itch.io

We did aim to have the player experiment (get it?) with their environment and controls as they go through the game. Getting the player to take their time (wow, there's a lot of these) with adjusting to the new upgrades could cause some to loop back a couple more times than others and extend the overall time it takes to complete the game, which helps since it's so short.

Glad to hear you enjoy the concept and mechanics. Thanks for playing!

Glad to hear you enjoyed the concept and the thematic application of it. We worked hard to put it all together. Sorry about the confusion, we definitely should have put something in there to signal the double jump. 

Thanks for playing!

We had a section planned after the final crystal to be able to teleport as the whole lab gets consumed and disintegrates, but we ran short on time trying to test if it was feasible. Same with the UI, had an idea to map the crystal colors to the unlocks, but we hoped the gradual lighting of the buttons would be enough. Most players were able to figure it out by the 2nd and 3rd loop.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it overall. Thanks for playing!

That would be a good addition. We really just used an exponentially growing circle for the collision shape so the sprite can be a bit off the bigger it gets since it uses rotating fins. I imagine we could make a distance tracker that gradually turns red and shakes like the text effect on the starting phrase "Find the pieces".

Good idea. Thanks for playing!

The double jump section requires that you use nearly the full extent of both jumps by holding W until you reach the peak to get to the platforms. I just watched my brother struggle with it for a good 8 loops. XD

Happy to hear you like the narrative. We had a lot of fun brainstorming the idea. Thanks for playing!

Yeah, the dip to the far left next to the double jump crystal is impossible to get out of once you're in. Initially, we just had a gap there so if you fell through, you'd fall off the level too fast for the black hole to catch up and reset you. I intentionally made the pit a trap to artificially increase the playtime of the game a little since it was so short. And also to troll someone by making them squirm and panic as the hole inevitably consumes you and your progress on that section just before the goal. Very happy to hear I have at least one victim. >:)

Glad you enjoyed the concept. Thanks for playing!

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for playing.

There's nothing to say about this game that hasn't already been said.

Masterpiece. I almost can't believe it was made in 4 days.

Trying to balance the level size with the growth rate of the black hole was a challenge. We made the level as big as it is to try and get enough content in there without making it "just another long hallway". Definitely could have touched up there. Glad we got the controls to feel right though!

Thanks for playing!

Thanks for playing!

You're right, it does need a few more signals to indicate that certain controls are locked until you get the corresponding crystal. We tried to implement the blinking lights in the HUD and make a note in the description that mentions controls to hint at it, but there will be players who will need to be led to water. Glad you were still able to find enjoyment in the game despite the issue.

Thanks for playing!

Thanks! We tried to find some ways to create a little difficulty, but without too much issue as we expected players to probably get looped by the black hole a few times just due to exploring parts of the lab that weren't on the way to a crystal. We actually had a final sequence planned that would have been a little more difficult than the double jump timings that involved a teleport mechanic. Glad you enjoyed the game overall though.

Thanks for playing! :)

Definitely agree. We had a final sequence planned where the last crystal unlocks the teleport ability and the laboratory starts to disintegrate but had to cut it due to "time constraints" XD

Thanks for playing!

Wow what a vibe. Reminds me of those unsettling flash games you'd find on Newgrounds. Gameplay was pretty simple, loved the ability to move by alternating between A/D like you're slithering along. That ending cutscene was great.

Not bad!

Very fun game to play. I really enjoyed the depth that all the various monsters add to the gameplay loop (get it?). The art is great, love that teleporting animation, and the mix of 2D to 3D adds some off-putting vibes that really sell the theme. Fantastic sound effects too. The only thing I'd change is the background music; it fits the feel of the game, but after getting to 100, it gets a little old.

Overall, fantastic work guys.

The concept is one of the best I've seen so far, but it's tough to dodge any of the bullets since they're a little too fast. It would have been great if there was like a jump so that you have a bit more room to dodge the bullets and push the risk with how many you fire. I thought about what if you could shoot a bullet at one of  the ones a ghost fires and they collide and save you from certain death too. Lots of room to make the game fun.

Very creative and has the potential to be very, very good. Great work.

This game is genius. The theme, the simple but diverse gameplay, it's all great. Only thing I'd add is a bit of music to the background and it's perfect. Really great job.

Really good presentation and a fine concept but the gameplay loop gets old far too fast and doesn't have replayability. It's way too easy and doesn't have enough mechanics to make the game interesting. I don't think it fits the theme either. You could say that it is because part of the game is keeping the ball out of the goal, but it's not the main focus of the game. The focus is murdering the players. It just doesn't work for me. 

Remember, the most important aspect of a game is design. Not graphics or music.

This is easily the best looking game out of the bunch. A few minor bugs and quality-of-life changes I would have fixed and made such as blocking out a research tile after it's implemented or resetting the timer after hitting the AGAIN button (whoops). But overall I have minimal complaints about this game. Really, really well done.

There's a bug where when you hit AGAIN the timer doesn't reset. :P

The concept is really simple, but everything else is top-notch. Sprites look adorable, and I like the touch where they change every time you move, music choice was great, and there were no bugs I could immediately spot (although the narrow gaps and top half of the blocks being safe but also not safe made me feel cheated numerous times throughout the game) Really good job.

Use PeaZip and open with that. You'll be able to find the .exe in there.

Great presentation, but lacks good design. The platform is impossible to jump onto so you have to cheat the AI into believing that you were able to by placing the coffee on the edge of it. Remember, it's important to playtest the game before going further to ensure that a level is both possible and bug-free. The "hide it behind the text bubble" gag was pretty good though. It also would have helped if there were more things you could do to make a level more difficult for the AI like maybe being able to drag and drop the letters in the title of the game to use as platforms. Do not be afraid to think outside the box and take risks.

Needs music and other SFX. 

Oh wow, I found a tiny gem! The concept is intuitive and intriguing, and the gameplay is fast-paced. Really good job with the sprites, probably the best I've seen in my feed so far. If there were only a few more levels and mechanics to make the game a little more interesting and chaotic, you'd have perfect marks! Criminally underrated game atm, let me get you some more people in here.

There are only 3 levels. I think you got stuck on the last one. The trick is to use your superior movement speed to your advantage. Remember that your spacebar can attract enemies with your meow too. Keep trying!

The game isn't half bad! I like the concept and the dynamic between day and night works well. I understand the art and music were not original, but they were well-chosen assets nonetheless. Could've used a bit more space for the player to roam around in and the ghost's AI wasn't smart enough to check corners, but that's just nitpicking. I think it would have massively benefitted the game to have the character constantly moving around even during the day to collect something like an item or coins so that when night hits they're in a lot more danger. Great job.

Turning the platformer game into something of a puzzle could be an interesting idea. I think the presentation of the game could have benefitted from original characters rather than using Mario's though. In terms of design, making Mario slightly faster than Bowser would have allowed you to make better puzzles that require you to keep Mario at a distance to where he can't catch you throughout the entire level. I can just keep moving and Mario will never catch me with the speed the same as it is. The music doesn't fit the game at all and gets old fast. If it was something with a faster tempo to make it feel like a chase that would have been much better for the tone of the game. Coding wise it works alright, but there are a few bugs. One is that Bowser can get stuck in the walls since when he runs right you can see that there are a few pixels that can appear behind him in the animation allowing you to clip into the wall. The second is that if you run in any direction toward a wall, Mario can never reach you. He just stops. Not entirely game-breaking as once you move you're generally dead, but still.

Don't be afraid to take risks and get more creative in your design. It will make you need to think outside of the box for your code and the game much more interesting for players. Keep going, my friend.

Wow. This game is amazing. You took the concept of reverse snake and made it into a bullet hell management game where you use your enemy to disable other enemies by luring and escaping the jaws of death by a hair. Incredible design.  The difficulty is spot on and each level bringing new surprises and enemies leaves me wanting nothing. The music is a bop and the sprites are very well polished. I can see this game easily ranking among the top. Well done!

Hey, at least you got something in. My team had technical issues by the end and couldn't complete ours. Coding takes a lot of time and dedication to learn! Keep going at it. <3

Ah man you weren't able to playtest your game, were you? There's an impossible jump like 4 platforms up. :/

Also, I'm unsure how it fits the theme. Seems like another platformer to me. Good effort.

You get 3 of them before needing to touch the ground.

The concept is definitely interesting, I think I've seen games of this sort before, but there are not enough monsters to make the game interesting. The beast is OP, slimes can be useful when paired with a beast, and the speedbug just straight up sucks. Which is disappointing because I wanted to have a blitzkrieg attack style in the game. If I had maybe two or three more monsters and a bit more interesting level design, like needing to attack in a certain pattern or being able to collect buffs along the way or break towers for extra money that'd be all this game needs to be very fun. Your music and sprites are spot on though.

Game plays fairly well, there were a few places where the ball could get stuck, and running over a lit track and turning it off makes me feel a little robbed at times especially since there isn't a whole lot of control given to you when you're in the corner. The art style is funny and I enjoyed that a lot, weird dialogue though. This game reminds me of the rocket dice cheating game that was featured last year.  Overall pretty well done for 48 hrs!

The idea is really basic but if implemented correctly it could be rather fun. I've played many variations of chess like bughouse, antichess, random chess, etc. and each of them has something that creates a small element of strategy to them. Shotgun King is also another amazing game that uses chess as a basis for intricate puzzles. I definitely recommend you give that one in particular a play. For this variation, you just keep your queen relatively safe, kill their queen and win all their pawns like the wayward queen attack. It could be just that I come from an experienced background in chess, but it's far too easy. Maybe if there was only one pawn on each side, the game would last longer and take a lot more thinking. Or if a random piece became the "king" for that specific game which would give your game overall a bit more replayability. 

Criticism aside, this is well-polished in terms of presentation and feel. Seriously one of the best I've rated in that department so far. Good work!

The idea has potential, but the execution is far too simple. If I was throwing the words I typed at a boss or got a little bit of a *ding!* every time I put out a word or got in a hit it might have been a bit more interesting. Or if the player were able to obtain a power-up by spelling a certain amount of "X" lettered words. The player is just left in a void of their own thoughts trying to come up with another word to use and with minimal reward far too early on in the game's run. There's no real catch to the game, it's just type words until either you or your opponent gives out first. Personally, I just needed a little bit more to keep interested.

This game is innovative and charming. It's a bit random and relies on luck to win, especially on my first few tries, but it is fun to experiment with different items and combinations. A concept I could see being taken far in a fully-fledged release.