A Disturbance in the Woods

This is our submission for the GameDev.tv 2023 Game Jam!

Updates:

- Speedrun timer, ability to reset level without exiting, and improved peak mechanic added on June 22nd.

- Small quality assurance update on June 1st. Added nicer + simpler lighting, a checkpoint system, title logo, and end screen. Enemy can no longer see the player through walls.

Controls:

• Right Click/North Gamepad button - Blink to the Otherworld
• Left Click/West Gamepad button - Psychic blast attack
• Hold Q /Right Trigger - Peek towards the Otherworld
• WASD/Joystick - Movement
• Spacebar/South Gamepad button - Jump
• R / D-Pad Up - Reset to previous checkpoint
• T / D-Pad Down - Reset to beginning of the level + reset timer
• Escape Key / Select on Gamepad - Exit game

Premise:

Over the past few weeks, people have been going missing from the peaceful town of Oakheart. There's talk of monsters coming out at night from the forest... and many brave souls that went out to investigate have not returned. In this 2D platformer, you take control of our hero, Hao, that was born with mysterious ESP abilities that allows them to tap into a world that exists in parallel with our own. In the past, they've used these powers for simple conveniences, like shoplifting a piece of gum or hiding from scary situations. Does Hao have what it takes to defeat the source of this disturbance when the fate of their hometown is on the line?

This is the first game jam participation for all the members of our team. I learned a lot over the course of this project and look forward to iterating on this type of experience in future games. 

 We're very happy to submit this game despite not having as much time to dedicate to it as we wanted, and thus choosing to reduce the scope quite significantly. It would mean the world to us if you gave it a play :]

Please let us know what you think. Any feedback is appreciated. My discord is down below if you want to team up on a project.

- Nogs

The Team:

• Nogs - Unity developer (discord: TheNogster#3634)
• Yajenio - Unity developer  https://yajenio.itch.io
• Hao - Pixel Art  https://haotay.itch.io/

Art credit:

• Slayer enemy: https://elthen.itch.io/2d-pixel-art-shardsoul-slayer-sprites
• Forest: https://brullov.itch.io/oak-woods https://opengameart.org/content/a-platformer-in-the-forest