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| Timestamp | Since previous | Game | Jeremy Ryan's comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5 02:15:04 | Claustrowordia | ♥ 2 | Always excited to see your games pop up on my Itch feed! As always, the UI and presentation are incredible, especially for a Compo game. The colors, contrast, beady-eyed stick insect rabbit cryptid, little animations, all of it was top notch. Everything, even the banner and the trees in the background, were bobbing to the music. And the music! The production quality was great, and I still have it stuck in my head as I'm typing this. *🎵 Nostrils and tomato 🎵* The gameplay was familiar but fresh. It was simultaneously more forgiving than Scrabble, etc. since you're allowed to place letters that don't form words yet, but it's also more punishing to accidentally drop a tile in the wrong place and lose the 10x bonus until you fix it (adding the Undo button was a good decision). All this said, I do have some (very minor) criticisms: - Sometimes through bad luck you ended up with too many vowels or consonants, which really limited placement choice. I don't know if you're currently weighing draws to try to even out the types of letters you get, but if not, it might help. - The interpretation of the theme was perfectly acceptable, but not particularly inspiring. I did like the variety of power ups which added some strategy (although I rarely if ever used the "delay the inevitable" one). - I think the gameplay is slightly "breakable." I found a strategy I'm fairly confident is the optimal one, but I won't share it quite yet so as not to ruin the experience for others (tee-hee!). Overall, amazing entry, and I look forward to seeing how you score and all your other titles moving forward. claustrowordia.PNG (As a side note, what software/equipment do you use for music and sound effects?) | |
| Apr 5 23:43:15 | 21h 28m | Wayfinder | ♥ 1 | Nice entry! Capture.PNG First of all, the concept is hilarious, especially the premise of level 7. Great use of the theme. The graphics and audio are pretty simple but get the job done. Adding on the buttons and UI for the fictional GPS product was a nice touch. I do think there are some things that could be clearer from a gameplay perspective. First, I was never quite sure what the car was planning on doing, and would sometimes get caught by surprise when it decided to turn and I anticipated it going straight so I could fill in more ground. Some sort of indication of the car's planned movement, and maybe a way to intercept it partway through turning, would have made those moments feel less bad. Graphically, the cars turning around the corners looked a bit awkward, especially certain directions of U-turns that looked like they turned in the wrong direction. Finally, the procedural generation was really impressive for Compo. Given that they were generated randomly, the levels were surprisingly varied but the difficulty felt similar for maps of the same level. Overall nice work for a 48 hour jam! |
| Apr 6 00:07:25 | 24m 10s | Oedipus Rex | ♥ 2 | I think your download might be missing some DLLs --- I'm unable to run on Windows 10. oedipus.PNG |
| Apr 6 00:24:32 | 17m 07s | Rage Against The Cocoon | ♥ 2 | This was a delightful experience! The graphics were nice, the movement felt clean, and all the bad jokes really added up to a well-rounded game jam entry. You did mention the movement was a bit buggy, and I will say that when moving along the underside of something it was particularly noteworthy --- it felt like the controls were reversed sometimes, and it was difficult to recover from certain spots. But hey, it's a game jam game, it's not going to be perfect. The slow metamorphosis mechanic was interesting, although I think it would have been neat if the wings didn't make crawling completely obsolete. Maybe you moved faster while crawling so it was still worthwhile sometimes. The levels were designed very elegantly where there wasn't all that much stuff, but still enough nooks and crannies holding muffins that it was worth exploring the edges. Nice work for 72 hours! |
| Apr 7 01:44:17 | 25h 19m | Chronos | ♥ 1 | Nice entry! The pixel art was overall quite good. I do think they could have done a better job of signalling what different things did --- for instance, the blue and green clocks came in different "amounts," but it was impossible to tell how much it would age/de-age you until you ran into it. If you had the time for it, positioning the clock hands differently would have been a great way to show this subtly. I especially liked the patterned tiles and the tiles with Greek letters. I also liked how the character visibly aged as you played. Obviously time is very limited for Compo, and adding graphics is competing with making levels and mechanics, but it would have been cool to have more phases than just "adult" and "old man." The main mechanic was interesting and you spiced it up with some secondary mechanics like the falling tiles and the "push" tiles. The levels were generally designed in a way where it was difficult to get stuck, and you will definitely figure out how to solve it eventually. The game could have benefited from mechanics that could make slightly more complex puzzles that require more planning --- maybe teleports, locks and keys, a switch you could flip to make you age *backward,* etc. I think the mechanics you chose, while interesting, could have synergized better with the main mechanic of aging as you move. Overall great work for a 48-hour jam and, as it seems to be your first one, I hope to see you around for more Ludum Dares in the future! escaped the temple.PNG |
| Apr 7 02:20:24 | 36m 07s | Flameline | ♥ 1 | Really cool entry, and an impressive amount of content for Compo! I found all the secrets. First of all, the main mechanic is quite cool --- probably the most innovative I've seen so far this jam. The level design was quite good for exploring the mechanics gradually. The time reversal with the rising lava was a great interpretation of the theme. The graphics are also quite good. The platforms and hazards have high contrast against the background but the color scheme is cohesive. I will say that at first I found myself accidentally touching spikes without realizing they were bad --- some sort of additional contrast, from color or shape, could have been an improvement here, since most of your regular floor and ceiling tiles also have bright orange in sharp shapes. After playing for a while my brain adjusted though. It did feel like I lagged a bit when finishing a rewind, and I'm not entirely sure whether it was a performance issue with generating the ghost or if the slowness was deliberate. If the latter, I think it could be reduced, since it got a little tiring if I'm trying repeatedly to do the same trick (speaking of which, I think the hit box for the double jump could be just a little more forgiving). The death animation and consequent rewinding animation, especially the first time it happened, was a real "oh wow" moment. Well done on the presentation there. The fade to white on game end was also very pleasant, especially with how it contrasted to the dark and orange colors throughout. Great work on this, and very impressive for 48 hours. |
| Apr 10 01:40:41 | 71h 20m | UPDOG: The Ascension of 180 Sadie | ♥ 3 | Nice entry! The concept is really neat, and once I got used to the movement and controls, it was quite fun. The balloons and crates made for very different resource types based on how you were allowed to carry them and how you used them. It felt like a balancing act trying to seek out both (in a good way) although it was sometimes a bit punishing when a balloon popped and all your hard-earned fuel plummeted into the abyss. While I do think the movement was well designed, and quite fun for a jam entry, I do think that it could be improved a bit as others have said. Here are my first movement related thoughts: - The 2D player sprite caused some difficulty with evaluating hit boxes, etc. - I think the grab area for balloons could be a bit larger. - I think the "hand" extending could be substantially faster. - I think it would be nice if you could go up through the bottom of your raft in the same way you can with clouds, as it requires some delicate maneuvering to get on top of the raft from the bottom - It might be nice if the crate throw was a little less forceful, or there was a "set down" button, since I occasionally tossed my fuel all the way off the ship Additionally, it would be nice if there was some visual indicator for when your balloons were going to pop. I'd sometimes get two popping at the same time which was hard to plan around unless I was on the ship to fix it immediately. Again, well done for a 72-hour project. The majority of my feedback has been critical but I really did enjoy the core experience and jumping around trying to beat my high score. This feels like it could be a compelling level that is part of a larger game with tighter movement and some more polish. sadie.PNG |
| Apr 10 02:00:44 | 20m 03s | Mightiest Minion | ♥ 1 | Nice entry! As others have said, the camera seems to drift, and it seems related to the camera shake. Eventually you end up completely out of frame: Capture.PNG As others have said, the music is excellent. The visuals are simple but very dynamic and make a nice atmosphere. It sounds like you ran out of time to fully implement the jump mechanic based on your other comments (compo is tough), but the animation is very nice. Regarding the gameplay, I think the concept is very promising --- sort of a tower defense inspired game with player movement and placing mines. With only the mechanics implemented, it seemed like the optimal strategy was just to sit in one place on the track and let the enemies come to you... but I could see it being more dynamic with additional ways the player could combat the enemies or other objectives you could work on that occupy your time (and your mine placement) between waves. I'm not sure the 'race car' style movement was the best gameplay decision here as opposed to more typical arrow key movement --- although maybe that would be different with the additional mechanics you envisioned (like the jump, which is directional). I will say that with this movement scheme you probably want your player sprite to be clearly directional visually so the player doesn't get confused which way they're facing. Congrats on what appears to be your first Compo! Hope you enjoyed the jam, got some valuable experience, and are planning to come back again in the future! |
| Apr 10 02:33:36 | 32m 52s | The March to heaven | ♥ 2 | Excellent work on this! The art was great, and the game was very polished visually. I assume the music was borrowed from somewhere since you opted out of Audio, but the choice of music was good and went well with the mood of the game. The story, while short, was powerful and bittersweet. It touched not only on coming to terms with death and loss, but also with the physical and mental toll being a provider or caregiver can be. You can work all day to try to pay medical bills, but that just means you are more stressed out and have less time to spend with your sister. The writing was simple but powerful. I will say that it would have been nice to have a bit more agency over the story. It felt like there were a lot of dialog options, but the story didn't really chance course until the very end based on your choices. Although obviously there's only so much you can cram into 72 hours. One final note, looking at the credits, I'm impressed that you had two artists on the team (one for UI) and had everything come together so smoothly. The UI and illustrations were so cohesive I wouldn't have guessed there were two separate artists, so great work there (and of course for @damakuno bringing it together with code). |
| Apr 10 03:02:24 | 28m 48s | Digital Pet | ♥ 2 | turnip.png My arm is sore from repeated clicking, but my pet is thriving and well provided for. The graphics are simple but effective. The super simple pet and clearly hurried MS paint backgrounds were hilarious and full of character. I do think the game values could use a bit of tweaking. I'm not sure if there's anything after the point I got to, but my last raise was at a couple thousand points and I've neglected my pet entirely for quite a while and it hasn't died yet. I also recommend something slightly less physically draining for a clicker mechanic --- maybe limit it to X times per second or have a bar that fills. Basing it purely on number of clicks makes it tiresome and also very hard to balance --- since there's almost no limit and a wide range of what players will be able to do (and even higher if someone uses software tools). Agree with others that objective and progress could be shown a little clearer. Overall great work, it's a charming Compo entry! |
| Apr 10 03:20:03 | 17m 39s | Cardboard People on Fire | ♥ 2 | The fire is inevitable and all-consuming, but I'll be damned if I let it take this pup. turnip.png A great wacky game jam experience. The graphics and mood are great. There could be a little more in terms of gameplay, but what you have is already a pleasant experience. I will say it would be nice to have an "out of bounds" that would return you to the map --- just about the first thing I did was wander into the ocean until I fell into the void. Nice work for 72 hours! |
| Apr 10 17:00:12 | 13h 40m | Healer's Handbook | ♥ 3 | Awesome entry! Saw it on the @togis stream and downloaded it to try it myself. First of all, the graphics and audio are really well done and very polished. The UI and animations are very clean and the spells feel very good to cast. The difficulty scaled at a good rate and felt very fair. Great work for a 72-hour jam! |
| Apr 17 01:37:50 | 152h 37m | Cat in the Bag | ♥ 5 | Nice entry! The concept is really neat (cat inside a bag of holding who gets to choose what to give the adventurer). I liked the variety of wacky items available in the bag, although I wish there were more scenarios written out for them (I would expect more extreme reactions to someone pulling out an entire shark, for instance). That said, game jam timelines are tight. I will say that for similar games I've made for jams I've found it useful to put the dialog into text files parsed by the game. This means the writers can create, test, and modify the script without it being a bottleneck for the programmer. Not sure if this would have helped you get more writing in or not! The art was fantastic, especially the characters. The UI was mostly nice --- my one gripe is the number keys for selecting items, and particularly the fact they're labeled in the top right corner which sometimes led me to hit the wrong one. I'd personally put the number above or closer to the center so it's very clear which number goes to which item (and maybe put 0 at the end since that's how it's laid out on the keyboard). The dialog was nice and had a lot of character! Other than the fact that it would have been better with more content (as would all jam games), I don't have much criticism here. The music was very pleasant! Simple sound effects for the UI would have been nice. Great work for 72 hours and congratulations to the members of the team for whom this is the first Ludum Dare! |
| Apr 17 01:52:42 | 14m 52s | Life Finds a Way | ♥ 1 | sicko_mode.PNG Nice entry! My best score was 99 in sicko mode. As others have said, the tutorial guy and his speaking noises are hilarious. Overall the game has a lot of character in the graphics, gameplay, and premise, and it was very satisfying to frantically find the right tools of destruction to eliminate some hapless flower or shrub. It would have been neat if there was more variety in how you dealt with plants other than just clicking on them quickly with the right kind of tools. Something timing related or tiny tiny mini-games would have been neat. It sounds like you didn't make the music since you opted out of audio, but it was a very good choice of music at least. Nice work for a solo Jam entry! |
| Apr 17 02:02:46 | 10m 04s | phon-ey wars | ♥ 0 | Love the programmer art! The game is pretty easy once you get a few towers down, but it has a lot of character. I have no idea who these people are, why they have robots for hands, and why they're so intent on touching my phone, but I'm glad I could dissuade them for the time being. Glad you managed to submit something playable even if you didn't get to everything you wanted to! |
| Apr 17 02:23:07 | 20m 21s | Crisis Bot | ♥ 1 | Nice entry! First off, a few bugs I found: - The Sci-Lab map doesn't seem to display the player's current power level. - The game kept freezing for me as soon as I got around 2000 points. Not sure what the cause could be. scibot.PNG The game was really charming and well made. It definitely had that "putting out fires" feeling and got really intense as you start losing rooms. The energy mechanic was neat and game the player interesting decisions. Should I go back to recharge now? Is it worth it to use my sprint to get to the malfunction? For a compo game it's super impressive you made multiple maps! And they have their own colors even! I think it would have been neat if there was a bit more variety in map size, number of charging stations, etc, but even just different layouts like you had made the game a bit different. It did feel like the big maps and the slow character did feel a bit punishing. The malfunctions start damaging the ship immediately, so there's not really that much you can do to prevent them completely (which plays into the theme, but is a little demoralizing in the moment). I found the best strategy was to find a small room near a charging station and guard it religiously, and let the rest of the ship die (grabbing bombs as they spawn, because they're worth a lot of points). Once it's down to just that room, hop from fracture to fracture as fast as possible until it eventually dies. That said, I haven't been able to push my score too much with this method because the game seems to freeze around 2000 points. Great work for 48 hours, and congrats on finishing a Ludum Dare! Hopefully the first of many. |
