A Present for Ama by oliver_day

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

Note: the for the post-jam version the following instructions will not work

There is no present as I didn't have time. Navigate increasingly deep caves (procedurally generated) to get to your grandma.

Tab or Esc brings up/closes menue. Q quit to home; Enter, W or : next (only works after beating level)

Move down or hit Enter to select.

Ratings

Overall 865th 2.423⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 872th 2.077⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 865th 2.154⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Theme 681th 3.173⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 663th 3.115⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Humor 643th 2.152⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 694th 3.115⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 27🗳️ 33🗨️

Feedback

🎤 oliver_day
04. Apr 2025 · 07:03 UTC
Notes: The plan was to make a game that involved navigating puzzles and moving around blocks (needing memory) to find a present for ama (grandma). had to do taxes Saturday and traveled the whole Sunday so I didn't have as much time. I'll make a post jam version later.


Notes:
- You may run into audio stuttering in the web version. Please download for best experience.
- for some reason the web version does not work in Librewolf or Firefox when you widen the window too far (This is unfortunate because I want to support free-libre/open-sorce browsers). You may also need to enable webGL.

PS. Did people find the button navigation intuitive.
Gordo McSchnordo
08. Apr 2025 · 03:16 UTC
very cute! only issue was when i beat a level and pressed left or right at the end i wouldn't be able to go back to the selection anymore w/o refreshing. Q for quit/home didn't work either.
Joel Davis
08. Apr 2025 · 03:27 UTC
Very nice. Lots of personality and charm comes across in few pixels and colors. I could see this turning into a chill downward puzzle game, i hope you keep working on it!
🎤 oliver_day
08. Apr 2025 · 03:33 UTC
@gordo-mcschnordo I thought I'd fixed that (I'll have to try in other browsers).
Poshaus
08. Apr 2025 · 04:17 UTC
If I press too hard one of the buttons the music completely stops.
🎤 oliver_day
08. Apr 2025 · 05:43 UTC
@poshaus what browser are you using? I could not replicate that in chrome.
BatTheCat
08. Apr 2025 · 15:11 UTC
pretty nice classic, i enjoy it
tailchaser
08. Apr 2025 · 15:14 UTC
Looks promising, I hope we'll see post-jam version of this game!
Koolruz
08. Apr 2025 · 15:16 UTC
I also ran into the same issue as Gordo - I had to refresh the game after every level. I'm on Windows Firefox if it helps :)

Aside from that, this was really charming and refreshing little game! I really liked the audio

As for whether folks found the button navigation intuitive, I had a hard time with it, but I'm not sure how much of that came down to the refresh issue!
P3ngui
08. Apr 2025 · 15:20 UTC
Do it get it right? There is no goal and nothing to do but to jump down, restart and jump down again?
The looks and mood is cute :)
Pilarius
08. Apr 2025 · 15:23 UTC
a bit confused what to do and why i have to click tab when reaching the bottom. Just falling down and reach the bottom? I like the music and vibe
🎤 oliver_day
08. Apr 2025 · 21:46 UTC
@koolruz I think it could be the way I'm allocating. The library I'm using doesn't seem to support firefox/gecko browsers that well either.


@pilarius, @p3ngui Unfortunately yes, I didn't have time for a more complex goal as I was mostly busy Saturday/Sunday.

@pilarius it should open up the menu automatically when you reach the bottom if you aren't pressing any other buttons.
milq
10. Apr 2025 · 16:51 UTC
Wow! It honestly looks promising! The graphics were really well done, and the music was perfectly chosen (by the way, what's the song? I love it!). The fact that it uses procedural generation is no small feat, it clearly took a lot of work and effort. It’s a shame you couldn’t finish it, because it had so much potential. If you ever decide to complete the game, let us know, I’ll play it, and I’m sure many others would love to play it too!
Buni
10. Apr 2025 · 17:50 UTC
It took me a little time to figure out the controlls and what I have to do, but I like the concept of the game :)
Oddmes
11. Apr 2025 · 12:05 UTC
Good luck with the full featured version :)
dhim
11. Apr 2025 · 12:20 UTC
I liked the music and the art!

I was confused by the controls at first because "ASD" doesn't work until you press click at first, maybe it's just an itch.io thing. So maybe a splash screen would help engage in clicking.

Procedurally generated floors are great, but sometimes I would just fall from the beginning to almost the end in one go. Maybe having some sort of rewriting grammar like :
|---- --| => |---- |
|-- - --|

And then either having a template for a level or rules to create a simple level that ensures no direct path, then those are transformed into more interesting levels.


Not being able to move during the fall is a valid design choice, but that means the player should know the consequences of falling and have some sense of choice on where to fall. Otherwise, the game would be a bit meaningless.
kuboi
11. Apr 2025 · 16:10 UTC
Super cool artstyle and music, very cute little game:) I just wish it was more challenging, adding some hazards/enemies would really help the gameplay I feel
Wouter52
11. Apr 2025 · 19:54 UTC
Cute little game! But I don't think I got the whole idea, if so please correct me so I can play + rate again:

- There is not really a chellange in this game. It's just falling off platforms and going down to start the next level
- The music is fun and fits to the graphics, I like the style
- I love how there is an end screen where you reach Ama :heart:
- Somehow I find it very cool that the web version remembers which levels are cleared when reloading the page
- The webversion did not really work for me. I realize now that I use ZEN browser (which is Firefox in a trenchcoat), the ENTER key did not register for me
- I did not really get the screen that shows up at the end of a level (or pressing TAB), and A and an E and an arrow?
Eugenik
14. Apr 2025 · 04:15 UTC
Nice games I had a fun time grandma did too x).
LeReveur
14. Apr 2025 · 20:10 UTC
Nothing more to say than Wouter52 (well, a little less to be honest, as I use genuine FF and not a FF in disguise :P).
Oh, maybe that I would like to test a post-compo, at least to see what you had in mind before life show-up and ruin your LD
kaba
20. Apr 2025 · 05:35 UTC
There's something irresistibly charming about the art style - great use of just a handful of different shades!
Emmatw
22. Apr 2025 · 18:57 UTC
Very cute game! I loved the minimalistic art style, the character was adorable. It definitely has some great potential, like others have said just adding some challenge to the game would make it more engaging, but other than that I think it's a really nice entry!
vangrail
23. Apr 2025 · 11:56 UTC
I liked the music very much! In the beginning i was confused about the gameplay, but in the end I figure it out![Screenshot 2025-04-23 135513.png](///raw/a4a/06/z/6c698.png)