FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD34 → Title Unknown

Title Unknown

By alexiseshford

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CategoryRankScoreCount
Audio244.06
Coolness1100
Fun443.92
Overall613.94
Mood793.79
Graphics834.10
Theme1474.11
Innovation6192.92

Comments

cimbaman 2015-12-14 00:30

This game is so great I can't explain it. I love the look of it I like the feel of it, there is only one thing I don't like, I suck at it big time.

fuzzywuzzie 2015-12-14 05:12

Hard mode goes from 0-60 in the blink of an eye!

When I saw the theme, the first thing I thought was "for sure, someone's going to do a guitar-hero type thing with only two buttons". I did not imagine someone would pull that off as well as this!

Controls (such as they are) are tight! Visuals are great! Well done!

thirteenthspiral 2015-12-14 05:14

I LOVE this game. It's simple to play and not complicated at all. The only thing that frustrated me was that switch between the buttons at the end xD Other than that I only got 8 wrong soo, SPACE CADET. Good job! I really, really enjoyed it!

evanegibbs 2015-12-14 07:57

This game is great! The song is really nice, and that is of utmost importance in a game like this. It's actually really sweet. I like that you are a spaceship flying without any enemies attacking you or anything. It creates such a cool pleasant atmosphere with the music. :)
Also it was such a nice touch that the two buttons were still just the two buttons on the menu screen. Very clever and it really worked!

It took me so many tries to beat hard mode!

Awesome job on this dude!

tensoplast01 2015-12-14 10:43

Very nice concept! Like it :D

jcwelgemoed 2015-12-14 10:56

Great entry. Good work

tgrehawi 2015-12-14 10:59

Good music, Good looks, solid gameplay

blackbulletiv 2015-12-14 11:11

Good concept, visuals, and execution. It's simple, but an excellent game overall.

johnnwfs 2015-12-14 11:37

Great job and I like the concept and especially when you do a good job and your plane / ship "speeds up"

vururia 2015-12-14 11:39

Fav game so far. The music was simply amazing.

rikkypikki 2015-12-14 11:42

Good fun, good controlls and very difficult. The music was nice but the sound effects kind of ruined it.

taffaz 2015-12-14 11:42

Cool game, I saw a gif you posted during the development and was intrigued. Hard absolutely destroyed me, wasn't ready for the step up from easy.

vegapomme27 2015-12-14 11:54

It's a nice art direction and gameplay here. Too bad there are some kind of delay between music and buttons push.

kirilllosev 2015-12-14 12:38

that's actually quite fun :D i really enjoyed it
good graphics
nice and annoying song
controls is good too
can't say anything bad really

manabreak 2015-12-14 13:29

Awesome! I really liked this. The only thing is that the beat goes off sync after a while, making it more difficult to actually "play in rhythm". Too bad the gorgeous graphics of the space ship are not in focus since you have to keep your eyes right on the button row. :)

anael 2015-12-14 13:44

awesome! this game is my favorite in the compo section for now!

darkgrisen 2015-12-14 13:48

Probably one of the best games i've played :)

Well done!

lafunk 2015-12-14 14:47

I would love to play a full version of this! Great job

jupiter_hadley 2015-12-14 15:17

Very fun, well made game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 34 compilation video series, if you’d like to check it out :) https://youtu.be/aHYNcWsg9Wg

alexiseshford 2015-12-14 15:40

@Jupiter_Hadley

Many thanks, very interesting! :)

zetym 2015-12-14 15:55

Really nice game!

Got into a nice rhythm after a little bit and then miss one button and it's completely ruined. Great time.

The sound effect for pressing the X button sounds like I'm failing which makes me feel like I shouldn't have done that after pressing it. Otherwise great.

miltage 2015-12-14 16:06

Loved the graphics, although probably not the best choice of colours for people with colour blindness.

adamwoolridge 2015-12-14 16:12

Fun game, I suck at it though! :)

danielsann7 2015-12-14 16:13

this game is great! taiko with shmup awesome combination :D
insane difficult too, great job!

ghostbomb 2015-12-14 16:14

Awesome game

Lag compensation would be great

skywilly 2015-12-14 16:25

I want a real long game with this idea ! :)

nunesbarbosa 2015-12-14 16:48

Rhythm game, loved it! You could add some ships to shoot on the X button on rhythm.

Congrats!

danbolt 2015-12-14 17:13

Super polished! I liked the smooth pixel art and color choices. The UI has nice details, but it doesn't get in your face. Very zen!

I'm pretty bad at rhythm games, so I crashed and burned a lot, but it was super well-done.

dragonxvi 2015-12-14 19:28

Pretty cool and fits the theme. Could do with some hold sections to mix it up, but enjoyed it!

littlethor 2015-12-14 19:36

Beautiful and fun! And this music is terrific! ^^

oxysoft 2015-12-14 19:46

very cool entry, the spaceship with the effects looked great which is a shame because you don't really have the time to look at it when playing

zeezgames 2015-12-14 20:40

Ahh reminds me of the dance type games and parappa the rappa :D

music was nice loved when i first heard the green button :)

i enjoyed it but couldnt master the hard mode sadly :(

Overall great game

Well Done!

timeshapers 2015-12-14 20:52

Cool rhythm game, I really want to play more of it.

pi_pi3 2015-12-14 21:26

Some of the button press' were off, but it's still a nice take on Guitar Hero

riftpoint 2015-12-14 21:28

This is one of the best games of this ludum dare! Congratulations to the developers!

mithreindeir 2015-12-14 21:28

Wow! I've always been a fan of these kinds of games and this is awesome!

refreshcreations 2015-12-14 23:21

Flipping amazing! Please tell me you'll be adding more to this post-jam, it rocks :D

alexiseshford 2015-12-14 23:24

@refreshgame

Agreed! :)

d_0o_d 2015-12-14 23:37

When I saw your post on the front page, I knew I had to play it.
Really good looking graphics and nice music. I feel like the threshold on the button clicks could wee-bit lower, but that might just be personal preference.
But one thing that bugged me, was in the controls you set button one and two. And in-game button one is actually the one on the right.

Really nice game though :)

silkworm_sweatshop 2015-12-15 00:00

Very fun, I loved the music! Hard mode kicked my ass though.

5you 2015-12-15 00:44

Cool but it didn't feel like the music was matching to the buttons in hard mode, wich is a huge problem for this type of game. Also, I understand the constraints of the two buttons limits the concept but you could still take in account button pressed, button down and button release (so 3*2 makes 6 variations instead of two).

Otherwise it has a great concept, it's fun, beautiful, has nice music and stick to the theme perfectly.

delahee 2015-12-15 00:50

Loved it :)

smoreley 2015-12-15 02:33

Awesome game, loved that you carried the two button theme even through the menu of the game.

mr_fudd 2015-12-15 02:36

Great game! I could've kept playing it for a long time. 2 minor criticisms. The 2 buttons felt too close together. It was a little bit of an awkward hand position until I got used to it. Also, the difficulty curve of the hard mode was too high. It started very simply and it felt like the hard part came out of nowhere.

lkfumagalli 2015-12-15 04:38

I love this game! You did an amazing job with this. Where to begin...

Innovation:
- I think the way you implemented the mechanics of Two Button Controls was brilliant. Sure, it's not hard to think of doing a rhythm game, but you did it right. Further, you tied in the mechanic to the spaceship's health. That was creative, and I loved the effect!

Fun:
- I am slightly biased as I love rhythm games, but nonetheless I believe that this game's fun rating is off the charts! I was addicted, and if I didn't need to look at other games, I'd still be playing. I personally think this is the most important category, and you aced it. Now to answer why it was fun, well, part of it is that I was constantly engaged. The other part is I got pretty immediate feedback from succeeding or screwing up. The words denoting how well or poorly I did, the ship slowly bursting into flames and smoking from the rear, it all contributed to the fun experience.

Theme:
- See Innovation. You aced this too.

Graphics:
- Amazing graphics! The art is cute and retro, the style is consistent and the animations are smooth and beautiful. Had I found this game somewhere on the internet and not known it was from the Ludum Dare, I'd think it was a professionally developed (albeit small) retro game. Great work!

Audio & Mood:
- In a rhythm game I consider these two to be one and the same, and I think you succeeded on both fronts. The music goes well with the art, it feels very space-ish, and it doesn't clash with the beat. Since the music fits the game, the mood is set and maintained well. It might've been nice to have had some music on the title screen, but then again the silence at the start helps you better appreciate the music when you start playing.

Conclusion:
- There were a few subtle things I noticed that I feel deserve mentioning, and a few things that could've been improved.
- First, the subtle. I like that the score goes up gradually instead of instantly. I also like the stars that spread out after you hit a beat. They may not be a big things, but visually they have a nice effect and add to the overall experience.
- Second, what could be improved. I felt Hard mode had far too steep of a difficulty curve. There's too much difference in the rhythm and pace. As for Easy mode, it would've been nice if there were periods of calm during which there were no beats so I could get a chance to take my eyes off the top and admire the spaceship a little more. None of this was game-breaking though.
- Finally, my overall opinion? As I said earlier, I love this game. I will be playing it more in the future, and I look forward to any updates you make to it. I also freely admit that I gave it full stars in everything. Great work, RhythmRider is an EXCELLENT game!

edriavw 2015-12-15 10:16

cool game, maybe metal music will be great

pete_h 2015-12-15 10:17

Really well executed! Tight controls, great art & great audio. A joy to play!

mitya1234 2015-12-15 10:33

Great work, it's really good!

athenaofdelphi 2015-12-15 11:08

Great game, and excellent execution of the rhythm genre. I'd like to add my vote for continued post compo development :)

leaghorn 2015-12-15 13:24

Cool idea and execution but synchro with music could be better.

xtremeprime 2015-12-15 14:03

Great game! Very fun and nice game! :D

ristoretto 2015-12-15 16:53

Well made!

I found a bug: you can press both buttons at the same time and still get a hit.

local306 2015-12-15 17:40

Cool spin on the rhythm genre!

diebackstudios 2015-12-15 17:56

Awesome huge fan of pixel art and rhythm based games :) Great work

meta-link 2015-12-15 18:39

Really cool game !
Making a rhythm game was a good idea, and it's a success ! The music is fun and the graphics are realy cool, good job !

alexiseshford 2015-12-15 21:27

Many thanks for your comments and feedback guys!

You're awesome!

redzero 2015-12-15 22:01

Nice game!

nicolaigd 2015-12-15 22:26

Nice job on the game! It's fun when you get into a good streak.

mintarcade 2015-12-16 01:00

SO hard, but SOOO cooooool. Just love it!

pjimmy 2015-12-16 01:21

awesome! cool rhythm game, reminds me of an early version of guitar hero. great graphics, also great sound, well done :D

zkenshin 2015-12-16 02:06

Nice and simple, I liked the incorporation of the theme into the menu, too. Nice job!

archonthewizard 2015-12-16 03:19

I love rhythm games. It's impressive you could put such a fun one together in only 48 hours. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

alvarop 2015-12-16 04:42

Superb presentation. Great gameplay. I would keep prasing it, but I'm still frustrated over my lack of skill.

I WANT TO BEAT HARD MODE.

peekotus 2015-12-16 04:47

Such a good game but I am terrible at it.

os_reboot 2015-12-16 05:15

Fun take on Taiko! I wish there were at least a couple more songs/difficulties, the game gets a little repetitive after a few tries. The graphics mesh nicely with the sound and the aesthetic, this is a very well put together entry. Overall incredible job. +Kudos

toloagames 2015-12-16 15:31

Good Job! But sadly I can't see my score on the Game Over Screen :(

bloomingbuds 2015-12-16 17:12

Great arcade feeling behind this. Very original for a jam, really funny to play and so polished!

fullmontis 2015-12-16 17:19

Nice rhythm game, simple but effective and aesthetically pleasing.

gamepopper 2015-12-16 20:46

That was really fun, hard mode was challenging but I really enjoyed the game. Nice rocket and smoke effects too!

kunonooni 2015-12-17 01:45

There are so many LD games I'll be playing again after the voting is up and yours will totally be one of them! This is a well polished visually stimulating game. Well Done!

justinmullin 2015-12-17 02:43

This is great! Love the presentation and the music is awesome. It did feel like the timing was ever so slightly off, such that if I tapped in time with the music I always got "good" rather than "excellent." It's possible I'm just bad, but I *think* I have a pretty good sense of rhythm...anyway, reading from the visual indicator I was able to play just fine, but it was a little jarring.

That's not to distract from the fact that this is an awesome entry with some great polish. Nicely done.

krafty 2015-12-17 03:58

This game was super fun! Hard mode killed me lol, this is really great! You should add more songs and make this into a full game! Graphics and music were really excellent, and I liked the spaceship visualization, it made it so that the simplicity didn't seem like a lack of content.

logon13 2015-12-17 04:29

Very well polished

evergreen-games-ludum-dare 2015-12-17 06:37

Pretty awesome! Very simple but still challenging.

yahooda 2015-12-17 09:08

I'm not normally a big fan of rhythm games, but this is really great.

strike 2015-12-17 20:13

Simply very good. Great game.

jpdev 2015-12-17 20:34

It get very hard very fast :)
But very cool music!

herzucco 2015-12-17 21:00

I wouldn't say it's innovative but it's really great :

diebackstudios 2015-12-18 05:12

Really a gem here :) special love for rhythm based titles, love love love

oz2mura 2015-12-18 05:57

Can't stop trying to beat hard mode. I WILL BEAT IT! Great music, cute art, overall pretty amazing entry.

onionblitz 2015-12-19 05:37

I feel like the inputs are a tad bit off (or maybe that's just me?), but other than that, I really love this! I'm a sucker for rhythm games, and playing this one was really fun. Hope you expand this more. :D

lkfumagalli 2015-12-19 06:40

Thanks for leaving rating and commenting on my game! I included your game in the first episode of my Let's Play Ludum Dare series as thanks!

Here's a link to the post with details: http://ludumdare.com/compo/2015/12/19/lets-play-ludum-dare-34-episode-01-is-now-uploaded/

ointment 2015-12-19 10:54

This is fundamentally a very fun game. Hard to give it anything other than 5 stars for Audio, as it's very listenable but also used effectively for gameplay (I mean, duh).

No major gripes about this, it's a game that knows what it wants to be and delivers just that.

arcturusdeluxe 2015-12-19 18:28

Nice simple rhythm game. Very well executed and nice presentation. Music is great too. Would love to see more different stages with different music tracks!

bulletsarepeopletoo 2015-12-19 21:54

Really good look, nice music, and fun.

I'd suggest making the red/green buttons different shapes (arrows) or on different tracks. It can be a bit hard to keep track of which color is which button without other visual cues, especially on the hard difficulty since you don't really have time to look at the key.

Other than that, this is excellent!

hexagore 2015-12-20 10:53

I love rhythm games but I'm afraid for me the only way I could play this was by muting the audio because there was a huge lag between pressing a button and the sound playing which totally scrambled my brain and made it impossible to hit things on time.

Still, on mute, just going off the visuals, I was able to play :)

tselmek 2015-12-20 11:33

I love the art style, very polished entry.

tapehead 2015-12-20 13:03

this game is pretty hard but i like it! it makes overall a lot of fun! very well done!

crazyal02 2015-12-21 01:54

I love the atmosphere and this one! Though it could use some hold sections to spice things up.

volkoivan 2015-12-21 10:48

Really liked your visual style and how it is connected to music
One of the most interesting entries.

patomkin 2015-12-21 12:44

The idea of a RhythmRider is there, but the implementation is off. Yeah, it starts really good, but then the beat is completely lost. The brain gets really confused while trying to follow the rhythm AND buttons on the screen only to see that they do not match.
The visuals are quite good, except you're looking at buttons on the top line, not at the ship or the text at the right. I tried to read it once and immediately missed a beat.
Despite that, a very impressive entry! I liked it :)

weeping-rupee 2015-12-21 16:34

Haha very cool. I've seen alot of rhythm games attempted in LD34 and this one was the most well executed I've come across. Also I like the retro aft style with a beat game rather than the PS era graphics I see in alot of them.

It was intuitive- but the only time I was left scratching my head was when I was holding down one key and had to presumably let go and start holding again during those streaks. I need it to be slightly more apparent when I'm doing well on the hold-it-down parts.

Anyway, excellent excellent work.

lurils 2015-12-21 20:34

nice entry, rhythm games are hard to get right and I think you did pretty well, also really like the art

moonlightbomber 2015-12-21 21:42

I see you've taken inspiration from Taiko no Tatsujin and Guitar Hero.

ithildin 2015-12-22 00:41

Very solid entry, it feels polished and it looks and sounds awesome.

I beat it at easy but got completely owned as soon as I started hard T_T Still, congrats!!

diel-mormac 2015-12-23 02:33

Simple, Fun and Beautiful...

That's the kind of game o love to see in Ludum Dare!

Congratulations for the excellent work!

euske 2015-12-23 14:21

To me, there was increasing lag between the music and gameplay.

smirnov48 2015-12-24 01:05

Interesting game. Good job! One of the best in this LD.

the-arrival 2015-12-26 10:51

the buttonsounds could have been better, since they don´t fit the music

thebrickanator 2015-12-27 22:35

Really good! especially for a compo entry! this is one of my favs so far.

aurel300 2015-12-28 18:24

Pretty cool, quite well polished. I wished there was more, though, like levels, more 'moves' (double press, hold, rapid pressing), and the space ship could be fighting enemies based on how well you do, avoiding stuff, etc. Also I though the sound effects for when you press the buttons are too loud, making the music too quiet. But other than that very well done :)

radmars 2015-12-28 21:31

Nice! Always love to see rhythm games in ludum dare. The music is great. Pretty fun, though the notes seemed to lag behind the music for me (and it seemed to get worse as the song went on). Nice work though, would love to see more!

yuigoto 2015-12-30 01:52

I love Taiko no Tatsujin and you made a good job with the game mechanics! The graphics are also beautiful!

At first I thought you could mix some Shmup into the ship's part of the screen, but after playing, it totally looks great the way you made! :)

Nice work on the music too! Amazing work on it! :)

torcado194 2015-12-31 08:01

really nice!! i love the music and the art

nirabazgames 2016-01-03 19:06

Very nice looking game

guard13007 2016-01-04 18:43

I see great potential here, but I HATE most of it. The beginning is very nice, the sound the red makes fits, it's a nice beat. The moment a green comes along, it's ruined. The tempo you have to hit doesn't feel like it matches with the song anymore and the sound the greens make when you hit them is just grating.

anarbitrarymustache 2016-01-04 19:17

Great look and great execution. I initially wanted to do a rhythm game for my entry. Unfortunately, lacking a music background, it did not seem a good fit. You had no problem pulling it off though.
I noticed you don't seem to check for the wrong key, just whether or not the correct key was pressed. I found you could press both keys to the timing and not be penalized. Great entry though.