Undercave by NoobException

[raw]
made by NoobException for LD 44 (COMPO)

My first Ludum Dare submission ever! :smiley:

Game created with: - Godot engine - Piskel and Paint.NET - Yamaha keyboard and Audacity

I did my best to make it playable and enjoyable, but I can't be sure it works 100%

Probably I focused too much on unnecessary stuff so game isn't very long. (:

I appreciate all the feedback, but please keep in mind that it's my first time and I don't have much experience.

Thanks and have fun!

Edit:

I've uploaded files to itch.io. I did it first time, so I may have screwed something up. I made very minor changes in HTML export. The "spawn light" is hidden due to some bug itch.io caused.

Source code and Windows version remain unchanged.

Ratings

Given 51🗳️ 75🗨️

Feedback

c0d3d
29. Apr 2019 · 02:35 UTC
I really liked it! I believe while the ai definetly needs some work the core idea and graphics along with style are all there. Definetly a project to continue! While it was a bit basic it has some very refined gameplay.(though maybe add a combat system? maybe there was one and I just didn't get there but still)
casperj
29. Apr 2019 · 08:28 UTC
Nice graphics and overall mood. Some jumps where very tricky since you need to crouch at the same time. I don't think think the crouch mechanic should be used while jumping, but that could be changed by the level design.
DigNZ
29. Apr 2019 · 08:29 UTC
Nice little game. I really like the graphics and the concept. Also like that its made in Godot :).
Sodaro
29. Apr 2019 · 09:36 UTC
I really liked the atmosphere and mood of the game! Main complaint is the forced falling asleep, since you don't even wake up when enemies damage you :frowning2: Anyways, nice job on your first entry!
Attala
29. Apr 2019 · 09:42 UTC
I liked it. Very dark so it's diffcult to play in a sunlit room :)
🎤 NoobException
29. Apr 2019 · 10:17 UTC
@sodaro
Well, I kinda meant that - if you don't care about your slime by yourself, it will do it.

But I appreciate your feedback, maybe I should think about some solution for that problem.
otresnjak
29. Apr 2019 · 10:19 UTC
Awesome game! Very moody.
Corny
29. Apr 2019 · 10:27 UTC
Now this is a game with MOOD.

I found it a little bit confusing that enemies steal your FOOD, but I guess it makes sense since there is no "health" stat to speak of. I starved to death many, many times. Sometimes with help, sometimes without it. I found that it's hard to find extra food items, but that just may be me being bad at the game? Who knows. The environment could use a lot more work, but I don't think that's worth mentioning since it's more of a personal preference.

Overall, what the game lacks in graphics it makes up with MOOD, and I love that it does!
Jiri Hysek
29. Apr 2019 · 12:54 UTC
Pretty solid entry for the first Ludum Dare submission and it's even in Compo! The cave is sometimes a little claustrophobic but it adds to the mood. Good job and I wish you luck on your next LD games!
Week of the agents
29. Apr 2019 · 13:06 UTC
Simple but nice effects. Will use it in further
jka
29. Apr 2019 · 13:28 UTC
The graphics are simple but charming and the music provides a great atmosphere. You have a lot of different mechanics going on that work very well together and it feels polished as well. The collision with the enemies could be a bit more forgiving though, as I found it really hard (and sometimes impossible) to avoid them, but that's really the only nitpick I have. Great job! :smile:
XCVZXC
29. Apr 2019 · 15:29 UTC
4,5 stars in mood. nice graphics and ambient. Imo game should send some signals to player, that slime is starving.
pwroff
29. Apr 2019 · 15:44 UTC
You did a great job for a first timer. I liked the game, as already mentioned by other players, it has incredible mood!
Vinay Rao
29. Apr 2019 · 16:10 UTC
You've certainly killed it on setting a strong ambiance. The low light environment and music go a long way toward setting the mood.

Level design is alright, though I found that some of the passages can be a bit narrow which had me crouch jumping quite a bit. Not too big a deal, honestly. The game is solid.

Congratulations on completing your first LD! I'd say you did pretty good!
Niteb
29. Apr 2019 · 17:12 UTC
Interesting concept and a very nice athmosphere
chawls_v
29. Apr 2019 · 17:39 UTC
I liked it! The mood was great and the core concept is strong, has a bit of a roguelike feel to it.
Tudvari
29. Apr 2019 · 20:44 UTC
**Great ambience**, reminded me of my first days of **Minecraft**, when everything seemed so **dangerous, strange, and unwelcoming**.

Those **narrow**, hard to go through passages set the mood as well. I enjoyed **squeezing through** :smile: The hunger system could have been a bit more forgiving, for example **slower to decrease**. :slight_smile:

I don't know about others, but personally I would have enjoyed it better in a **slower pace**. But the hunger system didn't let me :smile:
caeonosphere
29. Apr 2019 · 20:55 UTC
I found the exit, but it was locked? And then I jumped to the right and off the side of the game world.

Reminded me of Rain World!
gilborn
30. Apr 2019 · 12:35 UTC
Great mood!
Raphael Maia
30. Apr 2019 · 12:38 UTC
Really creative. Pertty well fitted.
Mags
30. Apr 2019 · 12:45 UTC
Very good job! I like how you managed to put it all together to achieve a desired atmosphere in the game. It was challenging at the beginning as I didn't really get the controls and was trying to crouch with Down Arrow key instead shift key but eventually I got it. I think it would be helpful if the blob gave a clue in the monologue at the beginning about the controls or just a simple picture with controlles somewhere. But it is just an advice it is not affecting my rating. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to your future LD submissions. :slight_smile:
Kaisean Games
30. Apr 2019 · 12:54 UTC
Neat. I like it. If you had some more time to make the terrain have some kind of texture, it'd be even more immersive.

But in any case, I found it kind of hard to balance between the sleep and food. Also, it felt like the enemies are taking your food too quickly...

But very nice for a compo game.
johanhelsing
30. Apr 2019 · 12:55 UTC
Really cool mechanics. The forced sleep is really cruel, but I really like it! Especially how you can starve to death while sleeping.

I like the intro dialogue, it really made me care about the slime and getting it out of that nasty place. I think the "but at least they are dumb" should be in it's own paragraph so it would be more punchliney.

btw: I got to the golden door at the top, then jumped to the right and fell of the world into an abyss. You might want to make that distance longer, or the right side steeper.

There was no audio for me, not sure if that was an error or not? (I played the html version).

The jumping while crouched was also kind of hard, for some reason, I cant press three arrow keys at the same time, and even if I could it would be pretty crowded.

Btw, you can consider uploading your game to itch.io, they let you host the html version directly. Would make the game more accessible.

First time for me as well :)
🎤 NoobException
30. Apr 2019 · 13:05 UTC
Thank's everyone for the so far feedback, definitely will consider it and improve my game!

Probably I will implement a procedural generation in the future, so there won't be need of making weird barriers :slight_smile:
I'm thinking about easier and harder mode of the game, so for those who like slower pace and don't want to die cruelly.

@johanhelsing
I think that the sound error may be caused on your side, since it works on my computer, but I can't be sure about that. :open_mouth:
I guess that all "moody" games feaure similar kind of graphics :smile:
johanhelsing
30. Apr 2019 · 13:14 UTC
@noobexception Yep, the problem was on my end, got it working eventually :) Sorry for the trouble. The audio was great, really adds to the mood of the game!
DidiGameBoy
30. Apr 2019 · 13:58 UTC
yay ! congrats for your first time! and great job!
Somogy
30. Apr 2019 · 15:55 UTC
An pretty and simple game, congrats
pke1029
30. Apr 2019 · 16:56 UTC
Difficult for sure. Still, very impresive for a new dev.
teo989
30. Apr 2019 · 17:22 UTC
Congratulations on succesfully completing your first LD! Don't worry about the length of the game. I think it wasn't short if you explore everything. I felt like the shields were doing more bad than good to the player but that's just a little thing I would propably change. Anyway, Good Job and I am looking forward to seeing your next LD submission in a half year's time :hourglass: :v:
EddenSoft
30. Apr 2019 · 18:17 UTC
I really like it, but just one think.....letters are showing too slow for me.
arkinrev
30. Apr 2019 · 19:03 UTC
I really liked the survival element and inventory system that you've implemented in this platformer. Really nice job!
shp
30. Apr 2019 · 19:37 UTC
Quite the atmosphere you got going on, well done for your first time
Lazertrax
30. Apr 2019 · 21:46 UTC
Amazing atmosphere, I like the narrative it kept me engaged for a while. I think the only issue is the layout of controls on the keyboard, X and Z right below the movement keys which is not very comfortable. But still, I really enjoyed playing this and having to manage food and sleep while exploring was really fun! Best of luck :thumbsup:
Christopher Wong
30. Apr 2019 · 23:14 UTC
Great job on creating the atmosphere, the darkness really adds something to the game and at some point
I really started to feel for the slime guy (doesn't help that he keeps starving to death because I suck at
the game). I agree that some of the jumps were a bit annoying to do and the game could've stuck to the
theme a bit closer but this is a really solid submission, especially since this was your first LD!
superpokeunicorn
01. May 2019 · 04:09 UTC
This game is pretty interesting. I like the atmospheric audio design and the dark lighting effects. I will say that the controls scheme was a bit clunky having to manage so many buttons at once, especially if I needed to crouch and jump simultaneously to fit through a hole. But, overall, this is a pretty solid game. Nice work!
designernap
01. May 2019 · 10:30 UTC
Solid entry for a first jam! Be proud! its great!
MrBrooms
01. May 2019 · 11:18 UTC
I played all the game crouched because i can't move easily inistead and being not crouched provides nothing.
The game is nice :)
Sholyu
01. May 2019 · 16:11 UTC
For a first jam you should be proud , the graphics are really cool and fit really nicely to the game, the need to keep balance is nice , I love it ! GG
IanLux
01. May 2019 · 20:53 UTC
I really like survival mechanics overall, so I really liked this, specially for a first-time jammer! :D
Oivin F
02. May 2019 · 01:14 UTC
Interesting concept! The AI was as mentioned by many others a bit wonky, and the controls (crouch jumping especially) were a bit fiddly. I also found the game to hard and couldn't complete it, but that's more a fault on my part. Good job!
Joe Bustamante
02. May 2019 · 01:15 UTC
I really liked this game! The mood is really good - the graphics are really cool, and the background music does a really good job complimenting this. The gameplay is pretty simple but fun, a good blend of survival. This is awesome for a first-time jam! The controls made it a bit hard to use at times and once or twice I was confused about an item, but overall I really liked this one!
NandoN
02. May 2019 · 05:51 UTC
Pretty interesting to have survival mechanics in this format, should keep working on it. I also fell into the abyss when I found the gate was locked.
firellon
02. May 2019 · 19:34 UTC
Ok, that's fine entry :)

I think sleeping mechanic is not very necessary for the game, could we conneect it more to the things around?

Also, I'd like still to do smth while sleeping, because just waiting is quite boring.
Matthew Hrehirchuk
03. May 2019 · 01:48 UTC
i really enjoyed the game, although i would like a bit of warning when i am starving. the mood was great and the music was really nice. great work!
phantomeniasll
03. May 2019 · 18:11 UTC
Really nice Game because it seems really finished and not like a minigame or a half finished buggy mess
Baby Dino Herd
04. May 2019 · 03:37 UTC
Really great job! I'm impressed with the number of mechanics, and the way you managed to evoke the mood through a combination of graphics, music, and the mechanics themselves -- the sleeping mechanic really reinforced the sense of danger and needing to find a safe space (especially if you auto-sleep because the meter has run out). The claustrophobia and needing to constantly crouch also really added to the mood.

I think an easy mode definitely would have been nice for me, to be able to make it a little bit further and see more of what there is to offer.
DataGreed
05. May 2019 · 14:28 UTC
I'm not sure if its my computer, but the music in HTML version was hiccuping.
Otherwise a very good entry with an overall finished feel to it, I love the mood. Very hard, though. I didn't realize that enemies take your food meter down at first.
DeathBySnail
05. May 2019 · 22:41 UTC
Nice job