Down the Drain by nopogo

[raw]
made by nopogo for LD35 (COMPO)
In this game you play a blob of water. You have 3 different forms: gas, liquid and solid. Try to beat the levels by using the properties of your forms.

Controls:
(arrows or wsad)

left + right :move
up :change into gas
down :change into ice

This will be my 5th LD entry but the first one that will be submitted in the compo. I'm exited to see how it will do.

Have fun, and any feedback/criticism is appreciated!

Cheers!

p.s. sadly I didn't have time to add any audio to the game. Which is maybe for the better since I'm as musical as some funny object that's not very musical.


nopogo

Ratings

Coolness 41% 1483
Overall 3.16 517
Fun 3.00 537
Graphics 3.60 210
Humor 2.56 338
Innovation 3.27 358
Mood 2.98 440
Theme 3.91 118

Feedback

wumpus
18. Apr 2016 · 08:57 UTC
I played it to the end which is always a good sign. My final time was 2:57.084 though I don't think I felt the urge to go back and beat it.

The controls and collision felt a little too stiff to really satisfy but there's a solid idea in there. Popping up out of the water to land on dry land (like a penguin) was kinda satisfying so I'd love to do more stuff like that.

The game was pretty light on instructions but I managed just fine so it would suggest it's fairly intuitive which is good stuff.

Well done.
HawkSandwich
18. Apr 2016 · 09:12 UTC
Nice work
Crafting4U
18. Apr 2016 · 09:34 UTC
Love the visuals and the innovation! I would enjoy a few more levels and some audio, though. I definitely see this being made into a full game in the future. Well done! :D
Tijn
18. Apr 2016 · 09:36 UTC
It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but once I figured out how you can change into gas to go up on land and change into ice to go up in the water, it all worked pretty well!

It's a real shame there's no audio, because that would really have made this game into something that feels finished. More levels would also be nice of course. The mechanics are cool enough, so maybe you can add some post compo?

Either way, good job! As wumpus said, the jumping out of the water as a block of ice feels nice :)
sirtetris
18. Apr 2016 · 09:37 UTC
Really, I have to fly just to get on that button on the floor right in fron of me? ;D

Using states of water is a nice idea. The three little puzzles were worthwhile too. The gameplay felt a bit stiff though. Being able to cancel the gas and ice states instead of always waiting for a fixed duration would've been nice.
🎤 nopogo
18. Apr 2016 · 09:47 UTC
Thanks for all the feedback so far :) Cancelling out of state will be added in the post LD version.
celmore1001
18. Apr 2016 · 11:13 UTC
Oyea! 2:55:062 here.

Graphs were good. Collisions would have need some work but nothing major.

All in all a good game.
glaze_96
18. Apr 2016 · 11:24 UTC
Interesting idea!

Final time was a little over 2 min. For 5 (?) levels that is to slow paced for me. You could have achieved some faster levels by making the controls more smooth.

Otherwise nice work, I liked the graphics!
Blobo
19. Apr 2016 · 00:47 UTC
Pretty neat. the last level was named "Some text i won't forget to change". i'm not sure if this was intensional, but it got you an extra star in humor.
LandoSystems
19. Apr 2016 · 03:53 UTC
"Some text I won't forget to change" cracked me right up. Fun game, cute art style and good puzzles. Wish there were more puzzles and some sounds! Beat it in 2:16
Mathias Olsson
19. Apr 2016 · 05:57 UTC
Nice little game, would have benefitted from having a little audio. Great combination of platformer and puzzle.
treegemmer
19. Apr 2016 · 06:42 UTC
I really like the water walking animation. :)
Gamepopper
19. Apr 2016 · 12:24 UTC
Neat idea. The different forms work really well. To make the game flow a bit smoother, maybe have the ability to change forms while in a form (but still keep the original meter). That way you don't have to wait to swap from one form to another.
rnlf
19. Apr 2016 · 13:10 UTC
I love the art. The idea for the game is pretty nice, the first game with changing the state of matter I see, though thinking about it now, it's pretty obvious.

The ice seemed pretty sticky, just the way ice shouldn't feel ;-)

Made it to the end though and had a good 2:38.489!
CoderDozer
19. Apr 2016 · 16:41 UTC
That was enjoyable once i got to grips with the mechanic, audio would be nice but I understand when you are against the clock. Well done.
esayitch
19. Apr 2016 · 19:19 UTC
Very cool take on the theme. Music would have made it really perfect.

The only change I would make it to make the shifting at will, not time based.

Other than that, really great. Good luck!
pythong
19. Apr 2016 · 19:35 UTC
good work. more levels please :)
Drusilla
20. Apr 2016 · 02:38 UTC
Cute cloud! I wish the ice was more mobile, thought I guess ice does tend to move slowly.
sP0CkEr2
20. Apr 2016 · 03:33 UTC
that was a clever little game - nice job
g12345
20. Apr 2016 · 15:02 UTC
That's like some of the more "professional" games I've seen on other sites. Nice looking, lots to do, and nice levels. And all that in 2 days too! Nice.
markusfisch
20. Apr 2016 · 20:16 UTC
Played all the levels! Awesome game! Really cool idea.
Hectigo
21. Apr 2016 · 05:27 UTC
It's a fun concept that fits the theme nicely, but could use some polish - it was frustrating that it was not possible to turn back to regular water before the timeout ended, and the feel of the controls and collision handling could be better.
hunttis
21. Apr 2016 · 13:54 UTC
Finished in just over two minutes. I was hoping that there was a button to change out of form too, or maybe directly into another form, for better completion times in the levels! One (a polish thing really) is the camera showing parts outside the level, a small thing really :)

Congrats on finishing a game! And not a bad one either!
Verz
22. Apr 2016 · 07:03 UTC
Cool idea! Really enjoyed playing it. Some audio would've improved the mood but I liked it anyways :) good job!
webadev
22. Apr 2016 · 15:25 UTC
Game really good, loved the concet of the cloud. Graphics really nice, but no sounds ? Sometimes it's too much pixel perfect, and it would be nice to have a button to stop the actual form. Nice job ! ;)
Fonserbc
22. Apr 2016 · 15:33 UTC
It's a bit fristrating that I was getting stuck when I'm ice underwater (the force upwards is too strong probably)

Why not let the player decide what kind of state they want to be in every moment instead of limiting it to time (you stay on a state for a certain amount of time)

I liked the graphics!
vini60
22. Apr 2016 · 22:51 UTC
I like the art style. The idea of the game isn't very innovative but it's fun! Lacks audio though. Good submit.
Freank
23. Apr 2016 · 07:09 UTC
Hi, nice game ! We're realizing a video with several games of the Ludum Dare #35.
Can you add your game on indiexpo.net ? (it's free)
So we can include also your game in the video ;)
p.s. write #LDJAM in the game's description
APantaloni
23. Apr 2016 · 15:39 UTC
I loved the idea and the game, while short, feels pretty polished (well, except for the lack of audio ;) ). The controls work well for the most part. It's a little weird (especially on the last level) when you change into ice, go up and hit something and you can't move horizontally until you change back. Anyway... a really nice start, I'd love to see this expanded upon.
🎤 nopogo
24. Apr 2016 · 17:14 UTC
Thanks very much for all the feedback. I'll add audio in the post ld version. I will also rework the timer system and ice physics.
Alexandre Szybiak
24. Apr 2016 · 20:20 UTC
My time was 02:06:031 ! The ice shape was a bit hard to control and in general I wish I could change shape any time I want and not have to wait, the rythm of the game would have been better :)
PeterFonts
24. Apr 2016 · 22:02 UTC
NIce! You can control the limits of the camera! Perhaps you can zoom in some levels! Great!
Steve | tacospice
25. Apr 2016 · 18:47 UTC
I especially liked the text you didn't forget to change.

It's a nice idea, and the graphics are sweet, but the controls are a little too stiff. Like, when you're transformed, even if you already did what you wanted to do (fly over something or float), you have to wait out the timeout before you turn back. Also, while an ice cube underwater, it's very tough to move left/right so you do a lot of floating, adjusting slightly, waiting, sinking, adjusting a bit more, float again and repeat.

Anyway, I think it's a solid idea that could do with some polish and become a nice little game. (audio audio audio)
bentglasstube
02. May 2016 · 02:57 UTC
I really enjoyed the mechanic of this one, especially the timer. I only wish there were more levels. I did find that the shapeshifting controls were a little unresponsive at times.
broknecho
09. May 2016 · 23:59 UTC
2:12 seconds for me! You have a really nice start here! Lots of cool possibilities with different states! Some of the collision boxes were a little tight. Also not being able to end the current state earlier than it's timer just made the player wait for no reason.

Overall you have a really good entry here for 48 hours! Great job!