Ascend by Amour Du Pain

[raw]
made by Amour Du Pain for LD 43 (COMPO)

There's only one rule : ascend.

Please note that this is more an interactive journey than a game, a contemplative and abstract experience focused on flow and feel.

LD43 wp.jpg

SC2.jpg

SC8.jpg

SC9.jpg

For once, I wanted to use the free improvisation technique, as musicians or painters often do, trying to emphasis how the theme made me felt without rationalizing anything.

After all, jams are the best places to experiment !

Sadly, I only had half of the week-end to work on it, but I did my best. I hope you'll like it !

For this compo, I used : - Unity - Magix Music Maker - Audacity

Listen to the OST on soundcloud..

Ratings

Overall 239th 3.439⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Fun 395th 2.818⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 318th 3.015⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 493th 2.197⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 26th 4.258⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 3th 4.318⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Mood 3th 4.379⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 2🗳️ 2🗨️

Feedback

squirmonkey
03. Dec 2018 · 03:13 UTC
Well that was interesting. As I'm sure you know, the visuals and music are excellent, particularly in the moments where they're synchronized. There didn't appear to be much in the way of gameplay though, other than flying upwards. I also struggled to connect the game to the theme. I see the description you provided, but that concept didn't really come through in the game itself.

Still, the ambiance of this game was really something, even if all the shapes were fairly abstract. I can't commend the music enough.
acoto87
03. Dec 2018 · 06:22 UTC
I must say that this was a relaxing experience, I started it in windowed mode, and had to switch to fullscreen to fully appreciate the art and the music. Very good job!
anstabo
04. Dec 2018 · 22:24 UTC
I really don't know what to say after playing it, really relaxing and "kino" pure graphism and design at its best.
Now i want to make something like that :)
I played the game twice since there's no ending.
aCuriosity
04. Dec 2018 · 22:27 UTC
Its beautiful... and there are some serious feels to it, like i was struggling to do something, or get somewhere... I really wanted there to be something more, some additional mechanic allowing me to interact with the world... Is there any end? I continued to move upwards through what seemed to be endless black for a bit hoping i was going to come across something out there....

Anyhow... beautiful visuals and music.
itsN8
04. Dec 2018 · 22:27 UTC
The lighting contrasting the darkness looks nice.
Dino_jr
04. Dec 2018 · 22:30 UTC
This is really a relaxing experience, I just kept going till the end just because how chill it is. Congrats!
ragtagradical
04. Dec 2018 · 23:08 UTC
nicely executed short form experience. I'm pretty sure I got through the whole thing, as the music started to loop. There were some really interesting visuals going on, i'd like to see more.
Leothil
04. Dec 2018 · 23:29 UTC
Game is self experience. I had a good one playing your game, thank you.

Can be very good with more content, i like contemplative games.
SandPile
05. Dec 2018 · 00:01 UTC
Navigating the tight tunnels at the start of the experience was really nice. The ambient lightning made it look very nice.
And the music made it all come together.
legavroche
05. Dec 2018 · 00:12 UTC
Loved the relaxing atmosphere created by the art and music, it really caught my eye. As some other mentioned, having some more interactivity with the world would be nice. Excited to see what comes from it if you continue working on it!
Furtive Pygmy
05. Dec 2018 · 00:56 UTC
That was an experience! Very enjoyable; good work on creating something that was more of an artistic project.
icxon
05. Dec 2018 · 02:22 UTC
Meditative and smooth. I'm not sure how long I supposed _to ascend_.

Here is my attempt:

https://youtu.be/QJAy4QN8pzk
mAnimal
05. Dec 2018 · 22:05 UTC
Awesome chill entry. I like the visuals so much, with the music i felt so relaxed. I will use your project as a study material for my unity skills. Thank you so much for your entry. :)
chrismcmath
05. Dec 2018 · 22:14 UTC
It's amazing how much you were able to do with just primitives, lighting and space. My only complaint is that even though I was controlling a (major) part of the experience, I didn't feel like I was interacting with the experience. I almost felt like I had been rushed on stage with a script and told to play the part as best I could. Allowing the player/user to take ownership would only make it stronger.
Artur Hawkwing
06. Dec 2018 · 03:48 UTC
Amazing visuals, and the music was great! I would have loved to have some sort of an end, or some sort of infinitely expanding world so that is always looked different as I ascended.
designernap
06. Dec 2018 · 09:31 UTC
This is great! Wonderful feeling of flow, movement and control (Which is more than I can say for my game!) and the music is outstanding! Excellent entry.
Saering
06. Dec 2018 · 09:34 UTC
Interesting experience but I really can't see how it is related to the theme. But it's not a problem as long as the game is good and I liked the visuals and the chill vibe
Hystaf
06. Dec 2018 · 14:07 UTC
Hum if you have two screen you can break the game ^^". It's interesting but it's not match with the theme.
cerno-b
08. Dec 2018 · 01:49 UTC
Could you set your game to “Windows Download” on your itch page? I would like to play it via Itch client but it shows as “not available on Windows”.
chauchau
09. Dec 2018 · 15:47 UTC
Loved the overall atmosphere and feeling of movement. Great entry, well done!
annagavaldakedavra
10. Dec 2018 · 23:18 UTC
I like this a lot. It's tastefull, elegant and subtle. It's just a bit frustrating to ascend to the roof and just stay there for a while, not ascending further. Except of course my friend's game, this is my favorite. It's a fucking 5 stars game, and it's obviously related to the theme.
cerno-b
13. Dec 2018 · 20:06 UTC
Amazing entry! I am absolutely taken aback by how much you achieved with seemingly so little. The expressiveness of this piece is incredible for a game made in such a short amount of time.

I love the way you start slow and stunted but then outgrow your initial state of being while leaving behind the things that slow you down. There's a lot of depth in this.

As it is less a game and more an experience I won't judge it too harshly on gameplay. It doesn't really make much of a difference whether you lose the white balls early on or later but I'll take it as a deliberate artistic decision. A visual queue that the end was reached would have been nice as you continue ascending into nothingness without knowledge that it's over.

Finally the music is great and completes the experience. No sfx needed here, although some very faint ambient noises may have helped underline the moment you lose a circle.

Overall a great achievement and the most impressive game I've seen so far.
onnofal
19. Dec 2018 · 22:46 UTC
Last game for my playing session today and I am happy that the day is ending with your entry. What exactly is a game.. I cannot say. I definitely enjoyed this ambient piece, it is a pleasure to control while listening to the music - excellent match together. Reminding me some Philip Glass works.