bittripbrit 2024-04-16 08:02
A fun little platformer with a unique spellcasting system - reminds me of the Helldiver stratagems. Really good job!!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD55 → Gods of the Forest
By dan-allison
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 754 | 3.42 | 43 | |
| Fun | 765 | 3.26 | 43 | |
| Innovation | 801 | 3.12 | 43 | |
| Theme | 861 | 3.30 | 43 | |
| Graphics | 805 | 3.37 | 43 | |
| Humor | 792 | 2.66 | 39 | |
| Mood | 594 | 3.53 | 41 |
A fun little platformer with a unique spellcasting system - reminds me of the Helldiver stratagems. Really good job!!
Nice game! Really like the visuals, the music, the UI and dialogue and story, it all ties together nicely. I most enjoyed the god-like appearance of the trees, and the ending to the story was quite enticing. The spellbook gameplay mechanic is creative; it feels like I'm actually referencing a spellbook and holding my wand (the mouse) to cast it. I also greatly enjoyed the structure of learning a new spell per area and making significant use of it thereafter.
One critique I would give is that the third level (the one that gives the healing spell) was a bit difficult to figure out, as it wasn't intuitive to me that the icicle freezes water. Perhaps, simply, an area of water in the first level would remedy this. I did manage to get around it by realizing that it is possible to stack wind tunnels on the same spot to get a crazy high boost, though I assume this is not intentional.
I also often got stuck on the sides of walls or enemies, and if I recall correctly, I personally solved this by adding a Physics2D material with 0 friction to the colliders. Not sure if this is applicable in this implementation, but I figured I'd inform you just in case.
Overall though, well done! Definitely a game jam result to be proud of. (And don't overwork yourself if you're too exhausted! It's just as important to take breaks and pace yourself as it is to continue the grind.)
@bittripbrit Thanks for playing the game and the kind words. I was 100% shamelessly inspired by Helldivers for this haha, but it seemed like a good fit for the theme.
@anvilesque Thank you so much for such great feedback, it really means a lot. Happy you called out the trees specifically, I spent quite a bit of time making that and thought they turned out good so glad you liked them!
Agree about the ice, wasn't sure that players would figure it out when playing. Originally you were supposed to start with a different spell and get the ice just before the water which would have made it clearer but I didn't have time for that. Though I'm happy you found a fun workaround to get over the water, I never even thought to try that haha.
That's a great tip, thank you! That was something that I noticed early on and kept telling myself I'd get round to fixing it but over time I got used to it and forgot. Such a simple fix as well. And great point on not overworking, something I'm normally good at but definitely did a bit much this jam. It finishing 2am my time didn't help things either! But definitely good advice that I'll be sure to follow next time. Again, thank you for such detailed feedback, it really helps and means a lot to me.
Classic platformer game, love the art. a little too much dialogue for my taste. overall a really well crafted game with a lot of time and effort poured into it, great work
That was a really nice game, really nice art and vibe in general. I really enjoed it and played it to the end (shoutout to the dog)
It does feel a bit unwieldy to have to move your hand to the keyboard to prepare spells and then go back to your mouse to shoot, i wish that wasd could've been used as well.
Other than that, great submission!
The writing in this game was excellent! Well done there. Also enjoy being able to click through dialogue so I can read it at a faster pace. Enjoyed the platforming and spellcasting too. Great solo entry.
The writing and story was very good :thumbsup: I also really enjoyed the art. It was simple, but well done. The elemental mechanics were cool but I found them really difficult to use when fighting enemies. Although, the part towards the end with the ice and all the trees was *very* satisfying :smile: That ending though...
Wow this game is really good. I simply liked the mechanics, I liked the graphics, the music is cool too. An excellent gameplay. The idea of summoning with arrows is very original. Apart from that, the universe of your game is very original and different from most of the games in this Ludum Dare 55, and that is very good.
Perhaps some polishing points in the gameplay and level design would be necessary, but taking into account the tight time to develop your game, I thought everything you did was very good.
Congratulations!
I didn't expect to see such a complete and detailed story in a gamejam. The game as a whole is solid and literally has what it needs. Excellent work!
The mechanics that icicle spears can freeze water is actually intuitive to me, since the narration said that the god can "freeze the sea with single touch". Might be a bonus for those who read the text carefully. I also figured out the technique to stack multiple rising wind spell to perform a crazy jump. XD
I love the storyline for this one! Impressive for such a short amount of time. It took a while to get a feel for movement speed and use of the spells but it wasn't too bad after some practice. It can be pretty difficult to use the spells while in combat and jumping around. But a great innovative concept and very unique entry for this jam!
Thanks to everyone who has played the game so far and left a comment. Really appreciate all the feedback and I'm glad to hear people are enjoying it!
@xeph-nebula I can definitely understand that. I wanted some kind of story in but I think it could have been edited/better paced.
@telkan I know what you mean about it being unwieldy, I wanted it to feel a bit chaotic and juggling your hand to cast felt like a good way to that. Thinking about it now I probably could have tried to use the mouse for all of the spellcasting and made the enemies a bit more chaotic to achieve something similar.
@lushboy-studios It's one of those things I always notice when it's not there so I try and add it in when I can.
@erik-tate I always struggle with balancing things in a jam and I find that because I've practiced loads while testing it I maybe made some of the fights a bit harder because I had gotten good at the game haha. But I'm glad you liked the tree ice part, I was pretty chuffed when I thought of adding that in.
@vphyre Yeah I definitely agree. Balancing, tweaking and polishing is always the thing I neglect in game jams haha. One day I'll learn my lesson and make something smaller that I can take my time with a bit more.
@moebiusmeow I'm really happy you picked up on that! I added that line in specifically to try and hint at the freezing to try and make it a bit more obvious haha. It's funny that I never thought to test stacking the wind once when I was making it. I guess I'd probably be allowed to fix it but at this point I think it's just a fun bug to keep in haha.
@cat-lab I said earlier in my comment but I think you're right about the casting. I wanted it to be tough but think I could have definitely done a better job with it.
The dog was quite funny. Moving your hand to type spell codes was pretty cumbersome. Figuring out that I could double-hurricane jump was a pleasant surprise and a nice ah-ha moment.
It's an interesting concept, nice game.
nice game
Commendable job, super cute art and overall atmosphere was on point. Everything was unified and the color scheme was a treat. The control scheme wasn't for me though, sidescrollers are meant to played on controllers or even just the keyboard imo. It's hard for me to see why using the mouse is necessary, especially on top of hitting your DDR arrow keys and opening the spellbook. I liked the dialogue and plot but with all the controls going on too, it's a lot to absorb.
One idea worth considering is to pause the game when the spellbook comes up, let people put in their spells, target the spell, and then release when the game un-pauses. Alternatively just have the spellbook come up automatically as soon as an arrow key is pressed and then after four inputs a spell is either loaded or fizzles.
There's some really well executed game development here, especially for a jam, keep it up!
Great job! By the time of Jam you achieved an excellent result, the good thing is that everything that you could not polish or implement you can continue working on. The mechanics and the story are very interesting, I really liked the sprites and assets. Well done!
The art is pretty, it is really my taste :) Especially the magical trees are magnificent.
When I read through tutorial, my first thought was: If I could jump with W, that would be really nice. But I didn't experience much discomfort playing with Space for jump. I like how the flow of the game is decently slow, so I can take my time and think and practice the spells. At the same time some points felt a bit more intense, keeping my focus on the game.
The mechanic itself is what made it really enjoyable for me! So satisfying, especially when I got both fire and ice spells and could play around with water. The way to call the spells with arrows as if I am writing in a combo for an attack in a fighting game (I don't know, that's the feeling I got! xD) felt cool for me as well! :3 Maybe I would make the wait for them a bit shorter though, especially for the health one. I mostly used healing out of battle so it was just a bit of hm... let's look at the ceiling... for me :)
I saw a cat in one of the levels but missed it. Is it a secret, does it say anything if you reach it?
I got to the end!
gods.jpg
You probably didn't have time to implement more of an ending because you spent more time on spells and gameplay. But if you continue working on this game, I would love to see more of an explanation in the end, or maybe no, not explanation, but more like - something visual. Maybe a pixel figure of our sister, or something of the sort. I am a fan of making CGs for endings myself, but it doesn't have to be a picture, maybe just a scene in your pretty pixel-y style <3
Thank you for the game ^^
It feels a missed opportunity to reward players for their skill by requiring the spellbook to be open to cast a spell. As a consequence, there's no reward for memorising the spells.
It is said that the spear can freeze a whole sea, but only takes half of the HP of the enemy?
Nice little easter egg with the dog to reward players for being adventurous / exploring around.
Being able to stand on top of the bat eye monsters and minotaurs feels unintended and like cheating. Breaks the challenge.
Enemies not being launch into the air by the air spell feels like a missed opportunity. However, nice touch making them fall into the water and drown.
Good job by not making the player have to restart the whole game if they die.
It was satisfying to be able to place 5 winds on the same spot and be launch to space.
It was enjoyable. It leaves you wishing that it had more smart ways of combining the spells, maybe into puzzles. But it was enjoyable enough to leave satisfied.
Thank you for sharing :)
Fantastic game! The music was soothing, the art was great and the gameplay was interesting. When I realised how it all fit together I really enjoyed completing the game.
Good music and graphics. I like it.
I really liked the mechanics and writing of this game. It was kind of just a nice game to experence, reminded me of playing older flash games. I wish the summoning mechanics were a bit easier, so the control scheme could have another pass but the writing was quite good. It was a really nice game. :)
Great game! I tried to finish the play without killing anyone, unfortunately it's impossible, there is a place when you need to kill trees on ice.
I really wish the game has more visual impacts during dmg and spell casting.
I just want to take some time again to thank everyone who's played the game, and left feedback and nice words. I didn't have plans to take it any further than this but the amount of people here who have shared suggestions and ideas has really got me considering trying to do something with it so thanks very much everyone.
@thesmellofoxygen It definitely wasn't intended aha, I think you can basically stack them infinitely. But it's been a fun loophole to see people finding.
@labcatgames I really wanted to get controller support in, the main issue with it was the spell aiming. I think it would have actually worked better using the right analogue stick to aim but just came down to time in the end. I think both those ideas are really good for the spellcasting, it's definitely the part of the game I think needed to improved on the most.
@kanity W isn't used for anything else and I think that could have made dodging while casting a bit easier so that's a great idea (One I should have thought of myself haha). The wait time is a good point as well, originally I wanted to have cooldowns on them and they'd appear a lot faster but ended up cutting that and just making them fall a bit slower instead which I don't think achieved the same result. Like you said, especially out of combat it does slow things down. It was actually a dog, not a cat (The same dog in my profile photo - Aloy) and it's just a kind of easter eggy joke I was able to sneak in.
I really wanted to get a more visual intro and outro in but I'm definitely a bit slower at art than I am at code so never managed to find the time. I knew exactly how I wanted the sister to look and I had a whole plan for an interior of the house I could have used so it was a shame to not get to it. I really enjoyed the cutscene stuff in Evocation and if I could have made anything I fraction as good as that I would be really happy. Something to try for in the next jam hopefully.
@dasilvacontin This is all really great feedback, thanks, I think a lot of this would make a big difference. The memorising the spells is a really good point, that feels like it would be a great natural reward to players who could get good at the game. Haha that's another great point about the spear too. The lore and the gameplay aren't quite as well meshed as I would have liked and that's a great example of it. And yeah combining the spells together would have really taken things up a level - making an ice storm by combining ice and wind for example would have been cool. Puzzles would have been great as well, it's something I've tried before it takes me a while to make them decent so I avoided it with the limited time of the jam but I think it would have really helped.
@saffwong I'm really happy that you liked you the writing. In the final hours of the jam I had to make the call between polishing up some gameplay stuff or getting more story stuff in and I went with the story, maybe the detriment of the game to some but I'm glad that some people don't mind.
@st00nsa Ah I actually thought you could get through it without killing. That would have a been a fun way to tackle the game. And you're definitely right about the visual impact, it could have just done with a bit more juice and polish. Some cool ice particles shattering when the spear hit the ground, or the grass getting singed when the fireball comes down.
In the level where I get the fireball I was somehow able to fall to the bottom of the map without dying:P Ngrrhhh... I didn't take a screenshot...
@dan-allison Thank you for your kind words about my cutscenes, this is so sweet! I am sure you could do a great cutscene yourself, and I would love to see it! However, it doesn't have to be like a "movie" but can also be pixel characters on that background you mentioned, with some animations, talking to each other; I believe that would be fitting for the game and will achieve a great effect.
Sorry about mistaking dog for a cat, I saw them only for a slight second, in my defense ^^' I was so curious I went back to find the goodest girl <3
proof.jpg (tried to put it under spoiler tag but it seems that doesn't work here?)
That was a really nice secret :)
I noticed though, that you made some changes! The game now punishes me for wrong input ^^' Which I guess is fair, but I am glad I got through it on easy mode before =P (At least I am pretty sure it wasn't there before? I couldn't just input everything perfectly in whole first playthrough right?)
The art style is great. Backstory and dialogues are well written to set the mood. I really liked the original approach for the spell casting which is the most distinctive feature of the game. Not a major issue but, a little game juice applied to the spellbook, can make the experience far more impressive. Great job!
Pretty solid entry overall, especially for a solo dev. Somebody really likes Helldivers 2 :). Could stand on top of enemies to wittle down without much challenge.
I think some sort of sound, even if it was simple, for the spells would have really added a bit of punch to using those abilities. I'd be lying if I said I didn't click through the dialogue, but I finished the game!
The biggest design choice that bogged me down was having to shift my hand from the arrow keys, back to the mouse to place spells. Felt very clunky. Perhaps holding left click would open the spellbook and the player uses WASD to initiate a spell (sacrificing movement). Or just have the spells always available.
@yanato Ah, thanks for letting me know! I thought I had something in place to stop it from happening but obviously not.
@kanity That's a good idea, I'll need to try something like that soon. Would go a long way to adding life into the game. There shouldn't have been any changes, maybe the just bugged out one of the times you played haha. I appreciate you going back through to find the secret, I enjoyed making that part so nice that you enjoyed finding it too.
@krummsakura Definitely agree that there's a lack of juice. I think the new jam I take part in I might go with a much smaller idea so I can just polish and add juice on top with the time. Good to get practice with that sort of thing.
@deadjolly That's some really good feedback. The standing on enemy thing was just one of those things that I knew was problem but I just never got round to fixing - even though it probably wouldn't have been too hard to get something in to stop it.
Agree about the audio too. I have a bit of experience in editing audio but basically none in creating it so it's always something I neglect in jams sadly. I did look up some SFX assets but with so little time left I just put in a soundtrack and footsteps and left it at that. Glad you finished the game, all good that you skipped through the dialogue. I like writing and use jams to try and practice but if somebody isn't interested in that part then it's fine.
Good idea around the input as well, it's been the biggest gripe from most people that have played it really. Think if I took it further that would be the first thing I'd have to address.
bug.png
unfortunatelly I got stuck in this screen after talking to the dog ;-; I jumped over the whole screen when i touched the air spot beside him :(
Well, I really liked the vibe and the art, the music was pretty good, yet a tiny little bit loud to me, so I had to turn it off eventually. The running speed also was really really fast, wich in the beginning i found a little bit weird, but the overall feeling is quite juicy and i ended up liking the velocity! Overall I really liked it! The art is cute, i really loved the colors, the fading atmospheric perspective in the trees on the background remembers me a lot of some SNES games that I really love! :) Great work!
Great presentation, the music, art and the story made this game worthwhile!
I also liked how I could use some spells intuitively, namedly ice and fire on the water :snowflake:
I didn't first realize you could move while summoning and thought the game was clunky, but when I realized that you don't have to stay still, it became more fluid. I wish the UI would maybe close if all spells fail or something, so you wouldn't have to double tap Q every time. We made a similar summoning system to our game, but I think your solution for opening the summon menu is still maybe better for not having to hold any button.
Also, it was hard to hit moving targets and the minotaurs would never pause for a long so I rather just evaded them.
Apart from that, nice game with great mood! In the end you understand the dog's point of view better :smile:
I maaaay have broke the game by piling on tooooo many jump spells lol. Was moving too fast for the collision detection to prevent me from crashing through the earth lol. Love the game, music, writing. Had a blast voice acting the lines. My main issue is Onora dieing! Likely because you ran out of time but aaaawwwwww I wanted to save her!!
gods of the forest.png