Driller Instinct by MaximeG

made by MaximeG for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

HOW TO PLAY: Move the mouse cursor to control the drill :smile:

In * Driller Instinct *, your fate rests on the edge of your choices and your unwavering determination to conquer the underground labyrinth. Armed with your trusty drill, you're thrust into a world where every move counts and meaningful choices can be the difference between life and a molten demise.

Navigate the enigmatic subterranean expanse, filled with twisting tunnels, concealed chambers, and ever-looming danger. Your objective? To carve out strategic paths, discover hidden pockets, and unearth priceless gems that empower you with game-altering abilities, all while staying one step ahead of the relentless, encroaching lava.

Post-mortem (2 hour of work) : Fix WebGL build, performance improvement, fix collision bug, fix seed not affecting one biome

Original URL

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/54/driller-instinct

Ratings

Overall	29^th	4.316⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Fun	4^th	4.553⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	187^th	3.868⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Theme	90^th	4.368⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	203^th	4.211⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Audio	132^th	3.944⭐	20🧑‍⚖️
Mood	271^th	3.868⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Given		13🗳️	24🗨️

Feedback

Alpie

03. Oct 2023 · 12:52 UTC

WebGL version on this page is "404 Not Found" :(
On windows gameplay is fun tho.

I really like the visuals here. And terrain editing is one of my favorite features in every game :D

Luksor

03. Oct 2023 · 17:39 UTC

This is a really fun game, the drilling is very satisfying and I had a lot of fun trying out different upgrades.
The lava constantly trying to get you adds a lot of thrill to the experience.
Would love to play a polished post-jam version of it in the future.

![farlands.png](///raw/8fc/92/z/5f53f.png)
Found the far-lands! :D

sebi

03. Oct 2023 · 18:15 UTC

The game is really cool, it's hard to imagine you did all this in just 72 hours!

I think this might be another bug - where you can't modify the black terrain:

![output2.gif](///raw/256/c3/z/5f58a.gif)

sebi

03. Oct 2023 · 18:20 UTC

And it appears lava in farlands crashes the game ^^' but it's really fun!

LDJam user 373269

05. Oct 2023 · 08:23 UTC

This game sucked me in for a good half hour. No regrets, I enjoyed it, it was fun! I must found the far-lands too :^)

RicardoBusta

08. Oct 2023 · 15:04 UTC

Wow, addictive gameplay there. Kept playing until level 120ish, even if I kinda got too strong for the lava to catch up with me, and could choose from 6 different upgrades all the time. I could totally see this scaling up a lot more with more tiers of soils and minerals to drill from.

Amazing game!

Ynnon

08. Oct 2023 · 18:01 UTC

really really GOOD!I was stuck in this game for 15 minutes XD

jacobingalls

08. Oct 2023 · 18:13 UTC

Destructive terrain in a JAM? Crazy. Cool take on the theme!

GodDoesPlayDice

08. Oct 2023 · 18:14 UTC

I've played your game longer than any other, but it was a pain to die. I didn't realize it was so important to level up HP! Very good entry

Oscar Berry

08. Oct 2023 · 19:41 UTC

Congrats omg awesome for a Jam!

FrankDev

08. Oct 2023 · 23:34 UTC

Great game, really addictive! GJ

AlexTengu

09. Oct 2023 · 03:34 UTC

I've played this game too much. Let's say, digged too deep...

You can check the playtest on youtube. I edited the 1 hour video to be short as possible to highlight essential things I explored in your game.

Spoiler: dying being unable to get safe - that is the real tragedy of this game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxbMfvL3ty4

![231009 - LD54 Driller Instinct Playtest.mp4_snapshot_01.10.971.jpg](///raw/c44/a3/z/600ed.jpg)

![231009 - LD54 Driller Instinct Playtest.mp4_snapshot_07.50.469.jpg](///raw/c44/a3/z/600ee.jpg)

Magnanix

09. Oct 2023 · 11:20 UTC

I spent a very long time playing this, what a wonderful idea. Very good graphical representations of everything and the audio was great too! the constant increase in danger from faster and faster lava kept me on my toes - ultimately I died to the evil invisible wall XD.
My only suggestion would have been to add a quick tutorial on the goal, I started off not understanding that I had to mine the orbs, instead - I was trying to dig around them (to free them from the terrain).
Overall excellent submission! :).

Spica

09. Oct 2023 · 18:15 UTC

This is sooooooo addicting! Really nice entry! Wish you added a "pause" button though so I can take breaks sometimes :smile: (or did I not notice it?)

Joror

09. Oct 2023 · 19:59 UTC

Neat visuals and fun smashing of rocks! The tension ramps up as you go, but it seems hard to avoid the lava at times?
Busted around quite a bit, good job!

KeichiTS

09. Oct 2023 · 21:43 UTC

Very clever usage of the theme. The game looks very pollished with good level progression.

It's impressive for a 72h jam time.

I really enjoyed!

chompdev

22. Oct 2023 · 22:15 UTC

Super fun! Congrats on the excellent score. I love how you've distilled the fun of mining into a very smooth and enjoyable gameplay loop, and the expanding lava mechanic is a great way to add tension and put an emphasis on meaningful perk choices. Great job!