Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD41 → The Cards You're Dealt
By raindrinker
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 12 | 4.15 | 43 | |
| Fun | 25 | 4.03 | 44 | |
| Innovation | 103 | 3.83 | 44 | |
| Theme | 100 | 4.08 | 42 | |
| Graphics | 83 | 3.97 | 43 | |
| Audio | 193 | 3.26 | 41 | |
| Humor | 468 | 2.25 | 30 | |
| Mood | 40 | 3.80 | 41 |
That was the best I've played so far :) ! Nice little soundtrack (gave a medieval, dungeons and dragons feel) and awesome gameplay ! Though I did have a lot of trouble with those pesky bats (I would of liked having more than 1 health). The pixel/silhouette style graphics are epic ! So yeah, all in all a VERY solid LD entry, cheers !
Good job @Raindrinker ! Maybe a little too hardcore? I suggest to give more life to the player, of if he/she die, to let him/her restart for the beginning of the level, and not the entirely game. Other suggestions: letting the basic mouvement available permanently, it'll avoid the weird sensation where you need to hit empty space to wait for a mouvement card. Anyway, good job o/. After the Alakajam#2 entry and this one, you'll be sure I'll follow your work :D
@tipyx I really toyed with that idea but I felt like it kinda broke the soul of the game. I ran into so much design problems, this final iteration is the best I could manage. I had more health at some point, but for me the game is so ridiculously easy RN (didnt have time to add more itneresting enemies that would justify having more HP) that I ended up just making it very punishing. Thanks for following! I love that some people already recognize ma name :D
@noa-calice Thanks a lot! I really appreciate the comment about soundtrack, it's the first time I tried to make music myself toying with Bosca Ceoil and actually something decent came from it. Thanks for the praise! The game feels so non-difficult to me after having played it so much, maybe I put the bar too high in the end. Once you get used to it it should feel really easy, I just hope people won't stop playign after the first death.
A very interesting game concept. You did a very good job with mixing a card game and chess. Next time if you have more time, try to add a menu for levels, because it's sometimes realy frustrating when you lose and you have to go back from the start. Something like a level sellect menu. Anyways, nice game and keep on going ;)
@alen-loeb The thing is, there are no levels, just 2 that are always the same to teach mechanics and from then its random,so it's pretty much a survival. Maybe I should have made the two first levels into a one time tutorial somehow, but I wanted to keep everything clean. Thanks for playing!
Nice concept and great execution ! The game is very chill and I love how you added some quality of life feature like the quick select with the numbers keys. As said before, the game would benefit for a level selection menu or a replay button given how punitive the death system is. Anyway, well done !
Nice relaxing game. Well made. I think you mixed both card game and puzzle really well. It seems like that you want the game to be hard nut i've found it quite easy (maybe is the luck of the draw :D).
During a playthrough, I made it so that the enemies move to the same tile in the next round/step, then i died. Not sure if it is a bug, but I thought I should let you know.
In the future, are you thinking about making the levels psuedo-randomly generated?
@mza I find it too easy, that's why I'm surprised most people are feeling one hit KO is too punishing. When enemies try to go to the same spot, they go by priority and there shouldn't be any trouble, if you got killed you either missed that another enemy was attacking you, you clicked the suicide button top-right, or it was a bug (quite likely). The levels are already procedurally generated a bit, beginning at lvl 3 there are 3 templates for the floor and the enemies position and types are random. I like the idea but it has so much design issues it has left me a bit frustrated, I don't think I'll keep working on it.
I loved this. Great idea which was well-executed. I liked the graphics style, and the music gave it a nice medieval feel while also being relaxing. As an improvement I would suggest making some sound effects for playing cards, but even without sound effects it's a great game. Unlike quite a few games I actively want to keep playing this ;)
@Raindrinker with these sort of games, theres a tonne of coding involved and design issues are inevitable. I have yet to come across a game-breaking though. What engine did you use btw?
@mza Game Maker 2. It's great! Design issues I meant thinking of the mechanics and how to limit your options in a Roguelike and make it not frustrating and such, I don't mean that I had trouble coding anything. The final concept is not as elegant as I thought it would be.
Excellent entry !
I wish there was a way to play a little faster (numpad or other ideas?) and feedback sounds. The graphics, mechanics etc feels very polished.
Definitely keep the one hit KO, I don't mind games with a bit of a punition. It's unfortunate you don't want to keep at it (I guess you are working on other interesting projects ;) ) but this concept with deck management after having a preview of the level etc would make a solid complete game.
I recommand people to play it, good work.
@noxbuds Super glad you like it! The thing I worried most was about it not being engaging enough! Yeah, didn't have time for Sfx, wanted to. Thanks for playing!
@joqlepecheur Oh I'm sure I'll do some very similar projects and use what I learnt from this, just won't keep adding stuff to this one. A card game has always been on my radar, roguelikes are great, and Slay the Spire lights the way.
Nums (1,2,3) to select cards is already in the game :) Yeah I didn't have time for SFX. Super glad you like it!
Great job! I love the idea, and I love the roguelike genre! I badly wish I had time and ability to use that genre. Maybe next time. Anyway, the art is good, the puzzle scheme is great, and it's genuinely fun to play! Good luck!
This is a lot of fun and a very well made game. I can't think of anything negative to say :smile:
EDIT: Well, maybe the first level should be played only once, but it's nothing big.
Good job!
Great game, I really have no criticism other than the thing I've read a lot of people mention so far, which is the difficulty. There are many ways to circumvent this maybe a mechanic similar to Darksouls's bonfires, other than that it's an excellent jam entry.
The concept was very cool and the gameplay feels intentional and fluid, all the while granting a large deal of agency to the player. I do agree that it is a bit difficult though, got to level 4 and was "painted into a corner" so to speak. Great job!
Amazing game, dude! You did a fantastic job!
It's a nice, casual roguelike game. I'm quite fond of the fusion between classic roguelikes, card games, and chess that you pulled off. With a bit more polish and tweaking, some animation, the ability to save between stages, and maybe a health bar, I feel like this could be a pretty good mobile game.
Nice, simple, feels smooth to play! For me the chess elements were a bit off visually, but the mechanics were great!
Nice!
Excellent as always!
Solid game!
Realy liked the concept and would love to see this expanded.
My favorite parts: -Solid gameplay. -Fun strategy theme. -Diferent ways to play even with small set of cards.
Suggestions: -Moaaar card types. -Some explanation on the cards themselves, the chess pieces were predictable but I had no idea what the rest did before trying.
Well done!
@Nyunesu yeah I didn't get all content I wanted in cause I sent so much time toying with the mechanics. I kept the cards "try to see" to artificially lengthen game time in a kinda dirty way. Thanks for playing! Glad you liked it!
Nice little dungeon crawler!
I've made a game before that used a similar "draw cards for movement and actions" mechanic, and while the idea is fun on paper I've learnt it's surprisingly hard to get right and balance correctly. You were much more successful than I, making the game satisfying to discover and not too frustrating when watching cards being drawn. The graphics are great as usual, and the chess-inspired cards are a great idea to make the game easy to pick up.
My main little suggestion is that if you had the time, little paper sounds when playing/drawing cards would add a lot to the atmosphere.
Now overall I indeed found the game to be quite easy, and in the end repetitive as long as you don't take unnecessarily risks. If you kept refining the mechanics until completely satisfying, you might end up with something close to the awesome [Hoplite](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magmafortress.hoplite&hl=fr) mobile game actually. Here's some of its design choices:
* All monsters have a single HP. Instead of strong monsters, there are more of them. * Each monster has a different way to attack (some are ranged, some can throw time bombs anywhere within 2 tiles, etc.) * Attacks work differently (for instance, when you are one tile away from a monster and close the gap, that's a hit).
Not saying these would by necessary changes, but after spending a week-end thinking about such mechanics you'd probably find Hoplite interesting!
@wan Thanks for all the useful advice! Yeah I got super excited with the idea at first but it was a pain to make it not completely horrible, I ended in so much design cul-de-sacs and had so much iterations that cannot be seen in the final product. SFX I wanted to add, but didn't have time, and I'm awful with SFX. This jam I managed to do music, which I never did before, maybe next one I'll deal with more SFX... it's a pending task for me to get used to it.
I'll look into hoplite. Seems like its in line with what I'd do if i wanted to improve this, which is to steal more stuff from Into the breach: ranged and areas, making position super relevant by making pushing an option, and making the enemies do more interesting stuff that you have to respond to.
You're always such a powerhouse in game design and analysis! I'm glad you played this and found it interesting.
nice game but need more of everything!!! MORE!!! cards, enemies, lives, levels, graphics, music more!)
@rs11s21n That's what a jam does to you :) Sorry I couldn't have more content, I'll take your hunger for more as a great compliment! :D
@raindrinker yes yes this is just good comment nothing more) btw(whanna play my "game"('-'))
One the best games I have played from this Ludum Dare. Simple to play but hard to master. Would love to play a full version game of this!
Really enjoyed this. It has a real Magic: TG feel to me, with the fantasy feel and cards. The only constructive criticism I can offer is that an instructions page would be useful. It took me a couple of tries until I realized the 3 red dots were the monsters' lives, not their eyes haha.
There's a lot I can learn from this game about game design, so good job! Very enjoyable to play.
I LOVE IT. And just as it was said, I'm hungry for more, especially talking of variation. The aesthetics of it caught my eye starting by the title, and the monochromatic art is so... x3 The character remembers me a bit of Bound of Isaac. And taking the first steps made me think of a child.
Had the page open for a few days but was afraid I would be disappointed. For starters I'm not much a fun of card games and there are a few games in LD with more art than game (which not always is a bad thing, but frequently is).
I was confused the first time I encountered an enemy because I thought I'd be forever taking a step back and it forward, but I gave another chance and it worked pretty well. Sometimes it's a bit tiresome when you just run around the enemies wishing for the right card, but some other times while luring them I feel like i'm ** SEDUCING THEM TO DEATH!!** Kinda like a dance.
Please expand it post jam!
ps: I also wish it would be more forgiving. How many dungeans there are? I've completed 9.
EDIT: I came back to read the comments afther the high and got some answers, like your intention of not expanding it (but I'd like to see other games) and how the levels are generated. Also, congratulations in making the music. I've tried it before and was completely clueless.
@nathalia-hohl Thanks a lot for all the praise! Maybe I'll really need to expand on it or start it anew and bigger... I'm starting to accumulate projects like that.
I got frustrated with this one, because as you have seen, there are some design problems with the cards and stuff. I tried to take inspiration from slay the spire, but in that game they manage to avoid making you do pointless stuff and enemies are always a threat. I'll need to rethink a bit.
Thanks a lot! Be sure to follow me on itch in case I do release some thigns you might like :)
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Really interesting execution of such a simple concept. For what you've down with the constraints of the 48hrs, I think you've got a knack for good design. Loved all the easing and tweening too, feels really fluid and still responsive!
I really enjoyed the concept and the art style of this game. It was great how you used the chess pieces to give some familiarity with the moves (for people familiar with chess anyway) but still kept them simple enough that you could discover what they were without much trouble. The single hit death was a bit unfortunate sometimes, but it was fun to try to make sure your moves didn't leave you vulnerable if you didn't get the card you were hoping to get.
I had a great time playing, even though I am immortal :) If you decide to build it out a scoring mechanic and penalty for discarding cards might be interesting. Thanks for hanging out in the stream! Here is a link to the highlight https://www.twitch.tv/videos/255427387?t=02h03m27s
After getting stuck and restarting the game I started a long run and at the start of level 10 I thought: 'I wonder what does the skull icon/btn do. Does it end the game? Yep...' :laughing:
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Thus my only complaint is that you could directly tell the player they can restart using the button, but that's probably on me anyway. In any case, a great entry. I'd welcome trashing/discarding, but that would probably make me even more OP (or trash vs pick new card could work).
Love the game. Need more ennemies types, and more cards, but already perfect. A good tactical/cards strategy/dungeon game.
@secretpocketcat @fivecyclops sorry T.T I just put the button there in the last second because there is the slim change of getting completely stuck (having three move cards and no available tile to move to). Glad you liked it! I'll try sometime soon to make a really similar game avoiding the design issues this one had (im sure you noticed frustrating and bothersome moments due to the way your options are limited). I wanted to have rooms inbetween combat where you would add cards and trash cards in a fire, but I didn't have time. Make sure you follow me on itch! :D
I really like your art-style! It is highly expressive with a lowest amount of tools used (like colors, complexity of the forms etc). I think adding a bit of dynamics (like a slight animation) is an easy step that could add even more life to it!
I like an idea of a card game crawler. Speaking of balance - I think it gets kinda easy and repetitive when you get to know how to deal with each type of enemies - you can just play safe and shuffle through a deck to get right cards. May be adding some systems that will motivate player to be more agressive, use less cards, or even play faster (realtime timers, huh?), could solve this.
Nice entry overall! :thumbsup:
@slovnoslomo Yeah I was thinking of ways to not let you "do nothing" that much, like a mage that targets you from afar with a spell and forces you to move and such... But didn't manage to get much content in. Also animation is hard :D My artsyle, I work with what I have, I love that you like it. Im trying to work the concept into a party-based RPG, making moving not a card. If you wanna be informed if I get anything done give me the follow on itch! :)
Perfect game for a jam: small scope, but everything it does, it does it very well. First card game I play too! Was a bit lost at first, then saw a video on youtube and replayed it for a straight hour! In fact, my finger slipped in card selection (1,2,3 keys are a shortcut, but I should have checked the selected card before I clicked🤦‍♂️) and that was a bad choice resulting in instant death, but I'll most surely replay it. Addictive fun and instantly enjoyable game.
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Great style, interesting card mechanic, and cute graphics. Music got a little repetitive, but that's only a minor complaint. Great job :slight_smile:
Really engaging game that makes you think hard as soon as you realize you have 1 hit deaths. The balance between movement and attack cards was a very slippery slope though luckily the enemies aren't so threatening that they'll pin you, and you can play relatively safe to progress on. No doubt that you could easily push this concept further with more weapons and monsters, so well done on creating a nice, extendable game with unique gameplay.
Very cool, sorta Hoplite-y but working from a hand of cards gives you both more and less control in different ways. FYI, tapping cards to play them doesn't seem to work on a touchscreen laptop -- usually it's identical to a click (e.g. on websites and other games), so there may be something odd about how you're detecting it (a click event vs. a mouseup event or something). Not a necessity by any means, but the interface would translate great to tablet play if it worked. :) Pity not to have sound effects in addition to music, but I'm sure you were time constrained there. I'd love to see more if you come back to it after the jam!