Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD49 → Understable
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 851 | 3.45 | 23 | |
| Fun | 1049 | 3.14 | 23 | |
| Innovation | 38 | 4.21 | 23 | |
| Theme | 828 | 3.45 | 23 | |
| Graphics | 423 | 3.95 | 23 | |
| Audio | 636 | 3.31 | 23 | |
| Humor | 773 | 2.86 | 17 | |
| Mood | 365 | 3.76 | 23 |
I didn't understand much in the first few levels, but once we unlock more colors, the way we charge the heart before going through the thorns starts to make sense and the game feels like a puzzle-game.
However, the platforming part is very difficult and the controls frustrating, especially the "flappy bird"-like levels. Maybe the relaxing puzzle mechanics aren't a good mix with the jumps.
It took me a little bit to understand the mechanics (i.e how to plan/charge your meter for the upcoming level) but once I did, it turned out to be quite fun and challenging. I feel like the game has a pretty sweet message about managing your love/expectations/relationships. The music was good but I would have liked some game sounds, too. Overall, good work!
In most games you take damage and lower your hearts. In _this_ game, you _are_ a heart, and lower the heart is part of the mechanic. Weird! Cool! Neat concept!
Wow, the mechanics are very clever and the art is cute. Really good job!
Nice game! I really liked the graphics in this game; I could never make pixel art this good. The music also ties this together so well, 9/10 great game!
I love this idea, especially by absorbing different types of energy in advance to complete the level. At the same time, I think the amount of energy will change the size of the heart is a very interesting mechanism. The graphic is great! And I enjoy playing the game.
P.S: I am wondering is this pause by pressing "F" part of the game mechanics? Or is it just a back door for players to pass level quickly?
@zeit Pressing "F" was supposed to be there to make it easier for people who don't want to micro-manage health bar and just stop draining when they want - assist mode from Celeste was an inspiration. We later added 2 levels which you cannot pass without using assist mode as a message that in life there are times when you cannot go forward without help.
@vidim888 That makes sense. Thank you.
Ok so after struggeling to get what was happening this is a cool concept. To bad i just cant beat the 'flappy birds' level. I made some notes:
Less Good:
The pixel art is in itself really good but the overall style is to inconsistent. Many characters, background elements and ui pieces have different resolutions and that downgrades otherwise good art (imo). It is also really hard to read what is going on (i had to restart way to often in the beginning because i thought the thorns were background). I feel like some hitboxes are not aligned with the actual sprites or way bigger leading to seemingly unfair restarts.
Good:
The thematic concept is unique and the mechanics i saw until i couldnt progress further were interesting too. The heart shrinking (without love i guess) and flying away (with help of the lady) are nice metaphors. But my favourite levels were the ones with the switching gravity (i dont know what that stood for though).
The idea of an assist mode is great and could even be expanded on for people like me (who lets just say 'didnt do so well' in the levels)
TLDR: A game with a concept that is definetly worth playing - a bit held back by some problems in the execution
@willoxs thank you for your detailed feedback! About pixel art - it was first time for me doing pixel art and I had no idea about which resolution will be the best, so it was more about trying to understand how to make everything important visible on the screen and in right proportions About hard levels - we probably should’ve add skip button so it would’ve been easier to get the whole story without struggling too much
yes a skip option would be cool^^
and dont worry about my art critcism - ld is for learning and the pieces themselves are really good for a first time
Your graphics are so beautiful, loved them! And I deeply agree with the comment above, saying it's interesting that in this game, YOU'RE A HEART, lol. Innovation points from me!
As per how the game works, I had a hard time figuring this out, what was happening, what I should do to, well, see more of the story. And I took some time to notice the "death plants" were not just background, as the "life" TV box, this type of thing. Some sound effects maybe could help with this feedback, possibly.
A small note (and not in the game itself, but that can be nice for people playing it online): there's an option on itch.io to allow people to play in fullscreen. I feel this more immersive -- and also, if you're playing with arrows, a jump won't be confused by the browser with a scroll up command.
i like the pixely art i think the concept is cool, the idea that you need to drain your health to become small enough to fit through the crack, but then run to the end before you run out of health was a great moment in your game! the "ah-ha" was very satisfying.
i think the idea of silver and pink portions of the health bar, constantly draining, alternating, and changing you, is super awesome, but unfortunately i never figured out how to control it, so i got stuck at a level.
i think the "f to pause your health drain" felt kind of arbitrary, not sure how it fit in, didn't make sense in the gameplay narrative you crafted. like, as metaphors for life / relationships, what does it mean to pause? and from a pure gameplay perspective, yeah, just kinda arbitary. like "why do i have the ability to do this?"
anyways, cool entry over all! rainbow!!
Awesome idea for a game! I also like how you can queue up the different colors to time when to flip. If I were to suggest something though, a feature to speed up the meter would be nice, since it feels a bit slow to wait for sometimes. Good job on the game!
Fuh. I did it. I loved the pixel art and these animations. I probably would have glanced at a coliseum of roses, or a heart, just in case, because sometimes it starts anew, even though there was no touch. And so the game is very cool and the music too!
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I liked the idea and the graphics. Some levels were too hard, though, I gave up after a Flappy-Bird-like level. A skip button would really help.
Very atmospheric and interesting game. The ending was generally very unexpected. It is a very cool style and generally sound design. Moreover, I didn't find a single bug)) The only thing, probably, it would be awesome if at the level with two flowers it was possible to get different finals at the end.
Unique mechanic and nice presentation. QoL improvements would make this a great game.
What a beautiful game, I really enjoyed it! Not 100% sure what the green heart means (co-dependence maybe?). Great music and cute art as well!
Hey, this is a really cute game! Introducing different mechanics as you move on kept me interested and curious. Being able to pause the drain threw me off; I would love to fill just enough of each color and try to time it along the level. Art is pretty cute, level design is complimentary to the mechanics. Great entry, congrats to both of you!
I like your graphics, it's so beautiful! And I agree that it’s interesting to be a Heart)
It was a little hard to understand what I need to do and how to control. Like the “death plants” were not just background, as the “life” TV box, this type of thing.
Good job on the game!
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