Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD48 → Vertigo
By garys and Super Hadoken
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 860 | 3.54 | 97 | |
| Fun | 812 | 3.41 | 99 | |
| Innovation | 1271 | 2.95 | 98 | |
| Theme | 589 | 3.88 | 98 | |
| Graphics | 555 | 3.97 | 98 | |
| Audio | 516 | 3.62 | 96 | |
| Humor | 769 | 2.85 | 83 | |
| Mood | 953 | 3.47 | 95 |
Fun little game! Excellent audio and artwork. Melee attack reach is kinda short but it is forgiving that monsters can't kill you, they just slow you down, which feels right considering the screen is what kills you. It appears breaking statues makes the camera move faster, is that correct?
I enjoyed this! I couldn't make the controller work, but I did enjoy what I played. I like the extended coyote time. I also am pretty impressed with the multiplayer. The sound and graphics are all pristine--they feel like a "real" game you could buy on Steam. I did feel like the attacks had a slightly-too-small range, but since combat is mostly a slowing technique and monsters don't kill you it's less of an issue than it might be.
Solid job!
@koboldskeep @animatrix1490 Thanks for the feedback guys. The yellow angel should slow things down unless that was a bug you encountered. The attack could definitely do with more range but it was added near the end so ran out of time to change it.
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7 Minutes?? Damn...
ngmi.jpg Pah... NGMI!
Cool entry! The music and sound effects are really nice! I like the graphics and the animations are so smooth! Great work!
Nice game overall, sometimes it didn't spawn me near a platform and I died for that... but leaving that aside I enjoyed it :)
Really beautiful animations! The graphics are great and there are some nice details! I wasn't very good at it... especially at the combat, which felt a little unfair. Once I'd decided I would be better not fighting I tried to avoid the enemies but sometimes couldn't jump over them. The autoscrolling works really well to keep the player constantly under pressure: always needing to move down but sometimes needing to wait in order to see what's coming. Very cool!
The music, sound and graphics are awesome! i like the little hehe he does when you get a statue. Easy to understand and it feels very polished well done !
Thanks for the game. I managed just over 3 minutes. The art and sound are well done. The movement is a bit too clinky and feels unresponsive sometimes. Congratulations on the game!
Great game, I really wanted to try again several times to get better and get a better score! challenging and fun; Nice animation music and visuals too
Very fun fast game, for some reason I'm getting the maddest DOOM 1 and heretic flashbacks from it in the best way. Humor 5/5 just for the 'he-he'.
Question: what does the yellow orb does? Did not managed to figure that out.
@freamdev Yellow orb slows the level down a bit, give you a bit of a respite! It's not that well tested, so possible that it doesn't work too well if your framerate is lower? I might mess with the timings a bit.
@garys Oh, I get one very early on so maybe I just didn't notice would been helpfull later on, that roof gets close mighty fast :smile:
Ahh yes... unfortunately they appear entirely at random - though the yellow orb shouldn't show until you've reached a certain speed. Ahh well... 72 hours man, we did our best!!! ;)
The animations and art are so nice! And I think it is very complete in terms of mechanics (the mobs and the shrines that give you lives back :ok_hand:) The movement and hitting are satisfying but sometimes not fast enough for the tough spots that I ended up in while playing :grin: Some platforms were a bit glitchy (couldn't drop off of one side but could off of the other) and some patterns that spawned felt impossible to navigate without falling. Some AI on the mobs to make them more interested in the player would be cool. I wish I could try the 2-player version :cry: Overall this is a really impressive entry IMO. GJ!
Thanks for the great feedback @fudgemcgroobs. The level chunks are randomly generated from a set we've made up - always difficult to get balance right in a jam game. You can give the two player a go without a friend... in testing I've just been controlling them one with each hand! You're missing the competative fun to be sure, but should be able to get a good idea of how it works. ;)
This game had some sweet Amiga vibes to it. Didn't get to play 2 player but the solo experience was really fun! I do think that there was a lot of time spent waiting, which is a 2 player setting certainly makes sense. Perhaps making the scroll faster if you're in solo mode?
That's a good note @jokerbomb, thanks!
Pretty nice graphics and cool idea of the game
It would be nice if I gained something for killing the enemies. Love the sounds and artwork. With a little more fleshing out this could be a really cool game.
Thanks for the feedback. We'd not had the time to implement any kind of scoring, so the enemies are just there to slow you down - but I agree. We've talked about having an end point of each level, so that if you survive the winner (of the two player version) is decided by points... Possible for a post-jam version.
This is really cool, the most badass game I've played so far this LD :) Had a blast playing it solo, going to try it out with 2 player later today. Nice graphics, cool music and fitting sound effects!
Thanks so much! Glad you're enjoying it. ;)
angel-luck.jpg I'll admit, I got very lucky with the angels on this run...
Very nice cohesive entry. The graphics are all great and work together, creates a nice atmosphere. I wish the attack was a little more reachy/arcadey. I want to be able to dash at these foes and quick attack em like a ninja. The air jump was a little confusing at first, until I realized it was reset by hitting the ground, and a jump from ground disabled it, would have liked a double jump, so I could always count on the air jump. Overall it was fun to play. Well done
Great artwork and music!
I tried your game yesterday during my live ^^ So, here are my feedbacks: - I like the gameplay, I was cool and fun - Your pixel art fits fine into your game - The controls are a bit chaotic. Putting the jump on the Z in a platformer is never a good idea. Actually, setting the Jump button on a other key than the Spacebar is an heresy. And, on a gamepad, the B and the A are inverted (B to Jump and A to Attack isn't a good binding) - The enemies aren't a real problem in the game. I think you can set them aggressive after 4-5 minutes of game.
Good job in this jam!
Edit: here is the link to the video [https://youtu.be/mYqBFQerlCI?t=274](https://youtu.be/mYqBFQerlCI?t=274)
Hey @curtis-pelissier thanks for trying out the game and your feedback. Just to let you know that jump is only bound to Z to handle alternative keyboard layouts. It's also bound to W, the UP cursor and the comma (with attack on the full stop). I do agree on the gamepad binding though... The binding is common in arcades, but in this game the Jump is the primary button so we should have swapped that around.
That is one manly main character, down to his Conan-ish death scream lol. I would've liked to have a partner to play this with. Judging from the gif you put up, it might feel like a cross between Nidhogg and Smash.
As for the solo play, the game is a bit intimidating at first as you're jumping down into the unknown, but you start to get the hang of it, especially utilizing the double jump to save yourself, even after falling on an enemy. I think the parts that really shined were the Quickman sections where you had to outrun the maze.
The art is great and cohesive. I loved the animations and it reminded me of stuff like Blackthorne where you have pixel art with just tons of frames that make it stand out.
How much time did you guys spend on the multiplayer vs the singleplayer? It's not often you see a game with both. Actually........I can't think of another LD game that's ever done that so I'm not sure how tough that would be on your dev resources.
Anywho, you got the most important part of the gameplay right, which was smacking an enemy. Even though the game could get repetitive, that part NEVER got old. So I had a bit of "Just one more smack" syndrome going on until I eventually slipped one too many times. Good job on this game, I'd love to hear what the lore is for this person just heading down nonstop and beating up demons. Maybe it's just a Sisyphus thing...
@peachtreeoath Thanks for taking the time to offer such detailed feedback! In terms of the multiplayer, I think we wanted to have something that set our game apart from the myriad similar concepts we were sure would flood the jam. @super-hadoken has had this idea kicking around for a while and multiplayer was an important part of it... but we weren’t sure we could pull it off in the time, so it was initially just a case of giving it a go and seeing if it worked. The dev time wasn’t too bad in the end. Obviously there were extra graphics and audio for the second character, but code wise I have an input control plug-in I wrote a while back that makes local multiplayer pretty easy to handle, and the player classes are self contained enough that we could just spawn another one and change the sprites. Glad you enjoyed bashing enemies... I think in a post jam version, we’d want to make that more meaningful - in that currently it doesn’t matter if you kill them or not!
Seem to have posted that twice...
Hey matey, thanks for submitting your game to stream! I had fun playing it, and I hope you found the feedback useful! Here's the vod if ya wanna rewatch it;
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1006003249
Man do I ever love smashing stupid skeletons to bits! It's like a reverse Ice-Climbers, and it's a great idea. Here is the VOD of me playing it: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1003973158
Very nice game! One problem is that sometimes there's no way you can survive because there the land piece you're standing on is too wide and the next one is too narrow, so you can't jump from the first to the second. I didn't realize it at first but the enemy mechanics is pretty clever. Nice touch with the statues as well. Great job!
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the knockback and stun is a bit much considering the attack radius and speed. Otherwise it is an interesting idea.
I couldn't make the p2 controls work.
Cool game, mates. Nice take on theme. Great procedure level generation, btw, could you share some concepts or maybe a source code of level generation on the fly in your game? What basic key features are in the algorithm? Also, maybe it can bring more challenge if enemies decrease your hp on collision , not only bounce you off.
It was a fun concept and sound game. Pixel art was good, too.
@room606 there’s nothing particularly clever going on tbh... we design ‘chunks’ of level in Tiled, which are usually about half a screen high. Then the chunks are randomly added to the bottom of the screen before scrolling up. Each chunk has a spawn point on it for each player, and there’s a bit of respawn logic that searches for onscreen spawn points and tries to ignore ones that are too close to the top. The platform speeds increase by increments every 10 seconds I think, and the increment gets smaller as the platforms get faster. The yellow angels slow the platforms down, and there’s a check when spawning an angel that replaces it with an enemy if the platforms are already moving quite slowly. We didn’t have time to implement anything more clever about which platform chunks can follow which, or weighting probability of angels spawning.
Not sure if we’ll be open sourcing the code, but if you’re using Phaser, jump on the discord and I’ll be happy to share bits.
Characters animation are very nice, the pixel art is cool ! The fighting system is simple but works well.
At the beginning, the scroll speed is too slow. Maybe allow the camera to follows the player when is go down.
Overall is good game !
@duck-reaction Having the camera move with the player is a good idea, something we can try for a post jam version. As always very little time was available for playtesting. Thanks for playing and the feedback.
Loved the concept and solid controls. The art reminded me of old genesis games. Had a lot of fun. Good job!
Wow! This was so cool. Everything fits so well together. The gameplay, the graphics, the audio. This was a great experience. Well done!
Graphics and audio mix perfectly like few other games do... and as well as the original DOOM. Overall design is a very good homage to its retro roots!
Great game! The animations are really smooth, and the music loop is very effective.
I don't have a lot to add over what others have said, other than that I think the background should scroll at the same speed as the platform. That would give the impression that the platforms were attached to the tunnel, and that the camera is what's scrolling -- as it is now, my mind kept telling me that the platforms were also falling, but at a different speed to the camera.
nice concept, I like this felling very much
[Thank you for the submitting the game to the stream. If you want to rewatch the feedback, you can do so here.](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1008357028?t=02h06m29s)
@poweranze So much fun watching you guys battle in 2 player mode. Thanks for playing!
Awesome! +1 for using Phaser! Love the pixel art and retro style! My only suggestion is to rename the "Exit" button to "Play again" or "Menu" I wanted to keep playing but exit made me think I was done. anyway very minor thing. The over all game is amazing!
Great game! The movement and jumping feels a little slide-y but it makes the game more challenging! I like that when I fall down, there is a small chance a platform spawned underneath and I don't die. Also the AAAAAAAAAAAH sound effect is really funny. The GFX are cool and retro. Good job! (I'm a noob, got to 4m only xD)
Very nice game - very beautiful art work (very much love the fonts also). Controls felt very satisfying, with the exception of combat which felt a bit on the clunky side.
And thanks for sharing the info about Phaser - had never heard of it until today.
Very cool NES feeling :) nice animations and music!
Simple and enjoyable
Yo! Very cool game!. I love the animations :) Design of the characters is also pretty nice. Somehow this game feels like it has been made in 90's :) I think this music fits there perfectly. There are some moments game feels a bit challenging, but overall it's fun to play. Great job!!
Another polished and charming game from Gary and co.! I found the icy/lo-friction controls made the platforming and combat really difficult, so I didn't get very far, but it looks good and is the complete package. Well done
Fun to play, retro feeling and great sound effects! 10/10 would play on my gameboy during a long childhood car ride :D
Got serious amiga shadow of the beast vibes from the graphics
Cool game, nice graphics first of all
The screams could have been more crisp
Great submission!
A really nice entry! I especially love the animations, they're super smooth and feel great.
The gameplay is a little floaty, though. The movement especially, but the attack feels a bit weak too. But I can't complain too much, because this is still super fun!
Really nice entry, good job!
Good job ! In few minutes, I was absorb by your game.
The graphism and music are very nice and controls help to play as you want. Sometimes I scared me by jumping to far but some platefrom outside the screen save my life :)
It's a nice entry.
@wizard-sino Thanks for letting us know. I've had a play around with the input manager and I think the second pad should be working properly now if you fancy giving it a try.
Overall- a really fun game. The arena was tough but I really had fun playing this game, especially when played against another player. 2 player inclusion was a great idea!
It's cool to have some 2 player games in this jam, I have not seen a lot yet. The gameplay is pretty cool, and the graphics work really well. I think the attack could be improved, as its range is really small and it totally stops you when you use it. I think solving at least one of those problems would make the game far more enjoyable, and allow to make more advanced enemy ais without making the game too hard. Really cool entry overall !
Fun game! Nice music, good take on the theme, simple enough mechanics. Would like a slightly longer reach on the attack I think. Very nice entry, congrats!
@garys…
I've played your game here (as you asked). :)
I will make the full analysis soon.
https://youtu.be/lciF4F6MkJw
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**Analysis...**
1 - Mechanics, Learning and Flow: The player's character (PC) must descend, jumping (or simply dropping) between platforms. The screen space is limited at the top (as if there was a solid limit) and the lower limit (slightly below the visible) limits the character's descent (going down more than this limit leads the character to lose a life). Learning the basics is easy, there are few command buttons (attack, jump, move and a few other interactions). There are some rules that are learned with the passing of the game sessions (as is the case with the limits of the screen, the number of lives, the reach of the jump and others. The flow of the game makes us feel both anxiety and restlessness. Anxiety because the game has some difficulty (for example, it takes a long time between one blow and another and it is not possible to attack in the air, which greatly reduces the combinations of action). Restlessness because the screen descends a little bit slowly, in my view (I don't know if the solution would be a larger section of the screen (which could make the elements less visible) or an acceleration of the descent (combined with other forms of interaction that allow to advance more fluidly).
2 - Graphics, Audio and Narrative: The graphic art and the sound art are very good (not only because the event time is short, but it really seemed pleasant). The narrative within the game is not very expressive and the logic behind why the fall could be reworked after the event (in post-jam version).
3 - Culture: The game makes use of cultural elements based on the characters available and on some elements such as creatures and objects, allowing you to connect to a scenario that makes reference to the sacred versus the profane (which runs through several moments in terrestrial history as a reference). The game also draws from the source of other games with a challenge of survival, appearing to be a type of arcade. I suppose that having a better timesheet available could generate even more engagement (even more thinking about updates, keeping history and the possibility of playing in previous versions). The game being also for two players is also very interesting for times of social distancing (or a certain resumption of social proximity, depending on how the local government has resolved itself in relation to vaccination).
4 - Monetization: I suppose the game could be sold cheaply on Steam, or in smaller stores. I also suppose that it would be possible to implement waiting screens for game sessions, with advertising, perhaps (especially if it were made available for free to smartphones). In any case, a ranking system between players of the same version could be implemented (as mentioned in the previous item).
This is great!
The scrolling background did make me feel a bit sick after a while and the SFZ were out of place with the music levels. Both were great though, loved that moody sound track.
Game play was fun and evolved with the speed. I thought that sometimes my character if hit by a skeleton for example i couldn't turn back to face them to hit them back fast enough. A bit frustrrating.
Nice and fun game. I'd only suggest that you take a look at the player's physics, the jump height is strange and I died several times because of this. There's also some constructions of the level design that can't be jumped without dying. The enemies are very ignorable too, I was just running through them all the time and there was no consequence for it. The biggest challenges were the jumps, really. But overall, pretty fun game, nice entry, congrats!
Playing on singleplayer.
The graphics and audio were quite good, but I had issues with the controls and pacing.
The controls felt gummy. It was like there was a delay of a frame or three between pressing the key and the player acting on the keypress.
The enemy bounce-box was very large relative both the the player swing and to the enemy image.
These two issues compounded each other. Because the controls are gummy, swinging takes much longer than expected. Because the enemy box is big, I'd get thrown around far before I expected. This was frustrating.
I also got stunlocked on a small platform with a wall. Because the enemy box was so big and the platform so small, I got perpetually pushed back into the wall.
The pacing felt odd. I expected a combat game, and instead spent thirty seconds doing some slow platforming. Ensuring enemies are spawned shortly after the game begins would be an easy fix.
The thing where the player crouches and is stunned when jumping to a platform below was interesting and realistic--jump recovery isn't easy. However, being unable to control the player for a few seconds felt bad. I would strongly recommend doing something to add "coolness" to that moment, to make being stunned "worth it"--particle effects when the player lands, pushing back nearby enemies, that sort of thing.
I think you've got a good base to work off of, but I'd really like to see some optimization around the controls.
Very nice game, the animations really look great. I found the controls a bit wonky though, I think the character might have a bit too much inertia.
I just can't sorry :/
The game look great and seems nice and all but the fact that the camera doesn't follow the player when you go down just bug me. I have to wait the see where I can jump and waiting is boring so I take risk to try to go faster but in the end I just die sooo, I can't play...
Very straightforward mechanical interpretation of the theme.
Controls: The keyboard controls were almost impossible, but it was OK with a gamepad. I would have preferred arrows+X+C I think. I did not know I could air-jump at first.
Balance: It was difficult to sight-read the levels, fighting was often not worth it. I sometimes had to stay high up to wait for more of the level to spawn in, which was annoying. A more vertical screen layout might have helped.
Славная игра. Напоминает старые добрые платформеры на NES. Приятно сделанные анимации. Управление с клавиатуры немного неудобное, но я думаю что вы это исправите в дальнейших версиях.
I had some minor trouble with controls, but it was not a big deal. Wish you luck with the game!
Dang, this is a fun one. Wonderful graphics too!
Really great game. Played the single player mode. Great job on graphics and audio front, however the controls felt a little laggy. Great job on the submission. :)
I absolutely love the animations in this game. Some of the best pixel-art animations I've seen this jam, I think.
I thought fighting through the enemies in the single-player mode was quite enjoyable. I think the non-lethal combat combined with the knock-back systems makes for a pretty nice form of gameplay. I can definitely see the potential as a multiplayer fighting game.
The statues are a particularly nice feature, I think... the requirement to hit them multiple times makes them a nice source of competition.
Nice visuals! The enemies are annoying since they immediately push you away when you touch them. The gameplay is pretty simple but in general the game is nice
As others have mentioned, the melee range is rather short considering how significant the knockback is. The visuals and music were great though!
I cannot play the game... I see the main menu, but no matter the option I click, everything goes black (music sounds, but I see nothing)
And I have a question, can 2 players play without a numpad in the keyboard?
@laurari Sorry to hear that you're having trouble playing. Have you tried using a different browser? Chrome should work.
The only other way for 2 players to play is using controllers.
Great game! The graphics are awesome and overall the game gave me a feeling of "Conan" for the NES. The background parallax gave the illusion of a more frantic gameplay and the music is awesome. The static attack seems to be an issue and some respawns feel unfair as it put you just a second before dying when there's a long horizontal platform. The two player option is a great addon! Congratulations!