Deep Dive by mhorth
Pull off gravity-defying stunts, rack up trick combos, and stick the perfect landing. Just don’t dive too deep!
Helpful hints
- Playable with keyboard or a controller.
- The scoring system has ...depth.
Showcase



Extra notes
- There is a sandbox mode if you want to practice tricks without worrying about depth.
- All 12 tricks in case you're too hyper-focused on the input prompts to fully enjoy them :wink: https://youtu.be/f-vGZSUyCTI
| Link | https://mhorth.itch.io/deep-dive |
| Link | https://mhorth.itch.io/deep-dive |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/deep-dive-2 |
Ratings
| Overall | 368th | 3.64⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 221th | 3.7⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 407th | 3.28⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 398th | 3.76⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 458th | 3.611⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 87th | 3.88⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 548th | 3.4⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 31🗳️ | 30🗨️ |
I think the main issue I had with the game was the depth system. I think it came down to it not being super intuitive for which heights and angles would go to which depths. It kinda seemed like you would just have to memorize the optimal jump speed vs angle ratio for each pool height, which doesn't seem all that engaging. Perhaps if you showed the player's falling speed and angle in relation to the pool, it might be easier to make an intuitive guess as to where you're going to end up (depth wise). The other (not as problematic) thing was the fact that I couldn't really look at the player to see the tricks, because I had to keep my eyes focused on the button combos. One suggestion would be to place the combos around the player, that way you can see both at the same time?
Anyways, great job! This was definitely an ambitious project and I'm glad to see the vision come to reality!
(Below is my high score for the random pool depth. In this case the depth was no floor)

Trying to pull em off back to back was fun, I always had fun going for one of the longer combos when I was almost out of time to see if I could still squeeze it in.
Out of curiousity, given the water depth, are there "guaranteed" death jump-heights? If so, it might be nice to mark those red or something. Good job! :D
I used the PS DualSense controller, and for some reason the D-pad was entering input twice. Pressing X corresponded to down, and pressing down corresponded to down-down. Doing the tricks was fun. I wasn't sure what factors impact the depth you dive to.
So much personality from such simple visuals, it's honestly super impressive.
I also love how unique this feels as a concept, especially the "dive" multiplier rewarding risky gameplay :thumbsup:
Setting the angle at the end felt a little out of place. It's a little memory game, a little guessing, but the rest of the game is skill-based (how many of moves can you execute in x time).
Nice work!