
The Ark
A downloadable game for Windows
Welcome to The Ark, Commander! For this assignment, you will be a test pilot for the Quantum Repeater, a piece of prototype technology allowing you to loop time and cooperate with past versions of yourself.
Help The Ark project complete its critical objectives!
Use the Quantum Repeater to interact with past "echoes" of your own ship. Cooperate with your past to achieve your future!
My Submission to the Games Jobs Live "Spring" 2025 game jam!
My interpretation of the theme Feedback Loop was a game where you must loop time and coordinate with your past echoes in order to reach your goal -- a time loop and feedback in the sense of using the output of one run of the level as the input to the next run.
Enjoy!
Asset Attributions
MODELS
Space Shuttle
Amint3D
www.amint.lv
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/vehicles/space/space-shuttle-34972
Sci Fi Doors
MASH Virtual
www.mashvirtual.com
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/sci-fi/sci-fi-doors-162876
Space Station Kit
Kenney
https://kenney.nl/assets/space-station-kit
Modular Sci-Fi Corridor
MagixBox
www.shakiroslann.com/
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/sci-fi/modular-sci-fi-corr...
Free Space Ships
1MAFX
www.artstation.com/mgepm
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/free-space-ships-37562
SHADERS
character effects (shaders)
codeDog0
game-dev-noob.itch.io/
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/vfx/shaders/character-effects-shaders-3043...
MUSIC
"Lightless Dawn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Mesmerizing Galaxy " Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Equatorial Complex " Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
SFX
Old school alarm.mp3 by WaveAdventurer
https://freesound.org/s/114060/
License: Attribution 4.0
| Status | Prototype |
| Platforms | Windows |
| Author | rabidpineapple |
| Genre | Puzzle |
| Tags | Space, Zero Gravity |
Download
Install instructions
Download and unzip the file.
Run "The Ark.exe" in the folder to start the game!




Comments
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A couple of basic suggestions.
1. No option to modify the sound on the opening. I just muted the window, but it was loud.
2. The controls were SENSITIVE and not intuitive.
The instant I clicked start, the image started moving all over the place. Keep in mind I'm using the mouse to hit OK, so I'll be unable to read the directions until I figure out everything myself. It took me about 15 seconds to find the directions.
You may want the direction screen before that or have a moment where the players have to click GO before. It took me about 15 seconds to find the direction screen.
3. Clicking on the "Cancel Exit To Desktop" screen should pause crazy mouse movement.
4. Most importantly: Left Shift and Space are weird and not intuitive. WASD being on the vertical plane rather than horizontal is, I believe, more standard. Space for speed up and maybe x for stop? Unsure what works best. All In know is that it was like learning a new system.
5. E/Q did nothing the mouse and forward/ back couldn't do. I got trapped inside by the first glowing sphere and decided I didn't want to continue. If the controls made a little more sense/ were intuitive, I may have tried again, but the up/ down thing killed me. Otherwise, the graphics look good.
Hey there! Thanks for the feedback! All good points. There are some things I'd like to polish like audio and adding some settings for volume and control sensitivity. Your feedback helps me prioritize what to look at next! If and when I have time to return to this project :)
I also definitely heard a lot about the control scheme being a challenge to use and I agree completely. I started off trying to implemt a full 6 degrees of freedom controller (which was hard) and then scaled it back to what's there now. I didn't end up having time to rework it to be more intuitive.
I really appreciate hearing your experience! Thanks for taking the time to play and comment!