LudumData

Depth Scan by CptDrusha

[raw]
made by CptDrusha for Ludum Dare 58 (JAM)

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photo<em>2025-10-06</em>22-39-47.jpg

image<em>2025-10-07</em>00-21-17.png

Game Description

Deep beneath the surface of an unnamed planet, explorers have uncovered Obelisks — ancient monoliths that swallow light itself.
Even the brightest lamps fail to pierce the darkness that surrounds them.

Scientists discovered that these artifacts emit an energy of unknown origin — a force that can be harnessed… and weaponized.
A special operations unit was sent to collect it. Among them — the Agent, descending into the depths where the Obelisks lie guarded by unseen creatures.
They do not welcome intruders. And they do not share their power willingly.

Gameplay

  • Collect the Obelisks and absorb their power.
  • Navigate the pitch-black caves using your LIDAR scanner.
  • Avoid ceiling-dwelling monsters waiting for their prey.
  • Watch out for patrolling beetles that roam the tunnels.
  • Hide in narrow passages to escape larger predators.
  • Adjust your scanner’s angle and intensity to explore safely.

Controls

| KEY | ACTION | | :---------------| :-----------------------| | WASD | Move | | LMB | Scan |

| Mouse Wheel | Adjust scan angle |

Credits

|MEMBER|ROLE| |:----------|:---------------------------------| |@CptDrusha | Game Design, Sound Design, Developer| |@OchPochPunk | Level Design, 3D Map| |@motooch | 3D Character| |@FallenQWE | Level Design, Game Design| |@dejavu | Developer|

Link https://cptdrusha.itch.io/depth-scan
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/depth-scan

Ratings

Overall 31th 4.211⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 58th 4⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 9th 4.316⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 473th 3.553⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 418th 3.605⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 29th 4.25⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 18th 4.447⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 15🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

UniOwl
Oct 07th · 21:15 UTC
Very cool implementation of Scanner Sombre mechanic! Although, I accidentally died at 5/6 progress after a long time walking. It would be cool to have some kind of health or checkpoint system
Artalasky
Oct 07th · 23:14 UTC
Interesting idea. Something unusual.
XP_3D
Oct 08th · 13:15 UTC
Excellent, I enjoyed playing it, it's cool, the sounds are great
creatoressa
Oct 08th · 13:16 UTC
U GUYS STOLE 40 MINS OF MY LIFE!!! but im very happy about it lol
love the game idea as time killers lover
thanx for the game guys
wish u luck!
🎤 CptDrusha
Oct 08th · 15:32 UTC
@uniowl thank you for the feedback! We’re definitely planning to add a health bar and/or checkpoints when activating the obelisks!
Hope you enjoyed playing!!! ❤️
🎤 CptDrusha
Oct 08th · 15:32 UTC
@artalasky its good to hear (●'◡'●)
🎤 CptDrusha
Oct 08th · 15:33 UTC
@xp-3d u are melting my heart!
🎤 CptDrusha
Oct 08th · 15:33 UTC
@creatoressa Owww! Thank u so much!
Melomaner
Oct 08th · 22:24 UTC
Pretty fun and moderately challenging game — I only managed to beat it on my second try. Too bad you can’t shoot at the tentacles, and I wish the footsteps slightly revealed the area ahead since they make sound anyway.
🎤 CptDrusha
Oct 08th · 23:34 UTC
@melomaner Oh footsteps-scanner is a great idea :yum:! I’ve been thinking about that too — even made a quick prototype, but there were just too many directions to take it haha
I think a small highlight would definitely help! Noted it down for the post-jam build /// thx, bro ///
JamesXM
Oct 09th · 10:27 UTC
AMAZING. This is so different and i truly love the lidar mechanic + aduio . its a great sesnory experience and is begging to be made into something more. Pie in the sky dreams would be that you could saturate the area to a point where unvield textured geo. I think you could also make the creatures more aggressive but then i would hope to not lose progress when i die. Again your team rocks 5 stars all around
woona
Oct 09th · 10:31 UTC
Wow, I managed to collect 5 out of 6 thingies before something got me. 😁 The sad thing is I saw the last thing already, but didn't manage to get it. 🥲 This game is really scary, with spooky sounds, alien terrain and sonar. Not seeing anything means you never feel truly safe (unless you know the game really well I guess).

I think sonar is a cool game mechanic, but I can't see myself playing this game for too long. I think it needs some more relaxing sections in between more stressful sections. For example, safe rooms where you can hide from monsters. With that, you can probably get away with making monsters even more dangerous.
gwhyang
Oct 10th · 10:55 UTC
Cool!
The atmosphere was really scary. In your sub-blind game player will not only collect the Obelisks, but collecting information with their jourmey.
UMC049
Oct 11th · 07:48 UTC
The gameplay is quite challenging and very exciting. The mechanic of scanning unknown spaces is reminiscent of 'The Voidness.' The in-game white noise and danger alert sounds further enhance the sense of horror coming from the unknown. Additionally, the different color prompts and sound cues obtained through scanning effectively guide me to the locations of collectible items, making it difficult to get lost or wander aimlessly. However, a small portion of the scanned walls are irregular, misleading me into thinking there are narrow paths (although this also does contribute to the horror atmosphere, especially in one area that contains four hazardous zones—similar to tentacle enemies—and a moving enemy approaching me).
huihang
Oct 11th · 13:41 UTC
In my opinion, the messy white points really scared me.But a good game.
Archaeognathus
Oct 11th · 14:20 UTC
Amazing! I've always searched for games that have this "scanning" as vision approach. Only managed 5/6 (and I've seen the 6th through a gap in a wall), but I got lost and died. The spatial audio is also very nice and adding to the creepy atmosphere.
ryusui
Oct 11th · 21:47 UTC
Visually it's incredible; mechanically, it's fascinating. I don't like how long it takes for the LIDAR to recharge, though - my instinct is to paint every surface I can in as much detail possible (and given how many times the red stuff has popped up closer than expected, it's not a bad instinct!), and it's a bit frustrating how it feels the game wants to encourage me flying blind to some extent.

I died unexpectedly after 2/6 obelisks and I'll admit I'm not sure what killed me. I never saw anything like "giant predators" (well, *pinged* anything like giant predators, anyway); I did see red things on the floor, but I thought I avoided them all. A proximity warning would be useful - both for hostiles, and for the obelisks.

Also: is it a bug that all your pings disappear after you activate an obelisk, or is it intended behavior?
Diralf
Oct 14th · 12:21 UTC
What a cool idea with lidar - very unusual. It also works well gameplay-wise: you can see where you’ve already been and it gives you a sense of where to go, though navigating is still pretty hard. The color coding is very clear - red is bad, green is good. And the reward for finding the obelisk is great - lighting up everything around you. Great game!
Phoenix Fireflower
Oct 16th · 21:15 UTC
This is the most effective horror game I've played during any Ludum Dare jam, amazing work. I do wish the game would give me more feedback on who killed me and why, especially since there are no checkpoints.