LudumData

Can You Reach the Sun? by Garris

[raw]
made by Garris for LD32 (COMPO)
EDIT: Anyone having trouble figuring out where to go next, keep in mind you can look around by moving your kite. The camera will pan to follow it. This can be useful in finding new places to jump, glide or grapple.

UPDATE: Added xbox 360 controller support. Just download the alternate version listed on the itch.io page.

Can You Reach the Sun?

Made in 48 hours for Ludum Dare #32 "An Unconventional Weapon"

You're a kid with a kite. Defend yourself from coyotes and bats (with your kite) and try to reach the sun!


If you enjoy the game, consider following Dustout on Twitter @DustoutGames, or check out our website http://www.dustout-games.com

The game tells you how to play it, but just in case:

CONTROLS:
*note: not all abilities are available from the start.

-Move with arrow keys
-Hop with up arrow
-Press up arrow while running into a step up to climb
-Hold space and use arrow keys to move the kite
-Press E to attack
-Hold space, move your kite to a ledge, and press W to grab it.
-Press Q to soar
Install instructions

No install needed. Just download and play!

PSA: With the exception of the very first skill you pick up (attack) the game should auto-save every time you get a skill (sparkle on the ground). If the game is restarting from the beginning AFTER you've picked up the second sparkle or later, *please* let me know in a comment. The game becomes very unforgiving if checkpoints don't work properly for you, and I don't want this to be too frustrating.
Web http://dustout-games.itch.io/can-you-reach-the-sun
Windows (Recommended) http://dustout-games.itch.io/can-you-reach-the-sun
Source https://www.dropbox.com/s/sbh3ydk7kk5uenj/KiteKid.gmx.zip?dl=0
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-32/?action=preview&uid=33993

Ratings

Coolness 98% 2
Overall 3.79 104
Audio 3.67 95
Fun 3.59 175
Graphics 3.81 158
Humor 2.93 440
Innovation 3.93 80
Mood 3.56 141
Theme 4.19 41

Feedback

ViliX64
20. Apr 2015 路 03:48 UTC
Please check your links, the Windows link leads to 404: Not Found.
馃帳 Garris
20. Apr 2015 路 03:52 UTC
Link fixed! Thanks for the heads up.
Lord bobyness
20. Apr 2015 路 04:09 UTC
This has to be one the best looking games I've ever seen in ludum dare! I'ts not that it's complicated but it is really quite pleasant! The music loop was short but complimented the game very nicely.
Havacore
20. Apr 2015 路 04:20 UTC
Music was awesome, the mechanics were sweet, and the graphics were simple, but really well done. Only thing is that I couldn't for the life of me figure out where to go after getting on the clouds.
Jonathan Porta
20. Apr 2015 路 04:22 UTC
This game is rad! I love how you slowly introduce abilities to the player. It makes the game play feel nonchalant and relaxed. The art style is great. But, I think my favorite part is being able to fly a kite across the ground. My childhood would have been so much better if your version of kite was real!
Armanky
20. Apr 2015 路 04:28 UTC
This is the kind of interesting gameplay mechanic I'd hoped to see with this theme! I'd really love to see a fully fleshed out platformer with kite mechanics.

As much as I like this game, I have to say that it's way too easy to die and dying is way too unforgiving. I think some sort of health system would have improved it, since going back to the beginning is so frustrating. Otherwise, this game is really pleasant and creative and cool.
Leandrus
20. Apr 2015 路 05:12 UTC
Nice game. I love the music, the art, the felling.
Good work. Thanks for sharing.
vini60
20. Apr 2015 路 05:51 UTC
Really well. Simple and not complex games are the best imo.
BMacIntosh
20. Apr 2015 路 05:58 UTC
Very pretty game. I, too, was stumped at the cloud section. There were two leaps of faith to lower clouds, but I couldn't see anything after that.
CodeNMore
20. Apr 2015 路 20:57 UTC
This game looks, sounds, and feels amazing, and fits the theme well! I enjoyed it!
CarlsonAndPeeters
20. Apr 2015 路 21:01 UTC
Very nice stuff! Great use of theme. Had a very Nintendo-y vibe to it with the visuals and music. I agree that the death mechanic was a bit too punishing; maybe let the player keep the upgrades they've gained?
Phil Strahl
20. Apr 2015 路 21:02 UTC
Really cute art style and music. Gameplay also works nice, the kite is unconventional as a weapon (however, I am not quite convinced how that would work, but hey, that's just me). Design-wise I would have kept the player's abilities after a death because after the third time the stupid bat killed me with one hit, I was pretty much done (but hey, that's just me). Either that or some kind of a health bar, because the controls are also a little unusual, to quote the AVGN here: "Up to jump? UP TO JUMP?!". How about controlling the kite with WASD, the player with the arrowkeys (or vice versa), space to jump and left Ctrl to attack? Or at least space to attack and keep the up-to-jump-button. But again, that's just me being incapable of unfamiliar button-mappings.
The music was nice too, the 8-bit sounds very fitting (haha, the dog!) but clashing a little with the CD-quality music. Overall I'd liken the mood to Rainbow Islands for some peculiar reason. Nice one!
sorlok
20. Apr 2015 路 21:32 UTC
Perfect use of the theme, and lots of fun! Some checkpoints would have been helpful, and a few of the controls were hard to remember (could have combined glide and ledge grab into one key). Great game overall!
Kronics
20. Apr 2015 路 22:42 UTC
Wow, very hard! I really liked the graphics, and the idea.
hexdie
20. Apr 2015 路 22:53 UTC
Not too bad! I really like the visuals and the music! And this is a good take on theme! That said, I have a couple criticisms. I got stuck right at the beginning for a while because I couldn't figure out how to climb that wall. I got stuck again when I had to use the kite to get onto the cloud, it seems like the hit detection there is a little off or weird. Lastly, I couldn't figure out where to go on the second screen of clouds. Nice work though!
Wow
20. Apr 2015 路 23:01 UTC
Wow, a very pretty game, cute and I loved the art. Thank you so much!
Jungle
20. Apr 2015 路 23:07 UTC
Very good game!!!! Pretty good graphs. The mechanics is great, making player attack, climb, glide!!! I really enjoyed!
catchthefloaty
21. Apr 2015 路 06:33 UTC
Brilliant!!
chromebookbob
21. Apr 2015 路 20:34 UTC
Good game! I like the graphic style, and the music fits. Sometimes it is hard to latch onto ledges with your kite though
dcolgan
21. Apr 2015 路 20:46 UTC
Very cool mechanic! Would have appreciated some checkpoints as others have pointed out.
Liam :D
21. Apr 2015 路 23:42 UTC
Man, flying kites sure has changed since I was a kid! Really cool game, I like it :D
cdgugler
23. Apr 2015 路 04:19 UTC
Awesome idea! Graphics and audio were great. I did manage to somehow pull myself underground at the far left side though.
tummyache
23. Apr 2015 路 06:18 UTC
Probably my favorite so far. It's extremely whimsical, all the pickups feel meaningful and are easily understandable. The music was great, this was all around amazing.
zuraguerra
23. Apr 2015 路 06:32 UTC
i love the mechanics :) so new
Frenchie
23. Apr 2015 路 06:46 UTC
Really well done! Although I must admit I seem to have hit a glitched area and fell through the clouds :( It was all the way on the left side and pretty far up BTW. I was just walking and all of a sudden fell through
Davikin92
23. Apr 2015 路 06:49 UTC
I loved the Zelda/Final Fantasy town-style theme. It makes me feel that this peaceful start is going to lead to some dark environments or epic battles. You should make the ledge grab controls a little simpler, by just holding down Space and releasing it when the kite is in position.
馃帳 Garris
23. Apr 2015 路 07:43 UTC
That's actually a pretty good idea Davikin92. I may give that a shot for the post-compo version.
retrophantom
23. Apr 2015 路 08:33 UTC
interesting idea
Yword
23. Apr 2015 路 08:59 UTC
Wow, the idea and mechanics are very unique and innovative! Well done!
lebrokholic
23. Apr 2015 路 16:18 UTC
Good job! Very bright and positive game.
scorched
23. Apr 2015 路 16:23 UTC
Poor little wolves :-) Nice one, can you make a fullscreen mode in web?
SledKnight
23. Apr 2015 路 23:29 UTC
Very nice. I've played this the longest of any so far. It's a little frustrating having to start completely over, considering there's a place where you fall through the clouds, and it's not clear where to go after you first climb the clouds (over the house). Over all, very good. Old-school difficulty rating... lol
SledKnight
23. Apr 2015 路 23:59 UTC
Whew... I did FINALLY reach the sun...
馃帳 Garris
24. Apr 2015 路 00:54 UTC
High five! :D
daltostronic
24. Apr 2015 路 01:04 UTC
This is nice! You also could, in your 360 version enable two analogs to control your character.
Nanolotl
24. Apr 2015 路 09:14 UTC
Really well done. Best use of theme I have seen so far. The graphics were simple, but fitting. With a bit of tweaking to the colour palette they would have been perfect. Amazing job.
simon.parzer
25. Apr 2015 路 09:34 UTC
This feels like a complete game, almost like it was done in more than 48 hours, congratulations to that!
You have to completely start over when you get hurt. Then you have a hard time hitting those enemies with your kite, which makes the game a little frustrating for me. Save points would have been nice.
ChuiGum
25. Apr 2015 路 18:53 UTC
Awesome idea! Perfect with the theme and perfect with the innovation! It took me while but it was fun. A few puzzles here and there, great job Dustout! :D
Andrew Quartermain
25. Apr 2015 路 22:10 UTC
Really great game. A nice simple idea and it plays really well. It is really unforgiving though - one hit or unlucky fall and you're back to the start.
fleegle2000
26. Apr 2015 路 01:27 UTC
Good clean graphics, unique choice of weapon and interesting use of it. I noticed a bit of weirdness jumping next to ledges, and the difficulty might scale up a bit too quickly, but otherwise a great entry!
6DownStudios
26. Apr 2015 路 03:22 UTC
Really great work! I love innovative platforming ideas like this, made for some really unique gameplay. Everything is very well presented too, pacing's good, the pixelart style suits the mood quite well, and the music is spot on. Kudos!
rogueNoodle
26. Apr 2015 路 14:25 UTC
Awesome entry - the character was simple yet the animation fit perfectly. Great music, unique mechanics. Only two things I'd look at - getting rid of the blind jumps (unless leading to a super secret area or something), and making the collision a little more forgiving, particularly when attacking bats.
Big Cow
26. Apr 2015 路 23:24 UTC
very good! very innovative and fun mechanics. cute art, too!
SiENcE
01. May 2015 路 10:20 UTC
Cool Idea to use a kite in a game.

I wouldn't use this as weapon and handling is a bit complicated. But the athmosphere and kite is very good!
mystakin
03. May 2015 路 18:41 UTC
I like this game. The kite implementation is fantastic and the visual design is adorable.
Crowbeak
05. May 2015 路 07:10 UTC
This is a neat and adorable idea, but even knowing that I can look around with the kite, it's frustrating to try and figure out what to do. The kite can't go below the player, which means making leaps of faith which, if missed, drop the player back to the beginning of the game and requires the player to cover a lot of ground all over again. Grabbing cloud ledges with the kite seemed broken until I realized that you can only grab at the very edge -- the game gives no indicator of that. Eventually I got stuck because I just couldn't find a new place to go.
ButtonMasherBros
07. May 2015 路 16:05 UTC
Pssst - you are in todays Ludum Dare to Believe! Check it out! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTrb1Vurkpk
dvdfu
07. May 2015 路 20:29 UTC
Very solid game mechanics and presentation! Interesting weapon choice, too.
Jupiter_Hadley
11. May 2015 路 15:17 UTC
Love the graphics, really nice use of theme! I included it in part 9 of my Ludum Dare 32 compilation video series, if you would like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/eqkTJc6zIls