Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD48 → Johnny Dreams Bad
By jacobrutter
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1704 | 2.91 | 37 | |
| Fun | 1663 | 2.72 | 36 | |
| Innovation | 1264 | 2.95 | 37 | |
| Theme | 1143 | 3.47 | 37 | |
| Graphics | 1691 | 2.61 | 37 | |
| Humor | 1091 | 2.45 | 34 | |
| Mood | 1299 | 3.20 | 36 |
Nice work in your first game jam! I liked the getting sleepy animation to add to the game narrative. I wasn't able to beat the level, only ever got to 4/7. The mood was good at conveying the feeling of trying to escape nightmares.
Nice game but the controls are inverted and it was a hard one for me
Congratulation on your first jam! It's a neat concept but it sure was tricky to play as the enemies swarmed me very quickly and seemingly had very large colliders. But it was quite fun, good job!
I enjoyed playing your game, it was easy to pick up but hard to master. You had a unique idea for the deeper and deeper theme. I only made it to 4/7 as well.
I got up to 9/7. Not sure if intended that way, but I racked them up over multiple lives. I was able to leave the box and I don't think that was intended. But I really enjoyed playing the game. The sound that plays when the wraiths get near really creates a pannicky atmosphere. They move fast! Great concept, and great job making it.
The game is really hard, but I love the idea! It was a lot of fun leading the enemies towards the light and pushing them away. Congrats on your first jam!
Good idea and nice start for a first game in jams!
I thought at first that the controls were inverted until I found that I was the white dot. The game was a bit difficult, but very interesting idea! I haven't gotten past the first level yet.
HAD no idea what was happening then I realized what dot I was lol! I liked to hide beyond the level border where it was safe.
As a note for the future, it gets a little tedious to wait for the animation/sound of Johnny to fall asleep each time you want to try after you've died. It's better to just jump into the action. That being said, congratulations on finishing your first jam.
@ec2151 great feedback, I'll be sure to do that in the future.
@hcs-hades I've got that feedback a few times now. I'll be sure to distinguish the player character better next time. Time allowing the character would look like the intro character. Thanks for playing
This game has a good concept, continue ^^
A little challenging to play, but I enjoyed the sound effects and intro animation.
I like the concept and my most favorite part was the atmosphere. Great selection of music and SFX's. The gameplay was rather challenging but still fun.
First of all, congrats for completing your first jam! I think you had a good idea and concept. I would suggest that the first level is easier so that the player can undertand better the mechanics before dying. Also, it was great to see some animation in the title screen! Good job!
I love the opening where Johnny is falling asleep. There's something about his face :). Music made it intense as well. I did have a little trouble with the collision hitbox of the enemies, I died when I don't think they touched me.
@zebshee you're totally right the hitbox is too large. Thanks for playing!
Cool game, felt really stressful like a bad dream! Great choice of sfx with it. The bloom animation was well done! Would agree with others, pretty difficult! Good concept and would like to play the full version if you add on to this! Congrats on the game!
@owen-kidd thank you for bringing this to my attention. the doorway was broken and in stead of taking you through to the next dream it was not -- but the incrementing of the dream level was still occurring. So while the player could not get to level 2, it was allowing them to get above the max number of levels. Whoops! I fixed the bug so the door is working as it was intended to.
Good job on your first jam. Small comment about the font, "Sprint" looks a little like "Spring". Fonts are something that can easily be changed and might make a big difference, something to keep in mind for future jams
It's a great job for a first game jam! You have the base for your gameplay with different levels, menu, game over, etc. I think now, it's all about adding layer on all your stuff: more game feel layer on your control to make it enjoyable, more visual effects or background sounds effects to create the dream mood that you really want. Anyway, nice game and keep going :smile:
Great job for your first jam! You should be proud of yourself.
Really sweet for a first jam, thanks for making it.
@jacobrutter…
I've played your game here (as you asked). :)
I will make the full analysis soon.
https://youtu.be/lciF4F6MkJw
JDB.png
**Analysis...**
1 - Mechanics, Learning and Flow: The game consists of finding the exit of each stage on a map with a superior view (as I understand it). At each stage there may be some kind of clue that leads to the exit. In addition, the exit is always in the same place, which ends up being a matter of trial and error with memorization after some time (it would be interesting (after the game jam time) to do some stages with variants). I thought of something like some stage where the door moves and leaves traces (even if it starts at the same point, it could move following some randomness). There are also opposing elements that make the game challenging (I found it quite interesting). Learning to play is, at most times, an easy thing. In some moments new elements are introduced and, due to the graphic art, it is not possible to be completely sure what it is about (until we have tried it). For example the "boxes" of the second stage, which appear to be flowers when touched (at some point I thought they would be chasing missiles or something, hahahahahah). The game flow at each start of the internship takes us to the challenge, with some common elements (pursuers) and new elements. Repeating the stages ends up taking us to a new way of interacting with the game (also based on memory). In parts this can be bad, depending on the experience intended by the designer. Anyway, there is a lot of content (considering the time that was invested in the production of the game).
2 - Graphics, Audio and Narrative: The graphics are quite simple, serving specifically to pass on the main concepts and make some (smart) moves in relation to some tracks to get out of some stages. The sound effects are interesting (including giving clues about danger and away from danger). The soundtrack varies in terms of being present (I suppose that even contributes to the fright that is losing and "waking up scared"). The narrative is simple and straightforward.
3 - Culture: The approach to delving into dreams (or nightmares) is quite interesting and can be further developed with several challenges with clues, including new stages with varying challenges and more content. The dream idea can be approached in different ways in a post-jam version.
4 - Monetization: With the necessary polishing and the addition of several stages, I believe that the game could be placed in stores for smartphones with monetization based on advertisements.
@gustavo-christino thank you for playing my game! I just read the analysis you wrote up (thanks for doing that! -- best feedback I've had!) and now I'll watch your game play experience.
:)
Good first attempt! Well done. I loved the music and the sounds. I was not quite sure what I was supposed to do. I saw when the blue ball got to the centre it lit up and then the waifs came and everything got dark. would have liked to be able to shoot them. Am I supposed to move away from the centre and look for something else?
The controls where also inverted so it was difficult to move about.
Congratulations on submitting and completing a functioning game. Every time you jam and submit you will get better. Best of luck!
@collin-visser Thank you for playing Johnny Dreams Bad and leaving valuable feedback. In each "dream" there is a door you want to find to continue deeper into Johnny's dream. Only by finding this door before a wraith touches you can you escape the nightmare. On each level there is a small text hint at the bottom of the screen, the first is 1500 -- which is a too difficult clock clue, 1500 is 3 o'clock meaning the door is to the right of the player initially.
Thanks again for playing!