FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD38 → One-Pass

One-Pass

By lukezaz

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall6232.9421
Fun4093.1021
Innovation344.0021
Theme7462.2121
Graphics7102.2121
Humor1
Mood6992.4420

Comments

occultone 2017-05-01 22:22

I wasn't able to get the game running, you may want to check your builds. It may explain why noone has been able to play so far.

lukezaz 2017-05-02 07:22

@occultone I just downloaded and tested the Windows build and had no trouble. I can't vouch for the Mac build though as I don't have one. Is that the one you ran? What error did you get?

I'm not really concerned with the lack of ratings, by the way; I've not been advertising this due to its relative incompleteness, though I plan to do so some once the post-compo has gotten far enough. Nevertheless, thanks for the heads-up — there's no value in something unplayable, after all!

Edit: I had a friend who had a Mac test it and confirm the Mac build wasn't working for them. Looking in to it!

micahcowan 2017-05-04 08:38

The Mac build is running fine for me. Had you fixed it? I'm running El Capitan.

Possibly I have something installed as a "dev" that a stock system might not?

micahcowan 2017-05-04 08:50

Ha! I made it pretty far on my first life, and then for some reason I had trouble figuring out the first little area past the spawn point (but I love that: using your solidified tiles from going under the platform, as newly available platform to rise up the tower!). And then I kept dying on stupid stuff, like touching a spike underneath my ledge, instead of giving it a quick hop. I must be tired ^_^

If you're still doing a post-compo version of this game, let me know (`micah@addictivecode.org`)! The idea's very intriguing, and it seems like there's probably a lot of room for creative puzzles with it.

Save points might be nice :D

cliffracerx 2017-05-04 18:31

Interesting idea, though I'm not sure how it related to the theme. Noticed a few glitches when moving (some pockets of space would remain unfilled), but for the most part, it felt fairly clean.

The Mac version appears to be broken (the app file simply refuses to open), but it worked fine on my main Windows PC.

lukezaz 2017-05-04 20:14

@micahcowen Thanks for the feedback! I am still doing a post-compo, I'll make sure to let you know when it comes out. As for the Mac, the mystery deepens, because I haven't gotten to that yet. The life of software development is nothing without obscure edge-case problems, I guess!

@cliffracerx I interpreted the theme as the world could be small at any point, and so as you move and things solidify, the world gets smaller and smaller, limiting how you move. As for the glitch - that's not technically a glitch (I never coded in anything to remove those pockets) — just an annoying little aesthetic issue. Anyway, thanks for playing! Still trying to figure that Mac thing, though :/

porcus-pie 2017-05-09 11:04

Nice game, it controls really smoothly and the platforming is nice and fluid. It was really easy to leap and jump around the area. I did find the lack of a checkpoint system rather frustrating however , as it did get hard especially when spikes were introduced. I felt the game also lacked a certain element of depth, that with the lack of detailed sprites or audio, however I reckon if it had them then the mood could be improved massively

querk 2017-05-10 17:04

Great idea and in general. But in my opinion, I would use a system of checkpoints, because going through the same times is not interesting. The rest is okay, some music will be useful in the background (but in my game it is not: P) Great game and good job (ps. sorry for my bad english)

aurel300 2017-05-10 18:40

It's an interesting mechanic. Checkpoints are completely crucial. Especially because even the tiniest mistakes (like slipping off of a platform) can have severe consequences, and the basic Unity platforming engine really doesn't help this.

dink-dunk 2017-05-10 21:04

What a cool concept! Played a fair bit and appreciated the mechanic.

GOOD

-Mechanically this is a really unique take on the theme, one of the most unique entries -Minimalistic graphics work well for this style of game

IMPROVEMENTS

-As above, checkpoints -Maybe even a rollback feature, I feel that the feeling of "oh, just fucked myself" is worth keeping and a small rollback feature might make this more interesting -There were some cubes I noticed that had seams, only on some though -Corridors were too long imho, shorten them, or speed the player up Overall, one of the most unique games of the jam, worth playing, well done!

lukezaz 2017-05-13 08:45

@Querk Thanks for playing! Absolutely adding checkpoints by the way. I realized their necessity quickly in playtesting, but time constraints leave little room for new things. They'll definitely be part of the post-compo; one of the most important things on the to-do list. No worries about your english, by the way, as it was actually rather good!

@Aurel300 I hadn't really considered how much of an issue slipping off platforms might be, but I do remember a number of times I encountered it myself in testing. I suppose a circle collider isn't the best thing in the world for platforming — I'll look in to making a little harder to slide off. Thanks for the feedback!

@Dink-Dunk Thanks a bunch for the list, that's a lot of very useful information I hadn't considered!

Rollbacks aren't something I thought of, but I can think of a couple ways to pull them off without being too punishing, so I'll see what I can do there. As for the tile seams, there might have been a few sprites I goofed up the import settings on, so thanks for letting me know.

Lastly, as for the corridors, I have them as long as they are to make for better pacing, and while I suspect the length issue will be a lot less annoying when checkpoints are added (I'm not going to be putting them before long hallways, after all) I'm going to be very careful about how I manage them regardless, don't worry!

adhesion 2017-05-13 17:10

Really cool concept! I love the idea. Level-design wise it could use a smoother introduction to the concept I think - the first difficult part with the single block you have to jump on was pretty tough for me to figure out (and fairly tedious without checkpoints obviously). The loop around in that area seemed kind of counterproductive - I ended up just going backwards a bit before the single block to create some other blocks to jump on. After that, I got stuck at where the path split after the spikes were introduced. Some kind of gradual (and reversible, if you move backwards) fade-in of blocks might help, so you can check yourself before you wreck yourself, so to speak :P Would love to see this expanded upon. Nice work!

lukezaz 2017-05-13 18:58

@Adhesion Firstly, thanks for playing!

Secondly, I will be looking at more effectively introducing the concept and utilizing it in the future, as the level design I had was mediocre at best given the deadlines and available time. I had to rush the level on the last day, so it's far from perfect, and I'll absolutely be revisiting it.

And finally, I actually finished that fade-in fade-out concept just last night, and it's in the post-compo right now! :tada:

omarshehata 2017-05-14 17:00

First off I want to say I really like this idea! I think it has a lot of potential for an interesting action/puzzle hybrid sort of game.

I think this was already mentioned, but having some checkpoints would make it less frustrating when you're pretty far in and already know how to get this far. It was kind of fun to watch the area behind me get blocked off as I run, but suddenly it was pretty scary as I tried going in the other direction, since I had effectively just blocked myself in. And that was kind of a cool moment of discovery, realizing that my "power" was also my curse.

I couldn't quite tell how it decided which parts get blocked off, is it just whatever touches the circle, and then is no longer touching the circle? If so, it might be more precise if it were a square instead, so you could predict exactly which pieces would block off and use that to your advantage.

I'm eager to see how a more fleshed out version of this would look like!

schizoid2k 2017-05-14 22:37

Simple concept, but so much fun! I really enjoyed playing your game. Requires a bit a strategy, luck, and skill. You should definitely continue development and implement what others suggested... I think this has potential.

ethan-allwood 2017-05-15 13:56

I love the concept! One thing you could maybe add is like a checkpoint after a while because the beginning started to get very repetitive.

csanyk 2017-05-16 03:45

A really interesting mechanic, but I think it's too hard -- make one mistake, a bad bounce, or a missed jump, and you block yourself off from being able to continue. I couldn't get past the vertical part where you have to jump left and right because I kept blocking my own way no matter what I did. Maybe you could salvage the mechanic by only filling in behind you, not ahead. But I think it has potential.

lilkrit 2017-05-17 03:00

Interesting game. Congrats on the idea and actually being able to apply them!

orquigames 2017-05-17 08:16

Good game and interesting!

alexandr-rum 2017-05-17 16:03

Difficult game, but interesting)

rojo 2017-05-18 01:33

I think the concept of the level filling in based on (I suspect) where my light was previously is a really cool idea. As you're already aware some checkpoints would help the experience a ton. Some sound FX and music would be great as well.

lukezaz 2017-05-18 05:44

@rojo Thanks! I'm glad too to see you've guessed correctly; the lit area is supposed to give an approximation as to where your 'influence' is. In this version, it's kinda wonky, but it should be more accurate in the post-compo, and of course sound with it!

2017-06-09 20:50

Really interesting concept! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DciCZPQtLy8