Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD51 → Feedback comment stats → Ava Skoog

Ava Skoog

Feedback comments for LD51

Ava Skoog's games and stats for all events →

Timestamp	Since previous	Game		Ava Skoog's comment
Oct 13 18:13:48		Thornscatter	♥ 1	Very nice and relaxing music to start my LD playing session with 😊 Initially I wondered if it clashed with what seemed to me like hectic gameplay but after accidentally running into thorns one too many times I learnt to take it more slowly and just let them come, cutting the few I needed to. This could've just been an abstract mechanic but you gave it a nice theme with the rosehip, the goal and sort of a poem at the beginning of it. I guess it would've been nice to be able to skip when selecting the next difficulty level but having R within one is probably enough, especially considering most people don't spend a lot of time on LD games anyway 😅 Said rosehip is also quite cute, even with the stern eyes. Again music is great, wish there were sound effects too. Gameplay is good and a nice interpretation of the theme. I like that there's still a little caveat to cutting thorns by creating new smaller ones. Nice job!
Oct 13 18:31:04	17m 16s	UAO?P	♥ 2	Super polished! Fantastic feedback and great, fitting music. It just feels good to play, and it starts in the menu itself, with options and juice 💪 I suppose the only thing I don't quite get is, well, the gameplay itself 😅 I understood the mechanics but there seemed to be a disconnect from the visuals (nothing seemed to change on the racetrack based on what I picked). I didn't feel like I had time to read most of the time or watch the track anyway. Regardless, it played well, balancing the bars and staying afloat, and the wonderfully vibrant graphics and great soundtrack really contributed to that. A job well done!
Oct 13 18:38:43	7m 39s	Der Schließmuskel	♥ 2	Very uncomfortable. Wish I didn't have to do it fifty times to see what happens next, it's a bit much. I don't think I ever noticed any differences in the "produce" (and maybe that's the point). Sorry if I missed something. Regardless of my feelings, it's undeniably pretty well done, controls well, good use of physics, attention to detail with animations and sound effects. There's certainly a vision here, even if I can't suss out what it's conveying. Technically well done but not at all for me 😁
Oct 13 18:58:20	19m 37s	The pond & the stars	♥ 2	Very relaxing. Sounds and looks fantastic. I really like the atmosphere it builds up. Maybe those story beats don't mean anything, maybe they do, but either way they certainly create a mood. Did not expect that when first starting the game. Does seem weird to pull those poor spirits out of the water! But I enjoyed getting the artefacts and progressing the story. You got a lot done for one person too, with several music tracks especially impressing me. The gameplay itself I suppose is fairly simple and not a big change from common fishing game mechanics but you dressed it up well with all this stuff. Really nice work!
Oct 15 11:36:04	40h 37m	Tensec World	♥ 1	Quite fun once you got into it! I liked optimising the routes and getting as many resources as possible to the depot just in time. Did the game/description ever explain that you can only have some 3 people running around at once? I didn't realise until they were suddenly missing and I wasn't getting any food and lost ☹️ It was funny that the generations passed every ten seconds even in the speech boxes. The music was nice. Cosy game! Controls were nice and intuitive, I guess panning the view by moving the mouse to the edges would've been nice too. Played for a while. Well done!!
Oct 16 19:12:06	31h 36m	Motor Dime	♥ 1	Felt good to play but could get frustrating after continuous fails 😅 Bike controlled nicely, tho like someone else mentioned turning faster even at low speed would've made it nicer and easier to get back on track after a fall. Liked the cute audience sprites and the little ragdoll character. Would've been great with some music of course. Nice work!
Oct 18 14:31:19	43h 19m	SPACEMAN	♥ 1	Cute graphics and a nice mood with the audio. Captures the spacey loneliness well. Simple but fun mechanics that don't need much explanation. One of those games where despite that simplicity you feel compelled to keep trying, especially since you can get right back into it after every failure. Nice and neat, well done 😊
Oct 18 14:35:20	4m 01s	To Catch a Wizard	♥ 1	Really nice and polished, quite impressive 😁 The silent tutorial works really well and the continuous flow of powerups makes it very motivating to keep going. The rewind mechanic is slick and presented nicely with the effects. Amazing how much content you managed to fit in. I suppose the sound effects are a bit scarce but the ones there are nice and the colour palette is lovely. Access to manual rewind/reset with R is always a great quality of life sort of feature. Really well done!!
Oct 18 14:38:31	3m 11s	10 Second Dating	♥ 1	Clever use of the theme! Well done on fitting in so many different character possibilities (generated or not, you still had to make the parts and code it up!) with amusing options and of course the amazing voice acting 😁 The correct answers can feel a bit obscure at times but that may also have been due to not reading enough dialogue before the time is up sometimes I suppose. Overall a good entry that feels well put together!
Oct 18 14:58:50	20m 19s	Lucky Lefty Lost In A Labyrinth	♥ 1	That's a neat twist on the minesweeper concept 😊 I was never very good at that either, so maybe it's just me, but it does feel like there's a bit of trial and error more than thinking sometimes—maybe that's the point? It's funny to theme it around a snail even if it does make movement, of course, feel quite slow 😅 The music is nice and the lock click and button feedback feel quite good; I do think the fall noise was too loud compared to the rest. Having to get at locks from the right angle after the first few levels was a nice twist on the mechanic but it would've been nice if it was indicated graphically somehow, perhaps by rotating the lock sprite. Overall enjoyable, just a bit rough around the edges. Nice job on getting so many levels in!
Oct 18 15:01:39	2m 49s	Oxylunky	♥ 0	Really great mood in this one. Different audio above and below the surface is a nice touch. The controls were mostly nice and movement did feel very watery, but for some reason I got confused on occasion and expected the controls to be inverted 😅 I did initially misunderstand the air pockets, thinking they'd be in grey nooks and didn't realise they'd be hidden under the black walls so it took a couple of tries before I tried swimming into them and finally found one heh. Looks and sounds nice but got quite difficult—as others have already mentioned, checkpoints would've been really nice because eventually it did get demotivating having to do it all over again every time. On the whole, however, a really nice entry!
Oct 18 15:12:28	10m 49s	Blind Jump	♥ 1	Really good game! First one I'm playing embedded on here—can confirm it's working well 😊 Just super polished, everything from slick graphics and audio to the clever use of the theme and the execution through level design that ramps up nicely and is presented so very well with the timeline and various effects. Great attention to detail. Hard to criticise anything, I guess the jumping felt a little unforgiving at times, bumping into a ceiling and not getting over a ledge in a frustrating way sometimes. But wow, super impressive!!
Oct 18 15:18:42	6m 14s	Lighthouse	♥ 1	A big favourite from this LD! It's such a pretty and atmospheric game. I love lighthouses, so I'm biased, but eh 👀 Strong start from the intro with the lightning strike and then into that very intuitive experience. Simple controls and a self-explanatory mechanic that just looks and feels nice. Lack of music is probably not a bad thing for this one? The storm audio and the splashes sell the setting really well. Of course the light stuff is gorgeous and works well. I think it would've been better if the beam took like half as long to rotate, but of course that's the theme's fault and not yours 😅 The rowing animation is really good and punchy too. The character does look a bit weird being so shiny but then again it's raining so to an extent I guess it makes sense. On the whole I really loved this one!!
Oct 18 15:26:03	7m 21s	Bygone Melodies	♥ 1	Such a wonderfully polished entry on most accounts 💚 Lovely drawings, palette, the whole thing, just a bit static in terms of animations but I suppose it was good to be able to focus on the movements that matter to keeping up with the beat 😅 And what a beat! Really lovely songs, amazing the amount of work you managed to get in on that, along with the story and illustrating all the different sets. It did feel difficult at times but I'm not very rhythmic so that's probably on me! Is it cheating if I ended up hitting keys on every beat to make sure I would get them on the one beat that mattered? 👀 Ahh, anyway, what an entry, wow! Amazing job.
Oct 19 15:35:43	24h 09m	Windy Mountain	♥ 1	Short but sweet 😊 On Mac so played web version and did unfortunately run into the issue with the music just stopping but it was good for as long as it played. The bigger issue was really that the countdown (and wind, if it got that far) didn't stop playing when I lost—is that a web issue only? ☹️ The levels you made were nice and self-explanatory without being too easy. The timings especially took a few tries to get right. Slightly lower gravity and a bit of coyote time would've been nice as I felt that got me a few times in a way that felt a bit unfair but it wasn't a big issue and I adapted to it. Otherwise the platforming felt really good and the graphics were cute; the pixellated blur-out on failure is very nice. Well done!
Oct 19 23:22:08	7h 46m	It's Snake, But Every 10 Seconds The Food Turns Into Walls	♥ 1	Fun twist on a classic concept 😁 Simple graphics but slick. Plays fine. As the title says: it's snake! But your addition is a good one and works well with the original mechanics. Good work!
Oct 19 23:39:57	17m 49s	Seconds in Command	♥ 0	Very well done, and a funny (punny) take on the theme. Really impressive how much stuff there is, all these characters with graphics and their own music. And a different mini game for each one! I'm not very good at button mashing, so I'm thankful that it was fairly forgiving. I did get dance arrows side by side in every lane once so that I couldn't avoid getting hit, is that a bug or intentional? I guess the only thing I can really criticise a little bit is that the graphics could've been more unified, and that pure red on green (health bar) is quite harsh-looking, but with so many assets I'm still wowed 🤩 Really nice work!!
Oct 20 15:42:50	16h 02m	Beardadette and the Eternal Hiccup	♥ 1	Wow, this is one of the most polished LD games I've ever seen! Looks, sounds and plays so well, with a lot of adorable character 😭 The general Paper Mario style is very nice, and then there are a lot of cool effects on top, like the water and the see-through mask when you're behind a wall. The ending did feel a little abrupt, with the level of everything else I got primed to expect a fancy outro 😅 Impressive amount of levels/puzzles for a jam game. I think the one quality of life upgrade I'd like is something to help me count the ten seconds since timing was tricky with some jumps; would've been nice to have a visual or auditory beat on every second, and not just the vignette right before a hiccough. Regardless, amazing. Super well done!!
Oct 20 16:03:52	21m 02s	Collapsing Cave	♥ 1	Pretty good! Fairly self-explanatory. The one thing that got me (even with the warning, sorry 😅) was the upgrade module: "can only be used twice" seemed to mean I couldn't even open the options again if I failed to pick something the first time (which I did, because I misunderstood), so I didn't get the Q upgrade and had to restart. Other than that it was fine, and I got pretty far before I accidentally fell into a chasm and lost. The character did move a bit fast. No music of course, but sound effects! They did what they needed to but the jumping sound got a bit repetitive; maybe varying between a few tones would've been nice 😊 Still played really well and was a fun challenge. Collecting the different minerals felt rewarding and the upgrade shops were a great incentive to take risks with those that took longer to mine (itself a great way to balance the game). Nice work!
Oct 20 16:06:28	2m 36s	Laser Shark	♥ 1	Looks really nice with the fancy shaders and the idea is funny 😁 As others have said there were some issues with sensitive and in general with feedback when scoring, losing and so on. The camera seemed to get behind walls and below ground a fair bit. Gameplay doesn't need much explanation, move and shoot, avoid danger. Not revolutionary but always good fun!
Oct 20 16:17:14	10m 46s	Persistence	♥ 1	I think it may be bugged for me on Mac ☹️ Tried on two different machines and on both the main menu works fine but entering the game I just see the player sprite on a black background with a couple of white trigger circles. Music plays. Nothing else. No keys seem to do anything. Can return to menu using ESC just fine. Seems something just doesn't want to work/show in the actual level.
Oct 20 16:32:57	15m 43s	RoomZ	♥ 1	Getting some Star Wars vibes from that sort of music combines with the sound effects for the shooting; intentional? 😁 It didn't run super well on my machine, and of course I won't score you any worse for that, but it did make me realise that this game seems to be a bit tied to the FPS? It was difficult to turn around, and I don't think it ran so badly that it would've been an issue if delta time was involved, but I might be wrong. Is that the case? Anyway, the game itself was quite fun and I enjoyed the various effects that got applied to me. I too got confused about reloading but luckily found out about it through the comments—would be great if the info got added to the description 😊 I liked the visual indicator of how loaded the gun was with the blue bit on it. The design of the enemies has its own charm too. Fun use of the theme!
Oct 21 07:14:01	14h 41m	CART CRASHERS	♥ 1	Fun, and funny, but very difficult 😅 Never really played CS or related games, so had to look up bunnyhopping, is it literally just mashing jump in the context of this game? Even then I never managed to catch up with the mounting list, is it possible? 👀 Anyhow, I like the music and the terrifying faces of the people, and getting a whole store and parking lot together for a jam is impressive! Controlled well, and carts being able to detach gave it more depth. It did seem a bit pointless to have to press F to get the first cart when there doesn't seem to be a reason not to want a cart whenever running into one, especially since every other cart attaches without a button press onto that afterwards. The dramatic animation when you lose is quite something! 😶 As a heads up I played here on the LD website and it worked fine but the edges of the screen were clipped so that I couldn't see the timer or the anxiety meter. Luckily I didn't really need them since the numbers of carts to get were visible. Overall really well done!!
Oct 21 07:24:41	10m 40s	Crazy Ball	♥ 1	Nice take on an already great game. There was a lot of "just ooone more time and then I have to move on to the next game* before I finally was able to stop 😁 The base game is implemented well but of course the big deal are the twists, and those were some fun ones! Bet there were some hazards I never got to see because I wasn't able to get beyond a certain point, eventually always getting crushed or missing the ball. I really like the way the timer is telegraphed with a simple dark bar. The music is good and fits the level of tension, and the sound effects are nice too. Honestly there isn't much to criticise beyond the fact that half the work is just a classic game, but that's why I wanted to focus on what you added to it, which again was good and felt fair since it was clear you were generally safe before the time was up, and things like the big block in the beginning were actually helpful before then since it caught the ball and got you a lot more bricks without risk of falling down. Nice and neat! 😊
Oct 21 07:35:28	10m 47s	The 10 Seconds Game	♥ 1	I enjoyed that, always fun to see unusual stuff, but the game itself was fun too 😁 It's neat that the web tech allows for difficulty settings by playing with the browser zoom and window size. Even then the last level was very difficult and I was very relieved when, after finally beating it, I was told I'd won 😅 I think it mostly worked well but on the last level the buttons just felt unresponsive even at a huge zoom and I wonder if it would've worked better in a different browser (I used Chrome), the other side of the web coin perhaps. It was nice to see that the game scaled well with said zoom/resize anyhow. Graphics were simple but you get an extra point for the neat animations (CSS only?). Some sound would've been neat but that too can be finicky in browsers of course. Good job on the whole, few more levels (easier than the last one!) would've been neat if you'd had the time. Really cool game!
Oct 21 08:13:14	37m 46s	#1 Button Presser	♥ 3	Well done on a funny game 😁 It was mostly fine and of course very intuitive, and it was really nice to have the notes for the rocket game at all times, but I do agree with others that the rocket was way too slow. Props for voice acting the boss! Music is nice—perhaps it fits the rocket game more than the surrounding game, but that makes it fit anyway 🤔 Enjoyed myself, but did feel a bit snubbed when said slowness of the rocket led to my losing. But on the whole really neat! I like the little details on the desk, and that's one weird keyboard 😅 Neat with the progression of the chat messages. Well done!
Oct 21 16:57:28	8h 44m	Pumpkinz	♥ 1	Happy Halloween! 🎃 Not a lot of game of course, but cute pumpkin and challenging yourself to get ten seconds right without an indicator is fun at least a few times (unfortunately the postman from Majora's Mask did not train me sufficiently). No restart after game over is frustrating tho 😟 I cheated after a bit by using my phone's stopwatch just to see what happened if I did get it and the wiggle is much appreciated. Congrats on submitting anything at all (two games, no less!) with the limited time!
Oct 21 17:09:01	11m 33s	Growth Spurt	♥ 1	Amazing 🦒 Simple but fun and intuitive. Nice music, but I guess you didn't make it since you opted out of the audio category? Still a good fit, slightly hectic but playful! Graphics are perhaps "bad" but there is something to be said for the nostalgic charm of barely shaded low-poly art with way too detailed textures 😁 Feels like something I'd get on a demo CD-ROM with a box of cereal in the early 2000s. Obviously funny. Loved the dragon giraffe in the background. Neck parts bugged out a bit and didn't quite stick together but again charming. I didn't seem to be able to eat the lower trees anymore when my neck got longer, was that intended? I guess the eating noise was meant to be blades/shears but combined with the hose-like neck I interpreted it as a vacuum cleaner 👀 Also funny, but sound got a bit harsh and grating. But nice simple fun and good use of the theme!
Oct 21 17:19:57	10m 56s	Changes	♥ 0	Doesn't look like I can rate an extra game, didn't realise until after I played. But I did play, so here's a comment at least 😅 I liked the graphics, gritty hand-painted look reminds me of Machinarium. Fits a fly in some kind of machine! Helicopter-like audio was funny, if a bit grating 😁 Played well but fairly difficult! My only real complaint would be that X should've been used in the menu instead of enter IMO but that doesn't even affect the main gameplay so~ Nice game!
Oct 21 17:58:55	38m 58s	Roboten	♥ 1	Quite a bit of fun, and nice-looking too, with good music 😊 The jump sound clashed a bit with the music IMO. Great job giving personality to two simple boxes. I hadn't seen the lava yet when they first commented on it so I was confused, and once the lava appeared, scared 👀 Game plays well and is easy to understand. Jumping feels good and I appreciate how slow the lava is to give you time to make mistakes (and I kept making them!) and figure things out without having to restart the whole thing—even then I fell into it many times, so any faster would've been very difficult. My only real annoyance is having to wait the whole ten seconds every time because I often made a mistake and had to do nothing for one turn while I waited to get back to the other character to adjust it, so the first one finally could move on, now two turns later; I think it would've still been fair use of the theme (always auto swap every 10 seconds no matter what, but able to do it manually earlier). Well done!
Oct 21 18:06:54	7m 59s	Dimension Rush	♥ 0	Short but sweet! Looks very nice (I especially like the little plants and the cute character) and while the music sounded good, the short loop got grating quickly 😅 Mostly felt good but I think the acceleration could be tweaked; even in a non-slippery dimension with normal jumps it was very finicky to move not too much and not too little to clear the staircase with spikes. Sound effects are nice and fit right in. Would've been nice to see more levels of course but I liked the ones there were. Checkpoints much appreciated. Good use of the theme, but I often got the same dimension 3-5 times in a row. I think they would reset at checkpoints, but were they supposed to be random otherwise? On the whole a nice game with some minor issues, good work!