Portugues
Down Golf
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About the game
Down Golf is a platformer that thinks it is a golf game, or the other way round. Every level has a ball, a flag and a hole, and you play as a golfer who has to get from one to the other on his own two feet. You run and jump to reach the ball, line up a shot, and then you have to follow it, because the next shot is wherever it landed.
Each level takes you a little deeper under the grass. The first one is a quiet fairway with a tree and a flag, and then the ground opens up into caves, trampolines and narrow shafts where a careless shot ends up very far from where you wanted it. Walls and ledges are as dangerous as sand traps ever were, and the ball bounces in ways that are fun to exploit and sometimes quite unfair.
Your shots are counted per level, so the game is also a small score chase: how few strokes does it take you to make your way down? The pause menu shows how you did on every level you have finished.
Playing it here
Click Play and wait while the game loads (about 10 MB, downloaded only when you press the button). Click inside the game once so that it gets the keyboard.
To hit the ball, stand next to it on the ground, facing the way you want it to go, and press Space. A direction arrow starts to swing up and down in front of you; press Space again to lock the angle, then hold Space to charge the shot and let go to swing. If you change your mind, move or jump and the aiming is cancelled.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| A, D or the left and right arrows | run |
| W or the up arrow | jump |
| Space | start aiming, lock the angle, hold to charge and release to hit |
| Esc | menu with your shots per level |
Tips
Think about where you will stand next. The ball goes where you hit it, and you have to walk there afterwards. A slightly worse shot that lands on flat ground can be better than a great one that ends in a pit.
Use the trampolines. They launch the ball and you. Treat them as part of the course, not as a hazard.
A weak shot is fine. Hold Space only for a short time when the hole is close; the bar is there to be used.
FAQ
Is it free to play? Yes. The game is free software under the MIT licence.
The ball got stuck in a wall. Is that a bug? The author lists it as a known issue of the game: it sometimes happens when the ball bounces off a trampoline.
Does it work on a phone? No, it needs a keyboard.
Credits and licence
Down Golf was made by Martin Jakubík for Ludum Dare 57 (theme "Depths") with Godot Engine 4.4.1, which is also under the MIT licence, graphics drawn in Aseprite and sound effects made by the author. The code and all of the assets are under the MIT licence. The font is Pixelated Elegance by GGBotNet, which the author lists as public domain.
The licence texts, including the notices of the libraries inside the Godot engine, and the source of this build are linked from this page.