Gameplay: This is a skill/puzzle platformer where you need to fully understand how the physics of the world work before you're able to pull off all the necessary moves. Across 12 levels, there will be many mechanics thrown at you, so be ready to use your head to figure out how to make it to the end. It doesn't really hand-hold you, but it doesn't get too difficult either.
I added some hints below since some mechanics are not obvious on first glance.
Controls: Move: left, right arrows Jump: up arrow Push down/fall faster: hold down arrow (hint: use this while in mid-air to fall exactly where you want, or on rotating platforms to spin them faster) Expand screen: hold spacebar Restart level: backspace Exit to menu: Escape Mute/unmute: click volume icon in top left corner
Hints: Get to the flag to complete the level Create momentum while on the ground since you cannot move left or right while in the air under normal circumstances Moving objects have momentum/mass, and they're all bigger than you. Use that to your advantage. The friction on brown platforms is quite high, so if you're about to fall off, keep pushing against it. You might just make it! Blue platforms are just regular floors, but you can jump off the side of them Hollow blue platforms are really bouncy Brown colored platforms/balls can't be jumped off of. Only left, right, and down arrow keys will work while standing on them Brown balls will collide with everything Brown platforms will collide with everything except blue walls
Known bugs/oddities: Sometimes the player just disappears. Not sure why. If that happens just hit backspace to restart the level and it usually doesn't happen again. In the beginning, I had issues with the player flying through platforms, but I haven't seen that for a while. The bounce walls can be quite temperamental based on which side of the player's polygon is colliding with it. The physics aren't perfect. Sometimes weird things happen and the lil guy will go flying. I see it as more of a fun feature though.
If you get stuck, I made a playthrough that shows how I go through the game. I'm really bad at the later levels even though I made the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpwe-wbst6Q
Music: www.bensound.com
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PatronThe physics are so cooky in this and I understand that's by design and what makes this so challenging - it's an interesting entry with a solid theme, I enjoyed what I played though I found myself stuck a fair few times, but I get the idea behind it is to make a tricky platformer through the unusual physics, interesting entry, good job :)
SubmittedDisc Recovery
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Lv. 1
Really neat physics! Sometimes it felt weird not being in control of my character as much as I'm used to in other games, but it makes you think more about your movements which feels fresh. The music didn't quite feel like it fit the style of the game which is maybe one critique I have, but otherwise the core gameplay was totally there. Nice job :)
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Patron
The physics were fun, especially when things sort of freaked out a bit as physics based 2D games seem to often do. The bensound music loop got a bit monotonous after a while but fits the game well (thanks for the mute option). I did eventually make it all the way through and was happy to see there was something of an ending as well. It was hard, but not too hard, so well done on the balancing.
SubmittedBalloon Flight
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Lv. 26
Never seen the physics system used for a platformer before, ever. I think it helped the game and hurt it in various ways, but overall probably helped more. Being able to make the rotating platforms that react to force is cool and gives the player a unique form of agency that you don't see often in platformer games.
Because of how much of the game you spend in the air, I would have liked to have a bit more air control, but I guess that not letting the player change directions in the air means they have to plan their jumps more carefully and makes the game more about planning than execution, which is neat. Sometimes I was able to fully control the player, though. I think it was when I became airborne without pressing the jump button, I could roll around in the air as though I were on the ground. Sometimes you just have to let fate take the wheel, like when the bouncy platforms fling you at super speeds all over, haha!
Some of the best levels in this game are the ones where multiple elements need to interact togehter. I especially like the puzzle of scooping up an orange ball using a platform to make it stop blocking the way forward. I couldn't beat the last level because it seemed that the orange balls started to just constantly teleport and gain speed, which made the orange platforms spin wildly fast, even after a few restarts. But other than the last one, each level was clear enough to beat with a bit of effort. Good game!
SubmittedCostume Party
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Patron
Thank you so much for playing and your feedback! I'm glad that you had some fun with it.
I think the reason why sometimes you can move in the air is how the angled platforms kinda mess with everything. The player is checking for a platform underneath it with a maximum distance away to allow for jumping and moving, but it seemed that was calculated at the top/bottom of the angled platforms instead of where it actually was due to the angle. I had to put measures in place so people didn't randomly shoot around the room or off ledges when they were in levels. Haha
Level 11 is probably my favorite. Level 12 was actually the 2nd level I created, so I was still trying to figure out how I wanted it to work. I liked it as the last level since the randomness factor made it hard to determine when the best time to jump was. But, it can get into lengthy sections where the platform is moving fast and the balls keep speeding up. It should eventually even back out, but there's potentially a case where it won't ever do that.
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Patron
Great experience, not often you see a Box2D-using game in gm48 but it was used in interesting ways here - I like that you had platforming challenges based on mechanics like walljumping that felt purely dynamic and wired around Box2D to take full advantage of it.
The dialogue reminded me of "No talk me, I angy", which is always going to win points in my book 😅
This was super charming, and a lot of fun - nice work!
SubmittedRandomon
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Lv. 6
The mechaincs were super janky but I liked where were coming from. Like some other people said, there were parts where you couldn't really do anything and it was all up to chance with how you bounced. I'm also not sure how this fits the theme of discovery past "discovering" the game mechanics? Regardless, I think if you polished the mechanics and levels a bit you could make something fun!
SubmittedChronicling the Cosmos
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Patron
Thanks for playing! You really have to play it enough to get used to the imperfections. I probably just got used to it after so much testing. Definitely a bigger learning curve than what you'd expect from a platformer, and it's far from a perfect physics system.
The discovery was within the other character that you follow through the game. It's more apparent at the end, but it's not the most obvious theme inclusion, for sure.
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Patron
Interesting idea for a platformer, it's fun getting to understand how things move. That said, I think it relies a little too much on the brown platforms / balls. Those limit a lot what you can do, and ofter they hit you in the air where you can't really do anything, so it feels a little unfair. I like the idea of rotating platforms though, but in the end it's mostly about waiting, and it's a shame because the game is way more fun when you're bouncing around everywhere!
SubmittedBeyond The Window
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Patron
I see your point, for sure. I tried to make the checkpoint/respawn system very generous to account for that. I always thought it was fun when stuff like that happened because you have to plan each encounter ahead of actually attempting it, but it's definitely not perfect.
Thanks for playing!
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