Summon & Chill by Flogram

[raw]
made by Flogram for Ludum Dare 55 (JAM)

Story: You're an apprentice summoner, and must search your mind for the correct words needed to complete a 3-minute incantation.

Playtime: 3 min

Controls: drag and drop/throw with the mouse

Credits: game design, programming, and music by me in 72 hours

My first Ludum Dare, and my first solo game jam. It's a game about arranging ominous-sounding falling Latin words, accompanied by ambient music affected by the gameplay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu1UJu37Wxk

Post-submission changelog: Increase cursor contrast for accessibility

Ratings

Overall 476th 3.659⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Fun 651th 3.381⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 125th 3.932⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Theme 715th 3.5⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1022th 2.727⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 43th 4.25⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1032th 1.976⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 118th 4.114⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 33🗳️ 26🗨️

Feedback

ultrarat
16. Apr 2024 · 03:35 UTC
Very much "Games to lofi summon to". Word throwing physics felt responsive without feeling like a frantic pace, good job.
LeoAtopos
16. Apr 2024 · 15:11 UTC
A little hard to see the mouse spotlight. Like the mood
7uc4s
16. Apr 2024 · 15:12 UTC
love the music!
Xakkar
16. Apr 2024 · 15:14 UTC
I like the music in this game)
Erukolindo
16. Apr 2024 · 15:15 UTC
Simple idea, but well executed. I would say it's relaxing, but my wrist did get tired by the end.
ThorPalsson
16. Apr 2024 · 15:16 UTC
Simple but enjoyable, also like the music and how it interacted with the game.
Escyll
16. Apr 2024 · 15:17 UTC
What a wonderful game!
Somehow I always fail on the word 'Et' though, it never drops down.

Really nice atmosphere.
lobbienjonsjii
16. Apr 2024 · 15:19 UTC
A simple, well executed concept. Incredible!
Axodo
16. Apr 2024 · 15:21 UTC
Music is great! Concept is cool, and the mood is very nice :)
🎤 Flogram
16. Apr 2024 · 15:41 UTC
@leoatopos Thanks for the feedback! I uploaded a new version with increased cursor contrast.
🎤 Flogram
18. Apr 2024 · 13:59 UTC
@escyll Thanks! There seems to be a bug where sometimes some words get stuck somewhere. Sorry about that. I'll look into it.
Sodoj
18. Apr 2024 · 16:28 UTC
This was a surprisingly chill experience. Not much I could add, other than maybe adding some kind of progression system, making the whole thing stand out more visually and mechanically. Maybe as incantation progresses, the background gets more wobbly or some words get smaller or darker and harder to catch. For what it is though, it's definitely a nice experience under the sea of games where you spill blood both of your enemies and the underlings you summon. Well done!
CamD67
19. Apr 2024 · 01:46 UTC
So chill, and it feels like a pretty complete experience! I really liked how if you got a bunch of words lined up you got a big accent sound. That was super satisfying.

I do think a little visual / effect flair would be nice as the summoning progressed. Like some sort of gradual background gradient shift from black -> red.
Hélicule
19. Apr 2024 · 17:08 UTC
One of my favorite entries so far, really great and unique concept with a neat execution!
LDJam user 384578
19. Apr 2024 · 18:18 UTC
Really cool experience, the physic is so satisfying. And the chill music is incredible, great work !
jk5000
20. Apr 2024 · 07:09 UTC
A simple and very relaxing puzzle game. Well done.
frederikja163
20. Apr 2024 · 16:17 UTC
Simple idea, great execution. A bit hard to play with touchpad, but thats not really a problem. I like the visuals, and the sounds. The game seems a bit familiar to my own, i like the direction too.
Frango
20. Apr 2024 · 18:17 UTC
Loved the mood, the frantic gameplay and the unique concept.
I really liked the "bounce" when a falling word touches the dragged one and when a word falls and happens a non-voluntary fill in the sentence the game feels like more easy apparently.
Well done!
braktheman
20. Apr 2024 · 21:18 UTC
Simple concept with great vibes. Love the audio design. Couldn't actually finish it because the final word I needed wouldn't spawn? Incantation failed :(

Good job regardless! Congrats on finishing your first Ludum Dare! Keep making stuff!
KrummSakura
21. Apr 2024 · 00:17 UTC
Waiting for the words to fall, strangely feels like tetris. When a simple “et” doesn't arrive at the time it is frustrating but when a line disappears, it feels great. Simple but best kind of simple. Great job.
Cshep99
21. Apr 2024 · 12:42 UTC
such a simple idea! i love how the ambient music is affected by the words clearing!
Jordan Neff
22. Apr 2024 · 02:30 UTC
This was a fun little surprise of a game. I didn't expect much at first to be honest, but found myself enjoying the simple yet enjoyable mechanic of finding and dragging the words to their respective places in the incantation. I think despite the limited scope you did a fine job of tying in the theme of summoning. The words I needed also always seemed to appear right when I needed them most, so well done on programming it so that unnecessary words weren't filling up all the space. Kudos!
OhFiddleDiddle
30. Apr 2024 · 23:55 UTC
Damn what a vibe, very soothing, and a nice little experience.
My only feedback is that it would be nice if a bit of the musical arrangement was tied to when the words got placed (not just completed, but when each word got placed). Sort of like how Tetris Effect does it (very hard in the scope of a game jam though obviously!).

Overall great work, keep it up! :)