Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD41 → Rex McFury: Public Defender
By minibobbo and David J. Michalak
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 173 | 3.89 | 50 | |
| Fun | 125 | 3.92 | 50 | |
| Innovation | 619 | 3.31 | 50 | |
| Theme | 525 | 3.67 | 50 | |
| Graphics | 271 | 3.99 | 50 | |
| Audio | 114 | 3.89 | 50 | |
| Humor | 8 | 4.47 | 50 | |
| Mood | 321 | 3.59 | 48 |
I was looking forward to playing this one, and it's exactly as much fun as I expected it would be. The graphics and sound design give this game a real sense of personality. Rex is possibly my favourite protagonist of LD41 so far. I don't play brawlers very often, and I'm not very good at them, but I still had fun with this. Good job!
Thanks @F1Krazy ! Thanks for playing. We enjoyed writing and recording Rex's cheesy lines.
Great game. I love the graphics and the voice acting. In comparison to the voice the music was too loud so I had to tune my speakers down and thus had problems understanding the voice.
As I want to play more Rex McFury I really hope this case isn't closed yet. :smile:
@gagapete thanks for the comments on the music and speech volumes. I think this came about because I did mostof but testing on the c++ target and the sound works differently on the html5 target. I wanted to add sliders to the main menu to adjust the sound but ran out of time...
Hey, for some reason the game doesn't seem to be able to complete loading on my computer (it get randomly stuck between 4%-33%). Even reloading the page several times doesn't solve the issue.
I'm on W7(x64) with Firefox.
@drludos I'm not sure what is going on. I was just able to load it fine on 3 different computers here (including my phone). Firefox worked fine. Try clearing your browser cache and reloading?
Nice feeling and cool game. I was stuck on first screen for a while but then i realized that space bar was the one key hehe.
Had fun
Small but gold. I like humor, specially on the end game screen =). This creppy, happy and innocent look...
I want lawyer like this on my side.
Cool and unique game. The controls feels good. Maybe the music is a bit loud over the voice sound. PD: Really liked your Audio
Nice work
I'm a big fan of the Ace Attorney games, but I've never had to fight for the defendant like this! Great work, great work - I had a blast. The retro aesthetics are awesome, especially with the bitcrunched voice clips, and the entire concept is hilarious. The little ending screen was certainly a nice touch!
Better a small and fairly polished game like this than a long and tedious one. I enjoyed it! Good job.
This is super funny. The sound needs work, but the story's great and it's super polished. I really had fun playing it!
Hilarious concept, well executed. Voices were sadly incomprehensible, but I just pretended they were saying something funny ;)
Thanks for the game!
Humor 5/5 without any doubt. The idea is extremely fun but I couldn't get used to the controls. I had a hard time understanding what they were saying but the text was hilarious enough. The art looks really good too. Nice job.
River City Ransom + Ace Attorney. How do people come up with this s#!t?
Humor is really the star here. Themewise this games fails since it's nothing more than a beat'em up.
Other than that, nice game.
Thanks for the comments everyone. I uploaded a new version with the volume fix. I'm not sure if that falls under the "bug fixes allowed" rule or the "porting to other platforms allowed" rule (since the problem was because of the different way HTML5 handles audio vs the C++ target) but I think I'm covered either way.
@rulrite I love the Ace Attorney games also. We kicked around the idea of having Rex yell out OBJECTION sometimes during the fights but ended up not doing it. Maybe in the sequel.
@kensou Thanks for the comments. The ending was added real close to the deadline on Monday evening and I didn't know how to end it. The bloody knife was a literal last minute addition.
@dlowe and @megrabbit I'm a little disappointed I didn't balance the voice better. Dave did some awesome voice work and I think it is some of the funnier parts of the game. The lines you missed are "It's time to cross examine this witness... WITH MY FISTS" and "Look out Judge, I'm about to approach the bench!". The victory speech was "The court finds the defendants lawyer... awesome" Thanks for the comments!
@yetman Thanks for the comments. Anything specific about the controls that were giving you difficulty? Awkward layout? I honestly have a key rebinding screen all ready but just didn't have time to put the button on the main screen... Sorry about that!
@fil089 I agree that the gameplay doesn't have multiple genres. The original concept was going to have some interactive elements to the courtroom scene, but I realized before I even started that I wasn't going to have time. So I was tuck with a story genre and a gameplay genre divide. I think it fits within the theme, but I understand that others might not. Agree to disagree I guess. Thanks for the comments!
I don't even... This is gold!
Brawlers aren't really my thing, but the humor and graphics were spot on. I liked the voice acting and how you interpreted the theme, but the controls were pretty hard for me to get used to.
Funny and interesting but short. Otherwise it is pretty fun. More hit feedback would be nice, but other than that it is great.
Well done sir... well done.
This is brilliant. Short and sweet, but a lot of fun. I'd happily play a full game of this.
Okay this was super funny. Love it.
Bro, how you manage to have this humor, gameplay and look in three days is a nothing short of amazing. I feel weird leaving a comment that has no 'constructive criticism' but I got nothing. The sequel should be the lawyers fighting the appellate court and/or board of attorney ethics.
Thanks for the comments everyone!
@team-infernus It's funny, but you are the second person to mention you had trouble with the controls. Can you explain what made them difficult? Would something as simple as a key remapping option fix it, or was there something else?
@legavroche The original plan was to have 4 levels. The second and third got cut. The second was going to be the prosecution playing a video of you client committing the vaguely defined crime. You would have to destroy the TV while fighting off the other prosecutor. The third was going to be a fight against the jury, which would have been 12 weak enemies. I really like the idea of fighting the board of attorney ethics!
@minibobbo Yeah, I read your comments about the cut-content like the un-used VO lines. I guess its that old saying of "cut your expectations/goals by half" - either way the only people who know that the game is not in its full-glory is you guys. To an outsider like me, the game (albeit short) is perfect.
@minibobbo I don't think it was really a problem with controls, I'm just not as used to this type of brawler and my timing was pretty bad lol
great entry! Justice will prevail
The Fist of Justice. XD
#### POSITIVE - The theme it's there. - The graphics are like really good and had mojo. - Good control over the character - Jokes and humor was great - Voice acting
#### OBSERVATIONS - shoort, this is not a problem... but in here feels like it is. - A especial move it's welcome.
Was really fun, good work.
This is very silly and I approve. Could use some more distinct hit sounds when landing vs an enemy as opposed to just hitting the air!
It's really funny! The writing and voice acting is perfect. It could have been a little longer and the fights could have been more complex, but it's really good for a jam game. As a fan of Ace Attorney, I also wish that there were some actual courtroom elements beyond just the setting.
Great game!
This was so great. I really enjoyed Rex McFury's pre-fight zingers. Was there a way to defeat the judge without using backspace? I couldn't punch and jump at the same time, and couldn't land a hit on him while he was on fire without hurting myself.
Really fantastic job!
Cool and fun game. The art style is very good and fits with the game. Controls are a little bit difficult, but this don't influence in the fun of the game. Good job!
Please, take a look at my game too: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/confessional
Nice game, enjoyed playing this. I feel like a special move on C would suit this game well. Nice submission overall!
Wow, pretty interesting stuff. The judge was by far the easiest enemy :) Jumping is a bit stiff, and there are some inconsistencies (if the hero wins while in the air, he automatically teleports to the center for his victory post).
Strangely, I liked your logo the best :D But the overall idea is really solid and humor is top notch.
Thanks for the comments everyone!
@Kami-86 I agree the length is a short and it could use more. But I ran out of time, so too bad :smile:
@aaron-nemoyten I threw those sounds in for our original testing. Dave created sounds for both the swings and different attacks when they hit, but I never got around to implementing them... Post jam version will be better. Thanks for the input!
@dovakla The original brainstorm had some interactive court elements. It may evolve into a simple dialog tree and an excuse to tell jokes. I was struggling to come up with a way to make the player's choices meaningful when the end result was always going to be "I'm going to punch the witness/lawyer/judge in the face" regardless of the outcome!
@caterein and @sidewalksleeper The Judge can be easily beaten by walking up to him and just repeatedly jump kicking him in the face. It was actually supposed to be harder but due to a bug on my side the balls that fall from the sky actually fall slightly above the player so never hit you :flushed: He was also going to teleport around the arena, but that got cut for time. Post jam the fight will play out much more like I pictured it in my head.
@gyfis Good suggestion with the special moves. Rex definitely needs some additional attacking options as the enemies get more complicated and that is a good suggestion.
Thanks all.
@rodrigo-denubila Can you explain what you mean by the controls being difficult? Was it the way they were laid out on the keyboard or do you mean the way that Rex moved around in the game? I've heard this a few times and I'm just trying to make sure I understand where the problem is so I can work on it! Thanks!
That was hilarious! Engaging story, cool visuals and definitely 5 stars for humor :) I was really happy to beat these little pixelated people.
This was a lot of fun! A very nice little genre-mashup, and I dug the cheesy character brought to life with the throwback lo-rez vocal sample delivering one-liners! Great job with the overall style throughout.
The fights were also really solid, with each character having their moves and patterns, and requiring a different approach to beat them! The little old lady blocking shots with her umbrella was a very nice tactical touch.
The music was groovin, and I liked the gritty synthesized sound effects. Although I did wish for a different sound for a successful hit vs a wiff, just for information conveyance.
So this game is really on point. But since you're asking someone to get specific about the controls, and since this game is good enough to be worth diving deeper into, let's do it.
I too experienced some frustration with the controls in my initial moments of playing. In fact I got wrecked in my first fight and felt like it was all off. Starting my second fight, I went away from the lady and just experimented with the controls. I saw how very long I am "stuck" when I punch, and so I stopped playing like a brawler and played more like a "wait for it, counterattack" game. Then I wrecked the lady and only got hit once.
So partly it's adjusting. But I still think something is a bit off. For example, testing now, I am trying this combination of inputs, starting from facing left:
Punch (Begin holding right, indicating I want to turn around) Punch Punch
That's punch-spamming with a turnaround inputted an instant after I begin. In this case I can accept that I don't get the turnaround until after the first punch completes, but the game will actually run the entire combo of 3 punches before turning around.
Thinking back to my first play when I lost, I remember getting up in the mix with the old lady and punching, then I'd find I wasn't quite on the correct side, and my punches were missing -- or were they? kind of unsure since the sound is the same -- and I am now trying to turn around and punch the other way, but I'm not turning when I expect to. I also recall deciding to escape down, but feeling "stuck" in place.
This is all the initial moments with the game, and I soon adjusted. After realizing how it worked, I thought, oh this is a design decision, to make you more careful.
Testing further I see the following moments of loss of control: - No air control - No buffered re-jump so if I want to jump again and push a frame early, I don't get a jump - Hitting attack one frame before landing is also not feeling great (seems to cancel on touchdown?) - There is a stun when I get hit (probably fine, but maybe needs knockback?)
So a lot of windows where you ignore my inputs. Some valid, but consider reviewing each I guess?
Hope that helps put some specifics on that question.
And to be clear: great game, this dive into the controls isn't dissing it!
Funny game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 41 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrZuBymYcB4
@pkenney :flushed: That... is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for that detailed explanation on exactly what you expected to happen vs what did. I'm imagining that others had the some of the same experiences.
I based the controls off of River City Ransom, but then I went to play it again and realized that you do actually have some air control, but not much. I originally allowed air control but while it feels natural in a 2d plaformer, when you add the pseudo 3d like this is it feels a little awkward.
Some of what you are describing were design decisions. The witness fight is designed to be a slow paced thing with plenty of time to learn the controls and get a feel for the game. If you keep moving she can't really hit you at all and most of the difficulty comes from the counter.
I'll also have to allowing buffered inputs, specifically when jumping. I have the code in place to do it already but didn't...
This is what I'm thinking. 1. I can allow buffered inputs for jumping and turning around, so when you launch a combo in the wrong direction you can change direction in the middle without stopping and restarting. This should take care of the 1 frame early punch after a jump, which will just become a punch instead. 2. Speed up the pre and post attack animations/wait times so the character feels more responsive. I think this will eliminate some of the feeling of being "stuck in place". 3. Finally get around to adding the miss vs hit attack sounds. I have them, just ran out of time plugging them in... 4. Knockback on the player hit. It is actually already in the post-compo version which will add in the two extra fights that were cut for time, add some graphical goodies, and clean up the controls based largely on your feedback.
Thanks so much! I'd like your comment more than once if that was possible!
@Jupiter_Hadley Thanks so much!
Funny mashup! Nice touch having voice over. The combat was pretty easy, but sometimes the hit boxes tripped me up >_<
Good job! Cool game!
It reminded me a lot of "Double Dragon". The only thing that did not happen was to fly the two buttons together ...
I left my rating of your game, if you can leave your feedback in our game, Witch's Escape.
I hope you continue with the project.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/witchs-escape
Hi @minibobbo well, I think the difficult I felt with the controls was that I can't walk and punch at the same time. This make movement a little bit stuck. But, as I said in my last comment, this doesn't affect the fun of the game.
Very nice game with great voice over and characters. Great way to approach the theme. I liked the sound effects and visuals, the fighting mechanics are a bit clunky but it can be fixed. Well done, near perfection!
A super beating game!! The voice output helps very much with the atmosphere and fits totally. The only thing I didn't like was that I wanted to jump but the player was still in the hit animation and didn't react immediately. But otherwise a really great game.
@minibobbo Wow, it has been "9 days ago", so I'm sorry for the late reply. My problem with the controls was that they are a bit non-responsive. For some reason, I felt that the game didn't always react to my key presses. Probably it was because I was trying to do multiple actions at the same time, such as walk and attack. The game response was ok when I was pressing keys individually.
Wow, quite a dark ending :laughing: I liked this one, fits the theme and was good fun