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The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
By donvermo
View on ldjam.com
| Category | Rank | Score | Count |
|
|---|
| Overall | 650 | 3.00 | 54 | |
| Fun | 600 | 2.86 | 55 | |
| Innovation | 790 | 2.29 | 52 | |
| Theme | 842 | 1.91 | 50 | |
| Graphics | 413 | 3.54 | 55 | |
Comments
I've finished the game. The gem felt rewarding in the end. I didn't shoot that much because the only useful thing that it can do is just break down the barriers that should go to the finish line. And the controls are kinda buggy, and I get stuck sometimes after being flown from the bullets and spikes.
By holding Q, it makes you run faster, I don't know if it should happen. And the bullet also collides the player (while I run by holding Q). Just telling some of my observations.
All in all, still a playable game that would still allow you to reach the end. Wall jumping is also useful. It has also well designed graphics. And still has potential :D
I think the best bart was the graphics and the overall look of the game, as well as the design of the level, given such limited time and mechanincs. I don't get the theme of running out of power, but I guess you didn't have time to implement it properly? It also seemed like you couldn't take damage and die, and when I realised that the challenge kind of disappeard. The controls were quite unresponsive and sometimes buggy, but I know it is quite hard to get platforming controls that feel really good. Good effort for such a short time though!
toulou
2017-08-01 10:51
Whoaaaaa, woobly physic :p The camera made me a bit sick, and the controls are a bit weird, but aside from that, it's a fun little game ! Too bad you didn't finished it. I particulary like the graphics, it's simple pixel art, very nice, the character has an hilarious face :D Good job !
senfer
2017-08-01 21:55
That is a cool one! I loved the graphics, even though i could not really feel breaking the stones. Controls are neat, it is slippery sometimes, but it's fine. The sound is nice, beat does not get near annoying, although being short. Overall I really liked what I just played!
bombjack
2017-08-02 13:40
Inertia is a little too much for my liking. This is a good game anyway.
It is a short simple game, but very well made, the art is so cute, I can see this game becoming a full game, really liked the concept.
eternal
2017-08-02 13:50
Good game and a solid level design to facilitate wall jumping. The only criticism I have is that the bullets we too weak and it doesn't even stop the enemy bullet and the only purpose for them was to clear a path.
I think you have the start of a pretty solid platformer here, I like the walljumping. The controls did feel a bit awkward, mainly being unable to jump while standing next to a wall, and not stopping immediately when releasing the move button. But, I was still able to complete the game, I like the visuals and music, pretty nice overall!
I think the game works fine in its current state! Just the right difficulty and length for me. Like a few people have said, the player character's deceleration on the ground was extremely slidey, which makes delicate platforming much harder. I'm sure you know about this one, but you also can't jump if you're on the ground and in contact with a wall, probably because of the wall jump mechanic.
gil4
2017-08-02 21:20
Great job for a last 24h submission, even has a wall jump, a mechanic I really like in platformers, props for that. :) Also cute minimalistic graphics, wish I could see a polished version done in 48/72 hours. Hoping to see more stuff from ya in the coming jams!
Charming platformer! I got stuck at one point with a turret shooting me while I was standing on an edge, I couldn't move, jump, or shoot as I kept getting hit and stunned in place and had to refresh the game. Next go around went a lot better though, although the section where you need to wall jump up between the turret fire was a little frustrating. I enjoyed myself though, and reaching the end was definitely satisfying, which is the whole point of these games. Interesting decision to also make getting hurt not kill the character and just stun them. I see a lot of LD platformers become brutally difficult and it's a refreshing take to not have to restart the whole level each time I die.
donvermo
2017-08-03 09:29
@ursagames Thanks for playing! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Admittedly I was planning on implementing player health but realised I would not have the time to balance things properly so I just stuck to knock back as the main 'punishment' in the game. I'm playing around with the idea of creating a postjam version where I finish the rest of the mechanics, add some more enemy variety and apply some general polish. Time will tell if I find the time to get around to it though.
neowhoru
2017-08-03 09:46
Good game - but it would be cool if i shoot that i can destroy the other "shooters" :)
Not bad! The movement is super jerky and I'm not a huge fan of that, but the graphics are gorgeous. I'd support you making a post-jam version as long as you're planning on making the movement a little tighter! ^^
h-attila
2017-08-03 18:52
Very nicely made graphics, props for that! I was trying to destroy the enemies with my weapon, only to eventually realize that I can't hurt them, which made the projectiles kinda pointless. It seems their only use is to break down the barriers but they didn't impact the gameplay much. Also, I understand what you were trying to do with the theme, too bad you didn't have time to flesh it out more because right now the game doesn't really fit the theme. The loop is nice but a bit too short so it gets old kinda fast. Some basic sound effects would've made it a lot better.
johngun
2017-08-03 21:05
I like it and even if you had to cut some features it's still a nice game. I was a bit confused about the turrets at first, since I though I could kill them.
In a scenario like this, where you have a lot of cool ideas, it's really hard to kill your darlings. You made the right choice, finished the game and it's far better than nothing. Good job :slight_smile:
I like the graphics! Very competent pixel art. The level design is not my favourite. A more gentle introduction to each skill would have helped, instead of starting you off in a big pit.
super cute graphics, super charming! I loved the tower climbing, I would have loved to see the mana/gem mechanic! You made the right call to finish the game! Congrats
diptoman
2017-08-05 18:56
General jam level design tip: If you know some features aren't the game's strong suit, avoid making that obvious in the level design. :P Having precision jumping in the game isn't a good idea when the collisions are wonky.
Good effort though! Pixel art is nice!
Despite saying you only made this within 24 it's still actually pretty decent, sure it controls a little weird and you can get stuck at times but for the short amount of time frame it's still really impressive and most importantly fun. I'm super positive if you made the game within the given time frame I'm sure it'd be far much better and I like the concept of running out of mana and collecting gems, so it's a shame I can't play that version! We've all been there sadly releasing games that weren't quite finished but as a unfinished jam game this is still great. It's more of a shame that it's not completed to what you intended.
Overall great entry, really love the graphics, super cute and it fits well within the game, overall great work and I hope you make a post jam version!
Also thank you so much for that lovely review on my game, I'm extremely glad you enjoyed me game! <3
cttfow
2017-08-07 11:08
Really cute character and nice, even though pretty classic, idea. The music also fit very well!
g12345
2017-08-09 23:59
Really nice graphics and level design. The music is a bit short but I managed to get the gem too.
The player jumps a bit too floaty right now and perhaps it needs a sound effect when jumping.
Got the gem, pretty sweet game, probably needs some tweaking of the controls/player movement to make it feel better but still had fun as it is. The graphics and are cute and the music fit well. I liked that you have infinite health and just get knocked back instead of dying, it makes for a less frustrating platform experience. I'd say its worth finishing it up a bit more.
Not convenient management. I press to the right to hold onto the wall, I press the jump to jump over to the left and he again jumps to the right wall. But the art is nice
yetman
2017-08-15 15:01
The control truly needs polishing. However, the art was really good and the game was fun (even with the hard controls).
The art is nice and as @yetman said the controls need polishing. The game is fun, if you can make the mana losing mechanic so that you can have a determination to reach the end faster and some collectables so you can increase your mana slightly the game will fit the theme more.
vkmicro
2017-08-15 22:29
I personally kept getting stuck on the top of the platforms on the corner when trying to jump up.
Other than that, gameplay is very fun and pretty smooth (besides getting stuck) Game was quite fun and enoyable. Graphics are definitely amazing and the gameplay was fun. Sound effects weren't too loud or quiet, the background wasn't annoying. I think it was great overall.
With some control polishing and fixing of the getting stuck on the corners when jumping up bug, I think this game would make for a fun little game to release on like Itch.io or something for the general public to enjoy and play.
Good entry, good game, well done! solid 4 from me.
kpded
2017-08-16 07:50
The game is exciting and art style is awesome!
It feels frustrating getting stuck at the platforms' corners, but overall game mechanics and difficulty level seems to be nicely balanced.
Great job!
hhsaez
2017-08-16 13:42
I agree with the comments about the controls, but also the kickback when you get hit is too big. On my case, I was getting hit by a tower when trying to jump to a higher platform and the hit made me fall several levels. It was a bit frustrating and I had to force myself to keep trying.
Other than that, I really liked the game. The art is fantastic and the sounds are pretty good too.
Great work!
belga54
2017-08-16 16:13
I liked the controls and the climbing mechanics. It was a one level simple game which was fun to play ! It was so easy to play the game. Not like the others said.
The graphics was pretty and the audio was nice also, but I dont why you dont let us to rate you on the audio.
Great game anyway !
donvermo
2017-08-19 14:30
@Belga54 I disabled voting on the audio since I did not have the time to create any sound effects or music myself, hence I felt it would be unfair to receive votes on an aspect of my game that I did not really create.
@hhsaez At first I wasn't sure what you were talking about but then I noticed where this problem occurred, I acknowledge that this can happen and result in a slightly frustrating experience since you would have to redo several obstacles. I will see what I can do to fix this in my postjam version.
@kpded I believed this issue had been resolved, could you describe to me how you got stuck on one of the corners? I'd like to figure out why this could still be happening.
@vkmicro Thanks for the feedback, I've been trying to get the control feeling of the character just right but I do recognise that it is not yet where it should be. This will be a point of focus for me to make sure I can get a smoother experience the next time around.
franfox
2017-08-19 16:43
Hi, this graphics are from [a tutorial of Lynda.com](https://www.lynda.com/Unity-tutorials/Advanced-Unity-2D-Platformer-Player-Movement/367449-2.html?srchtrk=index%3a12%0alinktypeid%3a2%0aq%3aunity%0apage%3a4%0as%3arelevance%0asa%3atrue%0aproducttypeid%3a2), right? They were made by a friend of mine.
donvermo
2017-08-19 18:08
@franfox The character related sprites are indeed. :smile: Sorry if there was any confusion about that.
jaimuepe
2017-08-19 18:33
The controls were a bit weird - i got stuck in a corner a couple of times and the jump didn't feel good, it was very hard to avoid the bullets while jumping. However, taking in account that you made it in one day it's pretty impressive. Good job!
The level design is based off of Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, right?
Thanks for being honest and opting out of the Audio category!
gurvan
2017-08-19 21:38
- Graphics are really good - Controls seems sometimes a bit unresponsive, i sometimes felt like i was a soap - I didn't saw the theme, but maybe it is on my side - The game is really easy, or maybe i'm just too good :) - Overall a nice game.
Awesome graphics. Definitely would love to see this polished into a full game. There's some problems with collisions and the way the regular jump works, but the wall-jump was really easy to pull off (contrary to what happens with many games that offer that mechanic), and I really enjoyed that.
I really liked the style, although I saw in the comments that the character sprite was from a tutorial. That should definitely be stated somewhere in the description of your game. The rest of the graphics work well with it, though.
It's impressive that you made this in 24 hours. Congratulations!