Crystalysis by jordantanner

[raw]
made by jordantanner for Ludum Dare 50 (JAM)

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PLAY HERE

Story

This place has fallen victim to a strange corruption. Toxic crystals, like tumors, grow endlessly upward out of the ground, emanating a malevolent force that poisons and paralyzes everything around them. Stranded here, you must destroy as many crystals as you can, salvaging the life force within them to recharge your energy, but only delaying your inevitable doom.

How to Play

Crystals spawn randomly on the map and slowly drain your life. Run, jump, and dash your way around the area and smash any crystals you find. As time passes they will spawn and grow stronger more rapidly. Some destroyed crystals will emit healing shards that will seek you out and recharge your energy. Last as long as you can.

Controls

Using a gamepad is encouraged, but if you don't have one, use these:

| Action | Key | |---------|-------| | Move | WASD | | Punch | K | | Jump | Space | | Dash | L | | Pause | M | | Restart | R | | Quit | Esc |

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* Tips *

  • If you touch the crystals, they will damage and slow you for 2 seconds, so only get into attack range, no closer.
  • Spam the dash ability [L] as much as you want -- it has no cooldown. You can also dash in the air repeatedly.
  • If you position yourself properly, you can punch multiple crystals at once.

Known Bugs

  • If you fall off the edge of the map, use R to restart. The "safety net" is buggy and sometimes doesn't catch you.

Fixed Bugs

These files were updated after Ludum Dare ended in order to fix a few game breaking bugs which were:

  • Game not resetting properly after player death.
  • Crystal spawner timer would suddenly be set to 0 and the map would instantly be maxed out on crystals. Not cool.
  • After dying or resetting, the dash ability would not work properly.

Ratings

Overall 1097th 3.184⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Fun 903th 3.184⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1052th 2.895⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Theme 931th 3.447⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 728th 3.603⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Audio 757th 3.027⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1082th 2.132⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 936th 3.257⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 26🗨️

Feedback

ATH-AI
05. Apr 2022 · 09:32 UTC
I played for several minutes and nothing really changed. It wasn't until I decided to stand still and do nothing before i died. However, jumping around with the unlimited dash and flying through the air and through obstacles, while probably unintentional, was mad fun.
🎤 jordantanner
05. Apr 2022 · 09:44 UTC
Yeah, it still needs some serious bug fixing. Thanks for playing and for the feedback!
Matt Rice
08. Apr 2022 · 02:33 UTC
Fun little game! I really enjoyed the dashing and the punches felt crunchy. There would be little lag spikes when destroying crystals, so smoothing those out would really help. And then some sort of progression would make this a fun fighter adventure!
smiley
08. Apr 2022 · 02:34 UTC
nice graphics and controls but yeah after dying the dashing starts to fail. I also made a game with jumping and dashing and used the same control scheme as you did :)

Also remember to vote for other games which will bring you Ratings received to increase :)
PolymathLD
08. Apr 2022 · 02:49 UTC
Smashing the crystals and dashing and jumping around felt really satisfying and looked and sounded cool! The camera worked well too which is not a small thing in a game like this. I did wish there was at least one other mechanic to make things more interesting. Had fun with it though!
LDJam user 264390
08. Apr 2022 · 03:18 UTC
I agree that at first it seems like nothing much changes, but I was just having fun so it didn't matter to me, I could have spent more time just breaking the crystals in circles and I wouldn't have minded it, I only lived for 3:11 though! I love that you can dash under the stairs, nice touch! The particles caused a bit of lag when the crystals were destroyed. I think maybe if I added anything, maybe a few more details on the background to make the game area stand out more. Overall it was really fun and if it weren't for the theme, a few different levels would be super interesting to see.
nicknameriu
08. Apr 2022 · 05:27 UTC
"Survived for 3:51"

It's a very fun game! I liked endlessly dashs and punch the crystals is satisfactory :)
Tanner Shelton
08. Apr 2022 · 06:13 UTC
I really liked the particles breaking up. It made the game much more interesting seeing all of those exploding out. One major problem I had was the camera shake plus that noise when you break a crystal. It was very jarring and hard to play due to that. But I liked the rest.
LDJam user 281333
08. Apr 2022 · 08:07 UTC
Very fun experience!
Supersonic
08. Apr 2022 · 15:44 UTC
cool concept and fun to play!
Asukanami
09. Apr 2022 · 04:57 UTC
The graphic is very nice but when I hit the crystal, it caused some lag. When I hit two, my screen just froze.
🎤 jordantanner
09. Apr 2022 · 05:16 UTC
@asukanami Ugh, sorry to hear about the lag, but thanks for playing and for the feedback!

I'm working on implementing an object pool that would reuse the same particles over and over rather than creating hundreds of them on the fly, which is expensive for the CPU. Were you playing the web version?
Alviniano
09. Apr 2022 · 05:21 UTC
I got addicted looking at the exploding cristals XD it was fun.
Asukanami
09. Apr 2022 · 05:26 UTC
@jordantanner Yes, i am using the web because i used mac.
🎤 jordantanner
09. Apr 2022 · 05:54 UTC
@asukanami Oh okay! There's actually a downloadable Mac version at the bottom of the page if you'd care to try that! I haven't heard feedback from any Mac players yet. :)
CZ46
09. Apr 2022 · 12:50 UTC
Cool graphics! Definitely need to fix those performance issues, but apart from that I liked the concept and the atmosphere, good work!
Dandala88
09. Apr 2022 · 20:32 UTC
You did an awesome job on the graphics and particle effects. The sound effects matched nicely and that made destroying the crystals feel good. Notwithstanding the lag, I thought it was really satisfying controlling the character. Couple that with the sound design and you set a really good mood for the game. The dash mechanic felt a touch out of place for me. All in all, I thought you did a nice job. Thanks for your entry!
🎤 jordantanner
09. Apr 2022 · 21:14 UTC
@dandala88 That's solid feedback, man. Thanks for playing. I really appreciate it!

@cakts Thank you! Definitely working on optimizing this for version 1.0. Probably going to use an object pool for crystal fragments.

@alviniano Thanks for smashing, bro!! :)

@supersonic Muchas Gracias

@ebrietas Glad you enjoyed!

@tanner-shelton Hello fellow Tanner! Was the camera shake too much in your opinion? Wanted to make it impactful.

@nicknameriu Thanks brotha! Smash away!!
TheUnusualArt
09. Apr 2022 · 21:31 UTC
Interesting game, I like the minimalistic art style!
The music is a bit creepy, but fitting to the atmosphere.
The game also has some nice particle effects.
Survived for 3:33 ^^
LDJam user 280755
09. Apr 2022 · 21:33 UTC
The graphics and particle effects are beautiful! I like how "chunky" hitting things feels. I like spamming dash and just flying around all over the place :-) Would be cool for the game to have a bit more variation and depth. Feels like you've got a really good starting point for a great game here.
🎤 jordantanner
09. Apr 2022 · 21:51 UTC
@theunusualart Thanks for playing and for the kind words. 3:33 is a respectable score!

@daniel-username Glad you liked the feel of the punch/explosion! That was a core focus for me during development.
Smoofy
09. Apr 2022 · 23:41 UTC
nice. it immediately became clear what to do without instructions (the buttons on the side are helpful though). the difficulty grows at a good rate, and you don't realize that until it's too late. audio is great, despite no songs, the crystals shattering was super satisfying with the particles (there's too much actually but i love the sheer amount of particles) the character is simple, would work on that a bit more. also, i don't understand why once you destroy crystals you kinda get slowed down. nice feel, good entry
LDJam user 273626
10. Apr 2022 · 13:45 UTC
3:58 WOOOOO! It was fun. Loved the block man. Nice and simple, and the use of particles? It was a fun simple smash stuff game. Great entry!
🎤 jordantanner
10. Apr 2022 · 16:45 UTC
@flyingkaida 3:58 is an impressive score!! Thanks for playing and for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed. :)
CaramelCode
11. Apr 2022 · 01:17 UTC
Very interesting game! I loved the particle effects of the crystals exploding. And I think the graphical glow on the crystals was a nice touch! One thing I wish was that the attack key was not 'k' that's a very awkward key to hit for me, without both hands on the keyboard. Nice job!
🎤 jordantanner
11. Apr 2022 · 02:36 UTC
@caramelcode Thanks for playing and for the feedback, man! Glad you enjoyed. For the attack button, maybe I should offer an alternate key as well, for people that want to play one-handed. Perhaps "E" or "C"?
CaramelCode
11. Apr 2022 · 02:48 UTC
Yeah any key you can easily reach with left hand on the keyboard, or even better LMB.
JavaSaurus
11. Apr 2022 · 20:08 UTC
This is a fun game ! The intention is clear and the particle systems is very satisfying. The crunch you get when punching crystals is also well designed, great job ! And, as you suggested... It is really responsive and buttery smooth playing with controller. Love it !
🎤 jordantanner
11. Apr 2022 · 20:10 UTC
@javasaurus Thanks so much for playing on stream and for rating and providing feedback. I really appreciate that. Glad you enjoyed the game. I'll play and rate yours now!!
Sfoot
13. Apr 2022 · 01:07 UTC
Really like the game. Fantastic graphics and very good response. Nice job.
Blue Pin Studio
13. Apr 2022 · 03:32 UTC
The particles were fantastic! The game itself wasn't too bad, but perhaps could've used some expanding, although im keenly aware that time is big factor with these jams :P Good entry!
Arfilish
13. Apr 2022 · 09:33 UTC
This game has really good graphics and particles, also it's pretty fun to play.

I felt little bit uncomfortable with WASD controls in isometry after tank controls in my game lol
4ahizon
13. Apr 2022 · 17:35 UTC
The graphics is nice very Tron like. They game controls were challenging to get a hang of but got into the game.
VixenMink
15. Apr 2022 · 01:48 UTC
I like your futuristic choice you made as an artistic style for your game play. Matching that with some space/orbital sound effects really matched the mood for this. You made good use of the small area you designed because as the time ticked down, the arena felt so large because I could not get to the crystals fast enough.
I reallllly loved your in-game controls in the upper right hand corner. I kept referencing back to it and that wouldn't of worked out if it was only shown to me once right before I even began to play.

+ My game play was a little hampered by the fact that it would slow down and lag each punch I dealt and even more when the crystals exploded.
+ I feel like maybe the shattered particles of the crystal could dissolve a little faster because I mistook them for collectibles at first.
+ Maybe an indicator that the crystals are excelerating their spawn rate AKA Wave 1.. 2.. 3.. etc.

All in all, I really liked it and hope maybe you can add some
Psytron
21. Apr 2022 · 03:31 UTC
mhmmmmm splashy splashy crystal particles. Very polished jam - thanks for sharing on the main page!
Jeffrey Hwang
02. Oct 2023 · 23:52 UTC
It was satisfying game. Wall jump was pretty fun too. Nice job!