I am pleased to release my newest game, The Labyrinth of Keys, originally started for Ludum Dare 28.

It is an exploration-action-puzzle-platformer inspired by La-Mulana.

I did the game design and programming. My friend ZeroTron did the level design. My friend Khananaphone did the music.

The Windows version has better performance, more graphical options, and the ability to rebind the controls. However, since this game isn’t nearly as intense as Omnidirectional Chaos, the Flash version is perfectly playable.

UPDATE (Feb 5, 2014):

I updated the game to version 1.1, featuring screen transitions, a few room changes, and an important bug fix.

• Download Labyrinth of Keys (Windows)
• Play Labyrinth of Keys in Flash (640×480)
• Play Labyrinth of Keys in Flash (1280×960)
• Labyrinth of Keys on Ludum Dare
• Source code

Controls

You can remap the controls for the Windows version by editing config.ini, but the default controls are:

• Arrow Keys – Move
• X – Jump
• K – Use Key on Door
• W – Warp back to start room
• R – Reset
• P – Pause
• M – Mute Music

Also, you can press Plus and Minus to change the volume, and Zero to mute/unmute all audio.

Directions

Your goal is to escape from the Labyrinth of Keys. However, not all of the doors in the game lead to freedom. Many of them are dead ends, and using a key on them will waste it.

The Labyrinth of Keys is designed such that a player can figure out how to beat it without help. However, it is challenging to do so, and may involve restarting the game multiple times.

If you need help, you can consult the hints and look at the map.

Developer’s Notes

This was my first time making a game on a team. Granted, Khananaphone has contributed music to my games before, but working with ZeroTron was a whole new experience.

I aimed to have this game done in 72 hours for the Ludum Dare game jam. However, I overshot what was doable in three days by a mile.

The Jam version of the game is incomplete, and I can recommend that nobody play it unless they intend to rate it for Ludum Dare. I have retroactively given it the version number 0.5.

ZeroTron built the majority of the labyrinth. He was considering making a very simple game on his own before Ludum Dare, but he agreed to work with me. He, too, was surprised by how much work the game ended up being, but he rose to the challenge impressively, getting most of the labyrinth into a releasable state by the deadline. The game world he created is expansive and intricate.

Khananaphone was also very kind to contribute two songs and two jingles for the game, despite being busy making his own game at the time.

I am very grateful to both of them for their work.

All told, the game took more than two weeks. I am glad that I had the extra time to work on the game, though, as it is much better than I could have done in 72 hours. It’s the most polished and complete of all of my games so far. It’s the little touches, like being able to resize the game and remap the keys, that make it feel complete to me. I could continue to fiddle with the game, and I believe ZeroTron could as well, but I felt that it was important to release the game already. In the past, Jam deadlines told me when to stop fiddling, but the game was simply not done by the deadline this time. ZeroTron and I may keep fiddling with it and release a version 1.1 or 2.0, but 1.0 is finished, polished, and playable.