Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD46 → Keep Them Alive
By prototype-jon, LeoTheLegion and Charles Fernandez
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 2180 | 3.00 | 36 | |
| Fun | 2318 | 2.63 | 36 | |
| Innovation | 1515 | 3.13 | 35 | |
| Theme | 1286 | 3.63 | 36 | |
| Graphics | 1669 | 3.27 | 36 | |
| Humor | 1677 | 2.41 | 32 | |
| Mood | 2037 | 2.85 | 33 |
The core of what you have here is really great. My gut tells me that maybe the difficulty ramping is a little too steep, but at the same time I did try over and over because it seemed like I could do it. Who knows. The couple of levels I got to play were definitely compelling. Really cool touch to randomize the characters.
So after playing it several times, I can't seem to get my first follower to react quick enough on the second level to avoid near-instant death by grim reaper?
Interesting idea. I managed to escape with 5 survivors. I think the reaper is not really necessary for this game, since it forces you to run through without thinking about what your actions will do. I like the mechanic of ordering the followers to move and stay still, but it took me a while to figure out that it existed.
Really like the concept of being a commander. Unfortunately, the grim reaper restricting my time to plan combined with a lack of checkpoints led to an incredibly difficult situation that was rather impleasant. Bonus points for the Issabelle easter egg!
You made me sacrifice two people I cared deeply about and I will never forgive you.... I mean, they were just pressing down buttons for me, man! All joking aside, I loved the concept and execution (uh.... haha)! Honestly for me the only bummer was I kept forgetting that the wall pieces had that little bit of floor on them that was still solid, so I kept on trying to move there. I did really love how you sold the theme with the level design, which I think is really hard to do. Excellent work! Also, hello fellow Prototype!
Like the cute random characters and the novel concepts. Took me too long to understand the mechanics but I like them. IT's fun but could use a continue / save. (Although not expected in a jam) overall good little game.
Wow, nice concept! =) It's a bit fast and there should be something to signal the player that crew member is following him. And I'd like to have checkpoints... But the game was fun and and the spaceship setting is cool :)
Hey! As someone who tried really hard to get through Level 2, but couldn't, I want to say how much I dig the core concept of this game. The ambient noise is creepy/somber, the gameplay is simple (and innovative!), and the first level does a good job of helping you get your bearings.
Some possible areas for improvement: * I'd like to see the rules more clearly established in-game; it was a while before I understood that the numbers at the end(?) represent the number of children who need saving. Making that goal clear at the beginning of the scene would be motivating and make things a little less confusing (and, sorry if I'm overlooking something obvious). * The impassable space surrounding the walls got me killed a few times * I found that the monster's bullet stream was really hard to pass through and would eventually corner me or a kid. I'd love to see them reload or vary their firing patterns somehow.
It's an unusual game with a lot of promise; thank you for making it!
Hey @kevin-barrios
Thanks for checking out our game! I'm glad you liked the randomized characters. I agree that the difficulty jumps rather quickly and is something we'll improve on with more methodical level design. Appreciate the feedback!
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@injured
In the second level the Reaper is really quick. Probably too quick. If we were to update it, this is one of the adjustments we would make to some of the levels. We have played it a number of times and know that it is possible to beat the second level; it's just a pain :laughing: . Thanks for playing our game!
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@mao
I'm glad you beat the game! Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, we didn't specify the mechanics in game and is something we will give more thought to during the next jam.
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@zfert
Thanks for suggesting the checkpoints. We wanted our players to have a tough time, but not too tough. Currently, the game is pretty unforgiving in that you have to start all over. We appreciate you playing our game.
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@prototype6
Hey fellow Prototype!
With a ~~sadistic~~ heavy heart we had to let go of some followers to save the many. Throughout development, the thing that kept us going was the thought of seeing Isabelle ~~executed~~ saved, lol.
Thanks for letting us know about the wall colliders. They were a bit larger than intended in some levels.
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@marvalgames
We're happy you enjoyed the game! Thanks so much for checking it out.
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@tomssuli
Good call on having an indicator of crew members following. Thanks for the idea! Appreciate that you took the time to play our game.
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Hey @corc0,
> I dig the core concept of this game. The ambient noise is creepy/somber, the gameplay is simple (and innovative!)
Thanks for the kind words! It's great that you feel the gameplay is innovative.
> I’d like to see the rules more clearly established in-game; it was a while before I understood that the numbers at the end(?) represent the number of children who need saving. Making that goal clear at the beginning of the scene would be motivating and make things a little less confusing (and, sorry if I’m overlooking something obvious).
We appreciate the thorough feedback provided. Making the rules more clear is something that we will definitely prioritize next time.
> The impassable space surrounding the walls got me killed a few times
This is something we only noticed after a few people mentioned it in the comments. 3 days after the Ludum Dare all I have to say is, "It's a feature, not a bug" - bahahaha.
> I found that the monster’s bullet stream was really hard to pass through and would eventually corner me or a kid. I’d love to see them reload or vary their firing patterns somehow.
Changing the firing pattern or having the monster reload is something we didn't think about at all. Thanks for the great idea.
We appreciate the time you took to play and comment. Our team wishes you, @prototype6, and wakeless.studio the best with Dunewrought and Looking Glass. :thumbsup:
I really like the mood of the game with the creepy music. The concept of the game is interesting and fits with the theme very well. I would have loved to see a bit more onboarding as the second level is already very difficult because of the bullets that were flying over the whole screen.
It's a pretty interesting concept with a lot of potential! :D As far as Jam games go, I felt it was decently polished in terms of graphics and audio, I'd love to try a post-Jam update with a bit easier difficulty curve. Well done!
Pretty fun concept. For me the game would be better with screen transition. For me the difficulty curve was not good it was way too easy on level 1, and the game was too hard for a level 2 on level 2. I also wish I could shoot enemies because it was frustrating when the enemy attacked and you are helpless. Just my opinions; the game is already a fun game!
After refreshing the page several times and many retries, I managed to get someone in level 1 to finally follow me, although not really needed. In level 2 they don't follow, no matter what I try and if I spend time to push someone over the button it's already too late. Could be a potentially interesting puzzle, about sacrificing followers for the greater good (finishing the level :stuck_out_tongue: ), but as of now it's a bit too frustrating and/or glitchy.
@jishin I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, but thank you for opening up about it with us. It's weird that this has happened as we haven't heard this problem occur with anyone else. Were you playing with a mouse or using a trackpad? I ask because I've had issues playing games requiring a mouse, while using a trackpad and wonder if the same thing may be occurring over on your side.
What a nice idea and concept. Really liked that. Didnt come very far, but maybe its my lack of experience? A sound for the button would be nice too. This idea of commanding people is unique on its way. Continue with that and improve this good game!
@charles-fernandez I tried with a mouse if that helps. Left clicks were triggering the sound but no one follows. I only tried on Firefox if that might make a difference
I found it really difficult first to get past the sawblades, then I figured out that I could push my friends closer to the wall so that they have time to make it past. I like that you have to be quick and figure things out fast, else everyone gets murdered. So it's almost like a timed puzzle game.
The art was nice, specially the characters!
Great job! :smile:
@simon-rahnasto Thank you for your feedback back, Simon! Calling this a timed puzzle game is the best way to explain what this game is. I'm going to steal that the next time I introduce this game to others. ;) Thanks, friend!
Great art and really solid gameplay. I definitely think the game's difficulty ramps up a bit too quickly for my liking (maybe I'm just bad though) but I really like the mechanic of controlling people. Nice job!
Took me a little to figure out the main control scheme, and that the cone commanded the minions :P.
I liked the randomisation on the survivors, especially the doggo-chan :).
One major issue I ran into was the spinning blades, it seemed that the hitbox was way larger than the graphic, or erratic -- on the second level, I could 100% get the 3rd survivor passed it, but the others would always hit it from super far away :S. Might just have been me being bad, but I did try ~12 times before stopping XD.
If it wasn't the spinning blade, it was the instant spawning reaper shooting everyone behind the door XD.
Nice work, either way :).
Art was cute and the music set a cool atmosphere, however I don't think they gelled well together, everything was a bit too brightly coloured in my opinion in contrast to the dark music.
Gameplay-wise the one hit kill was brutal, though the idea of having to think about both your position and those you needed to protect was cool, particularly when you had to start moving them around. Moving people around was awkward though, I think adding a bit of stickiness to the character or a "pickup" mechanic would have helped immensely. Echoing @corc0 the wall collision caught me out more than once too.
Otherwise I did enjoy my time playing. A solid entry, well done!
Nice visuals and good idea. Needs some balancing, as the other comments say, and I think some checkpoints in the beginning of each level would be helpful.
Interesting and smart concept! A bit hard at first but got easier and easier for each try. Took a few tries but I eventually beat level 3 :)
Well done!
This game is very smart, but repulsively challenging. I was able to go through several levels, but the constant rollback was a little upset. But I really like the idea! I haven't seen anything like it at this LD yet. Games with learning from mistakes require a lot of time and I would like to return to this game later. Nice entry!
Good start. I included it in my Ludum Dare 46 compilation video series, if you want to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/hSxuRpvTWAs
Hi @jupiter-hadley, Thank you so much for playing our game and posting it online!