheless. The graphics and music are really cozy and charming, and making it hexagonal is a clever twist on the formula - I found it surprisingly easy to get the hang of the controls. I'm also very impressed that you managed to fit in a level editor!

I too got stuck on Sink, I get that you can safely ignore one of the pollen blobs, but beyond that I have absolutely no idea what you're supposed to do.
LDJam user 280624
Oct 07th · 19:51 UTC
An interesting and stylish puzzle. The hex movement is a bit unusual at first, but you get used to it with practice. Plus, the "compass" in the bottom right corner really helps with that. Great game!
Baluj
Oct 07th · 21:09 UTC
I've spent more time than I'm willing to admit, stuck on the Triangle level. Very nice game!
adjo
Oct 08th · 19:11 UTC
it's a nice variation on this style of game, I did struggle a little with the controls, but eventually got the hang of it
Ciphereo
Oct 09th · 12:07 UTC
I like bees. It's an interesting game with some counter-intuitive operations. The movement is based on the WASD keys, but it adds the Q, E, and D keys, which is quite innovative. But I got used to it! In conclusion, I really like this game^^
Ciphereo
Oct 09th · 12:07 UTC
I like bees. It's an interesting game with some counter-intuitive operations. The movement is based on the WASD keys, but it adds the Q, E, and D keys, which is quite innovative. But I got used to it! In conclusion, I really like this game^^
Eugenik
Oct 09th · 12:45 UTC
Awesome graphics and music!.
WetBurritoSupreme
Oct 11th · 01:40 UTC
Oh such a good puzzle game! I came here from the traffic rush game, but this is so awesome, the level editor! the little music! the whole vibe was so perfect for a jam, it's a crime this isn't rated yet, I'm sending it to all my friend (1)
Kenneth Gibson
Oct 11th · 15:22 UTC
wow, its a first time I've seen somebody made hexagonal controls
artwork is cozy and fun, liked it very much