hippy-dave 2017-07-31 02:55
Not sure why the Source link isn't showing... https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwBdbZOl9zM2LWlMOExwcUdzVWM/view
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD39 → Cellephant
By hippy-dave
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 22 | 4.08 | 26 | |
| Fun | 25 | 3.95 | 26 | |
| Innovation | 167 | 3.48 | 27 | |
| Theme | 69 | 4.00 | 27 | |
| Graphics | 258 | 3.45 | 26 | |
| Audio | 70 | 3.66 | 26 | |
| Humor | 212 | 2.72 | 20 | |
| Mood | 172 | 3.36 | 24 |
Not sure why the Source link isn't showing... https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwBdbZOl9zM2LWlMOExwcUdzVWM/view
I have to stop myself now because I think I've been playing this game for an hour and I'm starting to run out of grid paper on my desk.
Excellent work on the level design. The first 30 levels were a breeze (for the most part there was only one battery you could reach from every other battery) but the difficulty got pleasantly headsrachy from that point on. I made it to level 42 before looking at my clock and calling it quits.
It wasn't immediately obvious that I had to step on every battery, nor was it immediately obvious that I could only collect batteries on my last possible move. But the level design introduced the mechanics well enough that I didn't have trouble learning the game.
My one gripe with this title is that whenever you collect a battery, you lose control of your elephant for a second. After resetting a level enough times I start to build up muscle memory for the path I need to take through it. When I hit a battery and lose control for a second, I instinctively put in the next few inputs, which get ignored, and then the game shoots me off in a random direction, forcing me to start over.
I love the black and white grid; around the late 30s I realized that you could only go on same-colored tiles from even batteries and opposite-colored from odd batteries. Mapping out the potential connections this way, both in my head and on paper, helped me get through some of the tougher challenges.
The music and aesthetic feel very similar to John Cooney's This Is The Only Level. I don't know if you were thinking of that when making the game, but there seems to be a resemblance. And you managed to pull off the same feat of making fairground music bearable to listen to for long periods.
Keep up the good work.
Ah thanks mate, very kind! The levels are actually generated, getting harder as they go along, so you'll get different ones if you play it again.
I think you're right about the control delay when you pick up a battery and your charge increases, it's more noticeable with higher-numbered batteries and it's started to bug me. If I work on the game any more that will be the first thing I fix.
Good tip about the same/different coloured tiles, I hadn't even thought of it! Glad that visual element turned out to be helpful!
No I hadn't seen This Is The Only Level before, I just fired it up now and got stuck sooner than I'd like... Gotta love elephant games tho! I'm glad you found the music bearable, I had very little time to spend on it but it seems to have come out ok. Thanks again for the kind words!
I just added a second link so you can play it on your phone/tablet! Link again: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=29736
Though I am not much into puzzle games, but this is cool. Well thought out levels
Loved the idea of a robot-elephant collecting batteries :-) The difficulty increases too slowly, though, it's becoming boring before it's becoming difficult.
Thanks guys! Yeah balancing a difficulty curve isn't something I'd had previous experience with, but once you get into it you can burn through the earlier levels reasonably quickly. Thanks for the feedback!
This game makes me feel smart. Did you write each of those levels, or are they generated in some way? I love the challenge and your music loop is pretty catchy, especially after a good amount of time collecting batteries and not overloading!
Thanks! The feeling is real, if you like this game then you are smart ;) Yep the levels are generated, with an algorithm to make them harder in various ways as you progress. I've got as far as level 40-something so far, but am gonna see how far I can get if I can remember to leave it open long enough. Would love to hear if anyone gets further! Thanks again for the kind words.
Really nice. I didn't immediately go "well, these levels are random" so good work on the generator. :)
Impressive work on the generator. I initially felt like the progression was too slow but now that I know it was generated I'm quite impressed and feel like there's some potential with some balancing. The levels did get a bit tedious and stopped being engaging around the level 30+ mark for me. I quickly got bored of working out the perfect path every time. A new game play element to change up the experience would help but I'd imagine it would make the generator a lot more complicated. Good work!
Thanks again for the kind words, and constructive feedback. I'm keen to make a more complete version of this at some point so all your thoughts are welcome.
Ok I've reached the target I set myself of getting to level 50 before I sleep, anyone else get any further yet? :)
*ding ding!*
Fantastic game. The music already caught me, and the challenge was pretty fun too. I got stuck at level 25 before calling it quits. I think the first 10 levels might have been a bit too easy, but other than that I really liked this game :-)
I love the unified theme to this, and it was pretty addictive. Nice job!
I love the unified theme to this, and it was pretty addictive. Nice job!
You REALLY love the unified theme to this! ;) Thanks guys!
**Incredible!** I haven't spent this much time on any other LD game so far! Too bad I accidently clicked z+x on level 33. How many levels are there?
I love puzzle-games, I love pixel-art and I love 8-bit music and sound so this is definitely a game for me!
If I have to complain about something it would be quitting the game with *z + x*.
**Overall** this is one of my favorite games so far, it’s so addicting! The win sound effect really got to me, I want to hear it over and over again hehe Thank you so much for this experience and good luck in the future! Have an awesome day, and I hope to see you in the next jam!
// Isak (one half of [LiquidBrain](https://ldjam.com/users/liquidbrain/))
I really love this game, it's very simple, yet very fun. Level design was really clever and had to make you think about your route. Overall, a great game. Just a little note, you should probably get rid of the "humor" and "mood" voting categories, and you should also remove that second link to the web version.
I think everything I have to say has been covered above. I could probably have done without levels 5 through 26 as none of them posed any kind of challenge, but after that the puzzles became surprisingly challenging considering the simple mechanic. I liked the music at first, but it did eventually get to me.
Interesting, well-executed puzzle concept! And on the PICO-8 to boot. :smile:
I'm impressed that the levels are all procedurally generated, especially since there's a definite progression in difficulty. Some of the later levels can be quite tricky! The music gave me Zoo Keeper vibes (pretty relevant considering the title character), I loved it.
Very good entry, keep it up!
Pretty solid game. Only played up to 20 levels, you sure put a lot in there :)
Ahah this is amazing! How the heck you were able to create an elephant in only like 8*8 pixels? I loved the retro style of your game, maybe there are too many "filler" easy levels at the start, but from level 20 the things starts to be harder! Keep up the good work! :)
It's a nice little game! I like the art style. :smile: Good job!
Thank you all for the useful feedback and kind words :)
Cute little game, but the reason of the overload when reaching the exit or a battery seems mysterious to me, although there's obviously some logic behind. I also like that the game looks finished, with title screen and music. Nice job for a first! Ain't Pico great? ;)
Thank you! "Overload" happens if you reach a battery or the exit too soon, you have to take the right number of steps as determined by the previous battery to get to the next battery/exit. Yes Pico-8 is brilliant, I'm gonna be using it a lot more!
Great game! Nice music and graphics and totally in the theme. The level generation makes some levels easier than the ones before but still challenging at some point! Didn't know what Pico is but you made me wanna check it out!
This is absolutely brilliant! It reminds me a bit of Fidel Dungeon Rescue (I'd recommend everyone check that out) in that you cannot cross your own path. Little else to say that hasn't already been said, very good job indeed. I'll be back to play this some more over the next days! :)
Thanks guys! I'll try to check out Fidel Dungeon Rescue, sounds cool :)
Love this puzzle game! congrats on the entry!
Thank you :)
I wouldn't have suspected the levels were generated if I hadn't read it here, I guess that means you did a good job on that. Made it to the mid-30s before calling it quits, but it hooked me really well the whole time. Nice game!
Thanks, appreciated!
Really enjoyed this game, even though the audio nearly tore my ears. Also kudos for PICO-8!
I really like puzzle game, so I naturally played similar ones before, but the levels are getting steadily harder and the game is very enjoyable. Way to go!
Thank you! :)
Had a lot of fun with this title~ It's a pretty clever mechanic, where you must walk the exact amount of batteries you have and pick up all the batteries... I noticed after a while that your maps must've been randomly generated, due to how much wasted space there was on all sides. Still, it gets the job done, and I found myself playing for quite some time. Good job!
Thanks!
You have been featured in LUDUM DARE TO BELIEVE! Check it out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uXcH_MnocE
Since slot machines are very popular, many casinos often offer free spins as a bonus, if you are also interested in this offer, then read this article https://bonusy-bez-depozytu.pl/bonus-bez-depozytu-icecasino/ . Here I learned how to get 50 free spins at the casino and was able to experience the new slot machine without risk. They also have many other interesting applications that will not leave you indifferent.