Conjured

unrealkazu 2024-04-17 13:39

I like the premise of the game, and it seems like it could be a very fun game, but unfortunately it's unbalanced which causes some issues with the default settings. The main issue I have is that the enemy AI seems to mimic your own movements, which causes a lot of chases with no end because both running speeds are the same. Coupled with the attacks that the enemies spawn, it quickly devolves into an standoff-ish situation where no-one will win.

The items you can summon are fun though, and they look good. The little gnomes have funny sound effects (although they do get a bit annoying if there are a lot around), and the big gnome is a powerhouse. Downside is that the upgrade system also offers upgrades that you cannot cast until your mana pool becomes bigger, and if you do not know this, you are stuck with one unusable cast in the beginning.

Across the board a good effort, and I can see potential in it if it's balanced more.

irex 2024-04-18 06:40

Good game overall but it was a bit hard to unterstand what the items were doing at the beginning. And at the end it seems I was alone on the map and I didn't know what I was supposed to do.

zablas 2024-04-18 08:21

Very fun game! I'd love to see MP support added in the future so that I could play this with my friends ;)

taximan981 2024-04-18 09:07

Was I the only one who couldn't move with W and A? I was only able to press S and D, which made it very hard to say the least! The art was cool and I would have loved to play more if I wasn't so directionally challenged

ldrow 2024-04-18 10:47

Nice game, although I didn't quite grasp it. The visuals are bright, and the tasks are clear, but I didn't get feedback from my summons. Perhaps more detailed guidance or numerical explanations are needed.

congusbongus 2024-04-18 13:15

This is a very fun game! Art, sound and music were all pretty good, although one problem with the gameplay is that it easily snowballs, so I wonder if you add things like random pickups or buff reset abilities like the fireball, it can help balance the game. I think there's something great to build off here. Great job!

justuspan 2024-04-18 13:29

Good concept, and keep in summoning to battle is very suitable for the theme. I feel that the skill of playing is more like a strategy game which is a more interesting experience comparing to some simple survival games.And the pixelart and music is also good. Snipaste_2024-04-18_21-25-14.png

litterattus 2024-04-18 20:12

As others have mentioned, the gameplay leave something to be desired, but did I enjoy the music overall vibe. The kind of slow movement + music + moving over the desert map is a bit hypnotic.

cameron-dunlap 2024-04-18 22:16

@zablas Multiplayer was actually the original concept here, specifically online lobbies to complement the "battle royale" setup; you'd fight up to 3 other players mixed in amongst the NPC sorcerers, and singleplayer would've just been the endless mode. Unfortunately, we couldn't get it working in time and much more had to be done on the front of implementing unique behavior for each of the units as well as general playtesting. That's also a big part of what restricted how much balancing we could do.

fabula-rasa 2024-04-19 08:30

It's definitely a concept with potential. Just a bit underdone at the moment :smile_cat: The variety of units to summon is very nice and interesting, but I wish the upgrade system didn't offer you units you can't afford with your current mana cap.

Some more animation/visual feedback would be nice here, as often you can't even be sure what is attacking what and what is really going on. Even simple flashing on damage taking would do wonders. I also think that the backgrounds are too intense and too busy, and as a result they obscure what is going on on the battlefield, taking away the focus from the actual units and summoners. They would not even have to be remade - just lighter colors and less contrast would already be an improvement :smile_cat:

I like the art on the units, it's quite nice. And I didn't meet any bugs or strange behavior, so kudos for the code polishing :thumbsup:

baluj 2024-04-19 13:29

It is an idea with a lot of potential. As others have commented, it just needs a little more work to be a good game. Good job!

gus-goucher 2024-04-19 15:55

A bit buggy but a cool idea. I enjoy the visuals, but I wasn't able to walk up or left (?) Very odd. Good work though!

james-dunlap 2024-04-19 16:39

@taximan981 @gus-goucher It is very likely that the reason that you could not move up and left is because you had set the keyboard to ZQSD for and AZERTY keyboard. That option is on the main menu. In past jams, we have been criticized for not supporting AZERTY, so we have always included it as a switchable option.

skleembof 2024-04-19 22:37

I really enjoyed this, but it clearly needs some more time in the oven. I'm one of those people who loves vampire survivors and this felt a tiny bit like that, but with a twist. I think you might have to add one more layer to the combat to make fights with sorcerers more interesting because currently the AI just spams towers and the occasional little dude. The only winning strategy was to run away to a distant corner of the arena and just spam soldiers. This both gives you a powerful army and allows the AI to kill each other off making for an easy win.

I think you should allow mana to just keep filling up endlessly or maybe just cap it much higher than where it currently is. Holding off on spawning soldiers while being attacked so that you can summon a stronger unit or a bunch of weak units at once would be a very satisfying risk reward mechanic. The current cap is very unsatisfying and since the ai just constantly spams units, you pretty much have to do the same thing in a fight.

I know good balancing is impossible during LD, but good job creating a unique little game during the jam. Idk if you guys plan on working on it some more, but I feel like its very close to being a fun little experience, it just needs a bit more refinement

james-dunlap 2024-04-20 05:29

@skleembof I am still hoping to make it multiplayer, so I will likely be doing some work on it post-LD.

pabloabraham 2024-04-20 06:15

The game shows promise and could be exceptionally engaging with a few adjustments to its balance. Congratulations!

andriybyelikov 2024-04-20 07:17

Fun game. I would add full arena pathfinding to the enemies. The screen gets empty of enemies after you kill your local enemies and the rest don't come for you unless you go find them first.

utopia 2024-04-29 07:09

I will say this game has tons of potential, the idea is really cool.

stormblessed 2024-05-01 20:23

This is a great game!