LudumData

Deeper by BlackCat508

[raw]
made by BlackCat508 for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

Note: Unfortunately this jam came around a time in which I was quite busy, so I never had time to commit to the grind this go around. I was able to scrap this together in a total of about 8 cumulative hours of work, so I think its better than nothing. Regardless, please try it out!

Screenshot 2025-04-07 171604.png

Survive as long as possible by shooting the monsters and sparing your friends

CONTROLS:

wasd - move

Space/Left click - shoot

P - pause

HOW TO PLAY:

Humans look exactly like you but without a headlight.

Monsters may resemble humans, but have imperfections.

Not shooting humans adds them to your party.

Missing shots, shooting humans, and watching humans get taken away will increase the parties nerves.

If you or another human gets too nervous, they will die.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS STAY ALIVE

Link https://blackcat508.itch.io/deeper
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/deeper-1

Ratings

Overall 306th 3.714⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 148th 3.833⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 455th 3.214⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 591th 3.405⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 313th 3.905⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 381th 3.35⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 412th 2.861⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 260th 3.857⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

jester1454
08. Apr 2025 · 15:41 UTC
very cool feeling, graphics and sounds! I liked the arcade gameplay, though the wasd buttons (to be precise, W and A) didn't work, but the arrows did. It's worth playing just for the different enemy sprites!
ACarr
08. Apr 2025 · 16:34 UTC
Super impressive visuals/sound design given how long you worked on this! Using other humans as a shield against monsters is messed up but helps you survive longer, which is really neat lol. Nice work!
🎤 BlackCat508
08. Apr 2025 · 20:57 UTC
Thanks for playing so early @jester1454 ! But im pretty sure the W and A buttons have been working fine from all my testing? Do the buttons just not do anything at all? Theres a chance it might be something on your end
🎤 BlackCat508
08. Apr 2025 · 21:02 UTC
Id also like to mention that I had to make all of this on my laptop where I cant access itch.io, so I had to email myself the files to set everything up on my phone. Which means I personally have not actually tried the exported game version, so please tell me if things are very wrong!
ZIO
16. Apr 2025 · 21:44 UTC
For just 8 cumulative hours, this is a more complete package than some others I've played. It's solid and enjoyable. Simple but addicting. I did find myself playing longer than expected! It did feel a bit claustrophobic with how close things were. Made it hard to judge who was a friendly. Maybe the point, though? Also once I had a few too many allies, it was hard to keep them from being taken. Otherwise, this is a solid and entertaining little package! I wouldn't mind coming back to it again.
Agraffs
18. Apr 2025 · 07:42 UTC
Fun little game to play. For a game done it 8 hours it works well. GG!
Texugo
18. Apr 2025 · 12:24 UTC
It´s really impressive how you were able to create this in only 8 hours! Really fun mechanic and gameplay, even though sometimes it was really hard to differentiate friend and foe!
VJ031206
18. Apr 2025 · 12:27 UTC
Bro you almost made me deaf with the sound. The shooting mechanism is so cool, it leaves a trail line which is very creative and well executed. But I could not even mak out some enemies because they were so dark, which made it impossible to survive for long. I think the graphics could have been better. The gameplay is superb and works really well, appreciate the responsiveness.
slow chaz
18. Apr 2025 · 18:43 UTC
wow really polished and a full gameplay loop. love my friends grouping up with me!
Joseph Tan
19. Apr 2025 · 04:39 UTC
An nice and easy game idea, I got to depth 5 but the reduced light is really too hard for me to react!
Paul Thick
20. Apr 2025 · 07:54 UTC
It is a well-polished game and a solid entry. I wish there were more bonus items like in the 'Journey of the Prairie King' (Stardew Valley minigame) to vary the gameplay. Also the movement mechanic is not very useful especially when the light ring is getting tighter. Maybe going through a maze with the crew fighting off the monsters in the dark is the thing I expected to see with this controls :)
Ty Victorson
20. Apr 2025 · 08:56 UTC
A fun little game, it got really tough by depth 5 all my guys got taken and I couldn't react in time! I felt that the movement didn't really add much to the gameplay aside from situating myself in the center of my group, and potentially adding an image of the player in the how to section to show what you look like (I'm not very observant lol) will help first time players, but other than that you got a really sold game, nice work!

![Screenshot 2025-04-20 035034.png](///raw/063/e1/z/6c592.png)
Sibi
20. Apr 2025 · 11:23 UTC
That was really fun! I think I would've prefered a little more visibility but more enemies so that dodging becomes more relevant. Really like the polish of this game, shots feel impactful, going insane is very nicely presented and teh transition to the next floor is cool.
ChuChuGeralt
20. Apr 2025 · 20:54 UTC
First shot in the game: Killed my buddy :(
I really did like the game, loved the pixel art, loved the transition between the levels.
Overall a really great entry!

![Screenshot 2025-04-20 224833.png](///raw/a15/01/z/6c5ca.png)
Tkap1
20. Apr 2025 · 21:22 UTC
The shooting felt really satisfying. I wish I needed to use it more instead of being careful to not shoot humans!
MoD_Wiz
21. Apr 2025 · 14:46 UTC
What a nice entry. This got to be one of the most powerful laser shotguns ever! I like the idea and execution, the sprites are really nice and the gameplay/gamefeal is quite tight, very precise.
Congratulation on doing it in only 8 hours! Very impressive!
Flaterectomy
21. Apr 2025 · 20:31 UTC
Very clear and simple (in a good way) main mechanic, and polished with lots of nice effects. I made it to depth 5, at which point there simply wasn't enough visibility for me to react to incoming monsters.

The art is very cool, and as I said I appreciate the effects you added to make it creepier. The sounds helped a lot in that regard too. Great entry!
LDJam user 301295
22. Apr 2025 · 10:49 UTC
Wow, this really is a masterclass of how to use lighting, effects and simple animations to great effect.
You really pulled a lot from the short time you had. Only feedback I could give is that sometimes the audio cuts out abruptly, especially on the level change. Perhaps some simple reverb or delays on some of the effects could have also been really cool.

But overall great job and I might come back to this for reference on those effects/screen shakes ect.
Well done!
TheLastSlowpoke
22. Apr 2025 · 20:20 UTC
That is amazing for 8 hours. It is easily on par for a 72h event, which I find insane. Super polished, plays super well, looks great, great vibes. Short and entertaining experience. I like how it feels unfair at some points, makes it scarier.