Really good fun. The progression was really well done -- I was upset there wasn't a people-generating room at first, but later on it actually made for some interesting decisions ("do I build another alchemy lab to get money faster? That would mean I'd need to create more people which will use money in the short term...").
I think I'd like a challenge mode where you don't get the tilt indicator at the top and just have to play it by ear, as that removes most of the challenge from the instability (as long as you check, you _can't_ lose). Maybe also the occasional gust of wind that adds a bit of extra tilt in one direction or another.
I managed to do levels 1-3, but can't for the life of me do anything beyond that.
I like the idea and the first 3 levels were fun, but some of the interactions feel really complex and there are so many things in the palette. Like on level 5 the diamond removes _some_ of the balls but not repeatedly and I don't understand why. I could've probably used a "Hint" button that drip-feeds me the relevant mechanics or something.
I also really appreciate being able to freely change level. I closed the game a few times then thought of another idea to try, and I could hop right back in to the right place.
Fun! Like the style and sound. Good concept but it felt a little on the easy side to me - just cycling the workers and power through alerting stations and sending them to the lounge when tired gave me a win on my first attempt. Lots of potential there for more challenging levels which I'd definitely want to play!
I sometimes got stuck to the "wrong" face of a block (or that's how it felt) - like I'd be aiming at the left side of a block, land on the left at the very top, but then my little slime dude would stand upright as though he was on top (which meant I couldn't launch downwards). Made it a little inconvenient to get around in a couple of places.
Even with that niggle it was still fun to play through, though. Loved the intro/outro sequences, and took a disproportionate amount of pleasure in destroying everything.
Cool game, and really interesting and innovative mechanic. I had the same issue as @zackavelli - a couple of times I arranged the cards correctly, executed the move and fluffed it up by not moving correctly at the end. Then I had to un-arrange the cards to get back to the launch pad. I wonder if assigning the sequences to the pads would be better? π€ A relatively minor annoyance in an otherwise great game, though. Congrats!
The first time I tried the web version the bottom bar didn't render, which made it a _very_ confusing experience. Worked perfectly after that though!
Love the concept, the art is amazing, and the way the music responds to mistakes is great. My fingers weren't quite up to the challenge of accurately hitting each note but with a bit of spamming (and selective avoiding of the bad notes) I got to the end. Nice one!
Really good fun! I like that while it's superficially quite simple there's layer of strategy in deciding whether to dance in the 'wrong' lights or wait for the right one. The difficulty ramp up was well done, too -- it noticeably gets harder and more interesting, but not so much that it feels impossible. Good job!
> By the way did you know PICO-8 games are saved in βcartβ image files like the one below (yes, the image itself actually encodes all the lua scripts, sprites, maps etc.)?
Interesting! It felt a bit simple at first - I happened to get enough height on level 1 without really understanding what I was doing. Then I failed level 2 and figured it out. The physics of the blocks is fun, and being able to ram the paddle into things to make it move up a bit feels great.
Could probably use a "Game over" screen. I thought the little mushrooms were pickups for a shamefully long amount of time, and didn't actually realise I died. I think it was the third try before I paid enough attention to my health and the level number to understand what was happening. π
I like the concept, but the RNG makes for some really difficult playthroughs. If I start with a positive delta-reasoning I haven't yet found a way to do anything about it, and end up dieing from analysis paralysis (lol). Looking forward to the post-compo version!
Well executed overall, but the real star of the show for me is the sound. The music's great (I've got the game open while I'm typing this, listening to the little uke melody). The sound effects made me laugh out loud. I particularly love the "Wahoo" for some jumps and the "Urgh" when you die. Great work!
I think I'm missing something - I can't get past the first platform! Every now and then I can jump high enough to get _onto_ the platform but never away from it. Most of the time I just drown at the very bottom. It feels like there's a mechanic I'm not using that I accidentally hit once in a while, but I can't figure out what and there's so little time to experiment at the start! π
The way the molecules move around is perfect. Combined with the sound effects it just feels _right_. The reactions are nicely done to create an interesting series of steps, too.
I'm not quite sure I understand what affected stability, which meant it was a bit hard to avoid it going bang. It felt like going slow was more stable, but I'm impatient so I risked going faster anyway. It worked until it didn't. π
Really like the description, the correct opinion on superior operating systems, and the intro.
The gameplay is really nice and works well. Although I could use a little warning when a fat guy/boulder is about to land on my head!
Got to round four and both the platform and my character vanished after I killed someone. I'm assuming that's what happens when you're amazing and win the game. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.
The mechanic is cool, and I like the art and music. Feels like it needs more of a game-play loop though... Was it intended to be part of something bigger? Would love to see it developed into something with more "game" to it!
Really enjoyed the puzzle elements, and there was a certain grim satisfaction when I finally got some of the more timing-based bits done. If you made a load of puzzle-y levels and slapped them in a mobile game you'd keep me amused for hours!
Also a fun little bug: on Linux at least if you click the button to stop the music it keeps keyboard focus, so every time you press space to jump it gets toggled. So you end up playing the unstable-themed game with unstable music π
LD49 — Unstable (23)
King on the Mountain by AndideBob 2021-10-08T14:17:40Z ♥ 2
Screenshot_20211008_150540.png King of the mountain \o/
Really good fun. The progression was really well done -- I was upset there wasn't a people-generating room at first, but later on it actually made for some interesting decisions ("do I build another alchemy lab to get money faster? That would mean I'd need to create more people which will use money in the short term...").
I think I'd like a challenge mode where you don't get the tilt indicator at the top and just have to play it by ear, as that removes most of the challenge from the instability (as long as you check, you _can't_ lose). Maybe also the occasional gust of wind that adds a bit of extra tilt in one direction or another.
Captain Dinohater by Kartik Kini 2021-10-06T01:23:42Z ♥ 2
This is so fun to play! Nice job!
I love how the weapons feel so different to one another. The shotgun in particular just feels great to use.
Autoscript by Zachary Barbanell 2021-10-05T04:24:28Z ♥ 2
I managed to do levels 1-3, but can't for the life of me do anything beyond that.
I like the idea and the first 3 levels were fun, but some of the interactions feel really complex and there are so many things in the palette. Like on level 5 the diamond removes _some_ of the balls but not repeatedly and I don't understand why. I could've probably used a "Hint" button that drip-feeds me the relevant mechanics or something.
I also really appreciate being able to freely change level. I closed the game a few times then thought of another idea to try, and I could hop right back in to the right place.
Tectonicalypse by alec 2021-10-04T23:33:47Z ♥ 1
SOME OF THE PUNY ANTS DARED TO DEFY ME AND REBUILT THEIR FEEBLE BUILDINGS!
Good fun, and well polished. I did actually feel better after destroying everything π
Agree a scoring system would be a nice addition. Perhaps there could be a rival or some danger as well, if you want to take it further.
Everything's Fine by Patsui 2021-10-04T17:40:33Z ♥ 1
Fun! Like the style and sound. Good concept but it felt a little on the easy side to me - just cycling the workers and power through alerting stations and sending them to the lounge when tired gave me a win on my first attempt. Lots of potential there for more challenging levels which I'd definitely want to play!
Slime-a-pult by Swen 2021-10-04T17:08:08Z ♥ 1
Fun! Nice job.
I sometimes got stuck to the "wrong" face of a block (or that's how it felt) - like I'd be aiming at the left side of a block, land on the left at the very top, but then my little slime dude would stand upright as though he was on top (which meant I couldn't launch downwards). Made it a little inconvenient to get around in a couple of places.
Even with that niggle it was still fun to play through, though. Loved the intro/outro sequences, and took a disproportionate amount of pleasure in destroying everything.
Un-Star-ble by Raivk 2021-10-04T16:45:34Z ♥ 1
Fun mechanic! Would definitely like to play a fuller game based on this.
The audio/art works really well, amazed you made it feel so polished given you didn't spend long on it!
Trauma by AdamCYounis 2021-10-04T16:34:28Z ♥ 0
Cool game, and really interesting and innovative mechanic. I had the same issue as @zackavelli - a couple of times I arranged the cards correctly, executed the move and fluffed it up by not moving correctly at the end. Then I had to un-arrange the cards to get back to the launch pad. I wonder if assigning the sequences to the pads would be better? π€ A relatively minor annoyance in an otherwise great game, though. Congrats!
Un's Table by Eva Knight 2021-10-04T16:13:26Z ♥ 0
Cool concept. Could definitely make an interesting puzzle game from this.
I don't know why but I really loved the alarm. It made me jump, then laugh out loud.
Orchaostra by Bruno Cafe 2021-10-04T15:56:54Z ♥ 2
The first time I tried the web version the bottom bar didn't render, which made it a _very_ confusing experience. Worked perfectly after that though!
Love the concept, the art is amazing, and the way the music responds to mistakes is great. My fingers weren't quite up to the challenge of accurately hitting each note but with a bit of spamming (and selective avoiding of the bad notes) I got to the end. Nice one!
The Lady Witcher by rvenson 2021-10-04T15:46:31Z ♥ 2
Itch link 404s :(
Alien Disco by Ludokultur 2021-10-04T15:12:22Z ♥ 1
Screenshot_20211004_160659.png
Really good fun! I like that while it's superficially quite simple there's layer of strategy in deciding whether to dance in the 'wrong' lights or wait for the right one. The difficulty ramp up was well done, too -- it noticeably gets harder and more interesting, but not so much that it feels impossible. Good job!
> By the way did you know PICO-8 games are saved in βcartβ image files like the one below (yes, the image itself actually encodes all the lua scripts, sprites, maps etc.)?
Whaaaat?! That's insanely cool.
AnoidBuild by lifedrain 2021-10-04T14:54:32Z ♥ 1
Interesting! It felt a bit simple at first - I happened to get enough height on level 1 without really understanding what I was doing. Then I failed level 2 and figured it out. The physics of the blocks is fun, and being able to ram the paddle into things to make it move up a bit feels great.
Unstable Magic by Final Act 2021-10-04T14:34:28Z ♥ 1
Enjoyable and well made, nice one!
Could probably use a "Game over" screen. I thought the little mushrooms were pickups for a shamefully long amount of time, and didn't actually realise I died. I think it was the third try before I paid enough attention to my health and the level number to understand what was happening. π
The Funny Farm by Matthew Roelle 2021-10-04T02:38:46Z ♥ 1
Good fun! It's a nice concept, well executed. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of different levels, too.
LD49: Homeward by LMB 2021-10-04T02:18:09Z ♥ 2
I like the concept, but the RNG makes for some really difficult playthroughs. If I start with a positive delta-reasoning I haven't yet found a way to do anything about it, and end up dieing from analysis paralysis (lol). Looking forward to the post-compo version!
Favourite typo: "fist officer". _Oh my_.
Larry the Vengeful Balloon by Nick Rafalski 2021-10-04T01:37:53Z ♥ 1
Well executed overall, but the real star of the show for me is the sound. The music's great (I've got the game open while I'm typing this, listening to the little uke melody). The sound effects made me laugh out loud. I particularly love the "Wahoo" for some jumps and the "Urgh" when you die. Great work!
High score: 62.
Unstabtower by Spacespytv 2021-10-04T01:20:09Z ♥ 1
I think I'm missing something - I can't get past the first platform! Every now and then I can jump high enough to get _onto_ the platform but never away from it. Most of the time I just drown at the very bottom. It feels like there's a mechanic I'm not using that I accidentally hit once in a while, but I can't figure out what and there's so little time to experiment at the start! π
A Day In The Office by NemoStein 2021-10-04T01:10:45Z ♥ 1
The concept sounds really cool. Anything that has a "give the object to baby" keybind is a winner in my book!
Professor Unstable's Chemical Combustion by Kazatan 2021-10-04T01:05:39Z ♥ 1
Really good fun! I was on my way to hitting 20 double-yellows when disaster struck:
Screenshot_20211004_015934.png
The way the molecules move around is perfect. Combined with the sound effects it just feels _right_. The reactions are nicely done to create an interesting series of steps, too.
I'm not quite sure I understand what affected stability, which meant it was a bit hard to avoid it going bang. It felt like going slow was more stable, but I'm impatient so I risked going faster anyway. It worked until it didn't. π
Mountain of Might by ArBe 2021-10-04T00:38:05Z ♥ 1
Really like the description, the correct opinion on superior operating systems, and the intro.
The gameplay is really nice and works well. Although I could use a little warning when a fat guy/boulder is about to land on my head!
Got to round four and both the platform and my character vanished after I killed someone. I'm assuming that's what happens when you're amazing and win the game. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.
Just a steelyard by gogu 2021-10-04T00:23:17Z ♥ 2
The mechanic is cool, and I like the art and music. Feels like it needs more of a game-play loop though... Was it intended to be part of something bigger? Would love to see it developed into something with more "game" to it!
(Also TIL what a steelyard is!)
Collapse by epb9000 2021-10-04T00:15:52Z ♥ 2
Screenshot_20211004_010916.png
Fun, and I love how it looks.
Really enjoyed the puzzle elements, and there was a certain grim satisfaction when I finally got some of the more timing-based bits done. If you made a load of puzzle-y levels and slapped them in a mobile game you'd keep me amused for hours!
Also a fun little bug: on Linux at least if you click the button to stop the music it keeps keyboard focus, so every time you press space to jump it gets toggled. So you end up playing the unstable-themed game with unstable music π