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Escape from the Red Hand of Doom in this platformer made entirely of hand shadow puppets!
Hands are shapeshifting creatures. The game only contains a single 3D model - a hand. But that model is animated and angled in different ways so that its shadows shape the entire world - giving the illusion of platforms, birds, rabbits, crocodiles, and other creatures.
Full playthrough here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SSuINDaNKw
Technology: Unity (WebGL/HTML5 build), Blender, Garage Band, Audacity.
Music: "Day 27" by Mark Sparling. Creative Commons Attribution.
Downloads and Links
Ratings
 | Coolness | 91% |
| #10 | Innovation(Jam) | 4.37 |
| #11 | Theme(Jam) | 4.35 |
| #21 | Overall(Jam) | 4.19 |
| #44 | Mood(Jam) | 4.08 |
| #45 | Graphics(Jam) | 4.44 |
| #122 | Fun(Jam) | 3.70 |
| #196 | Humor(Jam) | 3.26 |
Comments
This is a very good game! I love the concept of using shadow puppets.
Love the art style (the hearts were my favourite touch) very well done.
Amazing game! Cool mechanics, pretty original and fun to play. Awesome work!
Yes, yes, yes. Fabulous! The movement of the hands make for interesting platform mechanics. Looks amazing and has a great feel. The hands are in turn both comforting and creepy.
I loved the game! The graphics were amazing, and I was determined to beat it! (Not really sure where the theme came in though...) Five Stars for everything!
I was in constant amazement with this entry. Every possible mechanic was taken with this idea and the creativity is just stunning in this. Not only is the ideation great, but there is an amazing backbone of tech holding it together so well.
Notable points for me were:
-When I first took control of the bunny and being jolted by sheer amazement of the concept
-The part where you get flicked
-the snail ride
-And the moment I realized the red hand had a dynamic track to it
Amazing entry, possibly the best jam game I've ever played!
Loved everything about this, from the pretty silhouettes to the hipster synth; right up my alley.
Kudos, well played.
Whoah, that's so cool!!! Totally clever art and mechanics. Fits great with the theme too. The platforming controls could have been tuned a little bit but it's not that big of a problem.
I loved the uncomfortable feeling the red hand sound coupled with the hand animations gave me, graphics were really nice, very creative, I also loved the snail setpiece.
one complaint is that it felt a bit too floaty, and that the collision felt very loose, mostly to my advantage, but it still felt unclear wether I'd be making that jump or not.
I was in constant amazement with this entry. Every possible mechanic was taken with this idea and the creativity is just stunning in this. Not only is the ideation great, but there is an amazing backbone of tech holding it together so well.
Notable points for me were:
-When I first took control of the bunny and being jolted by sheer amazement of the concept
-The part where you get flicked
-the snail ride
-And the moment I realized the red hand had a dynamic track to it
Amazing entry, possibly the best jam game I've ever played!
Excellent work! Love this game! Easy to play, challenging to complete. Great instructions, great theme, beautiful graphics. I love the "mash button for one more life" ... definitely allowed me to complete it.
Whoa, not only did the WIP shots with hands crack me up on twitter, but the game itself turned out amazing! Such an original idea.
Fun to play, amazing art style and nice music. Also slightly creepy, but in a good way :) Congrats!
This is really creative! I love the consistency with the hands, and how well it is done. Like how the hands change when you change direction. Well done!
Really well made. Fantastic use of a single model. And very well designed level. I got to about 3:19 in your video. So pretty close. It would have been nice at that place to have some read hands attacking from the right too, to show that up was still the way to go. I hesitated, missed the jump and lost my final life. I kept feeling challenged while experiencing the world all through the game. The zoomed out part with the the fists were a bit annoying because the rabbit didn't have much power to jump, but that's really just a minor detail. Fantastic work.
Great aesthetics, best use of the theme so far, really creative =)
Awesome, that's the best game i've played in LD so far, amazing idea and excellent execution, really good music tho. I give you a solid 5/5.
What an original idea, very well executed! It was fun to play and the hands were really striking - I really liked turning the rabbit around!
I dont know what to say.... "simply" impressive!
The concept is really unique and the graphic is amazing.
Great job Andy! ^_^
WOW! That was excellent. The hand motions really made the game something I'm going to remember for a long time. It was like a super creepy Monty Python silhouette dream. However you programmed the hand motion, great job. It's really impressive!
Gorgeous game! Not too hard or punishing, and can be completely completed with a rewarding feeling. The whole aesthetic was outstanding, and the red hand of doom was a very tense sort of entity keeping me on my toes...bunny feet...finger...you know what I mean. My only slight problem is what this had to do with the theme. I mean the concept it great, and I can see the hands as part of it, but I'm not sure about it being very themey.
Of note on my last statement, I didn't actually subtract points from the theme rating because of it. Just that it took me a bit to really figure it out. I guess not everything has to directly transform. =)
@GrimGary - the whole game is a shapeshifting of a single 3D model into a multitude of forms! Hands are the ultimate shapeshifters.
Really awesome and a fun idea! I thought I would get to make shadow puppets looking at the thumbnail though :(
Might be a fun idea for another game if you can get it to work somehow!
WOW!
Now that's what I call great use of theme. Congratulations for the creativity!
The animations were phenomenal, the sound was good and soooo trippy...
I did find the physics a little off, but as the world is, creating platformer mechanics in such a short time is no easy task.
If you are interested, our entry is in my teammate's account: you can play WolfBit here:
http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=87729
It's more tense and dark than your surreal entry, so it's a whole different tone and approach to the theme.
Amazing. This literally the coolest game I've seen. Like I seriously can't get over how cool this is. Everything from the just the art work to the shadow puppet idea is so good. Congrats on being a game making god.
That was really clever use of the theme. The game looked great, I like how the closer the red hand got, the darker the background became. Platforming was solid, I had some problems understanding where I was going to land, but I made it through without getting frustrated. I also liked how the hands seemed to dance to the music. I got a kick at the end, getting flicked into the air.
Amazing game Andy, I've seen your work in the TAGjams so I expected nothing less! Probably one of the most noteworthy games I've played in this jam yet!
Should we call you andyman or 'hand'yman? :° Really a great idea and superb realisation! The gameplay is simple but works, and I love the fact that you can hear the boss coming with the guitar! The music is good but I think it doesn't fit to your design all that well, though it kinda represents the danger of being pursued.
Would love to see you keep working on that!
Brilliant use of shadow puppets for everything from user interface to characters to platforms. Loved how the hands were revealed when turning, how the guitar and orange glow came in when the Red Hand was close, all that. Platforming was great too; excellent polish all around. Thanks a ton for putting this together!
The rabbit ascended to heaven. Visually it's great and the gameplay is very fun. We chose a similar theme, admit it's was fun! :D Well done!
The artistic aesthetic is really amazing. The prime concept is perfectly unusual - I have never seen something like this before. Overall, it's a tiny platform game. I like it. One of my favorites. Well done ++
Wow that's a fantastic look that definitely uses the theme. Gameplay was fun. I would have liked the camera to follow quicker as there were times where it was following to far above and I couldn't see where I was going to land.
It's rare to see a theme so perfectly incorporated into the aesthetic/visuals of the game. Normally I see the theme used as gameplay mechanic or a story element.
This was very refreshing in that regard, very original, and the fact that it also affects the gameplay is also a big plus.
Fantastic entry, good luck!
Nice entry! I like the idea of making shadow of hand shapes as aesthetic style, it make me expecting what hand shapes will I encounter next, pretty cool!
Oh, wow, that was wicked! I'm am floored, great concept, take on the theme, and overall execution. Look forward to seeing what you cook up next!
Awesome game - the innovative visuals and mechanics work so well together and the music also helps to build the mood. Sometimes the jumping seemed a little unresponsive but that's the only (very small) quibble I have with this. Top marks from me!
WOW!
That's creative !
Having Looked into other games I must thank you for a checkpoint
ooh and also thanks for allowing me to get a new life by jumping
ooh and thanks for the time-laps :)
Great work! Brilliant take on the theme! My only complaint is about the music that, in my opinion, don't fit with the rest of the game. But other than that, it's amazing!
Superb. Gameplay could be smoother, but it more than makes up for it with the innovative setting and music.
I never would have thought that shadow puppets would make good visual design in a game, but you found a way!
Platforming was a bit glitchy at time (I did get stuck once on a platform) but you did an amazing job!
Impressive take on theme! I really love the way hands shape shift!
Awesome concept, man. Simply awesome. Reeeeally good use of the theme, I'm impressed. Controls are a bit tricky but I've had a lot of fun. Music fits well although it's not made for the game. And I love 1UPs :D
This is soo cool. Controls could be a little bit more tight. Apart from that a flawless game.
OUTSTANDING visual style. What amazing design. Great work! I wish I could see farther away at times, but overall this was really polished and unique.
Great entry ! Excellent core idea, and excellent realization ! (GOD that half turn animation <3) Well done :)
amazing how the concept of shapeshift was taken, also the music es super great, at start sounded like muse! :D
This is just too cool. The gameplay could use a little bit of polish, it felt a bit floaty, but on the other hand (ha) never glitched. The whole concept with the shadow puppetry is great and imaginative, full points for theme. Taken a little bit further this could be a real stand-out game.
Heh, I enjoyed this! The graphics are amazingly creative! Actually, it was a little frustrating to play for me because I died *a lot* :) But this is really well done, congrats!
Hi, nice game ! and very nice idea ! Play with the shadows :D We're realizing a video with several games of the Ludum Dare #35.
Can you add your game on indiexpo.net ? (it's free)
So we can include also your game in the video ;)
p.s. write #LDJAM in the game's description
Simply amazing.I was wowed when i saw it.It really is a masterpiece. If you maybe put some more serious sound music you could publish it on steam with a great story.I would definately buy something like this.Wow i cant even... i can't.I literally hope you get first place.YOu deserve it.Hands down one of the best games i ever played.Wow....
Lovely. It's a great concept and use of the theme. totally don't think the music choice fit. could just be personal taste but i felt like it was taking away from the elegant idea of this solely hand puppet story. but overall it was a beautiful idea that was fun to play, A+
this was SUCH a unique idea, executed really well. all the ways you incorporated the hand shapes were super interesting and it all worked very well together. really great job!!
Great concept used cleverly; Fun to play; And I love to use of dynamic music. My only complaint would be the somewhat dodgy collision detection, but I still enjoyed playing it. It's a testament to how well executed everything else was.
Brilliant. Wonderful animation and an absolutely genius idea.
Lovely graphics and a wonderfully innovative style, although I had hoped shape shifting would make its way into the gameplay as well, instead of just being another way of presenting moving platforms and obstacles. I also found the bunny's hopping movement to be imprecise, which makes for frustrating movement in a platformer.
The jump seemed to not always respond as expected, but other than that it was fun and the "furiously smash the jump button for another life" option was nice. I used it a few times on that snail ride.
The stylized art was interesting and the animations of the shadow puppets were nice, especially the turning around animation for the main character/shadow puppet. It was really interesting to see the theme applied in this way. Good work!
I tried, I tried, and I've finished this, because it totally worth!
It's simple, it's beautiful, with begining and end, it's awesome! Keep the great work!
Just wow! Love the concept and presentation is amazing! Very good use of the theme. And I only died 8 times getting to the end! Good use of audio to emphasis the panic of the red hand approaching - very eerie!
Love the artwork, very stylized. The theme wasn't really part of the game play, but you sold me on the art. Also the hand-hearts were genius. Awesome work!
9/5 Stars!!! The theme, the idea, the development... awesome job, i don't have any bad word
This is a really cool idea executed with a nice art style.
It was a bit difficult to figure out where the players hitbox was.
The snail ride was such a fun suprise and a great addition to the game.
Wow, such an impressive use of the theme! I'm speechless. The style is so great! There were just some minor problems like the camera not always showing the ground or the physics feeling a bit awkward. But I really loved this game. Best use of theme I've seen so far. Perfect feeling of panic and haste.
Oh, at first I thought I had won, when in fact I had died. The message "This is the end, you only died X times" was not making it clear that there was more content. Only "smash jump furiously" gave that away. I would almost have missed the ending!
Wow, really neat use of the theme! I agree with a few other comments that the controls weren't perfect (jumping seems delayed, for instance) but that wasn't a big problem, since it wasn't *too* demanding. Nicely done.
This game...
Was that good.
The art was amazing and the game was so innovative honestly the idea of shadow puppets... And the soundtrack... And the art, and all those little effects and did I mention the art?
Good job my favourite game so far here.
Awesome concept, and really well implemented. I was impressed by the amount of work that went into this.
What a great concept.
It seems I must check this games more often. So many talent around here.
Innovation 5/5!
I would like to see the player be able to shift into different forms to handle different challenges.
You should keep working on it. Best of luck.
The art style is stunning!
The jumping could use a bit of polish, I found myself dying a lot because of it
Nevertheless, it's really awesome
This is just incredible! I love how animated the world is, and together with the consistent style it makes the game look so good. The variety of shapes and level structure was also fantastic! It seemed like there were a few times when the character failed to jump while running downhill, but with the approach you took with the landscape that can hardly be helped, and it didn't really detract from the experience.
Great work! Love the idea of shadow puppets in general, but this game has really pulled it off. Begging and choosing; the control was a bit off, but interestingly so- I found I could intermittently jump up the entire side of a vertical arm to save myself- Also, was hoping to turn into a bird, or an elephant?! That seemed like it must have been a concept discarded for time- great job!
Brilliant idea to be efficient with art assets, and well executed visually. Platformers are tough because the controls have to be really tight to feel good, so that's where I would focus if you're going to continue work on this. Congrats on finishing! Nice work.
As everyone else is saying, just fantastic. Everything blends together really well and it's got a crazy amount of polish to it.
The one tiny complaint I do have is that the camera could've been a bit more responsive IMO. Sometimes I had to make leaps of faith, unsure if there was a hazard below me or not. More often or not the camera actually did a great job at framing the scene like its own little work of art (especially those times when it'd zoom out), and the camera position didn't lead to any actual danger on my part, but making sure you can always see where the trajectory of a jump will land you would remove that feeling of unsureness and help the player focus on experiencing the beauty and adrenaline in this game.
You have been featured on today's Ludum Dare to Believe! Check it out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i0IenE6HQE
Really unique, amazing game. I included it in my video compilation series of Ludum Dare games, if you’d like to check them out :) https://youtu.be/bGsPoPIYpCs
This was amazing! It hurts that it was really hard to control the jump :( . This game looks, sounds and feels awesome and surprising through every step
This is so good! Loved it! Genius! Graphics and mood can improve, but brilliant job overall:)
Interesting approach for the concept! Loved the graphics! The animations were just wonderful. Some shadows disturbed me a bit tho haha
Woah, perfect idea for graphics! Awesome work, played this to completion and had a lot of fun. Love the hearts too. Good job!
Wonderful ! I like the graphics and the music, they give a really lovely mood, and the animations are awesome, really good job ! :D
Super great job! The movement bouncing sometimes was hard to deal with as it would not let you job if you were in the mid air part of the animation. I fell off a lot of edges that way.
Even with that one gripe, this is a great accomplishment! Great Job!
The absolute best graphics of LD35 because the art style is just so unique and creative.
The visuals and overall unique identity of this make it really stand out, its a very well executed idea. The big red hand was terrifying!
Perhaps it's because of the lag, but I found the platforming controls difficult. The animation feels un-responsive, and I can't tell where the bottom of the rabbit figure starts. Some red-hand configurations were not positioned fairly after respawning, leading to death from the spawn point itself. The graphics are really innovative, but I fear it comes at a usability cost.
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Simply amazing! Congrats again!