red 2019-05-04 17:42
Nice little game you have here, very simple. Wish it was longer!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD44 → Life Merchant
By webox
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 226 | 3.75 | 102 | |
| Fun | 308 | 3.55 | 102 | |
| Innovation | 235 | 3.51 | 102 | |
| Theme | 168 | 3.83 | 100 | |
| Humor | 319 | 3.21 | 93 | |
| Mood | 297 | 3.62 | 101 |
Nice little game you have here, very simple. Wish it was longer!
Wow, I just found a little gem. Your interpretation of the theme is fantastic! Very creative. I hope you continue working on this. And I just noticed this is your first LD. Well done! Your choice of the music and artwork was very fitting.
I like how you interpreted the theme, makes for a nice twist on a classic Sokoban-type game. Let me wanting more, as I was thinking of more ways the level design could play off interactions between the different abilities.
Pretty fun game. I only ran into a few minor issues:
1. It was fun enough that I wanted more levels and was sad when I ran out. 2. When you reach the goal for the level, you are able to move the character around in the mountains/background. 3. When you are putting people to sleep you can still move your character through them even though they aren't asleep.
Great game!
@red thanks for the feedback! I'll try too add more levels! I really have fun doing it, but It's really hard for me to make them fun.
@rjhelms It's super nice to find out that people actually want more levels haha. Thank you guys, I'll keep working on it!
@dustin-eyers Also thanks for the feedback and I love to hear that you want more levels too!! I'm aware of those bugs! I'll fix the asap!
@skylark721 Thanks for the feedback! Yes it's the first time I actually enter and finish something, so many incomplete LDs.. I'll keep wornking on it for sure!
Mood was brilliant - changing music and colors = great idea but this game some kind frustrated me ;( probably it's not because this game was bad but because I really don't like this type of games :/ anyway good job
Nicely done! Be sure to play and rate some games so you get enough ratings to get a score! It'd be a shame to miss out, especially since I think you'll do pretty well.
I like the simple gameboy-esque graphic style a lot. The gameplay was very simple but effective, and I think there's a lot you could do with it. This was one of the most creative uses of the theme I've seen so far too, so kudos for that.
My only feedback (like others) is that it left me wanting more levels. (I do get that it's time consuming though; it's always surprising how long that can take, especially with puzzle games!)
Thanks for a fun entry!
@akand haha thanks a lot for playing my game even thou you hate the format!! That speaks great of you!
@cppchriscpp YES!! that exactly, takes a lot to think on a good level, it's also my first completed game ever, so creating puzzles is double hard haha. Thanks for playing! really appreciate it
Easy to get started, sometimes not easy to find yourself on the map :sweat_smile: Thank you for providing a web version of the game!
Nice puzzle mechanics. Maybe think of a way to reduce the amount of keystrokes? Anyway a solid entry.
I really loved your game, the puzzles were well designed, I wish there were more levels where you play the grandpa, he's so hilarious!
"When I was your age..." š“
@dasmaichen Thanks for the feedback! a friend told me the same haha, he thought the game bugged and he's actually trying to move a guard. Thank you for playing!
@attala haha yess!! I found out that it's a pain to press so many times the movement key after some extensive playtesting. But it's to late to change it, I'll think of something to fix it
@reality-blind Yeah sorry about the too few levels thing :(. I promise to keep working on it now that I know that some of you liked it :smile:
@webox Don't be sorry, it's a good thing that people ask for more levels š
I was disappointed when it was over xd. Iād love to see more! Nice work!
Great level design, art and sound, my only problem as was pointed out in the previous comments is having to keep tapping to move.
Nice use of colors, the music is great as well, nice work!
@copper-aardvark-games @edevjogos @vinmh Thanks a lot for playing!! It's really great to know that you liked it!.. As I said before, I promise to add more levels!.
Also yes on the excesive key tapping, wasn't a great idea haha. I was going for a world that updates with your actions but it ended up being a bit too much key press. I'll figure something out, maybe keeping the key pressed makes a move every third of a second or something like that.
This was a great little puzzle game! The core mechanic was really cool and made great use of the theme; I could see it being expanded into a full game with lots of different age mechanics. The joke about putting the guards to sleep was great too. Awesome job!
Great puzzle game! Using the shop felt a little clunky, but other than that, I would totally play this as a stand alone puzzle game!
@flashviper @carlsonandpeeters Thanks for playing!! I'll try to fix the store into a more usable UI. Thanks for the feedback, all of the feedback really makes me want to keep working on it!
Reminds me of a a game I used to play on a really old cellphone when I was a kid. The levels were designed very well.
Reminded me of GameBoy games that I played when I was a kid. I liked how you couldn't push rocks when you are old. Getting older/younger from buying and selling the sword seemed a little odd. Maybe add some backstory like it's the sword time. I wish I could have played it in full screen instead of the tiny window.
@calzep any chance you remember the name?? Would love some inspiration!
@levidsmith GREAT Feeedback! I'll take your hints into consideration, since I'll probably keep working on it!
Thanks a lot for taking the time to play it both of you! :D
Very cute puzzle game! The mechanic of changing the character's age is really cool.
Great job! I love the change in music when you change age. Also, great job building the puzzles on top of one another. Puzzle craft is very difficult to get right, but you have a start of something really crisp here. Thanks for posting!
Solid little submission and great use of theme! I really enjoyed the 90 year old's ability. I was actually expecting to stay older when arriving at the next level, maintaining that ability.
This was a really cool take, doing the puzzle and paying life to get the keys to finish. I pondered having the sellback be less, but I think you guys made the right call for what you were going for :)
It's a little gem! I had such a good time! The theme was expertly implemented, the puzzles were intuitive... I'm so glad I found it, congrats Webox! <3
@nettaigyo @michael-wingfield @heyycap @vulpineblazeyt @cppchriscpp First of all huge thanks for taking the time of playing it!! So much good vibes from everyone. Indeed puzzle crafting was harder than I thought.. it's the first time I actually make a puzzle game. As I'v been saying I promise to update and add more levels!
I love the puzzles of the game but the old man ranting is the best in my opinion by far :)
Nice escalation of concepts! The diff ramp is good, but would have loved some two-possible-ways puzzles :) Colors per age were good - although I expected some downsides from getting older (moving slower?)
This is a cool take on the "life as currency" theme. I like that life isn't a finite resource here, but something you can actually buy and sell to unlock different abilities. It might also be fun to experiment with time paradox puzzles where you can choose to revert to your younger self but in doing so will also change the world to an earlier state. Nice work on this one, Webox!
Just a charming little puzzle game. Love the old school graphics and the interpretation of the theme.
Solid work, lots of potential. You have a good eye for puzzles, keep developing this and push on to greater heights!
@miu @joror @chompdev @beastiebeastie @madjackmcmad Thanks all of you! It's great to hear that you liked it despit it being too short!. Add one more to the promise of me making more levels.
neat little puzzle adventure!
Great take on the theme! I found the age mechanic to be a clever twist on this puzzle game. I enjoyed the gameboy style graphics and the music was well chosen. It definitely left me wanting to play more levels. Congrats on finishing!
Nice color game, make it very moody !
Nice level design! Well done!
Clever use of theme, like it very much. I could play it for hours! Very well done!
I really like the visual style! The game was fun, but near the end it was starting to feel just a tad repetitive. Aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Great work!
@eric-smith @argon @dasmaichen @tapehead @hunter-towe Thanks a lot for playing! means a lot. Taking all of your feedback into account (really I'm making a spreashet with everything everyone says). Will play your games too as I did with all of the others!
@webox Due to some things going on in my personal life, this entry's simple take on aging struck a chord with me. From "I can't fight" to "I'm too old to push rocks," these could be perceived as representing actual struggles that people have to deal with throughout life. I like the change in tone (ambient color and music) depending on the character's age. The puzzles were also simple but clever. Reminded me a little of Lolo on the NES or something. Nice work!
hey! @jordantanner I hope that wasn't a bad moment for you, If it wasn't is super cool to hear, after all games nowadays are made for that purpose, to makes a feel something. I never though this little thing could reach out deep to someone. Again, if it wasn't for a bad moment I'm honored to hear it. I've never played LOLO but i sure will no!. Thanks for playing and the feedback!
Oh I see, the kind of game that revolves around pushing things in the right order, but also accomplish certain events in a specific order to go through a level. I reaaly like the idea, and I think it has a lot of potential. A bit too tiring after a while, because if you don't anticipate beforehand what you're going to do, you have to restart the level all over again. But hey, it's short and that's welcomed. I really like the art style too. Nice job :)
This is a very solid title; I love the simplicity but it fits with the theme so well. Excellent job!
@quasar47 @scottyseus thanks a lot for playing! Currently working on an update to add more levels, fix bugs, add variety of mechanics and other stfuff. Thanks a lot gor your feedback and for taking the time to play!
Classic!!
This is great. I liked how you styled your Itch page to put you in the right mood before it loaded. Overall it's consistent with the theme, and there were some nice _a-hah!_ moments as I discovered more of the mechanics. The notion of switching the kind of character you are in order to move throughout the level reminded me of _Gianna Sisters: Twisted Dreams_, and I like that you contextualised it with dialogue.
I think you did the right amount of levels for a game jame - I wasn't bored!
The only thing that confused me was that trading life for items didn't seem to make sense thematically - you didn't use the grey robe, you used the fact that you were old to tell a story. Maybe this could be resolved by just changing the item names to better indicate what is going to happen. At first, I assumed there might be a penalty for buying the sword since it _cost_ life, and I didn't think that you'd be able to switch back.
The only thing that I think could be improved as a quick-win, mechanically, would be that I expected to be able to trap the guards or kill them on the spikes/fences when I flipped the switches, but they just slid out from under them.
Really neat, and it benefits from its simplicity. Good job! :)
@scofflaw-games Thanks a lot for playing!!
@ave Wow really cool feedback!! I sort of felt it ended to quickly and needed more levels! at least one more combining all mechanics and and proper ending. Those are some great ideas, the grey robe was some sort of rushed decision. My first approach was to buy generic things (trinkets) that did nothing with the theme. I realized that the sword was the real item that was being buyed so i changed the first Item. But! I couldn't think of something better for the grandpa stage!. I completely agree with that, it needs a rework. The killing enemies with spikes sounds cool, since it could provide an alternative way to complete a level, I really didn't thought of that. Lastly, I was thinking about making purchases non reversible so you need to complete the leve on a specific order. To do that, I needed a way to "mix" age stages so you can solve something in the "wrong" age (i.e killing a skeleton using the gate ;) ). Really loved that you took the time to write all that, makes me feel bad about my review of your game! (which I truly loved btw) haha
Solid!
Ah that's cute. You did the good thing where not only do you have a mechanic, but you also found a nice lore-justification for it. Switching roles as a concept is definitely something that's been done before in Puzzle games, but by restricting it to the tent rather than allowing it anywhere, choosing when you should switch, and setting up a path to make sure you can always get back, now becomes part of the puzzle itself.
Definitely could use more levels, and I can see some pretty clever puzzles being set up even with just the three characters you have now (although sword and gray robe are functionally very similar, gray robe might need some other ability to stand apart).
Edit: Also, while you've essentially fixed this with full-screen, the biggest nitpick I have is that the black arrows for "interactables" are quite small. The first swordsman level I spent a really long time on because I didn't realize the tent was something I could interact with.
Nice concept, super easy to get into, solid little puzzle game. Good job!
Sure it could benefit from more levels but it **is** a complete game, which is a huge accomplishment on its own. The dialogue very much gave life and personality to Kenny's generic sprites, which I appreciated a lot.
@jjjjason @marc-grabow @cheesepencil This is the first time I actually finish something for a ludum dare, and I've never been on this rating stage. I cannot beleive so much people took the time to play something I did, that alone feels great, and to know that some of you like it is amazing. I'm super happy with this experience. So HUGE thanks for playing! I really really apreciate it!
For a first time finished project this is even more impressive. I know you didn't use your own graphics but you clearly stated that and maybe that's the way to go. The game I made this time is my #6 for Ludum Dare and I still didn't get everything in that I initially wanted to! Keep doing it, I'm sure one day you'll reach #1 in the ranking for a Ludum Dare!
Pretty cool, I liked the art and sound, they were fitting even if you didn't make them. The puzzles were nice and interesting. Good job!
Whoops, accidentally posted twice lol
Oh, this one was so good! I love the idea of selling and buying stuff with your age! Really clever! I also liked the puzzles a lot. :)
@tamail @firepit-games Hey Thanks a lot for playing!! I'm really glad that you liked it. I've just played your games, they're great! awesome job!!
Really nice mechanics all round! I liked the use of colour, I liked the puzzles and I especially liked that you could bore people to sleep!
@sleepystudios hey! thanks a lot for playing! that mechanic took a while to get polished, specially while picking colors and music. It ended up being pretty cool for me! It's nice to see others liked it too!
"My body can not pass through steel" - Haha, I love it. This is a very simple game, but I enjoyed it. The mechanics are clear, and it's a very well established game concept you're using to make the game. It would have been nice if the game had been personalized slightly, I wanted to comment on the graphics (Which are absolutely stellar) but you didn't make them. It's an incredibly polished game, but not very adventurous, which I would have liked to see. (Take some risks!) I did however like the age mechanic, which was an interesting take on the theme, but I would have liked to see it more deeply ingrained in the gameplay (The rock pushing mechanic is an example of this).
The level design is good, I enjoyed how you slowly introduced the game mechanics over time. I would have liked the option to hold down a key to keep moving in the direction, as I dislike tapping repeatedly on one key.
Well done on this submission, thanks for making this game :)
@ildfuglen Hey that's some great feedback! I have some answers for you. + Some of the graphics are mine,(fences, the adult and old guy, anda few that didn't make to the final product) but it fell unfair to add that category since I did mostly none of them + As for the age mechanic being more involved, I totally agree, and the final product wasn't all i imagined (i ran out of time( ), +there's one more age! that never saw the day of light, you can actually die and become a ghost (at that point you can't buy your life back, you have to take over a skeleton to revive). +The sleeping mechanic was a bit rushed, it's all I could came up with, I wanted to make something more interesting. + The keep key down to move is implemented in the updated version! It's a bit bugged tho.
Thanks a lot for playing and the cool feedback!
I really like your game, especially the graphic style and the small puzzle elements.
The game mood is also very harmonious. Congratulations on your great game.
Aw, the game ended *just* as it started getting interesting! I actually really love this puzzle game; not too hard, has enough Sokoban challenge, but has a neat character switching mechanic that really forces you to think. I think the improvements of controls would have been nice, perhaps having a proper walk animation from one cell to another so holding down the arrow keys has meaning. Some of the text in the game implied some mechanics that didn't seem to make it into the game, e.g. "you body doesn't fit through these steel bars" seems to imply that you could regress in age. I did really like the levels, though; they ramped up in difficulty smoothly enough that the whole experience was pleasant. Would love to see more coming out of this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fg6h6NSyd8
@puppetmaster thanks a lot for taking the time to play!! Im really glad that you liked it
@omiya-games Hey! I saw your stream, thanks a lot for playing. You actually glitched the game! haha I wasn't aware of that bug and it's been added to the list. As you say, yes, many of the mechanics that I was thinking of were cut out of the final product. The body passing trought steel was actually a reference to the oldest stage, death. You were actually able to die and become a ghost. Ghosts can go trough stuff and they can reincarnate by consuming a skeleton. That never saw the light of day sadly. I'm trying to find some time to finish those features and adding a few more levels to end a 10ish levels game. Since I see there might be some potential with the idea, I'll try to rewrite everything and design it correctly. I'd like to go for a full product, at least a mobile game or something simple. Thanks for the feedback! I had a laugh watching you play!
This is a very clever concept. I was expecting something like *Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages*, where you travel backwards and forwards in time to bypass obstacles that only exist in certain eras, but instead you're actually physically ageing and de-ageing yourself. It's a simple concept, and it works well. The way the colour and music change really fits with each age, too.
As yourself and others have stated, the biggest problem is that it's too short. The "really old" age is only introduced in the final level, so it feels underutilised. A longer game, maybe with more complex puzzles, would be brilliant to see. Maybe you could start off with a trinket, and you can sell it to shrink yourself down to an infant to crawl through small gaps that you can't otherwise fit through? That'd make for another layer of complexity.
It's a great start, it just needs expanding.
Cool little block pusher. The shop/aging mechanic was pperhaps a tad too slow moving to be really involving, and the graphics have a bit too little contrasts before you get used to them (though I do like the general artwork and GB graphics!)
This is one of the best take on the theme I've seen so far, I like you have reasons to choose to lose money and life (well age), and an overall pretty good game. I have one question though : can you interact with signs / how?
Pretty good work!
This game is quite enjoyable and fun, has amazing graphics, tranquil pleasant music, and some well put puzzles. The sokoban mechanics works really well with the tactical rpg-like gameplay. I hope you will continue working on the game and create some more challenging puzzles - maybe the main protagonist will be able to buy sell stuff only a limited number of times in the later levels, so you will have to think carefully what to move/attack/open first. (buy for +30, sell for -25 etc.) Really well done!
I really liked how the progress of age changes your interactions with the other systems. That was fun, and I'd play more levels. Nice!
Very nice simple game :) This gameplay could definitely enhanced and become a real game. Great job :) I you would like someone to help you with music or sfx next LD, tell me! ;)
Love the look and feel of this, good ol' Game Boy feeling. The puzzles were a little too simple, seemed that, other than in a couple cases the greedy solution of just hitting and pushing and buying everything tended to work ^_^. I only ever had to restart the very first level. Really enjoyed that the old man power is "bore them to sleep" =).
First of all thank you all for playing my game and for all the kind words and feedback!!
@f1krazy Yes I totally agree!, the main issue and the main motivator of jams is at the same time, the lack of time,forgive the redundancy. Everyone's feedback is the push I need to keep working on it (and I actively am, I just don't have anything that big to show yet).
@neontropics Yes! totally, the shop needs some rework. The lack of contrast come from the technique I used to change the colors. The original sheet has more contrast, but since I changed the color using unity's tinting some of it got lost. I'll probably use separate sprites in a new version, one sprite sheet for each season of your life.
@chameleon I'm really glad you liked it!! I tried to go with a "different" take on the theme, that's why I choose a puzzle genre. No, at the moment you can't interact with signs. I put them as decoration and then realized that they were too accessible and people was trying to read them, my bad! haha.
@foumart Hey!, yes it's actually the first time I try to do a puzzle game (also maybe the first time I actually "finish" a game) and wasn't aware of how time consuming and hard is to actually think of a well balanced puzzle, hard enough, fun enough, fair, etc. I'm actively working on the game and I took everyone's feedback for the new levels I'm creating. I'm also trying to make a fair ramp in difficulty.
@arkinrev THanks!! I'm actively working on it! I'll really do my best to hace a more complete post jam version and after that I'll see if I can start working on a full version.
@pl4typus Super glad you liked it! It came up mostly as I expected! (except for the too short part). Thank you for your offer, this is the first LD I actually finish something so I have much to process. I tend to go alone on gamejams, not because I don't like to work as a team, but because my available moments on weekends are awful!! I'd hate to leave someone hanging. Nevertheless, I'm adding you as a friend here and we can see when the next LD comes!
@jimbly Thank you for our feedback! as I stated a bit above, I had no idea how hard and time consuming it was to make puzzles! It's my first time doing a puzzle game and I realized I liked it but I'm just too new yet!. I'm working on improving my puzzle making abilities, I've been reading and watching puzzle design videos and trying to apply all I learn to new levels.
@webox yeah, sounds good!
Your entry was really poetic :smile: It compensates the lack of complexity of the puzzles. Good job !
I really dig the graphics. Great concept, enjoyed it overall!
Fantastic game. Loved the concept, puzzles and mood. I finished it and keep hungry hehehe.Nice job dude!
Awesome game, I've seen it in some streams and now I finally found it hahaha Loved how you can time travel to be able to do stuff in each age, but when you get good at it, it ends... Definely needs some new levels and mechanics. Keep working on it, please ^^
Consistent graphics and a well put together game!
Really cool game. Very enjoyable.
The game is really sweet with a great atmosphere, both graphically and acustically! It plays quite smooth. I'd have loved to be able to use the keayboard for navigating the menu, too. The puzzles are quite simple and the game ends pretty fast, but it's a great premise and you really just want to see more of it! Very well done!
Brilliant! Great gameplay concepts, well executed. I love how the music and colours change for each age. It could use at least one more level to explore the final mechanic in a bit more depth, but what is there is really excellent and fun, well done.
@yopox @rhewid @pequenodev @emperor-eagle @shunaky @purrseus @randomhuman Hey all! Thanks a lot for playing and the cool feedback! I still can't believe so many people played!. To all asking for new levels, I'm actively working on it!! My idea is to create a stable version for the post jam edition and then stop for a while and restart a new project with the same concept. Thanks again!
What a neat puzzlegame with an interesting twist on the theme. The puzzles were nice, though a bit too easy (or maybe there're more levels plan that get harder?) Some seemed to be solvable without the sword. When I skipped the sword when I could do that, but there was no payout for that (an ending or a final stat screen stating how many years you've aged). The character could also age each time they move (so moving too much would lose them the ability to push rocks etc.) Moving into the same spot as a guard without a sword causes a soflock (requires restart).
Anyway, though a bit short, it's a really solid entry.
Amazing, the way you took the theme into another level and the puzzle changing according to your age. Super good job! :D
Very intuitive. I liked the gameboy feel of the game. Also the puzzles were interesting.
I really liked the use of old school graphics and enjoyed the overall concept. For future itterations, maybe some more routes and options to complete a single level would be cool. Overall puzzles were easy to understand and intuitive. A great game for a Ludum that allows people to understand it quickly without having to spend hours learning the mechanics, well done!
Great game! The old graphics are amazing! Also the gameplay is great, but I think that you can control the game only using the keyboard (is frustrating use the mouse when you need to buy a sword, etc.) also add optional keys like arrow keys. Overall the game is awesome and very challeging! Congrats! :clap:
@dustin-eyers @cppchriscpp @reality-blind @levidsmith @madjackmcmad @scofflaw-games @jjjjason @cheesepencil @marc-grabow @ildfuglen @omiya-games @f1krazy @shunaky @randomhuman
I promise all of you that I'll keep working on the game, the update is here!! It'll be great if you can play it! I took all of your feedback into account. Thank you!!
@secretpocketcat @odlog-oglog @sergi-montaner @dreamingdice @peterfonts Thank you all for playing!! Your kind words and feeback kept my interest in developing the game a bit further! There's an update that you may like!
You promised! Now you have to do it.
@madjackmcmad big update already published!! you can play it now! Next step is to stop a while and rethink the entire game to see if there's a chance of doing a full project!
This was simply wonderful!
Such a simple concept, yet you executed it so well! The time-traveling mechanic reminds me of LoZ Oracle of Ages. The puzzles are quite snappy and don't require much thought, but they do make you stop and think, even if only for a second or two. Even though I blazed through the game very quickly, I liked it all the way through. Good job!