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A jam submission

SubteralienView game page

Mine resources, upgrade your equipment, and escape this alien planet!
Submitted by Soundole (@Soundole) — 15 hours, 35 minutes before the deadline
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Subteralien's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Gameplay#763.6323.632
Audio#893.6843.684
Authenticity (use of resolution)#914.5794.579
Overall#913.8953.895
Graphics#1203.6843.684

Ranked from 19 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Did you work in a team?
I did everything myself. Definitely a fun, if draining, experience!

Was the resolution a challenge?
I find these sorts of restrictions liberating - it lowers the potential artistic scope so that the jam is more accessible to me as a non-artist.

What did you learn?
I think I more or less knew how to do everything that I put into this game prior to the start of this jam, but the skills I used to assemble it were definitely honed by participating.

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Comments

Submitted

Super cool game - digging was satisfying, and collecting resources and upgrading was, so not much to complain about.

Being able to dig up would have been nice, though I understand that might be part of the "strategy" of the game.
Also a super minor thing is I felt like once you start digging it should lock in that direction until you're done so you can release or change the arrow keys.

Submitted

I liked that unlike many low resolution games you managed to fully communicate which upgrade does what. The jetpack mechanic is also a very good idea. Very good package, overall.

Submitted

my time \o/ 

I panicked when I realised I'd cut myself off from some ores because you can't drill while flying ^^ I sacrificed maxing oxygen just in case haha. Great game, really fun to play! :)

Submitted (1 edit)

That was lovely :) A meditative experience underlined by the chill music. Loved the sprinkle of micro-strategy required to get around the fact you can't drill above yourself. All around elegant design, well done!!

Submitted

Really nice game :) I loved the graphics, music/sounds and the resource management part. The jetpack was so useful, I really wanted to keep exploring the caves.

Great game!

Submitted

I repaired my ship but didn't want to leave empty handed, then almost ran out of O2 in my maze of tunnels filling up my inventory. But I loved the game! All the mechanics felt great, and I think having the unlimited jetpack really helped maintain the flow of the game. Also appreciated the design acknowledging how terrible an idea mining upwards is, lol. And the moody chiptune soundtrack was perfect for the experience. I played with a controller and everything was very slick. Great work!

Submitted

Lovely fun Pico-8 game. I really liked the music and graphics, it gave the game a really moody atmosphere, definitely felt like you were stranded on a planet. A very nice combination of simple, familiar game mechanics that come together to make a fun experience. It plays really well on a smartphone with the built-in Pico-8 touch controls.

Submitted

Really chill, nice visuals and music, a cool game to feel the vibe and dig away. It has clear objectives and it's very satisfying to gather the resources. This game jam is really making me consider trying making something in pico8 :)

I also think not digging up is super ok, it adds strategy in this scenario. One thing to consider is that I never felt I was in any danger. While this may be intended, and it contributed to the chill aspect of the game, it kinda made me feel that the o2 tank upgrades were just to stay a little longer down there and not for safety.

Overall great experience, good job!

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Nice entry! I was following some of the development in twitter and saw it grow so much during the process. Plays nice and it’s quite rewarding if you invest the time. Things that bug me a bit… the inventory panel: can add a lot of noise if you unfold it accidentally, also it’s an issue when using the jet-pack… instintively you push up and then you stop using the jetpack as it is just the action button pushing you up. Also in the upgrades you don’t have a clue on your current inventory (where it probably is more interesting to have a view of it…)

Overall a very nice entry, with a nice and relaxing bg music track. Well done!

Developer

Thanks for checking it out! I definitely concur with those issues - ideally I'd need one extra button for checking the inventory (or maybe just making 'up' use the jetpack instead?) There's definitely some interface challenges where I really felt like I was rubbing up against the limits of the resolution! 

Submitted(+1)

The environment looked awesome!

I have always found these kinds of "digging" games addictive, and I couldn't keep myself from playing them for a long while. I liked what you did with the particles and the sprite details. Collecting resources and repairing our ship was also keeping me in the game by immediately showing me the next goal I can achieve. I adored it!

Solid entry, well done!

Developer(+1)

Thanks very much for the kind words, I'm really glad you had a good time with it! :)

Submitted(+1)

As soon as I realized I couldn't mine up, I understood the error of my ways.  Haha, seriously though, as a design decision it really could force the player to make tactical choices early and often.   Love that the soundtrack feels relaxing while simultaneously feeling isolating.  Very slick overall - great work!

Developer(+1)

I'm extremely glad that people are seeing the 'can't dig up' thing as a design decision rather than a flaw! :) Thank you very much!

Submitted(+1)

reminds me of digdug! Nice

Developer

I'm definitely inspired by early arcade aesthetics! :)

Submitted(+1)

I just really enjoy this one, im chill

Developer

Thank you very much! :)

Submitted(+1)

Mood and chill, very cool. It would be cool to be able to hold drill and forward to keep moving, but other than that I think the controls and gameplay are tight and feel fun to play. Nice entry!

Developer

Thank you very much! I agree about the left/right drilling movement - if I had just a bit more time to think about that it would have been worth implementing! Thanks for playing! :)

Submitted(+1)

Very nice and chill game :) I like the you could only mine down and to the sides which meant you could plan out the best routes to take to maximise the ores each run. I also liked how as it went on you create a maze for yourself that grows in complexity with every outing! Really liked the sound and art as well!

Developer

Thank you very much! I'm glad that you noticed the rationale behind only allowing you to dig down, left, and right while standing - it introduces just a smidge of planning into the mix! :)

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

I escaped in 20:23:5333! I wished I could drill and move at the same time, I think it would came the game feels more streamlined. Also wish i could drill upward, but i guess that force the player to drill more thoughtfully. I also understand the key limitation of pico8 so you needed one to display inventory.

Anyway gg!

edit: the soundtrack is great too and really fit the mood!

Developer(+1)

Thank you very much, I appreciate you taking the time to play all the way through it! Given a bit more time and planning, I think it might have been nice to allow movement left/right while drilling, I think you're right; it would feel more smooth while still requiring planning routes as it does now. I'm glad you think the soundtrack works! I was going for something with a bit of a lonely/quietly heroic vibe :)