Abrupt Salvation by NostraDamon 2012-12-17T08:33:00
Wow. There's a lot to commend on this game, but I feel the level design (especially the bridge!) and amazing aural buildup behoove special mentions.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → AaronYip
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | Cm | Co | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 26 | Minimalism | This is not a game. | jam | 192 | 3.33 | 1.83 | 3.77 | 2.55 | 3.36 | 3.22 | 1.71 | 3.79 | 79 | |||
| 2012 | 25 | You are the Villain | Demoman for Democracy | compo | 465 | 2.80 | 2.77 | 2.32 | 2.54 | 3.03 | 2.52 | 2.48 | 47 | ||||
| 2012 | 24 | Evolution | The Evolution of Flight | compo | 97 | 3.55 | 3.45 | 3.05 | 3.26 | 3.29 | 2.42 | 2.69 | 2.93 | 73 | |||
| 2011 | 21 | Escape | Left Again | compo | 81 | 3.42 | 3.25 | 3.22 | 2.65 | 2.92 | 1.13 | 3.19 | 2.00 | 1 |
AaronYip leaves an average of 12.8 feedback comments each event.
Wow. There's a lot to commend on this game, but I feel the level design (especially the bridge!) and amazing aural buildup behoove special mentions.
Wowzers, fantastic atmosphere.
Woo! Everybody's happy. :D Charming game, agreed.
I really can't explain why this was so fun!
I like the flames. (: The UI is a great touch and much needed with so many controls and actions. But still it was too much to take in for me. :( I just ended up falling a lot and just throwing javelins. If you had the time to gradually adjust players into it or game options (only needing s&s for the first play through, then adding axes next, etc), that would have helped a lot.
I would have really appreciated a better sense of progression and goals--maybe as simple as the background changing, cut down on transitional screens (that don't really have a purpose except to make the world bigger), or even a minimap. Something that promises exciting rewards are just around the bend.
After a while, I just didn't feel like wandering anymore (and having to release the arrow key with every screen) and stopped playing. From the other comments, it seems that I sadly missed out on many more interesting gameplay mechanics. :(
Really enjoyed watching the level change and I definitely liked the concept a lot. I think some pretty interesting gameplay can grow out of the idea if you developed it further: the level automatically moves, you have more control over the level (rather than just press switches), or even an ambitious combination of those so you're battling a level that "evolves" to keep you trapped. I think you have a lot of potential :D
I applaud your ambition, but perhaps too many features (and the pretty extensive control panel to operate them) ultimately didn't quite work out for the better. Because there's over a thousand games to play, players can only afford to spend a few minutes on most games--or only a few seconds if controls don't make sense. Good games try to make that count: the few minutes isn't spent reading up on controls or features and instead spent diving in and having fun.
I would have really enjoyed a version of your game simplified to just robots and only constructing buildings (just 5 buttons on screen, one for each building, no other controls except a mouse click). Everything else--where the building gets built, creating/equipping/moving robots, etc--happens automatically. I liked your idea and it has a lot of potential to be really cool, but atm I'm unfortunately not really sure what to do or how to do it...
Everybody else covered all the highlights I would have said, lol, so I'll try to give more feedback.
The fireball battles were definitely the sweet spot. :) I found myself hoping for more abilities and design centered around that mechanic (wind buffers, teleports, stuns?), maybe at the cost of skipping one of the earlier melee evolutions or somehow adopting procedurally generated sprites (ala Bubble Tanks). Deaths came pretty quickly though, and I seldom knew what hit me. :( Then again I may just be terrible at this, lol.
I disagree with you that "the game concept has quite limited potential" :P I can totally see a free-for-all DotA/LoL-esque battles with this system. Different evolution paths determined by how you play and earned by successfully killing other players and "farming" trees. Add in regenerating health, running away, stuns, and it'll still be an awesome gaming metaphor of natural selection. ;) Make it happen, man. :D
@raarlac, I'm a bit confused why you compared it to a jam game, but I do agree that it's a stellar comp game. :) Nice work and very fun, mdkess.
Impressive amount of content for only 5 hours. I think a kicking animation would have helped quite a bit, and perhaps a simple twist to the gameplay might have been to include "scientists" coming from the right side that you have to keep from seeing the creatures. And if you hard more time, something inspired by TDs could have been really interesting.
How I get through the unmotivated phase is to just start doing something. Basic infrastructure like cutscenes, save systems, title screen, a dialogue system, upgrades, etc can apply to most ideas. I think a lot better while I'm working so I've found that just getting the groundwork sorted out helps me in many ways at the beginning. Best of luck with your future projects :)
Aside from the aforementioned not original music,
++ creative gameplay concept
++ great use of red squares (who are also trying to escape?)
-- UI could look prettier and more integrated with the game's graphics
-- the music loop was jarring
-- steep learning curve
Also: Why do bubbles emit gravity fields? :P
LD26 — Minimalism (39)
Lethal Blow by TheSheep 2013-05-18T18:21:00
Charming style:
sweet soundtrack, frantic gameplay.
Filled with win.
Minigames Octacade by bvanschooten 2013-05-10T23:27:00
Wow, very ambitious and quite an impressive feat of timing. I'm sure you had a lot of fun this LD, hehe. (: Axis especially showed off a talent for making fun simple games.
DeaN by Sakuyan 2013-05-03T04:13:00
The story was cute, and the animations were very pretty but felt kinda morbid to me. o_O Lol, great job. (:
DREAM by BahamutZaero 2013-05-03T00:06:00
I would definitely look forward to the polished version, as I'm liking this quite a bit. (: I think a more hand-written font (like a letter) could really add a lot to the mood. But regardless, great job!
Serendipity by AnnaGavaldaKedavra 2013-05-02T23:58:00
Uhhhhh. Uhhhh, ummmm. Uhhhhhh. Ummmmm, mmmmmmm. Uh?
Budget Squad by deepnight 2013-05-02T23:56:00
Well, poop, this is amazing and everything else others have already mentioned. I second the notion for using WASD for one ship and arrows for the other. That could have allowed for more aggressive enemies and generally, more over-the-top action (ala the The Expendables). Anyways, fantastic work. When people start saying this isn't good enough because your former entries are better--that's pretty ridiculous, haha. 6:
DE-REZZED: Survival by playvue 2013-05-02T23:41:00
Nice concept, and solid work. I think the sense of 'unresponsiveness' might come from the grid-locked movement vs not moving a whole grid space. I'd love to try a version slightly a bit more like the retro snake, but with all your cool additions (multiplayer AI, waves spawning). :D
Space Captant by Norgg 2013-05-02T23:30:00
The tech for this game is really impressive. (: Not sure whether this was intended, but my crashes with the green planet has all resulted in my ant flying off into space, drifting, drifting, drifting, until I press R.
swim by codl 2013-05-02T22:26:00
Beautiful environment, reminded me a lot of OneMrBean's [Together]: http://onemrbean.blogspot.com/2010/08/together.html (:
Starhook by sparksgently 2013-05-02T21:34:00
Slowing down time as a way to denote progress is really creative, and maybe not as fun in practice. It messed with my mental mapping of the game space, so I felt disconnected from the game (not in control) after the time distortions. I actually restarted the game twice, so I could only play the beginning parts--which were really fun! I would love a version of this game (radial pong), without the narrative as neat as it is, on my iPhone in a folder next to Super Hexagon.
Blue and Yellow by evoker 2013-05-02T21:19:00
Great use of simplicity, and the concept is pretty fun. Like others have mentioned, I also felt that some elements were on the harsher side. A softer palette (http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes/search?query=horror) would have added more mood and been easier on the eyes. The enemies were a bit too random for me; I lost any sense of strategy/control since I didn't feel that I could avoid them besides luck. Maybe an interesting spin to this game would be monsters attacking you in the dark, but you see where they're going to in the light (arrows/faces/slight movement)?
But regardless, nice job and a big congrats on your (first?) completed game. :D
Hyperdimensional Gorofu Shot Champion by uncade 2013-05-02T20:59:00
This made me grin ridiculously the whole time. (: I originally thought the target was the moon for some reason, then just kept trying to bounce off the moon into the hole. Then I found out that you can pilot it... lol.
Anti-Tac-Tic by Super Hamster 2013-05-02T20:50:00
This is a lot more fun than the original, haha. Great job, especially for your first dare! (:
Cress by thristhart 2013-05-02T20:45:00
The rules looked intriguing enough for me to wish that I had someone to play with. Seems to come with the territory of multiplayer games. :( Please make a post-comp version with a simple AI? :3
Minimalistic PotatoPeople by goerp 2013-05-01T20:06:00
Whoa, the complexity behind this game is staggering. Exceptional work for 72 hours. Really digging the overall concept, and like the others, haha, no idea what's going on--but I would really want to. I can definitely see myself playing a version of this way too much. That's another strong vote for a post-comp ;D
BASHLAND - Breakout Mario Mashup by McFunkypants 2013-05-01T19:48:00
Wowzers, is this game polished! I agree with many others that my fun was the willy-nilly destruction. My dream level would actually be to destroy all the destructible blocks instead, and thus having to plan routes beforehand. 6:< And I found myself longing for the classical Mario soundtracks as I was playing, hehe, as nice as the lazery audio aesthetic for this was--maybe consider a child of the two? (:
Balls Balls Balls by matthias_zarzecki 2013-05-01T19:29:00
Motion trails should definitely have a mention in the features! The game felt very polished, and I had a couple of "wow, sweet!" moments watching a ball sweep in via the magic of the pushers. My only addition would be to perhaps buffer the edges (so I could always click past the balls), or an option to reset the balls to their original positions--but maybe that really me just being bad at the game and always getting stuck on corners, haha. Great job!
Boom Box by WhatTheTeam 2013-05-01T10:22:00
This has some wicked cool graphics and audio, but like the others, I'll probably refrain from playing it without Xbox controller. :(
Justice by nintendoeats 2013-05-01T10:17:00
Super happy to find this gem when I finally get the chance to sit down with your game. I definitely like the aesthetic, awesome concept, and thought the pacing clocks (timer, stairs) were great touches. Very cool entry, and wonderful job! (:
Less is More? by atraxgames 2013-05-01T09:38:00
Wowzers, this game is gorgeous, and really charming. Definitely has my pick of favorite game so far. :D
The world is in your hand by jacklehamster 2013-05-01T09:34:00
Wonderful concept! (:
Escape the minimalism! by se1by 2013-05-01T08:29:00
I agree with everyone else: loads of potential, definitely liking where this game seems to be going. "More, more!" is the best feedback for a game, haha. Keep developing it! Add high scores, add more levels that explore some more mechanics, add in audio, and post a post-jam version. :D
Triage: The life of a combat medic. by anjack 2013-05-01T08:24:00
Very, very cool use of real world concepts! I googled triage after reading the instructions, wow. Heavy stuff. I also definitely liked the game mechanics! Simple, and the effect of losing a life is portrayed pretty powerfully.
Awesome Artist by Zaszx 2013-05-01T08:11:00
Haha, the painting effects were a very creative touch! I definitely appreciate it more than enough to say that we should be a bit more lenient on the rules for special situations like this, since having an actual painting is a big part of this game's narrative and doesn't really do so for unfair advantages. (:
Fight Kub by ErwanOfil 2013-05-01T08:03:00
Sadly, not having people to network with comes as part of the territory of a multiplayer LD game. Had a fun run against the AI though. (:
Yellow Space by Leginar 2013-05-01T07:58:00
I love games about speed, and this both captures that well and then pivots the game's difficulty/challenge flow around it. Very, very smart design. I especially like how the level has such a grand sense of openness--I thought, hey I could totally cheat by sneaking off to the sides. Nope. Well done! (:
Auraline by Julian Ceipek 2013-05-01T04:37:00
Wow, this is really cool. I might have to borrow an OR from friends. :D The large amounts of negative space had a weird psychological effect on me too--not really sure, claustrophobia isn't quite right--that made the game feel more "trippy" than it probably was intended. The audio's especially great--the voice over made me smile. (:
I usually can't play games without well-established controls/mapping of the game world, but I really liked this piece. Nice work, guys!
Make it minimalistic! by Saltysandwiches 2013-05-01T04:07:00
The concept is a smart take on the theme. (: Nice work if you did this in a short amount of time!
MiniCave by aare 2013-05-01T03:31:00
Very cool game, digging the triangle mechanic--brilliant concept, and very polished and innovative implementation for your first platformer. (:
Buried by danielcmessias 2013-05-01T03:26:00
Loving the concept :D
Boxley by blackcode 2013-05-01T03:23:00
I can see where you guys wanted to go with this, and with the other 60% of your ideas, this could be quite fun and charming. Keep working on it! Post-jam version, please! (:
pigMINt by Phase 2013-05-01T03:19:00
As others have pointed out, this looks great! :D The subtly different background adds a lot.
Tactical Spreadsheet by atrodo 2013-05-01T03:17:00
Clever concept. (:
With The Wind by GameRespect 2013-05-01T03:11:00
I've never played a game in such a tiny window. It has a very claustrophobic/on edge effect, as visibleatom mentioned, which is pretty interesting. It looks great this small though. (: Simple and polished, like it a lot.
We Call it Tactics by the31 2013-05-01T02:58:00
This was fantastic. :D Not sure whether my soldiers crouching did anything, but I can definitely see myself playing this way too much, with just a few more systems to mix things up.
Embers by DramaticRarity 2013-05-01T02:51:00
Unity first loaded to a screen that flickered and looked cut up/broken, then refreshing the page loaded it better. The backgrounds seem spliced together and then eventually run out to a blue screen... not sure whether this was intentional or just me. :\
Bob the Minimalist by braneof 2013-05-01T02:44:00
I'm playing via touchpad, so most games are usually harder; but after a while, I found out that not trying was giving me more points, hehe. Maybe a simple combo system (x1, x2, x3) for not letting things by would be an easy addition, and an initial screen that had all the items under a EXCESSIVE = BAD and MINIMAL = GOOD labels could really help anybody outside the jam to understand the game. (:
One Blocky Room by evilDan 2013-05-01T02:13:00
Simple and clever. I think adding a "head" would have helped me; I figured out that I flipped, but I wasn't sure which way.
Anthead RPG by Peter 2013-05-01T02:03:00
The simplicity is almost artistic, I would say. There's a strong postmodern feel to it, as suggest by the violet square background, the simple ant. The title supports this perspective--the explicit "RPG" label without any traditional gameplay elements associated with RPGs. It's asking: What is the RPG? What are RPG elements? And that's a very fitting question for the current industry climate; almost all modern games have taken to leveling aspects and there's even the gamification of not-gaming apps, challenging that either all of these ideas are RPGs or that maybe RPGs must involve other elements--but what? And that's just one side to this game; the purple square casts obvious allusions to Kazimir Malevich's famous Black Square on a White Ground. It states bluntly and plainly: "This is whatever you want it to be. The message is of the viewers'."
So, yeah, not sure that something of that depth quite fits the theme though. :/