Europan Expedition by Liam

[raw]
made by Liam for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

Explore the depths of sub-zero Europa.

With the discovery of what appears to be a liquid cave system in the frozen outer core, this mission to Jupiter's moon Europa hopes to learn what they can about the oceans within.

Controls

  • Steer left and right with A/D,J/L or Left/Right Arrows.
  • Slow descent with W,I or Up.
  • Toggle waystation deploy mode with Space. There's an audio cue for on/off.
  • Then collide with a surface to deploy. The waystation will attach and your submersible can keep going.

Instructions

  • Get as deep into the depths as you can in the days you have.
  • Your energy depletes constantly in the cold. Info at the top left of the screen
  • You will return to the launch point when it runs out.
  • Max energy is 40, you start with max when you launch.
  • Deploy a waystation to recharge energy. You get +20 when you deploy.
  • Touch a waystation on your next run to recharge. You get +20 energy as well.
  • Each run you can use a chain of waystations to descend deeper and deeper.
  • You need 50 materials to construct a replacement waystation at the start of each descent.
  • Materials info on the top right of the screen.
  • Gathering a material resource gives you +10 materials.
  • Takes about 15-20 mins on average for a full playthrough to the best ending.
  • Use M to toggle the music.

cover_image.png

Tools

  • Godot 4.4
  • Aseprite
  • Garageband
  • Bfxr
  • VSCode & iTerm for minor coding bits
  • Figma & Trello for planning
  • Chasm Palette - from LoSpec created by dysphoriaa

Mini-mortem

This is the first game I've built in Godot, my goal for the jam was to learn how to build a game with Godot and to make background music & sound effects (because I always drop them). Originally I was going to enter the Compo but I ofc bit off more than I could chew. I decided I'd like to add a little more than I could get done in the 48 hours, so it's a Jam entry but it's all built by myself, the game is much better for the extra time.

I said to myself before the jam: "No level design! It always takes too long!" :laughing:

Hints and known issues

  • Don't restart if you're getting close to the end of the 5 days. Stick it out.
  • There's no in-game restart, you have to refresh the page. Soz.
  • The material resources are the little green diamonds scattered about.
  • You can attach the waystation to the walls at the side if you need to.

Ratings

Overall 211th 3.833⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 404th 3.425⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 301th 3.476⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 25th 4.405⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 145th 4.262⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 68th 4.071⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Humor 544th 2.553⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 201th 3.952⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 28🗳️ 20🗨️

Feedback

Jadw1
07. Apr 2025 · 21:27 UTC
Cool game! I love the graphics and sound effects :D
bakuzen
08. Apr 2025 · 03:00 UTC
I enjoyed this game a lot! I made the mistake of not reading the controls properly at the start of the game, so when I lost I re-read it and learned about the waypoints. Then I had to go back a second time to give it another shot :D I'm glad I did, because the extra content made it even better ^^ I love how well the audio and visuals tie in with the overall mood, you really hit the nail on the head with all of it. Great work!
🎤 Liam
08. Apr 2025 · 06:40 UTC
@jadw1 @bakuzen Thanks so much for you kind words. Really glad you gave it another shot as well @bakuzen Ive updated the description a little to help explain the controls would have liked to built a tutorial in-game but we know how it goes. Thanks again!
JackShadow
08. Apr 2025 · 15:38 UTC
I liked the concept and the image. But after losing the energy on the day one - i was missing the goals for the day two. Is it just material hunt to get higher score? Or there goals for each day, to process to next one?
slow chaz
08. Apr 2025 · 15:40 UTC
Wow, the art & music combo has such a great feel.
🎤 Liam
08. Apr 2025 · 15:43 UTC
@jackshadow Try to get as far into the depths as you can, there is an end. Deploy waystations to allow you to recharge energy further down. Materials mean you can build another waystation. See what mysteries you can uncover!
Neth Iafin
08. Apr 2025 · 15:45 UTC
I had a bit of a hard time understanding how waystations work, but in the end it felt relatively fun. Always felt like I was missing 10 more energy to get further
DarSor
08. Apr 2025 · 15:45 UTC
nice art! the music is so atmospheric. it's a pity that there isn't some kind of "danger" in the form of monsters, for example:p
but it's still very cool:3
Bestdtang
08. Apr 2025 · 15:51 UTC
The art and sound fit the theme perfectly!I like the replayability, and the balance of storytelling is just right. Amazing job!
🎤 Liam
08. Apr 2025 · 16:00 UTC
@jackshadow @slow-chaz @neth-iafin @darsor @bestdtang Thanks for playing! I think the waystation mechanic really needed a tutorial or maybe just an overall improvement.

Those who appreciated the music, that means a lot, it's always been the area I am rubbish at in jams but I've been practicing and it's just using a few basic tricks but glad it has worked.

Shame there are no dangers lurking deeper :wink:
I_POTS
08. Apr 2025 · 16:09 UTC
The first time I played, I didn't understand how to play until I hit the wall and pressed the space Then I understood. Interesting game, you can add some guidance at the beginning!
Providence
09. Apr 2025 · 16:53 UTC
Hypnotic experience. A bit on the bland side, but somehow it kept me in a trance trying to get deeper
whateverdat
09. Apr 2025 · 18:08 UTC
It's a very atmospheric game! Slowly descending Europa's oceans is a very interesting theme, and the feeling of exploration is well-done. I also appreciate the narrative between days, I believe they compliment the overall mood nicely, reminded me of the main fallout story with water-chip--x days remaining--but it was a nice touch to let the player continue regardless.
Also it's nice to see people make very nice tracks using Garage Band, it's an awesome software often overlooked.
🎤 Liam
12. Apr 2025 · 14:52 UTC
@i-pots @providence @whateverdat Really appreciate you taking the time to play.

I was definitely going for a passive(ish) meditative exploration style. Glad the experience was both hypnotic and atmospheric!
Natalia2208
13. Apr 2025 · 08:35 UTC
I enjoyed the game, to be honest it was relaxing to explore the caves to the point i forgot that i had to gather the resources! I love the graphics and the music!
🎤 Liam
13. Apr 2025 · 10:59 UTC
@natalia2208 Thanks for playing!
Vladcfg
13. Apr 2025 · 13:15 UTC
A meditative and relaxing game — to be honest, I didn’t immediately understand what to do, but I really enjoyed the music and the minimalist yet very beautiful graphics. Thank you so much for the game! And yes, I finished it to the end =)
Eugenik
14. Apr 2025 · 02:07 UTC
Really good game!.
LDJam user 372635
14. Apr 2025 · 11:29 UTC
A really relaxing experience! I liked a lot the flow that is created by the slow movement together with the soundtrack.
Unfortunately during my playthrough, in the fourth day I didn't began with a waystation to deploy, and because of that I didn't manage to get the good ending. But I'll be sure to give it another try later! :)

Overall a really chill experience, with a super cute pixel art and nice audio. Thank you for the game!

edit: I forgot to mention that the fullscreen didn't worked here. Maybe you forgot to set the strech_mode in the project settings.
WetBurritoSupreme
15. Apr 2025 · 04:27 UTC
Great game! I really like the itterative discovery of getting further along each time, and it was nice to find a relaxing game!
KirLosev
16. Apr 2025 · 14:29 UTC
I like the cosmic setting very much! The mood in the game is quite strong overall. Took me a moment to understand what stations do but after that the game loop felt and played really well and coherent. Keep up the good job!
Outish
16. Apr 2025 · 14:36 UTC
Took me a while to figure out the whole waypoint business. Great game and lovely graphics. Maybe just make the movement faster next time.
🎤 Liam
16. Apr 2025 · 16:20 UTC
@vladcfg @eugenik @kirlosev Thank you for taking the time to play, really appreciate it and your feedback.
🎤 Liam
16. Apr 2025 · 16:21 UTC
@hinamarina Thanks for playing! Ah that's a shame about the fullscreen, I thought I'd set it up correctly but my mistake.
🎤 Liam
16. Apr 2025 · 16:23 UTC
@outish Glad you enjoyed! I think the movement is a little slow, it does feed into the vibe but I think it could be a bit faster or maybe have sink/float as an input and then a direction which you can thrust in. Hmmm. Maybe just thrusting towards the mouse would have been better. I will experiment.
Missfire
24. Apr 2025 · 15:28 UTC
Absolutely wonderful! A cozy retro vibe wrapped around some really clever mechanics. I literally yelped when I realized I had to leave the probe farther and farther behind each time!

My first run was spent hanging near the surface; on the second I dove deep into Mother Alien’s embrace.

Excellent work all around—magical music, art, and mechanics. Thank you so much!
🎤 Liam
26. Apr 2025 · 07:25 UTC
@missfire Thanks for playing, very glad you made it to the end :grin: