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| Timestamp | Since previous | Game | Lars DK's comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28 23:25:48 | Aircraft Carrier Simulator | ♥ 0 | I played the WebGL version of the game. I tried really hard for about 20 minutes, but couldn't understand where the catapult was to get the planes to fly. Mechanically it was difficult to control the aircraft at first since they seem to have some sort of weird momentum, but it got easier with practice. Could somebody confirm the catapult is working and, if so, where it is? | |
| Apr 28 23:53:54 | 28m 06s | God of Man | ♥ 0 | I played the WebGL version. The game overall has a "game of life" style presentation. It's minimal, but it's a fun toy. The overlays work well. The graphics are adequate and I especially like the effects associated with blessing, earthquakes etc. Controls were simple - perhaps a cooldown timer on the abilities would have been helpful, to give some indication of how soon different functions could be used. Buttons usually work better than dropdowns but no biggie. As a simulation, the game didn't appear to have any significant bugs and played smoothly. If there's one thing I felt could have been improved, it was the depth of the simulation. After a few generations in the deep end not really knowing what's going on, it became relatively easy for people to sustain themselves for a long time without any intervention from me as a player. While it's fun to watch people moving about the map, even on higher speeds, it becomes a bit of a chore when at one point I had over 1000 generations pass with no intervention from me, and humanity had survived OK. I also didn't see much point in the plagues etc given this (which I ultimately found unhelpful anyway since the world was large enough that I could keep people migrating around it no problem). If there was an incentive to have the highest possible population in the world, or improve standard of living beyond a meagre hunter-gather existence this might be different, or if there were more resources to manage than just food. That being said, the game was an elegant, simple simulation. I enjoyed playing around with it for a while overall. |
| Apr 29 00:15:18 | 21m 24s | My Very Own World | ♥ 2 | I played the WebGL version. The presentation of this game was fantastic. Slick graphics. I liked the theme with the scroll and the fireplace. The models of the units and cities were well-done as well. The music was a touch repetitive but suited the theme well. End turn sound effect was weird but all the others sounded great. I know the web version is post-jam bugfixed so I can't speak much to the programming or AI quality of your actual submission. However I noticed no significant problems. I found the battle system impossible to understand. Instructions didn't help much either. Couldn't see any significant difference between units. I always seemed to have plentiful resources because of the "one action at a time" restriction. After a turn, it wasn't always clear what move the AI made, so beneath the slick presentation I couldn't work out some of the core mechanics. Also, after losing the game, it would help to be able to go back to the menu. I lost a LOT. Combat, rather than empire management, seems to be a big part of the game since the AI usually took me out within a few turns. Design issues aside it was a cool game with a neat concept, awesome visuals and a high quality of presentation. I enjoyed it! |
| Apr 29 01:12:35 | 57m 17s | Graphite | ♥ 1 | I played the webgl version & enjoyed it. The game was fun. After a few playthroughs I started to understand the mechanics a bit - simple yet very challenging. Controls were fairly easy to use. Wish the map had more of those shooty-things and/or mana drained less easily from ranged attacks for game balance. Some UL overlay labelling the different bars would have been good too. Art style was interesting, and the sound effects were ok. Liked the art effects like the fog. Was a bit confused about whether the game was going for pencil-sketched - seemed more like retro video game. However this inconsistency was minor at best. Could imagine a nice chiptune soundtrack to this. |
| Apr 29 03:14:39 | 2h 02m | AaaRrr - Fight epic battles on our small (and flat) world | ♥ 5 | I played the WebGL version both solo and with a friend. So I think it's clear the music is a winner here. I like the "arr" sound effects as well. The graphics are cute if a little simple, and the physics works well (although what's up with cannonballs "jumping" on water lol?). The concept is brilliant and everything is really clear. Three points of potential feedback because I'm mean: 1. This is tough to play even two-player on a cramped keyboard, especially with the very strong current. This made stalemates inevitable because sailing to shoot your opponent typically makes you lose too. I feel like if the current was weaker, cannonballs would make more difference to who wins or loses. One of my ships got stuck on its side and couldn't sail anymore XD. 2. I couldn't test if you had gamepad support but if you do, that would resolve another part of the issue. 3. I hate criticising anything about art, so this is picking at straws, but I do feel like the water could have been more than a blue plane. I mean, I get this is supposed to be a jam and that your art style wasn't terribly focused on shading things realistically, but come on, you have an island with cool palm trees and particle effects around the sides, lighting etc etc ... a little more detail in the water itself would be nice, even if just a moving texture. All that being said I really enjoyed it and am sure it will score well for fun. Simple, beautiful idea, for the most part really well-executed. I'm a fan. |
| Apr 29 04:36:20 | 1h 21m | Fancy meeting you here | ♥ 2 | I played the WebGL version. In general I liked the concept of having the mini-games to simulate elements of social anxiety. Like some of the others, I struggled to figure them out. I also wasn't entirely sure whether I was meant to win or lose, or how I was even supposed to do those things. Which I guess might be accurate to real life, but kinda annoying as a player, to the point where I'm actually more invested in the cutscenes (which are hilarious) than the game. The mini-games also came across as fairly short. There's nothing to complain about in terms of the graphics, which were adequate, although some of the mini-games could possibly have been polished up in terms of their effects (like throwing some particles in there). I'd rather have a smaller number of mini-games well-made and presented, with clear directions. I thought the "blah" sound captured lots of things nicely about the game. Would have been a cool idea for it to slowly build up as the game progressed. I wasn't sure about the music - it was simple and retro, but also weirdly quiet during the non-minigame-parts, and a touch generic-arcadey. I really liked the design concept and especially how the characters' personal traits corresponded to the mini-games. I liked the use of humor and the theme use was creative. I hope your judging goes well overall :) |
| Apr 29 10:22:07 | 5h 45m | Rogue Planet | ♥ 0 | Hey! Excited to see another JS game :) I really liked the concept. Lots of fun to play with. It really drew me in. The sound I could barely hear. Not really sure if that was an issue on my end. A few sound effects couldn't have hurt though. The visuals were fine for this style. I liked the glow effect. I felt like the world itself could have been developed a little more graphically, though. Having the guides animate rather than jump might have helped a little bit, or alternatively making it some sort of radar display. I actually thought the coding was fairly impressive. I got an idea or two by browsing the source lol. However, I feel like maybe some of the elements of the design didn't make a lot of sense to me: first, I'd rather that if a colonist returns to my base, I should be able to send them out again. Otherwise it feels like all my guides are going to die anyway so I might as well kill them off searching for stuff. Second, I felt like the control over the pathing simulation had little effect on my success or failure in the game. It just felt like a level of complexity the game could have just managed. Maybe I'm missing something. I'd have preferred that effort invested into developing the world or more content. Considering this was a compo game it's really impressive and could be the basis for an awesome post-compo game. Hats off :) |
| Apr 29 11:13:57 | 51m 50s | Pixlets | ♥ 1 | I played the web version. Interesting game. I liked how casual it was, the interpretation of the theme, and the cuteness of the characters. The music was cool for like the first 10 minutes of game-time. After that, it became boring fast. There were a few simple sound effects. Graphically there's not a lot to complain about at all, especially considering this is essentially a casual simulation. It's retro and it's awesome. The UI was good too. I couldn't work out how to un-plant a tree for the longest time. Mechanically I felt like I couldn't tell exactly who my pixlets were. They all fairly identical. No preferences I could see. I liked the trees as a means to avoid constant feeding. Giving me more ways to care for or bond with my pixlets would certainly have complicated the simulation but also added to the fun factor. The gameplay could also use a much more exciting beginning. The first 15 minutes or so I just spent watching my first pixlet. If the pixlets interacted somehow that'd be cool! Addicting game with some really solid potential. I really like it! |
| Apr 29 14:13:25 | 2h 59m | ZEUS VS MOLES | ♥ 3 | I played the web version. My top score was 31. Graphically this is the best game I've played so far. The voxel-style models work well and the effects are pretty. Clouds got in the way slightly sometimes of the action. The UI was very basic but adequate for the game's purposes. The music was pretty good at capturing the arcade feel of the game, although the menu loop was a bit short and jarring. Sound effects were clear and sounded good. I thought the controls were good although it was weird the camera kept spinning around when moving, presumably to stay pointed "up". This was disorientating sometimes. Pathing wise, I felt like obstacles needed a bit more tolerance so Zeus can go through them at the edges slightly. With the curved surface it's hard enough to aim as is. I'd also have preferred more visual feedback on progress than just the UI bar at the top, because moving my eyes up there takes time. Maybe have the earth lose its green or something. I found the game difficult. Even for a quick game it would be nice if it hooked me in for more than a couple of seconds, though the simplicity of the mechanics might excuse that slightly. I wonder if even just de-spawning dead moles after a time would make a significant difference. But this is more of a personal preference. Cool game, hope it does well! :) |
| Apr 29 14:44:32 | 31m 07s | Smell World | ♥ 3 | Really pretty graphics! Love the scurrying effect on the little rodent as well. Controls and UI were well-thought-out, except the use of the down arrow which, unless in full-screen mode, gets confused for a scrolling action (this could have been fixed via scripting). Likewise I'd have used different controls to advance past the post-level screen. The cheese pointer animation was awesome. The music suited the game well, although I missed having some sound effects in there as well. The game made good use of the theme. I didn't notice any bugs. About setting focus for inputs - yes, it should be just document.getElementById("game_drop").contentWindow.focus(); //run this shortly after the page loads My only gripe is the game doesn't have a lot of depth. Procedural maze generation isn't really special enough to keep me hooked, although it's cool and all. At least give me a counter to let me see how many levels I've completed! This game is crying out for depth to keep me playing. Don't get me wrong - I love a good casual game - but even that implies some light challenge to keep me occupied. Fun, amusing game though - you can really see you guys had fun making it! |
| Apr 29 15:07:03 | 22m 31s | Yours | ♥ 1 | Hey, cool game! I played the webgl version. Controls felt a bit awkward to me at first. Sometimes I'd try to place a tree and wouldn't know why it didn't place. I'd definitely have switched mouse buttons for trees and villages. 3D models were perfect, really cute little villagers. Some more detailed textures could definitely have existed though. If the shadows were a little lighter that'd be nice. Music was ok, quite atmospheric. Probably could have used a little light rhythm. No sound effects unfortunately. Didn't see any serious bugs; the people had interesting AI. I understand timeframes in this competition are tight and that can make it tough to finish those things you really want to add, but even a simple mechanic like - adding a consequence if people run out of wood or something - that would add a ton to the game. It's a great idea anyway and a bit of a shame we didn't see more to it! But awesome effort anyway :) |
| Apr 29 15:35:01 | 27m 58s | YOSILand (Your Small Inner Land) | ♥ 4 | Hey! Cool casual game. I kept being terrible at entertainment for some reason. Probably not a good sign for an indie game dev haha. I liked the paper-drawn style. You selected a nice piece of music to go with it too. I liked the characters, they're cute. Mechanically the game appeared to work really nicely. I could understand what was happening at any point without trouble. Some little points: * In a game like this, where everything is focused on the text, you want to triple-check things like spelling and grammar. I know that's boring and hard! But for example "Do you want with them?" pretty clearly needs a verb. I get the sense of what you mean, luckily. * Further to this, the text appeared low-resolution / pixellated on my screen. If the text is important, it should be very legible. The font choice was barely ok, but every character should definitely be crisp and clear. * I'd like to know how close I am to the end of my life! Sometimes I'd click away and it would be a surprise. I feel like there's also a lot of potential here for branching choices / making the most of the time you have left. * Also I think those little characters should be giving me advice about what to do in the situation. The characters don't really get involved with the game much which is a shame because you've come up with so much background for them. Overall, I enjoyed the game for one or two play-throughs. Given the limited time-span of the jam it's understandable you'd want to get the basics down first, and certainly there's a lot here that can be expanded on. Congratulations on what you've made! |
| Apr 29 15:58:37 | 23m 36s | It's a Small World, So Let's Crash It into Things | ♥ 2 | I played the WebGL version. Sound was good overall. I liked the voices. The sound could have been panned to give some indication of, for example, where the death star is. Mechanically the game worked well, although at one point I killed a large planet well before my earth should have been ready for it. Visuals are excellent, if I'd change anything it would be to detail the planets, but I liked the death star and the other particle effects. The scrolling definitely needs work. Near the end, a good chunk of my planet was on the other half of the screen before it scrolled, so I had no idea where I was going half the time. Driving the planet around wasn't too hard, thankfully. Pretty sure there aren't 18 quintillion planets in this though ;P Overall it was a super enjoyable game, I played through a whole bunch of times. No fun lacking here and that's the most important thing. Good job! |
| Apr 29 16:55:06 | 56m 29s | Hopper | ♥ 5 | This is a stellar game! Wow! Obviously the sound and music aren't judged here but they do complement the game well, and suit the game. More music variation would be nice. Art style is minimalist and excellent. The vector graphics are impressive, as are all the animations and effects. Also I know I'm not really supposed to look at this but OMG your source code is so neat! Puts mine to shame anyway. I didn't spot any bugs and had a lot of fun. Physics seemed on point, though I kept annoying myself by dying due to friendly fire. Wish I could turn that off. Other than that the difficulty was ok overall. The C/X system for firing / jumping was a little confusing even after reading the instructions. C and X don't logically relate to those ideas in my mind. It felt restrictive to have to fire vertically and I wonder if mouse input might have been an acceptable alternative. Given the arcade-like vibe of the game though this wasn't a major concern. Overall I have few complaints with this game. If anything it could be more innovative, or link more closely with the thenem but it's a very impressive showing given the time period it was made in, and I have every confidence it should do well in the scoring. Had lots of fun with it! |
| Apr 30 06:55:00 | 13h 59m | Conquery - Conquer The World! | ♥ 4 | Cool game! I liked the concept (although not sure why planets have walls around them ... could have just been magic circles or something lol) and the fluidity of the gameplay. I won on my second try, but it was challenging nonetheless. I would've definitely stuck around for a level 2. The music was good if repetitive (without a good loop), and the sound was good, even if these were post-jam things. I agree the mouse controls made the game much harder. I'd have preferred a keyboard option for sure. I also would've liked a full-screen option, and ended up zooming on my browser to fit the whole canvas. Although this made mouse control even harder! Graphics could also have used a significant facelift. Some effects were there, while they were nothing special. The mechanics were solid but missing some crucial elements. Personally I think it would be valuable to give the player feedback on why AI behaves as it does, for example by including the player's line of sight. The UI could also use more valuable information such as labelling the player health bar. Once you figure out the puzzle of how to win, the game is fairly straightforward. That being said this was a fun challenge and I think could be an exciting level 1 for a much bigger game! Lots of fun to play and write this feedback on. |
| Apr 30 08:29:46 | 1h 34m | Power Department | ♥ 3 | Hey! Interesting game! I just gave it a couple of plays. "Power company tycoon" sure is an unusual genre and I think I like it :) I felt like the video cutscenes, while cool, didn't really add a lot to the game experience. I found myself just ignoring them. The levels themselves were interesting. I wish the effort that had gone into the video, had instead gone into the graphics on the level. There were some UI issues. If I lose a level, I should be able to start again. Currently the game just seems to freeze on me. If an event destroys a line or something, it would be helpful to see where that happened. The interface for building also wasn't terribly intuitive, although once I got the hang of it, it was ok. The SimCity model will be familiar to most users. I'd also like more detail on which generators etc were profitable in my reports, and the ability to undo or delete something I've built. What UI there was could have been better presented as well. Several times I had no idea people were unhappy with me or what the reason was for it. All the reports seemed to suggest they were neutral. The music was good and suited the format of the game well. More sound effects would have been cool especially since lightning seemed to strike virtually every single quarter. The challenge was very hard, even on easy settings. So overall, this was an interesting genre that I hope can be polished more! The game has a lot of potential to build on. |
| May 1 07:06:08 | 22h 36m | In Good Hands | ♥ 4 | I played the WebGL version. Amazing submission! Took a while to load but boy was it worth it! Graphics were breathtaking - I really liked little touches like the water and lighting. Would be cool if weather/impacts affected the world (as opposed to just people) but I still rated the graphics 5/5 for this. Models were really good and well animated. UI was awesome. Music suited the game well also in terms of capturing the mood, but felt very repetitive. Sound effects were pretty much spot on, so no major complaints there. The game seemed well coded and I didn't spot serious bugs, except I'm not sure it was intentional for the models to walk on water and totally ignore bridges. There's one mechanic in this game. That could be fine, and I haven't seen it implemented quite like this before, but it made the gameplay a little dull after a while. More so than playing the game I actually spent a lot of time just exploring this beautiful world you guys have made! When I did lose people, it was generally because they were on the other side of the planet where I couldn't see them, making it nearly impossible to aim those clouds etc away from the people. I'm not sure how this would be fixed but it made me feel a little powerless as a god, ironically. I wish more of the focus was on developing challenges as a player. It limited the fun factor significantly. The theme was well-established so that was good. Overall I completely enjoyed reviewing this and congratulate all of you on your work. :) |
| May 1 09:10:18 | 2h 04m | My little planet | ♥ 2 | Cool concept, fun to review! I played the HTML5 version. The music was a nice loop, a little repetitive, but it set the tone well. I wasn't sure about the implementation. Once you stop music you can't start it again, it seems, and if you lose and start again multiple music tracks are played at once. It was a bit odd. Sound effects would have been nice. The graphics were ok, nothing special. Icons were well-designed. Could have used more detail for example in the backgrounds. While exploring the endings was fun, I'm not sure what the actual goal of the game was. Managing a planet is a means, not an objective. Did I want it to survive as long as possible? If so could I see how many turns my planet has survived somehow please? As a game I wasn't sure what I was doing. As a toy it was odd too because every outcome seemed so negative! Overall an interesting idea and take on the theme. I liked the humor and the variety of options, but wish there was more of a clear objective or set of objectives to aim for. Good job! |
| May 1 09:26:58 | 16m 40s | 'Cuba' | ♥ 1 | Really cool game! I played the WebGL version. This felt more like a puzzle than anything else. I tended to lose this game a lot through unrest or running out of money, and I suspect there is no optimal strategy overall. Balance was definitely very hard here. Still, the basic mechanic was fun. Placing districts was intuitive and the UI was fine, though perhaps a little large for my screen. I had the game freeze on me a couple of times during the game over screen. Other than that I noticed virtually no errors. I liked how some tiles affected surrounding tiles, though I would have liked more UI feedback on what's costing me, and the ability to demolish districts. Still, it is simple after all, and for a compo entry the level of complexity here is above standard. The graphics were definitely programmer art. Which is fine on one level - I like the effort that went into drawing the map. Still I feel like there's room for further development here. I would have liked more sound effects. Music was a fun chiptune-ish loop, a little quiet and repetitive, but I appreciate the effort to include it. Overall it's a solid first entry and a really interesting game :) |
| May 1 09:57:46 | 30m 48s | Little Mouse Planet | ♥ 2 | Interesting submission - really good for a compo entry! Graphically the game has an interesting aesthetic. I liked the cute characters, although the animation was slightly jagged sometimes. UI was good but seriously, the controls were very weird and probably needed UI explanations of some sort. The sound effects weren't great but I appreciate they were there. I LOVED the voices! Really nice touch though I would have liked if the cat's voice was set apart more somehow. The music in the title screen was ok. Probably could have used some gentle in-game music too. The gameplay suited the small world theme well. It wasn't super-innovative but it did the genre justice and was really fun for a time, which is all I can really ask for. The water > food > survival mechanic was simple and it worked. It could have increased in complexity as the game progressed, to avoid repetition of the same challenge. Overall I enjoyed the entry and congratulate you on an awesome job. |
| May 1 13:53:42 | 3h 55m | Stardust - A space adventure | ♥ 4 | Hey, this was an enjoyable game. I'd be interested in "what happens next" :) The graphical style and mood of this game are very impressive. There were some minor graphics layering issues but on the whole it's everything one can hope for graphics-wise. Some menus seemed to have minor issues as well, although the programming of the dialogue etc was very good. On the matter of UI, I found it difficult to navigate my astronaut sometimes with the mouse. The actual story was great though, with good use of humor and some solid links to small worlds. Mechanically the game was quite simple, I rushed through the story for a few minutes but felt like I'd barely read the introduction by the "end" of it (so far as I could tell). I didn't judge the sound but felt like the music, graphics and dialogue in this game set a very interesting mood. Overall, this was a very impressive showing. Great job! |
| May 1 15:26:49 | 1h 33m | Commander's Log | ♥ 2 | Awesome game. Spent literally hours on this just now. The first couple of moves in this game are super difficult, the rest (once you have your mining established) are a bit easier. Ideally the opposite should be true. Nonetheless I enjoyed the challenge and so forth. There were some small bugs - like I found that if you ask for a shipment before building a storage place at the start, you actually get one - but they weren't serious. Graphics were good. I liked the effects around the planet. Pixel art for the station was near professional-quality, and the music built the atmosphere well. I like how the game has an underlying story, too. Voice acting was fine. Could have been more sound effects. The UI was ok, nothing special. +/- for adding resources could sometimes be a bit temperamental. I liked the building system but felt like it would have been much easier if the game didn't automatically assume I wanted to build infinite numbers of something. Mechanically, the game had a solid number of resources to manage which never felt overwhelming but had a good amount of complexity. Overall this is a high-calibre game, tons of potential, and a good job by all the team members. |
| May 3 04:24:51 | 36h 58m | A Small World Cup | ♥ 3 | Hey, great game! I played the non-mobile version. The art style was fascinating and worked very well. Animation and UI were impressive. Mechanics worked great, and I enjoyed the sports tie-in. I didn't notice any significant errors, even in the very cool physics. Two things I thought limited the fun of this entry. The first was the control scheme. Mouse dragging was an innovative mechanic but very hard to control in real time. Secondly, I felt like the difficulty could be scaled better. All teams seemed to have the same AI and all were objectively much better than I was, which limited my sense of achievement. Overall a lot of fun and very high quality for a compo entry. |
| May 12 23:23:37 | 234h 58m | Still Waters | ♥ 0 | Awesome game! I played the webgl version. Things I liked: > Clear link to theme > Pretty shaders & animated characters > Atmospheric, well-composed music Things to work on: > Plan your UI carefully to teach people. I struggled to understand how to do things like rest or drink or switch people. It was easy to die unintentionally without warning. Bars are easier to interpret than colored icons. I'd avoid locking the mouse. UI was the biggest issue with this game. > Reward the player for their achievements as they play. If the goal is too difficult they'll give up otherwise. The game could definitely be gamified further. > Instead I'd have made the environment less full of ships and other details. More atmosphere like fog would have suited the intended mood well. |
| May 12 23:33:33 | 9m 56s | Destroy Blocks | ♥ 1 | Not too bad at all. Had fun toying with this for a while. Things I liked: 1. Fun concept 2. Good interpretation of the theme 3. Bright atmosphere Things to work on: 1. No reason why performance should have been this poor. Loading was also surprisingly slow. 2. Controls were a little difficult to use, especially for navigation. 3. Relatively simply graphics and sound - even for this style, some minor details could have added a lot, like particles. |
| May 13 00:06:44 | 33m 11s | Hi Pluto! | ♥ 2 | Hey! Great game. I made it all the way to Pluto! Things I really liked: 1. Fast, frantic gameplay - lots of fun to play! 2. Save points worked well - gave a sense of progress 3. Cool graphical touches - planets spinning, nice background etc Things to work on: 1. Music would have been awesome 2. Mouse control is tough on webgl ... provide options 3. Asteroids should ideally scale for difficulty - more early on, closer to the earth - then universally harder later |
| May 19 05:45:45 | 149h 39m | Asteroid Field | ♥ 2 | I played it and enjoyed it for a while. I love seeing more JS-based games! :) Things I liked: 1. Interesting art style - I liked the animation 2. Controls worked well 3. Game ran flawlessly / no bugs Things to work on: 1. Providing difficulty challenge / setting goals 2. Stuff like audio would be cool 3. Minimize wait time for players |