Inside the Field by Debugdancer

[raw]
made by Debugdancer for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

First person platformer/puzzle.

Task - walk from door to door.

You have been imprisoned in a confined force field emitted by a strange object near you. Seems like this force field is impervious for you. Maybe it is not a limitation, but a creative possibility.

controls to move - WASD jump - space take/drop - mouse2 throw - mouse1 pause - q

About our team: @Debugdancer - Lead,3D artist @DanilaY - 3D/2D artist @GetMeSuprised - 3D artist @rebenkoy - Prog, Lvl artist @ksts - Prog @nor1h-l1zard - Game designer

Ratings

Overall 839th 3.25⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 833th 3.1⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 209th 3.825⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 168th 4.225⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 976th 2.475⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 899th 1.967⭐ 17🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1045th 2.5⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 14🗨️

Feedback

Georgy16
03. Oct 2023 · 00:41 UTC
Not bad)
Marti Mayolas
03. Oct 2023 · 15:13 UTC
Cool idea, congratulations!!
Bastian Bresson
03. Oct 2023 · 15:15 UTC
From the start it was a bit difficult to execute the mechanics. Maybe an easier start would have been better. Very unique take on the theme tho!
Sparkleypie
03. Oct 2023 · 15:17 UTC
Nice concept, i found it a little difficult in the beginning, but overall nice idea :)
mahalis
03. Oct 2023 · 15:20 UTC
This is interesting! It’s a cool mechanic but I had a hard time progressing—it was hard to tell where the object would end up when I threw it, and I kept getting stuck in situations where I could neither reach it nor get somewhere that I could retrieve it from. It seems like you’re meant to be able to pull the object around by walking into the edge of the field, but I couldn’t get that to work some of the time. Maybe a “pull” or “summon” system would help?
🎤 Debugdancer
03. Oct 2023 · 15:29 UTC
@mahalis we thought about the mechanics of returning the object to the hands, but then the game could be played leaving the object behind. We played with the physics of flight for a very long time and in the end we just throw it hard, so the arc of the throw is not very noticeable
rebenkoy
03. Oct 2023 · 16:34 UTC
@mahalis

I was thinking on implementing some sort of Ctrl+Z mechanics to revert player to the last moment they were holding The Limiter. But I focused more on ironing out some bugs with the physics (There still are some not game-breaking bugs though).

If you allow players to summon The Limiter they can leave it behind and then summon, initialy it felt like breaking the flow in which player should find a suitable place further in the level to take The Limiter back. Maybe we will add some sort of "recall beacon" that will be a static object and will allow reaclling.

When the object is loose (aka not laying on a platform) you indeed can move it by bumping into the field , and sometimes you can manipulate somehow to retrieve it back. One such place is on Level 1 on the messy tubes that go across the room: If you stand on them and drop the ball you can force it to land on the lowest platform and retry your throw.
rebenkoy
03. Oct 2023 · 16:36 UTC
@sparkleypie Yeah, it seems like we need to add some more levels with lighter difficulty progression. Hope you've managed to complete the game :)
Pierre-Marie
03. Oct 2023 · 17:28 UTC
The concept is really good, not easy to complete the levels though :D
Maybe adding a little more information in the tutorial before the level could have been interesting
In any case, it's a great project!
Anper
03. Oct 2023 · 21:00 UTC
Not so easy to understand game mechanics
Kirass
04. Oct 2023 · 09:02 UTC
The idea is cool and the puzzles are challenging, that's good)
WimbleBimble
04. Oct 2023 · 10:04 UTC
Механика игры очень интересная, но прогрессировать в игре довольно трудно.
SvetlanaLis
04. Oct 2023 · 13:43 UTC
неплохо неплохо , вы молодцы
purplexy
04. Oct 2023 · 13:54 UTC
Once you understand what to do the game is pretty fun, but it definitely requires some patience :D
FanNevada
04. Oct 2023 · 13:57 UTC
i really like your idea !! great work
Frib
04. Oct 2023 · 14:00 UTC
This game could really use a "recall device" option for when you miss a throw forcing you to essentially restart the level. I really like the innovative use of the force field but there's too much trial and error for me to really enjoy the game :(

But other than that, great puzzle platformer :D
Zach Rouhana
04. Oct 2023 · 14:00 UTC
Great idea, but a bit buggy. Also what's with the music?
Really liked the game other than the music
LDJam user 275955
04. Oct 2023 · 14:33 UTC
Genius, the best environmental puzzle idea I've ever seen on jam.
(Sens toooo high, it makes sense to me)
creativ4eg
04. Oct 2023 · 14:50 UTC
Brilliant idea! I want updates in the future to fully appreciate the gameplay
ROBOWARRIOR1982
04. Oct 2023 · 15:56 UTC
Epic music !!! Cool concept for a puzzle game, very interesting!
rebenkoy
04. Oct 2023 · 20:57 UTC
@frib I was thinking on implementing some sort of Ctrl+Z mechanics that will revert player to the last moment they were holding The Limiter. That will allow player to make mistakes but will not break the game flow:
1) throw the limiter ahead of you In a place where you will be able to reach it again
2) platform to it
3) repeat
If you allow recall at any moment it will break this loop as it might be tempting to leave the limiter behind in some places.
Maybe we just need to accept this need and implement recal functionality as is. But I would like to try Ctrl+Z first.
Frib
04. Oct 2023 · 21:07 UTC
@rebenkoy yeah a crtl+z would fit better then, I agree. My first instinct was a recall because that would make sense, but agreed that it would break your game flow and puzzles too much. Could be worth investigating as an additional mechanic for different puzzles, though.
tjm
05. Oct 2023 · 11:17 UTC
I think the idea of a puzzle platformer where you can effectively create platforms by moving a held object is really interesting, and has a lot of potential! Level 1 here feels like a great example of the kind of awkward environment you might be navigating in a later level of such a game.

Unfortunately here I feel like the challenges just get too fiddly too quickly? Even just positioning the object so that you could pick it up from a higher level felt a little awkward. I would suggest that in a game like this it's better for the *execution* to be really generous (with large objects, long pickup distances, lots of snapping and backstops for throws), and for the challenge to come from figuring out *where* you want things to go, not from fighting with the physics to get them there. Obviously Portal and Portal 2 are cited to death, but for good reason; they did a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle work to make it easy to precisely line up jumps and portals as needed for the puzzle.

Hopefully you're encouraged to continue with this, and can turn it into something great!
LDJam user 377116
08. Oct 2023 · 18:32 UTC
Game did not load for me :( Im in Firefox on Windows
Dan Burns
09. Oct 2023 · 01:02 UTC
Definitely over my head, but I had fun fiddling with it. Games like this (for me) are always more manageable after 2-3 "entry levels" that ease you into the game logic, etc. But I also have an idiot brain that can only make music, not easily navigate obtuse 3d puzzles haha. Nice work!
Alexkik1515
14. Oct 2023 · 10:11 UTC
Very interesting mechanic. I hope you'll get updates soon!