Into The Depths by Nisovin
About
Descend into the depths of a strange, mysterious planet. Why is this hole even here? Where does it lead? Does it ever end?
Go as far as you can! Once you crash you can purchase upgrades and try, try again.
Controls
- Move left/right: A+D / arrow keys / left stick
- Fire Thrusters (slow down): Hold right-click / space / shoulder buttons
- Launch missile: Left-click / shift / face buttons
- Aim with mouse / left stick
Gamepad controls are not as nice, but should be usable.
Final Notes
Game is made in Godot 3.3. Art (such as it is) was made using Paint.net. Sound effects were made using ZzFX. Music was made using 1bitdragon.
I had the idea of making this a phone game (thus the vertical screen), but haven't actually done it for the jam. The Mac and Linux builds are untested, but I assume should work.
Finally, I have an updated version here. This version has changes made after the jam, so it should not be used for judging!
| Web | https://nisovin.com/ld48 |
| Itch Mirror | https://nisovin.itch.io/into-the-depths |
| Win/Mac/Linux | https://nisovin.itch.io/into-the-depths |
| Link | https://github.com/nisovin/IntoTheDepths |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/into-the-depths |
Ratings
| Overall | 166th | 3.811⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 77th | 3.973⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 483th | 3.149⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 94th | 4.149⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 530th | 3.311⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 223th | 3.557⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 487th | 2.365⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 321th | 3.457⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 45🗳️ | 51🗨️ |
Well done!
Nice entry!
Excellent entry.
This is VERY addicting. I just had to stop playing. The screen would get quite trippy at times, not sure if intended or not, but might have been a little too uncomfortable at times. I didn't like the missle mechanic very much: it was quite hard to use and didn't seem particularly effective.
- The style of game was very popular this time; but it makes sense and I really like that you added so much more depth to the game in order to make it it's on
- terrain deformation
- upgrade system
- "mile markers"
- several different upgrades to chose from so the players can chose the upgrade path that gives them the best chance
- sfx
Improvements:
- it would be cool to have red 'mile markets' for previous runs as well as a scoreboard so you can be constantly competing with your previous runs.
- display the amount of money 'banked' from previous runs; I found myself trying several times during runs to remember what my current balance was as I tried to get further and further.
Bugs:
- probably not a bug; but shooting a missle that goes past the bottom of the screen just deletes it.
- no other bugs notices

The idea is dead simple and old as the world, but the execution is amazing. All of the upgrades are useful and interesting. At first I thought the corridors were too narrow, but after getting used to the controls, I think they're perfect, as with enough care you can avoid getting hit most of the time, but the challenge is still there, even after a lot of time (especially with the speeding up). I love the "background" art on the rocks and the transitions between different phases. And of course the terrain generation and destruction, and the mile markers.
Golden Replicator upgrade for 125K is probably too expensive, I didn't get close to getting it after playing for a lot of time.
One thing I don't like is that the coin pick-ups are overpowered - one run with a 1900 score and no coins is waaay worse than a run with a 1200 score and 2 coins. But hey, when I'm complaining about extra money, it's probably a good sign xD