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Haha yes, it was my first time making a "dogtorial" of sorts. I'm happy to hear the dog worked out well for you, and behavied as she was intended.

Glad you hear you enjoyed it as well. I think the low poly style worked out pretty good, plus it's realistically all I'm able to pull off in 9 days. Unless I only need a handful of assets I could spend more time on.

About the cave, it was most certainly my intention to play with your expectations. I wanted the player to feel a bit lost and unsure of what's to come. However next time I don't think I'll use a darkness mechanic, I don't think it was too well recieved... At the same time it functioned as intended and served it's purpose though.

Thank you for the kind words! Yeah I really wanted to do something different this time around, and I wanted to incorporate the anniversary as well. Had a crazy idea to make a short meta-story of sorts that payed homage to the jam, as well as worked with the in-game setting.

Regarding the dog, I wanted to incorporate more mechanics with it but, just wasn't enough time. The dog was... Well I took the time to model it, so I was going to use it for something other than just a wildcard haha.

I think the dog worked out pretty well... My biggest concern was that the dog would somehow break, and leave the player stranded... It has a somewhat complex (and rushed) state machine, combined with navigation... You often see how bad AI can be in video games, I DID NOT want the dog to do that lol. However she turned out to be a pretty good doggo :)

About the cave, there are triggers that actually adjust the lighting of the scene in real time. The flashlight's energy remains untouched. Most likely you turned it off then hit a trigger which made it get darker, and turned it back on, only to discover it didn't seem as bright. I don't think it's the best mechanic but I really wanted to toy with the players expectations a bit, and create a very dynamic ending.

Wanted to let you know I think the jumping issue may be tied to high refresh rate monitors? I originally played it on a 144hz G-SYNC monitor and had the jumping issues, the frame deltas would be much smaller (6.94ms)... However I tried it on a cheapo typical 60hz (16.6ms) display and the jumping was fine! I can't say for sure if that is the issue, but it might be worth looking into?

Delightful little game here. It really fits the theme! Interacting with everything was well implemented and I actually managed to find the bunny quick, purely due to instinct, not sure why... Very nice entry!

Very original and interesting concept! At first it took a bit of getting used to but afterwards it became quite fun! There is a lot of mental stimulation in the gameplay too. I really like the effects as well. Overall a very solid entry!

This was actually quite fun, I really liked the concept, reminded me of Zelda: Link's Awakening. When you have the Chain Chomp following you for a bit, except with upgradable stats! Was able to collect dozens of each colors stat.

Also the art and music we're well done too! I want a devil doggo keychain :3

Managed to find the secret passage by mistake. I accidently kicked one of the babies into it and was like... What? Where did it go? Aha!

Really nice entry, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Great entry! This was a lot of fun. Good art, and music as well! It felt like a mash up of quite a few old school games and was well put together.

I really liked being able to switch characters in real time as well. The guys jumping spin attack was cool, but the girl having ranged attacks just felt more useful considering the AI's movement patterns.

I  enjoyed the slide mechanic too. I even slid through some fire blocks because that's just bad ass :3

Really solid entry here, was fun!

This was really good! You guys did A LOT with very little (a few cards being drug around), that is highly commendable! The art and music were well done, very cohesive and fitting. In the end as others have mentioned, I think the RNG got to me as well, day 63, shot by the mafia. XD

Great entry I enjoyed it quite a bit!

Really nice entry! The art was very cohesive, the music catchy, and the concept fun.

However I had some issues jumping as well, they do not jump like in the video, not nearly as high... Also of note the yellow one seems to be able to double jump if you tap jump quick enough and aren't right up against a wall. It's the only way I was able to progress. Really not sure why...

Otherwise my only suggestion: I think some type of throw strength indicator would help. It's currently hard to predict how far the gem is going to go.

Really nice little puzzle game! The design of the puzzles were very good, I liked how each dog had slightly different mechanics. I enjoyed the dog animations a lot too.

One thing to note and it isn't a big deal, if you sort of try to drag a dog around with the mouse slowly they sort of spazz out in place. I think it's quite funny though, I wouldn't change it haha!

Thank you for the kind words! Yeah, the music is horrible (it's literally only 8 bars on repeat LOL), it's intentionally pretty quiet for a reason. I just needed something and didnt want to distract from the ambient sounds. All the audio was rushed in the last bit of time I had to work on it.

Regarding 3D, it's actually a lot easier than most people think... Going from 2D to 3D is really a natural transition once you have a good grasp of how games work and some simple math. The largest difference is the workflow, completely different tools used in content creation, etc...

The cave yeah... I do agree it seems out of place, but I wanted a very dynamic feeling for the ending. I wanted to portray how quickly things can change, and then change again, and to toy with the players expectations a bit. One moment its sunny and happy, next you're in a pitch black cave with a hatchet and no idea what's coming next...

Happy to hear you were able to give it a try without being laggy! The cave darkness was intended, I wanted the player to feel a little lost... 

Sort of goes with the whole meta of the game referencing the game jam concept... Towards the end of the jam things can get pretty dark, with no end in sight. However we always manage to pull through and deliver something, even if its not exactly what we anticipated at the start. XD

That being said though the darkness mechanic hasn't been too well received I think? It's different for sure, and not used in many games. Perhaps there is a reason for that. Oh well...

Glad you found the ending to be pleasant, I wanted to celebrate the jams anniversary!

Thank you! I'm happy to hear you found the meta use of the theme to be of interest! Regarding the time frame, the graphics and implementing all the mechanics took the most time. The audio was completely rushed on the Saturday before the end of the jam, but I tried to do the best I could in the time I had.

About the cave and the light. I intended for there to be a bit of a struggle, but not for it to be reliant on player skill, or to be frustrating. The game hand holds the entire way up until that point. I wanted the player to have to do some work on their own, and to convey a feeling of going from easy to "oh crap", and finally back to the happy ending again. However I'm thinking the use of a darkness mechanic isn't the best way to accomplish that.

Regarding the input, yeah... Arrow keys would of taken two seconds to add. Completely spaced on it, rushed adding the key binds. My fault.

Wow I'm really glad you think its one of the best... I personally didn't like it much for various reasons. It's just not my type of game. That's what's great about game jams though, they force us to create things we otherwise wouldn't.

About the cave, yeah... Following a wall is indeed one valid strategy, another is to use the dog. It stays behind you, so if you got turned around you would see the dog and know that likely isn't the correct way. I wanted the player to feel lost... or question their heading, but not for a prolonged period. Just enough to get the point of the mechanic across.

Thank you for the kind words, really appreciate it! 

Yes about the cave, it being very dark was intentional, there is just zero challenge to it otherwise. I wanted people to have that split second moment of "crap, am I going the right way?"

However I'm beginning to think it just isn't a very good mechanic, if you brighten it up you lose that feeling of being lost... Combined with color reproduction on monitors/laptops screens/brightness settings being so varied, it's hard to do right without a brightness calibration at the start.

Happy to hear you enjoyed it otherwise, thank you!

Seriously amazing job guys! I had such a blast playing! Phenomenal work! I really enjoyed how different each character played and felt. S0R3114 when UPGRIDed up was a force to be reckoned with... Really isn't much else to say other than just wow... Blown away.

This was quite fun, I like the concept of trying to avoid family too. Very interesting take on the theme. The large green sneeze cloud was amusing as well. Game ran perfect for me, no lag.

This was a ton of fun and I really liked the art and music too! The scat singing in the music was great. The dog was extremely well done. The car models remind me of a low poly speed modeler on YouTube named Imphenzia. Don't know if it's a coincidence or not but... I really enjoy using some of his techniques in game jams myself.

The gameplay was great as well. Almost like a strange human Frogger or something, very interesting! However I ran into an issue, on the second level a kid got stuck in a car and no one could get by in that lane. I actually found it to be extremely funny!

Overall a really great entry guys, very much enjoyed it!

Whoa this was really creepy yet somehow seemed very realistic, in a dark sort of way? I really enjoyed the aesthetic you went for, it was extremely well done!

I managed to get everyone what they wanted I think? To be honest I wasn't fully able to decipher the puzzle but on some sort of intrinsic/subliminal whim I hit GGRBY and went surfing on the Enigma board. XD

Really good entry I enjoyed it a lot!

This was actually quite fun! The difficulty slider was a great addition as well.

Aside from echoing things that have already been said. I think perhaps some type of stamina mechanic would of been nice addition. Allow for only a limited increase in movement speed. I know if it was me I'd be running all over the house in short bursts. XD

Great entry guys, very enjoyable and on point with the theme!

Really nice entry! I like the idea of using fire as a mechanic, everyone instinvitely knows "fire bad" XD

The platforming was pretty decent, not too easy but not too difficult as well, and I think I found someone else who uses darkness as a mechanic too, haha.

The art and music were really good as well, however I was playing with headphones and it seems like you are using AudioStreamPlayer2D for the music? It is positional audio, meaning at times the music was only in one ear. Very simple fix and no big deal.

Overall a really nice entry, good work!

Really great work on the art! The aesthetic was very enjoyable. The way it meshed with the lighting was spot on too. The platforming felt good too! Really good entry I enjoyed it!

This was a lot of fun! Had quite a bit of content too! I'm not sure if it's intended or not... I went with the Orc and just ran away from everything, and tried to only take damage when necessary. I think that strategy made it much easier than intended?

Design and balance of these things is quite difficult, some people will try to kill everything, even when there is no reward for it, taking massive damage in the process. Others will only take the risk and kill when it is incentivized by some reward.

I ended up playing it much like you would except a speedrunner to. Frantically running around until I found the boss... Who was much larger and cooler than I expected! aaaand that's how I met your mother. ;)

Great entry guys, very fitting of the theme, had fun with it!

I really like the art and overall concept too. However as other have said the second level is extremely difficult. I think I know how to beat it, but the movement is just a bit too quick, and the timing window is just too too tight... I end up hitting the spikes every time. Otherwise though I think it has a lot of potential as well!

Thank you for the kind words! Happy you enjoyed it!

I would NOT DARE to pull a jump scare in a game like this... That would just be rude, haha XD

It being very dark was intentional. The intent from a design perspective was to deliver a dynamic feeling meta-ending (referencing the jam) using a simple mechanic. Going from the deep dark, to the cheerful bright. Like a roller coaster of sorts. Very observant of you to notice!

Thank you! Sorry you found it to be laggy, if you were playing the HTML5 version perhaps the native one won't lag as bad? I found Intel integrated video to be a bit too slow to handle 3D Godot games of any complexity. Is that what you have? They're very common... 

It's a difficult problem to address in the context of a game jam. I want to push the limit's of what I can accomplish in the given time frame... However at the same time I can't exactly slap "minimum system requirements" on it either.

I can only assume that if we're all aspiring game developers, the majority of us will have decent gaming rigs. However that assumption is not a fair one to make... I wish there was a simple solution to the problem.

Regardless that you for playing!

Glad you liked the dog! Yes about the cave, the dog being behind you was exactly the type of emergent behavior I was intending, the dog indirectly helping you find the way out!

I was a little worried it might be too dark, there are too many monitors/laptops/brightness settings to account for. In the future if I am worried about a mechanic like that I will try to err more on the side of caution. Really appreciate the feedback!

Thank you, happy to hear you enjoyed the dog and chopping the vines!

Yes the cave was intentionally very dark by design. You got the flashlight right? As you're about to enter the cave the dog runs off and barks continuously to alert the player of another item. Which is a flashlight, it makes the cave portion quite trivial to complete if you just hug a wall. Multiple play testers said the lighting with the flashlight was adequate, and I personally tested it on 3 different monitors, as I know some will appear brighter than others. However I was still worried it may be too dark even with the flashlight.

If you didn't get the flashlight well... From a game design perspective, the dog slowly introduces these mechanics and the game hard blocks you from progression. By the time you reach the cave I felt these mechanics we're communicated well enough to allow the player to attempt to progress without the dogs help if they felt daring enough. Worst case I assumed they would get turned around, and hear the dog barking, then end up retrieving the flashlight.

However all that said, somewhere along the line I failed to deliver the experience I intended. Next time if I'm worried about a mechanic I will err on the side of caution. That would be a more wise approach. Greatly appreciate the feedback!

Thank you! Appreciate the kind words! The idea was extremely meta. I didn't just want to make a game for the jam (as in participation), but rather make a game for the jam (given to, as a gift). Hope that makes sense lol, it's very meta. XD

I'd be happy to send you the source as well along with all the raw assets. 

Just in case anyone else is curious, the map started in Blender as a large hi-poly subdivided plane (roughly a million verts or so) that I sculpted to get the overall organic shape I wanted (much like working with height map based terrain). Then it was decimated down to about 30k verts or so (giving it that low poly look), and much was cleaned up manually. Then I applied materials to each face in bulk, and dropped it into Godot. Pretty simple process, just have to make sure your scaling is good or it will be way too large or way too small.

Thank you for the kind words! Glad you found it fun! I made the dog bark quite often when it requires your attention. 

About the lag, were you playing the HTML5 version? You could try a native version... I had it tested on quite a few machines and it played fine on most. Only one struggled and couldn't maintain 60fps... It was an older machine (Sandy Bridge era) with only Intel integrated video, which just aren't really designed for gaming. However that person was still able to complete it just fine.

Thank you! I agree the art style is very simple but has a nice aesthetic. It works well for game jams as it doesn't take a whole lot of time to model.

Regarding the length, I tried to keep it short to not waste peoples time, and also to be sure I could complete it. Bit shorter than I wanted, but it's a difficult balancing act there, time vs content trade off with a strict deadline. Having to account for unknown issues that may arise. Glad you enjoyed it though!

Ah I see, never used C# with Godot. However I've used Unity for quite a looong time, which is entirely C# so I'm very fluent in it. Should be no problem. Just let me know :)

Haha this was an extremely good entry! Difficult but also does a very good job of capturing the hecticness of game jams! Great mini-games too! Such an interesting concept and a lot of fun... Except for that poop monster! XD Great work you guys!

This was actually quite enjoyable and very cohesive overall! Also a bit more challenging than I expected, trying to get the correct combinations. It seems there is a bit of RNG involved while searching for what you need? Overall a very solid entry, great work!

Really good platformer! Very interesting concept and design as well. I also had a few issues with grandma, but otherwise I really liked it. Throwing the baby felt so wrong but was very comical at the same time! Great work!

Very nice entry! Great art and narration! Plus I got to spend practically my entire weeks pay on pizza haha. :)

Really nice game! I liked the level design and moving two characters at once was quite

fascinating. My only complaint is the music seems to be mono and only played in the left channel. Should be a simple fix though, so no big deal. Very nice entry!

This was pretty fun! Reminds me a lot of Overcooked, just without all the hectic madness that goes along with it. This made me wish I had a REAL robot butler. It would make life so much easier! Overall a solid entry, good work!

Thank you for the kind words! I was afraid someone might do that, it's why the dog was so vocal... However I figured worst case you would find your way back out the enterance and see what the dog wanted... That last item was a flashlight, and it makes it a lot easier. Glad you made it through regardless though!

Also I agree, seeing more 3D games would be interesting, a little over a week does allow enough time for a multi-talented individual to do it alone. Even more-so if you bring teams into the mix... However 3D does have a much higher barrier to entry and learning curve. I think we all started with 2D at some point right? It's an understandable situation, and I don't let it sway the way I rate games either way.

This was quite a blast to play, was very challenging! Felt almost like a mix of old school Castlevania and Megaman mash up or something. Was able to beat it after a few deaths. The controls do take some getting used to, but I find if you are very focused and delibrate with your actions it becomes quite fun.

Also, why did you hide the dog way up there? I almost missed it! XD

I think I got the boss into a pattern where he just stood against the wall and let me wreck him? Either way the platforming was great. Really solid entry was fun!