CHARMS OF THE FOREST
PLEASE READ
I had trouble with the audio in the web version so there's none at all. I Highly recommend you try the downlodable version down the page as it has audio and is less laggy
THANKS !
This game takes you to The Forest where are scattered many charms. You must explore the world in order to get them all back and harvest their power.
Controls
- WASD or Arrow keys / move
- SPACE or L / jump (need to unlock the ability first)
- SHIFT or K / longjump (need to unlock the ability first)
- ESC or P / pause game
This game was made for the 2023 Winter MelonJam based on the theme Charm.
I made everything myself (the programming, the world design and all the assets such as the 3d models, sprites, music and sound design). All of the game was made in 3 days and it took me a bit less than 45h.
TRAILLER
WALKTHROUGH
You can use this if you get stuck somewhere, or just to see what the game looks like !
Download
Comments
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Rather fun game. Controls were pretty awkward, and felt a little unforgiving sometimes, which led to more frustration than fun for me. The final gauntlet REALLY needed a checkpoint halfway through, having to go from the start again every time I died to one of the very tricky platforming challenges at the very end was tedious, and I came close to quitting right before the end. I still played it all the way through though, so you've created a compelling hook for a game, just one that could use more polish.
I initially wanted the end to be just a the beginning of the final gauntlet and the hard platforming section was supposed to be an additional challenge, but I scrapped that idea because I didn't have enought time. I sure should have put another checkpoint halfway through, and I will probably do so once the jam's over. Thanks alot for the feedback and for playing the whole game even if the end needed more work, it's well appreciated !
Reading over my comment again, I think I came off as a bit harsh lol, I actually thought your game was awesome! The ending was very frustrating and I wrote my comment right after completing it so my tone was a bit off. I forgot to mention some of the other parts of your game that I really loved, like the design of the world. It was cool being able to see different parts of the map before I was able to reach them, and being able to traverse the world with shortcuts after gaining the jump was quite cool. I also really liked how elegantly you were able to exit some puzzle sections after completing them without needing any kind of special hand-crafted shortcut to be created; one of the early challenges with rolling logs made it really easy to get back out because you were moving in the same direction as the logs instead of against them, and also the multilayered hill you had to climb in the second section you could just walk back down easily. I don't know if these conveniences were by design or just happy accidents of the design process but either way I was very impressed by their simplicity.
I had a similar problem to FlipStudios. I collected what I believe was the first charm (after the rolling logs) but I was unable to find a way to progress after that, going south led to some boxes but I was unable to jump.
I really like the art sounds and music though! The whole atmosphere and presentation of the game feel very polished and inviting.
If you go back on the right after collecting the first charm, there's a bridge leading to stairs between the two hills. My apologies for the confusion; I suppose the bridge isn't eye catching enought and just seems like water or void.
Concerning the jump, you must collect 5 of them to unlock the temple, in which you can unlock the jump. I believe I could have made the progression a bit more clear and it could use some more indications.
Thanks for letting me know about the issues, it's always great to get some feedback !
Thanks for the tip! I tried it again and managed to get pretty far! I cleared the first two areas and got the charms but the last area with the reddish grass was too much for me, I died more times than I care to admit. Great game though!
Honestly, I should have made the red area a additional challenge; this part makes the difficulty spike just at the end and it would probably have been better to make it opional. Thanks for playing the game, it really helps and is much appreciated !
oh yes, jaj, i though that the grey ground was void. Andd also, as it was covered by a bridge, it was difficult to see.
should have made it from grass, which was a visual language you gave us, you can walkd through grass.
Now that I think of it, I can't figure out why I haven't thought of that earlier. Thanks for the suggestion !
also, as you show us the dessert right when we get the first char our intuition tells us that the carm is in the dessert or that we need to go to the dessert. you should use that phenomenom, or whatever its called, to your advangtage not disadvantage, use it to guide the player. The player is always looking for hints of what to do, you should be concious of that when you design.
I'll try to work on that when the jam's over. I tried to make it so it's clear you can't go there before getting some kind of item, but I guess I didn't made it right; I'll try to improve that. Thanks for playing and for the feedback, it helps a ton !
It looks good and whimsical. I can't seem to jump though, I tried pressing the space bar and L but nothing happened.
Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it ! I should probably edit the controls of the itch.io page to make it less confusing. The jump and the longjump both are abilities that you unlock by collecting charms; you do not have them at the beginning.