Nice graphics! I included it in my Game Maker Toolkit’s Game Jam compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :)
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Light After Dark's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Aesthetics | #18 | 4.679 | 4.679 |
| Overall | #52 | 4.071 | 4.071 |
| Feel | #67 | 3.964 | 3.964 |
| Theme | #69 | 4.071 | 4.071 |
| Innovation | #173 | 3.429 | 3.429 |
Ranked from 28 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?
Your light is your health.
The other main mechanics revolve around this, but it's best that you go in blind. For more info, check out the game page.
Note: If you're getting a "Network failure" error while downloading, it may be your antivirus. Check the game page for links on temporarily disabling your antivirus.
Third-party resources
This game was built without the use of prebuilt engines.
Platform layer provided by SDL2: www.libsdl.org
libogg, libvorbis, & libvorbisfile are (c) 2002-2008 Xiph.org Foundation. For the full license please refer to the game credits.
Contributors
Jon Michiemo - Art Direction & Assets
Curtis A. Turpin - Level & Sound Design
Phillip Trudeau-Tavara - Programming & Music
Comments
This game feels really good to control. The one nitpick I have is that how to dash is only shown on the wall after the first pit and none of the controls shown to me on the wall at the start of the game let me cross the pit. This confused me for a moment as I pressed other buttons (using left shift to dash instead) to cross the pit. Otherwise, it's a beautiful game, I really like the art style and animation.
Submitted
Berry FarmThank you so much for your feedback! I understand, I wish we would of placed the icon much closer to the pit, we placed it there originally so that the player would have to regenerate his torch to full light in order to see it. We're going to take measure to make it closer so it's much easier to see. Thank you so much for playing our game!
Nice art style and great atmosphere, controls were tight and dash felt great. The dash/health mechanic wasn't too apparent though as it seems like the enemies aren't too challenging if you take them down slowly? Also doesn't seem to have an end after you clear all the enemies. Dropping into a hole also causes you to loop the dropping animation continuously rather than death.
Submitted
GravityWellThank you so much for your feedback! I totally agree that the game overall was made too easy by low enemy damage and overplacement of wall torches. and yes, the bottomless pit glitch is something we know about, it happens you run into a wall over a pit. we're working on a fix now. Thank you so much for playing our game!
Really nailed the atmosphere and the theme. I do agree that it needs some variety in the combat, but it's fun to explore and the dash is really well implemented.
Submitted
Tiny Tank: Defender of EarthA really distinct vibe and a great execution of the theme. With some combat and gating refinements, this has a lot of potential!
Submitted
Higanbana Quits HellAwesome work! Its a cool style, and the game mechanic totally captures the theme. Would love to see this put to an in depth story and a full game
Submitted
Vintage FlashlightLooks great! I thought it was a pretty cool mechanic to have limited sight in this type of game. I didn't know where to go at one point, in a large room I defeated all the enemies I could find but there seemed to be no way of continuing. The swordplay felt a bit awkward too, I couldn't avoid being hit at least once. Either way it was a cool experience. Nice work with the outstanding polishing too!
Submitted
KickshockThank you so much for the feedback! Yeah the level design can be a bit confusing, and the lack of a clear "ending" isn't very good either. The biggest room you come to at the end is the end of the level. I wish we would of added a credits for getting there, but we ran out of time. And thank you for the feedback with the combat. Combat and the amount of torches placed in the game seem to be it's two weakest points, which rests on my shoulders, so all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much and I will learn a ton from this experience in any future projects or developments on this one. Thank you so much for playing our game!
Excellent little hack and slash. The game is a bit too easy, though. I would say the core mechanic needs a little rebalancing so you end up with a little tension around your health getting low and feeling the need to seek out a torch.
Submitted
Rocket HopThank you so much for your feedback! I totally agree with you on the game being too easy. As the game's level designer, only after we submitted our game did I realize that too many torches were scattered throughout the dungeon, making them less valuable and needed, while also making each combat encounter far too easy. This is definitely something I will take with me and remember for any future projects. Thank you so much for playing our game!
The attention to detail in the game is ridiculously high. The camera, animation, combat, the core concept, is excellently executed. It's all so well thought-out and well tuned. I say that as someone who has struggled endlessly with getting these things right before, even in non-jam settings, and never really succeeding. I'm in disbelief at what you've achieved in 48 hours.
The torch is central to the game, literally. It allows me to see, which I can immediately tell is important, given the large percentage of the screen that is pitch-black. I love that your torch level IS your health bar, making it so much more significant to the core gameplay, rather than just being aesthetic. I feel this sort of significance of mechanics is something that Mark talks about in many of his videos.
Dashing feels so good. As I used it more, I slowly realized that I was using my precious light. You've woven everything together in this game, which gives it a wonderful clarity.
If there's anything you could work on, I would say it's teaching the player, through level design, about why the torch is precious to you. Make a long hallway with no refill stations, then just as the player is about to run out of light, give them a torch-on-a-wall. Make a maze of gaps that forces the player to dash a lot, maybe even run them out of light. Don't be afraid to kill the player. I should mention that I never even died once, even though I knew I was messing up. Eventually I figured out the cadence of the combat, but there's really nothing stopping me from mashing the attack button relentlessly while I'm near a torch, which is really easy given the high density of torches on the map. I feel like you could push this game to create moments of greater excitement.
Thank you so much for your awesome compliments and feedback on the game! I really enjoyed the process of weaving all the mechanics together and how interrelated they are to one another! And I couldn't agree with you more, as the game's level designer, I realized afterward that there needed to be far fewer torches scattered throughout the map. In playtesting (after publishing the game) I found out that if you stand by a wall-torch that you'll literally never die (unless you agroed like 5 enemies). So definitely something I will take away from this experience to use in future projects! And if I continue to work on this project after the judging is over I'll definitely make the appropriate changes. Thank you so much for playing our game!
Nice game with a neat concept. The controls could be a little bit tighter (specifically with the combat) but its super good for a jam game, especially since this is your first one. Good work!
Submitted
Brush with Death
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