This is really nice! Although it took me a bit of time to realize how to use the bombs and the movable items, once it made sense it became really fun to play!

The game has some good 8bit music which fits really well with the whole aesthetic.

I also like the polish on the game elements, from the starting screen to the puzzles(and the respective elements within them) themselves. It really gives off the feeling that there was thought put into each part!

Were each of the sprites made by you guys on Aseprite? They look really nice too!

Great job on this!!

Its a nice game! I like the style of dialogue and the map design a lot. The art is also nice!!

The only suggestion I'd make is to make the camera centered on the player or rather not move when player is at the edges and perhaps give more direction to the story, but that's about it for the short term!

If you plan on taking it further, I'd recommend adding simple SFX and music to certain stuff, maybe footsteps/dialogue or some basic background music, it would help keep it immersive.

Good job on this though, its great!

Oh man what do I even say...

ITS BEAUTIFUL!!! Literally how did you guys make such good art in such a short amount of time is beyond me, and I really want to commend you all for it!

The story is also amazing in terms of the nuance and events that gain more meaning the more times you play(am still traumatised by the realisation in the endings, in the best way possible)

Although the nature of a visual novel meant sacrificing game mechanics, the story/artwork really fills that gap.

Hats off to you guys, it's amazing!!

Ok this was AMAZING!! I can't even imagine how much effort went into the pixel art, it looks crazy good!

Controls were snappy, responsive and really drove it home with the knock back when throwing the pickaxe(my favourite control by far)!

Enemies were challenging and it was fun trying to balance different stats in preparation for the next levels. They also had good variety, so it didn't feel monotonous!

The transitions between different sections were also really good(e.g. from end of level -> upgrade menu -> next level), all by focusing on the drill

The music is also really fitting and I love the boss theme, it really helps build tension!

Only thing I would nitpick is that I could see some crystals in certain areas that were too high to reach and not reachable by the throwing pickaxe and certain enemies(like the fire breathing one) get stuck in the platforms where you can crouch to go down. Again, these are minor, but these were probably the only improvements I could think of!

Incredible job on this, this game really is one of the best in the jam!

This was fun to play through! Music and pixel art both fit a nice retro aesthetic and I like the work put into each character's abilities!

Combos are really fun to use and I like the FX work put into the special abilities.

The bosses were also fun to fight against, especially the twin bosses at the end!

Out of question, did you make the art yourself? It looks really good!!

Spaghetti code is the bane of us all, and I would think that mine is just as bad if not worse!!

Yeah the AI is actually really simple, its just the same code as the player sub, but it follows a "target point" instead! This target point is just a PathFollow3D node(what it does is pretty self-explanatory, it follows a path). As the AI gets closer to the target point, it moves further along the path, and the cycle continues!!

The reason it doesn't just move along a path is cause I wanted it to be a bit dynamic if the player sub crashes into it(wobbles and eventually re-aligns itself).

I thought about godot rl-agents for actually training it, but the last time I checked(a few years back tbf), it wasn't as stable and you would have to ask players to run python in their terminal which was ABSOLUTELY not game jam friendly!

Thank you!! Sure, I'll hopefully rate it today when I get the time!

Thanks for the feedback! I am glad you think the styling and music were good, as I spent a lot of time working on them!!

You're right that the game feels slow, and that's due to a lack of time to work on fov changes, effects and speed lines(all of which I will work on soon!).

I am not sure how to solve the catching up to other players issue apart from making the AI sub "dumber" by making it's racing line less optimal. It has the same speed and physics as the player sub which is why it's hard to catch up.

If you have any ideas on how I could work on these please feel free to send me any suggestions! Thanks again for playing!!

Thank you!! Yeah controls are a common pain point for new players, I will definitely be fixing them first when I get the chance.

The idea for power ups is really good and I agree that they they would make it feel more interesting!

Thanks again for the feedback!!!

It's such a nice refresher to see a proper JS game with a unique mechanic, fun gameplay and strategies you can implement!

I love the detail put into the mechanics of it and I really feel like this surpasses a number of games in the same genre by quite a bit in terms of difficulty and attention to detail.

By detail I also mean the dialogue in the hamster tab to show the state of your city, it keeps the balance between being really funny and also informative about the population.

Definitely one of the best games in many aspects and by far the best JS game I have seen yet!

Nice job on this!! The controls feel really snappy and the jump is great! Audio is also nice and it has a clear goal and theming. Really great job on this!

Out of question, did you make the character and environment art by yourself, it looks really nice!

Heya! I thought this was a really good submission for Ember, and its amazing how well you guys have developed it since Campfire London when I first saw you guys debut!

I'll begin with the controls: Firstly, they are really enjoyable to use(the best I have seen for the slingshot mechanic within the jam), and the option to choose drag forward or back shows attention to detail that I haven't seen in a lot of games in this jam. The character has good game feel and although the obstacles did get under my skin a few times(my worst nightmare in the picture below), the double jump and time slow when holding while jumping made it a lot easier to get over the loss and made me really want to try again until I reached the end!

I also notice that you guys designed the levels yourselves, and the different platform types really add value in terms of gameplay and mechanics(my fav is the green one ngl, the blue ones are evil). I would recommend more direction in certain parts but this is mostly solved due to camera zoom

Overall, the game's UI could be improved through UI packs/custom UI but this is very minor as all functionality is present and it still fits the overall theme of the game.

It also has a tangible story with character dialogue, which must have been hard to fit in with the polish you guys put in, so great job on that!

SFX and music are also nice, it really makes the character and world feel more real. The only other thing I would add is idle animations for the supporting characters to make it feel more immersive at a future date."!

Overall great job guys! Good luck in the jam!!! 

Thank you for the nice words! I spent loads of time on polishing each level's environment and giving the game a fitting theme song, so it's nice to hear you liked it!!

A quality menu is a good idea, and I'll add it when I get the chance!

Regarding the lag, try refreshing the page for the web build, sometimes it can be laggy on its first load. If that doesn't work, the Windows build is a good option too!

Thank you!! I spent loads of time on the music so I am glad you enjoyed it.

Also regarding lag, refreshing the browser page generally works for the web build if it is laggy(my guess is WEBGL loads in too much stuff at once so it's smoother when saved in memory)

This means so much to me! I was going for making this game as replayable as possible with spending more time on polish than making new levels. Great to know that you enjoyed it!!

Thank you! I know some people find it floaty(which is valid tbh) but I left it as it was because I thought it was still within the believable range of a submarine.

Glad you enjoyed it!!

Thank you so much!! I have tried yours as well and left feedback too!

Heya, this game wasn't made with AI at all(I despise vibe coding), but code descriptions as comments were written using an llm within scripts so I could come back to them if that's what you are referring to.

The entire game was made in about 80-100 hours of effort that I put in and I think its sad that real hard work can now be labelled as AI, even if it's genuine.

You will notice the carousel for the UI as an example, that was from this video here and adapted slightly cause it changes the y of the carousel components as they are further away:

The controls/AI navigation and environment were made by me, and are fully adjustable to whatever the game's needs are because I made them. This is all human generated slop.

If this was ragebait, you were successful, and if this was genuine criticism then I agree I should have made the controls tighter for players. It was common feedback but I decided I would just ship the game for ember. 

Please though, not every game is made by AI, some people are still out there who rely on their own hard work.

Nice job on making this! It has basic mechanics but they have been implemented really well so good job on that!

There was no audio and it didn't fit with the theme, so I can't rate you on that, but it was definitely fun to play.

I noticed that there are symbols used as the targets beneath, but it didn't matter very much due to the polished implementation of the fading and spawning of the targets.

I wasn't able to hear any audio from the web build, so I couldn't rate you on that, but I would like to first commend you for the effort in making a good looking level design and for the smooth controls!

For future improvements(if you plan on making them!), using 2D lighting could help enhance your environment, and perhaps adding animations to the characters would help it become more immersive.

Good job overall though!

I like the slingshot mechanic for the character, it adds a lot of difficulty to the game!

The music is also a good fit for the game.

Good job on this, its a fun game to play!

Edit: Looks like I forgot to paste the rest of what I had to say when reviewing! I know that this is meant to be difficult, but maybe consider ramping up the difficulty more slowly, frequent checkpoints or increasing the jump height? It may be too hard to begin with for new players

Hiya! I couldn't rate you on theming or audio as the theme wasn't under the surface and there was no audio, but good job on the worldbuilding and artwork!

I unfortunately wasn't able to complete the game as the blacksmith wasn't interactable, but I enjoyed the farming/harvesting cycle and commend the effort to make a grow cycle and the inventory mechanics the player has to collect items!

Thanks for playing! Yeah it was difficult to fit in making custom icons for the game with all of the mechanics and especially the web export(was a nightmare honestly), but I'm happy I was able to make it in time. The icons remained mostly original with the exception for the level icons, but the 3D models were edited heavily in blender to turn it from a mossy cliff face into low poly rocks I could use for making the different levels.

I agree that the controls are a bit floaty and could be tighter, I'll rebalance it so it doesn't feel unfair with the enemy submarine soon! Glad you enjoyed playing and thanks for the comment!!

Thank you so much! The tutorial was a part that I decided to add due to the way the controls work currently(floaty/drifty cause of it being underwater), and I'm really happy it helped.

Yeah, this was made solo by me starting all the way from Campfire London cause my teammate went absent at the start of the event. But I made some friends over there who helped with playtesting and giving feedback all the way till now!

Glad you enjoyed the game and thanks again!!

This is an amazing game, so first I would like to go through all of the stuff I enjoyed the most!

I really commend the effort that was put into this, and the stability across platforms. Difficulty really ramps up across levels, but its really fun to play nonetheless! I can see that a lot of effort was put into enemy mechanics, graphics and the overall polish that is clear throughout the game, and it really shows!

Controls are also really smooth and fun to use, and I enjoyed using the powerups because they don't give you an unfair advantage over your enemies, they just keep it competitive enough to keep up with the new mutated enemies. 

The music is really good, fits with the electronic theme and really gets you into the vibe of it, so awesome job on that too!

I would however suggest that to fit better with the theme, make it more visually like levels have a depth to them so it matches better with the "Under the Surface" theme as it isn't as evident when you first try the game. Even visually stacking the levels from top to bottom in a menu can help with this!

Note that this is really minor, as the new update you guys added makes it clearer exactly how it is beneath the surface

Overall though, this is definitely one of the best games in the jam, so really great job!!

I am ashamed at how predictable I was(died 65 times). Really good job on this though! I know that you guys made this as a trolling game, but if you guys wanna improve aesthetic, I would recommend using environmental lighting and lighting elements to make it look less flat!

GOTY for sure, no comparison!

That's strange, I've tried it on low-end hardware too and so far, no other players haven't reported issues. For now could you try downloading the windows build?

I believe it may be because itch isn't able to run the web version of the game over slow/unstable internet. Maybe try again at some other time?

It is also a known issue with the web build that sometimes refreshing and running it again can make it smoother or have less lag(I suspect this is because webgl tries to load too much at once). Please give this a try and let me know how it goes!

I enjoyed playing this a lot! The art is really good and mechanics are solid. I also really like the execution of the puzzle design(especially the lighting, which makes the whole game look really good) and some of the mechanics you discover yourself, like Frat getting larger when he eats cheese, and the use of that in puzzles or traps throughout levels.

Overall this is really good. Great job!!

Great game man! Love how polished it all is and the ingenuity of the levels and concepts!!

A Classic, Re-Vamped.

A physics based version of the original Pong Game, but with a 3D twist!

Pong 3D allows you to play against 3 different levels of AI in fast paced arcade action to try and secure a win in each of the three difficulty levels.

It can be played either as a standalone app or in your browser free here: Pong 3D

Hope you enjoy!

Oh that's great! Would love to see the progression of it from here so absolutely going to join the Discord

I looked into these issues. The bot isn't faster than the player, but it isn't slowed by slopes, so it feels faster and becomes hard to get rid off. Also for the web build, it definitely requires optimisation and is more prone to crashes.  Thanks for the feedback, it was really helpful!

This was great! Simple, yet a really good brainteaser, sound FX makes it super satisfying when you get through a level. All in all, great job!!

This was a fun game to play! Kind of gave an Exit 8 vibe, but felt unique with the different anomalies. Great game!!

This one had a really good implementation of a time loop, plus the low-poly monotone level design gives it a really unique feel! Also found the rewind effect to be super satisfying and sfx was great. Good job!!

Thank you!! Yeah I didn't really have time to iron out the kinks with the browser build, but its great to know you enjoyed it nonetheless!

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Great game. Liked how you have to plan out your movements ahead of time to get through the level as well as the satisfaction of figuring it out and getting to the next level! One nitpick might be some sort of highlighting to mark the items, as it was a bit troublesome trying to figure out where they were, but otherwise a great entry!!

Definitely, making it multiplayer took a lot of time out which I could have used for improving the gameplay more, and the bot should definitely be less aggressive at taking the target. Thanks for the feedback!