FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD51 → Counterspell

Counterspell

By witchpixels

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall4273.6627
Fun3853.5928
Innovation4813.4428
Theme374.3628
Graphics3673.9227
Audio4833.3227
Humor6302.7526
Mood3793.6627

Comments

cantthinkofaname 2022-10-03 19:50

It crashes the moment the spell is activated.

eerongal 2022-10-03 19:51

Thats a unique take on the game. Took a moment for me realize the spell sigils are for me and being my form of defense, but once i accidentally herded the enemies into it, it clicked. Aiming the spells is a bit odd, though, too

borgi 2022-10-03 20:02

I escaped :D I liked the core combat of the game and to manouver enemies into the AOE spells. The mouse aiming is a bit off and the snow attack did not work for me on the left side. The game covers the theme pretty well - but it would be nice if you could somehow trigger a smaller attack early, when there are only one enemy left. A pssoible future idea: it would be nice to gain some boosts or bonuses when you manage to kill a given number of enemies (a lot) with only one spell :D

pinnyo 2022-10-03 20:05

Really liked the way the spells are drawn line by line. Not sure if aiming the spells worked? I was never able to aim any of them and just herded enemies into the telegraphs.

rose 2022-10-03 20:11

Really inventive take on the theme! I was hit a few times but managed to escape. I like the retro graphics, and the runes being drawn on screen is a good way to show your spell countdown. In the future (not for this jam obviously) it would be cool to see a version with a shorter delay so it's a bit more interactive. Having to work with the timer to cast spells is definitely an interesting challenge.

witchpixels 2022-10-03 21:36

Thank you all for your comments! And thanks for playing!

I noticed that the aiming with mouse for the ice shard spell was broken and am about to push a fix that'll change it. I also altered the final room to be a little more manageable rather than being swarmed right off the bat when you enter.

Again thank you all for playing!

witchpixels 2022-10-03 21:52

@cantthinkofaname what platform are you on?

So far I've only really tested web and linux, I've been sorta hoping that godot would handle the other platforms in lieu of having any mas or windows machines on hand.

cantthinkofaname 2022-10-04 06:08

ok i found a way to play it and its quite fun! I cant really give many suggestions to improve the game since it was so good but if i had to suggest something it would be to make it harder to simply walk past the enemies.

witchpixels 2022-10-04 06:38

@cantthinkofaname Hurrah! I'm glad you liked it!

I didn't get a chance to implement it, but I wanted to add a door at the end that would require you to beat a mage that also used spell circles. When the event is over, I'll probably do that.

The last minute dash using iframes to get to the exit in the current version is intentional, though.

digitaldude555 2022-10-05 21:23

Nice and short, very nice aesthetic to the game, like the spell animations really. Like the way the theme was used, I'd say the gameplay was a bit too simple though I am not sure of what I would change to make it better. Over all it's quite good.

iamsodarncool 2022-10-06 05:04

I enjoyed this a lot!

- The mechanics are very interesting. Lots of cool emergent strategies. The fact that you only get one attack every ten seconds made each one feel more powerful and satisfying. It was especially rewarding to bait a large number of enemies into a small area just in time for an ice or fire spell. - The diegetic spell drawings are so cool, and do a lot to enhance the feeling of buildup before a spell - The music is nice and atmospheric - The graphics are simple but quite pleasant - I am intrigued by the story and setting, and I wish there was more of it! In particular, I would've loved a sentence or two on the ending screen describing the socerex's fate after the events of the game. - I found the camera positioning a little awkward. Most of the screen space was taken up by where I had already been to, rather than where I was going. - "Counterspell" is an excellent pun

Very solid entry. Thank you for a fun few minutes :)

(Also, looks like we both made a game about a witch! How delightful!)

witchpixels 2022-10-06 06:05

@iamsodarncool Yayyy witch games! Yours has a better ending that for sure <3

I ran out of time for it, but when the Rating period is over I think I want to add an intro where you enter the tomb, and also an enemy/boss type that uses the same spell mechanic to give a final stage of progression and I'd add an ending there.

Yeah the camera could use a bit of work, I'll look into that tomorrow evening.

Thanks for playing <3

iamsodarncool 2022-10-06 06:12

Give me a holler when you have the post-jam version live, I'd love to play it :D

thedashdude 2022-10-06 06:28

I like the spell casting. Good use of the theme. Sleep didn't seem that usefull, too short a duration. Otherwise pretty fun.

witchpixels 2022-10-06 07:01

@thedashdude

yeah I kind of figured sleep would be one that some players wouldn't get a lot of use of. The thought with it is that it resets the awareness of anything it affects so if you hide, they won't look for you. But yeah I should probably reconnect it to the timer, so you get a whole cycle of slumber.

Thanks for your feedback, nd thanks for playing! :D

chase-of-bass 2022-10-06 07:09

This was awesome!! Really liked that you animated the spell drawings -great use of the theme! Was a lot of fun planning around the casting time and the order of the spells to get through different situations. Loved how you could hide or sneak past the guards to get within range and catch them snoozing. Really fun and challenging with a nice relaxed pace to it. Fantastic work on this!! :D

elzeu 2022-10-06 22:22

The atmosphere is dark and it is satisfying to eliminate the bad guys, for my experience, the smoothing of the camera hurt a bit, it would be an awesome addition to put a bit of back story, great use of the theme, the gameplay is promising! I would love to play a post-jam version of your game.

jag 2022-10-08 05:00

I did it!! It was super satisfying to reach the end. I really loved this game honestly it was very creative to have these three spells that had different powers. Your pixel art was adorable and the music really set a mood. Sound effects were nice too! I only felt it was a bit slow because of having to wait 10 seconds for a spell every time, but of course that can't be helped because of the theme... All around great job and thank you for making such a fun game! I had a wonderful time playing it!

eeperdeheap 2022-10-08 08:09

Finished it in the first run! Really cool game. Loved the pixel graphics and the skeletons with their cute little swords. Having put the only ways of attack on a timer meant I had to dodge and kite the enemies a lot. Maybe your dude could have moved a bit faster.

thyoi 2022-10-08 08:43

Great game. I really like the idea.

I think the player should be able to do something other than move. Like roll? Or stay still to accelerate the spell. Could provide some options in terms of strategy.

Overall well done tem.png

melektaus 2022-10-08 18:27

Wow, I really like the idea. Pixelart was great (environment, fade in of the spell cast, and so on)

I have to point out one thing though: It would do better if the camera would snap to the pixels because of the flickering while movement.

actuallythemoon 2022-10-08 18:39

Oooooh, i absolutely love the visual presentation on this. Very cool minimalist style! The gameplay is also neat, although i wished the spells were just a bit faster to cast (but not much can be done about that, since 10 seconds is the theme). Really cool entry, genuinely found myself wanting for more of it after the end.

wouter52 2022-10-08 20:20

Such a cool concept! I love the graphics and music! The gameplay feels very intuitive and smooth. And most of all: I had fun playing it :smile: Only feedback I have: the invincebility frames are a bit too long. I could walk trough some skellitons and still survive. :smile:

chromaphase 2022-10-08 21:12

Nice art work and gameplay ! Very efficient, wish you would have done more levels !

senso 2022-10-08 21:37

Almost at 20 , keep it up! Nice game you made , love the concept ! Think you done a fresh game mechanic that needs a little tweaking.

tygrak 2022-10-08 22:19

I enjoyed this a lot! Super fun. I really liked the artstyle, the spellcasting effects were made in a super nice way.

faust-mi 2022-10-09 16:25

Interesting mechanical idea. Missed Desha a couple of times) Thx for fun!

skel3ton 2022-10-09 20:46

I managed to finish it on the first try, but it was definitely not easy, don't rush anywhere is the number one rule :)

I love it when I see it loading my magic. It fits a lot there. Simple but nice graphics and pleasant music only complete the overall experience. Good game.

sipfindel 2022-10-10 19:59

Nice little game! I love that the music worked well with the timing. I like that you can cast spells only in those intervals but 10s is maybe too long so I ended up just waiting for the most of the time. But that is a problem with the theme itself. Anyway, thanks for a nice game.