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A Pond Beyond's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Gameplay | #1 | 4.563 | 4.563 |
| Authenticity (or, Creativity in use of resolution) | #1 | 4.750 | 4.750 |
| Audio | #1 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Overall | #1 | 4.609 | 4.609 |
| Graphics | #3 | 4.625 | 4.625 |
Ranked from 16 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Themes
I chose to focus on the 'peaceful' theme, which helped to keep the game fairly relaxed (apart from stage 4!). By the end of the game you'll find your way back to a peaceful pond after getting attacked by a hungry heron. There's a happy ending for players who get to the end.
Tools
I used GameMaker Studio 2.3, which I've used many times before for other LowRezJam entries. It's a great tool for low res games!
Lessons
I wanted to include more levels with difficult platforming, but ran out of time which means the game is fairly short. Though I think I included enough variety to keep the average play session interesting by instead adding alternative paths with trickier jumps to reward skilled players.
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Comments
GORGEOUS! I love the art and EVERTHING!!! The theme is good, and the idea is great! I think this works very well in a 64x64 pixel stage!
Awesome game! The art style and atmosphere reminded me of Rain World. The gameplay and music are also great. I love it!
well what a surprise, certainly one of my favorite games of the jam... the pixel art is magnificent, all in subtlety and wonderfully animated, there is a good idea of gameplay perfectly declined on several levels... level 4 wow!!! there is a little challenge but not too much so as not to be frustrating... the atmosphere is super cool and I really liked the end... bravo bravo bravo
Super glad I checked this game out, has a theme and a feel is on point and executed perfectly. It is a slow burner for sure, but for the most part I don’t mind that.
Graphics and sounds are really well done, although we have the classic jam sound level balance issue here as well.
There is also something weird going on in 1 tall corridors/jumps (when something is on top of the player), time to time it either eats the jump or detects collision weirdly and you are not considered to be made a good jump and put back from where you jumped. This came out more on the chase scenes and the only thing that kinda tainted the experience.
Otherwise super solid entry.
Thanks for the feedback :)
I agree the ceiling collisions were bugging me from the start and I couldn't find a fix that wouldn't break something else, so I decided to avoid small corridors for the most part, but definitely something that can be fixed in any future updates.
Thanks for playing!
5 stars for all. Amazing experience. Every detail is so well developed. I experienced so great feelings when playing the game I had a thought - "game gets boring" and exactly on the next screen appears the bird which gives a game second wind, and after, game begins to punish you for not being accurate (for example when you enter new room with long-jump and not small one. Great, great game. 5 stars.
Wow, thank you! That's some really nice feedback :)
Really appreciate what you said about variety in each level and keeping things interesting. I was worried with such simple mechanics it would get a bit repetitive, but I enjoyed thinking of ways to keep the gameplay engaging. I wanted the last level to be a real test of the player's skills, so am glad to hear this was effective too!
Thanks very much for playing :D
Amazing game! It is beautiful and super relaxing and the music is very calming and fits the frog theme amazingly well. And I like how a "wah-wah" component is added to the music when a snail is visible (and somehow, that "wah-wah" also fits the "snail theme"). It is probably the most atmospheric entry in this jam of all the games I tried so far.
This game is very well put together, congratulations! :)
Thank you so much!
I wanted to give each creature its own theme and play around a bit with dynamic music that changes as you hop through the levels. I'm glad you liked it and found it relaxing too! :)
While you said it's fairly short, I think for a jam game it's got quite a bit of content! You made some great visual and aesthetic choices and I loved the little musical changes with certain other enemies/creatures. This is absolutely one of my favorites from the whole jam and it did somehow feel peaceful while also still providing a good bit of variety. Enjoyed every moment, loved it!
Thanks for such positive feedback! Having now played some of the other entries I realise I'm quite lucky to have had the full two weeks to add as much as I did!
Glad to hear the dynamic music paid off and that you enjoyed it all the way through :)
Clever! Playing it feels just like being a frog.
Might be my favorite of the jam. The gameplay, while it slightly reminds me of jump-king, has a unique and interesting take on puzzle platformers. The alignment to the grid upon landing helps a lot with the player gauging where their jump will land. And while the jumping is pretty simple, it feels like you presented enough ideas and small puzzles to keep it fresh through out the game. I also love the audio design, with the blending of different tracks based on what’s on the screen. The graphics are quite are also nice. The game gives me slight Animal Well vibes.
I really think this game has potential outside the jam as a full game. (though in a full version, I personally might go for a more explorative world design rather than a level based one)
Are you able to upload a web version? You’ll definitely get more traffic with one.
Hey Werxzy,
Thanks for playing and for all your positive feedback, I really appreciate it! I'd love to expand this one a bit more and am thinking it might make a fun little mobile game.
I've uploaded a web version now too :)