max-whitehead 2018-04-23 02:14
Love the art! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get past the second patron. The recipe didn't seem to work.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD41 → The Bugbear Tavern
By carter-andrews, Kainkun and Byron Beasley
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 922 | 3.08 | 32 | |
| Fun | 931 | 2.88 | 32 | |
| Innovation | 972 | 2.86 | 31 | |
| Theme | 1030 | 2.88 | 32 | |
| Graphics | 890 | 2.93 | 32 | |
| Audio | 313 | 3.50 | 30 | |
| Humor | 328 | 3.36 | 28 | |
| Mood | 603 | 3.26 | 30 |
Love the art! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get past the second patron. The recipe didn't seem to work.
Seems like a fun concept. The music was great, had the expected vibe I think. The UI/UX was a little tough to figure out. I never could make a drink, but I had fun trying! lol
This was a very fun game and I enjoyed it greatly.
Very interesting concept. I loved the gameplay and the design overall. I was surprised when I became 3D all of the sudden. It was a nice change.
A really interesting game, I like the idea of brewing drinks for specific patron! The music is great but when I started the game, the volume of the music was louder. I played from the web and for some reason every time I wanted to mix a drink, my mouse didn't disappear making it hard to look around in the 3D space, had to right click it on the screen. But overall it's good!
Indeed the concept is very interesting and has a lot of potential... Really liked to pick object and throw them in the cauldron :) Feels satisfying.
Good job on making the game!
Cool idea. I felt drunk trying to gather the ingredients, especially when the POV was upside down, and my laptop got too hot to touch.
I had most of the same problems as @vyolfers. When the game started, the music got loude. Every time I turned around to mix a drink, my mouse clicked outside the window, making it hard to look around in the game-screen. The mouse speed was also incredibly fast. A few kinks, But still, a good game.
Nice, I enjoyed the game. I really love the mix between 2D and 3D. My only complaint was that the game was little bit straight forward and didn't feel challenging. May be, the player can be required to solve a puzzle or explore somewhere in order to discover the recipe instead of having it served to him in a book. Otherwise, it was fun and the music is really great. Great job.
DUDE. I would play a full version of this SO HARD. It reminds me of the game VA-11 Hall-A! You even have a leg up on that game because you don't get the super satisfying feeling of tossing things into a cauldron.
I think definitely some ambiguity for the recipes would be nice. Also, maybe a patron would request a drink based on flavors or colors rather than just the effects? Who knows... maybe medieval people drank for fun and not just potion effects! :)
The concept is awesome and I'm sure if you had more time, there would be more than one patron per recipe. Seriously... if you made this game a full experience with shinier graphics and polished music. Ugh. My money. PLEASE.
An nice and easy game. I wouldn't play it for more than 3 minutes, but that's how long it lasted, so perfect.
I had a lot of problems with the mouse. It was going really fast, and sometimes my out-of-game mouse cursor would show up, and since that cursor can't go off the edge of the screen, it would stop me from spinning around.
One quirk I noticed was that the UI for a character talking would show up before the camera finished moving, giving the appearance that the UI window was hovering in-game instead of being an overlay.
really nice game, i love this games where you have to interact with the heros from a shop perspective, hope to see a full game out of this!
well done on your game. I liked the ambiance and the atmosphere of it. The discussions bubble were a bit fast at popping but nothing too serious. And the character design even simplist were cute. Well done
I like alchemy:) sounds is good. But how can he withstand so many punches
I enjoyed this! Great little snippet of something that could be expanded into a longer game.
Nice, short, and fun. It's definitely a similar premise to VA-11 Hall-A, but the 3d world with physical ingredients and a cauldron is a nice touch. I wish there was a bit more interaction and responsiveness. Punching, complimenting, and brewing the wrong drink didn't seem to have much of an effect. Also, because the world is a 3d space I wanted to be able to walk around and interact with it. You could walk down to the cellar to get a new keg of beer, or go to the backroom to cut more lemon slices. You could serve people at tables, or just walk around and have conversations.
I liked the tone and the use of humor. The writing wasn't mind-blowing, but it was entertaining enough to keep me playing through the end of the game. The little touches like the "punch" button and the boot ingredient were great. The character art helped set the tone and theme of the game. The 3D assets mostly looked like stock 3d models, but they did help create a fantasy atmosphere along with the music and sounds. The 2D interface also fit the theme of the game, but it also didn't feel very polished. For a mostly text-based game, I think it's pretty important to have a smooth, clean, and easy-to-read UI.
The concept here is great. I really like the idea of having to figure out which potion the customers need and then figuring out the required ingredients. However, I feel the execution fell a little bit short. The game was, simply put, too easy. There were three very general potions, so figuring out which one is needed wasn't hard. You could have improved this by either creating more potions with more specific effects (like improving accuracy, helping memory, and providing courage for the examples provided) or by making the needs of the customers more obscure. Also, I felt like giving the whole thing a time-limit (like an evening at the tavern), and then scoring the player on how many customers they were able to provide with the right potion, would be really nice.
Anyhow, this is a really nice concept with nice and generally fun gameplay which has a lot of potential. If you feel even a bit like working on this idea again, I certainly recommend to do so! It will turn into something great with a bit of work. :)
@blushine I made all of the 3D models myself. Any insight on what makes them feel stock?
@Kainkun hm... I think it's a combination of factors that make them look like stock assets. The proportions, material choices, and colors are fairly realistic. But there's no little details or aesthetic flair that makes them look unique. Especially in a fantasy setting, props tend to have little bits of decoration, weathering, damage, or unusual elements that make them feel unique and interesting. It's kind of hard to describe, but maybe some examples will help: [Void salts](https://i.imgur.com/htjUetA.png) and [Fire salts](https://i.imgur.com/DYxIEVJ.jpg) from Skyrim. The void salts bowl has an interesting scalloped pattern, and looks like it's made out of some kind of smooth translucent stone. The fire salts are in a thick, chunky, 3-legged grinder bowl, and notice that the edges seems slightly worn-down from use. [Primordy oil](https://i.imgur.com/cgCEMJF.png) from Slime Rancher. The 3d model is very simple, and has hardly any detail. But notice the very unique color and material choices. The cork is a bright purple/pink gradient, and the glass outline has a very saturated purple/green gradient. It's a very unique color choice that you wouldn't see in any other game. [Grog Tankard](https://i.imgur.com/88d42XJ.png) from Sea Of Thieves. This model has an almost ridiculous amount of detail. The edges of the tankard are heavily chipped and worn-down, so you can see the wood material underneath the paint. It has a bunch of leather straps wrapped around it and a metal band at the bottom to hold it together. And even the leather straps have lots of cuts and worn edges, and an aged surface patina. It looks like this tankard has been in multiple knife fights!
You can notice similar stuff in a lot of other games. Potions will have little tags, or bits of string and cloth tied around them. A knife will have a little gem in the hilt, or runes carved into the blade. A tree branch will still have leaves attached. A piece of meat will have grill marks, thick streaks of fat, and a bone sticking out.
Of course, you have very limited time during Ludum Dare, so you don't want to spend too much time detailing a single model. But you can still add a lot of quick little details to the texture. [Here's an antique tankard](https://i.imgur.com/Lhm3iTc.jpg) that has a nice little repeating pattern around it. [Here's a clay flask](https://i.imgur.com/FYDuyMu.jpg) with a simple geometric design. I think this kind of little detail can really make a 3d model stand out, especially if it's an important item that the player can interact with.
@blushine thanks for all the info and examples. I'll definitely think more about unique details from now on. Thanks :D
I'm not entirely sure what the two genres are, but you seem to be combining three incompatible ingredients per patron.
I feel the game was a bit too short and rigid. The gameplay as it stands is far too simplistic.
Well done regarding the 3D models though. I guess some may think they are stock because their style doesn't blend in with other aspects of the game, such as the 2D patrons. It was a shock to learn the game was actually 3D!