LudumData

Mimic of the Deep by Kep

[raw]
made by Kep for LD29 (COMPO)
A tribute to the mimic octopus.
The master of illusion, hiding what is beneath its visage.

Move: WASD or Arrow Keys
Turn off mimic: 1 (move faster)
Mimic Kelp: 2 (don't scare food)
Mimic Lion Fish: 3 (scare big fish)
Mute: M, Pause: P, Esc

You are getting hungry
Eat small fish
Avoid big fish
Survive as long as you can

Update 4/30: Added mute and pause.
Web http://hellscapegames.itch.io/mimic-of-the-deep
Source https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49886157/LD29/MimicOfTheDeep-Source.zip
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=24452

Ratings

Coolness 82% 2
Overall 3.44 308
Audio 3.50 149
Fun 3.38 281
Graphics 2.96 686
Humor 2.63 421
Innovation 3.71 151
Mood 3.71 113
Theme 3.21 607

Feedback

petrih
28. Apr 2014 · 14:20 UTC
Great sound scape!
ninjacharlie
28. Apr 2014 · 14:23 UTC
Very cool. That was an interesting mechanic, switching between which type of fish to mimic. The only thing I didn't like was how gentle the difficulty curve was. I would have liked it to get harder a little faster. Other than that, good job! :)
Slashee the Cow
28. Apr 2014 · 14:24 UTC
I realise real kelp probably can't swim up, but... it would be nice if mimic kelp could :).
Marcus_siactro
28. Apr 2014 · 14:27 UTC
Ok, this was really great! One of the best games I played thus far. I really enjoyed the gameplay!
quill18
28. Apr 2014 · 14:53 UTC
Best Mimic Octopus game I've played today!

Note that your source link do NOT work -- and I'm really interested in how you made the tentacles work. I'm assuming turning spring joints on and off?
🎤 Kep
28. Apr 2014 · 15:52 UTC
Thanks petrih and charlie!

Slashee: If you hold up as Kelp, you will sink much slower.

Thanks Marcus!

I Tweeted that great quote quill18, thanks. (@HellescapeGames)
The source link should work now. The tentacle links are connected by HingeJoint2Ds and the shapes are made by turning on spring joints connected to the tips.
Anti
28. Apr 2014 · 16:16 UTC
Very cool game! Nice idea and nice execution.
ezombort
28. Apr 2014 · 16:17 UTC
Cool concept. I liked the music.
wespaugh
28. Apr 2014 · 17:11 UTC
Controls feel great! Agreed with NinjaCharlie, harder faster would have been good.
Gaming_Ray
28. Apr 2014 · 19:54 UTC
Very original. Cool game.
Linus Lindberg
28. Apr 2014 · 19:57 UTC
WOW! I love it! I would pay a lot of money for an iphone version of this with improved graphics! I love switching between the different mimic modes and eating fish... The gameplay is just perfect!
Jacksendary
28. Apr 2014 · 20:09 UTC
Love it it's pretty simple yet fun but gets a little dull after a few tries but all in all I really enjoyed everything about the game
🎤 Kep
28. Apr 2014 · 20:22 UTC
Thank you so much Linus! I agree on the art. I'm a programmer, so yeah... #programmerart. :/

Thanks Jackendary!

A full version would include more mimics, sea life, and objectives to keep it interesting longer. For now I'm happy with what I got done over the weekend.
DannyG59
29. Apr 2014 · 00:16 UTC
Really beautiful sound and the mechanic was fun. A bit more polish and this could be really cool but tbh it doesn't need it!
JumbocactuarX27
30. Apr 2014 · 00:21 UTC
Pretty great take on something like Fishy but with an octopus. We need more octopus games.
Snoother
30. Apr 2014 · 18:45 UTC
Wow, just sublime. I think the music kicked it up to that extra level. And the mechanics were simple yet varied enough to create a intensely good gameplay experience.
🎤 Kep
30. Apr 2014 · 20:14 UTC
Thanks Danny.

I agree Jumbo, OctoJam should be a thing.

Thank you very much Snoother, I'm glad you liked it.

If I ever make a full version, it will have a lot more stuff, but I wanted to get at lest two functional mimics into the jam version.
hanoth
30. Apr 2014 · 21:50 UTC
I like the sound and the idea a lot. I love simple/fun games.
zanenga
02. May 2014 · 20:38 UTC
Wow! Awesome idea! It's really clever. I love it!
Chaoseed
04. May 2014 · 06:05 UTC
Pretty fun! Audio good, graphics eh but you know that. I really like the implementation of the octopus and its tentacles, as well as its variant shapes. I liked waiting until a bunch of fish were around me and then crunching them up. It seemed kind of easy, though. Also, I didn't run into any big fish? Hm. Good work, though!
rojo
04. May 2014 · 06:13 UTC
Well I can now scratch "become mimic octopus" off my bucket list. Good job!
Deity
04. May 2014 · 23:41 UTC
Interesting controls and gameplay. It became a little too easy to survive and a little boring I got better at catching fish however. Also there seems to be an end to the ocean and it seems to be a box ;)
Jupiter_Hadley
09. May 2014 · 20:29 UTC
Really fun controls! Well done! I included it in part 17 of my Ludum Dare compilation video series, if you want to check it out :) http://youtu.be/wBne0r55jPY
littleball
09. May 2014 · 21:21 UTC
The tentacles look tricky to make, well done!
FrameMatt
09. May 2014 · 22:12 UTC
Love the mimic idea, i think that you can take it even further :B
The game was fun too ! (:
Cambrian_Man
16. May 2014 · 03:06 UTC
I love the idea of playing a mimic octopus and the wibbly-wobbly arms work well... maybe a little too well. Eventually I found that my best strategy was just to kind of stay in one place and gyrate. Oh, great music, too.
sP0CkEr2
16. May 2014 · 03:54 UTC
very cool idea with great execution - nice job