Was it the thing that looked like scuba tanks? Ammo was also in very short supply, but I feel like that was a design choice that can be explained as "it was a research mission"
My only real complaint here is that the door that required frequency B looked the same as the ones that took A. There was a moment of confusion when I tried to unlock it and it didn't work.
Overall this was fun and I'd definitely play it again with a few levels added.
The upgrade sound effect got to be a bit much though. I feel like it lasted to long and was a bit too loud.
The controls might have felt a touch too slippery, nothing you can't get used to.
Like I said, if you ever expand this and add more content, I'd be interested in playing it.
So it was a fish piloting the sub to save his fishy friends? I don't think I quite understood the premise, but I guess the abstract nature of fish dreaming plays a hand in that.
The controls were fine, but as you said in the description... collisions...
Bouncing off of things was a fun quirk, but the dropping boxes can trap you in place if they fall on you. Blew up all my fishy friends to get out of the glitchy TNT.
I think it's a solid concept for a game, and a few more levels to expand the fishy's submarine journey could make it a full fledged game.
I think it's just GameMaker being silly with sprites, but all the graphics looked squished and pointy. Have you considered using Unity for 2d stuff? You don't get drag and drop programming elements, but it's scripting isn't too hard to learn if you're used to GameMaker.
Overall, fairly enjoyable, but the movement is a bit clunky and I died before I could figure out what the fire button was.
I like the top down approach instead of everyone else's side scrolling style (including my own). It definitely helps it stand out.
I feel like a few gameplay elements need explaining. I figured out the speed boost and the big missile, but the bubble threw me off and I thought I broke the game somehow.
I really enjoyed the art and music. The movement was just unbearably slow.
The best part of the experience is the obvious Metroid influence. The transitions from room to room were great, but sometimes the obstacles were placed too close to the edge and unless you stop upon entering every room, you're all but guaranteed to get hit.
I also couldn't actually figure out what the timer was for, or really most of the UI elements. Though with more time a screen at the beginning could have explained it all.
Overall one of the better entries of the jam, I just feel that gameplay could have been sped up a little.
I did minimal research to see just how little you actually had to do. Realistically, in 3 hours, this is probably the best product you could have forced though a sphincter. Maybe with 4 we could have seen another character? I digress, but it WAS perfectly functional, so you have that going.
The gameplay has a few issues. Mainly the collision between your sub and projectiles. I'm going to assume you used squares, which might not have been the best choice. The other issue is your rate of fire. if the missile goes off screen, there's no telling when you'll get it back. A lot of time ends up just sitting there waiting for the missile to respawn.
The actual controls were great. It felt good to move around and I like the missile hovering menacingly in stark contrast to the adorable sub. It's a great aesthetic.
I agree that the scope can be a little narrow when dealing with just submarines. I had some thought for submarine based puzzle games, or a VN on a submarine, but I don't think I'd have gotten those done in time. Though mostly because I had work through the whole thing. Changing it to "Aquatic Jam" or something would definitely broaden the scope. It could then have a narrower theme if you wanted, like submarines. Or you could go with a genre, but it has to be aquatic. Like "Aquatic Jam: Puzzle Games"
