Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → 20akshay00
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 55 | Summoning | 👥 | Summon Squad | jam | 102 | 4.10 | 4.00 | 3.91 | 4.25 | 4.46 | 3.78 | 3.03 | 3.98 |
Simple mechanics, executed perfectly. The puzzles were really well designed, and the visuals and sound effects are quite fitting too. Fun entry! You managed to squeeze out a lot of depth from a seemingly simple mechanic.
This was amazing. All of it, the music, the art and the puzzle design. I thought it was super polished, very well thought out and just an absolute joy to play. For few minutes I forgot that this was a jam game and just sunk into it. The fact that you made this with your own engine and the whole thing is only about 15MB is a cherry on the top. Also, the save points were placed at very appropriate places because every time I crossed one, I died immediately after but didn't have to face frustration at all. My only real feedback is that having it relate to the theme is a bit of a reach, but honestly I don't even mind because in the end, the themes are supposed to limit and inspire and damn, it has certainly achieved that with this entry.
Fun concept and although initially I thought the art style was a bit rough, it is strangely fitting. No doubt that some audio would've made it better, but still pretty impressive that you got this running with your own engine. However, I also wasn't able to make the connection to the theme.
Excellent visuals, music and game play. I don't have much else to say, its really fun to play and sets a coherent tone adhering to the theme. Great job!
Solid game loop! I did have a bit difficulty progressing very far but that's likely a skill issue :P The visuals are really well made and used quite nicely (particularly I liked the screen shakes and the satisfying burn effect for the cards). Along with the music, the atmosphere of the game hits just right. Overall, its super polished and fun to play!
I quite like the concept of making an io-like game for the jam since it does get pretty intense when there's multiple players. It would be better if there was some audio though and perhaps if the art was just a little more coherent (the actual players vs. various elements of the UI like the energy bar and the element buttons all are styled differently and feel out of place). Otherwise, its a fun entry and its neat that you managed to make a simple online game in this duration!
Fun concept, it did take a while to figure out how to play but then it was nice to hunt for the items and go through the various endings. It would have been better if there was a bit more depth (more escape-the-room esque elements) like the hidden room, but otherwise its a neat game. A small nitpick would be that there should be a way to turn to a direction without moving forward because I kept walking into the corners of the summoning circle when I just wanted to place an object on it.
The visual polish and sound design are incredibly good and make the game very satisfying to play. I do think however that the game play itself needs balancing since I was able to get by just placing random cards and not being particularly strategic. Understandably this is not easy to do during a jam though. I still had fun just because of the vibe it has and how nice it feels to interact with the game.
Excellent entry. I love how the game has a single mechanic, but its so well polished that nothing else is really needed. The game looks, feels and sounds great to play and its a simple but well executed interpretation of the theme as well. Initially I thought the recoil from the javelin throw/catch were just attention to detail, but actually using it as a mechanic was brilliant and it made things so much more interesting. Great job, I had a blast playing it! All it was missing was a proper ending, but that's just a nitpick.
The game is certainly a bit incomplete/rough around the edges in terms of player experience and controls (for e.g. the mouse sensitivity was a bit much, and I think it'd have been neat to use mouse-click + scroll-wheels to call the summons instead of key-presses). Like someone else said, the mana system is also missing something; perhaps a boost in regeneration rate when an enemy is defeated would be nice, just some mechanic that incentivizes using the more beefy summons. Also, I don't think there is an actual lose state (my player never seemed to get hurt, just the summons)? I won't be more nit-picky because I'm sure you simply ran out of time, and for what its worth the world does look nice and fits the vibe of a summoner roaming mystical lands, and the summons/enemy elementals themselves are nicely designed too. Overall, I'd say good attempt because its certainly an achievement to have gotten a playable demo out on time!
Wonderful visuals; along with the music it sets quite a serene tone which fits the game. Also, this take on the theme is probably the best one I've seen that is unique but also fits just right. Having said that, even after making it through a significant portion of the levels, I wasn't able to put my finger on how exactly the flowers guided the bee and had to constantly undo my steps. After a while, I just ended up doing it by 'feel' instead of actively thinking about it, and if that was the intention then you did a great job (or perhaps it just hasn't clicked for me yet)! I do think it took a bit of a toll on the fun aspect though. However, I still think its a solid entry and enjoyed playing. Nicely done!
@onqdll We did initially have the ability to recall summons exactly because of the frustration of wrong placements, but it quickly became clear that we'd have to design puzzles quite differently with that in mind because it introduces a whole new set of possibilities! I'm glad you enjoyed it regardless!
@sobad Really appreciate your detailed comment! I agree that it started getting interesting at level 6, but we simply ran out of time to make more. I'm glad you appreciate the synergy between different summons, it was certainly the intended vision but we couldn't expand upon it as much as we'd have liked within the jam period. Also, fair observation about the last two levels, some cards are simply red herrings :,).
@dreamteck @movealonghome I agree about the player movement being super annoying, I just couldn't get it working right without having it yeet across the entire room. Glad you enjoyed!
@unless-games Thanks for taking the time to report these issues; we knew about the blades but the fireball not being able to break the wall with another summon on the other side is certainly new x_x. Quite reasonable suggestions regarding the UX as well, we will keep in mind if we revisit this project. Thanks for playing :)
The puzzles are well made! I had fun playing them, but have some feedback. The player controls feel a bit sticky when moving on the ground. Further, like someone else also mentioned, it is easier on the eye when all the elements on the screen are of the same pixel size. It would also be nice if one could re-establish the summon link when you go out of view but later come back in the line of sight. Otherwise, the music was good and I didn't have any other issues.
Although the game is unfinished, I actually had fun just running around casting spells and trapping the demons. I think it just goes to show that you had a promising core idea and implemented it quite well (the feel of the casting and the sound effects when they hit a demon were spot on). For a first entry it is still quite good that you were able to ship a playable demo, and I do hope you continue bringing such ideas to life :) Scoping in game jams is definitely a skill that you will learn over time.
It took me a while till I realized what was going on but once I got it, this was hilarious to play :joy: Great art, fitting music and unapologetically ridiculous humor. Wonderful take on the theme!