LudumData

Down by SonnyBone

[raw]
made by SonnyBone for LD29 (COMPO)
NOTE: My game includes audio. If you do not hear anything, please try the Windows version or try a different browser and make sure you have the proper plugins. Thank you.

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In a world with no way up, the only way out is down...

Controls - Arrow Keys & Spacebar

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My 10th LD Compo entry - less of a game and more of an artistic culmination of many things in my life. There is a deeper meaning beneath the surface.
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NOTES
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You will need WebGL for the HTML5 version. Please play in Chrome :)
The HTML5 version is about 10MB.
Windows version is about 40MB.

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UPDATES
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4/28/14 - Added Windows build, reduced audio file size for HTML5 version to hasten loading, added controls to html5 page

5/03/2014 - Added custom html page to host the game. No more blank background.
SOUNDTRACK https://sonnybone.bandcamp.com/album/down-original-score
Windows (DropBox) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/61468048/Ludum%20Dare%2029/Down%20-%20by%20SonnyBone%20-%20LD29.zip
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=1365

Ratings

Coolness 88% 2
Overall 3.67 157
Audio 4.11 20
Fun 2.76 780
Graphics 4.45 20
Humor 2.21 719
Innovation 2.86 706
Mood 4.33 11
Theme 3.90 83

Feedback

Suese
28. Apr 2014 · 04:19 UTC
It doesn't load!
Tanner
28. Apr 2014 · 15:01 UTC
Cool graphics. Works on Chrome.
StrykerKKD
28. Apr 2014 · 16:35 UTC
Wow. The theme is really dark, although it's funny that the guy is always falling down.
The graphics and the audio are fit together well.
zebi24
28. Apr 2014 · 20:14 UTC
Very good looking :)
TijmenTio
28. Apr 2014 · 22:33 UTC
No people THE MUSIC
🎤 SonnyBone
28. Apr 2014 · 23:47 UTC
TijmenTio gets it!
omgnoseat
29. Apr 2014 · 01:46 UTC
Amazing atmosphere, I'm still really curious what the meaning behind it is, since the ending didn't make sense to me. But overall I'm really impressed, good job.
NicoM
29. Apr 2014 · 02:16 UTC
Gorgeous art...animation...audio...everything...wow
Jellycakes
29. Apr 2014 · 02:17 UTC
Pretty cool, even if it was a short game. Graphics were really nice too, set a pretty decent mood. Nice one!
dalbinblue
29. Apr 2014 · 02:41 UTC
Hey Sonnybone! Super moody, and excellent music as always (I'm getting jealous about that talent as I still have no clue there). The game definitely reminds me of the game passage (you should take a look at it if you never saw it). Would like to see more to this story especially little glimpses into the others that went down.
pinkmonkeyhead
29. Apr 2014 · 03:16 UTC
DAT ENDING
manly tears were shed

Really incredible gfx and audio
Gameplay could be better though, maybe some enemies
anyway, awesome entry
caranha
29. Apr 2014 · 03:55 UTC
That was... poignant. Thanks for the game!

As always, your graphics and music leave nothing to be desired.

I tried to hammer the first skeleton, but nothing happened. Am I a bad person? :-)

Cheers!
Ditto
29. Apr 2014 · 04:56 UTC
Okay. Dude. What happened there? This game is crazy good, it's like playing a poem with no words! The way you slow down in the end is really cool, and the feeling of hopelessness is immence! I'll have to play this a couple times more for sure! Thanks for creating this!
Garris
29. Apr 2014 · 06:03 UTC
Interesting little experience. It's moody, and a little depressing. The graphics very well done, but it seemed like the sound was a little unpolished. Not the music though. Music was very well done.
GeorgeBroussard
29. Apr 2014 · 08:37 UTC
Solid entry. Really liked the music, especially the ending music. Art was super nice, too. Well done.
jeffz
29. Apr 2014 · 10:12 UTC
Great work with the music and the occlusion effect. It worked well.
GFM
29. Apr 2014 · 10:19 UTC
I downloaded chrome just to play this. :)

What about the ups? Life can't be just about the downs... >_<

This was interesting. I'm still not completely sure what it was about, though I have a hunch.
It's a beautiful game with awesome music! Congrats! :)
lonewookie
29. Apr 2014 · 11:24 UTC
Great graphics. I like the mechanics too. Interesting ending. Great job!
ninjacharlie
29. Apr 2014 · 14:24 UTC
Wow. This had a really great mood and awesome audio :)

I like the way you told the story. I didn't really need any enemies because that would have wrecked the mood. Good job :)
TomBoogaart
29. Apr 2014 · 17:13 UTC
hey man, rad game you have here
I like the colors you picked
and i love the music, really sets a hmm sad mood
Gamepopper
29. Apr 2014 · 18:15 UTC
Amazing graphics, and such eerie music! :O
xdegtyarev
29. Apr 2014 · 20:10 UTC
This is absolutely amazing, great art style!
HernanZh
29. Apr 2014 · 22:18 UTC
Nice graphics and great atmosphere! How'd he get up after so many years...!
🎤 SonnyBone
29. Apr 2014 · 22:49 UTC
Because he never quits :)
Alex Rose
29. Apr 2014 · 23:01 UTC
What the hell, man, you made me think it was going to be rubbish on Twitter saying you'd wasted all your time and you barely had a game, this was fucking awesome you dope.

I wish I had your art and audio talent. This is going to demolish mood too.

Also, extra points for #doflips, which you.. sort of did. Kinda.
🎤 SonnyBone
29. Apr 2014 · 23:41 UTC
I went way too meta with this. I lied and said it was nothing but there was more beneath the surface... lol. I have problems. Thanks for the kind words, pal.
Thorig
30. Apr 2014 · 11:02 UTC
Great entry!
pythong
30. Apr 2014 · 11:28 UTC
:'( I died...
At the end I thought, the game was lagging like crazy :D (because many other entries here do). Great job!
Romko Pidstryhach
30. Apr 2014 · 11:40 UTC
14 years!? That was a looong trip. Great mood.
Kep
30. Apr 2014 · 19:06 UTC
Nice landing animation, good short tragic story.
pancakecity
30. Apr 2014 · 20:19 UTC
Really tugs on the ol' heartstrings...
DaanVanYperen
30. Apr 2014 · 21:47 UTC
Juicy Spritey goodness!
gnerkus
01. May 2014 · 01:45 UTC
These are the humble beginnings of a horror game.

I enjoyed the lighting and the (eternal) falling. The corridors were a little hard to see.
DecayConstant
01. May 2014 · 05:10 UTC
Very cool mood established with the music and lighting. Not much to the gameplay, but that wasn't the point of this entry.
EpiphanyG
01. May 2014 · 10:21 UTC
I really liked this! Simple but beautiful graphics, lovely touches like the grass swaying.

I loved the collecting of the ball of light that then let me light the way.

Overall a really nice game though quite a sad ending! :)
iSamurai
01. May 2014 · 10:26 UTC
I would say it's an art game, not just because of the great pixel art and background music, but the things SonnyBone wants to convey with the game.
Thank you.
Lolshouse Dev Team
01. May 2014 · 10:55 UTC
A beautiful and haunting game. I love it.
~funkeh
ahnt
01. May 2014 · 11:44 UTC
my favorite so far! very nice, and the death in the end: perfect!
bentosmile
01. May 2014 · 12:21 UTC
Nice work. :) Lovely pixels!
Danvil
01. May 2014 · 12:50 UTC
That was good. Somehow depressing... but very very good.
tomvert
01. May 2014 · 16:03 UTC
Excellent universe, mood and art style, but a bit too slow. Also I like the title screen a lot :D Great job.
Daniel X. Moore
01. May 2014 · 16:34 UTC
Did he died?
Crazi456
01. May 2014 · 16:47 UTC
Very beautiful little game! Nice screen effects during some of the levels. Great work!
bombjack
01. May 2014 · 19:52 UTC
great music and graphics.
rylgh
01. May 2014 · 21:45 UTC
ahh, that was very melancholy and nice. nice art and very effective music, great job
joe40001
02. May 2014 · 00:54 UTC
Very good graphics/audio.
JPLynk
02. May 2014 · 02:24 UTC
Nice! I really like how the diminishing light, decreasing movement speed, music, and longer delay between hitting the ground and starting in each level all contributed to the overall mood.
GertJohnny
02. May 2014 · 06:12 UTC
I remember your entry from the last time I did LD, so I had pretty high expectations, but it was even better than I thought. I really enjoyed playing through to end. Audio is top notch, as usual. Please keep making these!
rincewind_cz
02. May 2014 · 09:56 UTC
Now that's what I call melancholic! Great audio, together with graphics sets perfect sad mood. Gameplay is bit.. flat.. or I just didn't get message out of it. Good job!
Oddly Shaped Pixels
02. May 2014 · 21:06 UTC
Nice game, nice story. Gameplay is a bit lacking but that's not the point of the game :)
Venturelli
03. May 2014 · 01:17 UTC
I don't normally dig these "art games" and I was ready to rate you low until that final sequence. Really great graphics as well, congratulations on a very cool thing you've made :)
SaintHeiser
03. May 2014 · 03:52 UTC
Good entry with sadness story. Visuals are awesome. Concept isn't bad but need more polishing.
Maple
03. May 2014 · 13:55 UTC
Hey man! It was nice to see a comment of yours on our LD entry. And damn, you were praising my art and music, but I'm admittedly somewhat jealous of yours! :p Your talent has certainly been increasing since prior LDs. Great game with great atmosphere. I had to chuckle when it said "14 years later", so I'm glad the game didn't end right there, because the slower ending gave me time to get back to the reality of the situation. Great double meaning on the theme, and the spirit rising at the end was a nice touch.

Also, I had to check when you mentioned this was your 10th LD -- turns out this was my 10th, too. :o
Spaceoff
03. May 2014 · 14:01 UTC
The artwork and mood in this game was awesome. Music really fit the mood, too. Rather lacking in challenge, but by the end of it that didn't matter. [not putting spoilers here]
mark.goetz
03. May 2014 · 14:34 UTC
Wow, this is super impressive! The graphics and sound are amazing at conveying mood, and it makes me curious what the meaning is. I love the structure of the levels too, it makes a great in-game tutorial. I only have two pet peeves - first, the up and down arrows tended to scroll the browser (which is something I've dealt with too), and the perspective makes it a bit hard to know if you're hitting the rocks or not. Otherwise, this is one of the best games I've played for LD29.
Lyje
03. May 2014 · 23:48 UTC
Deep.
jacklehamster
04. May 2014 · 06:42 UTC
Great mood and atmosphere. Not so much gameplay. I think it needed a bit more for me to be immersed into the story. Pretty good overall
mrexcessive
04. May 2014 · 18:17 UTC
Hi. Shame no sound. Like the projection and level design.
🎤 SonnyBone
04. May 2014 · 19:14 UTC
Shame no sound? Shame no ears. Or shame no speakers. :p
Managore
05. May 2014 · 00:22 UTC
Wow, this game looks absolutely stunning! Very well done!
blay09
06. May 2014 · 15:29 UTC
Nice graphics (+ visual effects) and music. No real gameplay to it, but I still enjoyed it. The ending was really well done.
GarethIW
06. May 2014 · 19:08 UTC
Glorious mood and artwork, depressing ending. That's not a bad thing.
lightsoda
08. May 2014 · 04:32 UTC
Quite somber, looks nice. Gameplay is simple and pretty straight forward.
Jupiter_Hadley
08. May 2014 · 21:44 UTC
Sweet graphics, nice game! I included it in part 15 of my Ludum Dare Compilation video series :) http://youtu.be/f3WpQDAZRnI
stvr
09. May 2014 · 17:28 UTC
Wonderful sound and graphics, but the gameplay's a bit bland.
TobiasW
09. May 2014 · 20:03 UTC
The art and color choices are great - everything looks so clean and crisp! And the moody music and the flickering light effects create a heavy atmosphere. I don't think I understand the meaning completely, but I still enjoyed the experience.

PS: Congratulations on beating SnakeFormer! There aren't many who did :D
loxo
09. May 2014 · 20:45 UTC
Interesting game with great graphics and audio. But I have a problem with the controls, the page is always scrolling when I use the up and down cursor keys.
🎤 SonnyBone
10. May 2014 · 18:08 UTC
I can't seem to duplicate the page scroll issue on my end on any browser. It stays locked no matter what I press, so it must be a browser/keyboard configuration issue on particular setups.
AlexFili
11. May 2014 · 08:47 UTC
Haunting music and great graphical style. Matches the theme quite well and is one of the more puzzling entries this year!
Oye Beto
11. May 2014 · 09:09 UTC
Great pixel art.

It feels like the gameplay needs something more, maybe some puzzles or enemies.
gre
11. May 2014 · 15:51 UTC
Very cool game. Nice concept.
Striwx
13. May 2014 · 10:53 UTC
Love the music !
0Creds
14. May 2014 · 01:58 UTC
Fantastic game. Visuals and audio are fantastic, gameplay is smooth, absolutely top notch. Considering the time frame, this is an incredible entry. Fantastic job.
berunu
14. May 2014 · 11:35 UTC
Great mood!
NightShadow0
15. May 2014 · 16:25 UTC
Interesting experience. I love the mood of it, the music is absolutely gorgeous. Nice work!
🎤 SonnyBone
18. May 2014 · 02:37 UTC
Soundtrack now available - Original movements remastered with a bonus track, desktop wallpaper, and liner notes -
https://sonnybone.bandcamp.com/album/down-original-score