FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD34 → Lawnmower Puzzle

Lawnmower Puzzle

By zathnic

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CategoryRankScoreCount
Coolness298
Innovation3903.31
Theme4993.69
Audio6912.27
Humor7332.21
Graphics8322.76
Mood8622.66
Overall9102.84
Fun9992.39

Comments

aglavra 2015-12-15 22:14

When I try to run it on Windows 8.1, it says "Java exception has occured"

murlsousa 2015-12-15 22:16

Not working =(

bobsleigh 2015-12-15 22:22

Pretty hard to get the hang of, but interesting puzzle game. I got stuck for a good while in the 1st level because I didnt get the shootonethesapplingtomakeitcollidable mechanic. Great idea.

drteaspoon 2015-12-15 22:25

Pretty cool puzzle.

bobm 2015-12-15 22:32

Bobsleigh said all <3

zathnic 2015-12-15 22:32

@Aglavra and murlsousa: I just checked some settings and saw that I had set my compilance level to Java version 1.7, but version 1.8 of the Java Runtime Environment activated. That MIGHT be the reason. I re-uploaded the game after changing it, give it another try...

untitledq 2015-12-15 22:33

Neat puzzle and lots of nice ideas, though maybe too many elements at once. The punishment of resetting the level when hitting water seems a bit harsh, too.
Very interesting implementation of the two button concept!

It appears to require Java 8, but outputs a confusing error message on Java 7 by the way.

simon-parzer 2015-12-15 22:33

The controls are kind of unintuitive. I can see how the game is supposed to work, but it was almost impossible for me to get anywhere, even after reading the lengthy description and the in-game hints. I always end up pressing the R button at the wrong moments. Effectively, the lawnmower doesn't ever go where I want it to go which gives me a feeling of not being in control.
Buying the speed upgrade at the beginning didn't help very much either, it makes navigating the thing even harder.

zathnic 2015-12-15 22:53

@UntitledQ: Ha! Seems like I was right about the error!
About the water: I thought it was good to add depth to the gameplay aside from just losing seeds when hitting worms, I agree it's harsh, but I payed attention to designing the levels (it's only really in level 2) so that you would always have enough time to react when there is water nearby. In level 1 I made a mistake, there's one spot where you can easily end up in water if you don't watch out, but aside from that I think it's fine.

@simon.parzer I agree the controls are not that intuitive, but I do think you can get used to them with a bit of practice (which is probably too much to ask for a simple LD game). I'd always keep the speed at the lowest unless there's an easy situation where you want to get through fast. It helps to, after hitting a tile, directly look for the next one where you'll have a direction to choose, check if you want to move left or right, and press the button (red arrow = left, green arrow = right) long before you come close to that tile.

superpokeunicorn 2015-12-16 00:53

Pretty interesting puzzle game. Reminds me of those ice puzzles in Pokemon. The growing/seed mechanics were interesting too, but a bit difficult to understand. Good job!

shivur 2015-12-16 01:38

A good basic idea but it,s hard too understand beacause of all the added gameplay features.

ddoomus 2015-12-16 02:09

I like the concept. Well done, but hard to get into.

funske 2015-12-16 02:10

Really creative good game. I love how you have an editor and a game, I really enjoyed it.

sorlok 2015-12-16 02:18

Solid idea, and you got quite a lot of content in there. I think the mouse is kind of cheating for "two buttons", but you made up for it with a nice focus on "Grow". Neat idea, and would like to see more!

sorlok 2015-12-16 02:19

*Edit* By "cheating", I don't mean "actually cheating". Just that the mouse is kind of like a mega-button. :D

geckoo1337 2015-12-16 17:16

It works fine for me on Win7 x86. A good entry which respects the theme. However the gameplay seems to me after 10 minutes a little bit annoying. It could be better with other features. I like the minimalist aesthetic and colors. Well done ++

auroz 2015-12-17 18:17

Tried to run it, gave me a "java exception has occured" error message.

brainstorm 2015-12-17 19:21

Not bad mechanics, but they're too complicated, at least for my taste. Also there's an annoying scratch sounding. But very innovative and good use of the theme. So you had a great idea and executed it bad.

3/5

stelots 2015-12-18 20:32

awesome

madjackmcmad 2015-12-18 20:41

Quite a lot of effort here! Good show.

geti 2015-12-20 01:34

Simple enough to play but fairly fiddly. Some of the mechanics "needed explaining" which isn't a great thing when a lot of players are going to be in a hurry ;)

mantlair 2015-12-20 13:57

Well I guess game was too complex. Looks like you really spend some time on it and i respect that but I thing it would be better if you focus on a single mechanic. Besides this yeah interesting concept. Well done!

zulman 2015-12-23 19:04

Unable to start in Win7 64