Vinewell by dpmzi

[raw]
made by dpmzi for Ludum Dare 48 (COMPO)

Descend the mysterious well!

Cut vines so that you can extend your rope. Sharpen your machete against the well walls when it gets dull. Stay clear of the obstacles or you'll lose your grip.

Can you reach the bottom of the well? (No, you can't. It's bottomless.)

Ratings

Overall 601th 3.231⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 593th 3.096⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 376th 3.346⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Theme 223th 3.923⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 398th 3.519⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 439th 3.154⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Humor 377th 2.643⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 628th 2.955⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 28🗳️ 30🗨️

Feedback

RedSPINE
26. Apr 2021 · 00:10 UTC
Do I have to download the LOVE Engine to play the game ?
🎤 dpmzi
26. Apr 2021 · 00:38 UTC
@redspine I just added a Windows release :thumbsup:

Users of other operating systems will have to download the engine.
XCVZXC
26. Apr 2021 · 11:57 UTC
I liked the whole idea behind the game and monochromatic visuals. There are a few things that need some polish. Sometimes there are impossible situations, like obstacles too close to each other. Controlling the character isnt responsive at all. It is really hard to make any intended move. It should definitely be less "slippy".
henriquecanella
26. Apr 2021 · 12:54 UTC
Pretty fun little game. One thing that was not so good for me is that sometimes I've got a random generation that wouldn't allow me to pass
Poorwill
26. Apr 2021 · 18:46 UTC
Sharpening the sword and bouncing off the wall with a hit are both very inspired mechanic ideas. I also got a lot of the unpassable situations and I didn't really get a good feel for the hitboxes, but a it's fun game nevertheless.
Vasco Freitas
26. Apr 2021 · 18:47 UTC
Nice idea, balancing all the different aspects of the gameplay was quite fun! It took me a bit to realize how to sharpen the knife, since when I "attacked" the sides of the well I would lose sharpness. Then I noticed I just needed to touch the wall. It was also not very obvious what could hurt me. The graphics look great, I like the simple style. Well done.
WoodmanCodes
26. Apr 2021 · 18:47 UTC
Downwell with a rope! I like it! Difficulty could use some balancing, with it starting out easier in the beginning and getting more difficult as you go on. Also the player felt a bit floaty.

Definitely like the black and white visuals, they're super clean.
SlenderTNT
26. Apr 2021 · 18:47 UTC
Wow! This one took me quite a while to discover the aim of the game. Still it was pretty fun to play when I figured out.
R2D48
26. Apr 2021 · 18:50 UTC
Wow this game remind me a level of Battletoads on Nes. Coherent artistic direction. Keep the good work going
ristoretto
26. Apr 2021 · 18:53 UTC
This reminds me a lot of the second level from battle toad!

I wish there was less acceleration / deceleration while moving.
rakart
26. Apr 2021 · 18:56 UTC
Overall the idea makes a lot of sense and fits the theme pretty, it's a really coherent and well tought game.

My main issue is that despite all his qualities the procgen needs a lot of love (pun non intended).Half of my playthroughs were lost because - even if the collision are forgiving - there was no way down. With a bit of polish on the generation and controls you could have a really fun post LD game.

Congratulations on your entry !
John Gabriel
26. Apr 2021 · 21:04 UTC
That was a lot of fun! Juggling resource management between the sharpness of your knife and the amount of rope you have left is a clever mechanic. The sound it makes when you fall made me giggle, too.

(My high score: 2083.)
nexust
27. Apr 2021 · 01:51 UTC
It took me a while to figure out what to do. The game could definitely benefit from a difficulty curve. There's definite potential here.
silkworm_sweatshop
28. Apr 2021 · 11:56 UTC
Neat! Hit boxes are forgiving but it also lead to some confusion to whether it was the vines or walls that hurt me in the beginning. Could probably be made more clear. As others have stated, tweaking the randomness a bit would get rid of "impossible" sections. Simple but stylized graphics, looks good! There are a few more things I'd like audio feedback on to add some extra polish but it's not too big of a deal. And there's even some music, which I always appreciate even if it's just something simple.
Frogman
29. Apr 2021 · 17:42 UTC
Pretty nice game! It took me a while to figure out the whole sharpening & lengthening the rope mechanics, but it was pretty interesting afterwards. I also liked the style of the game. The window was too high to display fully on my computer, but other than that, great entry! My high-score was 779.
OrbitalBlueprint
01. May 2021 · 12:52 UTC
I feel like the slow movement can make it a little unforgiving, especially in tight parts, however there are some REALLY cool ideas in here. Using the walls to sharpen the knife is genuinely really clever and was fun to figure out. Hope to see this fleshed out after the jam!
DiregamesOfficial
07. May 2021 · 05:16 UTC
pretty good and hard game! i recommend a few clean-ups like smoother movement and maybe a few-3 powerups.
shp
09. May 2021 · 19:31 UTC
it's pretty fun as long as you don't get impossible obstacles like I did on my first run
blobo
11. May 2021 · 18:54 UTC
The biggest flaw is the occasional impossible generation.

![LD_impossible.PNG](///raw/b02/2/z/425d1.png)

I like the core concept, and it's a fun game too! The graphics / music could have some more substance to them, but for a compo game in 48 hours, it's pretty good. Nice job!
Talops
15. May 2021 · 18:16 UTC
Bar the occasional impossible spike setup that was a pretty nice entry. Well scoped with an inventive concept (especially the idea of using walls to sharpen your knife), simple but efficient art and, unlike most submissions (and mine :p), even has music!

Some spikes looked like they were not sharp enough to be dangerous and cost me my first playthrough. Crazy how important shapes are and how much information they carry in a monochromatic game!

I liked it a lot, congrats!
ruthiepee
17. May 2021 · 13:36 UTC
Really cool game, I'm rockin out to the music. I think the simplicity of the controls and the UI are the most polished part -- it's very easy to jump into the game and immediately understand what's going on. The mechanics feel really balanced too. I especially liked how you can sharpen the sword on the rock (took me a minute to figure out that's what it was doing). I played a few times and got a high score of 882. I think my only suggestion would be to improve the players' awareness of where their hitbox is and what spikes will cause them to die. Cool spin on the Downwell "genre," the mechanics are really unique.