PODVAL The Game by Almaz

[raw]
made by Almaz for Ludum Dare 56 (JAM)

Tiny creatures aren’t always cute and harmless.

You wake up in a room you’ve never seen before. Cold, damp walls, the dim light from an old lamp, and the pervasive smell of mold and rot. Slowly, your mind starts to clear, and you realize — it’s a basement. The only way out is further down.

The stairs creak ominously beneath your weight, as if warning you to turn back. Yet, each step pulls you closer to the unknown, where the shadows seem to ripple with life. There’s something waiting down there — and it knows you’re coming.

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Hello, world! This is our third game jam and our first 3D game. Our small team tried to create the feeling of a one-way journey — into a cold and sticky abyss of despair.

The development wasn’t perfect, but in the end, we had fun — we hope you’ll have fun too!

Your feedback is important to us! We read every comment and carefully consider all your suggestions. They inspire us to keep improving and refining our skills. We hope that your contributions will help us become even better as game developers :)

Don't worry if the game crashes after a red screen — that's intentional, we just haven't had time to create a proper death screen yet

CONTROLS:

WASD — Movement

F — Interact

RMB/Mouse2 — Toggle Flashlight

Update: 8/10/2024:
The size of some entities has been adjusted to the correct scale.
HTML5 build has been added.

Update: 13/10/2024
Fixed colliders to prevent rats from incorrect interaction.
Fixed a bug with rat sound.
Balanced rat mechanics.
Fixed the rats idle animation.
Adjusted trigger colliders for optimization.
Fixed the wooden door collider.
Added preloading of certain sounds into memory to avoid sound bugs.
Reduced the pursuit distance for rats.
Added an exit button to avoid the users feeling of the game crashing.

Ratings

Overall 1011th 2.88⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1012th 2.602⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1041th 2.327⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Theme 947th 2.949⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Audio 454th 3.3⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 919th 2.06⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Mood 453th 3.61⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Given 51🗳️ 65🗨️

Feedback

daflamingpotato
08. Oct 2024 · 00:33 UTC
Nice, short and sweet. Good atmosphere. Game crashed at the end when I ran back to the door, not sure if that was the intent
Vlad_Russu
08. Oct 2024 · 06:34 UTC
lovko vi eto pridumali ahahah
Kevin Meissner
08. Oct 2024 · 08:31 UTC
I am not sure if I finished the game or not, after the red screen the game closed itself.
But in general it has a good atmosphere and nice sounds.
good job.
NOPER
08. Oct 2024 · 14:52 UTC
Good atmosphere, the guidence with mouse was an thoughtful approach
Mitsukoy
08. Oct 2024 · 14:56 UTC
Scary atmosphere and sounds eeek
Bstabuu
08. Oct 2024 · 15:07 UTC
The atmosphere is really good. I wish the game was longer. Also at least on my machine the mouse sensitivity felt like it was too high. (the MOUSE sensitivity, get it? Ba-dum-tss)
AthosPap
08. Oct 2024 · 20:38 UTC
I really like the atmosphere, I would recommend adding in game tutorials, maybe in a loading screen
cpaz
09. Oct 2024 · 01:17 UTC
Nice atmosphere and sound design! I would suggest faster acceleration for the player movement, and a UI element to indicate which objects can be picked up would also be a nice addition. I got goosebumps when the mice came out!
Dinorex
09. Oct 2024 · 16:56 UTC
Good atmosphere. I liked the range of the flashlight, you always expect something scary in the dark) The sound is also quite good. I would like the mouse control to be smoother, and the character would not continue to move for some time after you release the button.

Still don't understand what happens to you at the end, do rats eat you?)
Sharky3188
10. Oct 2024 · 03:19 UTC
Good atmosphere, the graphics looked decent. Would have enjoyed a bit more content.
AlwaysHungry
10. Oct 2024 · 06:37 UTC
Good atmosphere , I really got frightened when I encountered with the statue....
LDJam user 276593
10. Oct 2024 · 09:12 UTC
Really moody atmosphere. Good implementation of the flashlight as well, and some great 3D art. Definitely needed that death screen though :smile:
WegPast
10. Oct 2024 · 21:51 UTC
I really like the moody ambiance
But... Did I miss something or you just discover a (creepy) statue and then die ? I wish there was a bit more to do. It's more an experience than a game.
But at least the scary mood is really well done !
Zenorke
11. Oct 2024 · 08:27 UTC
So weird atmosphere ahah
Local Minimum
11. Oct 2024 · 13:42 UTC
Walking down I was like, oh there's a cute rat, I wonder what that poor thing is fleeing from. And then there were more, none of them seemed scary or even interested in me. I got to the bottom and the statue and there was a change of sound. But I got distracted by that there seemed to be no collision detection on the statue and that I could clip through it. When I got out of it the rats were all there looking at me expectantly but respectfully. I started walking back and they followed me, but didn't really seem scary. After a while I did wonder if I should be doing something with turning the flashlight on and off, but walking backwards for a bit with it on it didn't really seem like they were gaining on me. So I turned around and walked back up, got to be next to the door and the screen turned red. I'm guessing by the rats killing me.

I think there were some parts missing here in driving home the feeling of being scared. One part was just how the rats interacted with me. I think it would have been better if they were not running when I was walking down. Just loitering about, maybe looking at me. And then when they presumably turned on me, it would have been good to take the control away form the player to force me to see that they were a threat and coming for me. Perhaps also forcing the flashlight to turn off every now and then and force the player to look back over their shoulder. To see the danger.
Master-YEET
11. Oct 2024 · 19:23 UTC
I am not sure I finished the game but the rats started following me, then I went back to the door at the beginning, the screen became red and the game closed. The atmosphere and graphics were great, but it is very unclear what to do inside the game.
PaulMag
12. Oct 2024 · 22:19 UTC
Creepy atmosphere, and freaky when the rats start following you! But, it doesn't seem like the game was complete, and there wasn't anything to actually do?
MotoIlyuha
13. Oct 2024 · 12:17 UTC
### English:
Hello from Russia! To try yourself in 3D right at a jam is a very brave step and you guys are good for daring to do it. You managed to create an atmosphere and even some kind of plot, if I may say so. Keep trying your hand at something new! Good luck!

P.S. If you don't mind, check out our game too, you might like it.

### Русский:
Привет из России! Попробовать себя в 3D прямо на джеме - это очень смелый шаг и вы, ребята, молодцы, что решились на это. Вам удалось создать атмосферу и даже какой-то сюжет, если так можно сказать. Продолжайте пробовать cебя в чем-то новом! Удачи!

P.S. Если вам не трудно, посмотрите нашу игру тоже, вдруг понравится
🎤 Almaz
13. Oct 2024 · 14:36 UTC
@daflamingpotato @vlad-russu @kevin-meissner @noper @mitsukoy @bstabuu @athospap @cpaz @dinorex @sharky3188 @alwayshungry @teddyreid @zenorke @local-minimum @master-yeet
Hello, gamers! We are grateful for your ratings and comments. We've released a new update that **fixes several bugs** and improves our game. We hope this update will enhance your experience!
We also added an **Audio category** that was mistakenly excluded. Don't forget to leave feedback and share your thoughts.
Thanks for playing!
The Development Team❤️
Roroto Sic
13. Oct 2024 · 14:43 UTC
After the statue, when you come back, the door can't be opened and the only ending is to die eaten by rats?
If yes, that's an ending I like ^^ Spooky and fun little game ^^
daria-toni
13. Oct 2024 · 20:59 UTC
Okay, that was quick but good. The moment when you first see the statue and the obelisk is very good! The sound that happens at that moment creates the right effect. What is that sound? Where have I heard it before... It reminds me a lot of the German series Dark. And a very good moment when you approach the door and you hear laughter from somewhere in the distance. I would play a bigger game like that! I can imagine such a maze.
stuckne1
13. Oct 2024 · 23:52 UTC
Great atmosphere and use of light. I was a little sad it was over so fast.
LDJam user 397099
14. Oct 2024 · 11:44 UTC
Lot was said already. The atmosphere is there, the inertia on the controls is too strong but the feeling is interesting. The opening sound of the door is played a bit "late" I think, and you could've maybe added a locked door sound and walking sound maybe. Anyway, nice game!
Vodzik
22. Oct 2024 · 20:57 UTC
Creepy. Nice mood, models and animations.
Is there a way to "win" this game, or death at the end is inevitable?
Vodzik
22. Oct 2024 · 21:00 UTC
At the start I tryed to pick up the the oil lamp and did not see the flashlight :D
H1de0
24. Oct 2024 · 11:35 UTC
Nice entry. Too bad I didn't found anyway to win the game. Also I would recommend to create a music track based on a simple pad synth to involve the player in your mood.
I had some problem with the mouse, as soon as I move the cursor in a direction it regularly switch violently in another.

Hope you had fun doing your game.
Shess
24. Oct 2024 · 19:02 UTC
I almost lunged into the darkness without picking up the flashlight, ahaha. The rats were kinda cute at first, and the way their behavior changed after I reached the idol was startling. At first, there were four of them, and then way too many for me to count by the time I went all the way down again. Seems like I won't be making friends with he little pals anytime soon...

Absolutely loved the droning ambient music in the background, it worked perfectly to set the atmosphere. Sweetest little horror experience.
lolhopen
25. Oct 2024 · 16:34 UTC
Okay, so I guess the death IS the ending. I liked that your game was a horror, didn't see this on this LD yet. Graphics looked fairly decent for a web game made in 2 days by 3 people, though I felt mice had kinda different style to them. Death screen looked a bit out of style too, the button specifically.

Audio and atmosphere are nice, and I liked how the cultist mice went after you when you saw their idol. Movement felt too slow (maybe a bigger location and faster movement?), while mouse sensitivity was too high though this did not interfere with the gameplay in this case.

While this review may sound all picky (because it is) and maybe negative, I liked the game in context of this jam.