Spark Boy by Joshua Steward

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

SPARKBOY

DESCRIPTION: You play as Sparkboy whose one goal in life is to contribute his spark to the Golden Brazier. But, before you do, gather a bigger flame by traversing the rooms and reaching the Silver Torches. Be wary of the Waterboys who only want to douse your flame! Dodge enemies by rolling through them or attack them with Sparkboy’s fireball throw. But be careful not to use those abilities too much or you’ll deplete your own flame!

MAIN CONTROLS: Use “A” and “D” to move Sparkboy left or right. Press “Space” to Jump. Press “F” to Roll. You can also roll while in midair. Press “E” or “Left Mouse Click” to throw a fireball. You can also attack while jumping or clinging onto a wall.

OTHER CONTROLS: Press and hold “W” to look up. Press and hold “S” to crouch. You can also move while crouched. Press “Esc” to pause. Press and hold “W” on ladders to climb. Hold “A” or “D” while on a wall to cling to it.

Thank you for checking out our Ludum Dare 50 submission! This game uses original pixel art, animations, sound effects and music that were created solely for this game jam within the timeframe. However, there are a few temporary assets in the game that are borrowed from an asset store that we were not able to replace in time. We intended to keep the game as close to the theme as possible with the “inevitable” aspect being that Sparkboy ceases to exist whether he wins or loses. We hope you enjoy it!

sparkboy<em>screen</em>1.png sparkboy<em>screen</em>2.png sparkboy<em>screen</em>3.png

Ratings

Overall 1070th 3.211⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 786th 3.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 963th 3⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 778th 3.579⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 854th 3.447⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 541th 3.417⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 741th 2.857⭐ 16🧑‍⚖️
Mood 808th 3.382⭐ 19🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 11🗨️

Feedback

MalikenGD
05. Apr 2022 · 06:40 UTC
Hey man nice game. In unity I suggest looking into sprite atlas' to get rid of the black lines between your tiles. It's really simple.

Other than that, nice wallgrab and animations. Was surprised to see it.
yarpoplar
05. Apr 2022 · 06:46 UTC
It's an interesting idea, but with that floating camera it was really hard for me to control the character. Also I didn't quite get what should I do and how to become more powerful fire. Anyways, great job!
Sodoj
05. Apr 2022 · 08:28 UTC
Not bad! Great concept, the animation is really smooth and pixel art is very cute! However, I had some trouble getting into levels, pressing S just didn't work from time to time. I also wish there was a way to play with arrow keys on keyboard. Good job guys!
Bakaraf
06. Apr 2022 · 12:39 UTC
Nice one ! I just wish you could roll with the right click, or something more confortable than the f key, it was a bit awkward to use it, but other than that, well done !
gdesecrate
07. Apr 2022 · 02:07 UTC
Thanks for the game.
gwheel
07. Apr 2022 · 02:28 UTC
I like the player movement, though I seemed to get stuck with a low jump height after getting hit sometimes. After returning to the hub I couldn't jump high enough to get back into a level.
FulminDerek
09. Apr 2022 · 00:21 UTC
I definitely enjoyed the pixel art you made, and the background music throughout was pretty fun. I did have a hard time figuring out where to go at any given moment, which I think having smaller environments would have helped quite a bit. I also would consider mapping the talking/interact action with a different button, as I found myself jumping at the same time as performing those actions. But overall, not a bad project! I thought that things like the ladder burning up after you climbed it once was a really clever idea, something perfect for a game where you control a little fireball character like you have. Good work, and not a bad start for a bigger project if you want to keep going with this!
milq
09. Apr 2022 · 00:57 UTC
Would it be possible to play it on GNU/Linux or on the web? I am so excited to try it out!
n00b
09. Apr 2022 · 01:12 UTC
The controls were really good and it felt like a pretty quality indie platformer. Good Job.
anchoredtoad
09. Apr 2022 · 01:13 UTC
The mechanics are really nice and I like the art, but the controls are a little too close together to play comfortably.
Arihan10
11. Apr 2022 · 02:34 UTC
Nice platformer! Really impressive how many puzzles you guys managed to create in the short timespan given :D However, most of the time I was quite confused on what it is I'm supposed to do. There should be some visual indicators for which way the player is supposed to head, feedback for when they complete a level, etc. Other than that though, I had fun! Good job.
Jeremy Selwyn
12. Apr 2022 · 02:40 UTC
cool game! really like the idea of becoming a bigger flame then burning the final brazier. The particle effects for the side jump looked great. Liked how the hub worlds worked and was kind of shocked (in a good way) that there was achievements in the game! Liked how the enemies were water sprites as well. At school I am part of a team making a game about a flame character as well, and it was really neat to see a different take on it.
Dennis
13. Apr 2022 · 12:32 UTC
Nice
lilkrit
18. Apr 2022 · 11:31 UTC
Jump around!
Christian Zommerfelds
18. Apr 2022 · 20:03 UTC
Nice entry. I have to admiti the controls and camera were a bit awkward so I stopped playing after a bit. But it's an interesting idea to collect burning power to light up the final torch.

The flickering animation when time is running out and you are getting weaker feels like a graphics glitch, maybe it should be less strong and less often.

I'd also suggest looking into how to make pixel art really feel like it's pixels in the game. For example there was some weird linear filtering on the other character in the welcome room and there is a thin line below the foot (less than a pixel).

Music is nice!