FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD40 → Aurora

Aurora

By akirassasin

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall164.1755
Fun114.2056
Innovation643.8356
Theme2003.7155
Graphics1913.6855
Audio24.4155
Mood74.3154

Comments

adroitconceptions 2017-12-04 03:19

Audio was absolutely amazing - felt like I was playing an instrument while attacking. Couldn't figure out any good reason to not keep your ammo empty as that slowed down everything but you, making things easier.

akirassasin 2017-12-04 03:37

@jason-kennedy Thanks! Keeping your ammo empty makes things easier, but you'll eventually need to reload in order to kill the enemies and advance the level :)

peculiarcarrot 2017-12-04 04:14

Definitely one of my favorites so far! The mechanic, the mood, the visuals, and the self-made music is really cool and all works together really well. I like how it almost turns into a bullet hell in the later levels. Great work, everything is really nice!

saucygames 2017-12-04 05:22

I really enjoyed this peaceful experience. The players ammo ui is wonderful, the melody that goes along with the player firing is splendid. Great job.

akirassasin 2017-12-04 05:24

@peculiarcarrot @saucygames Thanks :)

mark-kennedy 2017-12-04 06:26

Intense, yet calming. A+ on the Audio!

masamunedragon 2017-12-04 07:18

My favorite game so far! Being defenseless while the enemies speed back up was a nice feeling. Only thing that seems to be missing is an indication of how much health an enemy has left. Lowered my accuracy a bit firing an extra shot... :sweat_smile:

akirassasin 2017-12-04 08:35

@mark-kennedy @masamunedragon Thanks, glad I could capture that feeling in the game!

backyard-dev 2017-12-04 08:49

Very good. Love the sound and the graphics.

11tomi12 2017-12-04 09:18

Awesome "gunfire"! Love the implementation of the theme

geeitsomelaldy 2017-12-04 10:30

This is great. Simple but fun.

akirassasin 2017-12-04 10:42

@backyard-dev @geeitsomelaldy Thanks!

@11tomi12 It's inspired by Teleglitch's gunfire :)

talia 2017-12-04 12:52

It's a great mixture ratio between atmospheric music and a shooting game. Simple graphic elements with maximum effect!

matthias-schedel 2017-12-04 13:43

Nice concept and great soundtrack

gamepopper 2017-12-04 13:47

I really liked the minimalist visuals as well as the soothing audio. It makes quite a calming twin-stick shooter.

2017-12-04 14:52

Lovely audio! I included it in my Ludum Dare 40 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) [I fixed this video to have proper audio!] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA0ovyGILHs

xacur 2017-12-04 16:23

Nice gameplay, I love danmaku games, and this one is pretty original. The music is good, but it needs something for the bullets.

net3ton 2017-12-04 17:40

This is really great effect of getting slow down. And I like the decision to show bullets around of character!

azlen 2017-12-04 20:27

Such a beautiful and relaxing game.

2017-12-04 21:28

The best game I've seen here so far. If you could just reload any time and your bullet counter was at the pointer it would reach near to perfection. So intense yet relaxing.

akirassasin 2017-12-04 23:41

@talia @matthias-schedel @gamepopper @jupiter-hadley @xacur @net3ton @azlen @mr-heating

Thanks for the feedback (:

james-studd 2017-12-05 14:09

Loved it. Definitely the best one I have played so far, loved how relaxing it is, great :)

larapoi 2017-12-05 14:12

I loved it! The general ambiance is poetic, the game design and the gameplay simple but effective. The sound design and the color switch totally seduced me. Great job!

justin-toyo 2017-12-05 14:14

This was really cool and simple. I like how the notes play every time you land a hit. This game is very chill.

peterthehe 2017-12-05 14:15

Didn't expect it to be relaxing. Was relaxing. 5/5 for mood.

blinkeye 2017-12-05 14:18

Beautiful and relaxing game! Really just settles you in and lets you enjoy the music and shooting experience. :relieved:

cammy 2017-12-05 14:22

I love this!! Great sound design. I wish it was a little "juicier" - but other than that, fantastic work!

shinyogre 2017-12-05 14:38

Somehow a "Bullet-Hell" game is a peaceful, relaxing experience. This is a lovely game.

fasterthanlime 2017-12-05 14:58

I was pleasantly surprised at the visual feedback - happy that you chose to include a bunch of effects but *not* screenshake. Well done!

miaw 2017-12-05 16:38

The piano sound when you shoot is such a nice surprise. I wonder if adding a background music would enhance the game or not.

alterkot 2017-12-05 16:54

I love this! Making the player want to get rid of as many bullets as possible to slow the game down and then deliberately use the last few ones to make the most of slowmo and survive once the game speeds up is a really fun twist on arcade shooters. I'd play a full-fledged shmup centered around this feature.

gruhh 2017-12-05 20:45

Simple but beautiful game! The simplicity and sound effects made me have that moment of surprise the first time they showed up. Congratulations!

Jogo simples, mas belo! A simplicidade e os efeitos sonoros me fizeram ter aquele momento de surpresa na primeira vez que apareceram. Parabéns!

tay 2017-12-05 21:33

Wow, this is easily one of my favorites, love what you did with the "music". The use of the theme is great and the game is super simple. Wish there was a bit more to it, but I'm totally impressed!

rainbowjam 2017-12-05 23:14

Sounds are so soothing, really contrasts the how much builds up Has a really nice difficulty curve too, eases you in and starts getting challenging towards level 20 Really nice idea but could maybe do with some sprites to liven it up a bit

annie-owl 2017-12-05 23:28

This game is just perfect for the relaxation after the jam stress. Sounds are beautiful and the gameplay is simple and addictive. Great work.

akirassasin 2017-12-05 23:33

Woah, I woke up to a pleasant surprise!

@james-studd @larapoi @justin-toyo @peterthehe @blinkeye @cammy @shinyogre @fasterthanlime @miaw @alterkot @gruhh @tay @rainbowjam @annie-owl

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your comments :)

velvetlobster 2017-12-06 00:26

Simple and relaxing, real nice!

dawik9000 2017-12-06 01:18

Very chill and soothing atmosphere, the music really goes well with the game.

akirassasin 2017-12-06 07:06

@velvetlobster @dawik9000 Thanks!

asghardian-game-studio 2017-12-06 14:51

Pretty solid game.

Nice entry, loved the audio on shooting, would be great using R key to recharge when you want :D

spierek 2017-12-06 18:56

This is extremely nice and well executed.

akirassasin 2017-12-06 23:35

@asghardian-game-studio @spierek Thanks for the feedback :)

kashif 2017-12-07 13:13

Simple and brilliant

simon-rahnasto 2017-12-07 13:51

The mechanic is very nice and innovative and ties perfectly into the theme. I loved how calm and nice it felt to play. A chill bullet-hell game, there something I never expected to experience :D

ueki-shurei2006 2017-12-08 01:21

I like how there's a sound cue for everything. It's minimalistic, but when combined with audio, the experience becomes rich, almost as if I'm watching someone paint in water.

I would love a reload option, though.

akirassasin 2017-12-08 13:48

@kashif @simon-rahnasto @ueki-shurei2006 Thanks for the feedback!

patrick-woodcock 2017-12-11 00:02

Fantastic work! Really good use of the theme and a very well polished and tuned game.

akirassasin 2017-12-11 09:52

@patrick-woodcock Thank you :)

carlosvvk 2017-12-12 23:19

VERY GREAT game. I enjoyed the audio a lot. It felt very pleasant. Great job!

akirassasin 2017-12-13 04:14

@carlosvvk Thanks!

mgsx 2017-12-13 18:03

you did a really good job with the audio ! the graphics are minimalist but it fit perfectly with audio and the smoothness of the game (smooth shooter !) : richer graphics would disadvantage he audio.

I'll surely replay at this game and recommend it to some friends !

akirassasin 2017-12-14 08:42

@mgsx Thanks :)

cerno-b 2017-12-18 17:09

Awesome and atmospheric game with minimalist but very pretty graphics. I enjoyed playing it a lot, a very relaxing experience, thank you.

Some minor points of note: - It would have been nice to have a reload button. - The number of bullets influencing the enemy speed seems more like an afterthought and doesn't change the gameplay mechanics much, especially since you cannot control how many bullets you have (see previous point). - I think I would have preferred it if the music had some slight rhythm that would change throughout the game and the enemy speed adapted to the music. It wouldn't fit the theme, but the game might have benefited from it. - I wasn't able to play the game in the itch client (normally this works even for web builds)

ddrkirbyisq 2017-12-18 18:32

Pretty nice! The gameplay has more depth to it than I initially gave it credit for (and apparently more than the poster above as well gives it credit for as well) -- you want to unload most of your bullets into the enemies and then move to a safe location while the enemy speed is slower, then reload while you're in a safe place.

Feels like this would benefit from a preset number of levels and a level select screen, rather than starting back from level 1 each time. I got up to level 33 which actually was starting to get interesting, but couldn't be bothered to grind all the way back up there again.

The audio here is a good reminder for me that it would be nice to take a more holistic approach to sound design in some of my games sometimes, even when they aren't rhythm games.

moonlightbomber 2017-12-21 00:38

The fact that the notes play as you shoot bullets is a nice touch.

akirassasin 2017-12-22 03:10

@cerno-b @ddrkirbyisq @moonlightbomber thanks for the valuable feedback :)

I thought a lack of a reload button would make changing enemy speeds more of a strategic thing, rather than just a gimmick.

I'm pretty surprised that the audio was received quite well!