bitlytic 2022-04-05 01:05
I absolutely loved this, if this was a paid game with a bit more content I would 100% buy it. I ended up playing through it twice. The audio design is terrific
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD50 → Kiwis Can't Fly
By ddrkirbyisq and Xellaya
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 8 | 4.41 | 107 | |
| Fun | 222 | 3.81 | 107 | |
| Innovation | 248 | 3.74 | 107 | |
| Theme | 30 | 4.40 | 107 | |
| Graphics | 15 | 4.70 | 107 | |
| Audio | 1 | 4.75 | 108 | |
| Mood | 2 | 4.73 | 107 |
I absolutely loved this, if this was a paid game with a bit more content I would 100% buy it. I ended up playing through it twice. The audio design is terrific
I just finished playing it, and it's a beautiful game, filled with incredible soundtracks. Another glorious game from Kat Jia and DDRKirby.
Your games mostly are lovely and a bit poetic, and this is no exception. Great work on the music and sound effects as well.
Some straight up Orisinal vibes here, I loved it and it's been a while since I've played that sort of game. The gameplay, while simple, still had enough of a mastery curve to keep it interesting. Making it have an angled bounce like Breakout let you do some neat stuff like set up all your objects ahead of time since you had an idea of which way the kiwi would bounce. It feels great to perfectly set up 3 objects in time without having to touch them again.
It goes without saying that the art and sound design are top notch as usual. Though iirc, this is the first full-sentimental game you've done in a while.
Great message and way to subvert the theme. Doesn't overstay its welcome because you keep introducing new instruments to play with over time. Really impressive stuff :)
It is so cute and so sad!! I loved everything! Great work!
How long this is delayed until? Very cool and stylish, with easter eggs from your previous projects. Music work is gorgeous. However, that long, you wish for some kind of a score or something, otherwise you just get bored with wherever you're going. Anyway, I'm your fan now, for sure.
@peachtreeoath oh my god, i played the Orisinal bunny cloud jumping game! i got those vibes from this too!! i remember letting that game run in the background as i worked in college just to listen to the music.
@sakura-magika that's awesome and I'm glad people had similar experiences to me :)
@ddrkirbyisq and @xellaya excellent work with this game! i absolutely love the art style and traditional animation, especially the witch cats on brooms! i love how their broomsticks poof when the kiwi bonks them.
i'm so happy you made a game about kiwis, these birds are very special. when i saw the title, i was afraid it would be a game about their inevitable extinction, i'm so glad it's not! (for anyone interested, we can help save them from extinction! see https://www.savethekiwi.nz/about-us/ for more info)
i think it's really great that you opted not to make a typical arcade style "endless run / jump / fall / escape until you die" type game. it was a very soothing, somewhat surreal interactive journey, and i got to feel like i made a pretty song along the way (although of course @ddrkirbyisq did all the hard work, heheh).
thank you for making a warm and fuzzy little corner of ludum dare to enjoy :3
Nice and creative take on a classic mechanic, amazing artwork! As a bonus, there could be some jittery-moving 'paddle' objects to make it a bit harder to drag with a mouse.
Holy moly, what an entry! I've never seen a jam game with such incredible sound design - not only is it dynamic music but the sounds themselves are so pleasant as they come together. The artwork is super pretty, and you created such an incredible mood too - I felt pretty emotional by the end.
The only negative thing I have to say is that more people need to play this! Get out there and rate some games! You have a real chance of getting a top spot if a few more people got to see this!
I was not prepared for these emotions, this was a wonderful experience with amazing music & sound design and beautiful artstyle. Loved it. Managed to slow the Kiwi with each obstacle, and I really enjoyed the different musical cues for each of the different obstacles.
I also thought of Orisinal, and I really loved that, very nostalgic.
Thank you, great work! :heart:
Skärmbild 2022-04-08 000601.png
This was an incredible entry. My favourite that I've played so far. The cats with brooms absolutely made it for me, they were adorable. The game play was simple and fun and I could see it becoming addictive. The ending tugged on my heartstrings.
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! UGH, what a beautiful concept and execution. No part was weaker than any other, and the way the music happens to the beat of your bounces, but you could miss any beat and it would still sound completely intended. You guys have created something really outstanding here.
PS. as an animator myself, imma find you, artist :D
Wow, that was really beautiful
very simple story, but very impressive. Kiwi didn't cry but the ending made me cry. The music and sfx is so pretty, and suits the art design so well. The atmosphere is perfect, and it's a very special pick for this "delay the inevitable" theme. thanks for bringing up this idea and execution.
I'm speechless. So touching and emotional! A straight 5 stars game that's it
Very cute, especially the silly cats when I bop them on the head. Pretty fun to try to bounce off of everything, though I'm guessing it doesn't actually matter if I miss some things. I missed a single cloud because I misclicked when trying to click on the cloud, but I bounced off of everything else.
It would have been nice if the hitbox for starting to drag an object was a bit more forgiving. I also would have liked if the intro was a bit quicker since I wanted to get into the gameplay, but I guess the idea is to give more time for the music to sink in.
I liked it very much. It's a pity that the cycle is so short. I want to play more. Very cool art, music and sound atmosphere. Another very touching and catchy game made by your team.
So beautiful! Such an emotional experience with such few words. Truly amazing. Thank you so much for making this!
Really nice atmospheric game! I played it twice, once where I tried to hit every object and once where I dodged every object. Sadly the outcome was the same, but I see what you were going for here and It's really nice!
Loved this, the atmosphere, the audio, the graphics were all incredible.
Very peaceful, calm, nice game. This game has the BEST audio I've seen so far in LD50. Music tracks flow with one another (no abrupt changes), although the clouds don't have a "puff" as I would expect, they still have a nice piano-tune feedback. Also, the graphics look very nice :smiley:. Everything looks like it was drawn with so much care, and they all have smooth animations; I have no clue how you managed to do this all in 3 days! The "worst" part of this game was the gameplay itself, but it was still fun! As far as I could tell, there was no way to lose. One suggestion, I'd recommend adding a timer at the end to tell how long you managed to keep the kiwi in the air. Then you could try to beat your highscore the next time. Overall, very nice game. Good job!
The illustrations and music give this some really cozy vibes. So many little details and a touching story, just a really pretty entry and one of my favorites so far. :smile:
Very lovely style
The experience is just surreal. The music first reminds me of Celeste, and this game tells a heartwarming story as well. One nitpick I have however is that since there is no way to lose, I ended up trying to actively move away the platforms to get to the end faster.
You got me.
What a beautiful heart-breaker. I love the audio gameplay, and on one hand I appreciate that alone and it makes the game super cozy. On the other, you could add a losing condition that builds to game over if you miss too many objects on the way down. Either way, I think this is a wonderful jam that is such a treat to play. The art and animation are perfect. It reminds me of the extinct Orisinal: Morning Sunshine flash game site. RIP. Thanks for the beautiful game!
Great game, the art is great and the sound design is amazing. Its also pretty fun and cute even without a lose condition. The ending is also pretty sad. Great entry!
Great, I loved the art, Very good job!
What a gorgeous and moving game you've made! It's definitely the highlight of the games I've reviewed so far. I felt like I was playing music and it somehow always sounded harmonious. The cats on broomsticks were my favorite. I smiled a lot playing it.
The ending was both sad and beautiful. Well done!
That was a really adorable game and I definitely enjoyed it. It has amazing visuals and sound design, although I do wish it had some sort of a score/rating at the end. I could see this going on after the jam to be a really unique rhythm game that I would definitely play. Great Job!
Simply lovely. Probably the best sound design I've played yet this jam, and wonderful art as well. Gameplay was relaxing and enjoyable, although obviously very simple. Whole thing was a nice polished package. Great work!
Love your music , super graphics good theme use. Super game
Wow, honestly, I'm stunned. That was a beautiful game. I love the dynamic music, it worked so well. And the graphics/animations were so good too. I actually left the end screen of the game up for about 20 minutes afterward just so I could keep listening to the music. Needless to say, I can't wait for the soundtrack!
Also works nice on mobile which is cool :slight_smile:
Absolutely adorable, great job!
Ooooh, that's adorable and cute. And super well polished. The triggered sound for the music are great, they fit so well with the music that I'm sure some people wont even notice that the music is generated by your action, and that it'll just create a nice mood for the game. The art is gorgeous, everything is nice. It kinds of reminds me about the old flash games made by orisinal (I guess they can't be played anymore).
The only thing I would like is... well, more of this game. I really could play different levels with different animals, colors and music. But it's not because your game lacks anything, it's because it's really great.
I love birds, kiwis are too cute, as this entry! What a wonderful experience with lovely animations and music! Well done!
This was beautiful! What a mood! Easily the most emotionally evocative experience I've had while swiping left or swiping right in recent memory!
"I will not cry" Mission failed :cry:
This game is so beautiful, I have no words. It touched me and I don't know why. The music fitting the visuals was amazing. It has so few dialogue but with such a powerful narrative. This might be my favorite submission so far.
Bravo!
to goosebumps and to tears...It's too good
Wow, that was an experience! I absolutely love the music and the idea to map different instruments on the items to make the player kind of compose the music. Also the graphics and animations are fantastic. Nothing to improve, great job!
Straight up beautiful, one of the best games in this jam. I can't put into words how much I love this game. The ending gave me goosebumps. Looking forward to see what you guys do next!
This is the definition of games as art.
Simple, but powerful. Amazing work!
Almost feels like it should be a children's book.
This is so fantastic. Playing on everyone's heartstrings with this soft music.
+ The art style is beautiful + Implementing the audio with said art style is breathtaking + The mood is set so wonderfully.
Essentially, I stopped playing it to see where the game was going to take me. How the game essentially loops is so nice and satisfying. I came here not knowing what to expect and I leave wanting to share it with my friends. Fantastic job with this one. We are all little kiwis in one aspect or another <3
Very cute and nice game, with an amazing soundtrack as always. Really enjoyed the experience!
Nicely, but gameplay is not progressive. After 10-20 seconds becomes some boring
So cute and so relaxing! The musical notes from different objects were a great touch. I was hoping for some gameplay challenge but it was a wholesome experience as is.
This is may be the one of the best LD50 games I've ever played. Graphics and sounds are so cute, and it fits the theme. Great Job! I loved it.
Every since I found out about y'all in LD38, whenever I'm able to participate in Ludum Dare, I always look forward to playing the entry by Cocoa Moss. The graphics are warm and the music is amazing as always. Wonderfully simple, yet I never lost focus while trying to keep that kiwi afloat. Beautiful.
Incredible game ! Moving the platforms instead of the character is a really good idea, and the game is so polished, it's a total pleasure to play it. The art style is amazing and the sound design is on point.
Good job, I loved it :smile:
All things in the game are very complementary. Graphics and sound warm the soul.
Very clever dynamic use of melodies in relevant chords/scales when you bump into different objects! :musical_note: :cloud: :balloon: :kiwi:
That same idea could probably be applied to many different kinds of games.
Amazing sweet story with gorgeous art and music! The animations are wonderful! One of my favourite entries this jam.
Someone suggested this in my chat and I'm so glad they did. The initial jumping animation REALLY did it for me I had to rewatch it a couple times at the end haha
The only improvement I could think of is seamlessly jumping off the cliff again without a transition (and maybe even without the replay button). It would have really reinforced the character's determination like he's never gonna give up
I got big chills at the end of it, seriously well done
@ 20:25 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1449593775
Very reminiscent of the old Orisinal games that are sadly lost with the passing of Flash.
Thanks for making this, this entry was melancholic and beautiful.
Wow, this was really beautiful. I love the dynamic music and how it doesn't matter if you miss a note or two, it just becomes more organic that way. The art was like a better quality childrens book. Only thing I would have liked to have is full screen or something like that. Now I accidentally clicked outside the screen and couldn't move the items. before I activated the window again.
It's absolutely gorgeous ! Love the dynamic music, gameplay gets a bit repetitive but it's quite okay for a short game like that, really sweet and touching experience
An excellent entry! I don't know how far i got, but it felt like i was playing for a long time. The music and the art were very highly polished, great work!
What a beautiful game. I found myself timing musical notes by lining up different objects for the kiwi. The art style is very unique and fits the mood perfectly. Well done!
Gameplay is simple but works very nicely with the theme and the mood you created for the game. It's really enjoyable to play, I had a great time.
Such a good game, absolutely loved how hitting different things played musical stings in time with the music and changed timbre based on the type of obstacle, the art, mood and sound design was impeccable. Amazing job!
What an adorable little game. I love so many of your design choices. The way the music and experience blend together is excellent. Thank you for making this!
Beautiful, poetic, cute kitties <3
Dude are you crazy? This is amazing. What a beautiful piece of art. When they say games should be an experience, I think this is what they mean. Such a simple idea and a small collection of pieces of art and dynamic music, beautifully executed to transcend the medium and create a heartbreaking or heartwarming experience.
I'd love to know how the dynamic music pieces play out as the elements collide with the Kiwi, that was such an expert touch and implemented in a short time. The music itself was also perfect as it was incredibly cute and emotional. Very impressive work and worth every bit of admiration. The artwork was beautiful too, hand-drawn style pieces of art that could perfectly fit in a children's storybook. In fact this is an interactive children's storybook. Incredible.
This game left a little tear in my eye as I got to the end. Also it was quite well tied up to the jam theme so extra points for that!
Thank you!
@longsilvr: Hello and thank you for your kind words!
Regarding music synchronization, that actually wasn't too complex -- though maybe I'm biased due to my past experience in this area, including [my current full-time project, Rhythm Quest](https://rhythmquestgame.com/). It essentially involves keeping track of the song's start time and tempo, then whenever a collision occurs, we simply calculate the time at which the next half-beat would occur, and delay playing the audio response sfx (authored at the same tempo) until that time. Unfortunately this isn't sample-accurate, as Godot doesn't currently expose a means of scheduling audio on a specific audio sample, but it's close enough at 60FPS.
Slightly more interesting is the problem of making sure that the gameplay elements progress from section to section at the same time that the music does (e.g. introducing rain and the umbrellas at the appropriate time in the music). The progression of the obstacles can't be laid out statically in advance because depending on the actions of the player they could progress through them faster or more slowly (e.g. avoiding elements vs bouncing on them), so instead I simply have a handful of different preset "screen layouts" for obstacles in each song section. Once I detect that the music has progressed to an appropriate section, I flip a switch and we start using the next set of presets.
Hopefully that makes sense...I'm glad you enjoyed the playthrough!
Beautiful art, amazing music, the little tunes played by every object meshed so well with the background music I felt like I was creating my own song as I played.
A sweet and uplifting game. Well done!
Very beautiful game which I loved the art style. Simple game mechanics with touching message. The audio fits the mood. I enjoyed playing on my smartphone which fit well compared to a click and mouse game if done on PC.
What a lovely game! Definitely a piece of art. I love how the FX and music blend together. And the end = actual feels. Tremendous work!
Oh my god, that was so lovely! The game is visually charming, and I absolutely adored its dynamic music. Even if in terms of mechanics it is very basic, its sound-design make the experience really satisfying. On top of that there's even an evolution through the game, a good variety of sprites (the witch cats are adorable by the way), and a sweet story with a beautiful conclusion. I'm really amazed by this entry, it was a joy to play!
My favourite game of the LD so far! Took me a while to work out whether there was a way to win or lose, until I realised that didn't really matter and that games can just be about trying instead. Also: that's got to be the cutest startled-cat-with-broom animation I've ever seen!
My favourite game so far! I can't think of one aspect about this game I didn't like! Such a beautiful game and it's games like these which shows games are ART!
Very poetical, cute, and moody, as always! This was a pleasant time to play your entry… As always, again :laughing: Well done!
Absolutely stunning work. Great music, as always. The whole experience was just touching and lovely, and made me feel good.
I don't have a single thing that I would improve (other than touch-screen controls, but I see a mobile port is coming in the future!)
Nice and succinct! The music and sounds were wonderful. The art was cute and well animated. I liked the inversion of the dodging/infinite runner gameplay. I was a little worried that the Kiwi was going to just splat at the end there lol.
I love it! We took very different approaches to bird games :D
I don't want to repeat everyone else here, but you got top marks from me. I found the game on itch.io and I would recommend linking to this page there (there is a spot for it in the game details page). Congrats!!
@madbarron: Thank you! (I had forgotten about that field, somehow)
The sound design here was absolutely phenomenal. I spent a lot of the first part of the fall wondering just how you were managing to keep the effects of hitting the objects in sync so wonderfully with the soundtrack before I figured out that you were probably muting and unmuting certain tracks each time corresponding obstacles were hit...? Maybe I'm wrong, but whatever you did, it sounded brilliant!
Even the musical transition at the end of the fall was pretty much flawless. Not to mention that the soundtrack itself is great just on its own--this is by far the best sounding game I've played over the course of this LD, really really well done here...! :smiley:
The art was great too--*really* fit in with exactly the same mood the music was going for--and the animation was both high-quality and adorable. I kept getting distracted from the actual gameplay every time one of those cats zoomed away on their little broomstick... :laughing:
Even the gameplay is smooth and perfectly functional. Frankly, the simplicity of the single mechanic and just how well it stepped out of the way to let the audio and visuals take centre stage was the best choice you could have made on that front, I think.
Fantastic work--really well done! :grin:
(I'm really glad someone above me mentioned that you're on itch.io, because my only regret here was that I couldn't see anywhere I could follow your work. You should add the itch.io link somewhere if you get a moment!)
@skruffye: There's no muting and unmuting, audio snippets are simply triggered in sync with the music at the appropriate time.
@ddrkirbyisq Ah, wow, that feels like it'd be even more work, but I just read your post above about your background in audio-centric games, so fair enough! It was actually the sample accuracy that made me think that wasn't how you did it, but clearly, as you say, the results were close enough that it was very hard to notice any discrepancy!
I'll have to give your other game a look too, when I get a free moment. :grin:
@skruffye :)
Love the way the game loops back on itself - very cool . A simple concept brilliantly executed. Loved the art style especially.
very sweet story, love all the animations that happen after you bounced on them, great work!
Very lovely animations
This is really lovely game. It made me calm and relax while playing. I keep it open for a bit longer after playing just to enjoy the music.
The game is absolutely great. I used to work in a game company that used to make music games, but I never heard that a music game could be like this. The really unique part is that when player hit object, the sfx seems to be a truely natural part of the BGM!
This is brilliant! So creative, cute and unique. Bravo!
My personal winner for Mood for sure. This is a little jam gem :gem:
"I won't cry, you will cry"
Ahh, this was such a beautiful experience, loved how all these sounds came together, even if in some areas towards the end I was pretty much slamming the bounce-able objects towards the kiwi (still managed to make a hit with each of them). The story is super-adorable, too, and it actually executes the theme in a way that keeps the most common interpretation (the player delays the inevitable failure) yet ending it in a hopeful rather than defeated note.
Great job, as usual! It's always a delight to see your entries during Ludum Dare. ^^
My brain releases the happy chemicals :')
Hands down, this was the game that brought me the most beautiful feelings of all the ones I played this LD! I featured it in the finale of my let's play series: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uyXJf5sh2hE
I like it as a neat little jam game. it isn't like the most mindblowingly ddrkirby tier game I've played from you but I could see this doing very well in mood and audio, it's a nice little experiment, I like the pans and zooms, font choices, aesthetic etc.
thank you for that little game! there is all in place and makes mood for player
An absolute masterpiece in terms of every category! Everything about this is beautiful, from the serene music to the cute graphics to the simple gameplay. Enjoy some 5-star ratings, this game deserves them!
I sure am glad I used my mouse, there's no way I could move the mouse fast enough with my laptop's touchpad. 😅
This was incredible - I don't have anything else to say
Congratulations!
If you love football games on your phone, you can try this game: https://techtodown.com/football-rising-star-mod-apk
MAN i wish i knew about this game when i was rating, i love it so much, amazing :D
I really love the game, the atmosphere and the gameplay catches me a lot and the idea is very cute and meaningfull. Love the game.
I use it for entertainment after every stressful game of https://techupnew.com/kof-2002-magic-plus