Nice game! I included it in my Game Maker Toolkit’s Game Jam compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :)
Play game
Pitch Black Panic's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme | #72 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Innovation | #89 | 3.875 | 3.875 |
| Feel | #113 | 3.625 | 3.625 |
| Overall | #115 | 3.750 | 3.750 |
| Aesthetics | #166 | 3.750 | 3.750 |
Ranked from 8 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your submission match the theme?
Light is linked to movement. Movement is linked to health. Health and enemy presence are linked to game speed.
Third-party resources
JFXR as a sound generator.
Gamemaker Studio 2 as the IDE
Contributors
YoYo Games Blog was helpful with the lightcasting script
Comments
Cool game! I love the idea behind it. It took me a little bit to figure out how to play. Some indicators of what to do at the beginning could help. I LOVE that the beat changes when an enemy on screen! That is such a great idea and it really makes it intense. Awesome job! :)
Submitted
WardenOooh, a Crypt of the Necrodancer inspired game!! Cool actiony stuff, and the heart attack mode was superb fun!
My gripe would be that its somewhat trial-and-error once your health dips below a certain point, and starting from the first level is quite punishing. Overall a cool entry and the claustrophobic feel is real!
Submitted
GravityWellI feel like this is the same game style as Crypt of the Necrodancer, but I haven't played that game, so your getting 5 stars for innovation anyway.
My biggest complaint is that the game in unplayable once you reach <4 health. if you're not already next to some health, that's pretty much a death sentence since you can't see anything.
The atmosphere was likely exactly what you were going for; scary, intense and panicky. The game has a good pace, forcing you to constantly run into the unknown because staying still will kill you. The oppressive circle of darkness was also quite well done. I would not have thought to put purple particles circling around it but they actually work pretty well.
The great atmosphere is marred somewhat by the enemy's color pallet. I understand not wanting to make the pure black as they would blend in with the rest of the darkness, but making them a light grey is just not as intimidating as the rest of the game's empty darkness.
Last note: Some people see an installer and immediately decide it's not worth the risk that your game is a virus. If there is a way you can distribute this game without using an installer, that might help you get more people to play your game.
Submitted
ImpracticalClassThanks for the tip. This was my first ever gamejam and it's definitely been a learning experience. A few people on Discord informed me about the issue with installers and I'll know that for next time. Actually, if at all possible, it seems like browser games are the way to go.
Thank you so much for the effort you put into analysis. I agree with the enemy sprites. I was never happy with them, but at one point they were yellow and they looked like marshmellow peeps. Haha. I did what I could with the time I had. Pixel art is sorta new to me.
This was pretty cool. The sound effects made me feel like I was about to have a panic attack. I like the flavor in the victory screens. Made me feel like a real rad dude. My only complaint would be the lack of explanation on the controls. I accidentally restarted the game multiple times, because it wasn't totally clear that A restarts the game back to the beginning regardless of what screen you're on. Also, checkpoints at the start of levels would be nice.
Submitted
Rocket Hop
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