| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #39 | 3.400 | 3.400 |
| Originality | #57 | 3.533 | 3.533 |
| Graphics | #58 | 3.533 | 3.533 |
| Overall | #62 | 3.238 | 3.238 |
| Controls | #65 | 3.133 | 3.133 |
| Theme | #77 | 3.600 | 3.600 |
| Accessibility | #84 | 2.733 | 2.733 |
| Fun | #95 | 2.733 | 2.733 |
Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Godot Version
4.5 beta3
Wildcards Used
Personalized Copy
Game Description
A roguelike inspired game about a water vole in search of a Golden Strawberry
How does your game tie into the theme?
You play as a critter (water vole)
Source(s)
N/A
Discord Username(s)
MakerTech
Participation Level (GWJ Only)
1
I was a bit unsure of the effects of the different items but it was fun to figure out a strategy to survive. My interpretation was to come up to the surface to heal on flowers then go under ground to continue exploring... I'm not sure if that's right though haha.
I did see the strawberry but it was a tile away and I just couldn't make it. The only downside is more of a nit pick of using "D" and "J" for dig/jump controls other than that it's a solid game. Well done.
Really enjoy the concept of using a hotkey to navigate two layers of the same world, as well as making visibility a scalable metric. Though I felt there were too many things taxing the energy meter, and it made all-the-more likely one would hit the loss condition for short playthroughs.
Would've preferred the usual "WASD + space for jump" control scheme for right-handers, at least as a dual input option in addition to the arrow keys, so had to arrange my hands on the keyboard in an unfamiliar fashion to navigate the game.
I like the pixel art and sound for an 8-bit experience—one of those games where one thinks, I could totally see myself playing this on the NES back in the day.
Nice solo effort here—good work!
Cute, but a bit hard to figure out. I ran out of energy way too often. :/
Such a cute game! Your little artists did a great job! I liked the presentation, great juice and transitions! On the other hand, I didn't like the control scheme, having to use my right hand for movement is a pain. The stat numbers are very valuable, but only if the UI follows the same style (having numbers), which it didn't, so it was hard to quantify if what I was eating was more valuable than the next food. A bar for sight could've been useful as well.
Overall, good entry, visual feedback is super good, I enjoyed myself. Good work!
Thanks for playing, and I agree with all your points - I Just didn't get to all the little polish things I had planned.
Our oldest daughter also commented on the controls, I just always start with arrow keys because I'm left handed and have my mouse to the left myself. So I almost always use my right hand for movement.
The plan was to support WASD + arrows and have the option to remap the keybindings in a settings menu.
I didn't think about a bar for sight, but I can see how that would be useful as well.
A nice little game, very well done. It was hard but I finally won! I really love the mechanic of having to switch layers to avoid obstacles and keep moving forward. The random food effect is a little confusing at first but forces you to try everything out at least once per game, and I believe it's actually quite interesting to add some risk!
It's clear you thought a lot about the map generation. I'm also fascinated by the idea of having a fresh experience everytime. I think a tutorial and field reference where you can see what each plant's random stats are for your current run are the next biggest improvements if you want to keep expanding on this game. Good work!
Thanks for playing.
I agree some sort of tutorial levels could be good for the game.
I do think that a reference for the stats would defeat the purpose of the randomization.
But I can also see, how some would prefer it like that, so maybe it could be added, but it had to be enabled in the settings menu I never got around to make.
I must be weak at those games, hah, but I couldn't find a strawberry and died so many times. I was confused with how roots and plants work here. They change stats every round and what is calling a darkness? Sometimes it was not able to dig in, but it was certainly a space under the ground to do so.
Art is very cute and music suits!
Thanks you so much for playing.
A few tutorial levels would probably be a good idea, to explain/show how the effects of the items are always the same, but which items does what is randomized.
I'm sorry there was a time you couldn't dig - that seems odd.
I really thought this was very well tested.
I wish I had any idea of how that could happen, because that really bugs me.
Cute and sweet (and hard)! I really liked the music and the art (whenever I wasn’t blind due to having lost all my sight xD). I found the fact that items switched stats every round quite confusing, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on that design.
I would have loved a tutorials, as even after reading the instructions on the page I still felt confused. I didn’t find the strawberry sadly, but I really liked the map generation.
Good job on the game!
It definitely needs some tutorial levels - I get that.
I got the inspiration for stat switching from Binding of Isaac (I think?).
My idea was that it could make it more replayable.
Playing multiple times would make you remember what stats / effects existed, and then of the game would be about first figuring out what item does what, and then trying to remember this while finding your way through the level.
I also think because we knew how everything works and is generated, we just couldn't see how difficult that ended up being.
Right now the player always start in the top left part of the level, and the strawberry is always in the bottom right part.
I also considered viewing the entire level when the level is loaded and then quickly zooming in, to help the player get an initial idea of where direction to move in. Or we had an idea to add a mole NPC that would give hints to where the strawberry is. Or perhaps a mini map could help keep track of where you've been and haven't been.
But, you know, time was up and so on.
Thanks for playing, and thanks for the feedback!
(The map generation was my favorite part of the project!)
I feel like this would have really benefited by having a tutorial. Even after acknowledging that the food changed stats between games, I didn't really know what I was suppose to be doing. I feel like there is a really cool concept here, but the lack of direction made it difficult.
Thanks, and I agree it could be a good with a bit explanation at first.
At the same time, I think the gams is mainly about figuring out how everything works.
We also had an idea to add a mole that would give you hints to what direction-ish the strawberry is, but we just didn't get to it.
Thanks for playing and leaving feedback.
this was very confusing for me. i had no idea what to do and what not to do. a bit more tutorial/explanation would have been nice.
but the game seems solid, nice graphics/sound
Thanks for playing.
I can see how it can be confusing at first without any explanation.
I think the main gameplay is kind of figuring out how everything works, but that could also be explained at first.
We also had a lot of ideas for things to add that I just didn't get to - I think something to help the player get started would be the next thing to look at!
Thanks again :)
It took around 6 or 7 tries, but I finally found the golden strawberry! It was a bit confusing since the veggies kept switching stats (sometimes they were good and sometimes they were bad). The first few attempts I was avoiding the potatoes? onions? because they were bad in my first attempt. Once I realized they switched, the game became more fun for me. I loved that your kids helped you out. Ours often help us out too by naming things, recording sound effects, and etc.
Thanks for playing - it is definitely a game where the game itself requires more than one play through to get an idea of what's going on.
If you played more, then you would also end up realising that the player always startes in the top left corner and the strawberry is in the bottom right corner.
I think us knowing that made it more difficult to test how easy or difficult it was when you didn't know.
So I'm really glad at least one person found the strawberry! ;)
Thanks again.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.