Wind-Up Escape

(working title)

Manually winding a key stores kinetic energy; release that energy to fly—until the springs unwind.

Wind-Up Escape is a momentum-driven puzzle-platformer built for Shovel Jam 2025 (theme: “Just Get Started!”). Every action—jumping, gliding, stunning enemies—begins with a literal wind-up. Crank first, act second, keep moving.

Core Gameplay

• Clockwork Jetpack – Wind, blast skyward, weave through hazards before the springs unwind.
• EMP Whirligig – Charge a short-range AOE that disables locks and stuns pursuers.
• Momentum-based puzzles – Levers, shutters, and platforms stay active only while your spring spins.

How it Fits the Theme

Progress only happens after you start cranking the key. That tiny act of commitment embodies “Just Get Started!”—the first-step energy every dev needs when a blank project window stares back.

Narrative Snapshot

You wake inside a shadowy research facility beneath a derelict clock tower. Armed with a prototype wind-up jet pack, you must dodge researchers and clockwork monstrosities to break free—one crank at a time.

Quick Facts

Controls

• WASD – move
• Space – wind / release jet
• Q – toggle key / tool
• 1–3 – deploy tools
• E – pick up

Future Plans

The jam build is a vertical slice; a full version would add:

• Extra rooms branching off the clock-tower core
• New wind-up gadgets (grapple, time-slow crank)
• Accessibility tweaks (re-bindable keys, color-blind palettes)

Team Credits

• Design / Code: Jerrylikesgreen (Jerry) & vysl
• Art & Animation: Dot / 0dotzip
• VFX: vysl
• Audio: Willow Leyline / Fae

Enjoy the flight, and tell us in the comments if you manage a no-damage run!

Third-Party Assets / Attribution

Laboratory Tileset Revamped (Lite)
Trailer timelapse (YouTube)