FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD51 → My 1st Game: Water Ball Challenge 10S

My 1st Game: Water Ball Challenge 10S

By thanks4allthefish

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall4332.9235
Fun3772.9235
Innovation4292.7235
Theme4332.9735
Graphics4082.7835
Audio2852.9735
Humor2
Mood2

Comments

cogcomp 2022-10-03 18:53

Neat idea. I really liked how if you plan strategically you get a lot of reuse of each ball by getting it to bounce back at the boxes. I think the game was a little too easy. I could just point the cannon right up and make it through all the levels.

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-04 03:27

Hi @cogcomp! I also notice that after I posted the game to the itch website. I think that could be something relied to the update function that makes the cannon shot a lot faster than it should be. I'd try to fix that with the FixedUpdate function and create more levels. Thanks a lot for the feedback! :smile_cat:

papaya 2022-10-04 03:43

Solid first time entry! Loving the music and explosion effect of the tiles. Definitely more varieties in the destructible boxes can increase the difficulty and improve gameplay. Still awesome game, bravo!

phantom49 2022-10-04 04:22

I loved the idea of making a more "chaotic" space shooter in order to hit the target quickly, I just wish there was more stages to play, but really cool entry. Had a lot of fun with the game.

Also seems like we're both with the infamous Unity's Blue Background Screen in our games :v:

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-04 04:57

Hi @papaya Thanks a lot for the feedback! Yes It took a while to draw the explosion effect in pixel art, I'm very glad you likes it :) And yes I'd create more destructible boxes in the future

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-04 05:03

Hi @phantom49 Thanks a lot for your feedback. I'd definitely create more stages in the future! For the background, yes lol I actually used disco diffusion to get some AI generated pictures and wanted to use them as background. However those pictures would make the bullets hard to track by eye so I had to remove them.

rosypenguin 2022-10-04 06:58

Always love seeing people's first games! This is a solid attempt, I always like these kinds of brick-breaker type games. Wish there was a bit smoother frame rate so I can see the trajectory of the shots better. And wish there were more levels. Keep it up!

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-04 20:42

Hi @rosypenguin :smile: I'll use the fixedupdate() method to make sure there is a constant frame rate across multiple platforms. Thanks a lot for your feedback!

clonze 2022-10-04 23:12

nice job on your first game! I like to use game-jams to practice polishing projects quickly and when it comes to polishing, every little thing you can do makes a difference. Like adjusting the camera background color or adding sound effects to things that are happening. Hope you keep game jamming in the future! :balloon:

thaprofesional 2022-10-05 08:15

Great music and cool retro style graphics. Had a lot of fun I think it's 'cause the water balls fire so quickly watching those things bounce around / pile up / go nuts was awesome. On that note I'm glad there weren't any "water hitting stuff" sound effects. Block breaking sound effects would have been cool though..

More levels would have been great definitely would have kept playing.

incd021 2022-10-05 11:02

Well that was fun :D Nice progression of the difficulty of the levels. Liked the idea and the music :D Great job :thumbsup:

milq 2022-10-05 12:09

To be your first game is great! The truth is that you have done the most difficult part: innovating with a new concept. It's a twist of Breakout game and it's really funny. You have to polish the game but I can only say congratulations! Great game!

vivat-vector 2022-10-05 12:23

I liked how the balls bounced around to break more boxes. A logic game could be built on such an idea. Due to time constraints, I didn't think and just put the cannon up.

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-05 15:50

@clonze Thanks so much for your advice. Yes I sure definitely add sound effect when the the water ball hit those boxes :smile: I'll try to think up some nice way to make similar sounds lol

clonze 2022-10-05 16:41

ohh another idea: u could try editing the physics layers so the balls dont collide with themselves

hungryroy 2022-10-06 07:50

Good job on your first game! Might want to consider the difficulty as it was a bit too easy and there was little reason to aim anywhere other than straight up. A fun little arcad-y game!

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-07 01:41

@thaprofesional I'm so glad you like this game :smile_cat: Part of the reason I created this game is that I feel it will be stress relief. I'll definitely add sound effect when those blocks are broken. Thanks a lot for your advice!

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-07 01:49

@incd021 Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you like this game. I actually made a longer version of the current music track, and will add it in the derived version of this game :smile_cat:

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-07 02:11

@milq I'm happy you like this concept :smile_cat: More updates are on their way

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-07 02:17

@Vivat-vector @hungryroy lol yes I've adjusted the difficulties of those stages now it takes more tactical thinking to clear them :smile: I'll upload the game in another link

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-07 02:26

@clonze Oh I think it is fun to see how those water balls bounce and collide with each other lol :smile: I think it is also one of the feature: you need to pile up enough water balls to break some bricks

purpledartfrog 2022-10-07 08:37

@thanks4allthefish Interesting that the fire rate was based on the distance to the cursor :smile: Was that on purpose? And this being your first game - actually really impressed.... mine did NOT look or feel nearly as good :smile: :thumbsup_tone1: As for input... to me it seemed that the speed of the bullets was a bit too high... or my eyes are to old. I think it might feel better if the player had a better sence of them.

corporation 2022-10-07 17:25

Great concept and implementation of base mechanics) adding more harder level probably should be the next thing, cause current can be passed by just shooting in the corner

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-07 20:58

Hi @purpledartfrog Thanks for the feedback! I'm sorry that I didn't set a fixed rate for the bullet so it fired too fast after I upload it. I'll fix that in the updated version~

purpledartfrog 2022-10-07 21:15

@thanks4allthefish no worries .. one thing with feedback is that you don't need to follow all advice :smile: I might be the only one with that preference :smile:

antoniothereis 2022-10-07 22:16

Great stuff for your first game! I just have a few notes. Adding a visual border around the screen could make it clearer that the balls bounce off the walls instead of just flying off (which is what I thought of first). The balls also move just a bit too quickly to properly process what is happening, and slowing it just a bit would help a lot I think. Being able to continue from the level you lost at would also be helpful. Still great work, excited to see more of your stuff.

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-08 07:38

Hi @corporation Thanks for the feedback! I fixed this issue and add more stages in the derived version of this project. You can try it on https://thanks4allthefish.itch.io/water-ball-challenge Hope you like it! :smile:

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-08 07:40

Hi @antoniothereis Thanks for the feedback! I spent another day and made a derived version of this project. Seems like it has exactly what you asked for :smile_cat: You can try it on https://thanks4allthefish.itch.io/water-ball-challenge

p-r 2022-10-08 21:13

I think the balls might be too fast, not sure if it's just me.

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-09 01:23

Hi @p-r Yes they are lol. I don't set the fixed frame rate for them, so they are faster after I upload the game online. Please try out the derived version to get a more stable speed and more stages.

mauvegrover 2022-10-09 03:12

Great work for a first game! I really like to hear when people list out what they learned/accomplished from a game jam. I don't have much to add that hasn't been covered by the other comments but keep at it! The derived version is already showing so much improvement.

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-09 17:18

Hi @mauvegrover Thanks a lot for your encouragement! I'll keep work on this game to make it better! :smile_cat:

usenrame 2022-10-10 19:17

Played your game, and it's fun, but IT'S TOOO EASY, would be really happy to see procedural game levels for it.

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-10 19:22

@usenrame Do you want to try out the derived version? There is ten new stages in the game and I can guarantee it takes some tragical thinking :smirk_cat: https://thanks4allthefish.itch.io/water-ball-challenge

usenrame 2022-10-10 19:29

@thanks4allthefish I'm in!

usenrame 2022-10-10 19:36

@thanks4allthefish still ez XD But still enjoyed it!

[screen shot](https://i.imgur.com/ovl0IfL.png)

thanks4allthefish 2022-10-11 05:15

@usenrame I'm glad you like it! :smile_cat:

simplepotential 2022-10-15 23:42

Addicting! There is a lot to like here. I would suggest making the timer more visible or placed differently maybe. As a first game, this was very well done. Nice Job

albertnez 2022-10-15 23:43

It's an interesting idea and overall interesting combination of mechanics and theme. For being you very first game, this is outstanding, even more so given the time restrictions. Congratulations on that!

PS: What changed from the Compo submission to the current game in the itch.io page? I see that the source code is "updated", but can't tell how the source was at submission, now what was updated.

damedevy 2022-10-15 23:47

I get that its your first game! My first game was pretty bad! But, I just want to give you some feedback so yeah! First of all, most of the game is trying to point your mouse to a place where you can get the ball to the goal. I didn't feel any real challenge. The art might need a bit of improvement too! But good job on your first game!

amarokczukay 2022-10-16 00:15

first of all, great job for your first game and your first compo entry, that must have been challenging! the idea behind your game is great and the mechanic interesting, and with some polish it can be awesome! however, congrats!

unprecedented 2022-10-17 20:06

This game was really satisfying to play. Loved the physics of the balls and enjoyed working my way through the levels. I also appreciate the clever level designs. Good work!

frozenfire92 2022-10-19 12:14

Great work for your first game! The constant stream of water balls was a bit of a surprise at first :smile: Keep on making games!

bogden 2022-10-19 21:45

This is really, really, really good for your very first game! Well done!

djd123456 2022-10-19 22:59

Nice Game!

sarah 2022-10-20 04:21

The way the balls bounce make it surprisingly fun haha, and actually hilarious to see. Nice job on your first game, it's well done! I like the idea that you have to quickly brute force your way to the target, interesting use of the theme!

upcharlie 2022-10-21 08:52

Great stuff for your first game! Simple game, but functioned a bit more complexly than I was expecting so I struggled until I realised there were a good few options avaialble!

ginahe 2022-10-21 13:27

Nice done creating your first game that is an big accomplissement by itself . The lack of sound effect , audio feedback and juciness is for me a big issue with a gameplay that is that simple . Very nice idea to subvert this type of game into puzzle game but few more behavior would be great to enable more puzzle creation . Still had some fun so goal reached for the game :)

exofrenon 2022-10-21 21:52

This was a refreshing take on the breakout / arkanoid genre. Simple, addictive, you immediately get what you have to do and what the rules are. I also didn't encounter any bugs. A very solid first entry.