Void Well by Helzinko

[raw]
made by Helzinko for Ludum Dare 51 (COMPO)

void<em>well</em>text.png

Description

Void Well is an arcade vertical climbing platformer where you are stuck in a Well and always rising Void tries to absorb you. Survive by shooting enemies and building your way up with dropping blocks.

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Controls:

  • Running with WASD
  • Jump with SPACE
  • Shooting and aiming with MOUSE

Share your Scores!

Share your scores in comments to see how good you did comparing to other players! chrome_DyAajoWyiX.png

Ratings

Overall 49th 3.988⭐ 86🧑‍⚖️
Fun 56th 3.905⭐ 86🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 64th 3.839⭐ 86🧑‍⚖️
Theme 245th 3.565⭐ 86🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 27th 4.25⭐ 86🧑‍⚖️
Audio 143th 3.476⭐ 86🧑‍⚖️
Mood 67th 3.781⭐ 82🧑‍⚖️
Given 53🗳️ 96🗨️

Feedback

Naemis
02. Oct 2022 · 21:39 UTC
This game was very fun! I think the idea was very creative and although it's quite simple, the game itself has a lot of replay-ability and very engaging! The aesthetic, design, and artwork was well done and matched your own theme accordingly. The game does get hard as you get higher, but I suppose that makes sense. Got up 22m! Well done.
Neollok
03. Oct 2022 · 02:06 UTC
I must say, I really enjoyed this!

After writing that first line I went back and tried again, and ended up figuring out a trick to climb relatively easily, and while it ended up being somewhat samey because of that trick, I still really do like it! I personally can't say I've played or seen gameplay quite like it.

Love the aesthetics, the look and overall atmosphere of it was great. The first few times I tried it I didn't get very far, and I actually think I liked the sort of intense, dark-ish, mysterious music looming in the background. Sadly when I climbed without a worry it all turned less intense and more repetetive, so I stopped at 100m. Though it wasn't very fast (I played that run for a little over 10 minutes), it seems I could keep going forever.

That said, if there was an update that prevented me from tricking my way up, and rather have me climb in a way I'd think it was intended to be climbed, I'd for sure play it again! Like I said, I really, truly enjoyed the first couple times I played, so with that "loophole" changed, I'd say this game offers an interesting new twist on the vertical climbing platformer, with a nice gloom-like atmosphere, smooth controls and a kinda addicting need to climb just a little higher. Very nice!

(Sidenote, I've not mentioned the "trick" I used to climb so as to not spoil it for others. If you don't know what I'm talking about, do msg me, I'd be happy to let you know!)

![void well 1.JPG](///raw/39a/34/z/50011.jpg)
Martynas
03. Oct 2022 · 13:19 UTC
good game i like
LDJam user 300745
03. Oct 2022 · 21:16 UTC
Very interesting game! I like that you also destroy the blocks, so you need to be careful when shooting.
ArtofLuba
04. Oct 2022 · 06:45 UTC
Feels very cohesive. I really like the palette chosen. Also, I died a bunch. Good stuff!
Sean Esopenko
04. Oct 2022 · 06:45 UTC
A tetris style run & gun and the polish is top notch. I keep getting smacked in the head while I feverishly avoid falling in the water. Well done!
LightTerraDog
04. Oct 2022 · 06:59 UTC
great job, love the retro graphics style!
01edward01
04. Oct 2022 · 10:49 UTC
Great Job, hard to play but game is very interesting and fun!
bobo_oh
04. Oct 2022 · 10:49 UTC
Nice game and great mecanisms. It think it's quite hard to make move, and aim to the enemies while thinking about where you want the cube to land... Maybe the enemies should be slower?
Anyway, still a great entry! congrats!
BlackLambert
04. Oct 2022 · 11:00 UTC
Pretty cool game mechanics that are fun to play. Good job for achiving thin in only two days. I would have liked a greater increase of difficulty though. Also the music is a little repetitive.
thesnide
04. Oct 2022 · 11:04 UTC
very nice game mechanics. You have to juggle between placing the falling blocks correctly by not shooting at them randomly. and then move correctly to climb.

Sounds like a good trainer for multitasking!

And the graphics are great!
borgi
04. Oct 2022 · 11:04 UTC
Very clever idea! I really like the concept of shotting "block" at the appropriate section of the map to be able to survive! After a while it gets really chaotic with the shooting enemies and stuff, most of the block fell on my head and I could not really build :D Also I think it would be nice to be able to manipulate the position of the enemies somehow (maybe they turn around on first hit?) Graphics very cool, fitting music! I liked it very much!
Flaterectomy
04. Oct 2022 · 11:11 UTC
A fun little game with a solid concept behind it, though I am wondering how it ties into the theme. Does the water raise every 10 seconds? That wasn't immediately clear to me.

I made it to 26m / 2:51:73 by stacking two columns of blocks and alternating between the two, before accidentally falling off. I am sure there are better strategies than what I tried, though.

The art is very solid, I like the style and gloomy purple palette. The music adds tension without standing out. Great job!
🎤 Helzinko
04. Oct 2022 · 11:14 UTC
@flaterectomy Thanks for feedback! Yes the "lava" raise every 10 seconds, in left top corner there is an indicator that increases every second
LDJam user 276593
04. Oct 2022 · 11:14 UTC
Fantastic graphics and sound. The game is really intense as well. It's kind of like a reverse Downwell - has a similar atmosphere even though it doesn't play or look anything like.

THe character controls are fantastic. Responsive and snappy, and the shooting mechanic feels very nice. Every time I died it felt like my own fault, which is rare when I play score attack games :D

For the life of me, I cannot beat 30m.

A nice addition that probably wasn't feasible giving the timeframes involved would be an online scoreboard. I'd love to know how I am doing compared to other people.

Great entry.
LDJam user 202408
04. Oct 2022 · 11:15 UTC
This reminds me of an old flash game where you play as batman, it had somewhat similar mechanics, anyway really love the idea of this game, the art style adds to the vibe, and man was it difficult, I kept getting in the way of the blocks like a metal head lol. great work!
LDJam user 268934
04. Oct 2022 · 11:20 UTC
Super good game you Made here.
When i died I want to play again and again becouse you know you can do better.
So props for this super adictive game.
Kilian BAPTENDIER
04. Oct 2022 · 11:23 UTC
Nice entry with a strong concept. Good art style and colors, fun character controller, nice risk/reward ratio. I'm not sure about the music, but that's just my taste, and I would have prefered my shots to not break the cubes.
Have you thought about adding bonus falling down ? The player could avoid the cubes falling and instead try to reach them.
Anyway, good job! It's impressive, and even more for a compo.
ThatzNiko
04. Oct 2022 · 11:24 UTC
It's really fun, well done!
Zakroutil
04. Oct 2022 · 11:24 UTC
Very fun little game! Simple, yet very clever idea, very well executed! Feels great to play, nicely polished! Visuals and audio are also spot on! Awesome work!
John llyod Apolo
04. Oct 2022 · 11:25 UTC
Great game the mechanics is enjoyable and well polished. Getting the block where I want to is a bit hard but challenging. Great job.
LDJam user 237261
04. Oct 2022 · 11:28 UTC
Really strong and unique core concept for the game, presented with very nice graphics!
Roroto Sic
04. Oct 2022 · 11:30 UTC
Great game ! love it !! easy to understand hard to master ! very addictive !
(and the art/anim/sfx are awesome)
Harry Alissavakis
04. Oct 2022 · 11:30 UTC
Such an amazing entry and an extremely cool gameplay idea! Graphics and gameplay were all super polished and I loved that after a while I started thinking strategically while shooting. I don't think I've seen anything like this in another game and there's some big potential here to make a truly unique game if you expand upon this.

Really awesome job, this is definitely one of my favorite entries I've seen so far!
Roroto Sic
04. Oct 2022 · 11:31 UTC
![Capture d’écran 2022-10-04 133126.png](///raw/d93/94/z/51ee8.png)
neowhoru
04. Oct 2022 · 11:36 UTC
10 M then it become impossible haha :D i really like the game.
Good gameplay, hard to master but feels really nice to play.
Amolker
04. Oct 2022 · 11:44 UTC
I really liked this game! An interesting combination of mechanics, good graphics and sound. It was fun to play.
Of the minuses - it becomes repetitive after some time. Perhaps adding some mechanics, bonuses, monsters or indestructible blocks would add more variety.
But at the core - the game is quite interesting and well done.
Gangrue
04. Oct 2022 · 11:54 UTC
So stylistic and epic. Loved it.
arya-s
04. Oct 2022 · 12:07 UTC
![voidwell.PNG](///raw/497/a3/z/51f13.png)

Super fun and polished experience!

Two things I noticed that I think are worth considering:
* How does it play if you can't destroy your own platforms? I kept shooting mine by accident when I was close to it and aiming up and slightly tilted. I think it would be better to not punish players for that.
* I saw the dotted line and was thinking it could be nice to have an online scoreboard and a dotted line for current highscore holder.

Good stuff! I quite like your style.
Vetche Studio
04. Oct 2022 · 13:31 UTC
Really fun and fast-paced game! The shooting and movement reminded me of how careful I needed to be with my positioning and aiming, kinda like an FPS but in 2D. I also love the graphic! Big fan of pixel art :D
Holy_Doggo01
04. Oct 2022 · 13:44 UTC
Extremely well made game! It was very fun to play, it felt quite polished!
Lex
04. Oct 2022 · 14:45 UTC
That's a nice little game! I think I did quite well.

![Capture.PNG](///raw/725/e/z/51fde.png)
Kyobi
04. Oct 2022 · 15:42 UTC
A really good game ! Feels like old arcade games, simple and efficient. Maybe the difficulty raises a little too fast, we die a lot on the first tries but still a good experience to me. Some items and power ups could have balanced the difficulty and add more diversity. Very nice game tho !
DrummerManSam
04. Oct 2022 · 19:48 UTC
Super sweet game! The art is really chill and the limited color palette and sounds makes it feel like an old arcade game. Was fun and pretty hard, I didnt get very far ha. Nice job!
LDJam user 251170
05. Oct 2022 · 00:07 UTC
Lovely color palette, lovely art, lovely music (albeit a BIT repetitive), very responsive control, fun gameplay and an interesting take on the theme. Got nothing but praise for this game, thanks for the submission!
Castitatis
05. Oct 2022 · 07:46 UTC
wow that game is so polished I love it, it's pretty challenging but so fun!
Phillip Scott
05. Oct 2022 · 08:34 UTC
Super polished fun little game good job!

![image_2022-10-05_093413094.png](///raw/123/b3/z/5244a.png)
LDJam user 272447
05. Oct 2022 · 12:41 UTC
Clearly a very polished and well put-together package. It's got a lot going for it! Love the pixel art and palette and sound was really nice but the overall blend of the vibe really sells it I think. Very fun, intense gameplay (I didn't work out any tricks!). Basically, no notes - great game!
Gonzalol
05. Oct 2022 · 13:22 UTC
Love the game, congrats. Incredible art, original concept and smooth mechanics. It's quite frustrating at certain point!
![void_well.PNG](///raw/7f7/9/z/5250e.png)
Skel3ton
05. Oct 2022 · 18:17 UTC
This one has a great idea and great execution. It was very hard for me personally, mainly because I kept destroying my cubes, but I enjoyed it. And I really liked the graphics. the minimalism of only 4 colors is great
lbrande
05. Oct 2022 · 18:44 UTC
Great idea, great execution and really nice retro graphics and music!
Tyrannas
05. Oct 2022 · 19:26 UTC
Quite simple, but really effective, I had fun playing it even if it's not easy, it's good difficulty. I just realized that I was pretty sure to know this artstyle and indeed I played a lot to your previous "Void" Game, from LD50 haha, nice serie, can't wait for episode 3 "The Return of the Void"
Alex de la Cour
05. Oct 2022 · 21:35 UTC
Nice entry! I really love the retro style pixel art and the controls were really smoothly implemented. I thought the game itself was straightforward yet innovative and fun. Challenging enough that you'll die in a couple of minutes (at least in my case!) but gripping and fun that you want to try again and get a higher score!

![High Score.png](///raw/b9f/84/z/526c8.png)
Serxiolas
05. Oct 2022 · 22:32 UTC
Very polish! Beautiful colour palette for a very nice pixel art. Very good game feel!! A very well balanced between punishment and reward!
cassowary
06. Oct 2022 · 05:51 UTC
It's an interesting kind of genre blend. I like the idea of building your way up by killing the enemies and having to manage your stack while also having to dodge enemy projectiles. And the art is very clean - love the color palette!

I wish it was a little easier to get the blocks to fall where you want, but maybe I'm just bad at the game lol ;-;
Paul Avallone
06. Oct 2022 · 05:58 UTC
Super well polished game. Very simple but extremely clever and addictive. Love the pixel art and animation. Music and sound fit perfectly. The visual and audio feedback was crystal clear. The controls were very precise and expertly refined. Anytime I lost it was my fault. Fantastic arcade game. Amazing job!
okshirl
06. Oct 2022 · 06:34 UTC
I really enjoyed the aesthetics and art design of the game. It had the right amount of contrast between all the elements. Visual clarity was high even in a small vertical space.
nyxkn
06. Oct 2022 · 06:48 UTC
Very cute little game! A very unique concept that was very refreshing to see. Mood is great and art is lovely. Music is simple but fits incredibly well. Good sound effects too. I think this is a great example of working with an appropriate scope and getting everything to a well polished level. It feels like a completed game, which is a great achievement for a jam! Got to around 10m and then it was getting hard. There was a degree of figuring out strategy rather than blindly shooting, which is always very welcome and keeps the brain engaged. I thought a game like this could definitely benefit from upgrade mechanics. Overall very impressive entry for the compo!
wolderado
06. Oct 2022 · 07:22 UTC
So polished and fun game! Core idea is very interesting. You can't just randomly shoot the enemies cause you need to place a block to the right spot. So you have to strategize. Though those flying things felt a bit fast for me
DGSpitzer
06. Oct 2022 · 13:00 UTC
![WeChat Image_20221006085405.png](///raw/b28/3/z/52855.png)
A series of VOID? Haha I remember to play your last entry, it could be a collection of mini games in the future~
Love the neat design and solid artstyle, is amazing to make a game like this in 48 hours! Great game!
Nash
06. Oct 2022 · 16:58 UTC
Simple idea that is very well polished. I also remember your last jam game since the it also had the void aesthetic. Great continuation there - feels almost like a sequel!

I can also appreciate the amount of thought it has gone into the game feel. It is kind of debatable whether shooting itself should have the screen shake effect. In this game the player is basically shooting all the time which makes the screen shake kind of lose its power. This case I probably would have attached it to either hitting or killing enemies or possibly blocks hitting the ground.

Bonus points for creating the song for the game. It gets a bit repetitive but it is still a hundred times better than without music!

I dig the gameplay quite a lot. It has some cool strategic elements where it is easy to shoot things above you but then you have to dodge the block in order to stack it. You also have to plan where to kill enemies if you want to survive for longer. Good balance there and a good execution of a simple idea!

Good work!
waffleworksgames
06. Oct 2022 · 18:46 UTC
Cool concept, and very nicely polished gameplay loop! I love the art too!
benskca
06. Oct 2022 · 19:38 UTC
Nice entry, feels very put together and the visuals and sound design pair perfectly. I think the concepts great and there's a tonne of room for expansion if you want to keep up development. Great job!
LDJam user 257946
07. Oct 2022 · 06:04 UTC
I love the idea of enemies that help you when defeated. It really makes the decision making around when to shoot very, very interesting. Everything about this game screams polish, from the art to the music to the gameplay! AMAZING WORK!
Sohei
07. Oct 2022 · 11:12 UTC
Controls are a bit stiff, but overall this is a very fun game to play. Solid entry, that is well made all-around.
MsPlanlos
07. Oct 2022 · 11:59 UTC
Love the graphics and atmosphere of the game! (:
LDJam user 258850
07. Oct 2022 · 14:52 UTC
Amazing! ^^ My score was 3m51s and 25m \o/
Super solid entry, all round great and its a compo too <3 great work! :)
Jag
08. Oct 2022 · 05:39 UTC
Super polished and fun to play game! Amazing job for a compo! I really would love to see an expanded version of this with more weapons and enemy types. Such a creative idea of habing the enemies you kill spawn blocks for you to stand on. A job very very well done!
Shadowcast
08. Oct 2022 · 09:21 UTC
Packed with great design decisions. The little nuanced things like how the player can damage settled blocks but not falling ones, how they force the player to pay attention to both movement and shooting are amazing. I was hoping the that the punishment for taking damage would be a bit more impactful, but a fraction of a second without shooting is really significant in the late game. Outstanding!
Rage Paint Games
09. Oct 2022 · 20:22 UTC
![Capture.JPG](///raw/987/8/z/52f49.jpg)

Beautiful pixel art, color palette, particle effects. I was glad my character didn't actually take damage, as I started using myself as a meat shield, to protect the blocks below me from getting destroyed. Impressed by the person who got to 100m, cause I cannot seem to get past 25m as I start to get overwhelmed by enemy fire.
LDJam user 259666
13. Oct 2022 · 14:27 UTC
This game is insane, i played it a lot, well done for it. GG !
Sheol
15. Oct 2022 · 02:34 UTC
Really nice punchy and arcade-y game! I'm not very good at it though haha and after a while it felt a bit reptitive because I just kept alternating between 2 towers. Still a really solid and polished submission though! I think it'd be amazing if the idea could be expanded upon.
Vykri
16. Oct 2022 · 23:39 UTC
Hey, thanks for making the game! I played through it and recorded my thoughts.

https://youtu.be/09V2r-DjN8E
TriangleTriangle
21. Oct 2022 · 14:01 UTC
Excellent game, thumbs up!
TriangleTriangle
21. Oct 2022 · 14:01 UTC
Excellent game, thumbs up!