mccheesebob 2020-10-06 04:34
Very nice! Some really interesting loop concepts backed up by great graphics and audio.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD47 → Wizard Recurse
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 10 | 4.42 | 49 | |
| Fun | 25 | 4.23 | 49 | |
| Innovation | 65 | 4.16 | 49 | |
| Theme | 64 | 4.34 | 49 | |
| Graphics | 156 | 4.30 | 49 | |
| Audio | 35 | 4.36 | 49 | |
| Humor | 357 | 3.39 | 45 | |
| Mood | 66 | 4.27 | 49 |
Very nice! Some really interesting loop concepts backed up by great graphics and audio.
@mccheesebob Thanks for your feedback!
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This was so good, everything was on point. The cute cutscenes and the main mechanic are amazing. Great work!
@lenophie Thanks! I appreciate your feedback.
Great game! Seemed to get stuck where it said keep shooting, but up till then it was fun
Loved the opening. Has a really good SNES feel to it. Also felt good to play. Liked the concept and the main mechanic. Good work.
great job. If you are going to expand on this game I would personally like to see fewer sub 3 second timers that you just spam. I'd rather see longer timers where you have to be risky about where you go because you wont be able to hit the hour glass.
Definitely one of the best games I've played here
Just WOW. I really love the way he loops back to start. (oops. spoiler :P ) This is going to be in top 20 for sure! Nice job!
Hey great game. I don't even like platformers, but was really good. You managed to get a lot done for a jam game. With the art sound, animations cut scenes. It all works together. The loop theme was used really well especially at the end. Only small issue I had is that it was a bit fiddly to go down, as I had to stop completely before I could duck to go down, otherwise I'd jump. But that's a minor issue. Well Done.
Oh my gosh I love this!! I don't want to spoil anthing for people reading but that endingggggggg :cry: The mechanic is unique also and the amount of polish is incredible
This game was great. The mechanics were interesting. You could make a lot of interesting puzzles with them. Good job!
This game was great, my favorite for sure! Good job!
Great game, really great graphics, audio and into cutscene. I got stuck where it said keep shooting which was a little frustrating as the rest of the game was really impressive!
@connormck - You're supposed to keep shooting the hourglass to reset the timer? Was it not working?
@no-grapes-games - Thanks! I was actually aiming more for NES but didn't really commit to all the limitations lol :)
@krapht - Thanks for your feedback! You're right, I kind of ran out of time on the level design. I had more ideas for expanding on the mechanics but probably spent too much time on things that didn't really matter as much. Game Jam problems. I was a little worried about longer timers causing frustration, but the smaller ones may actually be worse lol
@vegatss - Thanks! I worked pretty hard on it! I could have managed my time/tasks better, but I'm proud of it.
@kaganobik - SPOILER ALERT LOL - Thanks for your feedback!
@archimagus - Thanks for your feedback. I worked hard on all those little things. The cutout sprite animations were a huge time-saver! I did have some other struggles with time management; I may have wasted some time on corners I could/should have cut; like that house tile set in the intro, and the coins. I should have just squeezed everything out of the hourglass mechanics.
@smoothie - Wow thanks for the feedback! I didn't think the ending was all that amazing, but I guess it works lol Glad you like it!
@tengusheath - I have a lot more ideas I did't get a chance to squeeze in. Time management LOL
@wallaby - Thanks! I'm glad you like it!
@layne-stokes Thanks for your feedback! Dang I wish I did more to convey the objective there. You're supposed to keep shooting the hourglass! Did you understand that? Or was the timer too short?
@ismael-rodriguez I didn't get that, the arrow pointing to the next room made me think you have to keep shooting through that hole or to make the time you need to fire as soon as you get into the next room. I went back and played it all with the idea you could reshoot the hourglass and the experience was way better. Definitely one of the best entries I have played
@layne-stokes aha the arrow threw you off!!! That makes sanse.... yeesh. I had my wife Playtest for me and she got stuck in there Before there was text. So I put "keep shooting" up there because I didn't want to be too obvious like "keep shooting the hourglass to reset"....
Oh well, thanks for your feedback and trying again ๐, glad you liked it ๐
Hands down my favourite entry so far - the mechanic is simple and effective, the levels explore the mechanic well, the visuals and audio complement it perfectly! I really like the intro, use of theme, and Twitter link at the end. Great job!
@dvdfu Thank you for the feedback! I wish I could have done a little more with the mechanics in time. I got caught up in some things that I don't believe were as important now (pause menu, exit screen, coin system, ignorable bits of polish).
That was crazy... :D I think I played maybe 6 times!
@mrtroy REALLY? I'm glad you liked it! I think most people will make the one go through and call it lol I did think about ways to motivate more runs like a speed run timer. I figured one go was enough ;)
@ismael-rodriguez I had to see the TRUE ending so each run I experimented. The game was awesome so I didn't mind. ;)
Wow, I really should've read the comments first. I shot sooooo many stars into the gap with the arrow before I realized I was supposed to keep shooting the hourglass. I almost gave up but I'm glad I didnt. Really well polished! very fun to play.
This was SO CUTE! I absolutely loved this entry! Simple but effective mechanic, smooth controls, cute art, good audio. I got stuck on the part below, but was cruisin' til then! Great job! Capture.JPG
Loved it! The art, sounds, design. everything. a 5/5 in my book. I don't know why, but it kind of reminds me of yoshi's island. Including collectibles in the game was a nice touch. Fantastic job.
@mrtroy haha cool! I guess its better than I thought. Thanks!
@spice-cabinet Thanks for your positive feedback! That dang arrow tricked you too?!!! Yeesh lol wish I had a chance to play test with someone besides my wife cuz she got stuck there and inspired "keep shooting", but I didn't realize that arrow would throw people off. Oh well, game jam probs lol
@awesomearcade365 Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like my game! I was inspired by Yoshi's Island's cutout sprites and animations. I've been seeing some of the Nintendo leaks where they were experimenting with it and I guess that was on my mind. It makes animation super easy since I didn't need to draw every animation frame by hand. Once the sprites were there running around it just felt right to let him throw bouncy projectiles like Yoshi's Island!
@charlotte-raymond Thanks for playing, glad you liked it!
I knew that room would be a little tricky, just gotta shoot straight up into the purple corner!
I adore the art style, as well as the plot!
@aimainiac Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like it!
Great presentation, mood, gameplay, story, audio. It's a full package! It's hard to pick out one thing that shines out greater than the other, but I'm a sucker for a short story. Great job!
@sandpile Thanks! I appreciate your positive feedback! Glad you like it!
Wow. So amazing in all fields.
ยท Beautiful graphics and terrific sound design.
ยท Amazing use of the theme with the checkpoint timer mechanic.
ยท Narratively round and touching (poor kido doomed himself asking for help).
If I were to give any feedback it would be to be able to direct the stars with the gamepad joystick as it's a bit clunky with the mouse but... whatever the game is so round and complete for a jam you can be very proud!
@manusaiz Thanks for sharing your feedback. I didn't expect anyone to try and play with a game-pad, but I could probably add that functionality later. Although I do think it would make aiming harder because the mouse is going to be much more accurate and forgiving.
@ismael-rodriguez that makes sense. IF you happen to decide and do it: just make sure to either aim with the direction pad/joystick or if you use the right joystick then use the Triggers for the Jumping and Shoting because pressing the buttons and the joystick is gonna be a no go :P
(No need for any of this crap tho. The game is great as is!)
I don't know why, but it made me feel very nostalgic. I had a very good quality time. Thank you very much.
Great entry! That pixelart is sweet and the music / sound fits really well with the juicy gameplay :).
The level design was really good at communicating the mechanics, like I didn't get that you could reset the time by shooting the hourglass again, so making the keep shooting level impossible without it was great. Otherwise I would've been stuck in the next bit.
Btw why can you hold the shoot button? There doesn't seem to be any difference between a normal shot and a charged one, but there's graphics to support it? I want a post jam version with charge shots!
Also really appreciate how the story tied itself up at the end. Very clean and great use of theme :).
@tutoa Thanks for your feedback! I'm glad you got some nostalgic feelings lol. I'm inspiired by a lot of classic games. This project takes some from Yoshi's Island & Kirby.
@hjalte Thank you! I'm glad you like it! A lot of people got stuck in the "keep shooting" room because of the little blue arrow sending the wrong message lol, I guess they were trying to throw stars through the door.
I considered a charge shot ability, I think I just skipped it because I didn't think of a good reason to use it, and I was afraid of over complicating things. The functionality to hold down your "draw back" is there because it just felt like it should be :)
I have some ideas for a post jam version, but I think I'm going to wait until after voting is complete.
@ismael-rodriguez Well I'm looking forward to it :).
Also yep, I was trying to shoot through the door. Figured I'd hit an hourglass on the other side or something.
Absolutely love the presentation. Finished the whole game twice with all coins. I guess there really is no escape from the time loop. The controls felt kind of awkward, but I'm not sure how to fix that. Maybe accept up/W for jump. Though that wouldn't work with falling through platforms. Anyway, I enjoyed my time with your game.
@cyborgx7 Thanks for you're feedback! Glad you liked it enough to play twice. My wife suggested using w for jump. I think it would have worked fine I just kind of shut it down, but I should have been open to it because w is not used at all. And s or down-arrow should be all you need to drop, rather than down and jump, because there is not really reason not to. I just stuck with what I thought would work.
I think worked myself into a weird flow state where I was just like, "I gotta add this feature, and then the next feature, and then the next feature, and the next, and the next", and somewhere along the way I just stopped polishing the things I made and really getting the most out of them.
Even with all the positive feedback I know I could have done a better job with the level design, which is where I'm most disappointed.
As far as escaping the loop, that was an early question during brainstorming. I guess the theme just told me to keep him "stuck" lol
To be fair it says keep shooting where everyone seems to be getting stuck. I think the miscommunication happens because the first time you shoot an hourglasses it spawns you to that location, so most people probably expected to keep spawning to that location if they keep shooting the hourglasses.
Your entry still checks all the right boxes. -Super polished in almost all aspects -Good level design -Music that pulls on the heart strings -Soft magical sound effects -Puzzles simple enough not to be annoying -Classic use of theme -(Bonus)Great narrative
I played though it like 3-4 times.
@dongle Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it, and I'm glad you liked my game enough to play through it a few times :)
Maybe it should have just said "โshoot the hourglass to reset the timerโ... but I wanted to leave room for players to feel like they discovered something. Got to think of a better way to convey that mechanic or just tell players exactly how it works.
Nah I feel like your approach was correct. Telling the player like that would of worked better, but probably isn't the best solution. Then again I can't really think of anything better than the level that you made without being to heavy handed. Example: A hallway with a hourglass in the center and not enough time to make it out. If you take away the vertical aspect of that room maybe it would read better? I really don't know that's a tough one. I totally get what you are going for though.
What an emotional game, perfect use of sounds, beautiful pixel art, well polished, simple yet interesting mechanics, I hope your game gets the score it deserves. great job :black_heart:
One of the most polished games I have played this jam! The central mechanic is simple, but very well executed. I like that it is never explicitly explained, only through level design.
I love how charming this game is, thanks to the beautiful art, music, and story. I did not expect this kind of gut punch in the end :D
The attention to detail is also amazing. From the spinning cursor to the slight echo during the monologue. Also, those particles are gorgeous!
Really liked the theme and the sound effects / music were on point. Awesome work and polish!
@echo-gameworks & @thewustache Thanks for your feedback!
*"I like that it is never explicitly explained, only through level design."* I always trying to keep dialog and explanation to a minimum. Letting players discover the game rules on their own is important to me.
Awesome game, dude! Super fun and interesting mechanic. Good audio design and good graphics too, though the pixel art kinda clashes with the crispness of the text and level art. Maybe some cohesion there would bring it all together more. Wish there were more levels! Hope you make this into a full game.
@alexunz Thanks for your feedback. The only think not pixel-perfect is the UI. As much as I would love for the UI to match the pixel-ness, I didn't have time to figure it out at jam time and just let it roll.... Celeste got away with it lol, and I don't think it *really* takes away from the overall experience, maybe just graphical cohesion. It is something I would like to figure out for future projects though.
EDIT: Figured it out, Not sure I like the lower rez text lol.
Awesome game! I can't believe it was made in three days!
@yhy-games Thanks! Based on the other's feedback, I guess I'm pretty good at "polish", what that really means is; I don't try anything I don't already know how to do! I'm that guy that makes all his music with the only 4 chords I know lol :laughing:
This game is so great ! What can I add? It's just so fun. Please make this a full game ! I played the whole thing twice without even noticing it's so fun. One thing to maybe consider? I could easily spam shooting at the time thing. Maybe something to make it even more challenging? I really loved it, this game has great potential. Awesome music as well ! Wow !
@noakishere Thanks for your feedback, glad you like it! I didn't have much to really balance the game and sharpen the game design mechanics during the jam, the spam the hourglass thing came about naturally, and I just didn't get passed that as a mechanic. I have some ideas on how to make a better game and expand on it, but I'm not touching it till after the jam, and some other projects are out of my way. :wink:
This is phenomenal! The pixel work/animation is gorgeous. The audio is great and the mechanics are perfect for this theme. The level design was well done and the tutorial at the beginning was a nice inclusion. Very fun to play! This is a stand out game of the jam imo. Excellent job!
@balance686 Thanks! I appreciate your feedback, I'm glad you like it!
This game is sooooooo awesome!!! I got to the end and had fun playing the whole time. I really like the concept of shooting the hourglass and I felt like a real pro once I got the hang out it. AI love this game!!!!
Such polish, such great audio! I almost played through it at 2nd time to avoid the coins in the 2nd run but I'm guessing it doesn't change the words in the end...but I guess I won't know unless I try!
@thebooksnail thanks for your feedback, glad you liked it. There are a couple extra lines for collecting all the coins, that's all :)
Holy crap that was a beautiful game. The graphics, music, animations, were all excellent. I would totally play a full game that looks and feels like this! Amazing work man!
This is one of the most well designed, and polished LD games I've ever played.
This hits the mark in every category. It's impressive how you managed to design a unique gameplay mechanic and turn it into a fully playable game that doesn't just feel like a simple proof of concept.
I would love to play a full version of this. great job dude
@ale Thanks! Glad you liked it!
@skleembof Thanks for your feedback! Fun fact, I wasn't sure how to use the theme until bedtime Friday-night/Saturday-morning. I had the player just throwing stars around, and it just came to me that they could shoot an hourglass and get stuck in a time loop. After that it all kind of clashed together. I think I could have done much better on the level design, but I'm proud of my entry.
*"I would totally play a full game that looks and feels like this! Amazing work man!"*
*"I would love to play a full version of this"*
Wow thanks! I would love to make a full version of this :wink: I have a bunch of other ideas using these mechanics....
Maybe someday :upside_down:
absolutely phenomenal! gosh what a cute game i absolutely love the style you have on display here, everything is nice, from the punchy and melodic sound design, to the character animation, the pleasing low-res particle effects, a truly wonderfully polished and fun to play game!
Such a cool idea, i really enjoyed every second of gameplay. Game's polished pretty well and the music as well as the sound effects were on point. Well done
@jjoeyay & @zoomer Thanks for your feedback! Glad you like it! A little secret to good audio is.....DRUM SAMPLES! :) Hitting the hourglass has some kick drums and cymbals layered with strings :wink: Then all the music and any sounds with a tone are all in 1 key :slight_smile: Simple little trick that makes all the audio and everything "gel". It's kinda like limiting a color pallet to complementary colors.
Well designed game. The mechanics of going back in space-time at the point where the hourglass is is very good. I like the graphics, and the sound is very good. Your project has a lot of potential, and I hope you will consider turning your game into something expanded and commercial. Good job.
@vphyre Thanks for your feedback. I'm considering an expansion but I'm committed to other projects currently. So maybe in the future!
wow you did a fantastic job with this! the time warp mechanic works very well, and makes for some really fun to solve puzzles! i love the graphics and sound too. the little colorful magical particles were really cute. the progression of the levels felt really good, just the right pacing of introducing new challenges. it was fun getting all the coins! i can easily see this becoming a fully fledged game, there's so much potential for more complex and difficult puzzles with this mechanic.
i'm completely blown away by the amount of polish here. the pixel animation, the sound effects, the pretty music, everything is so well polished. congratulations on such a great entry!
@sakura-magika thanks for your detailed feedback! Much appreciated!!! Glad you like it.. Definitely some potential here! Maybe someday I'll expand on this! ๐