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Dawnfall's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Narrative | #1058 | 3.432 | 3.432 |
| Audio | #1220 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Artwork | #1357 | 3.909 | 3.909 |
| Enjoyment | #1955 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Creativity | #3393 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
Ranked from 44 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
COUNT DOWN, three ways. You are the Count, and you are descending. The well counts down with you: the meters to your crypt only ever fall, and the dawn hunts the gap behind you. The count of your kills is the only currency the light respects; every death you deal drives it back up the well. Then the countdown turns over. Drink, and climb it back.
(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
Full credits in the game description. No generative AI in any art or audio asset.
- Music: Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio ("Injection", "In Search of Sanity", "From Beneath")
- Art: Gothicvania series by Luis Zuno (ansimuz), CC0
- Art: Kenney (kenney.nl), CC0
- SFX: Kenney (CC0); rubberduck, bart, SketchMan3, AntumDeluge, William Hector via OpenGameArt (CC0)
- SFX: Sunset Editorial library, courtesy USC (CC0), incl. the 1951 Wilhelm Scream session and Universal's Castle Thunder
- Fonts: m5x7 by Daniel Linssen (CC0); Pirata One by Rodrigo Fuenzalida & Nicolas Massi (OFL)
(Optional) What would you like to be called if GMTK features your game?
ZeroDutch
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Comments
Patch 1 is up. More details found in the link below.
Does the moon on the start screen match the one over your roof tonight?
Really liked this game! Vampires do be vampiring am i right
Ha, they really do :) Thanks for playing it. Anything you’d suggest I improve or take a closer look at? I’m putting together a patch for after voting closes.
love to see another fellow dracula enthusiasit! the game has immaculate atmosphere, art and music just fit so perfectly. interpretation and execution of the theme is very unique and well done. Good job!
Really glad the atmosphere landed, that was the thing I was most worried about going in. Anything you’d suggest I improve or take a closer look at? I’m working on a post vote patch so any feedback helps.
Theres some moments where there is slight fps drops, so that could be looked at, but something major is that I would love to see a new type of enemy, that will swiftly snipe me while falling down through air if I do not change my course of movement to dodge their projectile if u get what I mean, I think that would be spot-on for this type of game.
Appreciate the feedback / specifics.
The fps drops are new to me, though I have seen them right at the start of a fresh run, some maybe that’s what you’re referring to? Which browser were you in, and was it on the way down or the climb back up? Those two halves work pretty differently under the hood so that narrows it a lot.
On the sniper, good timing. That’s going into the next version, artillery on the descent that telegraphs and then fires a lance at you. You were playing the version without it, which is probably why the descent let you hold a lane.
I’m actively working on the next patch, so if you’re interested, stay tuned!
Cool music, really fun controller and amazing art. Really enjoyable and vibe full. Solid game
Curious if you had a preferred part between the descent or ascent? Any feedback that I might be able to incorporate into a future patch?
Cool game. The music was really good and matched the vibe and art style.
Appreciate you checking it out. The music was certainly a vibe for me as well. Did you have a particular part that you like or disliked? I’m planning a post vote patch and getting things ready.
What amazing music and visuals! Well done!
Curious if you had a favorite or least favorite part of the game? I’m working on a post vote patch, so any feedback is welcomed.
My favorite part is the first one where you go down! I think this part is more balanced in terms of gameplay, even though you could expand what you can do by killing the hunters!
The second part is by far the easiest. What do you think about shooting the sunbeams directly at the player to force them to move? Because I always camp out in a corner, and the sun targets me once every 30 seconds.
The last part, where I have to dodge the huge sun, is really hard! Maybe that’s what you’re going for, but compared to the other phases, I found there to be a huge gap in difficulty.
In any case, I love the concept of going back up the entire level after going down!
Give it a shot on a higher age (difficulty), the second easiest age (Count) is already a big step up for the climb.
Yes, I can increase the difficulty if I want a bigger challenge, but the difficulty curve within a given age still has to be consistent at its core!
That’s fair, and you’re right that it should hold up inside a single age instead of leaning on the higher ones to fix it. The climb ramps harder than the dive does and that’s on me, I built the dive first and the ascent came together late. Making that curve consistent within each age is going on the patch list, thanks for pushing on it :)
Very cool interpretation of the theme, feels well polished and i liked the escalation in this game. Good work! :)
Thanks for putting it on stream, twenty minutes is a good chunk of your last jam day to give a game and I really appreciated it :)
Sorry about that music bug turning up twice on you as well, that one is already on the fix list. Glad the escalation landed, that was the bit I was most unsure about.
I went ahead and submitted my review / feedback on your game a few minutes ago.
Anything you’d suggest I improve or take a closer look at while I’m still patching?
I love the change in the gameplay when you start going back up! It's interesting how the concept from when you were going down gets remixed into something new, and dodging the light beams was fun
Thanks for making the return trip!
Remixed is exactly the word I was hoping to hear, everything you learn on the way down is supposed to get flipped into something new on the way up, so it’s great to see it read that way.
Funny that both our vampires spent the jam running from the same sun, yours heading for the coffin and mine for the crypt.
I’ve got some patches lined up, but is there anything you’d suggest I improve or take a closer look at?
Probably the weakest part of the game in my opinion was the boss fight. The timing felt weird to dodge the attacks, but because of the checkpoint just before the boss (which I'm thankful you included) it wasn't frustrating.
Also, in terms of bugs, the music cut out at some point for me, and didn't start back up until I got to the bottom. Don't really remember how it happened but it might've been after I reached the bottom the first time and chose not to ascend, then started a new run? I'm not sure
Thanks for the feedback and those are certainly areas that I’m working on as a post vote patch. You have two choices when you get to the crypt, FURY or FORGIVNESS. FORGIVNESS essentially ends the run an restarts the dive, it’s the more “Peaceful” of the two options. Choosing FURY has you climbing back up.
I’m certainly working on the boss fight and the audio issues. The boss fight was certainly one of the more rushed items.
Appreciate you coming back and sharing more feedback with me.
Cool idea and really nice artwork! You should try to develop this further after the event, when you have more time :D
Thanks! And that’s the plan, there’s a post vote patch already lined up and a phone version is on the longer term list. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Did you have a favorite or least favorite part of the run for me to consider?
This game is lots of fun! Going down fast in this game is very fun. I think the audio would bug out sometimes, like the music would cut out at odd moments while moving downwards, but the music was very nice and the sound effects of hitting the hunters were very satisfying.
The rage section was very cool, and I appreciated the checkpointing because it was also much more difficult, which felt intentional. On the up section, I found that moving fast would end in my demise, so I had to take it a bit slower and make sure to stay behind the stones. The final boss was somewhat annoying to dodge, but once I found the timing it became simple.
The random generation is very well done. I didn't notice any problems with it. The character movement also felt good. Really great work!
Thanks for coming by! That music cutout on the descent is a new one for my bug list, appreciate you flagging it.
Glad the rage section landed, the difficulty spike there is intentional so I’m happy the checkpoints kept it feeling fair. And you read the climb exactly right, the way up wants patience where the way down demanded speed, everything flips at the bottom including what keeps you alive.
Curious did you have a favorite or least favorite aspect of the game that I should inspect further?
Enjoyed my shift at BS Insurance by the way, hope the Count makes it to the weekend :)
My original idea for the game jam was "Vampire Downwell" and I am glad I didn't commit to that, because this obviously would of been the better game, I loved flipping it on it's head by reversing the direction! Great take! Keep making games!
Thanks again for having Dawnfall on the stream, being in chat answering questions while you played was a highlight of my jam week. And I can’t believe we almost collided on the concept.
Your playthrough notes are already on my post vote patch list too, the font, the zoom, and teaching players up front that speed is the weapon. Pink Noise is queued up for tonight, see you on your page :)
It is presented fantastically and I love the precision falling bit where you had to land right on them or get hit by the hunters. The final "boss" I couldn't figure out as they just charged at me and killed me all the time despite trying to dodge. That aspect ratio is a bit rough on a standard laptop. I had to zoom out a lot to get it all in screen! Great work overall.
Thank you! The precision falling is the heart of the dive, so I’m really glad that clicked.
You also caught two things I’m actively working on. For the boss, the trick is patience: dodge its dives and the standard tires itself out, and when its heart is bared and beating, that’s your moment to strike. A patch after voting makes that read much clearer and gives you more room when it charges.
The aspect ratio fix is already done for that same patch too, fullscreen will hold the tall well shape instead of stretching.
Also, thanks for sharing the details of your game creation and having to follow the 2600 constraints.
Some really great and fast-paced fun.
Finding the balance between speed and playing it safe works really well.
Everything feels very polished too, and I always appreciate the "Count (as a person) Down" interpretation of the theme.
(Bonus points on the Audio for using the Wilhelm scream)
Thank you! The tension between speed and playing it safe is the whole engine of the dive, so hearing that the balance works is the best kind of feedback. And the bonus points are gladly accepted, the 1951 Wilhelm session was one of my favorite finds of the whole jam :)
What was your favorite moment in the run? And thanks for the thorough answers over on Just in Time, I’m still thinking about those chained super jumps.
Very thrilling! It was awesome to see the same tower be used in multiple ways to create divergent game play. Really kept me there waiting to see what twist would come next.
Thanks for the kind words! Reusing the same tower both ways was the big design bet, the stone that breaks your fall on the way down becomes your shelter on the way up. Glad the twists kept landing for you :)
Incredible art and very satisfying gameplay. I especially like the zipping through enemies in the first part. I think the last arc was the weakest part for me, it felt more frustrating to miss than it did to make it through. However, you put the checkpoints in the right places and I felt motivated to finish and see it through. Great work!
I appreciate the honest read on the last arc, that matches some of my own feelings and there’s a post-vote patch lined up that tunes exactly that stretch. Glad the zipping through enemies felt good, that freeze beat is the heart of the whole game. Also PapoGato was a hit in my house, my daughter and I are still counting sections of toilet paper :)
Fun gameplay, this could be a phone game! Going back up at the end was so rad, too.
A phone version is exactly what I’ve been sketching out for after the jam. Glad the climb was fun for you, it was certainly my favorite part of the game as well. I’m working a improving the dive, any thoughts to make it as exciting as going back up?
Sticky Mechanic is queued up for tonight, see you on your page :)
The most fun part of the dive for me was the horizontal burst of speed when hitting an enemy, so perhaps a third button besides left/right steering to perform a horizontal dash like that could be fun? It would make it easier to hit enemies, and with that, maybe an enemy hit combo system could be feasible.
Funny enough, the game actually had a dash button early in development. The kill relaunch kept out throwing it, so the dash got cut and its engine became the burst you liked. You may have just given me a reason to bring it back for the phone version though, a tap dash could be the perfect third touch input. Also a little secret, there is a combo system hiding in there already. Chain kills quickly and listen for the rings :) That said, I’m am working to strengthen the combo system as well, so I really appreciate all the feedback. If a dash did come back, would you want it on a cooldown or earned through kills?
The dash should definitely become available if you hit an enemy with it for quick chaining. My gut feeling is that a standard cooldown might be a little annoying to keep track of, so maybe the dash could become available if you touch the ground? So if you miss an enemy with the dash, you have to land for a second, ending your combo, or steer into another enemy without a dash.
Dash recharging on a hit for quick chaining and landing as the reset, is clean design. It solves the cooldown tracking problem by making the dash’s state something you can see in the world instead of a meter to watch. Thank you for thinking it through this far :)
Fun! It's nice to make it to the end of a game like this for once XD
Thanks for playing, and congrats on making it to the end! Out of curiosity, which ending did you select? Did you take the rest at the crypt, or drink and fight your way back up? Curious which way people go on their first run.
very cool game! i've never played something like this before but i really enjoyed it. it almost reminded me of a reverse doodle jump, what a throw back! overall great work its super polished and fun :)
Thank you! Reverse Doodle Jump might be my favorite comparison yet. That makes Downwell, Icy Tower, and now Doodle Jump, so at the very least I’m in good company :) Really glad it was fun for you. Did you make it all the way down to the crypt?
This was super fun and polished! Loved it!
Thanks so much! What was your favorite moment in the run? Also, your game “The Count of Down” is a great, it was a fun, simple, and exciting concept that had me feeling like a boss as I started to take down bigger ducks.
Ooo I gotta say the final moments where the sun was just about to catch up was super thrilling. Thanks for playing!! :D
That final stretch is one of the big moments the game was built around, so hearing it landed is wonderful. Always open to more feedback and suggestions. Thanks again, and good luck with the voting!
Love the wilhelm screams. I also love that it's just really simple but well done. The controls are super snappy which I appreciate, any death felt like my own fault.
Hey thanks for the feedback and glad you enjoyed it. Yeah the Wilhelm screams seem to be a favorite amongst many :)
I checked out your game, it’s super fun! I really appreciate how the controls were presented to the player as part of the gameplay experience! The gameplay overall was just fun too!