Save the ocean by Linky439

[raw]
made by Linky439 for Ludum Dare 58 (JAM)

The ocean is filled with trash... let's start cleaning it!

Play as a friendly whale shark trying to clean the lagoon it lives in, by picking up trash floating around and helping other animals to get rid of the garbage they are stuck in!

You also possesses a TRASHADEX, a trash encyclopedia that lets you see the different types of trash you already collected.

LD58<em>SaveTheOcean</em>screen0.png

Controls (Keyboard only): - Arrow keys: Move - C : Dash forward - P : Open your TRASHADEX - Enter: Return to main menu

LD58<em>SaveTheOcean</em>screen1.png

Will you find all 35 pieces of trash in the lagoon?

​------------------------------------

Known issues:

  • "Game over" and "Victory" music not playing in the HTML build,
  • Player sprites goes over foreground elements,
  • Player can sometimes get stuck inside a wall, but going back the opposite direction will always free it.

Ratings

Overall 461th 3.425⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 621th 2.952⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 758th 2.325⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 214th 3.952⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 341th 3.786⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 289th 3.425⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 394th 3.548⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 19🗨️

Feedback

jepjoh2
Oct 07th · 14:27 UTC
Is there a way to make it fullscreen? The arrow keys move the webpage up and down when trying to play it in Chrome
Matthieu Riboulot
Oct 07th · 14:30 UTC
It would probably have been worthwhile to offer a Windows/Linux version. Very cute art style, controls are a little sensitive.
Artalasky
Oct 07th · 14:42 UTC
very nice visual
🎤 Linky439
Oct 07th · 16:09 UTC
@jepjoh2 Oops, I forgot to enable that on itch => fixed!

@matthieu-riboulot Thanks! Since it is made in java, making an easy executable version that is not a plain .jar was too time-consuming to consider there.

@artalasky Thanks!
Matthieu Riboulot
Oct 07th · 16:11 UTC
@linky439 I'm pretty sure doing a post release build to just offer more options for platforms is allowed! But it's okay I understand the constraint.
breadstick
Oct 07th · 20:34 UTC
a cute little eco-conscientious collect-a-thon!

The sound effects and music were particular standouts for me, and the art style was cute!

I found a tunnel that allowed me to swim off of the tilemap... not sure if that was intended. Still, a very charming and quaint game!
Oo eXxiT oO
Oct 07th · 20:34 UTC
Very cute game! I like the moral aspect a lot in this game. The Soundtrack gave me chills and reminded me of the cozyness of Stardew Valley :)
Raice
Oct 07th · 20:35 UTC
I liked the visuals :3 It feels retro to control with arrow keys instead of WASD but it was funny haha! Good job!
Fravinci
Oct 07th · 20:35 UTC
Sometimes there are tiles of the map missing somehow, but I really like the sharky.
Im a shark shark![Screenshot 2025-10-07 223519.png](///raw/666/75/z/6ebef.png)
Iriska
Oct 07th · 20:37 UTC
Really cool idea! Cute art and ocean creatures, also liked the thrashadex with all of the descriptions, enter to exit menu was a little unusual, but the rest is truly amazing! Nice game! 💜⭐💜
LukeWaffel
Oct 07th · 20:37 UTC
Cute game! We loved the 'Thank you' sound effect when helping a fellow creature. Making the 'secret' rooms a requirement to finish the game is a bit ballsy, but I liked the challenge!

There seem to be some pixel misalignment issues on the background causing a flickering effect, but other than that it looks amazing!

For replayability purposes, it might be a nice idea to make the trash spawn in random locations if you're ever looking to expand the game beyond the Jam version.
🎤 Linky439
Oct 09th · 15:20 UTC
@breadstick Thanks! Yeah, the tunnels are intended as they lead to some trash pieces although we lacked some time to make them a bit easier to navigate and the shark's sprite was supposed to go behind it... For some reason during development it started to be displayed in front of it!

@oo-exxit-oo Thank you! :)

@raice Yeah, we like using arrows instead of WASD because they are the same for every type of keyboards! ^^

@fravinci They aren't missing, it is supposed to be some sort of secret pathway ^^ It leads to some trash :) Glad to know you liked our little shark!

@iriska Thanks for the feedback, and glad you liked the trashadex! It was a bit challenging to convey both real information and try to sneak a little joke in a limited space :)

@lukewaffel Thanks! To be fair, we initially had planned to only require a certain amount to move on to a different stage/boss fight, but we kinda ran out of time so we switch to this "find them all". As for the background issue, is it when you put the game in fullscreen?
GonulGaye
Oct 09th · 17:17 UTC
Even though there are some minor issues, the drawings are very nice.
Nef1k
Oct 09th · 18:25 UTC
That's a cute one c:
The secret tunnel throught the textures was unexpected yet satisfying
Nice work!
Jully Greenleaf
Oct 09th · 18:30 UTC
Really like the idea of this game. It's so simple, but so deep (like ocean). I noticed some issues, it's not very significant. Very cute game
naru
Oct 09th · 21:12 UTC
This game brings me back to the flash games era)
Derek Glennon
Oct 10th · 03:04 UTC
Art is very nice! Gameplay was nice and the hidden caves were a nice touch. Also, enjoyed that you could smash through the other fishes to get their trash. Well done
Dining Philosopher
Oct 11th · 22:19 UTC
I love the message! Nice graphics and animations too, some lines between the blocks in the web version for though (a problem I sometimes struggle with myself). And I like the secret passages, reminds me of the old Donkey Kong games somehow :)
good.enough
Oct 11th · 22:42 UTC
Loved the secret tunnels!
This is my sister's favorite game now.
YurisCat
Oct 12th · 10:43 UTC
![6eb9b394e4f976b35f0ed3361af4d9a4.png](///raw/574/82/z/6f4e1.png)

A very eco-friendly concept. The maze took me quite a while to explore before I managed to get in and out, and I successfully completed the game. I love your UI; it looks very clean and sophisticated.
🎤 Linky439
Oct 12th · 21:04 UTC
@gonulgaye Thanks!

@nef1k Thank you, we wanted to pay hommage to old games which liked to hide stuff like this! :)

@jully-greenleaf Thanks!

@naru I see what you mean! In a way it is reminiscent of them yeah, we did play some of these back in the day after all!

@derek-glennon Glad you enjoyed it!

@dining-philosopher Yeah there are black bars appearing whenever the size of the screen isn't a perfect multiplyer of 384x240, which seem to be a common issue with how tiled map are displayed with libgdx. We didn't have time to research and fix this in time unfortunately! Glad that you enjoyed it!

@good-enough Oh this is lovely to hear, thank you!
dasMaichen
Oct 15th · 10:45 UTC
Cute game! But poor whale shark who eats(?) all the trashes to clean the ocean. ^^'
Frib
Oct 15th · 13:55 UTC
The game is super fast for me, not sure if that's intentional but I had to lightly tap my keys just to not speed into an enemy out of sight, lol

Overall a pretty cool game! at first I thought the tunnels were incomplete but they were actually hiding the last few pieces of trash I needed to collect. I enjoyed my playthrough :D
YibiRabbit007
Oct 16th · 12:50 UTC
A cheerful ocean conservation promotional game! The music is harmonious, the visuals are perfect pixels (my favorite), and the fish wagging their tails is super cute. At first, I didn't think anything would happen if I bumped into other creatures, until I heard the sound of being attacked (it's a bit painful), haha.

But there are also some suggestions for improvement! First of all, the fish🐟's turning process is a bit stiff; it might be able to swing its body like a compass. At the same time, you should slightly reduce its collision volume. Yes, it gets very easy to get stuck at the top or bottom in the first channel, so I couldn't collect the trash at the deepest part. Those scraps are still left there, which is a bit of a pity...

*Consider using the **lerp function** to control movement; it will help you solve the steering problem!*