Shape Hopper

My submission for OLC CodeJam 2025.

GitHub: https://github.com/Larento/olc-game-jam-2025

Controls

• W - walk forwards
• Shift+W - run
• S - walk backwards
• A - turn left
• D - turn right
• Space (short press) - light hop
• Space (hold) - charge up for bigger jump 

Description

Meet Spidey.

Although he may not look it, he's a jumping spider. Somehow he got trapped in a weird dimension full of various shapes. Naturally, he wants to escape this wretched place. Your task is to help Spidey hop his way outta here!

To complete a level you need to find the exit platform. Luckily you have your spidey senses that point towards the direction of exit. Jump from one moving shape to another marching towards freedom. Be careful to not fall into the void!

Mechanics

Player controls a spider in a top view 2D world. The spider can run, walk forwards and backwards, rotate left and right and most importantly, jump. The longer you hold the spacebar the higher the jump will be.

The goal of the game is to get to level exit by jumping from one platform to the next. The exit is usually not visible to the player at the beginning of the level. The spider posesses a "spidey sense" - it always knows the direction of the level exit. This is indicated by the arrow on the screen.

The spider can only jump so far. In addition to that the platforms usually have momentum which influences the final trajectory of the spider in the air. In any case, it’s important to gauge your jumps carefully.

The game consists of multiple levels with increasing difficulty, reflected in less frequent faster moving platforms.

Known issues

The game has many issues, some of which are known.

• Generally poor performance. This was apparent too late into development, so I hadn't gotten around to optimising the game yet.
• Poor difficulty distribution, with some levels being  impossible to beat. The levels in this game are generated procedurally and the way it's done right now is very crude.
• Controls become too sensitive with more lag.
• Various collision bugs.
• The game over screen sometimes is not showing up. If that happens, try clicking on the left bottom-ish area of the screen - the restart button is just invisible.
• Sometimes you can "clip" underneath the platforms, still be alive and finish the level.
• Oh yeah, there's absolutely no sound effects or music, just didn't have the time.

Credits

• Excalibur.js game engine – https://excaliburjs.com/
• Spider asset done by yours truly using Pixilart – https://pixilart.com/.

Closing remarks

I hope you have a least a little bit of fun playing this game. It is my first ever jam entry and even though it was stressful I had a blast making it and I'm pleased with the result. Do let me know in the comments about any issues you encounter. Enjoy!