Echo Echo by Demure

[raw]
made by Demure for Ludum Dare 56 (JAM)

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https://supermuch.itch.io/echo-echo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYALNFZimbc

In Echo Echo, you eat moths, go fast and rely on echolocation to do so. The faster - The better!

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Did you you know bats have very limited vision - But instead use a high frequency sound whose reflection is used to calculate its surroundings and prey?

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They can go up to speeds of 160 Kilometers (99 miles) per hour in flight, eating up to half of their weight in bugs - Mostly moths, sometimes in the thousands per night.

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Controls

Echo Echo only requires one single directional input and can be controlled in a variety of ways, here listed from 'best' to worst. In the main menu you may adjust the sensitivity to your liking, experiment with what suits you best.

A game pad's left controller joystick.
A mouse.
A touchscreen.
The arrow keys.

The latter might be the worst as it's the only one that lacks any analog input, it's either on or off. The download versions support rumble on controllers.

Developer notes

Bats are fascinating creatures! Did you also know their own call is so loud it would damage their own hearing if they heard it? They close off their ears at the moment they make it as to protect themselves, only ever hearing their own sound through reflections.

I originally aimed for this to be a compo (48h) entry, working solo and making the assets myself. At the end of day 2, I had the game loop and visual assets wrapped up, needing day 3 for the levels, menus, high score system (regrets) and all audio (notably done in the last 1.5 hours before submission time - one day I'll start with audio).

Made with Godot 4.3, Blender and Aseprite. Audio was recorded from jams and sfx made on a small modular eurorack system. Had a lot of fun doing the shader for the echolocation visuals, wish the movement controls were a bit more intuitive, they feel less smooth then I'd like but alas - It's a jam! Also noticed that in Godot 4.3 audio pitching doesn't work on web exports - The moth collecting should pitch up each time, but on web this sadly does not work. Many more bugs to be found! The randomly generated names given by default to players are Latin names for subspecies of bats. All and any feedback welcome!

Ratings

Overall 39th 4.237⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 66th 4.079⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 34th 4.158⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 819th 3.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 225th 4.184⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 16th 4.342⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 45th 4.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 1🗳️ 0🗨️

Feedback

amarokczukay
09. Oct 2024 · 18:37 UTC
first i thought "oh the flight levels in spyro the dragon" and i was already hyped

great idea, incredible idea, stunning visuals, i'm 100% seduced! everything feels exactly at its place. it's simple yet beautiful, honestly this is a potential top10 in several categories!
MateusBoga
09. Oct 2024 · 21:40 UTC
Glad to see I wasn't the only one doing a game about bats ^^ And we went pretty different directions too! This is quite relaxing to play, and the sound design is incredible! I got a bit disappointed to see colliding with walls doesn't do anything, because I was doing my best to avoid them at first. Great work!
ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 21:13 UTC
Very Demure
FAOFiD
11. Oct 2024 · 20:39 UTC
Cool idea and great implementation! I've tried all the controls option, the mouse is definetely the best one! I enjoyed flying around and trying to maintain my speed, and it is hard! The more speed you have the harder it gets, even the slightest movement of the mouse fells so sharp sometimes. And I was really surprised to see the leaderboard here - that's cool to try to compete with others! Though I couldn't remember the level, not lot of places that standing out for me, so I couldn't make shortcuts that would lead me to my destination point more quick than a regular route. And that meant for me that it was hard to compete with others if I don't know how to be faster than them.
LDJam user 259037
14. Oct 2024 · 10:55 UTC
You shared gift with me, and it made my day better. I wonder, by the time the human race comes to an end, how many others will this gift bring happiness to?

https://youtu.be/4X7r9Lmzqy4
pickens-inc
15. Oct 2024 · 22:48 UTC
Lovely little game. I had hoped the echolocation would come more into the gameplay elememtns for navigating as I thought it was a great idea, but the execution of the game was lovely. Very zen, despite the fact I'm bad it. Love the visuals, the soundscape music is very fitting. Well done.
Sasa_2010
19. Oct 2024 · 09:08 UTC
Wow! The game is so wonderful! Keep making games!
Empyreans
21. Oct 2024 · 04:33 UTC
It was surreal experiencing world from bat's point of view :bat:

Really liked how you visualized echolocation here, exceptionally stylish game too :sunglasses:

Thank you for bringing this game to the stream :)

https://youtu.be/K8vxPwbqPGY

~XpMonster
LDJam user 248799
23. Oct 2024 · 15:47 UTC
Probably my favorite game I've played this ludum. Love the minimalism and the game feel, so cool to have controller support, thank you!
someone
23. Oct 2024 · 22:53 UTC
I like the echo effect, and the nice chill vibes. It was fun going fast and avoiding crashing into stuff.
I was a bit disappointed that you just bounce off the walls when I tried it to see what happens.
It wasn't entirely clear what the highscores were for, do I try to collect every moth or forgo them and find the goal?
It would have been nice to have an option turn off the rumble. I found the mouse to be the best input but my game pad was being noisy...
Silliest Goose
24. Oct 2024 · 01:08 UTC
OMG this game is so beautiful!!!! The sound is so peaceful, and serine to match the calm purple visuals. If i could describe the gameplay it would be, peaceful extreme 3d connect the dots!