The greatest power of a game jam is the pressure: You have a very limited time, and often limited resources, to make something small and focused. Great designers use those limitations to hone in on a few core elements: a mechanic they want to showcase or examine, a stylx`e, or a tiny slice of a much larger vision.Basalt, in the grand tradition of good, tiny jam games, focuses almost completely on one mechanic: your little character's ability to jump and pound the ground, causing massive waves in the rocks below them. You can run and jump, to avoid enemies and obstacles (like fire pits), but you'd be wise to make ample use of your signature waves.
Basalt has a look to it too, all grays and blues, rocks and saltwater. And an atmospheric soundtrack by Reed Erlandson and Felix Peaslee. I'm hoping that this little taste is inspiration enough for this team to go on and make a more robust Basalt in the future.You can download Basalt for free on itch.io, or support the game on the page.