L.A.R.K. by Redneb

made by Redneb for Ludum Dare 51 (COMPO)

Hello Creators! This is my first Ludum Dare and I am very excited. I've been interested in video game development for some time now. I don't have a team and participate in the Compo category.

How to play? In the game you only need to jump)). It's simple. Help L.A.R.K. (5 little creatures) get to the rescue door. Beware of being frozen or falling into an abyss.

This time the topic, in my opinion, is quite difficult. Every 10 seconds. In my game new L.A.R.K. appear every 10 seconds. I used Construct 3 as the game engine. Sound effects are made in sfxr. Graphics and scripts are mine (yes, I animated for the first time in my life)). Not everything I wanted was done. But then it's jam)) I hope you will enjoy it. Comments are welcome.

Source code - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1--138BZF5opeIroBmeK8Qq_uuFUqRGGU/view?usp=sharing

Play in Web (Html5) - https://maxim-klish.itch.io/lark

Original URL

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/l-a-r-k

Ratings

Overall	237^th	3.431⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Fun	174^th	3.483⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	189^th	3.431⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Theme	138^th	3.828⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	232^th	3.466⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Audio	367^th	2.5⭐	30🧑‍⚖️
Humor	192^th	2.8⭐	27🧑‍⚖️
Mood	368^th	2.796⭐	29🧑‍⚖️
Given		32🗳️	42🗨️

Feedback

Jim jagers

03. Oct 2022 · 12:13 UTC

I really enjoyed playing Lark the graphics were decent and the level design was fun. I do wish there was some background music tough and the jumping noise was a bit too loud for my taste but for a first ludum dare game its very good(it was certainly better then my first LD game xD)

LDJam user 234567

03. Oct 2022 · 15:23 UTC

Great first game! Looking all the LARK on the same time is crasy.

cyberfrank

03. Oct 2022 · 17:00 UTC

Always excellent with one button controls! I didn't see if there was a way to lose though but maybe there is? Nice and simple graphics but maybe could've benefited some fonts that feel more a part of the game world (signs + UI).

Zerbu

03. Oct 2022 · 19:04 UTC

I loved it! I played all the way through to the last level! There's just one thing though: I don't know if this is a bug or not, but when you lose one LARK, it blocks the others from falling, making it a bit too easy, especially on the last level where you can never lose more tha none. Apart from that, great game! When I'm done rating games, I might even play some more and try to win without losing a single LARK.

🎤 Redneb

03. Oct 2022 · 20:01 UTC

@zerbu Yes, I still need to work on this. Time was pressing.

🎤 Redneb

03. Oct 2022 · 20:02 UTC

@cyberfrank Yes, you can't lose now.

Andrew Hoyer

03. Oct 2022 · 21:42 UTC

This reminded me of Lemmings. I think this mechanic would be better if it was "ever 5 seconds", just to speed up the game. But generally I think your idea is a good one.

SomeCodingGuy

04. Oct 2022 · 00:34 UTC

Enjoyed it! Maybe add the total time to finish the level as the final score? Most liked the simultaneous nature of how the jumps worked.

coolbeens

04. Oct 2022 · 05:26 UTC

Really cute! I loved the last level because i just kept spawning all the little guys and just had them hop around hehe. my little collection! Pretty simple concept but it was still fun and a little challenging when I had to look after another guy! haha! It worked out really well. Great job!

jk5000

04. Oct 2022 · 09:32 UTC

Overall a fun little puzzle platformer. Perhaps a bit too easy, but else a really good game. Well done.

Austin

04. Oct 2022 · 23:05 UTC

Good job on your first game! My favorite part was stacking all of the LARKs up and running them to the finish line together! I do agree that background music would have livened up the gameplay, but time is of the essence in a jam.

Usenrame

04. Oct 2022 · 23:07 UTC

This is genius game concept, on the last level I've farmed 35 LARKs at once XD

cogcomp

05. Oct 2022 · 04:56 UTC

Congratulations on completing your first game jam! The game reminded my lemmings slightly but the really clever thing you did was just focus the puzzles round a single ability make it very easy to grasp and still hard to master. Well done! You're first game is a lot better than most of the games I've made and I've done this 24 times :sweat_smile:

🎤 Redneb

05. Oct 2022 · 20:10 UTC

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Capitals

05. Oct 2022 · 21:31 UTC

Well done on the game, first ones always hardest! I really enjoyed the game, and it was easy to work out and not too long or short. However it was too easy just to focus on one of the L.A.R.Ks to win the puzzle.

Codeman1010

05. Oct 2022 · 21:37 UTC

Fun concept, I wish the levels were a bit tighter, I could usually focus on one character at a time and too very well.

CoOz

05. Oct 2022 · 21:42 UTC

Very good first game.. congratulations! You were so close to "package" it as a finished one with level to level and some tips to play inside the game. You can be proud! Nice job

cottontshirtz

06. Oct 2022 · 02:44 UTC

Fun little puzzle game!
I like the variety of mechanics you've created!

I noticed how the jump SFX happens each time that space is pressed, regardless if any LARK jumps. I've found it useful to think about effects as responses to game events, so instead of playing the sound when the button is pressed, have the LARK do the jump itself, then if they succeeded, play the effect.

Hope you've had a good time and welcome to game dev!

goody

06. Oct 2022 · 03:09 UTC

I like this game, it's intuitive and fun. The sounds are a bit high pitched and loud. Also on certain levels I was able to wait and stack all the L.A.R.K. together then complete it all at once.

Good job, I'd like to play more of it :)

Edtg

06. Oct 2022 · 22:27 UTC

Fun game with an interesting concept. As others have said it is easy to focus on just one LARK, so could have done with the theme being "every 5 seconds" to make it more challenging.

cassowary

07. Oct 2022 · 06:09 UTC

For a first jam game, the platforming physics are solid and the characters are cute! It reminds me of the old flash games which were inspired by lemmings, like 'onekey' and such.

I would have liked to see more use of the mechanic where they all jump at once. You started to get close to this on level 4, but for most of it it was pretty easy to just focus on one at a time, especially since there wasn't really a penalty for losing one (other than lost time). I'd love to see an expanded version of this with more focused level design, I think it has potential!

(also, maybe I missed it, but what does L.A.R.K. stand for?)

🎤 Redneb

07. Oct 2022 · 06:47 UTC

@cassowary There have always been problems with the name of the games. Also, English is not my native language. The name doesn't really mean anything - just a word that came to mind.
I already have ideas how to finalize the game. In particular, I want the player to be able to change the level during the game. For example, he installed additional platforms for jumping. This will add fun and regrabability.

Solah

07. Oct 2022 · 07:57 UTC

Very good game for a first entry!

I think the jump sound pitch is too high, aside from that the game is well designed, I guess adding a music and more feedbacks would make it funnier!

Well done :)

Gonzalol

10. Oct 2022 · 09:51 UTC

It's a great game for your first entry. Good graphics, smooth gameplay, fit the theme. Congratulations.

Wheffle

10. Oct 2022 · 20:49 UTC

I like the concept, and it was pretty well executed, especially for your first entry! Adding a failure state (like, say, you lose if too many LARKs die or freeze) would be a cool addition. Well done though!