ASCII Arena

planetbluto 2022-10-03 02:50

This one is really fun, nice graphics and music. The only thing I really have to say is I wish there was more cues for whether you died or ran out of time or just transitioned to a new level. I also want more movement options for the players too, it'd be fun to roll past bullet or something like that.

**OH ALSO**, I notied you use Godot and I constantly kept clicking out the window bounds and unfocusing the window. This could easily be fixed by calling ``Input.set_mouse_mode(Input.MOUSE_MODE_CONFINED)`` at the beginning of the game.

not-the-loading-screen 2022-10-03 02:58

@planetbluto Glad you enjoyed it, if I ever continue I'll be sure to implement your suggestions, thanks a lot!

pennycook 2022-10-03 03:45

Really fun -- great job! The colors and shadows are really effective here, and the fact that everybody is an ASCII character doesn't detract from the experience at all.

I agree with @planetbluto that it would be nice to have some feedback when the character dies. Something like taking a second to show the player character exploding/disintegrating instead of immediately restarting would do the trick.

sheol 2022-10-03 08:01

I really love the charm of the ascii characters! I think the game idea fits the theme really well too! I think the out of screen thing has already been mentioned. Overall a really great submission!! I had fun!! (though it was hard for me haha)

astrydax 2022-10-03 15:23

Great graphics and mood. Cool fusion of ASCII and Neon. Got my butt kicked trying to beat this one. Really enjoyed it.

poboy 2022-10-04 03:43

Really great audio! I'm not sure if the audio is synced to level transitions or not, but it felt that way. Loved the screen shake and the dots on the ground that would light up, lots of little details that add up to feel really cohesive and juicy.

A small addition I'd like is a graphical/sound cue when an enemy dies (especially offscreen). When you're against the clock it saves you from having to double back to check. Additionally, I wonder how hitscan bullets (yours, not the enemies') would feel.

Fun game!

jungle 2022-10-04 15:54

Wow, very nice audio and fun to play. Neon and ASCII are a mind blowing combination!

eeperdeheap 2022-10-04 15:57

Looks great but is a bit hard to me. I keep getting hit and dodging is really hard.

leon-regula 2022-10-04 16:05

Great job! This game makes me go AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

remco 2022-10-04 18:52

I'm not usually one for rage-games, but this one is so slick. The action (re)starts instantaneously, and the levels are so short that trying over and over again doesn't even truly feel like losing. (I have a pretty low frustration limit usually.)

On the one hand, I'd like a more slowly ramping up difficulty but ... I'm not sure that would have worked? By dumping the player in an already hard situation, you say 'It's OK to lose a few times, this game isn't easy -- and we're not even going to make a big deal of something as inconsequential as dying'.

Aesthetically it all hangs together as well... art (bloom), music, etc. paint a nicely cohesive picture.

Very solid effort. You didn't reach for the heavens, but what's there is polished to heck and back and has some thought put into it.

thebmxeur 2022-10-07 13:03

Nice entry, as other already said, it would be nice to lock the mouse in the window.

resacagames 2022-10-07 23:30

Nice style, good use of the theme, love the fast-paced shooting. I somewhat wanted to shoot faster, a powerup would've been amazing. Overall a solid entry, good work!!

ryupold 2022-10-09 00:20

yeah, shooting at ascii symbols! E, H, V and the other must all die!

tsunscreen 2022-10-11 07:41

This was really cool, and felt really polished! Levels definitely get difficult fast but I appreciate it's not just a cakewalk

satacat 2022-10-12 00:07

nice setting and fascinating work with the lights! was kinda hard to play along loud music, also would be nice to make differences between each letter (maybe it was included but i didn't get it visually). overall it's a nice entry!

const-arch 2022-10-13 01:01

That was pretty fun, there was a good balance of difficulty relative to the time. None of the levels were frustrating but they still took a few tries to figure out a good route. +1 to some quick death effect, it would've also given the player a chance to switch directions before the respawn happens.

hawkin 2022-10-14 04:38

Wow! Addictively challenging. Clever use of ASCII characters for assets. Loved the light effects on the background. Everything was very visually engaging!

I appreciated how quickly the resets occurred on death, as it kept me "in the zone"--although, I think you could have added a brief pause to the reset. Sometimes, I started the reset still moving in the same direction as last time, and it cost me a fresh start. Just something to consider!

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not-the-loading-screen 2022-10-25 03:11

Thanks for everyone who played and rated the game! It was really fun participating on Ludum Dare and I'll be sure to update the game with the feedbacked received from you all!