The World of Nala
Description
The World of Nala is a prototype of a platformer made in a couple of days for the IGU Summer Jam 2024 with theme "reflection".
You will play as Nala, a girl that happens to be in a dream and has the task to save the strange world she lives in by collecting shards of consciousness scattered all over.
In this demo there are 6 shards to collect. The level is small, but big enough to showcase the gravity mechanic that could be implemented in a complete game. Since this is a prototype, there may be some bugs and I apologize in advance.
Please, let me know in the comments what could be improved, if you like the concept and if you would like to play a complete polished game.
Take care.
- themagiulio
Credits
Assets: PICO-8 pixelart tiles by samvieten
Music: Tranquility by Onys
Sound effects: Brackeys' Platformer Bundle
Comments
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if the movement speed was a littel higher the game would feel a lot better, but man this is a great idea very well executed. congratulations.
The reflection idea is really cool, but the controls are frustrating to play with. Movement feels too slow, and jumping doesn't feel smooth. I spent a lot of time on one section (screenshot below) where it feels like you have to be precise with jumps, but the black shadow on the platforms blends into the black background, and it's hard to tell how far you can go before falling off.
TLDR: For a Jam game, it's alright.
My first playthru commentary:
I'm 5 seconds in and already lost. There are no controls explained. I figure out the arrow keys and space: My movement is SLOW but my jump is HUGE. I follow the text. I jump, I die.
I got left, I try to read the text by jumping into it but I die and the text disappears. So, I'm left wondering where to go now.
I test my theory that jumping to the right is a trick and I should hug the floor. My guess works.
I reach a bonfire. With nowhere to go, I jump off the right and instead of landing below, I die again. I believe this game was programmed in such a way that there is a "right" way to go and then there's death. This, coupled with the slow movement and a death counter infuriates me. I press on.
I reach the second shard but have to rely on memory and backtracking to get it.
Wait, what are those sparks? They look like bonfires. Confusing.
Ah, some challenging platforming. Unfortunately, due to the slow movement, getting the 5th shard is a tedious & frustrating endeavour.
Ooh, I like the use of level design to get to the higher platform. Urgh, stuck again.
I try a different path. I thought this was an old path. I was wrong. More annoying platforming. The last shard! A text ending.
Well it was short and not rage-inducing but nothing to write home about.
Hey, thanks for your feedback! I agree with you, controls and level design are confusing. If I had to make a complete game, I’d address those problems first.