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Does Light Matter?'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Playability | #804 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Theme | #1330 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
| Cleverness | #1471 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
| Artistic Style | #1697 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
Ranked from 1 rating. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- didn't quite hit both themes I felt like, but I really enjoyed the light/shadow play. I think you should continue to work on this :)
Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes
Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
The link to the google doc is clearly displayed in the description as per the advice on discord
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Tell us about your game!
Here we follow the noted alchemist, Phil O'Sopher. He aims to demonstrate that the fifth basic element is, in fact, light. Using his new potions, he can emit and occlude light as to change the world around him. He needs to watch his step, however. For if light is a tangible element, nothing in the shadows can be touched...
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Left/Right = Arrow Keys or A/D
Jump = Space
Interact = E
Toggle Light Potion = 1
Toggle Shadow Potion = 2
Cycle Potions = Mouse Wheel
Throw = Left Click
Restart Level = R
Pause/Settings = Esc
Main Menu = M from Pause Screen
Egg = ???
Extra Notes
Thank you for taking a look at my game. There are 9 levels and I ask that you complete all of them. Mechanics are unlocked as the player progresses so stopping early will leave significant parts of the game unenjoyed.
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Comments
Wow! Great intro. Clever mechanics. Also quite hard game but that makes it more fun. And even an outro. Absolutely amazing accomplishment for a game jam.
Thank you for playing :)
As someone who's not good at platformers, this is very difficult. It took me several tries to beat the second level, and I couldn't get the hang of it enough to be able to complete the fourth level.
I don’t know what the judge was thinking when grading this one. Someone put their pants on their head instead of their bottoms.
Beautiful game all around. Really nailed the themes and I thought this one would have been very very high up on the list.
Ignore what the official judge said, this game was awesome.
really love the style!
I just wanted to add here that this game is style incarnate regardless of the score. It’s gorgeous
✨✨✨✨
Very smart and well executed interpretation of a theme!
I think we all have seen Light potion already (used it myself :P ) but the Shadow potion is a 1st for me!
The overall style (art, music, story) is just amazing and fits the game very well!
Good job!
I like this concept! The idea about using bottles with light or void is beautiful and have good potential! And I like the Walter White reference. Good job! :)
Wow right off the bat the style of this game is dialed up to 11 and that's not even discussing the amazing mechanics!
I was immediately sucked in by the opening sequence. Very old school spy / James Bond style opening sequence that was beautifully animated and match to the audio. An absolute treat that sets the tone of the game perfectly.
The potion/light mechanics of the game are so fun and interesting and I love the process of creating your own safety areas with your potions and the light. Then the introduction of the black potions that took it away to create holes, perfect combination.
The art was great, I loved the negative space styling of the main character and the simple yet effective means of using the light/dark to communicate space and objects.
Although I mentioned it previously the audio is great throughout with no misses in music or SFX.
I got badly stuck on the last level (not counting the random arrow/drop level at the end) where my dark potions kept interfering with my light ones trying to get past the wall near the door. The dark ones would just completely overwrite the light ones even if the light from the light potions should still be seen. This also happened at the start of the level trying to get through the initial wall. I ended up throwing the light potion up and over the wall instead of trying to throw it through the hole I made or throwing it mid-air.
I suspect that was probably your intended solution which is why I had such trouble doing anything else but the final jump of the level was really difficult because of the way they interacted with each other.
Also I wish I could throw more than 1 potion at a time. I'm assuming it's designed that way intentionally but still I wish I could do that.
Overall it was a great experience and full of style and love. My only real complaint is that I want more. Give me more!
Damn, what a banger of an intro, the best one I've seen yet! The way the lights and potions work with the platforms is so unique and well done. I did find it sad that I couldn't throw more than one potion at once before it fell to the ground, but I guess it was for balance? Loved it!
Thanks for playing! That was for performance reasons
Hey, max points for art direction and style. Really well thought through and one can tell you cared about the atmosphere, dialogue and presentation, which is just as important as gameplay itself, in my opinion! I like the idea for the game A LOT, as well as the implementation. I think there's some kinks to iron out, but for a jam version it's minor. The jumps at the very beginning are very tight and it takes a lot of attempts to get them right, so that's just a pacing thing. Also, If I used multiple blue sulphur potions at once the behaviour was unpredictable - sometimes they would both work, sometimes only the last one to be thrown, and sometimes they would randomly swap between one another, and that would cause me to fall. Or at least I think it would - I wasn't always certain if I could step on the platforms if I didn't have a blue sulphur potion on them. But all that aside, there's a really special game here and I'd definitely want to play it if you keep working on it and release a fuller version in the future!
Thank you for playing! I've heard a lot recently that the jumps near the beginning are tight (especially in the flowers level). This was something I made easier! I'm glad you got past it regardless.
The blue phosphorus potions emit light and are what make platforms collidable when the light touches them. The black sulphur potions emit shadow and stops light from hitting the platforms - making them passable. I'm not certain what the predictability issue is that you're referring to? It sound's like you assumed that the light forms were collidable when they weren't in light - which is not the case. If light is matter, things in shadow cannot be touched.
Regardless, thank you for your kind feedback. I have ideas for a full game that I may put online in future.
Hey, I went back to the game to see if I could replicate what I thought was a bug and, honestly, I couldn't. So either I imagined it yesterday or it was a freak accident. Didn't at all mean to be negative, I think it's a really fun and smart game!
I appreciate the diligence! There are existing bugs in the game so I don't think you imagined it. I'll keep an eye on the comments to see if anyone hits anything similar
Style is really nice, looks like Noir but orange.
I really like the intro, it set the mood to the game, and having Walter White to give you your potion is insane ahahah. (Also I stopped smelling the flower)
Mechanics are nice and I find that black sulphur potion has a lot of style.
The game is fun and hard.
The only thing I would have done differently is the distance of the platform, you have to be really precise to land now. Anyways GG !
Very cool vibe, I like it 😎
Not a big fan of platformers generally speaking but this one is really great, from the great art style to the ingenious and always surprising game design. Loved it !
I appreciate you sticking with it! Thank you :)
Well done! 5/5 The game is awesome and the vibe immaculate.
Good job!
Thanks for all the help in discord!
<3
I really liked the idea of this game, the mechanic of creating light occluders that block the light is awesome.
Thank you! I'm surprised I managed to implement it!
I like the aesthetic of the game a lot, Phil has a cool design and I like the way he is highlighted in orange when in darkness. The mechanics are cool and I think they could definitely be expanded into a longer game!
Thank you! White text with a black outline can be read on any background. I applied that to my boy!
Very cool art style and a unique concept. Congrats!
Thank you!
I really love the intro cinematic, and the name Phil O'Sopher is genius!
I love how you used the element of light to stay on theme, and came up with this mechanic I've never seen before! I had fun figuring out how the levels wanted me to play them, and the thought you put into the sound and graphics.
Thank you for playing! I've seen a couple games that have used similar ideas to this, one is even in the game jam!
This neat, I had a similar idea early on but could not think of a way to put it all together. You have done it great.
The number keys to switch potions was a tad tricky for some of the levels that needed faster switching. Maybe a mouse wheel to cycle through?
Otherwise, awesome job!
The implementation was the hardest bit! I spent quite a bit of time hunting down bugs!
I've implemented your suggestion of the mouse wheel cycle. That said, there isn't really need for quick cycling...