LudumData

Hold X to Focus by toasteater

[raw]
made by toasteater for Ludum Dare 45 (COMPO)

sc1.png

(Includes) a Pong clone.

Game for Ludum Dare 45 Compo

Controls

  • WASD / Arrows to Move
  • Press Z / J to Jump
  • Hold X / K to Focus
  • Esc: Pause
  • Controller support not tested

Fonts

  • M+ Fonts (See LICENSE_E in source code): http://mplus-fonts.osdn.jp
  • Squarewave by jeti (CC-BY 4.0): https://fontenddev.com/fonts/squarewave/

Known Issues

  • Some Linux distros with outdated "file" utility may see the executable as a shared library. It can be run normally on the command line.
  • (compo version) It’s possible to get softlocked if you try to interact with objects while the character is still in bed.

Changelog

v1.0.1 (compo version with fixes)

This version is identical to the compo version in terms of content and gameplay.

  • Fixed softlock problem in room scene.

Tools Used

  • Godot Engine
  • Krita
  • sfxr
  • Studio One
Youtube https://toasteater.itch.io/hold-x-to-focus
Youtube https://toasteater.itch.io/hold-x-to-focus
Youtube https://toasteater.itch.io/hold-x-to-focus
Youtube https://toasteater.itch.io/hold-x-to-focus
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/45/hold-x-to-focus

Ratings

Overall 162th 3.607⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Fun 253th 3.221⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 356th 2.942⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Theme 293th 3.267⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 65th 3.965⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Audio 98th 3.547⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Humor 252th 2.462⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Mood 72th 3.791⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Given 55🗳️ 26🗨️

Feedback

congusbongus
07. Oct 2019 · 09:06 UTC
The art and sound are both great! It's unfortunate that the jumping puzzles are so hard! Thankfully there are restart points but it's very frustrating :(
kessutinnu
07. Oct 2019 · 09:19 UTC
I found the air dash a frustrating. It is very difficult to time it well.
🎤 toasteater
07. Oct 2019 · 10:03 UTC
@congusbongus @kessutinnu Thanks for playing! Like the jump, the air dash is variable, and in some places it might be better to not use the full length. I recognize that it takes some effort to get through the final area, and it can be done consistently. However, there is probably not enough content in-between for one to get used to the controls, due to the time constraint.

Thanks for giving feedback!
JustusPan
07. Oct 2019 · 12:04 UTC
## Hard game!
I like the art work and the space magic effect in this game.
Finally I'm stuck in following condition.
Good Job!
![holdx_hard.png](///raw/a9a/12/z/26fbc.png)
cirno
07. Oct 2019 · 14:32 UTC
It's a surprise to find an anime-style game in ludum dare. The mood, story and game style reminds me of Yume Nikki. I also find this game a bit hard. @justuspan unfortunately I stuck on the same condition like you. The ping pong mini game is also hard for me. I wonder what will happen when the girl reaches the end. Will she awake from the deep dream or just jump into a deeper dream world?
🎤 toasteater
07. Oct 2019 · 14:51 UTC
Thanks for playing!

@cirno I'm happy that you noticed the references! It is indeed a conscious imitation. And by tradition I shall speak nothing about the story...
blobo
07. Oct 2019 · 15:27 UTC
I love the subtle squash and stretch on the player when they jump. Wonderfully done.
zc74560
07. Oct 2019 · 15:44 UTC
Very good game.
It's hard some point I nearly think that I'm playing the Celeste.
Fezezen
08. Oct 2019 · 01:00 UTC
Very cute game.
kiririn51
08. Oct 2019 · 03:05 UTC
Feels like a very personal game and wears its Yume Nikki inspirations on its sleeves. It's hard as fuck but definitely worth it.
radgegames
08. Oct 2019 · 07:00 UTC
Absolutely adore the sound, a little challenging though, sstill a great entry
Corrade
08. Oct 2019 · 07:18 UTC
I got stuck at the point below. Is the jump to the left really the way to go? I also arrived at this point by failing the previous jump but being respawned ahead. I assume that was a bug?

Great aesthetic though. The dark tone and polish was great.

![Untitled.png](///raw/3ca/72/z/28ad2.png)
🎤 toasteater
08. Oct 2019 · 07:24 UTC
Thanks everyone for the feedback!

@corrade If you have already got both the dash and the wall jump, then left is the way to go. This respawn point should only trigger when you are ready, so if you haven't got the abilities yet, it may be a bug.

If you have already got the abilities, here's some hints:

1. You can wall jump after a dash.
2. You can bounce between walls. There is no limit to the times you can wall jump.
3. You can dash again after performing a wall jump.
burnedkirby
08. Oct 2019 · 08:24 UTC
Fun platformer that gets really difficult by the end. As others have mentioned already, it does give some "yume niki" vibes as you wake up in a room in spots during the game. Music is chill and great. controls are tight and responsive, but hard to pull off multiple wall jumps as gravity makes you fall pretty quickly. Fun game, good job!
Corrade
08. Oct 2019 · 08:47 UTC
Oh, I hadn't gotten the wall jump yet. I re-attempted the game and got locked in the second room. I think I was in bed and the drawing was stuck on screen. On another attempt I got to the above section properly, but yeah my brain was too scuffed to do the platforming beyond that.

Really slick mechanics though.
Zanthous
08. Oct 2019 · 08:47 UTC
I believe that my game softlocked when I skipped viewing the drawing at the first interactable, then viewed it at the second, maybe I pressed it too fast/ before getting out of bed.

The game is very cute, and the music is also very nice. I may have been stupid but I wasn't sure where to go right after getting the wall jump.
🎤 toasteater
08. Oct 2019 · 09:03 UTC
@burnedkirby Thank you!

@corrade Thanks for playing regardless! Also,

@zanthous Thanks for reporting the bug. I can confirm that it's possible to get softlocked if you try to interact with things while the character is still in bed. Sorry I didn't catch it in development. It's possible to normally progress even if you skipped a drawing, if you wait until the character is out of the bed.

I will add it to the Known Issues section and release a post-compo version with a fix later.
Hcursino
08. Oct 2019 · 09:18 UTC
I find the gravity in this game a bit uncomfortable. Using the wall jump with the air dash was extremely frustrating and painful. After 30 minutes jumping and falling in the same part I gave up. Sorry I didn't get to complete your game D:
SharkWithLasers
08. Oct 2019 · 09:43 UTC
Got to the end! Liked the aesthetic of the game. There are some nice touches like the background moving slightly (also the intro screen is pretty slick).
Ratrat44
08. Oct 2019 · 11:19 UTC
It was very very hard but I beat it!!! it has very nice art, good sound and music. I think it would be easier if the character would slide down walls slowly.
NickyKendy
09. Oct 2019 · 03:22 UTC
完成度好高！音乐，画面，音效！甚至还有一个设置界面！48小时能做这么多让我好自愧不如！不过就像上面各位老外说的，这游戏是像我这样的手残党噩梦啊！我实在是操作不来那个蹭墙跳了！如果支持手柄的话，也许我还会试试那个卡的我死了十几次的地方:D
FireSlash
09. Oct 2019 · 06:33 UTC
Oh wow this is lovely.

The mood is absolutely fantastic, and the art and sound come together perfectly.

The platforming is tough but solid, though it seems to be more of a vehicle to convey the rest of the game.
Ruud Cremers
09. Oct 2019 · 10:17 UTC
I liked it! The gravity is a bit too much, and there were some minor weird things (like a certain save point being in mid air, causing you to drop down a little every time you respawn). Bonus points for being a fellow Godot user <3
Wxzuir
09. Oct 2019 · 10:55 UTC
The idea is great, and using the pong mini game is fun!
The platformer part is a little hard for me..
🎤 toasteater
09. Oct 2019 · 12:57 UTC
Thanks to everyone for playing and giving valuable feedback! You are awesome.

While the absolute difficulty level is as intended, the controls, player guidance in level design, and the difficulty curve certainly still have much room for improvement. Hopefully I'll get better at those aspects in the future.

Hopefully!
dimlight
09. Oct 2019 · 16:16 UTC
Very cute game with beautiful graphics! The feeling of platform jumping is nice, and it's wonderful to add pong! I found that there's checkpoint in the game, then why not make it visible for players? That would make players have a clear target about falling to which place may make them play the game again from the start.
🎤 toasteater
10. Oct 2019 · 02:50 UTC
@dimlight Thanks! That's a very reasonable suggestion. I'll keep it in mind. I did add some spikes to prevent falling to previous checkpoints, but I might not have covered all the cases.
Foursay
10. Oct 2019 · 03:30 UTC
I noticed this game in indienova LD group and the game is both cute and hardcore! I found the wall jump hard for me already lol.
Also Studioone suki. Good job man!
ROBOWARRIOR1982
13. Oct 2019 · 15:12 UTC
The pixel art is cute, and i like the focus effect. The game is little bit hard and punitive, but it's a good entry. And i prefer to play platformer with a gamepad. Good job !
snesgaard
13. Oct 2019 · 16:16 UTC
First of all amazing artwork and atmosphere! Though I must admit having a hard time getting used to jump not being bound to space. There are other minor issue, such as dash not being usable unless you are moving while in the air.
🎤 toasteater
14. Oct 2019 · 03:31 UTC
@robowarrior1982 Thanks for playing! Controllers should be supported by the engine but I didn't test it.

@snesgaard Thanks! That's one more set of common key maps I should keep in mind. While I think it would be a bit uncomfortable to perform long platforming sequences with space as the jump key, I still consider it important to cover common controls in a game jam.
silkworm_sweatshop
16. Oct 2019 · 19:48 UTC
Cute art and lovely music. Biggest problem is the probably the gravity as others have mentioned, it doesn't feel quite right. Thankfully the checkpoints are pretty frequent and I did manage to complete it. I liked the little intermissions as well.
mapedorr
20. Oct 2019 · 11:05 UTC
The aesthetics of the game are pretty good and those jumps between the oneiric world and the real world are quite interesting. I loved seeing the connection between the portals and the room (or life?) of the main character.

It would be nice if the things the player does in the reality affect the dream and consequently its world. The jump physics feel weird and are a bit frustrating, but I finished the game.

Is the focus mechanic related to waking up from a nightmare?

----
We also made our game using Godot. If you have the time, please give it a try.

( ﾉ^.^)ﾉﾟ
🎤 toasteater
20. Oct 2019 · 13:54 UTC
@silkworm-sweatshop Thanks for playing and finishing the game!

@mapedorr That's a very good idea! If I had more time to work on the game, I'd certainly add some interaction between the worlds. The controls may use some improvements, I agree. As for the mechanic, I shall leave it up to your interpretation. Thank you for playing!
depxe
20. Oct 2019 · 14:25 UTC
风格好棒!梦日记的感觉喜欢!蹭墙跳的部分好难\\
jhandsy
20. Oct 2019 · 19:17 UTC
Really nice! I think a little more time could've been spent on the physics. I got to the end, but imo the game would've felt a lot better if there had been a max fall speed and if gravity had been a bit slower.
organicpencil
29. Oct 2019 · 00:40 UTC
Alas, I couldn't run the binary on Linux Mint 18
```
$ ./hold_x.x86_64
./hold_x.x86_64: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.27' not found (required by ./hold_x.x86_64)
./hold_x.x86_64: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.29' not found (required by ./hold_x.x86_64)
```

Tried the source project with Godot 3.1 and got `Parser Error: Identifier 'PAUSE_MODE_SELF_PROCESS' is not declared in the current scope.`

Went ahead and commented the line after stalking your github to find its purpose
SUCCESS

Ultimately got stuck (I suck at this game, lol) but I must say the mood is spot-on.
🎤 toasteater
29. Oct 2019 · 05:04 UTC
@organicpencil Sorry that you encountered these problems. I think I should start compiling binaries on ancient distros or with musl. Thanks for playing!