I loved so many of the entries this round and I am so thankful to everyone who took the time to play through my game and comment. I can't wait to see you all again for 58 - me being hopefully wiser and brighter!

We would love to see what you think of Voidwood! Rate and leave a comment on the game and we will play your game in return.

We've played a ton of games already and hit diminishing returns for smart balance, but we still want to get more ratings, so link your games and we can both get more!

The level has a definitive end, see if you can make it all the way there! I won't give anything away, but you'll want to at least make it to the halfway point (you'll know it when you hit it) for the best experience. 😉

Play Now

🎶 Sound On

Music and sound effects were made by @jb-rock

🎨 Fullscreen

Art was made by @vary

🗺️ Finish The Level

Level design was done by @manatee-webster

💧 Water Your Roots

Obstacles and powerups were created by @megl

🤖 Play The Game

General programming was done by @tobius

Thank you so much for all your feedback! Looking forward to trying your games!

Now that my game has achieved the minimum required amount of votes, it's time for me to discuss what went on in developing it.

Of course, before the jam started, I already had the "explorer sisters" concept in mind. And the character inspirations for the "sisters" Zinnia and Azalea came from four sets of twin sisters I know and like: Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard from hololive English Advent, Kei and Chihiro Shindou from ef: a fairy tale of the two., Ram and Rom from the Neptunia series, and Asa and Yoru Kazato from If My Heart Had Wings. These pairs of polar opposite twin sisters have their own sets of appealing qualities that I applied to Zinnia and Azalea.

Regarding the naming conventions, in terms of places and dramatis personae, I draw names from various sources, making sure they are appropriate to the setting. Since Baihaerun, the world where the entire Lily Adventuresses! series takes place in, is a typical Western fantasy setting with strong influences of Filipino mythology and culture, and also draws from many other different cultures, I implement names when I feel like it, with rhyme and reason put into it, of course.

Now onto Episode 3 itself. Since "depths" was chosen as LD57's theme, I set out to draw inspiration from Mega Man Legends, since both games deal with exploring ruins full of lost technology -- for instance, the refractive crystal Zinnia and Azalea find near the end of the prologue is a reference to the refractors from MML. The game also has strong elements of mystery that unfold upon exploration of more ruins, and this kind of storytelling is what I'll implement in the full game.

Of course, being a trademark of mine, I never fail to inject a reference or two to other media. For instance, the prologue's title, "This Ain't Made in the Abyss", is an overt reference to the manga and anime Made in Abyss. And did you know that in the entire Lily Adventuresses! series, I implemented messages you can read when you inspect already-opened chests? Yeah, they're a huge shout-out to the Trails in the Sky trilogy.

So there. Look forward to the entire Lily Adventuresses! series. Episode 1, She Who Lost Everything but Her Name is already out, Episode 2, Rise of the Arcritters, is around 75-80% complete, and expect Episode 3, The Explorer Sisters and the Deepest Depths, to be out before 2025 ends.

Episode 1: https://dagitabsoft.itch.io/lily-adventuresses-episode-1-she-who-lost-everything-but-her-name (FULL)

Episode 2: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/lily-adventuresses-episode-2-rise-of-the-arcritters-prologue (LD56; PROLOGUE)

Episode 3: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/lily-adventuresses-episode-3-the-explorer-sisters-and-the-deepest-depths-pr (LD57; PROLOGUE)

Have a blessed Good Friday.

Hello everyone ! I played a lot of games, and I have to say that I'm really impressed by this edition games !! I already found a lot of gems, and I wanted to share my fav so far ! With no order :

• The Hidden Depths by @nsadie, an adorable and beautiful puzzle game,
• Tiny Tinker by @shadyshade, an inventive and beautiful platformer (I swear it's not like others platformers),
• Antz vs Plants by @midnightmist, @keely-brown and @blue-pin-studio, a really fun and original tower defense,
• Granny's Gotcha by @joscco, a beautiful and fun puzzle game (art is amazing),
• Depth of Discovery by @camcomduck, an addictive exploration and upgrade game,
• Pack by @jeremy-ryan, a professional top tier looking puzzle game

Don't hesitate to leave a comment with your own game if I haven't played it yet ! :)

I did a game where you have to hold your actual breath to reach goals. I'd like to know your preference between "realistic minimalism" and "playful minimalism". Which one is more appealing to you (and why)? Thanks a lot!

Realistic minimalism

Playful minimalism

Play and rate here

No spoilers of last level :smile:

Here's mine https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/keep-hopping

Howdy all, been hard at work adding some more ~~jank~~ features to the game.

Have added some simple tooltips to the characters and towers:

And a big new win is the shop :raisedhands: currently just going with stat increases for gold but might add buying towers as well not sure.