Into The Depths by Nisovin

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

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!

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🗨️

Feedback

Chironyx
26. Apr 2021 · 02:53 UTC
Very nice, I liked the progression and replayability, I would just speed up the first few seconds where nothing really happens - your kind of gameplay depends on being able to quickly start over and get back into the action!
Vasco Freitas
26. Apr 2021 · 03:13 UTC
I really like how the walls are destructible, and the way you integrated that in the gameplay with the various powerups. Very cool! I agree with the previous comment in that the initial part could go by quicker since there's not much to do. Great idea nonetheless.
🎤 Nisovin
26. Apr 2021 · 03:41 UTC
@chironyx @vasco-freitas Thanks! I agree that there needs to be a way to speed up or skip over the first part. It's one of the many things on the list of stuff I didn't have time to do.
Erk
26. Apr 2021 · 07:13 UTC
Very cool idea! Like Vasco said, nice touch that the walls are destructible!
LeHaine
26. Apr 2021 · 11:42 UTC
A great game. Everything seems well polished. The controls feel responsive. The sounds and music play in nice overall. I could not for the life of me get passed 860m. I was always breathing a sigh of relief every time I got through those narrow passages :). Fun game I enjoyed it a lot!
oeschmid
26. Apr 2021 · 12:53 UTC
I really liked this one. Reminded me of a few of my favorite flash games as a kid.
cheesepencil
26. Apr 2021 · 15:07 UTC
lots of polish for a compo game, good job!
Tad I Guess
26. Apr 2021 · 18:42 UTC
The mechanics are really cool and upgrade system is a wonderful addition
Jason Wilson
26. Apr 2021 · 21:24 UTC
First of all I love your title. :) Second this is a great polished little game. Liked the terrain destruction and the upgrades. It took me a while to realize I could aim the missile.

Well done!
DragonsBeardGames
26. Apr 2021 · 21:58 UTC
I really liked the terrain destruction. Also great soundtrack!
samguy
26. Apr 2021 · 22:03 UTC
Good game and it feels complete! Navigating those little tunnels is pretty difficult, I like that dying doesn't feel like a huge loss and you're able to carry your earnings into the next life with the upgrade system.
minibobbo
27. Apr 2021 · 03:37 UTC
Simple and fun. It gets pretty frantic as you go faster and faster but it always played smooth and the chill music actually makes the experience a low stress one. The powerups were varied and cool and everything worked well. I like the store option and getting better for the next runs.
Dilem
27. Apr 2021 · 06:03 UTC
Fairly simplistic, yet really cool game. Even after rating the game, I kept playing because it's just fun! Very well done!
LDJam user 127637
27. Apr 2021 · 09:19 UTC
Fun game, simple but addictive! The graphics are quite good, and lead to some illusion affect sometimes haha

Nice entry!
deadmanjw
27. Apr 2021 · 09:23 UTC
This game is very fun and addictive, I could easily play this game for hours to see how deep i can get. I also really like the shop aspect so that your score help you in the next run. I dont even understand how you randomly generate the cave and destroy parts with missiles and collisions (going to be learning from you source code). Well Done.
Slowfrog Again
27. Apr 2021 · 09:56 UTC
I'm definitely going to read the source of this one!
Excellent entry.
shnigle shnagle
27. Apr 2021 · 10:51 UTC
my submission is almost the same name! (into the depths-into the depth). Anyway, excellent entry, it's very fun, but the start is a bit too long, cuz you can just not move for a long time when you start.
EdouardLaPoire
27. Apr 2021 · 11:13 UTC
cool game my best score is 936
crazyMouse
28. Apr 2021 · 12:44 UTC
really cool game! I like the idea of purchasing improvements to keep getting higher and higher scores
nyxkn
28. Apr 2021 · 19:06 UTC
1485

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.
bw_devel
29. Apr 2021 · 01:11 UTC
Things I liked:
- 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
gilborn
29. Apr 2021 · 20:19 UTC
Simple. Addictive. Polished. Good.
Glaikunt
30. Apr 2021 · 21:00 UTC
Awsome little game! It would be good if you could stop at each point to buy things rather than having to die (but didn't stop my enjoyment!) Had a great time playing it, thanks for creating it! :)
JakobTheQuizGuy
30. Apr 2021 · 21:02 UTC
Cool game, the different upgrades/tools are all useful and feel great to use in a pinch!
cjgammon
02. May 2021 · 01:17 UTC
love this simple kind of game mechanic. really great concept and implementation. agree, the upgrades are neat. I had fun playing it.
Suchista
15. May 2021 · 19:51 UTC
Honestly, this is one of my favorites. I've played it for way too much time.

![23.png](///raw/05e/81/z/4272e.png)

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
🎤 Nisovin
22. May 2021 · 00:35 UTC
@suchista That's an impressive score! I think around 1500 the game becomes dramatically more difficult, and I didn't really spend time balancing it beyond that. I do plan to go back sometime and try to balance things out a bit.