mchs-productions 2021-10-03 22:43
I didn't know what to to, but other than that it was an ok game.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD49 → Unstable Atoms
By harmadillo
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 548 | 2.14 | 29 | |
| Fun | 552 | 1.76 | 28 | |
| Innovation | 470 | 2.76 | 28 | |
| Theme | 352 | 3.34 | 28 | |
| Graphics | 534 | 1.98 | 29 | |
| Audio | 417 | 2.01 | 28 | |
| Humor | 425 | 1.55 | 28 | |
| Mood | 493 | 2.01 | 28 |
I didn't know what to to, but other than that it was an ok game.
The game is pretty difficult, if you are unstable you don't have a lot of time before you lose and it is a bit unclear to me how much time you have left. Enemies are also unpredictable, a few times an attack seemed to appear out of empty space rather than an enemy. The music did not loop.
Taking over other atoms and moving to another map saves you if you are unstable. I think the take over mechanic should not be so powerful and as unstable you should not be able to leave the map. Then the enemies could be slowed down and you could be given more time before you die if unstable.
The idea of unstable atoms firing electrons is neat, but the gameplay needs some polish. My main thought after playing is that the main problem in the game is its difficulty and balance.
It is too difficult, I can't get past the first level. It feels like when you kill an enemy, it becomes invisible, but keeps shooting.
Other bug I noticed: the score does not reset between 2 games. That's the only reason why I managed to reach 200 points :p
The music was ok, but did you forget to make it loop?
@octahedronsoftware The shooting, player movement and enemy AI does need an overhaul. I'd also like to include a more difficult/interesting puzzle for the takeover/transfer mechanic.
@rolly The music was a late edition and I may have muted it when testing :).
Cool style but it's pretty difficult fo beginning
Confusing and too hard.
Adding some scrolling background so you could see which direction you were travelling would be a nice addition. And I think you need a tutorial, it's really hard to understand what's going on xD.
@harmadillo I would suggest you upload a fixed version then, everyone makes mistakes, and bugfix is allowed after deadline ;)
I couldn't figure out what to do. I fly around, shoot, and what is the purpose of all these?
Is was a bit frustrating to play. Movement was so slow compared to the electrons you are trying to catch.
I'll give you props for a really cool concept. Execution falls a bit short though. (For 48 hours though, that's fair.)
First level beat me.
There is something here. Maybe add some simple aimming?
Couldn't figure out what was going and I read the instructions twice. Is there aiming? Things are flying across the screen too fast to react to so it all just feels very punishing. (Maybe that's the point?) Theme fit is cool but the game is just too confusing to appreciate fully
Honestly this is pretty rough and difficult to play as-is. I really like the idea of shooting off electrons and collecting more, it's a clever take on the theme, but the execution was quite rough. Aiming was hard, it's difficult picking up more electrons, and it's unclear why the game ends.
The music and audio are also painfully loud (literally) but I really appreciate that I'm able to lower the volume! I dropped both SFX and music down to 1.
I applaud you for the very unique and innovative concept that is very well-connected to the theme. I agree with many of the comments here, the game is too difficult and I feel like I have very little control over the game. Balls are flying everywhere really quicky and enemies can travel great distances really quickly. Fine-tuning some of the values, like the speed of the player, enemies and projectiles, would make a huge difference to the game.
But I can somewhat understand why electrons and gamma rays are flying everywhere, since that is central to the physics and as well as the theme. So I guess, fine-tune, but still maintain that essence?
I am not sure if the aiming works well. I try to aim at a direction and shoot, but my electron seems to launch at a completely different direction. This is also adds to why I feel like I don't have much control over the game. I ended up walking to higher levels and trying to take over stronger atoms.
While there is a good attempt to tie the game mechanics with physics, I don't think it fits 100%. For instance, why you can pop protons, neutrons and electrons, and why that allows you to "transfer", whatever transfer means in the context of physics. However, it is understandable that the game mechanics do not fully adhere to the current understanding of the laws of physics since the game still needs to be a game.
Still, the connections that the game mechanics make with physics, like larger atoms needing more electrons to kill, is very creative.
I do appreciate the visual feedback. Like when you are running low on electrons, you flash red, and when you have too many, you flash green. Perhaps there could be more feedback, like camera shake, music changes (like when your Pokemon has low HP in the games).
Considering that this is a compo, what you made is very impressive. Keep it up!
Nice game I guess. I'd like to have a "TL;DR" in the game instructions. Sprites are way too similar,it's confusing. :)
Okay, so I had no idea what I was doing for a bit (I didn't read the instructions), but after messing around and figuring it out, I found it quite fun, nicely done!
Interesting game. Probably doesn't help I left behind my chemistry many years ago. I thought the idea of transfer energy between enemies is a neat idea. I could have done with more of a hand-holding tutorial. But that's probably just me.
I like the chemistry theme, even though some parts did not make sense to me. There are some bugs (as you are probably aware) like invisible atoms. Other than that, the game was just too difficoult for me and I did not manage to pass the first level.