Game of Worlds

quoclon 2017-05-01 01:39

Hey, I liked the splash screen graphics, and graphics overall, but was a bit confused as to what was going on. I liked having the other guys follow me around, and I wish I had more time to find the exit. The first time night hit I was killed immediately. The second time I survived a bit longer, but it wasn't clear if i was doing damage to the enemy or the other way around. Also, some friends didn't morph into enemies at night, and instead just kept saying hello man when I clicked on them. I noticed there was a map back on your Ludum Dare page, which would have helped navigate the level a bit. Again, awesome graphics! Good job guys!

Feel free to check out my game and provide feedback: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/sling-ship-search-for-a-small-world

kasarun 2017-05-01 11:42

Great game. I liked how enemies and friends interact with the player and follow you. Nice graphics, good mood. I wish we could see a clock with daytime and nighttime. Great potential !

skullpixel 2017-05-01 11:43

This is a really unique idea! (You can tell because it has nothing to do with space or planets.) All the poor little people who live in that village... at least they're willing to help each other out so freely. Well done with your entry!

jackyjjc 2017-05-01 13:36

The idea is pretty cool where you team up to find the exit. I also like the graphics of the game. However, I find the game a bit hard for me because there are a lot of enemies and they do a lot of damage. I also find that pressing space around the enemy still triggers the 'hello man' voice line which is a bit confusing. At first I thought space only talks to my team. Also I find the audio is a bit loud.

The game has potential and it just need a little bit more variety (maybe weapon type, etc)?

mooncalf 2017-05-01 22:34

Great entry. Gameplay worked and I beat it. Found the exit during the day and had to wait until night to win. Did not see the point of collecting friends but was fun to do anyways.

Awesome job, looking forward to your next.

silkworm-sweatshop 2017-05-01 23:20

At first I thought Cartman had changed his tune to become a nice guy but then I figured he just wanted some kids to be monster bait while he safely got away :P. Really nice art!

clegamecoop 2017-05-01 23:37

Great art! But, yeah, I was a bit confused at first too. Was there really only the one goal? To reach the exit at night? SFX could use some balancing. ;)

cvetk0 2017-05-02 14:06

Nice work guys! The general mood of this game is great, loved just roaming around during the day and got brutally eaten while crossing the bridge over the night. Really great graphics and music setting. Keep up the good work!

randomhuman 2017-05-02 14:23

There's a bit of a flaw in this game's design in that once you find the exit you can just hang out there and go to it as soon as the sun sets. The idea of a day night cycle where you prepare during the day is cool though, as is the idea of collecting "friends" to use as bait! The art and music are really nice as well.

marbles 2017-05-02 15:49

I like the graphics! Maybe add a time counter so you know when it's gonna be night.

pandakipu 2017-05-07 16:04

Nice art, good job.

local-minimum 2017-05-07 18:02

Very well made game in almost all its parts. I like the premise too which feels like a metaphor for real life; only when in a good place can you learn to adopt skills that will help you when you are not. The world was rather large (not as a comment to theme), but with regards to game play and it wasn't entirely clear if the exit swapped day to day or only at start of game. It felt like I had checked most all of the map after the end of day two, but still I hadn't found the trapdoor. The enemies were also rather easy to simply avoid, but that may have been fine. However from a game-mechanics point of view. If you find the exit, all you have to do is to stay put and then wait for night? It feels like it would be more fun if during day you need to find out how exit looks like and then during night you need to find that exit (possibly you die if you don't). So finding during day, in that scenario should be made easier. E.g. with some ping/radar or similar. There's already a trad-off anyhow during the day in accumulating friends or finding the exit.

Still, again. Very well made game!

anim-ace 2017-05-16 22:35

Pretty interesting. Nice artstyle. Would like to see this expanded upon.

ben-mceldowney 2017-05-16 22:36

I like the art and the mechanics are novel. I think the pathing could use a little work but overall a good job!

moski 2017-05-16 23:07

Hello, man! First of all, congratulations on getting the game done! This game, while rough on the edges, has a lot of potential, so I really hope that you consider some of the feedback you've been receiving if you and your team decide to further enhance it once the jam is over.

First of all, the presentation is superb. The main screen looks fantastic, and the overall art looks great. I am the art designer of our team, so I like checking out what others did with their own projects. This one had me thinking about South Park, which is already a plus. The map does look gorgeous, and the enemies look terrifying (given the setting and style, of course). So, in the art front, I'm impressed.

The sounds were alright. The monsters' gibberish added a lot to the mood of night and dread. However, I'm very mixed in "Hello, man!". I heard it so much... oh, so much... It's silly-funny, but also very repetitive and a bit annoying for my taste.

Now, for the gameplay. The game is functional, and the idea of recruiting others to serve as survival partners or meat shields was fantastic, but actually playing the game feels very clunky. I died the first time because I didn't know where the exit was, despite having searched for it for a while. So I dedicated my time to kill enemies, which wasn't done very well, since there seemed to be no such thing as a safe distance to attack from without getting hit. Thus, I ended up spamming the attack button in hopes for the best, dying a couple of times more. When I finally found the exit, it felt very underwhelming, since the game said something about finding it when I was ready, and I didn't even know if I had to do anything to activate it. It just sort of happened. Night and day cycle was good though.

If you decide to update the game in the future, free from the shackles of a 3 day deadline, I'd like to see where this game goes, because it showed a lot of potential. Day time should expand on recruiting people, exploration and overall finding ways to improve the player's odds during the night. Night time should make it challenging, yet rewarding, to fight the enemies. Force the player to get more people to die in their place, and put actual objectives. And, most importantly, give the player visual feedback on good distances or timing on which to attack or retreat. These, of course, are only suggestions on how I'd like to see this develop, but your team might come up with something more personal, so trust your gut instead. I'd rather see this go to unexpected and creative places.

All in all, it's a good experience. It hints to it being able to become far bigger than it currently is, so I hope we can stay in contact with you if that's ever the case. If you have a twitter account, [the team of Whales and Games](https://twitter.com/WhalesAndGames) would like to follow you around to stay in touch with any future projects of yours, so do share it. Keep up the good work! :whale: