Gravity Grappler
Gravity Grappler
Take the helm in Gravity Grappler, a challenging physics-based arcade game inspired by the ambition and peril of the Space Race!
Experience gameplay reminiscent of classic lunar landers, but with a twist. Your journey begins on Earth, where you'll pilot a powerful two-stage rocket. First, master the launch sequence to break free from Earth's formidable gravity. Then, carefully manage your second stage's limited fuel to navigate the void and achieve a soft touchdown anywhere on the surface of the first planet.
But the mission doesn't end there! From that precarious foothold, you'll launch again, pushing deeper into the solar system, hopping from one celestial body to the next. Each planet presents unique gravitational challenges.
Your goal is simple: survive. Keep landing successfully. A crash landing, or drifting helplessly off-screen into the endless dark, means mission failure. Aim for the high score!
How to Play
Objective: Launch from your current location, navigate space, and land safely anywhere on the surface of the next planet.
Controls:
- Boost/Thrust: Spacebar / Up Arrow / W
- Rotate Left: Left Arrow / A
- Rotate Right: Right Arrow / D
- Safe Landing: To land without crashing, your downward speed must be less than 5 m/s upon contact with the planet's surface. Use your thrusters carefully to control your descent!
Watch Your Fuel! Thrust consumes fuel, and fuel is limited. Use short, controlled bursts for efficient maneuvering. Precision is key!
Scoring
When your mission eventually ends, your performance will be calculated based on several factors:
- Highest Planet Reached: The further you travel, the more points you earn, with later planets granting significantly more points!
- Survival Time: Every second you survive adds to your score.
- Booster Recovery: Successfully landing your first-stage booster back on Earth after the initial launch provides a substantial score bonus.
- Difficulty Level: Playing on 'Hard' mode provides a significant multiplier to your final score, rewarding those who seek the ultimate challenge.
Game Jam Details
This game was created for the Flame Game Jam 2025.
- Theme: The Space Race
- Diversifier: Shaders (Used for the dynamic starfield background and planet atmospheres)
Resources Used:
- Game Engine: Flame Engine (for Flutter)
- Graphics: Original assets created using Figma
- Audio: Original sounds and music created using Audacity and FamiStudio
- Source Code: Available on GitHub
- Asset Origin: All core assets are original and were created entirely by myself for this project.
Good luck, Commander! Master your thrust, control your speed, grapple with gravity, and aim for that high score!
Comments
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I think your game idea is fun! I have some suggestions to make it easier: first is to make the rotation just as the keyboard is pressed (no "gliding" rotation), second is to make the ship has a health bar. So instead of directly game over if the speed is above 5 m/s, the damage to the ship will be bigger as the ship land faster. this way the game will end if the health is 0. To make it more fun, there can also be coins, or some health pick up to restore the ship health.
Awesome, These are some great ideas. I will definitely have to look at those.
Thank you very much
Updated… We now have a health bar and the turning is a bit more direct.
Hope this helps… I might add some health/fuel pickups at some time
That's great! Thank you for taking my suggestion, now I can get to level 3 😊
Extremely hard game :) , but addicting :)
That is the problem with developing and testing all the time… it gets easier then you forget how hard it is for people who have not put so many hours in…
Not exactly sure how to make it easier though 🤔
But thanks for playing