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A jam submission

Eye-ray-ser DungeonView game page

Jump through a dungeon and avoid being erased by eye rays. Made for the 2022 GDEX game jam, theme "Erase"
Submitted by Purple_Majystic — 11 hours, 40 minutes before the deadline
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Eye-ray-ser Dungeon's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Representation of Theme#44.7224.722
Gameplay#53.5003.500
Overall#63.7563.756
Engagement#73.7223.722
Visual Design#83.6113.611
Functionality#123.2223.222

Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

  • Y'all should be super proud of the work you did here. This was a really solid game. Also, I beat it (thank you SO MUCH for a checkpoint on that last stage). The aesthetic, the mechanics, the levels, taking on the theme, it was all really great. Few tips for improvement. I played the submitted one without the arrow support, so yes, thank you for addressing that in future builds :D There is a nasty bug that can happen where the character either sinks into and gets stuck in a block, or it slides off of the block. That breaks the flow of the challenge. Definitely try to week that out. The only level that felt cheap was the second to last with the three eyeballs. Their movement introduced a bit of randomness which made things extra challenging. This game NEEDS a speed run timer. Simple to add, but DO IT. Either have the whole thing as a single "run" with a consecutive timer and/or have a an individual timer for each "life" (so, reset on "r"). Really nice game, just work out that stuck block bug.
  • Overall, I think the approach to the theme was awesome. It's a great idea for a mechanic. Unfortunately, I think the constraints of a jam made it hard to flush out all the intricacies that come about once you start removing level pieces. WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS CONTINUED!! I think my biggest struggle was the controls. At times, I wasnt able to jump and move together which resulted in MANY ill-timed deaths by getting blocked into a corner. Which, in turn, felt like it made the levels significantly harder than the should have been (I only got to thru like 4). Next, coupled with the control difficulty, the eye would remove key platforms which made it impossible to complete the level. Obv a restart was available, but I think adding certain required platforms back over time wouldnt impact difficulty as you'd have to survive until then anyhow. Just a thought! Again, an intricacy that comes out of a great mechanic. THE MUSIC IS FANTASTIC!
  • A lot of fun, and a really wonderful, and punny take on the theme. I like that the platforming gave you some airtime after leaving the platform, and that definitely made more of the levels possible for me to complete. The knockback when hitting a wall is a bit frustrating, though. Overall, really nicely done.
  • Very neat to see a game approach the theme with something else doing the erasing, and the player dealing with the consequences. I liked that there was almost a rhythm-game aspect to timing the eye-ray-ser's shots against the environment. Speedrunning this game would be very challenging but, it seems like the eye's logic is very deterministic so it would be fun to route-craft for. The platform controls were slightly stiff but I didn't have a problem with it, it reminded me of a lot of retro arcade games. I enjoyed the effect of bump-bumping down the walls of a narrow vertical shaft. I also liked that the boss doesn't kill you on contact... Makes some of the sections a lot easier to deal with. Overall I had fun! Would have loved this game on my graphing calculator back in the day!

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Comments

Submitted

Very challenging game! I love your aesthetic though, and I thought the "eye-ray-ser" pun was a very clever twist on the theme! I actually had to watch my friend play it, since I couldn't get too far on my own, but I enjoyed looking at the different levels and puzzles! One suggestion I might add would be to add another checkpoint or two in the final level! Also, I noticed there was a glitch where sometimes my friend would phase through the floor and die! Otherwise, this was a lovely jam submission, and I really enjoyed the sound design!

Submitted

Very fun game, I only made it so far, but I could tell with practice that I would be able to have better mastery of the controls.  The touch of orchestral theme at the start of the game gets you very excited to play.  Overall, very engaging sound design.  The erase effect on the player is great when they are hit by the beam, and the other variety of player animations such as being knocked off the screen are enjoyable and motivation to keep playing.  

Submitted

The controls were a bit frustrating, I would sooo have liked to be able to move using the arrow keys and not just A and D. There were some weird moments where I would also sink into the floor even though the block wasn't dissolved, or I'd bounce off a surface that wasn't a corner. Speaking of which, the bounce was pretty ingenious and also frustrating because it meant I had to be careful with my jumps lest I get bounced into an enemy, eraser ray, or some other dangerous obstacle.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game and found myself trying to master it. Great job!

Submitted

Just amazing honestly. Like Vince said, I know that eye was a monster of its own to code. Maybe my only criticism is that you didn't have enough time to fancy up the art and effects more. The music is pretty compelling, too!

Submitted

Love the concept! I couldn't quite get used to the controls though. Mapping them to a game pad would probably make it much easier to play. :)

Submitted

Neat idea, great title, great music. Gave up when it was blacking out the screen and I died 15 times in a row. Tried hitting escape to skip the level but it just blacked out the whole game. Jumping is rough as others have said, the revised version is better. Cute art style. Using the enemy to get rid of blocks is such a strong concept that I wish more of the game were built around that (and similarly, that it were better developed, as it's hard to do reliably at the moment)

Developer(+1)

Oh, yeah sorry! ESC was used to exit the game. Glad to hear the revised version is an improvement. If you want to skip past that level, you can just hit ALT + numpad8 (in the revised version) to get to the next level. I did have more plans for the enemy needing to destroy blocks, but most of the time it didn't feel right without reworking the AI. 

Jam Host

TBH, I'm struggling with the controls.  At times, I wasnt able to jump and move together which resulted in MANY ill-timed deaths by getting blocked into a corner.  Which, in turn, felt like it made the levels significantly harder than the should have been (I only got to thru like 4).

Not sure about the jump+move issue, but I've always been an arrow keys fan over aswd. Not sure if this is contributing.  Any way you can update to allow arrows as well before the judging period is over?  Definitely gonna circle back when I can give it more time to see if it's just my fat fingers getting in the way. Haha!

Developer(+1)

I added a link in my page's description that leads to an updated version that *hopefully* addresses everything you mentioned. I hope this time you are able to enjoy! 

Submitted

I love the pun, and I just know programming this eye was not easy.   

Developer

Thanks! And I ended up making three different programs for the eye to help fit specific needs. I actually put in all three on my 10th level just for added chaos. 

Submitted(+1)

Really fun game! I really liked the idea of that thing chasing you and erasing blocks. I get that it can erase platforms you need to jump on, but I think that it would be cool if you had to wait on it to destroy certain blocks to keep progressing. In all fairness, I didn't complete the game (got to the level where everything is black and flashes every now and then to show you where you can jump), and the levels I did play, all seemed to be able to complete if you just out run the monster. Maybe levels I didn't get to did that, but overall, again,  a really fun game!

Developer

I actually do have a part in the final boss level that requires erasing blocks to move forward. I also had another level require it, but now its more optional as you can hop on an enemy to go around if you choose, as I felt it made for better game flow in the level. Glad you enjoyed!