Orb Golem by Filip Vannfält

[raw]
made by Filip Vannfält for Ludum Dare 51 (JAM)

In Orb Golem you control a golem, carrying around a magical orb that you swap places with every 10 seconds. Try to get through the platforming challenges by flinging the orb at the right time. Watch the glow on the head and orb to get the timing down! If you drop your orb you can recall it by holding space, this might be a necessary trick in later levels!

If you fall down you'll get reset, and if you get stuck you can reset on your own by pressing R.

Gameplay and art by Filip Vannfält and Boodle Music by Xpizt

Ratings

Overall 746th 3.35⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 827th 3.1⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 76th 4.05⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 542th 3.7⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 849th 3.175⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 653th 2.947⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 938th 2.056⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1049th 2.825⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 13🗨️

Feedback

Bender Biber
03. Oct 2022 · 22:37 UTC
Hi, nice concept. After a few rooms i was stuck in a wall and could not get out. But it was quite an innovative idea.
Great work
Sixela963
03. Oct 2022 · 22:42 UTC
That is a very nice idea for a puzzle game. IMO it would actually benefit from not being forced into the 10 seconds theme, giving swapping ability to the player. However I may be wrong, as it does open up some interesting gameplay ideas.
The graphisms are alright and do their job.
The part I was the most frustrated with was the controls. I get the idea of a golem being somewhat slow and slugish but here it's too much. Also your character controller does not handle slopes well, which is annoying.
Nice submission overall!
Tommo120
03. Oct 2022 · 22:52 UTC
Really neat concept, I like it! I think it feels like it could have done with some extra time to be polished and the mechanics really nailed down. Found it a tad too difficult to complete, sadly. Definitely feels like an idea worth working on further though!
Aleksandar
03. Oct 2022 · 23:13 UTC
Amazing idea! Love the music synchronisation with the timer, the design - everything!
I think mechanics of the orb could be improved, as well as it's starting point after the 10 seconds interval is done - it starts sometimes in the ground, below the player's position in the past round.
MistaGiggles
04. Oct 2022 · 09:04 UTC
Great idea for a puzzle platformer. Aesthetics/music was calming.
Made it as far as the double slopes level and wasn't able to progress any further, found timing the throws a little two difficult for getting up.
Great entry though, really enjoyed playing this
fabula_rasa
09. Oct 2022 · 23:11 UTC
Pretty cool puzzle game! I really loved the mechanics and the painted backgrounds. Music is very fitting and relaxing. Along with the slow pace of the robot movement, it creates a great, slow-moving atmosphere. Very well done!

A few times I had a bug where I respawned without the orb, and often the orb was falling into the rock texture. But none of that was game-breaking.

The ending was a disappointment, as (after I finished the level with the slopes) it just returned me to the start screen. No "The end" or anything. Unless I stumbled onto a bug?
ubershmekel
09. Oct 2022 · 23:19 UTC
This golem and the game felt really slow. But that made the orb throws more impactful. I had a lot of fun figuring out how to use the orb to get where I wanted. I was initially confused, I thought there was some bug because I couldn't see where my orb went after the swap. When I finally understood the mechanics, I enjoyed this crude navigation experience. The music was great and it helped a lot to set up the timing for the final level. Overall this was a unique and fun experience. Thank you for the game.
UnitedFailures
14. Oct 2022 · 04:18 UTC
This is a really cool and unique game concept.
MTabasco
14. Oct 2022 · 11:05 UTC
Cool game and original take on the theme. I would suggest adding some feedback when a level is completed, it would also make it more rewarding to advance in the game. I liked the art style and the golem's design. The music loop is also nice and relaxing. Good work!
Budda
14. Oct 2022 · 23:44 UTC
Interesting idea, it took me a while to figure out that I need to summon the orb back to me after teleporting though - I kind of expected to just go to the orb instead of swapping places with it. Some sort of visual for the 10 second counter might be good too.
LDJam user 301644
16. Oct 2022 · 20:42 UTC
Nice idea! really worth to be polished. It has a good potential. Now sometimes it starts to teleport me randomly if i throw the orb too often.
Sibi
16. Oct 2022 · 20:55 UTC
Cool concept! The leveldesign was a bit confusign at times as I didn't know where to go or whether I was making progress. The character animation was brilliant!
resacaGames
16. Oct 2022 · 23:15 UTC
Fun puzzle game!! Used the hold Space already on the level before the tutorial after many tries and had a lot of fun with the different ways to combo the ball and character interactions. Very well done!!
Flying Dog Fish
17. Oct 2022 · 21:20 UTC
Great idea! The game is very zen with its slow pace and pretty background.