LudumData

SPHEER by Split82

[raw]
made by Split82 for LD 39 (JAM)

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The Game
Spheer is a first person puzzle game inspired by classics like Portal and Talos Principle. You are in a facility which runs low on energy. You must plug in energy spheres to open door, turn lights on and move platforms.

Backstage
Originally I wanted to submit the game to Compo, but I didn't manage to finish it in 2 days. There are few more gameplay mechanics already implemented, but not used in the level design. Anyway I think it might be a little bit too difficult to solve everything. All the audio stuff was made few hours after the submission (audio voting is turned off).

Controls
Standard FPS - WASD, left mouse click (post-jam has also right mouse click)

Software
Unity 2017,
Blender,
Adobe Photoshop,
Visual Studio Code,
Logic Pro

More stuff
Open source volumetric lights library - https://github.com/SlightlyMad/VolumetricLights
Unity post-processing stack - https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/PostProcessing
Some google fonts.

Who made it
All the code, shaders, graphics and other stuff was made in 72 hours by me.

S5.png
S4.png
s3.png

Changelog

1st download link

  • original jam version

2nd download link

  • small bug fixes in level design
  • added mouse settings in game menu
  • drop sphere with right button instead of left
  • more precise reflections
Windows https://www.dropbox.com/s/ug8jvogqt9sbo3q/Spheer%20v1.01.zip?dl=0
Windows https://www.dropbox.com/s/b73xgimaivjy13o/Spheer%20v1.3.zip?dl=0
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/spheer

Ratings

Overall 16th 4.324⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Fun 16th 4.147⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 109th 3.706⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Theme 522th 3.353⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 9th 4.765⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Mood 18th 4.353⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Given 33🗳️ 26🗨️

Feedback

ondrej.paska
01. Aug 2017 · 13:35 UTC
Wow! the graphics are crazy good. Gameplay reminds me of The Witness and there's quite a lot of levels, I only got through the first few rooms, I'll try to finish it later.
Would be nice to have some effect for when you "teleport" the sphere across the room.
Good job as always!
Shinmera
01. Aug 2017 · 19:18 UTC
A solid foundation for a lengthy puzzle game. With something on the side to give the player a way to flesh in the world a bit more outside of just the puzzles, this could be really good. The mechanics confused me a bit at first though, as I didn't realise that I could interact with the sphere from afar.
Pavel Kouril
03. Aug 2017 · 20:17 UTC
"Now you're thinking with spheres."

Really nice graphics, especially the volumetric lightning gives it a nice touch. :)
Geckoo1337
04. Aug 2017 · 20:59 UTC
A nice puzzle game with an innovative concept. The main gameplay is really simple to understand but I assume that it could be really hard to solve some levels if you do a big brainstorming on their design. The global aesthetic is awesome, especially the lights. The HUD is clean and fully intuitive. It could become the next portal/antichamber game, adding some other features - and maybe a storyline. In less than 72 hours, you have done an incredible prototype. Well done. One of my favorites. Highly rated ++
zelgaris
05. Aug 2017 · 11:20 UTC
Clean graphics, good idea, nice touches (e.g. the hud showing if all connected spheres will be powered) overall great prototype I hope you eventually elevate to an awesome full game.
Thygrrr
08. Aug 2017 · 14:37 UTC
How the hell are these gems showing up just now?! :grin:

Likes:
- excellent graphics and setting
- fantastic trailer
- so much content, how'd you do it?
- high polish and production quality
- aesthetics are in the same league as Portal and other double-A franchises

Challenges:
- controls aren't that clear, i.e. how you can telekinetically work with the sphere and all

Overall:
- prime quality entry, congratulations!
- this could well be a premium game on a VR store just as it is... enormous potential
Tomahawk2001913
08. Aug 2017 · 14:40 UTC
The graphics and gameplay were fantastic. It really reminded me of Portal.
Thygrrr
08. Aug 2017 · 14:43 UTC
If there's at all a chance for me to see the guts of the program (i.e. "how'd they do it?!"), that would be massively appreciated.

No need for the source code, just would like to understand how some of the scenes are built.
schizoid2k
08. Aug 2017 · 14:47 UTC
Unbelievable! What a great game! Definitely Portal-like, which I love. Music, sound, effects, puzzles definitely give a Portal feel. Loved the complexity of the last level.
Yetman
08. Aug 2017 · 15:10 UTC
The visuals are killing me, how can it be so great!!! O_O I am a great fan of this aesthetic style. Everything was great. The lighting (especially the lighting), the effects, ambient sound and sound effects are awesome. The game mechanics is also great, It is innovative and well polished and I enjoyed the levels you made a lot. The volumetric lighting was effectively used (I wanted to use the same package in my game too, but it washed out everything for me). Overall, I can't express how much I loved this game.
Runuchok
08. Aug 2017 · 18:16 UTC
Legit puzzle game, i would like to pay, If it was full release!! Amazing work!
TheFlyingKeyboard
08. Aug 2017 · 18:52 UTC
Really amazing puzzle game(levels remind me Portal 2 a little). Really fun puzzles to solve. Graphics is just amazing(lights are just epic). The only thing that could be better is controlls - interacting with objects is not intuitive. Definitelly continue working on this in the future, because it has strong potential. One of the best I played so far. Awesome Job!
joebeard
08. Aug 2017 · 22:17 UTC
Really nice, and very reminiscent of portal. The main menu almost made me think it was a source engine game. It would be great to see more levels added in the future!
Cole and Jordan Studios
08. Aug 2017 · 22:44 UTC
Interesting. Portal vibes for sure. Solid graphics, mechanics were interesting, but it was short and didn't explore them quite as much as I'd like (but that's understandable for 72 hours). The last puzzle did a good job of testing everything you knew, although I got stuck by taking a sphere while standing between some of the final doors. Oops. It was also a little weird to have the button that links the sphere to things be the same button that puts it down as it kind of conflicts. Overall nicely done.
SaraMartins
09. Aug 2017 · 04:49 UTC
Wow. Just loved it. Amazing graphics, ambience, lighting and sound effects, everything. Great puzzles, I just wished it had more! Please make more levels after the jam, your game is great!
yuigoto
09. Aug 2017 · 06:16 UTC
It totally has that Portal vibe, as most people said, but the energy sphere mechanic is also really great and polished! Nice work with them!

Also, sounds and atmospheric soundtrack really do help set the mood and give a nice, futuristic feel.

Controls are pretty responsive, easy to get and the puzzles, specially that 4-point one, are really well thought and built!

Great work! Congrats!
Offz
09. Aug 2017 · 14:02 UTC
Really nice game, It's a great idea. If you add a story, I can definitely see this being a full puzzle game. The atmosphere was nice and overall, the puzzles were fun to play! Good job, hope to see you next Ludum Dare!
Rialgar
09. Aug 2017 · 14:22 UTC
The visuals are absolutely gorgeous! The gameplay is fluid and the puzzles are rewarding. I think it may be difficult to come up with many extensions with only this mechanic, though. In Talos Principle you had to connect source and switch, here the sphere is a source in itself, which limits the puzzle design.

The usual ideas now are colored beams and spheres that are not sources. Combining those with moving platforms/targets can already give you quite the number of options. Of course more devices you can power also increase the design space. Talos Principle had the ventilators,
Avon
09. Aug 2017 · 14:27 UTC
This is a very beautiful and polished game, the music is relaxing which is good for a puzzle game, the interface was clean and simple and the controls were smooth(I particularly like the smooth acceleration on your FPS controller). I was a little confused at first about how to connect the sphere, if you had some indication of which things the sphere is connected to while holding it(maybe something like the line you get when it doesn't have line of sight and cant connect) it would have been a little more intuitive. I thought the puzzles were fairly easy, definitely not too hard.
nokusu
09. Aug 2017 · 14:57 UTC
Nice and chill puzzle game, i liked it, and i'm not usually a fan of puzzle games ^^

**Positive stuff :**
- Solid mechanics with a good tutorial element to learn them
- Nice graphics and beautiful lighting ( only tiny thing would be to add little things to give the game a bit more visual personality i.m.o but otherwise it looks great)
- Very chill mood that fit these type of games quite well
- Nice difficulty progression and balance on this LD build

**Negative stuff :**
- Had a bit of slowdown (albeit not a drastic fps drop either) so it could use a little bit of optimisation

Really not that much in terms of negatives, I quite enjoyed this game and it has potential

Well done dude :)
Le Slo
09. Aug 2017 · 17:43 UTC
Clearly puzzles are my favorite genre and you did a nice work here. Good level progression, although the last one was a bit frustrating as it is more like a pixel search than a logic jump. The graphics are awesome and the game feels great, for some minutes I felt like I was playing a game that could last a couple of hours. Well done!
wolderado
10. Aug 2017 · 18:14 UTC
Great game! I had fun with puzzles. There is some bugs that I encountered but considering the time limit, its fine. I liked the use of cinema effects but it caused fps drops in my computer.
Nuthen
12. Aug 2017 · 04:54 UTC
The visuals and sounds are on point. My favorite effect was the blur when you pick up a sphere from long range. The puzzles didn't challenge me much but I still found them interesting. Totally reminded me of The Talos Principle.
StaNov
12. Aug 2017 · 09:05 UTC
What can I say... It's a game from another world. With production quality graphics and music. Add three levels, put it to AppStore for five bucks and enjoy the milions.

Thanks for sharing, it's just so polished and the gameplay is so good that I have no words for that. But I'm getting used to it by your games :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P4Q4Fg7HSA
JemSmith
12. Aug 2017 · 12:19 UTC
Really fantastic game, well done! It's very reminiscent of the Talos Principle, as you say, but that's not a bad thing at all. I think you've added a twist or two to the mechanics there, so it was really enjoyable to solve those line of sight style puzzles.

You've done a lot for 72 hours, though in a future version, I'd love to see a few more rooms. Great job!
oakus
12. Aug 2017 · 16:05 UTC
Superb entry by Split as usual, you really are perfecting your toolbox here to the maximum, this game has everything - graphics, gameplay, sounds, atmosphere and your signature - it's a work of art.
Sarrixx
13. Aug 2017 · 07:45 UTC
Kudos on a really polished and all around great little game! This is a solid concept that would make an excellent full-fledged game. Create some kind of story [and possibly even some sociopathically humorous antagonist ;)] and I think you have a fun game that would do pretty well as a standalone! Great job!
TeamMonumental
17. Aug 2017 · 21:18 UTC
I don't see many first person puzzle games when judging, so points for being different! Let me just say that the game is absolutely beautiful. The lighting and shaders are great and set the mood perfectly. The transitions that happen when you connect, disconnect, and drop the sphere are great. I'm not sure if you made the sound/music but it is very good and helps immerse the player. I love the little details, such as the reflection in the spheres. The learning curve is smooth and being able to teach the player without having walls of text is quite the feat. Completing the last puzzle was also very satisfying. Fantastic entry overall, so far it's one of my favorite.
Sarrixx
21. Aug 2017 · 16:36 UTC
I have been doing a lets play YouTube series of my favourite LD 39 games and Spheer was in the last video. You can check it out here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5E8Q7PzoyY&feature=youtu.be