FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD42 → BLOCKADE

BLOCKADE

By pixeljerry, Nadia and Walter Ellis

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall1163.9131
Fun793.8731
Innovation474.0131
Theme2503.8931
Graphics1454.1931
Audio3.649
Humor2.7019
Mood3293.4228

Comments

bazld 2018-08-15 13:02

Yes, I did enjoy it! Took me a moment to realise the jumping/rising tactic, but it works really well. Very satisfying. Well-made game.

draperdanman 2018-08-15 13:38

OMG this is brilliant! I never really felt like I was 'running out of space' but that doesn't matter you found an awesome mechanic off that top of that theme. I actually just spend the last 30 minutes entranced in gameplay. Improvements could be made on the audio side, probably should have opted out of Audio seeing that you're using kevin Macleod music. Looking forward to seeing more from the team in the future!

necromic 2018-08-15 13:38

Beautiful graphics, nice music and precise controls. My only complain is that gameplay feels so random, winning is matter of luck.

jack-lance 2018-08-15 14:44

Very innovative game, and I was having fun. Also looked and sounded very nice.

My complaint is that it's way too easy to clear stuff without introducing more colors or speed.

arche-san 2018-08-15 15:19

Wow! This is very good. Even it is a bit too easy to win (I've reached wave 14/15 without any difficulty). Feeling is very good and it was very difficult to let the game go once in hands.

A combo system for scoring would be great!

Good job! :D

Edit: I didn't vote for the Audio category because the music is not from yours. Perhaps you should remove category from contest ?

pixeljerry 2018-08-15 15:58

Thanks for the amazing feedback, we really appreciate it! We removed the audio section as suggested by @draperdanman and @arche-san, and absolutely agree - thanks for mentioning it!

rob-cigna 2018-08-15 18:07

Nice job! That was very fun to play. Could you put a link back to this page on your itch download page? I clicked through from your front page post, but had to go back and search through your user profile to get here and rate it.

pixeljerry 2018-08-15 18:49

Thanks for playing @rob-cigna! I added a link back here from the Itch.io page, think it's a good idea! :smiley:

King of Bjorp looks very cool, I'm off ot give it a go!

artish357 2018-08-15 19:19

Very interesting idea! The graphics are great and the jams are sweet! On the other hand I found it very easy, wish there was some option to speed up the gameplay, like in tetris where you can speed up the blocks. Good job!

pattedecanaard 2018-08-15 19:29

I really enjoyed it: good graphics, good controls, good concept... Bravo!

tekugare 2018-08-15 19:39

I had fun and I really enjoyed your mechanic! I felt like it was a little difficult to move around exactly to the spot you wanted to be, and I found myself standing still until I got just the right colors to sync up. But other than that I enjoyed myself, and played it several times. Maybe add a button that insta-places your block for extra points? Good job and thank you!

borys 2018-08-15 21:21

To be honest I think I never saw similar game to it, really unique idea and nice performence. I'm very happy i could play your game <3

oskarolausson 2018-08-15 21:22

I did not like that the block spawned when I jumped, otherwise I think it is a great game. Really like the feel of the jump. Good job

deprecat 2018-08-15 23:38

Awesome twist on tetris style play! I think my only thing is, I wish I either didn't have control over when the blocks moved (perhaps based on a rhythm timer when the block raises up?) Or just always when I jump.

Otherwise, really nicely done! Can't wait to see how you flesh this out further

bitdecay 2018-08-15 23:42

This game definitely hits some nostalgic notes for me. It has hints of Mr. Driller and Lumines (at least to me). I really dig the subtle things like the song pop-ups and stuff.

I think you have almost a little too much control over the character. The move speed is very high, and it causes the controls to feel a little sloppy. It's also a little strange that I can stand halfway off of a block and get blocks to spawn in a different column than the one I'm colliding with. I also wish there was a bonus for a full clear ;)

But this game has a lot of potential. It captures a lot of the charm of the puzzle games I love playing. Nice work!

merpader 2018-08-15 23:43

Really fun to play. Probably got more points by accident than skill

sharky3188 2018-08-16 02:09

Great game, some nice polish, good graphics, audio and found myself playing for longer than most other games.

The special blocks add a nice bit of variety to the game play. The jump felt a little punishing, and i feel like it would have made game play a bit more enjoyable if it didnt place down the blocks, movement and momentum would have become more of a feature of a game if that was changed.

Great submissions!

athena-av 2018-08-16 07:23

This is really fun to play! so dinamyc adn the art cute and nice to see. the controls are easy and good to use. in general a really good concept and game :)

nadia 2018-08-16 10:56

Thanks for all the feedback!!! we really appreciate it!!!

wendel-scardua 2018-08-16 12:05

Nice game, loved the character :) Do your team intend to keep working on it after the jam?

Useless trivia: My LD41 entry (Claustroom) was also about walking over a Match-3 puzzle, but it was a 3D FPS instead of a platformer...

pixeljerry 2018-08-16 16:12

@wendel-scardua, we were actually talking about finishing it up and maybe adding local multiplayer - as one normally does with these things - but we definitely have not made any commitments just yet. Just enjoying playing other entries at this stage :smiley:

We'll probably have a discussion amongst ourselves once things settle a bit, to see if the whole team is keen on pursuing the project further.

I'll have to go take a look at Claustroom, sounds interesting!

blacksheepza 2018-08-17 12:07

I really like the idea of this game and it definitely has some potential! As others have said, I also found it a bit too easy but I would love to see some more exploration around these mechanics!

Well done :D

walter-ellis 2018-08-17 12:19

Thanks for playing our game, and for the great feedback. We have already started discussing changes to the game's design based on your feedback.

For some background, our little team recently discovered each other through Twitter, realised that we live in the same city, and decided to do this Ludum Dare together to get to know each other better.

Pretty cool. Most successful game jam yet, and a great couple to have made friends with.

chrissx2 2018-08-18 18:04

I've never seen match-3 gameplay like that before. Really great game! Everything feels smooth and well made. The only thing i could complain about, was the beam. I've spent too much time trying to see what color it was. Beside that, great job!

geekdrums 2018-08-19 08:07

Super fun! I'm not good at 3-match puzzle game, but a lot of bomb block helps me number of times. Survived 20 waves!

evangreenwood 2018-09-04 14:13

A really cool variant on Tetris/Match3.

Like others have said, those row wiping blocks are really fun. At the same time they might make the game a little easy.

I do enjoy making combos in this kind of game, so I'm definitely not suggesting taking the special row-buster blocks out, though I think ideally you could find another way to introduce more difficulty. Even as it is you have a very short amount of time to make a decision about where to lay the next block, so I don't think the speed can be increased.

I wonder whether the jump could be reduced. I had a moment where I had made a cliff that I couldn't get over, and that affected my strategy, but placing a block with my jump was always a bigger concern than getting to where I needed to be, and there was never much time to make a decision in any case. I don't know if it would work, but it might be interesting to have zero time pressure and more types of blocks, meaning that it would play out as a kind of puzzle where making matches is actually difficult and requires planning (because navigation and block placement would be completely tied). I don't know if you tried this already?

Otherwise maybe introducing grey blocks (that don't combo but row busters can destroy), or blocks that require special conditions (like two matches).

Also extra points for connecting more than 3 blocks would be rad. As well as combo points for creating a combo when falling blocks connect.

I played twice and had a good time. A really nice entry.

walter-ellis 2018-09-10 11:23

@evangreenwood Hey Evan, thanks for playing our game, and for the very constructive feedback. Development for the game pretty much stopped shortly after the jam, but we do like what's already come from it, so we're discussing options. I felt like it could use a lot more balancing, and we're taking the great feedback from people into strong consideration. Thanks again. FYI, we had a brief chat at A Maze in JHB last year. Also, congrats on Broforce's Switch release!