FoonLudum Dare ExplorerUsers → chrismcmath

chrismcmath

Games

YearLDThemeGameDivisionRankOvFuInThGrAuHuMoCo
201843Sacrifices must be made👥Way of the Dodojam1283.923.923.753.963.983.873.903.78
201635ShapeshiftSnip-Snip Snookercompo6363.002.933.733.003.333.2024
201533You are the MonsterThe Last Little Monstercompo2023.513.513.603.513.743.583.373.5062
201532An Unconventional WeaponAvenging My Gran, the Famed Botanistjam763.903.663.933.873.402.483.403.4052
201431Entire Game on One ScreenAlex Takes a Testcompo2753.492.973.603.633.673.742.563.8858
201430Connected WorldsHello Operatorjam1593.5624

Performance over time

overall score (left axis) percentile (right axis)

Scatterplots

Fun vs Overall

Innovation vs Overall

Theme vs Overall

Graphics vs Overall

Audio vs Overall

Humor vs Overall

Mood vs Overall

Comments by chrismcmath

LD30 — Connected Worlds

Switchboard Connection by Scott Baker 2014-08-29T12:40:00

Kinda blown away that there are a few other switchboard games on here! Great job injecting humour through the actual calls, also helps to solidify the theme. I think a dragging mechanic rather than clicking fits the theme better, although it's certainly easier to play as it is. Not that it would be possible for LD48 anyway, but I'd love to see this with some good voice acting- some of the calls they get on the old AT&T archives (check youtube) are priceless.

Dreamonaut by hbocao 2014-09-15T01:38:00

Good use of framing narrative, and these visuals are to die for.

Parallel Rift by liquidminduk 2014-08-27T12:56:00

Good work boys! Solid implementation of an interesting twist on the platform genre. Flawless artwork, great theming, and many directions to go with the gameplay. I'd especially love to see the arcade-feel of the game developed further.

Connected Retro Worlds by yodamaster 2014-08-27T13:04:00

Fantastic idea, with a great built in difficulty ramp. I think the retro art style works against the gameplay here by making all three worlds feel too similar- despite it being a game-over maker I didn't feel very different about the car on the far right screen than the retical or the catching device. A stronger theme might help here. Also took me a while to realise it was the same asteroid falling on all three screens! Do they need to be asteroids, or could they be something more unique?

A Ludic Proof of the Difficulties Inherent in Finding a Proper Skull by JackDegree 2014-09-15T01:37:00

I found the metaphor created via the perspective shifts effective, although jarring (and alienating) at first. I would have liked to get know to know the main voice first before it gets corrupted. I love the use of 'fictional facts', they give a great sense of character and place. This could also be a great area for expansion, I suggest looking at the way Borges uses these 'so-boring-they-must-be-true' tidbits of information to flesh out the world, and thinking how could your medium do it better. Great stuff.

HEAL by Stepwise 2014-08-27T12:41:00

Great stuff Julian! While short, the experience is fun and the mechanic is solid. What I'd really like to see though is a world filled with your characters; you've managed to pack a lot of personality into a few small sprite sheets. I haven't been so enamoured with pixel art since Cave Story.

LD31 — Entire Game on One Screen

Drop by pinkmonkeyhead 2014-12-17T09:49:00

Love this! The music, the visuals, the mechanic, the personality leading you between the levels (which I think we could have done more with!) all work so well together. One thing- we need a reset button! Also there's a perspective problem- when I want to push in a block all the way, as it moves back it can move out from under the mouse, causing it to stop being moved. A quick fix will remove a lot of the friction here.

SnOwDuDeS by Dir3kt 2014-12-17T09:37:00

Super great arcade game, only suggestion is that the friction on stopping is less, so that you can continue along a trajectory while charging a shot.

Go farm! by vidarn 2014-12-17T15:17:00

I think I've spent more time on this LD game than any other this time round. The atmosphere created by the music and whimsical graphics make me feel happy to pour endless time into the game. Being able to explore the all these connected islands added a great sense of mystery to the game, you managed to achieve something very close to Harvest Moon here.

Sliding StOnes by Kotucz 2014-12-11T11:41:00

Very nice sliding block puzzles. I feel the difficulty ramp is a little steep after the first couple of levels, and it could do with some onboarding (how to switch stones, how to restart etc). I also wanted to know how I was doing each time- could you tell the play the optimal number of stone moves each round?

Vibrant City by Anshul Goyal 2014-12-17T09:27:00

Very nice! Great theming and after I got the mechanics it was very engaging as I struggled to stop the entire population turning vibrant. I noticed a while in to the game I'd only play in one specific area, which means I wasn't using the cool building-switching mechanic as much as I'd have liked to. Perhaps bigger, more noticeable threats would incentivise the player to move around the map a lot more?

Rudolph by TijmenTio 2014-12-11T11:43:00

Any chance of an OSX build?

Screen One by Ranmara 2014-12-17T15:38:00

We threw around an idea based in a cinema at our Beijing meetup, so glad to see not only did somebody do it, but did it so well! The art style, the sublime music, the well planned mechanics, so much of this has been knocked out the park and halfway to Jupiter. My only criticisms are around UX- sometimes it was hard to see what aisle you needed to walk down, and what creature in particular was causing a ruckus. Maybe a smaller but wider gird/ cinema would help make this clearer. Another point was that the film length was a little long. A short experience I could replay would feel more comfortable, especially while I'm trying to figure out what's going. Lastly it's hard to know how well I did with the points system. Maybe a briefing or newspaper review would add a sense of closure to the experience? Well done!

Tiny Bear Adventure by Mr.Greenhat 2014-12-17T15:02:00

Nice concept, with solid art style and sfx. The random nature of the bear made me a little frustrated, and I'd err on the side of caution by surrounding him with lakes after a battle. As I wasn't penalised for the slow speed at which I was gather coins, I didn't feel there was any necessity to find the critical path.

Pixel Peon by jojocanard 2014-12-18T08:10:00

Great concept, but found it difficult to play due to some very distressing music and floaty controls. A lighter theme and control system where I felt more in control would put focus back on your interesting core mechanics.

My First Dare, Complete!---Estelar by qiaofeng00oo 2014-12-18T08:26:00

Is it just me or is this crazy difficult?? Lovely art and theme, wish I had Newton's brain.

Avoid Rage by jackrugile 2014-12-17T13:58:00

So great. The quick restart, the two ways you communicate incoming danger, the pulsing motivating music, the refreshing colour palate, there's so much to like here. But some swipe controls on it and call it done!

SplitScreen by Moocowsgomoo 2014-12-17T15:54:00

Fantastic! Great idea, explored in a multitude of ways, with great personality injected throughout. I think a good sound track and sfx would go along way here- especially if you link it to the change of the 'screens'.

Squareon by okkolobr 2014-12-23T07:45:00

Interesting game. The point and time system create a great tension of how long you are willing to wait to work out a puzzle. I'd like to know which was the correct choice if I get it wrong. Also, the abstract nature of the puzzles is a turn off for me, would it be possible to fuse this concept with actual pictures?

Silk by hoqjed 2014-12-23T08:16:00

Much to love here, most pertinent is how perfectly the elegance of the theme fits the puzzle mechanics you have created. The slow transitions and long meditative sound effects set a pace conducive to contemplating the relationships between these stones. Usually with LD submissions I'm rushing to get through all the content as quickly as possible, but you managed to slow and engage me right up to the last puzzle.

The ramp in difficulty works very well, although I felt around levels 3-5 (or thereabouts) more confused than I perhaps should have been around the difference between the stones. If this is an issue other players have experienced, it might be worth looking into unconventional (i.e. asymmetrical) board designs to better teach the particulars of each stone.

The last three levels I though especially well designed, concerned as they were with one core peculiarity that arises from the interaction of the stones. The first of the three I was stumped on for a good few minutes, aimlessly moving the stones around until an idea well into my lap. The next two, literally expanding the idea as they did, could be progressed through very easily, giving me the feeling that I'd actually learned something. It is the most powerful experience puzzle games can offer, and you really nail it here.

Few small things that I'm sure is already on your backlog for the next version- a reset button and better handling of invalid stones (either move them to a position closer to the board, or highlight their invalidation somehow).

As many others have said here this merits in a full release, and I'd personally love to see where you go with the concept.

Colosse Duty by Kerdelos 2014-12-17T15:25:00

Nice central idea which suggests puzzle elements that never arose in the game itself. I felt the combat was a little unnecessary; could the diamonds have other uses than just camera focal points?

Silian Rail by Warboys 2014-12-09T03:35:00

Nice farcical tone, matches the irreverence of the gameplay very well. Great UI solutions (namecard) and dressing (ticker), helps a lot to add meaning to the game world. Possible extension would be to use the cliché 'a web of lies' making further use of the 2D plane. Good stuff!

Jackin by eforen 2014-12-19T16:47:00

Nice interpretation of the theme, the dirt on the screen itself adds a lot to the mood. Compo version I managed to hack some random IPs, post compo version the game hangs after registering (on 'Connecting...'), then resets with without registering the login. Is there a fix?

Walk to the door by el-pepi 2014-12-12T03:21:00

Great work! Despite a late start you have a solid mechanic and an enjoyable experience! I ended up quitting out about level 15 or so after the mine puzzles put more emphasis on timing than routing planning, but that's just personal preference. Given the theme you've chosen I wonder what other mechanics could be derived- for instance could maximising/minimising windows be part of the puzzle?

Oi! Menu!? by davient 2014-12-09T02:34:00

Joyful, scatterbrained, teasing and ultimately satisfying- you've managed to squeeze a lot of emotions into a short experience. Great achievement for an LD first timer :D

It's a website about video games. by Zyrconium 2014-12-17T15:47:00

Nice idea, but without anything to cover the skeleton of the idle mechanics it doesn't feel sticky to me as a player.

Illuminasteroids by Otopkin 2014-12-17T15:04:00

This gives me happy memories of Sphere of Chaos! Love the personality you've injected into it.

Legendary Legionnaire Winter Massacre by banana4life 2014-12-17T09:31:00

Nice polish here with the sfx and particle effects.

Against All Odds by billrizer 2014-12-17T09:39:00

That was horrifying. Nice take on a classic, esp liked the effects when dying and restarting. Which happened to me a lot.

TheCubeDude by Thundercake Games 2014-12-17T15:03:00

Nice idea, got totally lost on moving the camera though. Also the human model didn't seem to fit the minecraft aesthetic you were going for.

Shroom Boom by Asado 2014-12-18T08:21:00

I'm not sure what the 3D perspective adds to this, although that enemy model is pretty swish.

Perceptions by dgjames222 2014-12-18T08:17:00

What a great idea! Definitely worth iterating on- suggest moving to a 2d top down view while you work on the mechanics.

Swat Team by rainshapes 2014-12-18T07:55:00

Not sure how the music fitted the tongue-in-cheek theme, but it was good nevertheless. V enjoyable to have separation of concerns when playing with another player.

Turn a cave! by Night 2014-12-17T09:17:00

Great mechanic! Loved how if you couldn't get straight to a diamond, you could try and excavate around it with diminishing returns. First feature you should add is pathfinding (and perhaps WASD movement); not being able to move more than one block at a time creates a LOT of friction.

The Beta Bank - A Paragon Pawns Production by DiegoHenriquez 2014-12-17T15:44:00

Goodness this is hard, some great ideas though- integrating the menu system as an the actual game mechanic has a lot of potential. The mood is well fostered too; I'm constantly on edge.

ButtfacÄ™ the Snowball Warrior: Winter Invasion by Team ButtfacÄ™ 2014-12-17T13:50:00

Charming graphics and super cute idea. I never felt too stressed with the oncoming hoards though, especially as when I lost I kinda just hung out with this shuffling red dude before whiteout.

Spacebank Heist by BoxedMeatRevolution 2014-12-17T16:10:00

Very nice, like Hotline Miami in Space. Esp loved the way the music picked up as you encroached on the big moneys.

CUBE Clicker by Polyganz 2014-12-17T15:41:00

You mad genius you, this is a Bogostian nightmare. Now here's the question- how much can we strip away before this stops being addictive? Cows, then cookies, now a cube. What next?

Toytown by Frozen Fractal 2014-12-18T08:04:00

This is quite an achievement for 48hrs! Nice visualisation of the data, and playing on a smaller world map (that can fit on one screen) took out much of the annoying camera issues that plague other games in the genre. I wish I had more of a sense what my citizens were feeling however.

Rainbow Maze by FrozenCow 2014-12-17T14:06:00

Very nice idea, and nice payoff as the maze literally goes rainbow. After the tutorial though, I feel the mechanics were never really relevant to the gameplay. I spent all my play through just looking at the line I was drawing rather than the magnified view. Maybe a greater disconnect between the two views, forcing the player to use both, would put the emphasis back on your cool zoom mechanics? All said, great stuff for 48hrs!

LD32 — An Unconventional Weapon

Fireman Pissaro by AnimeGeek32 2015-04-22T14:21:00

Love the GB graphics and urine utilisation.

Shark Lazer Hands by HeuGamer 2015-04-22T15:27:00

Fantastic leg animation!

Defence the castle of dreams by Smirnov48 2015-04-23T03:20:00

Good job! Love how the punk visuals fit the slanted humour. I was compelled to complete the stages to find out what the next weapon did.

The controls in the battle itself were a little cumbersome (at least with my trackpad). I would have like hotkeys for the weapons and an explicit cooldown counter.

Nice idea to use the map- a quick and efficient way to create a sense of place and progress.

Color Commander by kristof 2015-04-22T15:30:00

Good design to adjust the hall width and follower circumference allow follower siphoning. I was a bit confused exactly how followers were stolen- perhaps you could make this more explicit. A lot of potential here, hope to see you iterate on this!

Porcupine Dogfight by BMacIntosh 2015-04-25T04:46:00

Got to be one of my favourites of LD32 so far. Fits the theme perfectly, some really novel and dynamic gameplay with heaps of potential. Love how at one level the player is forced to decide between which 'mode' to play, and at another has to perform technically to out manoeuvre their opponent.

At the moment there is an unfortunate dominant game strategy (position your balloon above the other and force it down), but with more work this could be something very special.

Wok by savethejets1 2015-04-25T08:12:00

Superb! Art, animations, sound (with dynamic changes!), sense of progression, zelda-inspired combat mechanic, you've done a huge amount in a few days. The cliffhanger ending is well placed, as the player definitely wants more.

My only criticism is the combat- often I felt it safest to wait and bat back the projectiles. I wish there was some more nuance so I could develop my own playstyle and not feel obliged to wait.

Fireman vs Zombies by ripatti 2015-04-22T16:28:00

Nice idea! This is every schoolboy's wet dream.

Snowden Dickpics Simulator 2015 by lcarpentier 2015-04-25T03:44:00

This looks great, love the path generation from random tiles and the theme is pitch perfect. Looking forward to seeing the video.

Special Agent by guoboism 2015-04-22T15:53:00

Love this so much, your sense of style and humour are a great asset. I was smiling from start to finish! With more levels and polish a game like this would win a lot of fans.

TUGBOAT by lucentbeam 2015-04-28T09:24:00

Nice idea! Didn't realise at first how the game was played (I think the UI is a little misleading) but had fun when it clicked. Loved the colourful graphics but the with all the debris flying around it was hard to distinguish between the fast moving objects. I also wonder whether the control scheme could be simplified- it did feel very satisfying to plant a ship into a wall, or bowl one into the others.

Hitchhiker's Tales by Tangible Games 2015-04-28T00:02:00

Pretty tricky! Why can't alien's be thrown into each other? The difficulty ramp was such that recoveries from mistakes are too hard- multiple levels might be able to help with that.

Nice graphics and the UI has a a wonderful retro feel to it.

Free Samples by PixelPerfect 2015-04-23T03:46:00

There is a lot of potential here, and for a first entry this is a strong submission. I suggest with future jams you try to limit your scope a little so you can focus on the core mechanics- I was unable to make it to the shop as I found the gameplay too confusing. There are great ideas but they need refining to make it a more engaging experience.

Ageless Machine: Cup of Tea by ViliX64 2015-04-22T16:19:00

Great story, although ending is stronger without Part IV making it explicit.

Retroflect by pkenney 2015-04-27T15:08:00

TBH I wasn't expecting much going into this, but it really surprised me. The idea is great, you've done good work with the game feel (esp love the way the audio and animations reinforce the feeling of impact) and the difficultly system you use works well to moderate the pace.

As others have mentioned, the central control is too complex at the moment for the fast reactions the gameplay requires.

The Grand Carpet Hotel by dunin 2015-04-27T15:14:00

Nice ideas, reminds me a lot of those old crazy amiga games. I was hoping for closer adherence to the Wes Anderson aesthetic though- something I don't think I've seen in a game before.

Unconventional George by Jan Peter (jpdev) 2015-04-27T15:00:00

Nice take on Curious George, I laughed when I realised the 'insects' were butterflies :)

Saving Bacon by hrd_games 2015-04-23T03:49:00

Nice theme, and smart move to find a new perspective in a well established genre!

Poacher Monkeys by IgIzzy 2015-04-25T03:56:00

3700 on second attempt! Sure I could do better- I was caught out by not being able to delete/sell old installations.

Solid offering for 8 hours, would like to see some more experimentation beyond the theme as well.

Everybody [BLANK] Charlie by GroZaV 2015-04-21T04:14:00

There is a lot to like here, I was particularly impressed by the change of pace used at the end of the journey which goes some way to recreate the confused chaos of the tragedy. Smart to also include lighter touches (Candy Crush) to add more humanity to the piece and increase the tension.

I hope this is the beginning of a long line of GroZaV stories!

How To Teleport by bradur 2015-04-22T15:21:00

Nice idea, I almost think that due to the large amount of instant teleport games we've become accustomed to fast teleportation speed, which makes this slower pace quite refreshing. That said the rotation speed is far too slow. Would it even be possible to make it discrete?

Her Majesty's Apathy Bomb by ianburnette 2015-04-22T15:05:00

Good take on Stanley Parable ideas, esp. good to move the narrative to a fantastical setting.

GLOV3.1 by flummox3d 2015-04-22T15:49:00

Good ending! Kinda wished you used a new colour palette to make it more of a surprise :)

I enjoyed a lot of this, although found it a little hodge-podgy; rather than develop one mechanic the gameplay continually shifts between mechanics. Nearer the end it builds up a rhythm, but I think we've made the same mistake in that our last levels are a lot of walking around without much real puzzling.

Still, there's a lot of fun ideas here, and a lot of fun I had :)

Floats by Horsed 2015-04-25T08:04:00

Love the concept of making a game from what you thought of a screenshots of another game- this would be a fun basis for a jam.

Wish there could have been a smart camera system here, as often I found the camera controls cumbersome and got in the way of my next daring manoeuvre. The design works well with the graphical style though, and the way you've integrated the tutorial and links is a wonderful touch.

Concrete Escape by Davikin92 2015-04-25T07:52:00

I'm having some trouble running the web and osx versions, anybody got a workaround?

Concrete Escape by Davikin92 2015-04-25T08:00:00

Turns out the webplayer worked a treat! Just the WebGL and OSX versions I couldn't run.

I'm glad it did too, there is a surreal pleasure in this game that had me smiling throughout. I don't know if the glitchiness of the cars was intentional or not, but it made it the experience for me as every upside down car, car coming from on high, and synchronised barrel-rolls left me wondering what would happen next. The ever-present hairdryer made me buy into the absurd happenings on screen, and although I was playing solo, I had a good time trying to manage both.

A nice Day in the Park by Polyganz 2015-04-22T14:39:00

So proud to be a part of this! Great work mate, that the game defies genre is testament to your 'experience first' methodology. I would love to see more Avery-esque cartoon techniques incorporated in a project like this. Looking forward to our next jam :)

A Good Tunnel Is Hard To Dig by Draknek 2015-04-22T13:42:00

What a wonderful game. The difficult ramp is perfect; each level feels like a unique challenge with a bespoke solution. You managed to milk a great deal of variety out of the mechanics. The theming goes a long way to make the rules more digestible; I'm presuming you were 'to hell with' the LD theme!

There were a few nuances to the rules that I thought could have been taught more clearly, for example the revelation that causing a collapse of one square will prevent your movement to the next tile (whereas multiple tiles will move and crush you). The red herring in the last level was especially devious, although it was a nice stumper to end on.

Thanks for the feedback on Avenging My Gran, great to get some criticism from the puzzlescript master. Train Braining made me miss my connecting flight last week :)

Grief by mantis 2015-04-22T16:38:00

Nice homage to Super Meat Boy. Good polish with a nice game feel. Wish the levels were less punishing (I didn't finish) but know that a lot of players relish in this hard fun.

LD33 — You are the Monster

Exogorth by Will Edwards 2015-08-26T16:31:00

Really chilling, I like how alienating the controls felt but found it hard to make any meaningful interactions with the world.

Super Chop by savethejets1 2015-08-27T03:17:00

Those poor trees with their blinking, smiling faces :(

I think I would have preferred to have the rhythm integrated more into the main scene; your art was so beautiful I didn't want to be forced to look elsewhere.

The Monster Inside by Random Seed Games 2015-09-03T12:04:00

Nailed the aesthetic, and the isometric dioramas is a nice innovation harping back to Victorian publishing. I would have liked to seen more interactivity eked in here and there- perhaps dioramas that could spin on the y axis for instance. I understand the restraint here though; you successfully avoided any gimmicks to make something that demands one's undivided attention.

I Am the Baby <3 by euske 2015-09-12T07:00:00

Bizarre and engaging in equal measure!
Also incredibly irresponsible parents.

Ugly Turtle by HacksawUnit 2015-08-26T16:54:00

Great sound and charming art

Colossal Shakedown by wallmasterr 2015-09-03T09:08:00

Didn't get to play, but looks super fun!

Child's Play by gty 2015-08-26T10:11:00

Cuteness overload! Utterly charming.

The Hunt by Awpteamoose 2015-08-26T10:24:00

No OSX or web build?

NotZilla: Ice Cream Vendor by RisingPixel 2015-08-26T10:01:00

Made me laugh a fair few times! Loved the juxtaposition of the zilla's kind temperament with the destruction being caused.

Perspective by ChuiGum 2015-08-26T17:00:00

Had problems manoeuvring when in top down mode. Really nice feel when in side mode and skating along the platforms, although I'd have liked the game to be more lenient to errors (eg crashing into a wall)

A Long Night by guoboism 2015-08-24T07:34:00

Fantastic storytelling, solid game, overall a great package!

Really impressed this was done in 48 hours, given all fleshed out the experience is, the amount of subtle story devices, and the stability of the gameplay (shifting its weight compelling between action and strategic elements).

Great work!

DAMNED by NickZangus 2015-09-03T09:14:00

Completely agree with the others here, you've nailed that horror monster feel perfectly. Chasing fleeing maidens through the forest was uneasy and compelling, great work.

Of course there was no objective here (perhaps due to time) but what there was was magnificent.

Dungeon Guard by Techblogogy 2015-09-12T06:56:00

I like the idea of jumping from tracking mode to combat mode, although tracking was too difficult (barely found any footprints and the target moved to quickly) and combat was a little frustrating (ended up like a Benny Hill show with me chasing after a guy repeatedly whacking him with little effect).

The Monster Files by Literal Games 2015-09-03T09:39:00

Nice detective game! So rare to see something like this in LD.

I think I would have preferred a shorter, more compact experience to the amount of content you managed to make here. Sequences like the fight (which is blocking but results in no penalty but a time drain) were exciting but I feel could have been achieved using less intrusive designs (for instance, a short mini game that uses the mouse).

Otherwise great writing, art and ideas. Good stuff!

Loveless : a multiplayer story by Mark Venturelli 2015-08-26T13:20:00

Fantastic idea, and a testament to your abilities to get all this together over such a short period of time.

My decision is in and I await the results!

The Troll's Toll by baykush_figtree 2015-08-24T16:53:00

Great stuff, I hope everyone plays it right through. It could have been a very cheap ending but you pull it off.

Corruption-5 by hexagore 2015-09-03T09:07:00

Gorgeous graphics, and a great idea. The speed of the elevators and unnecessary shooting and timing sections ruined the story a bit for me, but I still enjoyed the game from beginning to end.

The Last Little Monster by Chris M 2015-08-27T03:04:00

Thanks @qukerguelen!

Soup by JoshDBB 2015-09-03T08:45:00

Absolutely beautiful, would love to see the source.

Dial M for Monster by AAGH Games 2015-09-03T09:26:00

Nice typography, although some was hard to read. Felt like there were a lot of ideas here that weren't working so well together; as I was able to kill the Survivors by just using stealth and attack (and not understanding the day night cycle) I thought the experience could be more streamlined.

The Monster Way by Nomys_Tempar 2015-09-03T08:59:00

Beautiful illustrations! I like the way you tied in a faux-achievement system to act as the conclusions to your stories too, makes each one feel less like a deadend and more like another small victory.

Fragmented Reality by merrak 2015-08-24T06:30:00

Great mood, I did start going a little loopy :P

I kinda wish I was more explicitly told or shown the contrast trickery nearer the beginning of the game. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the white blocks weren't in the foreground - but before I realised that was the whole point.

Lovers on a Park Bench by peterthehe 2015-08-24T08:08:00

I think I lost :(

Do You Understand ? by qkerguelen 2015-08-26T10:16:00

No OSX build, can someone do a Lets Play?

Do You Understand ? by qkerguelen 2015-08-27T03:09:00

Very nice! Loved the use of subtle Mario references to imply a playstyle, the way the signs were used to build a dialogue, and the clever plant of that long corridor at the end of the main level, whose purpose had to be identified to complete the game.

Good stuff!

NFWTZJ: Nobody 'Messes' With The Zombie Jesus by Sergi Montaner 2015-09-03T08:33:00

Fun toy! And great art

Monster Hunt by JK5000 2015-08-26T14:50:00

Nice graphics and perspective, would love to see this more developed

Massacre Monday by wg_phancock 2015-09-03T08:25:00

Fantastic stuff, good move to overload the space bar input for multiple behaviours. The entry is one of the only ones I've played with a compelling arc too- it's a complete five minute experience filled with tension, release and a comical catharsis.

Curse Those Heroes by FireTwin 2015-09-03T08:09:00

Fun two player game! A bit more onboarding would have helped the experience a lot

Human Hunter by spatanz 2015-08-26T10:31:00

Monster dodgeball! Love the chance to combo

How I Learned To Stop Voting And Love The Devil: Tales of Occult, Blood and Metal in Drop D by shinD 2015-08-26T10:15:00

OSX worked fine for me.

A short but witty retort!

The Last Witch by Tanton-XHX 2015-09-03T08:11:00

Great stuff guys! Plays like an arcadey version of Crawl. Good twist on the mechanics using the pentagram on the floor, although once everything's up the gameplay becomes one dimensional which reduces the ability for longer play session.

Theming was great with gorgeous art and UI, although the background music (a favourite of some here it seems) didn't work for me.

Would love to see some iterations on this!

Fireapocalypseeverseen!!! by DAT.NOT.MY.GAME! 2015-09-03T09:30:00

Great product with wonderful graphics and audio, but no gameplay hook to get me interested, and the strange responsiveness of the avatar made me feel out of control.

Dragon Tax Return Simulator 2015 by walsh9 2015-08-26T09:57:00

Fantastic satire, as a Brit I've often wondered what it'd be like to be doing an American tax return form. Now I know!

Outing with Frankie by SeaDads 2015-08-26T09:47:00

Great, original stuff! The voice acting, storytelling and throwaway humour (those polaroids) are pitch perfect.

Aliensche! by HiVE interactive 2015-08-26T10:10:00

Fun arcade feel, didn't quite get why the cow tether would switch lengths as I flew around.

PixelMonster by shawn42 2015-09-12T06:52:00

Short and sweet! Nice small flourishes on the minimalist aesthetics (the particle effect did stutter a bit though) and a clever idea. In the colour matching levels I found it tricky to gauge the colour just right though.

Abominable by Cosmic5 2015-08-28T03:30:00

Can't see a Mac build there, is one of the link mislabelled?

Frank Smash! by daydreamcorgigames 2015-08-26T10:23:00

It's been a long time coming, but finally someone made a game where you can Frank Smash humans to Macklemore, while a very cat passes comment.

Who's the Boss? by fubenalvo 2015-08-26T09:54:00

Great twist on a gaming trope, wish it was easier to know when the Princess was going to freak out and (mysteriously) take a life from me.

Luna by somethree 2015-08-26T10:07:00

Really great interpretation of the theme, would love to see this idea developed.

You are the star by Dizzly 2015-09-12T07:40:00

Such a polished, unique experience! The learning curve was a little steep, I wonder if some of the mechanics could have been stripped back a little without losing too much depth.

UFO by Polyganz 2015-08-24T16:59:00

Stylish and compelling!

Fun tutorial levels, but my favourite was the last level, locating the power ups, following the road to the city, discovering a trap, using their own bullets against them, it was a great experience :)

LD34 — Two Button Controls / Growing

when i am empty please dispose of me properly by johntherobot 2015-12-12T09:38:00

Alluring piece, I felt quite hopeless playing. The transitions seem unnecessarily abrupt. The music was meant to be distorted, I presume?

LD35 — Shapeshift

Turret Arena by nikev 2016-04-24T20:46:00

I snuck into their base and trapped them all! Mwahahaha

Snip-Snip Snooker by Chris M 2016-04-24T20:48:00

@nikev thanks for the tip- this was a very rushed finish and the bugs and debugging files are a symptom of that.

@CaptainPilot ditto the design. The pool theme solve one problem but created new ones.

Figment by CaptainPilot 2016-04-30T13:25:00

This is wonderful- great art, great mechanic, neat puzzles and a complete experience. The nuances of the mechanic were taught at a gentle pace, and once realised gave a wonderful 'a-ha' moment. The small use of narrative was also a neat touch to spur on the player. Great job!

LD43 — Sacrifices must be made

Exploding Sport by jk5000 2018-12-05T18:38:50Z

Nice spin on an old genre. I found the two functions on one button (shoot and explode) a little frustrating, especially when I was trying to react quickly to something. Also not feeling the theme but the mood and whackabout style was fun.

Revolver Curse by SkullPixel 2018-12-05T22:23:34Z

Super competent platformer- this obviously isn't your first rodeo! The introduction of enemies, placement of checkpoints and room design were all tight. I was waiting for the mechanic to really 'kick in'; as I got my health back right after off-ing an enemy it just felt like a regular platformer to me. The only slight difference (apart from accidentally killing yourself, which seems a little harsh) was with that floating octopus, but fighting it close quarters allowed me to rally off a ton of shots in succession.

Diortem by Ilseroth 2018-12-06T14:12:56Z

Nice Metroid Prime vibe with this one, especially as I got totally lost! The graphical style is really compelling and the scale of content you've managed to create is huge!

Unfortunately I couldn't remember all my abilities from the title screen, so when I was prompted to give up an ability there were a few of them I didn't realise I had. This made the decision easy and meant I didn't have to change my play style.

As some of the abilities are OP (i.e. grappling vs very tricky jumping) I can't really take ownership of what abilities I retain either. This could be fixed by creating rooms with a number of different paths through, all of which are valid. It'd be a real time sink though so you'd lose the impressive sprawling map you've managed to create, but I think this might be a case where less is more.

Super impressive for a weekend's work!

Sacrif's Ice by Mekuri 2018-12-05T21:33:45Z

I was a little confused as to whether I was holding a cone or not- interacting with them seemed to do nothing (but I was still able to deliver the ice cream). In general I could do with a lot more feedback as a player- what the current state of the ice cream is, how satisfied the customer was etc

Neon Tank Warrior by wolar 2018-12-06T13:37:03Z

Great fun, I really liked how (it seemed at least) the 'deck' of sacrifices were random, luck making the experience feel more dynamic. As someone who thinks parallel parking is a fun challenge the driving controls were perfect :tongue: Only change I'd suggest is getting rid of the wall of text at the beginning- most people will skip it and your aesthetic tells more about this world than text anyway.

Colors of Your World by DDRKirbyISQ 2018-12-18T14:15:04Z

The palette was what first attracted me to the game- that first zone is gorgeous. I'd love to read a post on how you went about decorating the level.

The gameplay was pretty fun, although I gave up at the same spot @franfox mentioned in their post, as having to replay that whole room multiple times started grating on the nerves!

I really enjoyed the level design up to that point, slowly being given new mechanics and toys to play with at a captivating pace.

My only issue (except for perhaps the later difficulty) is the lack of adherence to the theme. It was fun to have a palette swap but I didn't feel like anything was being 'sacrificed'.

Workspace by behzad_robot 2018-12-07T16:04:50Z

Loving it so far, I follow Trump and got stuck here though, anyway to get out/restart? LDJAM-43-Workspace_2018-12-07_16-04-14.png

Yoshi's Sacrificial Island by pudding 2018-12-05T21:13:52Z

Glad Yoshi was the first thing someone else thought of too! I laughed out loud when the pentagram scrolled in screen right. Humour is pitch perfect.

Ursa by Maksym 2018-12-05T21:47:48Z

The warmth of this game hits you as soon as you start it up. I was hoping the constellation theme would eek into the mechanics, which left me a little disappointed. I gave up my dash, and then couldn't seem to pass the next level- am I missing something?

Way of the Dodo by chrismcmath 2018-12-06T13:16:26Z

@wolar oh no, that's so frustrating! Right in the middle of the level too. Thanks for the report, I'll put it on the list of next fixes.

Way of the Dodo by chrismcmath 2018-12-06T13:26:43Z

@thisismyjam fantastic feedback, thanks for taking the time to write all that down! We totally agree with all your points- I'm currently wondering how to such having stacking-puzzle elements while retaining lighter platforming elements. Also very tempted by @favoyang 's co-op suggestion.

Desert island... or dessert island? by darkfrost 2018-12-05T21:28:11Z

Oh god it was all kumbaya then everyone but Anna died in the last few hours of the final night of dehydration. Anna is going to be haunted for life.

Sacrifish (Local multi-player) by Papaver 2018-12-07T15:57:32Z

The ambience is well done, with a nice feeling of scale. Rather than having many drop sounds in the background music however, it might be better to have them as sfx for collecting plankton. That way you can still have that wonderful watery feel, while also providing aural feedback for collection.

Mount 'n' Glory: A Glorious Grail Quest by gamesplusjames 2018-12-05T18:46:16Z

Right from that stylish title screen I knew this was special! Great idea, fun mechanic, hilarious snippets from the moribund followers, this was great. Only issue was fiddly platform and my failure in one level carrying onto the next (thank god for new followers). Good stuff!

Auto-Freeze! 3000© by yyam 2018-12-05T21:56:32Z

Really nice twist on the 'recorded platformer' genre; adding the ability to die and lock yourself in a position opens a lot of possibilities which were fun to see. In general though I found the some parts of the design resulted in tedium, for instance in this level the 'safest' course of action is to traverse it a ton of times. 2018-12-05_21-52-18.png

The Grassland Kings by Mathstr0fficial 2018-12-07T16:01:16Z

Sometimes my fov would shrink and I wouldn't know why, but link that to taking damage (I think) is a wonderful idea. I especially like that the protagonist is blonde, not that I'm biased or anything.

SLAP HAPPY by Ratherjolly 2018-12-06T17:58:09Z

It was fun to figure out how to get 100%, but that comes pretty quickly! And it also restricts the player from using their main action- slapping! The humour is great though, that opening monologue had me cracking up. I mean as a work of art it's mad problematic but the memory of those bruised faces is just another I'll suppress indefinitely.

Aetherspirit by gwinnell 2018-12-06T17:31:12Z

Love this, it feels like a complete experience. The character switches (with humourful lore) are well paced, and I loved how the rooms were inter-woven with each other, opening up with new abilities. Some parts felt a little unfair (the rainbow badge next to the spikes when you're Mr. Double Jump is especially easy to miss) but I was compelled to see everything the world had to offer. Great stuff!

GameJam Sacrifices by playball 2018-12-05T20:56:02Z

I feel that cat was all take and no give.

Berrytales - Fracture Flight by Purrseus 2018-12-19T11:44:19Z

Beautiful art and a nice Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime feel. I found it pretty hard to plan ahead while multitasking (although my chugging mac was certainly working against me here) I can see how this could be expanded into larger experience, especially with multiplayer support.

We Fight "Together"! by StratosKakalis 2018-12-05T21:37:30Z

So fun to send army men flying across the ravine, just wish the loop of fetching soldiers and and getting them to the cannon had less friction.

Alpaca's Redemption by Oceanosaurus 2018-12-05T17:35:23Z

What an accomplishment- I've the idea of taking powers from the player in a few other places this jam but none have executed it as well as you guys. This idea has a couple of design issues that are difficult to resolve. One is what others have mentioned- how to design levels that can be traversed in a number of different ways. That alone is some really good level design, but what I think is even better is how you've taken something which could be draining for the player (removing their abilities and thus agency) and made something positive by allowing them to choose/gamble with how they'll play the next level, essentially making them authors of their own fate.

Great stuff.

The Gods Are Angry by F1Krazy 2018-12-19T22:30:02Z

Great atmosphere created with deft use of Pico 8's capabilities; by the last stage I was hooked. The lightning effect and parallax backgrounds added a lot to the sombre mood. That did however make the ending a little anti-climatic. I presume you wanted to underline the fact that the sacrifice can never know if their sacrifice was worth it, but I don't think I was invested enough at that point to feel anything but my inflated expectations drifting away.

Sacrificial City by Glassar 2018-12-06T17:45:52Z

The the first disconcerting notes of the music I knew this was going to be a good 'un! The gameplay is super polished for a jam game, having the ability to sacrifice was also a nice twist. It would have been nice to had placement have an impact but already the scope is huge!

Lost In The Flames by WongKongPhooey 2018-12-19T22:36:41Z

Perfect take on the theme, I think most of us have played the (hopefully theoretical) game of which possessions they'd save in a fire. The grid movement was a bit awkward at first, but I love the isometric view so much it was a small hurdle to get over. I would have liked more rooms and items (necessitating more choices and risk/reward) but I enjoyed this as a short and sweet experience all the same!

Ascend by Amour Du Pain 2018-12-05T22:14:24Z

It's amazing how much you were able to do with just primitives, lighting and space. My only complaint is that even though I was controlling a (major) part of the experience, I didn't feel like I was interacting with the experience. I almost felt like I had been rushed on stage with a script and told to play the part as best I could. Allowing the player/user to take ownership would only make it stronger.

Broken Knight by Mikabrytu 2018-12-05T22:06:10Z

Love the art here; the vines and character design in particular. The physics did make me feel a little disconnected though from this lush world you've built.

Paper Space Program by Jared York 2018-12-06T17:52:15Z

Your passion for space exploration really shines through and gives the game a wholesome, loved feel. It's clear you know a lot about this subject and sometimes that can be a little overwhelming, but your charming vocals and visual effects soften what could have been a dry affair.

Dark Villagers by AwiX 2018-12-07T11:16:14Z

Lack of any onboarding meant I struggled to figure out what was happening/what I was meant to do but the mood and pixel art in particular are wonderful.

LD43 Journey by WegPast 2018-12-05T22:03:49Z

Great mood, I felt almost like I was in the FTL universe. Skipped the text at the beginning, but still had fun zooming around and picking up ore. Wish there was more exploration! The fog of war is so fun, I'd like to have my choice to take out a few extra blocks rewarded. Showing the ORE locations through the FOW was super smart too.

Be The Bridge by Codesity 2018-12-05T20:43:32Z

Really solid idea with some great potential. I'd suggest removing 'space to drop' and just letting players drag a piece from the outer layer of their armor as the mouse is used anyway. This would also allow for puzzles passed around of the shape of the armor selected. Great work, keep it up!

Don’t eat CHICKEN ! by Kasaki 2018-12-06T17:35:02Z

I laughed out loud at the premise, and laughed again when I read that it's based on your friend while she’s eating fried chicken! It'd be great to see this idea fleshed out with some animations and sounds so we can really feel for the plight of these chicks!

Out Of Power by Mathis BRESSAUD 2018-12-05T21:02:05Z

I really liked the mega man vibe, although I would have liked to feel more powerful at the beginning. Having the enemy only require one hit to be defeated would have helped here- it was frustrating to dash attack then have to wait to completely off them. Quite a few of the abilities I didn't know I had! Perhaps you could have a way to introduce them?

My Little Daily Sacrifice by Gludo 2018-12-05T21:08:29Z

This is hilarious, the tone is so perfect. Those cute sound effects, icons and characters, played against a deal with the devil. Excellent!

Ranch of the Gods by Vodish 2018-12-06T14:20:24Z

I like how you turned something potentially dark into a light hearted romp.

Would it be possible to see the altars from the pen? There's already a lot to think about so having to remember which animal is which symbol each round is a little overwhelming.

Grauby Grauby by Danilo Freire 2018-12-06T13:46:46Z

Really like the mechanic here, it's super effective and fun to use. To combination of timing and trajectory planning felt freeing to play. Only gripes are I couldn't see far enough ahead of me to plan effectively, and it's hard to tell how many 'jumps' I have left before I'll expire. Personifying the slime more might help here, using expressions rather than just the size to visualise 'health'.

Make a Wish by maycon 2018-12-05T21:59:00Z

Nice mood, respawning at the beginning of the level is a little harsh though.

Potty Panic by Ryan Brenner 2018-12-06T13:43:14Z

I also got an Earthbound vibe! Love the cute art style and chilled music, went really well with the absurdity of the objective. I wasn't sure what the stacking mechanic was adding to the gameplay, it confused me a little especially as picking up and throwing were mapped to different buttons. You could either flesh it out, or remove it and have everything on one button :smile:

Lastcrifices by Cerebral Bore 2018-12-21T10:25:45Z

I love the 80s vibe here, and the messages of the kamikaze pilots sold the theme well. The difficulty ramp was nice and steep (although perhaps a little too easy at the beginning, and with no checkpoints/live unforgiving in the final stage) and I appreciated how you focused on simple controls rather than trying to add more features (i.e shooting). One thing I'd suggest is using a particle system to great the feeling of speed- a few times I didn't feel like much of a rocket! Good work.