Hyperspacedive by marudziik
Made in ~15 hours, but missed the Compo, so entering Jam instead!
:exclamation: PLEASE NOTE :exclamation: *A very small percentage of people may experience epileptic seizures or blackouts when exposed to certain kinds of flashing lights or light patterns. This game does contain such, so be aware of that before running the game! *
You dive into depths of hyperspace!
Quickly! There is no time! Not even for a start menu! You must dive into depths of hyperspace! Dive right into action! Avoid the green hyperspace bubbly matter or your ship will loose energy! There are 11 levels in this short, 4-bit color, fast paced bullet-hell, each a little bit different. It's doable to reach the final levels, I promise (tested).
Disclaimer
I have spent last 2 days on doing some sort of proof-of-concept for pico-8 (with OOP and 2D transformation matrices...), not knowing the system at all, and brushing up on Lua. And here we are. This is somewhat playable, though not really a finished game - but I wanted to explore and evaluate pico-8 and Lua for any future endeavors (the evaluation is positive).
And I really, really wanted to have something somewhat finished. Wasn't able to join Compo (busy weekend), but otherwise it's all on me. The code is available, but also atrocious. If you're interested, I wrote a post-mortem post about the game.
Tools used
- engine: PICO-8
- graphics, audio: PICO-8
- code: VSCode (Lua)
- sources: available below
Ratings
| Overall | 526th | 3.43⭐ | 66🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 328th | 3.531⭐ | 66🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 518th | 3.117⭐ | 66🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 707th | 3.063⭐ | 66🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 392th | 3.773⭐ | 66🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 414th | 3.242⭐ | 64🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 634th | 2.205⭐ | 58🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 553th | 3.387⭐ | 64🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 61🗳️ | 108🗨️ |
I made it to level 7, its weirdly addicting lol.
really like what you did with the perspective of the ship!
Great job!
As for the gameplay, it's alright. I wasn't able to quite complete the game - my best was level 9, which I got to a few times. I'm not sure if the difficulty is supposed to increase as the game continues; while some levels were definitely much easier than others, that difficulty change did not seem to correspond to the level number. Some of the later levels were some of the easiest, while some of the earlier levels were some of the hardest. Generally, if I got hit, it was because the game had me pinned in with no choice _but_ to get hit. I can tell if I'm going to get hit multiple seconds before I do, and there's almost never anything I can do about it. I'm pretty sure the correct strategy is to weave in and out between the bubbles such as to pass them before they grow too large to dodge, but some levels spawn bubbles quickly enough to make that strategy impossible (or at least, close to it).
I do like how the player controls, though. The way perspective is used is neat and adds to the unique feel of the game. Maybe it would be nicer if there was a slightly larger range you were allowed to move in, since that would make more tight situations escapable.
I am very grateful for all the feedback I'm getting, thanks!!!
I really liked the 8-bit art, the colors that are showing up on the screen is really really cool. It took me some time to understand how the player grows/shrinks when going close or far away from the enemy (not really sure if it is an enemy), it felt a little hopeless for me at first (though that could just be a skill issue from me) but after figuring out how the player size works it suddenly became really fun. Perhaps doing a very very short tutorial would benefit the more clumsy players (me me me) so they wouldn't get too lost when they first start the game.
I managed to make it to level 10. Is this infinite or does it have an ending?
I am also a big fan of the PICO-8 System, therefore I know how impressive your graphical effects are here.
The controls are a bit tricky (I needed a moment to understand, what I am actually doing).
I only managed to get to level 7, but I like the overall atmosphere. Especially the death jingle at the end.
Anyway, I ended up squeezeing through circles just in case XD Made it to level 6! :D
As for gameplay, it's fun, but I'd remove the black holes (ones that you hit), so they do not keep damaging you.
I was trying to play it like the Sonic 2 bonus stage , but don't think I figured it out, I didn't know if I had to hit or avoid the balls :confounded:
Despite the colors going nuts with the effects, it's quite readable thanks to the outlines on the orbs and good use of contrasting colors in the HUD. The soundtrack is this booming rumble, my headcannon is that, that's the sound of whatever is firing the orbs.
Edit: Can't rate for some reason, idk if thats intented but if not ping me and I shall return.
Guys I am really sorry to spam you, but for whatever reason during my submission I must have clicked to opt out of the scoring, which is not what I intended to do. I in fact do not mind it, and I think it's only fair that if someone played my game, they get to rate it, as it is part of the LD experience for me as well.
If I could kindly ask you to rate the game if you haven't done it, I would be eternally grateful, even more so than I already am - thank you all for leaving comments! As a bonus I have added a link to the [post-mortem](https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/hyperspacedive/hyperspacedive-postmortem-and-afterthoughts) if that's something that might interest you. Cheers!
The sound effects got a bit grating after a while tough and the invisible wall was a bit annoying.
It reminded me of the ATARI days, when the only goal of a game was to go as far as possible. Very simple.
Congratulations on the game and, especially, for having done it alone.
PS: I couldn't get past level 9 at all.
Web version is hanging up for me after a loss, though.
(I hope that's everybody)
Since the voting has ended, I'd like to thank you all for taking the time and playing my game. I am very grateful for all the comments you wrote, and for your votes as well! You are awesome! I hope to see you all during next LDs! Good luck with the ratings! Cheers!