Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Better Half
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 52 | Harvest | When The Wheat Grows | jam | 579 | 3.23 | 2.84 | 3.24 | 3.61 | 3.46 | 3.36 | 2.73 | 3.50 |
Plays, sounds and looks like a true NES game, down to the somewhat clunky controls (which I assume was... intended?). Impressive amount of visual and level variety for a game made in such a short time. Didn't feel too related to the theme but other then that this was a really solid entry. Great job!
This was such a strong entry. Absolutely gorgeous to look at (I'm a sucker for this painterly/watercolor style), lovely design and animations for absolutely everything. Gameplay was also pretty solid, and it was pretty mindblowing to realize just what the "throw pets" mechanic was to be used for.
The plants-turn-to-pets mechanic was also incredibly clever and ingenious, and a pretty nice surprise at first. Also the stamina gauge was pretty well balanced with the sprint cost, time it took to use objects, plant and water seeds, and the time where the music kicked in and the creature came out to hunt you down. It never felt too punishing but just pressing enough that you were not wasting time and got the job done quickly.
And holy cow the music was SO good. When it transitioned to fatigued, then hunted, then fatigued AND hunted oh my god I had chills every time. You nailed it with the overall atmosphere and I loved every second of it.
Plus the notes laying around, general lore behind it all, the dialogues, radio etc were all extremely intriguing to follow and added a touch of depth that I didn't expect to the whole thing. I would be SUPER into a full-blown game like this one honestly, with a complete, fleshed-out story and additional harvesting-petting mechanics.
If there is ONE piece of feedback I have is that the aiming square for placing down stuff and do actions felt a bit imprecise/inconsistent and it would be a bit frustrating at times to water 3 squares in a row. Other than that this is a stellar game, and impressively so considering the time limit. How did you do it?! Bravo!
It's very entertaining, i really liked the graphics and the gameplay. The music really got me in the mood.
Extremely polished and honestly impressive game for such a short amount of development time! Animations, character designs and overall visual presentation were a highlight for me. Music was also thoroughly enjoyable, didn't wear me out on repeat listens and the fadeins/fadeouts for the combat version felt really good. The platforming was solid, combat was pretty ok (lock-on feature helped tremendously and fleshed it out considerably), UI was incredibly cool as well (heck there were even different portraits based on your health level!). Didn't feel too much thematically relevant, but as a game I was still wowed pretty hard considering the overall amount and quality of content you managed to make for it.
Perhaps the only real feedback I have is to place some sort of checkpoint system for when you fall down, as I did a bit too often on accident. Having to track back from the start every time felt a bit tiring after the first few falls.
The graphics are awesome, and the writing was also great, i liked how with just a few adjectives you characterized the death so well. If there was music it would be perfect.
That felt... really confusing. Sprites seemed to pop up at random, and I felt like I had no way to fight off the evil plant. Did the shovel do any damage? (the shovel animation was cool tho).
All in all, Roberto felt incredibly relatable.
Nice game! SFX were really effective at making it feel snappy and responsive, it felt pretty solid as a puzzle and never felt particularly unfair or annoying.
I loved the weed mechanic as that forced you sometimes to make tough decisions about what to use, knowing that if you didn't deal with it you'd be closer to losing the game as it takes extra space, but also knowing that wasting water on it hoping for a scythe would be risky as well.
Overall, well thought-out mechanics, cleverly implemented and that all resulted in a simple, effective gameplay loop. A soundtrack would do *wonders* in this to further the atmosphere. Also loved the use of Ukranian as it made it feel much more genuine and rooted.
Would work *great* as a mobile game.
The music alone did so much to make this game feel fun. Awesome track, really nailed the "bee a bee" vibes.
Visually simple yet effective. The AI was simple enough to fool it into going in circles after me so that I could just gather their pollen forever, altho random spawning flowers would sometimes surprise me and I had to be ready to avoid them. Controls felt pretty good too!
The only suggestion I feel like giving would be to maybe have the pollen disappear after some time as to pressure you into getting it, thus forcing you into more risky situations. A timer and a minimum needed pollen score before the end of the level (and a visible score count) would also have made it feel more complete.
Good work overall!
This is what I've always feard the labyrinth from the screensaver of Windows 95-98 could become. But, anyway, good job. It's a simple concept, but it's funny to play.
This was such a surprising entry. Reminded me of The Stanley Parable and Half Life 1 in the best way possible.
The two main issues I had with it is the *incredibly* low mouse sensitivity (it took ages for me to turn around, which in turn meant that it was really hard aiming and escaping effectively. Having a mouse sensitivity slider would have helped tremendously), and the fact that there was (apparently) only one machine for upgrades with ridiculously tiny buttons, which were also very near to each other.
I didn't even realize I could buy upgrades until the 3rd or 4th run, and even then it was impossible for me to buy them since I didn't keep my score with me and going back to that central area once the world was flooded with "things" + the buttons being so tiny and hard to press meant that as soon as I would go in front of the machine and stayed there 3-4 seconds the things would catch up and it would be over. A sub-menu to select upgrades when you clicked on the machine/more machines laying around and a time-stop once you're inside said upgrade menu would be such a huge QOL fix to that.
Still, really fun idea and twist on the formula. The music was also really cool, did you make that yourself? Loved that *you* would be the harvested instead of the harvestee for once. And most importantly, loved the chicken.
@hoichael thanks for the reply! Adding a credits sections to the game/to the LD page would be perfect for these situations, def gonna check out the composer's work~
Really liked the visual style, felt sketchy and well... grim. I also liked that you would reap whenever you moved, which made the game feel pretty snappy.
The biggest gripe I have with it is that different kind of souls would come out at random *and* really fast, making it a bit unclear as to exactly how much each would cost to harvest which would result in extremely sudden game-overs as you would accidentally reap 3-4 adults in one move and instantly lose your points with no real way to predict it. Energy gains were also really slow and small, which meant that you had to be extremely careful the whole time.
Increasing energy gains would go a long way to make the game more challenging/satisfying I think, as it would increase the risk-reward aspect of it. Likewise with having souls spawn from 2 or 3 different places along the edges of the screen instead of having them all gathered in one central place.
All in all, pretty cool entry!
Hey there! Finally got around to play it. Gotta say, I missed that good old plague friend art style...
As with most people here, I also overharvested in the first year and was down to 4 people in the second year and STILL managed to finish it on the 12th year with 50 people and pristine nature. Afterwards I played through a second and a third run to see the "bad" endings with humans extinct and nature extinct respectively. The music stopping after you cut down the last tree and leaving only the howling wind was such a nice touch, sent chills down my spine.
Stellar music and audio design as always (the tractor sound slowing down and restarting! Just like time in plague friend, how do you do itttt?!), animations were SO endearing (the axe swinging was a highlight) and fun, solid gameplay all around. Apples felt amazing even after playing it a billion times, especially because if you were not trying to overharvest and had LOTS of apples falling you'd have to be careful about *avoiding* them instead of pickin em up. And I found it cool that the most optimal way to harvest everything in the wheat game was to drive a tractor through the field just like a tractor would in real life.
And most importantly, you went above and beyond and included a much, much needed message for everyone and tied it so well with the overall gameplay and feel. Even with the time restrictions and challenges of a jam, I honestly consider this one to be a "mature" game, moreso than so many other of the top jam entries that I've played so far.
Such an amazing little gem, I'm so glad to have shared this LD with you. All the best!
-DMC4EVERUCCI
Alright, I *loved* pretty much everything here. Nailed the mood in everything, from color palette, to level design (I was SO fascinated with the fucked up buildings arching over you in the sky), to character design and everything in between. I'm a sucker for psx-style games (heck, my very first game had a really similar vibe) so this was right up my alley. Everything felt perfect visually speaking, the fog, the dithering in the textures, the ugly character's faces, the grit and dirt layered on the combine's windows. The whole thing gave me a strong City17 vibe, in the best way possible.
Then there was all the reversed stuff. It just so happens that I'm also a sucker for time loops and time shenanigans so needless to say I enjoyed this entry to bits when it came to actually playing it. From little details like all the reversed sound effects (the dripping of water near your bed being the very first clue, leading you to the clock on the first run was optimal environmental narrative) to all the neat dialogues from fellow citizens hinting at various narrative elements, to the extremely enjoyable main mechanic of harvesting the field while avoiding your past self. I was lucky from the beginning as I went around the field in circles and ended where my future (...past?) self would start, so at the start of the next (...same?) day I would just need to follow myself and I'd get roughly the same amount of coverage which felt really damn good.
And if THAT weren't enough, you added a whole *upgrade system* to give a sense of progression (which felt really well balanced too! and didn't wear me out for a second), AND a win condition with an ending cutscene to boot! That's not just incredibly cool, that's downright impressive.
Super solid entry, and one of the best ones I've played so far. The only real thing it was missing was a hollow, somber soundtrack to go with it. You should definitely take this somewhere, I'd love to play a more developed, further polished version with a more fleshed-out narrative one day. I'd gladly pay for it.
And *most importantly*: G O O S E !
This was really nice, did you make all the assets yourself?? Looked super polished and clean, movement felt good and the puzzles were also well thought-out (even if a bit on the easier side). Camera especially was handled really well and added a lot of dynamism to the experience. Music was also super cool and it was a shame that it would reset every level, which meant that I could seldom hear most of the track.
The only (and extremely minor) issue I have with it is that I couldn't read the tutorial for how you're supposed to charge batteries so I had to figure it out on my own by roaming around at random. Other than that, this is a really solid entry!
Here I am and here I remain
I really liked the idea, and the UI really took me in the mood. The deadline is a little faster than it should be, and i had some troubles understanding the controls at the beginning, next time maybe put them in the Description.
P.S. The messages at the left really made me laugh.
Such a cute little gem!!! The art style was incredibly endearing, you nailed the design and color palette and overall it felt just like those old tales my mom would read to me as a kid when I went to bed.
Extremely heartwarming and a really clever spin on the theme. I ran through each choice so that I could see all endings and was so happy to see that each one had something different, even just a minor choice of words, and that felt pretty satisfying too. Bravo!
At my third try, I was SO CLOSE and then died at the last shot before getting the last seed I needed...
Overall the game felt pretty good, the growing golems thing was really clever and visually it was nicely handled, both in palette and design (the animations especially were so endearing in their simplicity).
Shooting felt snappy enough. I just wish the golems were a bit more varied and most importantly that there was some way to recover health after losing it. Felt pretty hard to endure wave after wave of enemies, and fighting them off felt a bit repetitive after a while as their attack patterns were always the same and you always had the same weapon to fight them off with. The health bar was also somewhat hard to see (especially since it was jumping around with the protagonist), could have used a different color perhaps and a bigger size to make it more easily readable at a glance.
Music was pretty nice, although the SFX would blend a little too much with the music and it wasnt always clear if I was able to hit an enemy or not.
All in all, pretty good submission!
The music was really pleasing! SFX made with voice lines... a little less so, unfortunately it got kinda annoying especially as birds were multiplying and death sounds started to get spammed.
The main issue I had with it is that it felt really frustrating most of all, as I had no way to control where the gun trees would shoot and paired with planets turning extremely slowly + really high cost for trees + SO MANY BIRDS coming made it feel hopeless from the start, which quickly turned into a "lets see how long it takes them to eat all my planets" waiting game.
Another small issue would be that birds "attached" to planets in such a way that if they would turn to the "dark side" of a planet you had no way of shooting them until the planet turned back around. Not a big deal if you had lots of guns, but they were just too costly.
Even just having trees be much cheaper (ie: 5$ for tier 1, 10-15$ tier 2 trees) would have made it feel much more fun and challenging, as you had more trees to be placed down from the start and it would be more fun to place them around strategically and fight on the birds on more fair grounds, so to speak. Alternatively, a replay mode with a much higher sum of starting money would also be a cool idea.
One last piece of advice: placing trees on the edge of planets felt a bit too slow. Perhaps selecting which trees to place first and then clicking on various planets to place them would feel quicker and snappier.
Lastly, a timer after which you "win" the game would also be nice to have as that would give the player an objective from the start: survive for x minutes.
Big congrats on your first jam AND game!
Nice little game! The "the more you carry the slower you are" mechanic was a clever twist, forcing you to decide just how much to push your luck and skill against the coming tractors. However, having a second hive on the other side or having your hive move around would prove to be even more interesting I think, as I was pretty comfy just staying near the only hive and could keep going forever without venturing too much outside of my "safe zone".
The biggest issue I had with it was that sometimes flowers would spawn on top of already existing ones and so you would go suddenly from 0 to 4 and be ultra-slow with no way of predicting it. Can be a cool mechanic but it needs a way to show how many flowers there actually are in one spot to the player.
Success on science!
Really liked the idea that your character and goal would change based on what you decide to collect, it was such a clever spin on the theme.
Unfortunately the first info screen disappeared way too quickly and couldn't read it all, which consequently felt like I was missing part of the story. However I loved the sudden change in atmosphere when you went down the science path, the music and character design especially was really effective in showing that. On that regard, I really enjoyed the music throughout.
Controls are probably the part that needs the more fixing. They felt pretty clunky and "floaty", and it was also kinda unclear that you could double-jump until I accidentally managed to do it. A snappier movement would go a long way in making the game feel more fun and engaging to play.
Great job on your entry!
Had to try two times as I didn't understand that even just going out the door counted as an attempt even if I immediately ran back in.
Sweet game overall!
Lack of music was unfortunate, that would have helped the atmosphere greatly as there were no dialogues or other ways to convey emotion other than pure gameplay.
The time limit I feel was pretty well balanced for what the game wanted to do, as I felt just pressured enough to be quick about it but not to the point where I felt like having to rush everything. Once I got a hang of my surroundings I started beelining for stuff and in one cycle I was just barely able to get back home with a sliver of time left, which felt pretty good - a sign that the gameplay loop was well designed.
Art was its strongest point I think, the character was endearing and well animated (even if it was just idle+walk cycle, which I will *not* take for granted in a jam game).
@sakura-magika Hey there! We just managed to build an HTML version for the game, now you'll be able to play it right here. I'm extremely curious to hear your thoughts on it~
(By the way, I just received the email notification for the Happy Tree Harvest OST release on your bandcamp. Can't wait to play and rate your game as soon as I'm able to!)
-DMC4EVERUCCI ;)
@animawish @adrien-tremblay Thank you so much for your comments! (and you made our composer blush pretty hard!)
@n-feofentov @fizzbark Unfortunately we weren't able to implement the item descriptions in time, or any other kind of tutorial for that matter. Also about 70% of the Leader dialogue had to get cut which made the story and ending even MORE confusing. We're hoping to implement the actual, proper ending after the jam is over together with all the features that didn't make it in. Regarding the inconsistent scaling we learned the hard way that the asset's resolutions should be properly planned out beforehand :sweat_smile: we'll be much better prepared for it next time.
Thank you so much for all your thoughts, feedback and nice words!! They're really appreciated
@amarokczukay Thank you for your comment! We planned to have the items' descriptions show up when you picked them up and/or clicked on them in the inventory but couldn't finish that feature in time unfortunately. Hopefully we can add that after the jam.
@hoichael Thank you so much for the kind words! We're really glad you enjoyed it. About the ending: well the... "censorship" was actually applied for lack of time. Way faster to do it that way than to have a detailed, more "graphic" thing going on. Next time we'll plan things out way better to avoid using shortcuts like that. And yea, the original idea was to have different endings based on which and how many people you were able to convince, but that also had to get cut unfortunately. We're planning to add the proper ending post-jam!
@sheree Thank you for your comment and for playing! There's also other super cool text-based games in this jam thankfully that we had a blast playing. We'll gladly play yours as well!
The music and the graphics are awesome, I loved the character design and the wordbuilding in general. I liked the mechanic of the seeds but I couldn't figure out how to make them grow, also the goat at the centre is very annoying but I appreciated it anyways.
Good game! I feel the randomness of froot colors dropping could make it feel a bit frustrating at times. There were instances where I needed like 6 yellow froots but not even one had dropped since the beginning of the level, which felt pretty unfair. Perhaps having a more predictable pattern (or even just showing "next froot coming" on a screen above the froot dispencer, tetris-style) would allow you to plan ahead more effectively. Similarly, a countdown for how many seconds are left before the next froot would also be great to have.
Visually, the amount of motion blur + the lab color palette + the weird, unconventional "gun" reminded me Portal, in a good way. Overall it felt very snappy and responsive, and placing froots around felt pretty good.