LudumData

ＵＰＳＱＵＩＤ by 01010111

[raw]
made by 01010111 for LD34 (COMPO)
[ ＣＯＮＴＲＯＬＳ － ＱＷＥＲＴＹ ]

LEFT / RIGHT ARROW KEYS (DOWN)....AIM
LEFT / RIGHT ARROW KEYS (RELEASE)....THRUST

[ ＣＯＮＴＲＯＬＳ － ＧＡＭＥＰＡＤ ]

LEFT / RIGHT SHOULDER BUTTONS

[ ＥＸＰＬＡＮＡＴＩＯＮ ]

Snack on little creatures! Snacks replenish energy!
Thrusting depletes energy! Don't run out of energy!
Don't fall behind or you'll go back to sleep!

HOLD BOTH KEYS WHEN COMBO GAUGE
IS FULL FOR OVER-BOOST

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This game is dedicated to @moppin_
He made my favorite game of 2015
<3 pls don't sue <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ ＳＴＵＦＦ ＵＳＥＤ ]
Code - HaxeFlixel, FlashDevelop, Git
Art - Aseprite (Sprites), OGMO (Level)
Audio - FLStudio, Chipsounds
Web http://01010111.itch.io/upsquid
Source https://github.com/01010111/LD34
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-34/?action=preview&uid=11474

Ratings

Coolness 71% 3
Overall 4.13 23
Audio 4.10 21
Fun 4.04 24
Graphics 4.20 57
Humor 2.67 340
Innovation 3.43 306
Mood 4.01 37
Theme 4.06 193

Feedback

NaoisTheGuardian
14. Dec 2015 · 03:24 UTC
Really great entry here! Nice and simple, and heaps of fun, would work great as a mobile app.
esayitch
14. Dec 2015 · 08:50 UTC
I liked your usual play on popular games/titles (bedhogg and now this).

Very solid entry, sounds are top notch, visuals are highly polished, and mechanics are well-tuned. Only suggestion would be to make it get harder faster, and to make the chain-combo timer run out faster the higher the combo counter is.

Excellent all around!
Elenesski
14. Dec 2015 · 17:38 UTC
Good idea. Had fun. I would have made it a wee bit easier to turn, but minor point.
salmonmoose
14. Dec 2015 · 20:06 UTC
... oh look a Downwell clone (sigh) ...

Wait, no, this is something unique in it's own right - this is a great little distraction, and would port to mobile brilliantly. Loving the CGA palette revival.
mlepage
14. Dec 2015 · 20:43 UTC
Simple and very well done. Took me a few tries to get the hang of the controls, but once I did it was very pleasant to play
lekochen
15. Dec 2015 · 03:27 UTC
Controls are a bit hard for me but others are all quite decent, well done!
aeveis
15. Dec 2015 · 04:50 UTC
It got to the point where I think I could keep playing, I stopped after trying to play faster at 3152 (high combo as 152).

Pretty good! It took a bit to get the controls, but once I did I could keep going. The "snack pits" felt like a trap - at first I thought I could break through the rubble but couldn't. Perhaps a good difficulty curve would be if you had to move/navigate more, or more areas where you can't collect little creatures (there was both of that but I guess harder ones later on).
nodens
15. Dec 2015 · 05:04 UTC
Very well executed. Movement felt great. An excellent translation of the theme to riff on Downwell. Some minor conveyance issues with which blocks would hurt me, but it wasn't really a major issue.
ianh
15. Dec 2015 · 06:05 UTC
The graphics are top-notch, though I think I may have seen this style somewhere before? ;) Really fun game overall!
fishtrek
15. Dec 2015 · 07:14 UTC
Amazing work for 2 days -- I loved Downwell too and this is a really cool spin on the formula given the theme. The art is great, controls work well and I think the music is super good too. Kudos :)
ruerob
15. Dec 2015 · 08:35 UTC
You have made an awesome entry! I really like the the movements, the graphics, the sound and the whole feel of the game! Really well done! And a bonus point because you like downwell, too!
monsterkillu
15. Dec 2015 · 08:36 UTC
Great Aesthetics. Had real fun playing it. I was avoiding the red creatures (red means enemies right :)) at first ... Great Job. Music and SFX feels awesome.
SeriousCreeper
15. Dec 2015 · 09:03 UTC
Beautiful game and lots of fun to play once you get the hand of it! Swimming using those controls feels really good.
AndreasL
15. Dec 2015 · 10:02 UTC
Fun little game!
Seemed like a downwell clone at first but it played complely different.
Once you got into a flow it was very soothing. Well done!
David Cookie
15. Dec 2015 · 11:32 UTC
Very well made! Maybe a little too simple but could do a great mobile game with more variety. Great work!
jeroenwimmers
15. Dec 2015 · 11:37 UTC
this does so many things right. my favourite LD game so far. you get all the stars for overall, innovation. fun, graphics, audio and mood. I just feel going with the arrowbuttons is an easy way out to go with the theme. but I guess that's more of a problem with the theme. anyway, it doesn't feel forced with using just 2 buttons and it controls really well. good job
Phoenix849
15. Dec 2015 · 11:59 UTC
Simple idea, yet very well implemented. I didn't realise you could aim your thrusts at first. Makes things a bit more interesting. Scored 1262, max combo 22.
nicso
15. Dec 2015 · 12:48 UTC
nice game

took me a while to understand that red little things aren't hurting me. I think it's the "hurt sound" that confused me.
RadStar
15. Dec 2015 · 13:20 UTC
One of my favourite entry!
Really good little game.
Feel polished and complete.

As i saw in other comments, maybe the sound when picking red items is missleading.
Headmade
15. Dec 2015 · 17:34 UTC
Great entry, simple yet challenging and fun to play. The color palette and name are very Downwellish, which doesn't hurt. Good job!
commodoreKid
15. Dec 2015 · 17:39 UTC
I went up to 852 then it got boring, sorry :) As others said it could be a mobile game easily and I think it could become popular. You should consider that. I'm not a fan of infinite gameplay like this but it works. Graphics are perfect in their own way. Good job.
Leuthil
15. Dec 2015 · 19:28 UTC
Nice polish. The game just felt really satisfying to play and the controls were great :)
Two Scoop Games
15. Dec 2015 · 19:29 UTC
I like the art and the music was great. You nailed what you were trying to do with the downwell look! The squid animation was really cute - all dem flippy floppys!
Ditto
15. Dec 2015 · 19:41 UTC
yep.
A loving wellcrafted homage to my favorite game right now? Yepp, please, sign me up <3 Haha this is fucking ace, good job! :D
May lack a bit in variation, I'd love some obstacles or something every once in a while to break up the gameplay, but yeah, still fucking love it! <3
maunovaha
15. Dec 2015 · 20:02 UTC
Great looking game.. really polished and smooth animations. nicely done! :)
ruthiepee
15. Dec 2015 · 22:37 UTC
Aaah, I am so excited for this game! Hmm, I got 44 points, let me try again... (30 minutes later) Okay, I am still really bad at this, but I absolutely adore it. You always do a great job of setting a mood, between the ethereal music, the cool trails & particles, and the website it's framed on. You definitely need to get this thing on the App Store / Google Play. I think one other commenter gave a good suggestion of changing the energy-up sound because it does have a 'hurt' sound to it, but once you get past that initial 'oh this doesn't kill me' moment it's fine. A++++ would play again.
elliottd
15. Dec 2015 · 23:04 UTC
Really great love letter to Downwell
local306
15. Dec 2015 · 23:31 UTC
Cool spin on Downwell!
propter_ludus
16. Dec 2015 · 00:11 UTC
Amazing entry!
I had a lot of fun and replayed it multiple times.
Very good job!
SirSoltex
16. Dec 2015 · 01:23 UTC
Love this entry! would be a really fun mobile app too! I was a little confused at first but got the hang of ti quickly
_HopFrog
16. Dec 2015 · 02:50 UTC
Probably my favorite! <3 It was a lot of fun! Very polished as well!
uvwar
16. Dec 2015 · 03:46 UTC
Pretty good reminds me of this game called Yoshis Island.
jackrugile
16. Dec 2015 · 06:24 UTC
Well done, I love the graphic style and mood from the music!
GoodwolfStudio
16. Dec 2015 · 10:00 UTC
Nice polished retro-game, I really like it. My only small complain is that the collectible look and feel like enemies (red color and hard effect when touching) so I first avoided them and didn't understand why I died. Apart from that, good game!
Tipyx
16. Dec 2015 · 10:01 UTC
Excellent real' ! But the first times I thought the red coins had to be avoided ^^
Tuism
16. Dec 2015 · 12:26 UTC
Fantastic! :D Really liked your control scheme, has a nice degree of granularity in it while being pretty clear once you understand it. My own LD game was kinda in this direction but utterly different :P If you know what I mean :P And my game was also a bit downwell-influenced, haha :)

There's a little problem in the mechanics being understood, collecting stuff explodes, which feels like damage, I was really confused by that for a while. I also didn't register the bar at the top was to be kept filled by collecting/hitting those things initially.

Rad stuff otherwise :)
TijmenTio
16. Dec 2015 · 15:13 UTC
Will!!! This is such a good game!! You captured Ojiro's style so well, yet the game has its own mechanic that works great. After I got the hang of it, it became a bit easy as there isn't a lot of content I think? But the polish is abundant and the soundtrack is absolutely stunninggg. (DOWN)WELL DONE YO hah~
Big Green Pillow ft Mgaia
16. Dec 2015 · 17:51 UTC
What a fun game! The 2-button controls work so great that it doesn't even feel like a restriction (this would be a great highscore-chasing mobile game!). Also love the sound effects and Downwell visuals (don't worry, I don't think you'll get sued haha). Collecting the snacks is very satisfying, which is good because you'll be doing this a lot. The only con I'd mention is that the boost wasn't very helpful for me - I always ended up hitting a wall miliseconds after activating it (well, maybe I'm too noob). Overall an amazing job, I enjoyed my time playing it.
cilerba
17. Dec 2015 · 03:50 UTC
Another great title from Will Blanton! Really enjoyed this, was the perfect blend of simple and hard.
Yword
17. Dec 2015 · 05:31 UTC
Really fun and additive! Well done!
LeafThief
17. Dec 2015 · 09:02 UTC
Super nice, great job Will!
PaulJs
17. Dec 2015 · 14:37 UTC
Nice idea
ajmalr
17. Dec 2015 · 21:15 UTC
An extremly fun, polished game with great graphics!
francoisvn
17. Dec 2015 · 21:27 UTC
Great game. I think my only issue is that you didn't call it "Upwell" ;P
SteveSalmond
18. Dec 2015 · 07:39 UTC
Loved it! Really enjoyed the control scheme, felt very novel and yet instantly usable. Great job!
Husky
18. Dec 2015 · 09:02 UTC
Yes, of course, the color scheme of Downwell lol.
The controls is challenging to me, but after practicing several times, I can do more combs, it feels really good :D
rzuf
18. Dec 2015 · 09:58 UTC
Aaaah, it was tricky but after getting used to the controls it feels so good. :D It's crafted super-well - awesome music, great graphics and level of polish. (particles :3)
And ++ for haxe flixel!
Xeke_Death
18. Dec 2015 · 12:32 UTC
Very simplistic, yet extremely addictive and enjoyable...! I had to stop when I started getting worse and worse at the game...
local minimum
18. Dec 2015 · 16:08 UTC
I much enjoyed this game. The controls took some getting used to but then they were really nice. It was interesting with a game like this to be able to play it quite slowly without that causing any problem. On the other hand, it also quite removed the feeling of it being an actual challenge, so I think there needs to be something more in the game that successively makes it harder. The one thing that comes to mind is to have a counter-current that progressively becomes stronger so that you are forced to become more and more rapid in-between your strokes. Great entry though.
banana4life
18. Dec 2015 · 21:07 UTC
Really nice game! Highscore so far: 126
I like the mechanics and the visuals.
YinYin
19. Dec 2015 · 18:28 UTC
Sadly far too small for the angle and position judgement required on a big screen. I sized up the game_swf div to 600x900 to make it playable in the first place ... and then enjoyed it a whole lot.
(tried loading the swf directly before that but this made the squid and title spawn next to the level with no way of getting back in or eating anything)

Needs a full screen option.
Pilly
19. Dec 2015 · 19:38 UTC
Wow! I really can't state how much I enjoyed this. Super polished, lovely mood / music / graphics. Downwell is a great place to take inspiration from :) but you definitely put your own spin on it. My favorite thus far.
Steve | tacospice
19. Dec 2015 · 20:58 UTC
Great use of only two buttons for control!
Really nice, simple graphics, same for audio.
Kind of moody for a squid eating little red blobs.

Wasn't sure when the boost activates, although I managed to do it once..

The only real criticism/suggestion I have is that it's a shame that even if you manage to grab a creature after expending your last energy, you die. Maybe have a grace period that lets you live on even when your energy is gone (but with no control possible), in case you manage to replenish it with your final thrust.
dj_pale
19. Dec 2015 · 22:31 UTC
Nice usage of retro graphics and sound! Would have nice to be able to run it at x2 scaling.
foolmoron
19. Dec 2015 · 23:05 UTC
Realllyyyy beautiful. My favorite thing is how you created the aesthetic based on your memory of Downwell instead of the actual thing, which led to an interesting look where red is a really common color (whereas in Downwell it's actually pretty rare).
The turn-jump controls are really interesting. Makes each move a balance between control and speed and progress. It's kinda like a golf mini-game in each and every button press.
I wish there was some sort of escalation to the difficulty though because I can pretty easily just keep going forever with my combo climbing higher and higher.
MrJoshuaMcLean
20. Dec 2015 · 02:52 UTC
Clever control scheme to avoid automatic movement (which so many of us used!). Really like the audio too, especially the music.
kezhaar
20. Dec 2015 · 12:11 UTC
Really smooth controls, great job !
ssodelta
20. Dec 2015 · 13:06 UTC
God dammit that is a good game! ;D
rogueNoodle
20. Dec 2015 · 13:10 UTC
Another awesome entry taking inspiration from a well known game, but definitely making it your own. It felt as though I was getting hurt when collecting things, so initially I avoided them. Didn't take long to figure that out though. Occasionally got stuck ramming horizontally into walls, but overall the controls were very tight. Nice work!
Eduardo
20. Dec 2015 · 14:22 UTC
Really really like it. I got to 1100m. I love the musics and graphics. It's juice too. Wish it have more levels and content. Great job!
Trasevol_Dog
20. Dec 2015 · 15:12 UTC
Graphics and sound are top notch! Controls are a bit difficult but the idea is really nice. Besides, squids!
sP0CkEr2
21. Dec 2015 · 06:18 UTC
good game here - solid controls - nice job
anissen
21. Dec 2015 · 21:05 UTC
Absolutely awesome execution. So well done! :)
kaa
22. Dec 2015 · 20:51 UTC
Awesome game!
publicidadeba
23. Dec 2015 · 01:21 UTC
With a bit of balancing this can be really big!
cameronpenner
23. Dec 2015 · 01:51 UTC
Really solid work. It didn't feel like the game got more difficult as you progressed, but the gameplay felt really great.
mukult
23. Dec 2015 · 02:46 UTC
Great game!! remind me of downwell!! :)
Epicruins195
23. Dec 2015 · 02:58 UTC
Awesome entry, feels very well made. The style, art, and audio are excellent in their own right, but become even better when combined. At first I had trouble with the controls, but after figuring it out (after dying a few times) the game became significantly more enjoyable and felt good to play. Only suggestion is more interesting obstacles in the level.

Nice work!
GhostBomb
23. Dec 2015 · 03:33 UTC
What? Your game can't be this good! That has to be against the rules.

Awesome.

Difficulty curve seems a bit flat after you get the game down, though.
psychonull
23. Dec 2015 · 03:39 UTC
great game!, really fun and excellent arcade feel!
Garris
23. Dec 2015 · 03:41 UTC
Very nice work. I like the minimalist, high-contrast graphical style, and the game is very easy to read in terms of getting the hang of what to do. The only thing I might recommend is maybe some rotation inertia. I think it would help a lot with precision movements to have the rotation speed start slowly and speed up the longer you hold down the button. I found myself running into walls a lot because I overturned slightly when I just needed a tiny little adjustment.
Yakka
23. Dec 2015 · 11:33 UTC
Neat! Good gamefeel, great game!
DinnerInTheDark
23. Dec 2015 · 11:58 UTC
Plays pretty smoothly!
GFM
23. Dec 2015 · 12:23 UTC
Nice homage to downwell!

Great and fun to play game! You nailed using only two buttons!
Bensonance
23. Dec 2015 · 17:21 UTC
Awesome game!

The controls are superb, the graphics spectacular, and the music excellent and the fan-service on point.

Congrats on an awesome gamd!
Ithildin
23. Dec 2015 · 17:28 UTC
Nice take on the theme and Downwell, you gave it a clever twist :)

Controls, audio and graphics are very polished as well, so here goes a perfect five for one of the best compo entries this LD34.

Amazing job!
scorched
23. Dec 2015 · 17:47 UTC
Nice job! The only complaint - I thought at first that I died by wall collision (several times), got it right only when died in the open area!
Herzucco
23. Dec 2015 · 19:02 UTC
Good, look like a lot like downwell
fermenter
24. Dec 2015 · 04:32 UTC
Lovely work! Loving the inspiration, as Downwell is my favorite game at the moment.
SaintHeiser
25. Dec 2015 · 05:59 UTC
Good game! Very solid implementation and gameplay! Game is pretty simple and i'm getting borded after five minutes of plauing and 90x combo. It needs various things to add =)
jdoughty
26. Dec 2015 · 05:08 UTC
Liked this game alot. My one concern is that the sound for collecting the red dots made me think i had been 'hit' when in fact its the life force in the game. Didn't take me long to correct that notion though, and I had fun with the simple mechanic!
Jezzamon
26. Dec 2015 · 20:57 UTC
Nice clone

;)
Instant Replay Live
27. Dec 2015 · 01:19 UTC
Great job! Well done at RVA representing ;)
NightShadow0
29. Dec 2015 · 01:19 UTC
Oh i like this, it's far more strategic than it seems at first glance, you have to let yourself float down and control your rotations to get the pickups at the right angles. Once i figured that out i got up to 450m, but it did start to get a little monotonous after a while.
Love the aesthetic, too. Great work!
EwChap
29. Dec 2015 · 04:45 UTC
Awesome take on Downwell style with a totally different gameplay mechanic.
Dege
29. Dec 2015 · 18:41 UTC
Loved the (super) reduced palette pixel art. It is fun, I enjoyed it. Maybe you can release a mobile version, looks perfect for casual gaming. Nice usage of theme.
CrownCity
01. Jan 2016 · 21:35 UTC
Your game is nice, I even felt like a squid playing this. It's very polished and it all fits well together
fragileannihilator
01. Jan 2016 · 23:36 UTC
Quite nice and addcitive game. It took me a while to figure out that I can rotate by holding left or right button. The sound feedback from collecting hearts was a bit confusing at first - I thought that I've got damaged, not healed.
ChuiGum
02. Jan 2016 · 23:13 UTC
Loved the graphics, and music. Just a great addicting (could see mobile) game! c:
radmars
04. Jan 2016 · 00:13 UTC
First p*ng & n*dhogg, now d*wnwell? Tsk tsk :P

Seriously though, this game is really fun, though I found it a little bit unintuitive at first to be honest - the snacks exploding seems like it should be a bad thing. Once I got it though, I was hooked. Playing on keyboard, the controls bugged out a bit at times, like I would get stuck pointing to the right and only after hitting right again would left work. Awesome style btw, the graphics and audio are great. My high score was 1311 (82 combo). Nice work!
ButtonMasherBros
04. Jan 2016 · 19:04 UTC
You were featured on Ludum Dare to Believe! Check it out! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHct4hxdQmI
rxi
04. Jan 2016 · 23:28 UTC
The best squid-based entry I've played so far.
jward
05. Jan 2016 · 20:24 UTC
Great game! It has a nice balance between "it's hard" and "one more time and I'll do better!"
Jupiter_Hadley
17. Jan 2016 · 18:28 UTC
Really cute game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 34 compilation video series, if you’d like to check it out :) https://youtu.be/xIPr3jDQjJ0