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Feedback comments for LD52
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| Timestamp | Since previous | Game | Hawkin's comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9 22:59:41 | The Harvester | ♥ 1 | That was fun! Great job for your first solo title, especially with a new code base! I liked that you included an invincibility ability that consumed lives that you harvest -- that's a good balance! I never was quite able to win (harvest all the people), so maybe the game needs a little more balancing. Things like player speed versus enemy speed, damage, and health. | |
| Jan 9 23:26:07 | 26m 26s | Space Harvest | ♥ 2 | Great level design!! This was a lot of fun, and it looked really good too. The mouse sensitivity was a bit high for my setup, even on my lowest setting. Sometimes I'd look around too much and lose track of where I was :) maybe some more differentiation between the rooms (even different wall color) would help? I think I did encounter a few bugs: * If I dropped a power item inside the teleporter, and then picked it up again, the teleporter disappeared! * The scroll wheel to choose an item in my inventory seemed inverted? * If I dropped an item in my inventory after selecting it with the scroll wheel, it just started duplicating it without dropping anything! But my score did not change. ** Teleporter disappeared when I tried to pick up the battery instead? ** Screenshot 2023-01-09 172433.png ** Everything in my inventory is a crystal, and nothing got dropped! ** Screenshot 2023-01-09 172119.png |
| Jan 9 23:37:38 | 11m 31s | Elonkorjuu - Live Harvest | ♥ 5 | What a masterpiece!! This was just a joy to experience, everything from the visual style to the simple but responsive gameplay and the catchy tune. It took me some experimentation in the first level to understand the light and dashing mechanic, but then I was flying through the rest of them. So much fun. I like that you even included support for people to insert their own level files! I'm sure it was part of how you generated your levels, but it's nice that you exposed it. I just can't say enough good things about this. Nice job! By the way, I somehow got the game to crash in the first level when I walked up to the house? Maybe unrelated? |
| Jan 9 23:50:11 | 12m 33s | Pulling Teeth | ♥ 3 | I think the whole idea was great -- the tooth fairy driving the tooth market? Nice!! What a great (and creepy) are design! Great job there. Would you buy candy from this creep?? Haha Untitled.png During the day, you might have just kept the shop open the whole time, maybe integrated it into the top of the screen (where there was more real estate, not blocking customers). I did try to wait and see what customers wanted before stocking, but it seemed like they made up their mind on available options as soon as they entered. Oh well :) I think the night shift could have been more engaging if it were faster paced. Waiting for the animations in and out of the homes slowed it down. But really, with such simple controls, this would port well to mobile! _Note: I had to install Visual C++ distributable as a prerequisite to play, but the launcher took care of it all for me!_ |
| Jan 10 02:19:21 | 2h 29m | Hustle Harvest | ♥ 1 | Hello fellow dreamer! I really empathize with the "overly ambitious idea" struggle. These jams are just about as much as design and scoping as they are development. It's tough! That said, good effort, and great job getting _something_ uploaded. That's a success! This was fun to tinker with, even if the options were limited. The node graph is a good framework for that resource production genre! By the way, I found that the scroll wheel (scrolling, not middle button clicking) on the left bar auto drags everything to the node graph! |
| Jan 10 02:33:33 | 14m 12s | UFO and Harvest | ♥ 2 | The artwork is so great! Being able to zoom out is nice, because I get to appreciate the lively solar system you built! Also, it gave me some orientation (without any other indicator or reminder which direction I was supposed to be headed). Was there a very specific path you constructed to follow? For example, there is a small planet with only trees right by the start. Getting there and harvesting all the trees (5) left me with just enough fuel to get back to where I started, to purchase more fuel (which cost 5) -- so that's an endless cycle. Trying to get further out than that, I don't seem to have enough fuel to travel or harvest very many resources. And there really isn't another store nearby enough to hop to for upgrades. Or so it seems. If I missed an obvious alternative, please let me know. I really want to explore this game more, because it's so pretty. |
| Jan 11 02:39:06 | 24h 05m | HARST | ♥ 1 | Well done! Unreal seems like a pretty powerful engine, and the visuals and the sound design were pretty good. I liked the backstory, too! The basic mechanics were a good design: you have to balance speed with caution. Two times I made it back to the door with 1 second left, but just missed the cut-off -- maybe a little bit of grace (an extra, secret second) would have been nice! Instead, I realized that if I made it to the _end_ of the hallway first, and then waited to harvest the last body, I had plenty of time to escape :) congrats.png |
| Jan 11 03:10:58 | 31m 52s | Deep Harvest VII | ♥ 3 | SUCH a good atmosphere. The attention to detail you have for storytelling, pacing and ambience is apparent. All of the sound design, ambient music, and floaty motions really sold the feeling that I was operating an underwater vehicle. Even though the gameplay was mechanical and not too varied, exploring the world (as well as the pacing of the narrative) made up for it. In fact, likely because the task was meditative, I could pay more attention to the story. I'll call it a win! I wonder how the story would have changed if I didn't find the goo-covered item until the end, _after_ hearing all the concerning events that transpired ... would that realization carry more weight? I can't wait to see what you all come up with next time! Thanks for this! |
| Jan 11 03:36:59 | 26m 01s | Fall's Tome | ♥ 2 | What a beautiful and relaxing experience. The art style definitely had a lot to do with that! It was a very charming landscape to explore. I wanted to capture all my photos to share with you, but sadly I accidentally exited the game! Instead, I'll share the one I managed to save :) Untitled.png Maybe you could provide the player with a single summary of all their photos at the end? Also, I had to Google what a "nenuphar" was in English :D |
| Jan 11 03:43:46 | 6m 47s | Techno Plants | ♥ 4 | Banging tune! I saw a head-banging sunflower on the feed, and I knew I had to come check it out. I was not disappointed! Simple but fun game with an excellent vibe. I never got tired of the tune! \m/ (0-0) \m/ |
| Jan 11 03:51:21 | 7m 35s | Celestial Wheatfields - (Roguelike Farming Game) | ♥ 6 | I loved the visual style! It made me want to explore further and get lost in a wavy field of golden wheat. The upgrade system added nice variety and progression to the gameplay. I do think the art could have been a little more consistent between the wheat, the ship/player, and the scythe. Individually, they looked nice, but altogether they weren't quite cohesive. One other idea for more player feedback: some additional indication that my backpack was full. Even though the bar was showing how much I had, my eyes were often on where I was swinging the scythe. A lot of times, I had swiped 3 or 4 more times than I needed to, wasting wheat! Great entry, great job to the whole team!! The music was very pleasant to listen to. By the way, next time, you should look into y-sorting so that the player doesn't appear on top of the wheat! wheat.png |
| Jan 11 22:50:32 | 18h 59m | The Cactilogue | ♥ 1 | What a sweet and meditative title! The artwork was beautiful and relaxing (good choice of music, too). I appreciate that there was no losing, just relaxing :) The minigames to collect flowers for $$ was an engaging mechanic. Even reading what you've written previously about the intentional misalignment, I still felt that some puzzles were just not lining up--as in, between two ticks of the slider, it would pass on just either slide of being perfectly aligned (i.e., below, going one notch to the right, the rectangle would swing just wide on the other side. hard to capture, but maybe my mouse sensitivity is insufficient?). Screenshot 2023-01-11 164924.png I had a great time overall! Some more minigame variety would take this much further! Here's my "cactilogue" hehe Screenshot 2023-01-11 164410.png (If you'd like to try our game out, be warned! If you're not a fan of horror games, feel free to skip it. No hard feelings! Spreading the love!) |
| Jan 12 01:41:48 | 2h 51m | Ol' Booty | ♥ 1 | The cover art really attracted me! It made me wish the game was actually in a three-quarter view rather than top down, but that would have taken some 3D modeling to get done right :) Overall, I liked the simple art style you had. The progression was a little slow (as in, the item increases seemed negligible). With a smaller scope of a game, I think letting the player get more awesome even faster would not have been a bad thing. Sailing around was a lot of fun! I think the ocean itself could have had more detail, both to be more visually interesting (waves, more landmarks like rocks and isles) and navigable ("Oh, I remember seeing that bit before .. go south). You had that idea with the darker zones, so more of that would have been great! The biggest thing I found myself wanting was more player feedback, like time of day (even a simple countdown timer) and current weight (so that I don't have to go all the way back to port to check). Otherwise, inferring those things from my own sense of time or from what I can't pick up wasn't as fun. Congratulations on your submission! I think you accomplished a whole lot as a single person! |
| Jan 12 02:09:46 | 27m 58s | Aorta | ♥ 1 | Hey there! Another spooky title! You had the right idea going in there (mood lighting, mystery, ambient noise). For me, the pacing and wandering didn't sustain the vibe for long. Managing player emotion throughout the story is a challenge (I'm not sure I know how either. Our game was very short!), but maybe making the level a little smaller with a little more detail (so that you had less to decorate) would have kept it up? I believe I understood the metaphor of the darkness. The problem is that the only way to defeat it (that I understood) was to move slowly, which in this scale of maze, decreased the fun for me. I'm sure any recommendation would mess up your metaphor, though. Still, something to think about! Thank you for sharing this! |
| Jan 12 02:28:57 | 19m 11s | Crops on fire | ♥ 1 | This was a fun idea! I think I would have liked a little less squirrely control, as I overshot my turns quite regularly. Sure it was challenging, but it was a bit more frustrating. I managed to get 48% on "Hell" by trying a few strategies. Definitely tough!!! @richard-jedlicka YOU'RE ON BUD :D Screenshot 2023-01-11 202842.png Oh, and I definitely felt "spent most of the time fighting with Unity" ... I have felt this in pretty much every Jam. But you know what? It gets easier. I think these last couple of times, I felt a lot more confidence. So stick with it! |
| Jan 12 02:40:03 | 11m 06s | Brutal Harvest | ♥ 2 | The art design was so great! Funny little demented corn creatures, haha. It took me some time to realize I had to pick the corn husks up once they were dead. The tutorial screen said "pick up/put down" .. but not exactly _what_ (and my brain quickly forgot about it). Some indicator (at least for the first corn) would have been a dead giveaway, like the arrow floating above the cart! Once I figured that out, it was on! cornman-corn.gif I also found a bit of a glitchy area where the sprite didn't switch back :) Screenshot 2023-01-11 203943.png |
| Jan 12 02:55:29 | 15m 26s | Harvest Season | ♥ 1 | LOVED the style. We think alike ;) The visual and level design were spot on. The fog and the rain. Effect achieved. I especially loved the meta VHS "hidden" in the barn -- haha. So many smart decisions about the gameplay: the combine clearing the field, as you effectively carve your own arena. The multiple endings ... great replay value! The sparks indicating a hit on the combine was a smart touch. I personally would have gone less heavy on post processing. The effect was great in the main and pause menus, but I feel like it maybe held you (the designer) back in-game. |
| Jan 12 03:12:34 | 17m 05s | H.A.R. VEST | ♥ 3 | I always like literal interpretations of the theme as a word :D the modeling and design of the main character was very nice! I didn't have such a good time with the puzzles. For puzzles, I think consistency and clarity are highly important! For example, I was not sure why the teleport got me past one wall earlier, but then it wasn't allowed later. The inconsistency was a tad confusing! Also, in the first puzzle with the laser wall, I was able to jump down to the ground floor once by accident, and then I couldn't figure out how to do it again. Clear indications of what the player should do, especially early on, are a great way to bypass frustration and get people to play your game _quicker_. I really loved your menu design, by the way! That's usually under-utilized in jams and quickly thrown together (guilty as charged), so seeing that level of polish is impressive. |
| Jan 12 04:25:14 | 1h 12m | Goblo The Harvester | ♥ 4 | Such an expansive world! There was a lot to explore, and it felt like every area had its own sort of challenge. Props to the level designer(s). The controls were a little disjointed, but they definitely had that retro vibe. I feel like it would have worked a bit better on the gamepad, dual joystick style. I tried and didn't think there was support? Combat didn't feel as satisfying as it could have. Maybe because the enemies were more or less static? Anyway, such a large team! I'd be really interested to hear how you manage the work between everyone -- maybe a blog post? |
| Jan 12 22:31:23 | 18h 06m | Out Of Sight | ♥ 1 | You got a lot of nice details in here! The grungy art style really fit the mood. The wavy corn and the rain were very nice mood touches. Also, the scripted setup (the first guard being grinded) was a very smart way to teach the player. The rest of the game was tough! RNG was definitely the true enemy, as sometimes the game created pretty impossible situations for me. Still, every run was fun, regardless of how the last run ended up. Best I got was 42 seconds remaining. Having a timer running during the game would have been a great addition! Great job on the music. I had a better chance to appreciate them from the OST you posted. Very nice!! Also, our games have some similar ideas. You should check it out! :D |
| Jan 12 22:43:14 | 11m 51s | Reaper of Souls | ♥ 1 | The design of this game is deceptively strong, but that's just a good reminder that design has always outpaced graphics. Your strengths as a designer really show! Here's what I noticed that I thought was smart: * The varying types of souls, one being the elusive target, but the others being tools or obstacles * The use of souls to indicate where your target is (otherwise, aimlessly searching would feel frustrating) All-in-all, it felt very balanced when played correctly. Your tutorial page included a lot of great hints! Screenshot 2023-01-12 164306.png |
| Jan 12 23:08:42 | 25m 28s | Reaper | ♥ 1 | This was satisfying and fun to play! It was simple, but the platforming felt good and the hunting was challenging enough. I do think having Q/E as attack was a bit difficult, as they aren't easy to press while I'm also moving with A/D. This may have been a better time to use Arrow Keys + ZXC. The wheat added a neat dynamic to an otherwhise drab level, but I wonder if you originally intended for it to have another purpose. I love the inclusion of lore rather than something generic! That always makes a game immediately more endearing, in my opinion. Screenshot 2023-01-12 171350.png |
| Jan 12 23:33:30 | 24m 48s | Body Harvesters | ♥ 2 | Wow! This was really addicting. My mouse hand is hurting a little bit haha! I loved how it evolved between bullet hell and automation. It was satisfying seeing my cities and defenses grow and rain hell into the sky. I could have kept playing much longer, but I think the enjoyment gains I got early on were beginning to plateau somewhat. That seems like a good opportunity to begin adding new things: stronger enemies, stronger defenses. One way to speed up the game (not that it necessarily needing it) was reaping more money by destroying (harvesting??) ships, perhaps because "they give you precious metals or technology" or something. Conversely, wealth might have started growing out of control, so I do think you reached a good balance (despite having much time for it). The strength versus the cost of various items never felt unbalanced. Obviously sound would have taken this to a perfect score, but you got a whole lot in for a solo dev! Untitled.png |
| Jan 12 23:55:52 | 22m 22s | Click On Fish | ♥ 1 | I think you've figured out the next captcha. Or maybe, reverse captcha ... because the later fish definitely get tough and I feel like a machine would do a better job than I did. But it was still a lot of fun to grind. The different fishes are straight lunacy, love it! Edit: Best I could do was about 58. By the end, I swear I was clicking on the right fish but losing hearts anyway D: now I'm questioning what you meant on stream about "a fish game with paranoia" ...you wouldn't be playing tricks, would YOU? |
| Jan 13 01:20:08 | 1h 24m | Honey Inc. | ♥ 2 | What an adorable game. The artwork was the highlight, down to every little detail. All the activities were so well animated, and the factory was amazingly decorated -- I loved all the bee related posters (but I think you missed an opportunity to tell them to BEE SAFE haha). Well done to everyone! This was a wonderful experience. Also, I feel like the first part of the shouting sounded like, "Why you guys napping??" I'm not sure if it was, but it made perfect sense in my brain XD |
| Jan 13 01:35:27 | 15m 19s | Hamster Hangry | ♥ 3 | I don't know what I expected when I clicked this, but it wasn't this! I thought it was just OK at first, but as I kept playing, I found plenty of things to appreciate. Here are the things I think you got right: * Checkpoints. You didn't punish the player too much for running out of lives, like having them completely restart the game. * Multiple hidden areas, where I thought "I already explored this!" but kept finding new corners. There was even a point I think you spawned rats behind me! * You definitely placed enemies intelligently, to make it more of a challenge. Here are where I think you will improve: * The sound effects needed some balancing. They got repetitive pretty quickly, and I had to turn down my sound. * The movement was faster than it maybe needed to be, but it did help me get around quicker! * The shooting wasn't too much of a challenge, since it was a straight shot to wherever my cursor was. That said, I did manage to "die" a couple of times because I didn't check the corners well enough! Good job team! |
| Jan 13 01:51:51 | 16m 24s | CrapCirclz | ♥ 2 | SUCH a clever game. I'm really interested in what kind of pattern recognition you implemented. Success really isn't all that possible with keyboard and mouse (I couldn't break 25% on the first level, but I did manage 55% on the second! 37% on the third), but I'm sure someone could do better. The game was certainly possible with one player alone, which I appreciated. The art style and effects and music really sold it. I think you made a thousand smart decisions on that! (Also: the options menu was a nice feature to add!!) |
| Jan 13 02:07:04 | 15m 13s | Goba Day | ♥ 1 | Jonas and Yaen! Very happy to see you guys on here. This was a very well-polished title. I enjoyed learning the first round by experimentation, which I felt the game allowed me to do without being too punishing or frustrating (the tips between years were also helpful). After the first game, my town was a bit of a horror. Poor Sora :( She's seen too much! Screenshot 2023-01-12 200511.png I realized that the game was balanced a little on the easier side, which I think was more than appropriate for my playstyle. Sometimes the RNG seemed a little harsh, but it seemed like anything higher than 80% was a pretty safe bet. I had no trouble keeping the field of gobas full. The animations, soft artwork, and music were all very calming! Screenshot 2023-01-12 200517.png |
| Jan 13 02:52:40 | 45m 36s | The Harvest of the Corn Children | ♥ 1 | Kudos for rolling your own engine. That is not easy!! Vertical colliders would have been a good thing to add, but I know not everything can make it in, and at least it didn't break the game. I did find the platforming unforgiving, as there wasn't much leeway making this jump. For example, this felt to me like it should have landed. jump.gif I did not seem to be able to get up to the top platform. Meanwhile, it seemed like an infinite number of children were spawning ad infinitum! Good luck to you guys in the future! Keep at it, you obviously have coding skills! Next time you can add to it and focus on the kind of smoothness that help keep a game moving. |
| Jan 13 04:43:13 | 1h 50m | URSA MAIOR | ♥ 2 | I love this charming tale! The rhyming was very cute, as was the little munchy bear haha. Artwork was beautiful to look at! Once up in space, I got lost for a bit without being able to find planets. It seemed like you had probably predetermined their locations, and I just happened to fly out of their field. Fortunately, I was able to wander back to it and eat the one or two final unfortunate morsels to achieve my final form :) Great experience! |
| Jan 13 05:07:47 | 24m 34s | Harvest of the Gods | ♥ 1 | I definitely appreciate the experiment!! There are a lot of muddy questions in using artificial intelligence as an aide (or contributor), and reading about your process and experience was really interesting. I hope it serves as a model for conversations in the future! Rating is fraught with the same complications: am I rating your ability as a game designer, or your ability to stich together disparate elements? I think you've achieved that stiching, but I'm not sure if this is the same game you would have designed from scratch. For that reason, it feels hard to dock you points for things I should attribute to the limitations of the AI ... you know what I mean? So take feedback with salt given that, that I don't necessarily know what was a _choice_ versus a _limitation_. I think that's what muddies the water with rating the result, separating the two. To get to feedback, the flight control felt a little awkward to me, being cardinal directions. I think I would have preferred "forward to accelerate, left and right to rotate". Being what it was, orienting on targets and collecting souls was a good challenge to start (though I appreciated that souls were attracted to me). When it came to enemies that fired back, I really didn't have much success. The short range of my bolt and the fact that I had to fly head on to get a hit meant that I was generally vulnerable to their longer range attack as I came in. I don't think I got a single hit on them before dying. Maybe a soft reset rather than a hard reset would have felt less punishing? As for the art and music, I would have given high marks for Graphics (very imaginative while also being readable). The music didn't seem to fit the style of the game, so I wouldn't have rated it very high. And to close, I don't know where I stand on "should AI-generated content be ratable?" :) |
| Jan 13 22:49:33 | 17h 41m | Souls harvest | ♥ 0 | I loved the concept! It was a good challenge to use cards economically, since you didn't get a refill until leveling up. I did regret that I always had to choose between refilling my hand and getting a new card. Maybe you can playtest auto-refilling? I did have some issues with the resolution, since the graphics ended up looking blurry (not as crisp as your screenshot). But otherwise, the UI artwork was great! It had such a gothic vibe to it. Also, as I think others have encountered, there is a repeatable crash when clicking the Sloth card. I'm using Chrome. Screenshot 2023-01-13 164214.png |
| Jan 13 23:14:40 | 25m 07s | The organ trees | ♥ 1 | I spent a good bit of time playing, at least 8 rounds of hacking, so you know that it was at least fun at its core! I really liked the art and scene design. The 2.5d sprites almost felt like a toybox, which added a sense of playfulness to the whole thing. I also think that the balance of fighting and harvesting was nice, since it created a sense of urgency to the surgery task. I do think that the progression could have used some tuning. For example, I bought all the basic tools (I thought) and every knowledge book, and still I was lacking some skill to harvest organs? Maybe I missed something really obvious, but it seems to me like you should have helped the player get to the second half of your game much sooner! What was I missing? Untitled.png A few other things needed just a bit of polishing, like the movement felt very slippery (like ice skating). So while it was fun zipping around (weeeee), it didn't quite help me fight better. Also, some warning when enemies are spawning, as they can spawn just about on top of you. Edit: I spent a little longer, bought a few more things. THEN I actually read your tutorial, and realized I could have had a better start :) One thing I noticed by comparing my screenshot, though ... am I supposed to have the grabby tool? 2.png Once I used the pouch to harvest intestines, and grew some organ trees, the game got a lot more interesting. So anything you can do to get your player there faster might be better! But it depends on what your vision is, not necessarily mine :) |
| Jan 13 23:43:43 | 29m 03s | Combine Harv-racer | ♥ 1 | Well this was a ho-down of a good time! The visual aesthetic was just perfect for what you were going for. The growing corn sprites were a very nice touch. And the exploding cows were just hilarious XD I really like the idea of fueling the harvest by mowing down corn. If you keep working on this, look into leading the player camera just a bit so that they see more of where they are going, instead of centering the vehicle on the screen! |
| Jan 13 23:55:42 | 11m 59s | BLOOD HARVEST | ♥ 0 | This was a really satisfying game loop! The artwork and the sound design really polished it all up. Even the minigame was satisfying, and I think it was smart adding a "bullseye" with a reward. Really great implementation! All of the sound work especially showed a lot of attention to detail, and the music was a perfect fit for the setting. My only suggestion would be to build up the story more, as the whole setup and idea is really novel. For example, instead of "you win when your lord reaches 13 points", write it as "Your lord needs enough blood to rise from his sleep. Give him 13 doses, and he will rise again!" yada yada. |
| Jan 14 00:36:40 | 40m 58s | Dark Harvest | ♥ 3 | NICE job on the mood. Excellent spook factor. The jump scares with the acoustic hits definitely got me a few times! You did really well with the sound design overall, and really left room for those tense moments. I'm really impressed! The controls were a little unexpected at first (I actually backed out of the cave the first time on accident, thinking I would move forward), but I eventually got used to them. I wonder how it would change the gameplay if the player were able to fight back. Since the player is carrying some sort of pickaxe, it would make sense to me. But, it might make the game too little of a challenge! Given what you built, I think you might really enjoy ours for a spooky time! |
| Jan 14 00:57:09 | 20m 29s | Hex-Yield | ♥ 2 | The artwork is soooo cute. I'm not a completionist generally, but if I were, THIS would be a game to 100%. It's a very fun, explorative game with very satisfying animations and sound. The song is so peaceful :) I'm just happy I was able to get to the magical forest hehe I ended up getting about 20 titles, and it makes me how there could possibly be 11 more!! |
| Jan 14 01:15:08 | 17m 59s | Fox Puppies Want Food For The Winter | ♥ 1 | Very short and sweet game! The artwork was really well drawn, too! Fantastic job there. A few things I would recommend: * I liked that there was an audio feedback for picking up and depositing vegetables. I think you could have added some sort of negative sound when the player tried to pick up more vegetables than they could carry. Also, I think you should have disabled the sound when trying to deposit nothing to the den. Tying player actions to clear indicators is a very basic way to build feedback into your game! * The music was very well done, but I don't know if it fit the theme of the game. At first, I thought it was just a fun gathering game. When I saw monsters roaming the fields, I felt like the music could have matched that mood more. It should have made me feel more distressed or worried for my kits! * I felt a little silly avoiding those monster _so carefully_ the entire playthrough .. only to try again and realize there was no penalty for touching them! haha Thanks for sharing your game! Screenshot 2023-01-13 190946.png |
| Jan 14 01:31:23 | 16m 15s | Harvest Heist | ♥ 3 | WHAT a genius opening menu! I always look forward to what you all put out, because it is always wonderful and innovative, from the artwork to the music to the gameplay. I liked how the pattern from hitting the keys matched the music, too. That was inspired. The writing was especially humorous, and the different endings (KNOCK OUT) were also an unexpected treat. Fantastic work as always! |
| Jan 14 02:44:44 | 1h 13m | Wheat World | ♥ 1 | This is polished! The visuals and music are release-ready. I need to take a break from playing, though, because my hand is cramping!! Maybe I should try the alternate controls. The gameplay felt really tight and polished too, reminiscent of the kind of control you need for Hollow Knight. The puzzle design with bouncing from slash felt really satisfying. I just wish I were better at it!! But I so appreciate that is saves my progress :D The only nit was that the controls soometimes seemed unresponsive (most apparent on BRITTLE), where I wouldn't slash despite hitting Ctrl (maybe while I was holding left?), and sometimes I would keep moving one direction in the air, despite letting up on the button or pressing the anti-direction. Small nits, this was still a blast!! |
| Jan 14 03:17:20 | 32m 36s | Afterlife Assistance Agency | ♥ 1 | Instant favorite! The gameplay was so satisfying and addicting. The artwork is oddly adorable, and I think you were smart to choose an idea that relied on randomization of a few assets. You got a surprising amount of variety in outcomes! Extending the clock with every bag, especially sub-10 seconds, added a lot of frenzy to the gameplay! I had two fairly good runs in a row, but I felt like I could get even faster -- a sign of a good game. Oddly, during the first run, I maybe clicked outside of the frame, and the entire frame tinted red for the last half of the game. Not sure how that would happen, but it made it extra challenging XD Screenshot 2023-01-13 211439.png After the tinting: Screenshot 2023-01-13 211447.png |
| Jan 14 04:08:38 | 51m 18s | Metallic Yield | ♥ 2 | The graphics really are compelling! Nice job setting the environment. The transmitter effect is really cool looking. Overall, really excellent visual design. It looked great. I felt like I wanted more of a challenge than "don't stay on the ground too long" or "collect more of the resources", but I'm not sure what that challenge might be without adding something entirely new. Having to grapple back up to the ship at the end was a nice twist, as getting back up would be tougher if you harvested too much. Nice idea overall! Well done! |
| Jan 14 04:27:01 | 18m 23s | The Unidentified Flying Cat Burglars! | ♥ 1 | This was fun to play! The inertial controls felt just right for an airship, even if it made combat a challenge. The objectives were immediately clear, and the concept was just the right amount of silly. What am I supposed to do with all these cats?? I need to stop and get some tuna or something ... There seemed to be a height ceiling that didn't apply to enemies, so it might have used a little more polish, but it didn't really detract from the core gameplay. A solid entry! |
| Jan 14 05:32:28 | 1h 05m | Hedgehog Tree | ♥ 2 | I'm not sure why, but this game really filled me with a lot of emotion. Almost felt a happy tear at the end. The beautifully drawn art combined with such a full and touching song (do you have the source?) just completed the mood for me. You deserve #1 in my opinion. Emotions aside, the gameplay was just so smart and involved. All the details in the mechanics turned something seemingly simple to engaging all the way through. Very well done! Thank you for a wonderful experience. Screenshot 2023-01-13 233148.png |
| Jan 14 22:52:09 | 17h 19m | Shred-A-Bunch! | ♥ 1 | Duude YES. This has all the right kind of energy. I was sold from the screenshots, but the moment that 80s anthem started playing, I was all in!! Great choice of music tracks -- shame they weren't written for the jam, because I would give it all the stars. My biggest feedback would be to look for a bit of a redesign. Thrashing zombies was obviously the most fun part, but damaging the harvester was a direct consequence. So in that sense, running over zombies was more of an obstacle than a goal, it was more of a deterrent. Does that make sense? I think if you _encourage_ the part that's more fun by tying it to the reward (upgrades), you've got a winning design! |
| Jan 15 14:44:55 | 15h 52m | Carrot | ♥ 1 | I'll never be meep so why even try :D Screenshot 2023-01-15 084348.png Love how snappy the graphics and controls are. This is a really tight platformer/shooter. The ballistic physics make the shots even harder. And the sound design is really cohesive! 10/10 🥕 !! |
| Jan 16 03:48:27 | 13h 03m | Ozera | ♥ 1 | This is a winning entry in many categories! The artwork was so beautifully painted, and I loved how it was implemented into the game. The water and the trees moved with such life. The audio scape was also very well done--I liked how the track morphed into something haunting as night approached. The gameplay had some well-thought-out mechanics, like cooking to restore energy (and losing some if you stayed out too late). In the end, I was able to make it through :) Can't wait to see more from you all! Screenshot 2023-01-15 214811.png Also, this detail is usually low on people's task list, but you had such a beautiful start menu ❤️ and those button animations! Such a strong introduction really adds to the overall polish. |
| Jan 17 00:03:00 | 20h 14m | The Gatherers | ♥ 3 | Such a chill game! I didn't know what to think of the song at first, but after 15 minutes of playtime, it was really growing on me. I think anything more would have gotten repetitive! I'm impressed by all the systems you generated. The game appears simple, but there's plenty going on behind the scenes, and that made this really interesting to play. I wonder if you could implement some sort of cost for moving people around (time, for instance), because as is, I could easily reallocate people to boost a resource for a split second. That felt a lot more micromanaging than I wanted to do. But it depends on what kind of gameplay you'd like to see! I love how the map started simple and you revealed more as I progress. That was a great entry and kept me from worrying about "the endgame" from the beginning. Great design, this is an under-sung entry! Untitled.png My first runthrough. I'm sure I could shave off some time now that I now the tricks. My guess is that below 10 minutes gets you silver. What's gold?? |
| Jan 17 00:37:20 | 34m 20s | Mountain of the Dragon Fruits | ♥ 1 | What a charming puzzle game! The artwork and visual effects were absolutely captivating. And the sound design and music transported me to an old world. Very excellent job! The gameplay was super fun, too, and surprising! The challenges were not that tough, which allowed me to simply sit back and enjoy the brain teasers. I even laughed at a couple of the combinations. The town must have no shortage of strong, willing men to help gather food! Untitled.png |
| Jan 17 00:57:24 | 20m 04s | Harvest Village | ♥ 1 | Very solid game mechanic! And good use of the art assets for a novel game design. It took me a second reading of the tutorial after my first play, only because I had forgotten the detail about stacking tiles to complete the resource. I got to the point that I was getting more dirt tiles, and I saw that I was eventually going to have a tough time managing all the demands with limited board space. That's smart! The gameplay needed something more in the end, perhaps more objectives or milestones (such as a story for what the kingdom is building), because it became a little too repetitive too fast. The music on top of that repeated a bit too often, so I think I would have preferred no music (or a mute button) instead! Overall a fun submission to play! |
| Jan 17 01:37:30 | 40m 06s | 4 Souls 2 Reap | ♥ 1 | This is a solid challenge! I should pull out my gamepad and try it there, because I have a feeling it'd play even more easily than with ZXC (i've never been good at that combo). The mirrored level is a doooooozy. I just couldn't get the last jump to reach the portal XD But consider me absolutely impressed, playing a solid 20 minutes to get there. The difficulty curve and speed at which you introduce new mechanics and challenges was perfectly set. On top of that, the visuals and sound design was great. My biggest gripe (and maybe this was just a keyboard thing) was that I didn't seem to be able to double-jump _while_ holding an arrow key (left or right). Not sure if that was intentional, but that was the cause of a significant number of deaths! |
| Jan 17 01:49:40 | 12m 10s | HARRR Vests | ♥ 1 | Congrats on your second jam entry!!! I always love a good pun interpretation of the theme--fundamentalists be damned! The pixel art was lovely. I played the pirate music in the background, and it really did sell the vibe ;) Some sea faring sound effects would have been a great addition as well! #### Some additional ideas: * Additional patterns (other than lines) would have made for good progression, and depending on how you implemented the code, it might not have been too hard. * Also, I think enforcing a penalty for misclicking could have been an added challenge. It might have been hard to implement visually (such as extra cuts on the clothing), but a UI item could have been a start, and it would have prevented me from just spam clicking XD. That said, it was hard enough to get lined up as it was haha. Great job! |
| Jan 17 02:00:49 | 11m 09s | Propaganda | ♥ 1 | I have no idea what I just played XD but it was surprisngly fun, even if the actions were repetivite. I guess that's a good sign that you captured something satisfying in the gameplay. The bit about adjusting the poster was not intuitve to me--I had to read some comments to know why I couldn't move away, and for some reason my first attempts to use the arrows didn't adjust the poster enough. So I didn't get that "aHa" moment. The sounds were really cute, and the artwork just shows that style triumphs over all! Very well done :) Also: Untitled.png |
| Jan 17 02:20:32 | 19m 43s | Harvest all Humans! | ♥ 2 | I think you did a great job putting this together! The artwork was very clean, and the gameplay was working as intended. As a final product, it is very complete! **Things I appreciated:** * The tutorial and in-game help was very clear. * The fact that enemies stayed in their frames, otherwise they would just all rush me!! **Some recommendations:** * Switching frames and landing right on top of an enemy didn't feel too far. Maybe you could pad the areas they are able to occupy? * I got stuck by colliders more than I expected, which hindered me in some escapes. For the next iteration, I think it could use some balancing. As it is, to get 30 living aliens would take quite a long time. The number of hearts I can harvest is mostly based on my skill at avoiding hits, which didn't always work out in my favor :D sometimes, I'd barely break even. After 10 minutes of playing, I must have made at least 12 aliens, but my counter was still only 4. Maybe you could: guarantee I'd gain a heart with every kill, or add some alien progression, so that I become stronger in some respects (faster, healthier, or doing more damage). Just something to keep the needle moving forward, rather than leaving me feeling like it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back. You know? |
| Jan 17 02:36:48 | 16m 16s | Void Reader - A desktop multiplayer game. | ♥ 1 | This is by far the most daring entry I've seen. It's almost like an idle game, but with network play thrown in. I downloaded the single player version, FWIW, just to try it out. First off, I love the way it just lays very simply over my desktop. In fact, I'm typing this right now with the little dude hanging out. Hey dude. Sit tight! At first, I was a little disgruntled by the slow void refresh timer. "You mean, I collect 3 seeds, then wait 4 minutes before I can collect more? And shop items cost how much? I think I'm going to recommend to speed that up ..." But then I realized the genius of your design: it's idle, and I can see my desktop. I can do _other things while I wait_. giphy.gif Ooops, brb. Void refresh. Okay I'm back. Anywaay, this feels like the kind of thing I would just keep up in the background so I can keep farming and getting better gear. My only regret is that it doesn't save my progress on quit :( I'll have to consider giving the online version a try -- if you have any gameplay footage, I'd love to see it. Like I said, daring! You risk people "not getting it" and complaining about the speed. Also @foggydude no, I will not ignore your background XD |
| Jan 17 03:09:58 | 33m 10s | Happy Tree Harvest | ♥ 2 | I love the concept! A game with a message :) Thank you for bringing these issues into your game! On my first play, I fell into the trap of HARVESTING EVERYTHING. I learned my lesson. The next playthrough, I found a good balance between humans and nature. A few recommendations for improving gameplay the next time around: * The tutorial before each minigame probably weren't necessary after the first Year. I think the game would have moved more fluidly without repeating them. But the rhymes were very sweet :) * The sounds were a little repetitive in some places. Consider using variations of the same sound, and playing a random one each time! Also, some sounds needed to be quieter than others (such as the music that plays when a tree is chopped). |
| Jan 17 03:26:03 | 16m 05s | Farm Patronum! | ♥ 0 | Very well done! The whole idea of a scarecrow zooming around and spraying pests is just funny, and it looked good too! I have no idea how easy or hard this is to build in C3, because I'm not too familiar with it. Bullet hell types are pretty common, though, so I imagine it isn't too tough. But you added a lot of nice polish and "juice" that made this very satisfying! The bursts and screen shake were satisfying. The gameplay itself wasn't too challenging. I could simply hold down the shoot button without penalty to release a constant stream of water. Also, I found that I didn't need to use the dash at all, especially in such a small field. In the future, you could add increasingly challenging bug types, or rounds with upgrades, or simply make the bugs stronger or faster (to scale the difficulty with the player skill). Untitled.png Also **cough cough** @kekkodude oh. oh... nvmd. |
| Jan 17 03:40:51 | 14m 48s | Farmula Grain Prix | ♥ 2 | This is totally addicting!! It's incredibly how many features you packed in here. The concept alone is wild. Track racer with farming and market forces ?? Whuuuuh?? Every little detail felt amazingly polished, down to the smallest details of the crowd and the crops. The variety of upgrades and modifiers was incredible too. Seriously, I could go on and on. Amazing job!! |
| Jan 18 02:30:10 | 22h 49m | The Crystallographer | ♥ 0 | I always know I'm going to enjoy a Pico title. They are just so byte-sized and charming! You've got a really great mechanic here. It's simple enough to understand quickly, but complicated enough to ensure repeated gameplay. Really satisfying CRUNCH sound too! |
| Jan 18 02:46:30 | 16m 20s | Where's my Chicken, man?: Hunt of Bounty | ♥ 1 | ### You should write somewhere that 'Z' is the "submit" button on the main menu! For a custom engine, this played really well! The artwork was very well done, too. The world changing when you reached the green zones was also really inventive! That transformed the game from a generic platformer to something unique. A couple of things I noticed: * I had a hard time finessing the horizontal movement when jumping. I had to press backwards midair to get the precision that I wanted. Hopefully that's not something to do with my keyboard! * The ball throw mechanic was pretty hard to learn, especially when it seemed the first use of it had to be done perfectly. I couldn't get up there! * The song just wasn't a fit at all. I think I would personally prefer no music to something that throws off the mood. It did sound like you had some sound effects in there, so I would have just let those do the work! |
| Jan 18 02:59:55 | 13m 25s | bLife | ♥ 1 | Bee-utiful! Thank you for this lovely experience :) Where so many submissions are high energy or high stress, it's nice to take a pause and remember to relax. I enjoyed flying around and finding secret spots to explore! It was like site seeing from a whole new perspective. bee.png By the way, I'm not sure I figured out what was causing my bee to become exhausted ("Play again?"). |
| Jan 18 03:11:27 | 11m 32s | Imma Head Out | ♥ 1 | “if it works, it works” Ah, yes, the familiar workflow from "I'm going to implement good design" to "//HACK //TODO //FIX ME" I had a few issues getting the game started. On WebGL, no button seemed to start the game from the title. On Windows, it seemed locked to the top-left of my desktop, instead of being windowed or maximized. Maybe I had an issue? For the gameplay, I really enjoyed being able to upgrade my weapon by defeating an enemy--and then that upgrade served as a "life" if I got hit too much. That said, the beginning of the game is definitely tough with the pea shooter! Since most enemies shoot head-on, same as the pea-shooter, I really had to get in there and get lucky a lot. But despite that limitation, I had fun! I think you might skip the main menu after the first time, because having to wait for it (and press through the tutorial) every time I died (which was a lot :D) was less fun! |
| Jan 18 03:41:59 | 30m 32s | Beware The Wheatshifter | ♥ 1 | I like the art style! This is a pretty straightforward puzzler, and I was really intrigued. As I played through a few levels, it became pretty hard to anticipate the wheatshifter's design, though. When did it decide to hop across wheat and chase me? Was it based on how close I was, or whether they could "see" me? I really couldn't figure it out. It ended up feeling a little unfair versus a challenge to be solved, so I'd think about what you intended to happen and how to clearly message that to the player! Also, I think the controls would have felt a lot snappier if the movement was grid based! As it is, I kept getting stuck on the corners of the wheat blocks. Congratulations on the submission, and thank you for sharing! |
| Jan 20 02:58:23 | 47h 16m | Somebody Will Die | ♥ 1 | I thank you for the lesson in blood type compatibility! This is a very important topic (as you know). :D This one was definitely a challenge, for a few reasons! Firstly, the search across so many variables to find a match is tough (which is a good education about the reality of organ donors ...). Secondly, the wolves were a bit rough, especially when moving south. Without being able to see ahead of you, you really just hoped you were retracing your steps enough. Definitely a challenge! There were a few times that I was certain I had found a match, but when I got back, the size didn't match. Are you sure there isn't a bug?? I found a O- large body on my last run, narrowly avoided wolves on the way back, only to find the organs were marked as small :( All in all, I found this title VERY interesting to play. The dialogue was also a joy to read (as you know). Thank you for this!! |
| Jan 20 03:26:45 | 28m 22s | Seven Favors | ♥ 3 | This game was just so dang fun to play. Even if there was nothing else, the combat felt super satisfying. The fact that it was tied to measurable progress and consequence gave it more _meaning_. The need to harvest wheat in order to feed the flock was a clever double-down on the theme, and it actually added variety to the gameplay. It required the player to think of a balance. Is there a reason I wouldn't just always play the field level, if I could gain food and heretics in the same level? The only thing I would want in addition to this is a new "level select" that is more integrated into the world, rather than implemented as a basic start menu. I'm imagining the patron in some darkened chamber, and you have two portals to choose from, one that takes you to harvest heretics, and one that takes you to harvest the field. I think that would be super neat! |
| Jan 21 01:52:17 | 22h 25m | Vegetables Hunter | ♥ 2 | The art was very intriguing! Did you make it all yourselves? Congratulations to the whole team on this submission! Once I understood what to do, I was able to play better. But I think you could improve the clarity of what it is the player is meant to do. For example. The gameplay is not so intuitive to start. For example, when the scene loads, I don't know exactly where my character is for the first time. It's common for them to be in the center of the camera or somehow highlighted. Also, the inventory was very small in the screen, so I didn't notice those for a while, nor did I know how to switch between them without some experimentation. But those are not a big deal. Once in the town, I opened the market, clicked the $ button, but it wasn't immediately clear what happened from that, since there was no feedback (button, sound, etc.). So in summary, I would add clearer UI and sounds for feedback on what the player is meant to do :) |
| Jan 21 03:13:06 | 1h 20m | Travelling Tea Maker | ♥ 2 | Such a wonderful narrative! I made myself a cup of tea while playing :) It really seems like you put a lot of work into the different branches, and even after two play throughs, I can tell there was more that I didn't unlock. That's really good! I appreciated that you gave opportunities to experiment (make tea) and learn what different combinations did. And I really like the way you used the theme! Opening the right options to "harvest" herbs felt really rewarding. My second playthrough, I got Izabelle to join me, and I pleased both the merchant and the guard. It was really satisfying! ❤️ Untitled.png One thing I wondered at the end: I scrolled back and didn't see anywhere the merchant mentioned a ring. Maybe a story branch that didn't quite line up? Screenshot 2023-01-20 211224.png |
| Jan 21 03:35:29 | 22m 23s | Oasis of Souls | ♥ 2 | What a beautiful environment and soundscape to explore. You all did a great job building the world. The sand trail was a nice detail! (one small thing I noticed: the dust particles off the player's feet didn't disappear on stone surfaces, but that's such a small detail it could have been intentional :P) The allegory you chose added another layer of depth to the game and made it mystical. I really enjoyed that. The only thing that could use a bit more polishing is the camera smoothness sometimes. Thank you for sharing! |
| Jan 21 03:43:57 | 8m 28s | Water Tower | ♥ 1 | Haha this was a really novel idea! I didn't expect how much I'd enjoy this. I was even feeling a little cocky until the "without scoping or missing" challenge came up. Really fun game! I wasn't a big fan of the song choice, as it was too "heavy" and repetitious for the length of it, if that makes sense. But I did appreciate the settings sliders!! |
| Jan 21 04:15:28 | 31m 31s | MONDO LABS | ♥ 1 | This is so packed!! I am impressed with how complete the game already feels. It just needs a little polishing on the delete mechanism (it sometimes deleted something other than I thought I was selecting), as well as some additional levels for pacing (which you've mentioned). Otherwise, what an educational and fun factorio-like puzzle! There was definitely challenge getting all the lines routed around each other. I think it's exploitable, with the rate of output. For example, I let a bunch of resources build up into the meat generator, then I added the poop outflow later, cutting off the water inflow, and still won :) Untitled.png Btw, the poop smilies were too funny! |
| Jan 22 00:24:09 | 20h 08m | Corpse Dealer | ♥ 1 | I felt so bad XD This had all the energy of an old Flash game, and that brought back a lot memories. I can't get over the bouncy elevator music in "the chop house" omg. Reminded me of the Wii music. The game loop was satisfying, too. You had a lot of fun details in there, like how players rotated, the disturbing body harvesting, and all the sound effects (the knife "nyeh" was a personal favorite). Just a tip, I would make sure that the voice lines are a little more intelligible, unless you were going for something stylized! I couldn't quite tell what the people said when you attacked them, maybe "Save us!" ? |
| Jan 22 00:42:24 | 18m 15s | Dead End Job | ♥ 2 | Really impressive job! I loved the animation on Greg (a whole lot of character), and the start menu was very immersive. The concept was really fun. Hacking through enemies and buying upgrades is a solid loop! The jam submission lacks a bit of polish in some key areas. For example, there was a "There you are" dialogue box that would pop up at the start of every shift and was impossible to dismiss, blocking the view somewhat. When the souls died, I feel like having some more feedback (little explosion or sound or something) would have made it more satisfying. Also, because the enemies simply wanted to advance forward to hit me, but I had to turn and face them to swipe, trading blows felt inevitable. With some balance, I think combat could be even more strategic and satisfying! All in all, I think you got a whole lot done for a jam! Congratulations! UPDATE: I played the updated version, and I see some good improvement! That shop menu is now *chef's kiss*. I can see you up'ed the prices some, which probably does a good job of drawing the game out. The bat's fireball is a nice touch, as are the damage numbers. I still think the combat problem exists, even though they advance pretty slowly at first. Here's a shot of a horde following me -- I figure you are trying to balance the shop prices by giving me plenty of enemies to hit, but at this point it's hard to get my edge in! Untitled.png |
| Jan 22 01:00:29 | 18m 05s | Midday Garden | ♥ 1 | A very satisfying game! The simple art style was just perfect. The variety of seeds and effects made me feel powerful. It was maddening not being able to get to a pile of coins inside a horde of enemies. I found myself wishing for more player upgrades, rather than just seed upgrades. But I think you found a nice balance for the entry. It was enjoyable to play without either being too stressful or too easy. I only wish I had a chance to admire my final garden at the end, rather than the simple win screen! |
| Jan 22 01:10:46 | 10m 17s | H.A.R.V.E.S.T. Harvest And Recon | ♥ 1 | It's a good start! The people running animation was pretty funny. The HARVEST model was really neat! I'd love to see more like that. I didn't find the accelerate control very satisfying. I was in between stopping and hopping by pressing W every so often, and I would have rather been able to control my speed more smoothly. I think I also noticed that the laser was tied to the cursor, rather than the front of the ship. So when I looked to the side and fired, it just didn't make sense :D Thanks for sharing this! |
| Jan 22 01:24:55 | 14m 09s | Martian Mind Hunter | ♥ 2 | This is incredibly implemented for a jam game! I think the graphical style really sells it. Even if the mechanics are straightforward, the _systems_ you put in place are really impressive. The RTS style felt good, although I mostly felt like I was micromanaging groups. Moving back and forth between the colonies and the brain was a little tedious, so I wish there were a way to "auto return" a unit. After a bit, the gameplay felt like a bit of grind, so I feel like it needed some sort of automation or progression to accelerate it (beyond the powerups, which were helpful!). All in all, this is one impressive entry. Really enjoyed the music, too! |
| Jan 22 02:07:24 | 42m 29s | Folk Farm | ♥ 1 | This was a very nice story! It was a lot to read sometimes, but it was very interesting. I only found the yellow bananas and a whole trove of seeds on the last night, but oh well! Some of the UI (text and images) blocked my clicks during the battles, but that's okay. I appreciate that you made the boss battles easy, because it would have been sad to start over from the beginning. All of the characters were very interesting and fun! Great job on the artwork!! |
| Jan 22 02:45:15 | 37m 51s | When It's Harvest Time | ♥ 2 | What the literal hell was this?? XD Congratulations, you successfully subverted ALL expectations. The first moment when you broke the walls was blissful. That was all a bit of fun. The gameplay itself was a little too unfair to last long. Having to collide with money to pick it up is maybe not the right choice, since that in itself becomes a challenge pretty soon. The spawn rate is just absurd, and before long it's hard to make it anywhere. Games like Killing Floor get around this by automatically giving you the money on kill. Additionally, even if I had the money, I don't think I'd ever be able to get an upgrade without being absolutely SWARMED haha. Or maybe I'm just terrible at your game. Anyway, it was a hilariously unexpected time :) |
| Jan 22 03:02:57 | 17m 42s | Evergreen 2 | ♥ 2 | This was a very rich idea! The fact that there were seasons, and so much changed during them, made the world feel so dynamic. The weather, the music, the lighting, the water. I appreciated the thought you put into all of it! It feels like the foundation for a much longer game, with longer seasons and more to do. I would love to see you expand on gathering, such as to prepare for the harsh winter. I hoped the fires could be used for cooking, too, but it seemed like I was able to eat whole, raw deer ;) A few other things I noticed: * Some trees were placed at the bottom of a lake. * When I picked up the knife (while holding the bow), it didn't equip. When I tried to drop it, it fell through the floor :( * The arrows seemed to shoot a little right of the cursor. * The pixelation was a cool, nostalgic effect, but the intensity of it made the game overall a little hard to read. Like, things not too far away from me were just a single pixel (or not visible at all), so I felt like I was "squinting" the whole time. But seriously, this was still inspiring to play! I want to see more! Congratulations to the whole team! |
| Jan 22 03:33:13 | 30m 16s | Farmer Joe | ♥ 1 | I'd say you made a satisfying game! It's simple, but the loop was addictive. I want to plant moooore. I didn't really understand the controls well enough from the instructions, but after my first attempt and going back to read, I eventually figured it out. The font you used is a little too unreadable. I got there in the end, but it took more effort than I'd like to read important text. Otherwise, the artwork was very nice! My first playthrough (5 min), I got $670 by experimenting with various crops. My second playthrough, I thought "Carrots all the way! Fastest grow, 2x profit. No brainer." By the end of it, I had planted 40 seeds (which should have gotten me $1600), but I didn't keep track of the water and only harvested $760 worth of it. Not much of an improvement. @jitspoe can confirm, don't go all-in on carrots :( OR if you do, don't plant more than you can get to. Screenshot 2023-01-21 213301.png |
| Jan 22 03:47:42 | 14m 29s | Furious Farm: Total Reap-Out | ♥ 1 | This was seriously fun to play. It would make a great couch co-op game!! I'll be waiting for the multiplayer release so I can challenge my friends. Solid work on all aspects. I especially enjoyed the knock-out style (though maybe that would be worth making optional for co-op). Untitled.png Only feedback is that the score tallying takes too long. I think it could be sped up a whole lot and have the same effect. If you can do the math, the results are there in front of you anyway. |
| Jan 22 04:17:05 | 29m 23s | Wheat harvest paradox | ♥ 1 | I'm simply in awe! This was a really great experience. It seems like you were really economical about your choices, to get so much done. The graphics style you chose really sold the experience. Seeing my reverse self "replanting" the wheat was definitely an eerie feeling. I was never brave enough to risk a collision. Who knows? When my self meets my anti-self, we might cause annihilation! I really dug the whole scene, and the sound design (even though you aren't taking credit for it) was still appreciated. Reversing sound for the "reverse days" was so smart, even if it was subtle. Great job!! Untitled.png (P.S. - You've got quite the itch.io following! Congrats! Any tips?) |
| Jan 22 04:34:39 | 17m 34s | When The Wheat Grows | ♥ 1 | What a story! The interactions you wrote were very engaging, and the artwork really brought it all to life! I did lose the map background at one point, but all the destinations were still available, so it didn't stop me! I couldn't figure out how to get everyone to the festival, and I absolutely failed the nun haha! But I still enjoyed the game a lot. Thank you for sharing this! And now, I'll just enjoy the sunset with my friends at this totally awesome festival :) I'm glad they could _stick_ around! Untitled.png |
| Jan 22 04:47:16 | 12m 37s | Damn Rats - LD52 | ♥ 1 | This was such an unexpected experience. The music made the whole thing seem routine, like, "Just another day swatting rats." Instead, the absolute SWARM of rats deserved more of an apocalyptic soundtrack XD In all seriousness, this ended up being a lot of fun. My hand does not appreciate me right now, but it was fun nonetheless. I had the bright idea to switch clicking fingers near the end, but it didn't seem to help me in the end all that much. Screenshot 2023-01-21 224720.png I wasn't sure exactly what the bar at the top indicated: was it just a timer, or some indication of the crops being harvested? The composition of the scene was nice. I liked the perspective and static camera, and the flowing water and growing crops added nice movement to the otherwise simple scene. Next time, I can't wait for upgrades like sprays and traps!! As an improvement, maybe you can add some sort of crosshairs to the ground so it's super clear what I'm going to slap? That said, I don't think I had any issues smacking the buggers. |
| Jan 25 01:19:18 | 68h 32m | Space Harvester | ♥ 2 | Instantly one of my favorites! The flying controls are satisfying and not frustrating like they sometimes are. The shooting gets a little challenging, but I found that it helps to manage your speed wisely on your approach. It is really satisfying that the game automatically hugs you close to planets as you are collecting. I think that shows a good understanding of what would be fun for the player (versus trying to make tight circles). I love the character that the modernist art gives the planets, too. Overall, the visual design is simple but appealing. Unfortunately I want to take off some points because the enemies were characterless hexagons, but really the game as a whole is a treat! Great job on the audio track! It really hit the mood. |
| Jan 25 01:21:11 | 1m 53s | Moon Festival | ♥ 0 | Would love to play and rate, but is the itch.io version the jam version or the update? |
| Jan 25 01:39:42 | 18m 31s | Stalk: Blood Harvest | ♥ 0 | It seems like you are just starting out on your game dev journey, so you should be congratulated! It takes drive and courage to start a project and then share it, especially on a tight timeline. Here are a few things to consider for future projects. ### 1. Purpose A game should really give the player a sense of purpose. Why am I playing the game? What is my motivation? You had "crop health" on the screen, but it didn't seem to actually track anything. I let the zombies get close, but they didn't seem interested in it. If the point of the game is to play the game, that's not much of a motivation at all. ### 2. Urgency In an action oriented game, a sense of urgency will heighten the experience of the player. "Not only do I need to do this, but I _need to do it now_ or else something bad will happen." For example, it was good that zombies started to chase me if I got too close. That's good! But the zombies mostly seemed to wander on the edge of the field by default. Very rarely did they seek me out. This left me to seek _them_ out instead, which turned the game into more of a chore than a defense. ### 3. Reward Feedback is a __major__ component of good design. How does the player know that they are doing the right thing? Or the wrong thing? How do they know if they are doing the right thing _really well_? Here are some examples: blood squirts or zombie reactions to being hit with bullets. Without that, I have to guess that I'm hitting them. When the player gets hit, you spawned some sort of symbol (at first I thought it was maybe health I could pick up). There are better ways to warn the player that they are being damaged (e.g., flashing lights, or a red vignette, or sound effects). Finally, most people are familiar with headshots being especially effective against zombies. Reward the player for being a _really_ good shot, and they will be motivated to try and get better and better. If it doesn't matter where I shoot them, I'll go for the easiest shot. Thanks for the submission! I made sure to give it some time so I could look for specific feedback :) Untitled.png (Unfortunately, many people might find this a bit prohibitive to rate! The download is nearly half a GB, and Unreal isn't the most ubiquitous. Somebody made a blog post about it not too long ago, [worth a read for the perspective](https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/52/harvest-from-your-success/unreal-engine-is-a-master-of-making-games-that-people-dont-want-to-play). Just something to think about if you are wanting to continue with game development!) |
| Jan 25 01:53:27 | 13m 45s | My Little Piece of Shelby | ♥ 1 | I'm impressed with what you were able to get done! It all works decently well, and it was honestly enjoyable to play. There is something simply satisfying about progressively tilling and sowing a field. I absolutely missed the car to the left the first time I played, so you might want to think of ways to bring that to the player's attention (either make sure it is in frame to begin with, or maybe an arrow pointing in that direction). I absolutely loved that you had a little town view for me to drive around in. I can see that growing into something with a lot of other stops and sites! Very cute. In terms of priorities, the hat cosmetics were a neat thing to play with, but I'm not sure they added a whole lot to the game. You might have been able to use that time on something a little more integral. (This is coming from the guy that spent a good 2 hours adding player character options in LD50 as a sort of personal mission haha!) |
| Jan 26 01:32:44 | 23h 39m | Macrogreens | ♥ 1 | Clearly an insane amount of passion and creativity went into this. Every single personality was a treat to the ears, well done to all the actors! The music is also some gooood jazz. Like, seriously. Not a boring moment. I also like how it comes back in after voice lines, and reminds you that it's still there. Still cool. The amount of feedback from shaking and whacking things is incredibly satisfying too. Down to the screen shake when you throw items around! The only critique I have about the actual gameplay is that the physics of ingredients sometimes seems unexpected, for example, dropping an item with no velocity, but it still shoots upward. I dunno if that was intentional, but it made plating a bit comically inept at times haha! Also, I would sometimes click out of the borderless window sometimes, and defocus the game. Not good! I want to stay inside this masterpiece!! |
| Jan 26 13:20:26 | 11h 47m | Essence Regulation | ♥ 1 | You've got the bones of something here! With some iteration on the core idea (for example, what kind of game do you want it to be?), this could become something great! For example, the vestigals weren't all that threatening, as they had predictable paths. I made it through without using my special abilities. In that same vein, shooting them wasn't really a necessity. And maybe you meant it that way, to encourage me to use the abilities. Then why have the gun? That's just an example of tuning mechanics so that the player _must_ use them, otherwise I may not play the game like you envisioned. Thanks for the submission! Great job getting all this done!! I hope you keep working on it. |
| Jan 27 01:14:02 | 11h 53m | Watermelon Rush! | ♥ 0 | What a whacky idea!! I love the fact that this takes place in a miniature world and the towers are sprinkler heads! Very creative. It's also a new twist on a TD game, where the path is dynamic. I'm glad you made the sell amount full price, because I felt like I had to reallocate towers. I'm looking forward to the new balancing, because I don't feel like the game is winnable right now. Every watermelon you "harvest" earns you $10, but every tower costs $100. You're lucky if a tower can kill 5 watermelon on its own, so really, you're looking at a net loss for every tower you place. Is there a strategy that you found to work? |
| Jan 27 01:28:43 | 14m 41s | FARM 64 | ♥ 3 | I always love the personality of this group's games. Instant fun. Nice choice on the graphics! A healthy dose of nostalgia gives it an instant boost. I really had to play with the scythe to figure out its range, but I had a much more successful second run. I love the concept of balancing your upgrades by harvesting a plant, and then unlocking multiple areas to progress the game. Great job! How was the 'Extra' experience? |
| Jan 27 01:45:44 | 17m 01s | HaustmĂĄne | ♥ 1 | Things that I really enjoyed: * The visual style is very unique! And the vignette was a good way to indicate whether I was hiding. * The story is clever, and I think the gameplay was very different than things I have played before. Having limited time to search for a specific item was a good challenge! * I appreciated that you allowed me to stockpile ingredients in the hut, otherwise it would have been too frustrating. Things that I think you could improve: * Getting seen seems a bit too sensitive, as I could barely step out of the shadows without losing. * It seemed like the villagers only came close enough to one or two shadows, which meant that I spent a lot of time getting back and forth to the hut. * I'm not sure why the only place you mention the possession mechanic is in a reply to a comment, since it seems to be a critical feature. Since being seen is so easy, I don't think the player thinks to approach any human, so the dialogue to "possess" would never appear. I think that if you maybe relaxed the vision of the villagers, made a few more points to possess people, and explained the mechanic, the game would start out a lot more smoothly! Thanks for sharing this! |
| Jan 27 02:05:32 | 19m 48s | The Night Harvest | ♥ 1 | What a great concept, and the execution of the cutscenes was really great! I loved the setup and the story, and I thought it was a clever detail that you could not understand the people hehe. I read your log about the game balance, so you are already aware of that. Aside from it being a challenge, it was a lot of fun! The presentation (like the UI) was very well polished, and the artwork was just fine!! Great submission! I really like that it was a story and not just game, you know? |
| Jan 27 02:24:08 | 18m 36s | Necrotic Harvest | ♥ 0 | What a perfectly sized game! I loved that the whole style made it feel like it was painted on papyrus. Perfect for the Egyptian theme! The sounds nicely filled out the game, and I think if you added a specific sound for each station, it would really perfect it! The fact that I could chain instructions made the flow of the game excellent. I felt like I was in pure concentration mode, trying to push myself further to keep track of many tables at once. And I felt like I could have improved more and more! Here was my best after 3 runs :) Screenshot 2023-01-26 202229.png |
| Jan 27 02:49:42 | 25m 34s | Harvest 31 | ♥ 4 | Hoowww does this not have more attention?! I love the atmosphere you achieved (no pun intended). This is a full-on narrative! The mystery is really intriguing, and the voice notes really do a lot to set the mood. The pacing and the environment were really well made, and everything seems well scoped for a jam. @bloodfin and @cassreads ought to get in here! They would definitely appreciate this. |
| Jan 27 03:01:06 | 11m 24s | Dreamcatcher | ♥ 1 | A very nice concept! I found the art style simple but calming, like a bedtime story. I liked the balancing of trying to capture dreams by making a circle, but fending off nightmares with slices. Very interesting gameplay! Good job with the sound design, too. Landing on the platforms made a satisfying sound--but I don't know how it doesn't wake people up! haha Some of the gaps in the platform were a little hard to see, and I fell down without expecting it. Also, it didn't seem like the nightmares hurt me? I had full stars, even when they grouped on top of me. Still, a fun thing to play! |
| Jan 27 03:19:43 | 18m 37s | Moon 2023 | ♥ 0 | This was really well put together! I think the gameplay could be extended somewhat, maybe just by slowing down the harvesting. That said, it's probably just the right length of a jam. My first play through, I wasn't moving so quickly, just enjoying the music and watching the trucks move around. Suddenly, it was over! (Adding some sort of timer may have given me a heads up.) The second time, I moved a lot more quickly, and I found that I won very fast! Maybe there's a balance in there, and this becomes more of a resource management game than a frenzy. But I think the latter is exactly what you wanted from the story, so good job! Screenshot 2023-01-26 211646.png |
| Jan 27 03:30:08 | 10m 25s | Graveyard Shift | ♥ 1 | Nice job! This felt polished. The animations are definitely the star of the show. They are so expressive! I appreciated that the spirits would eventually stop and cower, giving me a chance to reap them One thing I think would have been cool as an added ability was if I was able to suck them inward, like a sort of reaper tractor beam! That might have been really fun. Screenshot 2023-01-26 212842.png |
| Jan 27 03:46:56 | 16m 48s | Metit | ♥ 1 | I really dug what you were going for! The style was really neat, and I loved that the scythe doubled as a sort of feedback (such as when I regained my dash). I spent far too long trying to get the parry right, until I realized I could just run right past the guy XD A little more telegraphing and mercy on the timing of that one would make it feel just right. Sorry you couldn't finish what you wanted to! I know that's a tough feeling. Hopefully you all took some lessons in what to prioritize. Think about what did make it into the submission, what took a long time, and what maybe you could do differently for next time. You'll have a winner! |
| Jan 27 03:51:22 | 4m 26s | Shaded Flowers | ♥ 0 | Really cool visualization! Sometimes it's nice to be presented a puzzle to unwrap and experiment with, without being told exactly what it is for. If you found a way to gameify this, with a solid soundscape, it would be excellent! |
| Jan 27 04:02:30 | 11m 08s | Mushrun | ♥ 1 | Nice polish! You definitely spent a lot of time on the systems and mood design, and the artwork is really interesting. Seriously, who am I? _What_ am I? haha. The monster design was sick, too! I think this would have benefited from watching fresh people playtest. Even though you told me what the objective was (find mushrooms and build a ladder at the exit), I was confused that I seemed to be surrounded by mushrooms, yet didn't know how to pick them up. I knew I was missing something, and that was a little frustrating. Once I finally found the exit and then _the_ mushroom, it all kind of clicked. The procedural levels are really cool, and that makes each playthrough feel fresh. I would have at least started the player by the exit, as letting the first-time player know where there objective is feels like it would add a lot of clarity at the cost of a little challenge. I'm not sure how you would solve the mushroom problem. If the little mushrooms dotting the cave are important to you, maybe add a dialogue box the first time the player approaches one? "Not these! I need much bigger mushrooms to get out of here." |
| Jan 27 04:12:07 | 9m 37s | DropLet | ♥ 2 | Beautiful artwork! The lighting on the house, and the brooding background are really well done. The game was fun and simple, which means I had an enjoyable time playing it. With some rain sounds, and a little bit of music, this would have felt very complete! |
| Jan 27 04:21:16 | 9m 09s | the farmer | ♥ 0 | This is a great perspective! I enjoyed the feeling of being small and defenseless, and the first time the farmer showed up was really surprising. So stampy!! I think the audio could have used more thought, though it's understandable to run out of time especially as a solo dev! I couldn't quite tell what the sound in the background was ... my stomach grumbling for all those carrots? hehe |
| Jan 27 04:33:10 | 11m 54s | Light Runner | ♥ 1 | The crash sequence was really crunchy and satisfying! That was a smart way to do it! Near misses got really satisfying, like a shot of adrenaline! If you added a leaderboard to this, it would probably generate a lot of interest! Screenshot 2023-01-26 223244.png |
