FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD49 → Vitamin D-Ficient

Vitamin D-Ficient

By bougiebirdie

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall3563.2951
Fun3423.2051
Innovation4002.9951
Theme3813.2650
Graphics4063.0851
Audio2713.1149
Humor813.5650
Mood2483.2851

Comments

jellybean 2021-10-03 23:24

Heads up :P On the second level, the skeleton that spawns just above and to the right of the milk float often jumps down to the milkman spawn. You can avoid him by running right at the very start though

mathiouza 2021-10-03 23:35

Uh... It seems the link's broken? When I click on it nothing starts downloading.

spacespytv 2021-10-03 23:39

Really good! I love the charming music along with how after each delivery it gets harder. I feel as if the movement could be less floaty when jumping and more sudden to change direction. Sometimes the enemies spawn on me which can be a problem. Great work, especially for a first game jam.

bougiebirdie 2021-10-03 23:42

@jellybean Oh yeah, they'll do that to you. The skeleton's spawn is randomized, so they could end up just about anywhere. Doesn't make it any less frustrating knowing that, but you can try to play a bit strategically by keeping a platform over your head

Sometimes they make 5d intergalactic chess moves and yeet themselves across the map at you too ;)

bougiebirdie 2021-10-04 00:58

@mathiouza Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm trying to add a new link to this page so that you can still play the game, although it looks like the page won't update when I edit it. Here's an alternate link you can try: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NO0IQG2R6GsKbUIeiIeKlxO5ZpzFqMiO/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NO0IQG2R6GsKbUIeiIeKlxO5ZpzFqMiO/view?usp=sharing)

bougiebirdie 2021-10-04 00:59

Thanks for the feedback @spacespytv In addition to being my first jam, this is also my first platformer and I'm sure it shows. The jumping is, as you say, quite floaty, and I also feel like the player is probably sliding around too much. Feels kind of like old school ice levels

dobryn 2021-10-04 01:10

This is one of those games where you know a lot is going on behind the scenes but I can't quite put my finger on it. Got here to see what others think and I see the dev saying

"Sometimes they make 5d intergalactic chess moves and yeet themselves across the map at you too ;)"

:-D :-D I had fun playing it, will be looking for updates.

mathiouza 2021-10-04 01:23

Thanks for the link!

So for the game: I can buy that skeletons want the milk, but... bats? x) Just kidding obviously, the concept is really cool, at first I was like "But... this is too easy..." and when I understood the whole concept of the game, I was well surprised.

The whistling was a bit annoying though x)

cirno 2021-10-04 03:32

Congratulations for your first Game Jam work!

The control is a bit hard for me. I can beat some levels but failed to reach the ending.

The whistle music is nice. Keep up with good work!

swen 2021-10-04 11:25

Not the skeletons that thirst for my calcium-rich beverages!

First of all, congratz on your first Ludum Dare entry. A compo entry nonetheless, super cool!

I found the movement a bit wonky at first, but it does add to the difficulty and uniqueness of the game. I would have really liked the 'retry' button to restart the current level instead of dropping me back at level 1.

Other than that I had fun playing it and restarted the game a couple of times just to beat the next level :D. Nice job!

guine 2021-10-04 11:26

Nice job! Congratulations!

bougiebirdie 2021-10-04 11:55

I go to bed, and I come back and MOAR PEOPLE have played my game! This is exciting!

@cirno I'm glad somebody likes the whistling, feedback on that is decidedly mixed. In fact, on subsequent plays, I'm not sure how I feel about it myself - but I did want to challenge myself by making all the sounds for the game with my face. I'm sorry you had trouble with the controls, that seems to be a common theme and something I'd definitely want to improve on in my next game.

@swen That's a good idea to include a restart level button. When I started I wanted to make sure that I had a good user experience - I mean that's what games are all about, right? So little quality of life things like that are important to me.

@guine Thank you, I'm so happy you played my game!

volkolak 2021-10-04 12:56

Not a bad start. The controls are very inert, it is not easy to hit the blocks.

bougiebirdie 2021-10-04 15:20

@volkolak Thanks for the feedback! I definitely need to work on making tighter controls for the player

bassilij 2021-10-05 06:07

Best music)

epb9000 2021-10-05 06:19

I actually rather liked the controls myself, but then again, I'm a sucker for weird controls. I got up to 4 deliveries before I kinda ran myself out of platforms... from maybe... destroying them... on purpose.

fluffygamedev 2021-10-05 11:38

Fun little game! Congrats making this (especially for the compo)!

bougiebirdie 2021-10-05 12:19

@bassilij Thank you! I was really going for a "whistle while you work" vibe

@epb9000 I won't lie, I've definitely had a few runs to see how many platforms I can destroy in a single go ;)

@fluffygamedev Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

oliver-richmeier 2021-10-07 03:57

I love the idea of the path you choose effecting later levels. but after my fourth delivery a skeleton spawned on top of me

bougiebirdie 2021-10-07 14:26

@oliver-richmeier I'm glad you like the concept! In hindsight, a safe spawning zone definitely should have been a priority, or maybe at least giving the player invulnerability for a brief period on spawn

nikaz 2021-10-07 15:08

It's fun. This cool music stuck in my mind)

be3n2 2021-10-07 16:39

I really like the effects when the skeletons and player disappear, I wish I could have gotten around to particle effects in my submission!

srynetix 2021-10-07 17:50

Funny game! When the bats are there the game is really difficult. Why does the milkman explode like that dropping bottles everywhere? :stuck_out_tongue: Great job for your first jam! (& compo!)

bougiebirdie 2021-10-07 18:45

@nikaz Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it

@be3n2 Thanks! I love particle effects. Unity has made them quite easy to just throw into a game, although I was pretty intimidated by their particle systems at first. Somewhere I got into my head that particles == instantly juicy game, which may not be strictly true but I definitely have fun playing with them

@srynetix Thanks for the praise, and I hope it's the first of many jams!

In my head canon, the milkman burst into bottles because the skeletons desire nothing more than his sweet, bone-strengthening juice. They tear into him until nothing is left except for milk - the one elixir that can stave off the pain of being dead. Similarly, even the bravest milkman can stand tall only so long along these grim specters of death. Even whistling a jaunty tune isn't enough to steel one's heart against the cold terror of these revenants. And so, upon making a successful delivery, he yeets his milk near to the addressee and escapes into the dubious safety of the night.

And then from a more practical standpoint, I'm a lazy dev and thought I could get away with recycling my particles :wink:

eyedromeda 2021-10-07 20:56

The concept of having to replay the same level with changes made by you on previous runs is very cool, and gives the game a built-in difficulty curve and a possibility for longer term strategies. The game is a little crude in it's current form (mostly the movement), but so are most game jam games. What matters is that it's a great proof of concept that you can now develop into something more. Good job!

bougiebirdie 2021-10-08 01:10

@eyedromeda Thanks for the feedback! The harshest criticisms that I've received have definitely been around the movement system, which tells me that I should have spent more time on making the player feel nicer.

It's great to hear that you picked up on the difficulty curve and strategic options, because that's exactly what I was going for. I drew some inspiration from retro games like Frogger and Burger Time where on the surface everything is reactive, but you actually want to be a bit more proactive to go far

dragonsheep 2021-10-08 02:34

It was kind of an interesting take on the theme, having the platforms disappear based on your actions. Made for a bit of incentive to plan things out.

bougiebirdie 2021-10-08 15:08

@dragonsheep Thanks, I'm glad you found the mechanic interesting!

tigerfinch 2021-10-08 21:21

Great job. Loved the soundtrack, so simple yet effective! Perhaps there could be different animation for death vs successful delivery?

bougiebirdie 2021-10-08 22:27

@tigerfinch Thanks for the feedback! It definitely would be a good idea to separate the death animation from the victory animation. I had spent some time thinking of a middle ground where I would only need one animation - especially given that I'm not very confident in my art - but in hindsight I think it has more potential to confuse the player than anything else.

trexxak 2021-10-09 01:49

Welcome to Ludum Dare and the world of game jams n_n

Very intriguing title, I liked the thematic consistency (Milkman and Skeletons both come to mind when thinking of Calcium) :D

What I found hard to understand was whether I won or lost, as my character bursting into... milk wasn't immediately a good sign for me :D

Well done game for your first entry, thrilled to see your next, too! :D

bougiebirdie 2021-10-10 15:02

@trexxak Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm really glad you liked the mashup of milkmen and skeletons.

On subsequent plays I admit that it can be unclear whether you've won or lost at the end of each round. Maybe instead of bursting apart I could have used fireworks, or a little dance or something

boroboro 2021-10-13 20:28

Nice game! I really like how the platforming gets harder as you make more deliveries. The music is charming too! Though i think the 1-hit death is a biiit too unforgiving.

2021-10-13 21:09

No web no play.

bougiebirdie 2021-10-13 21:48

@boroboro Thanks for the feedback! I do find the game to be pretty difficult myself: my hiscore is only 5. I was hoping to make a challenge, but I think I might have erred on the side of difficulty over experience.

mavvy 2021-10-15 16:21

Congratulations on your first entry! The title grabbed my attention immediately and I found the homemade sound and music to be quite charming. About the only thing I found a bit curious was the animation when I won, so I had to go off of the sound effects for win/fail states. Great entry, looking forward to more from you!

keichits 2021-10-15 18:34

The music is one of the best of this jam, so far hahahahah. I appreciate the unstability theme usage, very original!. And the mechanics works good with the gamedesign proposal. Well done!

bougiebirdie 2021-10-15 19:25

@mavvy Thanks for playing! I'm glad it stood out to you. I really enjoyed making the sound effects, it felt super goofy in the moment but I'm glad they turned out. I have been getting a good deal of feedback on the win/death animation. There could definitely have been more done to differentiate the two, and make winning a round feel better

@keichits Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it! I find the praise of the music really interesting because it seems such a divisive thing. People either love it or hate it I guess lol

foxtrot-roger 2021-10-16 07:53

Very well done for your first game jam! I love the whistle music, it adds a very nice vibe to the game. The controls are a bit fiddly but the mechanic is really interesting and makes it more of a puzzler than a platformer. One of the best moods of the jam :-)

2021-10-17 18:57

Congrats for your first entry in the Ludum Dare. Music is very nice, just like the sound effect.

basset-romain 2021-10-17 20:05

Nice job, for me the character slide a little bit too much on ground.

bougiebirdie 2021-10-19 03:39

@foxtrot-roger Thanks, I hope it's the first of many!

@basset-romain Thanks for the feedback! I was trying to find the spot between "a little slide" and "ice level," and I think I went a little bit too far into ice level

cody-miner 2021-10-20 14:40

The jumped-on blocks destroying themselves is a fun concept that makes the game a bit more puzzly. The music was really charming too

bougiebirdie 2021-10-20 23:03

@cody-miner Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!