Spark

Spark is my submission to thatgamejam #01

I immediately recognized that the theme image was inspired by Michelangelo’s fresco The Creation of Adam, so the idea of reaching out and sparking life came to mind. At first I struggled with how to theme the game because my thoughts went to biblical and renaissance imagery, but I realized the provided theme image showed disembodied arms that could belong to anyone. They also felt ghostly, which led me to think about death and reaching across the veil between life and death. That was where the idea for Spark came from.

You play as a necromancer who is astral projecting into a series of Sokoban-style dungeon rooms where fallen explorers lie. You are too far away to directly control the dead, so all you can do is spark life into them. Once awakened, each skeleton follows the shortest path it can find back toward you. The goal is to recover every soul and build the largest possible skeleton army for an impending war, meaning you cannot leave a single skeleton behind.

Game Instructions

The game can be played directly in your browser, and a Windows executable is also available for download. You can launch the game in either format and start playing immediately.

All controls are done using only the mouse. Click on a skeleton to spark life into it. Once awakened, the skeleton will automatically follow the shortest path it can find through the dungeon toward you.

Each level is a Sokoban-style puzzle room where blocks and obstacles must be arranged by choosing the correct order to awaken skeletons. Your goal is to guide every skeleton safely back to you. You must recover all skeletons in the room to complete the level and continue building your army of the dead.

All Art, Music, and SFX created myself.