Great game, really easy to understand! I like the kind of metroidvania feel, were the levels procedurally generated? Very solid game overall, and well polished. My only complaint is that it doesn't feel like it matches either theme very well
Play game
Celestial Catering's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Sound | #6 | 3.692 | 3.692 |
| Gameplay | #15 | 3.436 | 3.436 |
| Overall | #24 | 3.186 | 3.186 |
| Aesthetics | #37 | 3.359 | 3.359 |
| Theme | #89 | 2.256 | 2.256 |
Ranked from 39 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
If you posted a link to your game on twitter paste it here so we can retweet it!
https://x.com/TheBakaretsu/status/1752078539426291715?s=20
Comments
313 days ago(+1)
Thanks!
Yeah, we decided to implement mutation by procedurally generating the levels. We wanted a unique interpretation of the theme, but we ran out of time to really lean into it and make it feel special. I'm glad it was still noticeable, though; proc gen is tricky, haha
314 days ago(+1)
Hi, thanks for giving it a go!
We unfortunately didn't get around to implementing a proper tutorial in game, so we were forced to include it on the itch.io page instead. If you decide to try it again, I'd recommend reading the hints there. The game was balanced around the character's strong movement options, and it's impossible to utilize them efficiently when the objective is unclear.
Regardless, we're glad you enjoyed it in its current state!
Thanks for the feedback!
We actually pivoted our theme from momentum to mutation by ditching more complicated movement in favor of a procedurally generated world. It was difficult to get it working in such a short time frame, so we didn't get the chance to add as much content to the game as we'd have liked to. The booster pads were a last minute addition, and we were able to add them in quickly using a hacky quirk with the proc gen engine. The boosters are actually spawned by the same object generator as the coin and fuel pickups--when you step on one, you're "collecting" an item!
Super fun game! Had a really good time with it, definitely reminded me a bit of Celeste with the dash physics and character design (which is great, it's my favorite game of all time!) I'm assuming you pivoted from momentum to mutation, which I really admire! (I was too scared to pivot at all, so I just stuck with the plan I'd already made, haha.)
Overall, really good entry! I enjoyed it a lot!
316 days ago(+1)
Thanks for checking it out! Some of the graphics don't render properly on the web version due to hardware limitations, which is what causes the boosters to appear faint. There's a screenshot of what they're meant to look like on the game site.
Thanks for trying it out!
This was our first game jam together (for most of us, our first game ever) and we were really pressed for time, haha. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to add as much content to the game environment as we wanted. We planned on adding map obstacles and enemies at the very least.
As for the proc gen, it isn't based on a noise density function--it doesn't control individual tiles at all, actually. We have a collection of preestablished map sectors that are pieced together on a grid, and we use a pathfinding algorithm to verify that it's possible for the player to traverse the map. The bottleneck here, and the reason maps often look similar, is just that we didn't have time to create lots of unique sectors. There are around 20-30 as it stands. From a game design perspective, it was difficult to create additional sectors without ruining the flow of the game. Sectors are balanced around how likely they are to be included in a successful pathfinding traversal; for instance, sectors that typically result in a dead end generally have more coins, fuel, and booster pads, so the player is rewarded for exploring and isn't punished for taking a wrong turn. Booster placement is also a consideration, as we want to encourage smooth movement between sectors by raising the height of ceilings above them.
Thank you for playing! Unfortunately there's a bug with Godot where it doesn't show trails of particles rendered by the GPU when playing on the web version - otherwise, it would be much more obvious. I recommend playing on the executable version for the best experience! We wanted to take a different perspective on the mutation theme, and we decided we wanted to tackle it by creating an ever-mutating world. We definitely would've liked to do more regarding landmarks and detail.
Thanks, I'll pass your comment on to our musician!
Totally agree with the movement and the lack of a proper tutorial, these were the two main features we ran out of time to work on.
If you decide to try it again, the map is a 3x3 grid of sectors with exits on the left and right. Going from one side to the other gives you 7,500 points and generates a new map (which contains a new set of coins and batteries). The map generator script verifies that at least one possible path exists.
Generally, you'll get the most points by primarily doing deliveries and only straying from the path if you see a lot of coins. Dead ends aren't that bad; because these are typically sectors with few possible connections to other nodes, we balanced them out by adding lots of coins and boosters so your score won't be affected too much.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.