Orchis by BortStudios

[raw]
made by BortStudios for LD26 (COMPO)
CONTROLS:

D - move right
A - move left
Space - jump

I'm pretty satisfied with this game. This was my first crack at making a song - I think it captured the mood I was looking for exactly. Next LD I want to do something a bit more complex, a bit different than a 'standard' game (platformer), but this time I'm just happy to have taken this game from concept to completion all the way through, as it's something I hadn't done before.

I chose to interpret minimalism in a number of ways. Firstly, the minimalist artwork (which was a grace for me). Secondly, the song I made I chose to not be very busy. I also chose a very minimalist method of control - that hopefully will still offer a bit of a challenge (and there is one twist in there that has to do with gravity). Finally, I chose a vast, yet very minimal setting - space.

There are a few minor bugs here or there, but overall I think I got rid of most, and have it polished to about as good as it could get in a 48 hour time frame.

Hope you enjoy it!

Note: If you are falling into a hole you can't get out of, this is most likely not a bug, but the end of the game. Yes, it is very, very short. Or, if it's not the end, try hitting the spacebar twice very quickly with the boost - that is, jump and immediately boost. It's how to get maximum height

Ratings

Coolness 37% 1594
Overall 3.26 457
Audio 3.56 108
Fun 3.08 470
Graphics 3.33 352
Humor 2.12 633
Innovation 2.81 794
Mood 3.40 185
Theme 3.41 680

Feedback

Yezu
29. Apr 2013 · 17:51 UTC
Unfortunately I ended up in a hole I couldn't get out of.
What's the deal with the increasing gravity, I mean I understand the physics, but is there more to it?
jhrrsn
29. Apr 2013 · 17:51 UTC
Nice game! I managed to get stuck after a few minutes in though :( Thanks for your comments as well, we may well revisit our game at some point for a v.2 release!
Casino Jack
29. Apr 2013 · 17:52 UTC
Great job on the music - it fits really well. I think my only gripe would be the difficulty in distinguishing between the background and interative tiles. Maybe simply making the background tiles faded, the foreground ones slightly textured, or even making the background tiles a different tilemap then setting the scrollfactor in flixel to 0.5 to create a parallax effect? Also...I fell down a hole and I can't get out :(
Shigor
29. Apr 2013 · 17:53 UTC
The music is really excellent and really mood fitting... but gameplay wise it's supershort platformer (with at least the gravity as added small bonus). The intro (web version) works strangely, I almost quit the game before anything started because i got constatly repeating line for 200 000 years... but then the planet appeared
BradleySmith
29. Apr 2013 · 17:53 UTC
Really nice music and I like the little track animation on the robots wheels.
Jeremias
29. Apr 2013 · 17:56 UTC
I love the art style, especially your use of the colors and the amotsphere they generate. It was fun to explore the planet. It would be nice if it were a bit longer and had more gameplay elements. Sound and music fits, too. Solid entry!
kannas
29. Apr 2013 · 18:00 UTC
I found the ending very...uh...free for interpretation? xD
anyway, i think that this is great game. I like the music and the art, and the gameplay is original. i would have liked a longer game though, with maybe more narrative :P Tanking about narrative, there's a bug at the start of the game, where there's the same text over and over ( the one of the 200000 years thing). I also didn't understand if i had to wait or to press a button ( the latest option would be better). Anyway, cool game, good job ;)
FunByJohn
01. May 2013 · 14:15 UTC
This was awesome man, I didn't notice the ever-increasing gravity until about halfway through, but I really like the idea! I feel like the level design didn't really take advantage of the increasing gravity, at a gameplay level.

Your pixel art is awesome; the slight animation on the belt of the robot is cool touch, and the shades of green you used are all lovely :D

The ending was quite cool :) how'd the flower get there? :O
mrexcessive
06. May 2013 · 16:58 UTC
Good job on the level design! Nice movement puzzles with minimal features, more than just a simple platformer. Could use more levels.
ryuurei
20. May 2013 · 20:06 UTC
I also got stuck in a hole and couldn't continue. That was pretty disappointing. I don't understand why you had the increasing gravity- acceleration wasn't affected at all. The motion didn't feel very natural at all, either.
The exploratory feel was pretty nice, however, and the music set a nice mood. The colors were pleasing and felt very alien, as well.
Not too bad, but there were some nasty loose ends.
foul
20. May 2013 · 20:14 UTC
Excellent game, touching and wistful. This game must be played to the end. Great intro also :)
dx0ne
20. May 2013 · 20:26 UTC
Clever thing with this gravity counter :) Could be nice guide for some more sophisticated puzzles.