FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD42 → CapyBarbra: A New Brow

CapyBarbra: A New Brow

By ratherjolly

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall10442.9469
Fun10502.7268
Innovation6703.0968
Theme10282.8569
Graphics9562.8768
Audio4893.0766
Humor813.8370
Mood8652.7860

Comments

schizoid2k 2018-08-14 18:36

When I saw this was a game starring a capybara, I had to check it out. Glad I did! I laughed a bit while playing this. Funny story, funny premise, nice graphics and sound... well done!

thunderawesome 2018-08-14 18:45

I need to find me a brow-trimming Capybara! It is no easy task to keep those uni-brow hairs from growing.

corbak 2018-08-14 18:49

Alright you get my thumbs up for grossing me out! That is the craziest stuff I have seen so far in LD42, good job!

reizoukin 2018-08-14 18:53

Hilarious.

paulo-augusto 2018-08-14 18:58

nice

coal-creek-game-devs 2018-08-14 19:01

Funny lines.

iluvatar 2018-08-14 19:01

Well... It sure was something. I have really mixed feelings right now. I mean I loved the creativity level over 9000. These ideas come once in a millenium, but at the same time I was so confused. Haha! Nevertheless, it was really funny and definitely giving 5* for innovation, because this is something else! Also loved the music a lot.

2018-08-14 19:15

This was... weird. I guess it was trying to be funny but the joke was lost on me. No idea what this had to do with the theme, and the opening monologue was far too long.

ratherjolly 2018-08-15 02:36

@schizoid2k Thanks for adhering to the lure of the Capybara! I'm happy you got enjoyment from it :) Thank you for playing!

@thunderawesome My dream is that they become all too common. Sadly, the only Capybara I know of to offer these services is Barbra. Of course, if I hear of more, I will tell you. Thank you for playing!

@corbak I guess I have no choice but to take that as a compliment haha This was definitely one of the... stranger ideas I brainstormed for this theme. Thank you for giving it a play! :)

@reizoukin Awesome! haha thank you for playing xD

@paulo-augusto Thanks! :)

@coal-creek-game-devs Thank you! It was a fun project to think up dialog for. All of the passive in-game dialog didn't make it in, but I'm happy I was able to at least get something for the intro :) Thanks for playing!

@iluvatar YES! Thank you so much. I knew from the start this was going to be... well... not a normal game. haha Thank you for all of the kind words and thank you for playing! :)

@anonymous Sorry you didn't enjoy it. I admit there was quite a bit more I was hoping to include in this game, but honestly, if you didn't like what was completed you probably wouldn't have enjoyed the missing features :P Either way, I super appreciate your honesty and thank you for playing! :)

coal-creek-game-devs 2018-08-15 03:45

We had a bunch of funny dialog for our game but didn't get to put it in, glad to see someone did. Nice work! Here's a hat for you (didn't get to put them in either) WingedHelmet.png

ratherjolly 2018-08-16 15:30

Oh boy! Thanks for the hat, @coal-creek-game-devs xD

kokonaught 2018-08-16 20:39

Well, that was something else. Great job on the opening cinematic, it reminded me of the darkest hours of the longest Metal Gear Solid cutscenes. :') The game is not incredible, but it's fun for a little while, and I'm still confused about the plot, welle done!

ratherjolly 2018-08-17 01:13

@kokonaught Metal gear Solid FTW! Hah. Thanks for feedback and thanks for giving it a try!

scott-steffes 2018-08-17 01:45

Fun concept! It would be nice if there was something active you could do to eat through the hair faster. It would also be good if it didn't make the chewing sound when you're not actually chewing on a hair. That tripped me up a couple times.

eduardo-yukio 2018-08-17 01:59

One of the weirdest games that I've ever played haha. The capybara blinking on the intro is very cute, well done on the graphics! I only felt that the gameplay was too simple, if we had more things to do while we were chewing it would be nicer.

ratherjolly 2018-08-17 03:34

@scott-steffes That's a great suggestion! Removing the chew sound when not actually chewing would be an easy fix to help tell the player if they were eating hairs or not. As for eating through the hairs faster by actively doing something, I also agree. Initially I had 3 alternative moves to help balance the eating mechanic, but those ended up getting cut (or chewed I suppose). Thank you for you input and thank you for playing!

@eduardo-yukio Thank you for the kind words! That's a very good point on the gameplay. I was so jazzed about finally rolling with an idea, I opted to spend far too much time on random story stuff(which didn't get implemented) than actual game play haha Thank you for admiring the Capybara and thank you for playing!

annie-owl 2018-08-17 11:38

Really nice work you have done on voice over. I'm actually surprised at how many games with high-quality voice over I see on this jam. The gameplay is solid, I haven't noticed any bugs or problems while playing the game. Sadly the theme of the game wasn't really for me, so I can't give any ratings in the mood category.

ratherjolly 2018-08-20 20:47

@annie-owl Thanks for feedback! I really wanted to emphasized audio more this Ludum Dare and am happy that you liked it! I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the mood of this game. I am quite willing to admit that this game is... a bit of an odd one ;) Thank you for playing!

abhis1kadian 2018-08-21 14:22

@ratherjolly Hilarious concept man, i literally laughed during the gameplay nice game art and music too. You banked on the humor category man. Please do rate my game and leave ur feedback too.

stefan-jovanovic 2018-08-21 14:36

Interesting idea! Intro was hilarious! Gameplay is nice, as well as the audio! Keep up the good work! :smiley:

ratherjolly 2018-08-21 19:03

@abhis1kadian Hah. You got me xD I'm happy to hear you got some enjoyment out of it! Heck yeah I'll rate your game! Looks fun! It's added near the top of my list to play/rate! Thanks for playing xD

@stefan-jovanovic Thank you for the delightful feedback :D This LDJam I really wanted to emphasize Audio and Visuals. I'll just have to focus a little more on Gameplay next time ;D Thank you so much for playing! Looking forward to trying out your game!

roman-petrov 2018-08-21 22:10

I love capybaras :) Initially I didn't get what should I do and eat, until I walked around a little bit. Well, the pace is fast!

sam-machell 2018-08-21 23:29

very funny idea, good stuff. the animations on the hair really stood out to me, feels almost like some kind of cosmic horror these monobrow hairs bursting through the groundskin like that i dunno lol

erikiene 2018-08-22 00:00

Very much agree with others - amazing work on the opening sequence! Good humor, cute capybarbra (or is it capybrabra..? (hoping for some flight of the conchords fans around here)) and a very solid entry for the jam.

ratherjolly 2018-08-22 04:10

@roman-petrov Thank you for checking this out! This game could definitely use some pacing haha Thank you for loving Capybaras and thank you for playing! :D

@sam-machell OH MAN! I whole heartily take that as a compliment! I love horror and dream of strengthening my skills for a future game of it! My goal with the face/hair was to add a bizarre element and hesitation to a rather straight forward task. Well... straight forward for Barbra at least... I think there is just so much crazy horror lurking all around us on a microscopic level! Thanks for the feedback and thank you for playing!

@erikiene FREAKING YES! I had one or two strong FOTC jokes on the name that ended up getting cut later in development. I'm stoked to know there are peeps out there that would have appreciated it xD Thank you for playing!

saoi-games 2018-08-22 07:28

Thank you for sharing your game with me. As you know, I played it on my stream tonight at https://www.twitch.tv/saoigames

I have rated your game, but all of my feedback was captured in the stream.

You can hear my comments in the archive at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/300361630

This may be my most WTF of Ludum Dare 42, but only in a good way.

cristihkj 2018-08-22 09:54

Great game! Very cool and interesting! :D

larryseinfeld 2018-08-22 12:11

Haha, damn I could only get his confidence to 93ish before it plummeted from that bushy brow dominating the poor man's forehead. I feel so bad for this man for suffering from such a horrific disorder. The look on his face alone gives me sympathy for him. May happiness grace him one day.

Hilarious and fun game! Really great intro, cool art, fun music, and a very clever take on the theme! Love it!

kiirohanabi 2018-08-22 13:30

Wow! I didn't know brows were that hard to eat, especially for a capybara haha! Graphics may not be the best ever but in that way they enhance the fun factor, I'd say. Same for audio! I hope you had fun developing it, because it's such a crazy game I can't even say anything. You leave me speechless haha. But good job overall!!

ratherjolly 2018-08-22 14:20

@saoi-games Thank you so much for streaming my game on your channel! It was fun to watch you play it and I feel like you had some very credible feedback. Namely, hair Detection and visual/Audio Cues tying to it. Also the pacing! I appreciate it :) Thank you for playing!

@cristihkj Thank you! But really, most of the credit should go to Barbra ;) Thanks for playing!

@larryseinfeld This really is a crucial topic and, quite possibly, one of the most important turning points in this man's life. I whole heartily appreciate your sentiments. Hats off to you! **glares at youngster still wearing a hat** It's not every day that you meet someone who fully understands the dire need for Capybaras! **gnashes teeth. Looms over disrespectful youngster like a starving lion ready to pounce** It fills my heart with joy; truly! **inner monologue gets darker as the solution becomes far too clear** I mean, just the very idea of... **blood-rages** ...of ...of... **Removes cap from youngster and calls him a bad word** ...Sorry. How do you judge? (For those who haven't already played "Judged!", I really can not urge the necessity to play this enough! https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/judged)

Thank You for all of the compliments, Larry! It was a joy to make :)

ratherjolly 2018-08-22 14:31

@kiirohanabi Excellent! Thank you so much for you kind speechless words :D I had a lot of fun making this and appreciate you giving it the time :) Thank you for playing!

brandon-napky 2018-08-22 17:58

I try to go into the games without reading much, and do it later after trying the game. The intro cutscene was really good to get into context, and it's cool to see where you are located in the uni-brow territory. I would've liked it better if it wasn't necessary the word "Eat?" to know you are in the right spot to eat the brow. Eating hair at first felt so wrong lol, it was quiet a fun experience. Good job man!

Please rate us back <3

tontonpizza 2018-08-22 20:39

Really weird game. I like playing the capybara but as brandon-napky says, it feel wront to eat hair ^^

i m pretty confuse and i can't chose either it's cute or cringy.

ratherjolly 2018-08-22 21:49

@brandon-napky I like your LdJam play tactic! I agree with the hair collision "Eat?" text you brought up. That specific text was introduced a little last minute after recognizing a few bugs introduced with collision. It's not a perfect solution, but worked for the time being to give a big "in your face" visual cue. Definitely something to be improved upon if I were to continue this project! Looking forward to trying out your game! Thanks for playing!

@tontonpizza Thank you for playing! I was going for a bit of both Cute and Cringe actually, so... I'm happy to hear that! The idea of tasking an adorable Capybara to systematically eat terrifying life-sized hairs all up in someone's personal space was just too funny in my sleep deprived brain to let go of xD Thank you so much for playing :)

danielblanco3d 2018-08-23 18:01

Really bizarre game idea...I like it, mostly the frown mini map.

ratherjolly 2018-08-23 19:36

@danielblanco3d Awesome! I just wish I had time to animate it... GAH! haha thanks for playing :)

redhermit 2018-08-24 00:24

Nice work, fun times! I loved the minimap idea, worked great! The music and sound effects, along with the initial story voiceover, are great.

criobite 2018-08-25 14:32

Uhhhhhhhh....

Not sure what to say, really....

philstrahl 2018-08-25 16:52

Thanks for linking to my let's play of your magnificently weird game, Matt! :)

ratherjolly 2018-08-27 13:43

@redhermit OH MAN! Thank you so much for the compliments! I had planned to do more with the mini-map (like facial animations based on Confidence), but I'm happy it was still able to be useful! Thank you for playing!

@joshua-stone Haha I totally understand. Thanks for playing!

@philstrahl Heck yeah! Thank you so much for your Let's play! For better or for worse, you've truly inspired me to start making Ludum Dare games again and I freaking love pretty much everything about it! (Of course, minus the theme... followed by a double-tap of crippling depression) But Really, Thanks Phil :)

rahim-pxr 2018-08-27 22:19

Nice game, Love how everything is balanced! Good luck, Don't forget to take a look at ours if you don't mind and see what it's like when we just focused on graphics in this game jam! Game Link: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/spacelab-42a

ratherjolly 2018-08-28 19:14

@rahim-pxr Thank you for giving helping out Barbra! I appreciate the play! I added your game to my list of play/rate and look forward to playing it! Thanks :)

kubenexion 2018-08-29 19:12

Funny game! I really like the intro. Well done

seconddimension 2018-08-29 20:12

This was unexpected! Properly weird game, in a good way, great intro.

ratherjolly 2018-08-29 20:51

@kubenexion Thank you! I had more plans for the intro, but it was really fun to make :) Looking forward to playing your game! Thank you for playing! :D

@seconddimension It is a bit weird isn't it? Haha I absolutely trying to rationally explain my games to others. Thank you for playing! Looking forward to playing your game :D

jordantanner 2018-08-29 21:12

@Ratherjolly definitely a hilarious entry, man! The difficulty gets pretty hard pretty quick, so it's hard to last too long, but definitely got a chuckle out of it. Funny intro too!

ratherjolly 2018-08-29 21:25

@jordantanner Thanks! The pacing is a little tough, but I'm happy you got a kick out of it :) Thank you for playing! Can't wait to try out some "Poisoned Palace" :D

shakedimus 2018-08-29 21:39

Haha funny game but I didn't really understand the /100 on the hairs it seemed to go up and not die. Mechanics wasn't really fun but the humor and you're voice acting made up for it "D

ratherjolly 2018-08-29 22:05

@shakedimus Thank you for your feedback! I really wish I had spent more time on polishing the actual playability of the game, but I'm happy you got a kick out of it :) Thank you for playing! :D

nam-nguyen 2018-08-30 00:50

Haha awesome voice acting, spot on humor! The mechanic is pretty odd but it seems potential, I think you can either speed up the game or add more complexity to it by letting players control multiple cats. Then it would be quite chaotic but more satisfying xD. I had some good laughs with the game, thanks!

quicklyer 2018-08-30 03:01

A nice spin on the usual capybara eating eyebrows formula we've seen so many times. Kinda creeped me out a little but left a big dumb grin on my face.

Also really liked the music, especially the title screen music. Great work man.

crave 2018-08-30 04:28

The face mini-map at the bottom was brilliant! haha

ratherjolly 2018-08-30 13:39

@nam-nguyen Thanks for the compliments and feedback! The game balancing and pace is definitely something that should have been addressed more in this jam. Adding cats would no doubt make this game better. I'm under the believe that adding cats to anything instantly give it potential! Case and point...

(example): **LD43 Waving Simulator**

giphy (3).gif

Thank you for playing! I really appreciate it :)

ratherjolly 2018-08-30 13:46

@quicklyer Going into the jam I knew that capybaras eating eyebrows was a gimmick, but I was spent on ideas and exceptionally desperate. I thoroughly appreciate the dumb grin! Most positive things in my life involve dumb grins :D Thank for the playing!

ratherjolly 2018-08-30 13:52

@crave Thanks for giving this a try! I really wanted to instill a feeling of progression and hopelessness in the mini map. I feel like there is a life lesson there... Maybe something like...

"Seemingly Small efforts can venture towards phenomenal face confidence"

of

"It's the little things in life that change your face"

Regardless... Thank you for playing! :D

martintristan 2018-08-30 16:40

pretty hilarious game! the intro was really funny (though a bit long). never thought that capybaras can do good things for humanity. the gameplay is good but i feel that the hairs just grow so fast! maybe if bar bar the capybara (BBC!) levels up and can eat up hair faster. cool game!

ratherjolly 2018-08-30 18:13

@martintristan Oh my gosh! I had secondary moves with cool downs, but I didn't even consider a level up system! That could have been pretty sweet! Thank you for your feedback and thank you for playing! :D

siarhei-pilat 2018-08-31 12:42

Really enjoyed this game and made me laugh :D I just wish it was more playable, there is no way it's possible to beat it! :D

cg-fred 2018-08-31 13:15

Awesome concept but it was hard to save the dude from his unibrown. Good dialog and decent music. Well done!

ratherjolly 2018-08-31 13:36

@siarhei-pilat Though, as you know, Barbra takes her job very seriously, I'm happy it made you laugh :D I definitly should have spent more time on balancing the game play. it is beatable, but you just have to act like really quick haha Thank you for your feedback and thank you for playing :D

@cg-fred It is quite hard to save him! If you slip up at all in the beginning, it's virtually impossible xD Thank you for the compliments and thank you for playing :)

camilovr 2018-08-31 21:05

lol, what a crazy idea ... Congratulations! I loved the background and the capybara !!

ratherjolly 2018-09-01 03:23

@camilovr Thank you for the delightfully positive feedback! :D And thank you for playing :D

foxisxiii 2018-09-01 19:25

Great work!!

gustavo-christino 2018-09-03 02:07

I finally had time to play. ^^

---

Evaluation ...

0 - Main Mechanics: I would define the main mechanics as: defending a region from the attack of harmful agents. The coating of this mechanic, in humorous and narrative terms, enhanced the experience of the main mechanics. To check how well the player is, there are bars that track progress (in addition to visual feedback on the minimap).

1 - Secondary Mechanics: I would say that the minimap itself is a secondary mechanic for this game, and it is possible that it exists without the minimap.

2 - Learning Curve: Learning to play was not very difficult, from the end of the first attempt to the beginning of the second attempt I was already managing to manage the appearance of harmful agents (the hairs that were emerging between the eyebrows). I would suggest more visual feedback about the minimap if I consider it a positive point for the project (this is because, even though it is fast, just because I'm losing the game I realized the same, even more when I played at the chosen site, because there is information beyond the game).

3 - Flow: Without the mini-map the game is difficult (little skill, depends on luck and agility to find new hairs, hairs grow quickly etc). With the minimap the game is easy (you can quickly achieve victory, which reduces playing time). I would suggest removing the minimap, or giving false clues about the presence of hairs after some time, such as the appearance of other things that cheat on the minimap (pints, mosquitoes landing or other things). Another suggestion would be to reduce the speed of hair growth, if you want a longer experience (maybe it works, you would have to test it).

4 - Love Points: Humor was the strong point. This is the choice of capybara (hahahahaha).

5 - Presentation of the Narrative: I have not played many times, but I would suggest (even if you have to skip the line) to add subtitles, so that non-native and non-English speakers can better absorb what is being said, besides giving accessibility to deaf and devices).

6 - Art Polishment: In the style chosen and developed, adding up the limited time of Ludum Dare, there is no point in pointing this way. There is always room for polishing in case of continuity of the project.

7 - Monetization Attractiveness: Maybe the game is monetizable, I would do a publishing experience after upgrades, this for smartphones, maybe the humorous character brings curious players to play (who knows through advertisements can monetize).

8 - Community Generation: A Facebook page for capybara? Hahahahahah. If you create, invite me to follow.

9 - Cultural Dialogue: The game seems to question (or at least tinker) about how one feels about having excess hair on one's face. This leads (in parts) to the humorous effect. I wonder if the game would have any effect in the opposite direction (contributing in some way to some cultural reflection or questioning).

---

jonathan-lorenz 2018-09-03 12:52

The gameplay and game pleasure were ok but it's really in the other categories that your game shine. Thumbs up for the humour and the cool chiptune!

andrei9 2018-09-03 13:23

I liked the Graphics, and the Gameplay was fun, Nice Game. :thumbsup:

ratherjolly 2018-09-03 22:10

@gustavo-christino Holy Crap! Thank you for the extremely detailed rundown on my little game! haha I agree with pretty much everything you said! This game was a glimpse at what I originally planned (classic over planning again this LDJam) I Super appreciate all of your feedback! Thank you! :D

ratherjolly 2018-09-03 22:12

@jonathan-lorenz I agree... the gameplay is at the core of what would need to be improved. Thank you for the thumbs up and thank you for playing :D

ratherjolly 2018-09-03 22:14

@andrei9 Thank you for the compliments and thank you for playing :D

hellsquirrel 2018-09-04 13:57

Nice work!

ratherjolly 2018-09-04 17:19

@hellsquirrel Thanks :D

merpader 2018-09-04 19:49

lol that was interesting...