FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD46 → The Machine at the Center of the Earth

The Machine at the Center of the Earth

By p53

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall5103.4439
Fun6403.1439
Innovation4273.4139
Theme2863.9139
Graphics3513.6839
Audio5113.0537

Comments

vartagh 2020-04-21 12:33

play mine and review? thanks alot https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/cthulhu-must-be-kept-alive

slimmerburger 2020-04-21 12:34

I liked the "Great Job" at the end. I think it could more of a tutorial maybe though.

kultisti 2020-04-21 12:36

The gameplayloop was super fun! Also good job on the audio and sfxs in general!

yokuday 2020-04-21 12:39

The game was original and super amusing. at first i didn't know where was what but at my second try i quickly remembered which light was what. I'd say this game was VERY innovative!!! good job!

adinimys 2020-04-21 12:39

I like the way different parts are breaking in different ways. And I was surprised to see the jumping point at the center being able to break too, it was a nice surprise. It's a shame there is no real goal to it but given the time limit it is to be expected ^^ Good job !

wilko 2020-04-21 12:40

Awesome game, I particularly enjoyed the vertical game-play allowed by the booster in the middle and the art style and story tie in well to provide a great mood. I would have liked the tutorial to mention that the position of the flashing lights gives you an idea of where the issue is as initially I was running around endlessly. Also if there was a visual indicator right before a plume of smoke or lava hit you that would be quite useful too.

sanjuro 2020-04-21 12:43

I really like the art style and the animations, also the sounds were on point. The only thing I was not really enthusiastic about was the fact that there was no real way to tell what did the lights correspond to before getting to know the map a bit; maybe something a bit more explicative would have been better. Nonetheless, good job!

bongo227 2020-04-21 12:44

I liked the challenge of remembering what light corresponded to what machine, it was very stressful :sweat_smile:. I liked the jump pad, but perhaps there could be some other movement mechanics so you can get around the map faster.

fudgefiddle 2020-04-21 12:45

Fun game. I liked how the indicators didn't exactly tell you where something was but with a replay you can easily learn. Overall it controls very nicely and I also liked the art.

david-greene 2020-04-21 12:46

Very nice job, I like your list of post-submission goals. It's not that you didn't think of it - we just have a time limit is all :) I seemed to do very poorly and the machine died way too fast... I guess it's a matter of remembering which light is which. Also, as you mentioned, having some sort of level progression or end is good.

dfkgjndljf 2020-04-21 12:48

Good game. I like the sound. Abstract visual repair is ok. Interesting interpretation of theme by keeping the machine alive.

nick-rafalski 2020-04-21 12:51

This is really charming! This feels like a very complete game, from the UI, to the sounds, to the visual feedback. The platforming is pretty minimal, but it feels good. I never felt like I got cheated by weird collision or anything. The warning lights at the top are a really smart decision because they become your map.

This is probably out of the scope of a 48 hour gamejam, but I think this would benefit a lot from randomizing the placement of the hazards. That way, a player would have to build his mental map over every run. Either way, great game!

merpui 2020-04-21 12:53

This game looks very good! I really enjoyed the art style, especially the robot repairing animation :D The only things I missed were some clear indicators where exactly the broken parts are, maybe some arrows pointing at these locations or something. Nevertheless, well done! :)

zabaman 2020-04-21 12:54

Cool game! I would have liked if there was a map at the starting area which explained which light meant which area that you could return to. Design has loads of potential though, great work!

naamed 2020-04-21 12:54

'Tad hard to keep up with the pace of fixing but otherwise solid job

giordas 2020-04-21 12:55

The retro style is very pleasing to the eye and gives off a good vibe. I enjoyed playing it!

drschizzo 2020-04-21 12:56

Very nice game. I really like the idea that the level became more complicated as the machine is breaking

murrzipan 2020-04-21 13:02

I like the visual style, but the audio was a bit grating to my ears. Would have been nice to have a map for the lights as well. The controls were nice and tight though and I liked your interpretation of the theme.

super-hadoken 2020-04-21 13:02

Nice concept. The level design can make or break a game like this and you did a great job. I don't think music is necessary, I like the atmosphere of just machine noises. It reinforces the lonely job of the robot. A slightly faster robot would be nice but having a map with blinking alerts would make a great difference. At the moment the blinking lights on the bar aren't very intuitive.

Really good effort.

amazura 2020-04-21 13:30

hell yea.. i killed the planet, you should thank me for that :smiling_imp:

olafstromberg 2020-04-21 14:17

It was quite a fun game and frantic to find where the problems were. I would have some small indication of which direction the explosions are to help navigate and maybe speed up the robot a bit more, but it was enjoyable anyway. The art was quite good but a few extra colours here and there would have been nice. Well done!

andrew-david 2020-04-21 17:13

Great game, it would have been nice if there was an indicator to show where the parts were broken

snail 2020-04-23 22:05

Good Stuff:

Felt like a very complete game-- the animation was cohesive, the level felt reasonably large, and the gameplay was satisfying. I've seen some other people who want an indicator for broken parts, but I didn't find that all that necessary; it could have helped for the non-essential parts, but your warning system with lights created far more engaging gameplay than a mini-map would have. Pretty nicely designed map, with decent navigation options

Areas for improvement;

The jump pad felt buggy, with the boost height often varying depending on how I approached the jump pad. It really needed either a difficulty curve or a fixed ending, because at a certain point I could just keep going forever without dying. A metric for how well you did would also have been welcome. Music might have added a little, but it worked just fine without.

Overall:

Incredibly complete, cohesive, and fun game. For me, the best pard of the game was learning where the machines all were, and I think a mini-map would have lessened that, so I would advise against adding one.