Burry this… Thing by LeReveur 2021-04-27T00:30:47Z
This was really interesting, but I'll tell you what, I am _not_ good at this game.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → CinderBlock
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | Unstable | Pot Shots & Whiskey | compo | 144 | 3.74 | 3.37 | 3.93 | 4.12 | 4.56 | 3.94 | 3.71 | |
| 2021 | 48 | Deeper and deeper | Falling Through Love | compo | 430 | 3.48 | 3.44 | 3.01 | 3.80 | 4.24 | 3.45 | 3.22 |
This was really interesting, but I'll tell you what, I am _not_ good at this game.
I think you definitely hit every gamer's lizard-part of the brain. we sure do love comparing armor stats! Surprisingly very calming and serene!
The humor hit, the game was very funny. I liked the combination of "genres". The mechanics were simple enough to understand on a whim, and the goal was similarly simple to get. These are all positives for a jam game. The one big drawback for me was the "tightness" of the controls. The game could feed very "jerky" at times. And when you have to balance WASD movement, the rotation through mouse position, spamming the space bar to keep afloat, AND "slapping" enemies in midair, the jerky-ness of the controls could get a little overwhelming and you could quickly find yourself forgetting to apply one of those mechanics. Enemies behind you, while you are in mid-air, and can't drop quickly, are a death sentence. Turning around to slap them changes your direction, and it can be hard to get back the way you were going with the depleting stamina bar, and ignoring them allows them to kamikaze into you, killing you outright.
Very impressed with the amount of content for a 72 hour game. I really enjoyed the 2D/3D-esque graphics. And the humor hit. While the puzzles were frustrating, they were also really rewarding.
I also really appreciate that there were skip cheat codes, because I don't think I would have figured out the rubiks's cube.
Overall a very interesting little jam game, I very much enjoyed playing it!
Someone find the monster pls. Send pics
I can see that a lot of work went into creating, and the fact that you were able to get this much done in 72 hours is really impressive. However, I feel that the game could use quite a bit of polish. The controls were somwhat unintuitive, and not super easy to get the hang of. It feels like you ran out of time to really polish the enemies/hitboxes/etc. I also wasn't exactly sure what would hurt me, and what wouldn't.
Overall I really liked the stylized look of the game. It had a "after-dark cartoons" kind of vibe.
I don't think youre supposed to create a finished and polished and ready-for-release game for a jam! Absolutely outstanding work. One of my favorites on here.
The graphics for the character and the nom noms were incredibly cool looking. I wish the rest of the map shared that same "wow" factor. The overlaying gradient also added another level of feeling/mood to the game. Overall, the game actually gave me a very eerie feeling. Like _something_ was off. It was a combination of just how bizarre everything was; from the robotic female voice telling me to collect the nom noms, to the look of the skybox. Even the imagery for it is very odd, and inspires being unsettled.
The controls did feel a little unintuitive. The camera only rotated 180 degrees or so, before you had to go back the other way. and the jumping was a little "floaty", and I didn't know exactly where I was going to land after jumping.
Otherwise, I really want to know what the underlying "story" is for the game. Who are we? Why are we collecting these nom noms? I want answers.
Absolutely stunning art. Very unique control scheme that I'm not sure I've seen anywhere before. I was a little lost on the meaning of "leveling up" and also the gold until I caught on to what was going on. I also didn't know WHY we needed to level up until I hit the final goblin boss. So it could have used a little polish on the UX side of things.
Overall, I felt like I entered a sort of "zen" state playing the game. It was very casual and yet very demanding of attention.
I think this is a solid foundation for a game that wants to become a puzzle platformer.
The idea was interesting, but I won't talk too much on it out of fear of spoiling the end.
The graphics were nice, though the main character could have used a little more animation, especially for jumping. I think the game could be built up to make something very interesting!
It may be a bad day to be a bunny, but its a great day to be a game jam players. The soundtrack is honestly amazing. The comic-style story telling is brilliant. And the game idea is nice and simple. Excellent all around!
Edit: Also "The cats own all the pizzerias in town, it's a cover operation but they make some really good pies" is probably the best lyric ever written.
I love this game. Seriously, its perfect. 5's across the board.
Graphics were very cute, and I felt instantly attached to the main character, and even his grandpa. The controls are very tight, and I never felt like I got hit when I shouldn't have. The length of the game is the perfect size for a jam game because the whole thing is playable in just a few minutes. The game showcases everything it has to offer in that timeframe, and you're not left wondering if there's more. That being said, there isn't too much to experience as whole. Another dynamic would be require to make game feel "whole". Perhaps you bring up the wrong book, or your grandpa requires a different book, every time you bring one up, to make the story repeatable, and thereby creating a gameplay loop. This way, each book could be at a lower and lower level, and once the player loses all of their hearts, they have to start over. Or perhaps, once you retrieve the book that our grandpa is looking for, you have to also traverse the same elevator trip back upwards. And because we're now moving upwards, the challenges become that much harder because things will begin falling down quicker.
From a design standpoint, I felt that attacking was a single-use mechanic, and could have been used for more. For example hitting books and globes out of the way. Another idea would be to have books actually pile up as they fall, requiring the player to hit them away off the platform. This would add another mechanic of difficulty. Perhaps built up books tilt the platform in a way that requires the player to clear them, lest the platform flip, or something.
Overall I think it was a fun little jam game!
It's certainly very very pretty. I'm a sucker for low poly stuff, I love these roaming style games, and the audio is also very well done. I did find it very hard to collect the pickups however. That's my only gripe personally.
Honestly brilliant. Big points for humor too.
I was surprised at how quickly this got hard! Perhaps I just have a terrible memory.
Certainly very psychedelic, it very much felt like a dream state of a game. I don't particularly understand the story. I feel more could have been expanded on there. I did like the low poly graphics, and very bright and saturated colors that helped the game feel like a dream.
I'll tell you what, I'm literally not smart enough to play this game. Kudos to anyone that can come up with an apt aphorism at a moment's notice.
But on the other hand, I _did_ learn a new word today :smile: (hint: it's "aphorism")
You guys have accomplished to create a finished game. Controls felt extremely tight. Everything was intuitive. The only tiny little nit-pick I have are the bouncy mushrooms. Because the mushrooms wait for you to land to give you the jump boost, it almost feels like input delay, even thought, I KNOW why they wait for you to land. If this is intended, then I have absolutely nothing critical to say about the game, it is a finished product.
Absolutely hilarious. This may be my first ever game jam, but this is certainly one of the best of jam games. The game is very nearly perfect, and I love it.
If I had to choose some criticism, I would say that some of the audio needs work, but certainly nothing that kept me from enjoying myself.
Absolutely brilliant. A new way to explore an old classic. When I'm not worrying about taking damage, its a very very serene and peaceful game. I could see myself getting lost in something like this!
I found myself playing longer than I expected. It has a pretty therapeutic vibe to it for sure! However, because the map is so wide, I expected to be able to direct the droid left and right. I don't think that's possible however. I found myself wanting to pull it by the drill, which would make for an interesting mechanic.
Very cool stuff. I think the animations for every enemy and the player are really good in this short amount of time. No idea how so much art was created so quickly. Great stuff!
I liked the graphics and music, that was very pleasing! However I'm not sure why I want to collect exactly 123 coins, and what that would do for me. Overall a nice little project :)
Very strong message, and the visuals compliment it completely. But as far as being a game goes, I'm not sure that the content is necessarily there. Plays like a visual novel, but it ends too quickly for the emotions that it seeks to really set in. The game would do well with a little more time to tell the story and convey the feelings that it wants to.
You weren't kidding about the super chill music. In the dark, with the music, the game felt kind of solemn, not sure if that's what it was going for. Graphics were cute, and the slight touch of post processing was welcome (screen distortion & chromatic aberration). All of the pieces to make a fun platfromer were there, but it lacked a little bit of personalty. Controls and platforming could have been a little tighter as well.
Between the simple controls, simple graphics, and simple design, this game drew me in until I was able to get to the end. I couldn't exit without knowing what was at the end. I think this is because I knew precisely how many "levels" there would be because the game is based on a known story.
Congratulations on making a game in an engine not designed for games!
Listen, how is "I've got a big knife for ya" not a good response for her asking for a big big knife?! >: (
Absolutely hilarious though. I love how the player character just rolls in. What a stunner.
@hwaet thanks for the kind words! I may revisit this idea in the future as a networked party game. Quite honestly, I thought the game would have the opposite effect on relationships if played together haha, but I guess the "relationship" feature was never fully tested ;)
@ariorick yeah the size was something I could have worked a little more on. It was like a last minute scramble, and a "good enough" haha. The game is certainly not responsive either lol.
@shakedimus The hug idea is actually really good! It was not something that occurred to me during the 48 hours lol. I completely agree with your assessment, the game certainly does struggle from "I'm the dev so the game feels a lot easier than it is" syndrome.
A very calming game, other than the loud thruster SFX. I didn't really feel a difficulty increase the further down I got, and so I feel that once you get the hang of the floaty/"under-water" controls, it's fairly simple to never run into an obstacle. It also didn't particularly feel like we were moving downwards, and it just felt like we were floating on screen. The art was cute, and I liked the "cutout"/"paper sprites" effect (2d sprites in a 3d space feel)
It's tough taking on a game about depression. Usually we play games to escape such feelings, but this game does the opposite. I admire what you've done for sure, and I don't think this game is meant to be fun. And that's alright. It's an experience that makes you think and reflect, and in that, it's a big success.
I liked that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and the game didn't just end on Matt remaining depressed. Luis seems like a very good friend to keep around.
Very relaxing and serene. The UX is also very very polished. Even the menu screen felt "right".
Wow the effects on this game are something else. Such simple graphics and yet they drive home the exact point the game wants to make. The combination of "sanity" and "health" into one bar makes the game very approachable because there's less to keep track of, and in its simplicity its very easy to pick up and just go. Everything is intuitive, everything looks great!
You know, the whole time I was playing the game I thought "how does _this_ fit the theme?". And then it hit me like a food truck. I'm DEEP-frying chicken. Brilliant take on the theme.
I think the animations are really good. And is nice that there's no cooldown if you hit a dash successfully. It does seem to be pretty hard, not sure if I'm doing something wrong, but I was not able to get more than like 30 seconds in haha...
This is really really fun!
I don't think I have a lot to say about it, its a very well made jam game! I think the only gripe I have is that sometimes, the deaths feel cheap. I think its primarily the red guys. They're unpredictable (i know, i know, unstable), and somtimes it feels like nothing I do would have saved me. But that may just be on me as well. I can't really tell, because I haven't played the game enough to be able to make that kind of call.
But either way, I played it longer than I intended to do, so obviously it came out well! :)
I really liked this! It took me a second to realize I could kill the turrets, but that was more my fault for not reading the tutorial.
The game feels generally pretty polished, and it's fun to play. I just wish there was a little bit more. I wish there was more of a goal than just destroying all the turrets. I'm not sure what more could have been done in the scope of a jam, but I think it would have benefited a lot from some more meat. Perhaps certain powerups? Some other objective other than just destroying turrets? Maybe just a level system that ramps up difficulty?
I really liked the concept, and the game was fun in its own right.
I did however have a few issues with it. You already know (and by the sounds of it, fixed) the sword hitbox. I would have also liked to have seen more enemy variety, even if its just recoloring sprites and changing the AI a little bit. It wasn't until near the end that I encountered the ghost monsters, which would have been nice to see sprinkled around more than just that one screen (I appreciate the fact that they were there THEMATICALLY, because it was a graveyard, but my point still stands).
I really appreciated the bomb powerup, and the extra hearts. It made it seem like there was actual progress to the game other than just the green balls.
One of the biggest downfalls, in my opinion, was that the character lacked personality. The graphics are largely very nice, and very enjoyable, especially for a compo game. That being said, the main character seemed just a tiny bit generic for my liking. Either give them a reason to be a normal looking guy, or give them that "protagonist" feel.
The game gave me major nostalgic vibes, so you get extra points for that! :wink:
I would have also liked to know WHY Glitchard did what he did, and WHY destroying the big green balls fixes things.
Overall I really liked the game, and I would gladly play a larger more finished product!
There's a lot to love here. The simplicity of the mechanic plays to the benefit of the game. A good jam game has one very polished and refined mechanic, and this game does that well.
One thing I would love to see is a split second of seeing the arc before the bomb timer runs out. My brain is just not quick enough to react sometimes. Another solution would be to "ready" the bomb with the left mouse button, similar to how it is now, and then the right mouse button can be used to "arm" the bomb, which would be what starts counting down the timer. What this means is that we could find the "arc" that we want to throw on, and plan it all out, and then use the RMB to "pull the pin". This preserves the speedruning-compatible feel of the game, while also allowing more casual or inexperienced players to plan out their moves a little bit more.
I could see something like this exist as a cute little party game. With modes like "last one standing", "get to the top first", "don't get hit", etc.
Overall a really cute jam game.
I really loved the presentation of everything I saw. The overarching idea for the game was very well thought out and executed, and I liked every minigame, and how they were all themed around this nuclear power plant.
I find the doomsday music at the end to contrast the very "cartoonish" and playful feel of the rest of the game, but otherwise the sound design and choice was very good.
I think this has the potential to be a very solid party game that people might play together as either a co-op or vs mode.
"Macrohard Portholes" I've seen all I need to 5/5 humor.
Absolute masterpiece of an experience. The only thing that could have made this better was more minigames like the cable minigame. Either way, I loved it.
I have no criticism at all. Even the end surpassed my expectations.
Overall really fun and I'd totally waste time on this game. That being said, a few kinks stopped me from having too much fun. Some jumps were really hard to hit well, which in the grand scheme of things would probably be ok if there was some sort of ramp difficulty. Also the ropes sometimes felt unfair.
Overall I really liked it :)
Throw this bad boy on all the mobile game stores, you've got yourself a finished product here!
For real, the idea is very simple, but it works really really well as a casual puzzle game, its basically ready for release! Just make sure you release enough levels for the masses, and you've got yourself a hit!
Some physics systems didn't really play toooooo well with each other, like I was able to make the structure go haywire with the balloons, but honestly, it didn't take away from the fun at all.
I loved that I was able to get rid of the "default" structures for more lines. That was genius. Not restricting the player to build off of what the level tells them they have to build off of!
Overall, absolutely fantastic!
This is technically very very impressive, I just don't think it fits as a jam game. I really want to see what this _can_ be. And it did bring up a lot of nostalgic childhood memories.
I think this is a very very solid entry here. The idea is unique, the execution is cute and playful (even though human people are getting squished :sweat_smile: ), and the game does a fantastic job at making you FEEL like a god. You can control time, which works really well to plan out your next moves, and even have some magical powers!
The game has maaajor Besiege vibes, and I think it plays to those as a strength.
I wish there was more form to the idol. Something a little more human-shaped perhaps? rather than just one giant rectangular monolith. Also some of the shards of stone are just a bit too tiny to properly manage
Overall I really don't have a lot of criticism beyond the above nitpicks because the execution was very good. I'd definitely play something like this if it was fully released, with more powers maybe? and some polish around the edges.
It seems that sometimes bottles can be really rare. Otherwise I thought the art was very cute and on-theme. Great job! :)
Love the concept, love the fact that there's coop (wasn't able to try that out unfortunately).
The game was overall fairly simple but I really liked the idea! It was quite short, and I'm not sure there's any sort of game loop here. With a few changes and adjustments, I can see this becoming a sort of co-op party game. Gives some "Overcooked" vibes, so with just generally more things to do and chaotic management of the mech, I think I would really enjoy this!
Overall I liked it :)
Would love to play, but, password protected haha...
Absolutely loved the humor, and I always love to see visual upgrades.
Cute game, and a nice little take on the theme. I would say the environment was a tiny bit lacking. And it would have been nice if the scrap had some sort of "collect me" glow about them. Sometimes they were hard to see. Perhaps a little more danger would have worked to the benefit of the game, for example, if we were still getting chased, and we had to dodge asteroids from the front AND shots from the back?
Overall it was an enjoyable experience :)
Edit: Oh, also, I loved the little scrap minigame too!
Honestly, it's gorgeous, and works wonderfully to tell a story. The player's job is to press a few simple buttons and watch the story unfold.
The gameplay and puzzles were both simple, but I don't think that's a bad thing in this case. The game wasn't about solving puzzles or platforming per se, it was just to follow Amy around and experience her story.
That being said, I just wished there was a little bit more. Either more story, more dialog, more details about what happened; or go the other way and leave the story somewhat vague as it is, and introduce more puzzle elements. Though I think a deeper story would be the right call here. Either way, this is a small nitpick, I understand the game was made in 48h and there's only so much we can expect haha. I also think that choosing a story-based game to make in a jam is a very ballsy move.
Another small nitpick is that I wish opening up the menu was a different button from activating the trauma rhombi. Even though I totally get the minimalist vibe the game is going for.
Other than that, I think this is a near perfect jam game.
What a rollercoaster, from start to finish. Absolutely loved it. I have nothing to critique at all.
I loved it! It's a solid solid entry for the theme. It uses a familiar mechanic, but not something that I've seen used exactly like this before.
The only criticism I'd have is to slow down the game a little, at least in the beginning, and just to add more stuff :) I understand that this is a jam game, but I liked the speed-up area. I think more hazard areas that define some sort of mechanics changes. But overall a very cute little proof of concept, and something I'd totally play on my phone (as far as I can tell, you can limit the controls to just 1 button [tap] if you'd like, which would work super well on mobile)
The audio and the graphics and the Lovecraftian theme of the game just work together SO well. The game is stunning, the little hints of texture to the game, like the lights and hover states of the buttons work very very well.
I absolutely LOVED the victory screen, and what was done there.
This is a cute little game that I think could work pretty well on mobile. It has flappy bird levels of difficulty but with much better graphics! Using gyro-controls or left/right tapping.
I think the enemy shots are probably overkill as they fill the screen and the player already has enough to worry about. Keep in mind, you're much better at this game than anyone else playing it! We find it very very difficult!
The powerups are a nice idea, and even the forcefield is a nice touch. Overall, this is an idea that could be expanded on, and could work very well as a frustrating-casual game on mobile!
Edit: Like other's have said, the controls feel backwards to me as well.
Wow, what a crazy unique idea. More of a proof of concept than it is a game, but the fact that this actually worked blows my mind.
@recessive Thanks! Everything you've said, including a shot/powerups was on the list, but that time limit bit me haha. Also, there's actually 6 different enemy types! They all have different personalities too! Some shoot more frequently, some fumble and get stunned more frequently, etc. But there's no visual indicator of that, like different appearances :slight_frown:
@circle I could see it play as a little party game, maybe something worth considering! Thanks!
@debone a lot of what you pointed out was due to time crunch haha.
I think during the post mortem of my game, i really made a point that for future jams, i will certainly certainly leave a lot more room for polish in the end. More feedback, as well as sounds (I had them all ready to be implemented, but just ran out of time), as well as getting those animation bugs figured out (I have them fixed actually, I just don't want to upload those fixes because it's not in the spirit of the jam, even though the rules technically allow me to.
Thanks for your very in depth feedback! It means a lot!
@bzik oh no :( I haven't heard of anyone encounter that. So I have no idea what might be causing it
@pixelydian yeah im kicking myself for not having any time left for music and sfx. Some animations are also screwed up, but its not in the spirit of the jam to fix them and update the game. In hindsight there's a lot I'd do different, but thats how we learn :)
I loved this take on the classic; I'm also very frustrated and I hate you at the same time.
I think this game really embodies exactly what this theme was about. My only criticism is that sometimes it felt a little unfair when the beam dropped and everything exploded. I think it would make sense to have the blocks snap into place, count the score, then drop the beam. I understand that the beam dropping and everything scattering plays more into the theme, so maybe there's a common middle-ground somewhere there?
Either way, I think it was fantastically frustrating!
The game is very nostalgic, and it feel's like something we would have played as kids, and lost hours on even though it isn't very demanding.
Otherwise, it doesn't seem to have any sort of "great motivator". Why is Dr.Frank shooting the potion vials? What is he shooting? The game doesn't seem to tell me much about itself.
I really liked the 8-bit style audio. I think it was very fitting for the game. And the CRT shader that was used for the game worked very well to transform it into a very retro feeling experience.
I especially liked the character, he was very stylized and had a lot of charm.
The story was interesting, and I wish there was a little more sprinkled within the game. I assume we want to "touch the parallel" because something tragic happened to our wife and kid in this universe? And we're somehow able to access another universe and live happily ever after? I think that's what the game is going for, but I wasn't too sure. If so, its a good story, and I wish it was made more clear, and that there was more story to go off of.
The controls were a little confusing at first, but I did eventually get the hang of it. The art overall works for the game, and it was well executed.
I love chaotic top-down shooters like this! I also really appreciated that title screen A+
I did have a few problems with this though. For starters, it was hard to see my health. as a matter of fact, it took me a while to realize there even was an HP mechanic in the game.
I also had no idea why I was doing the things I was doing. There's no game loop or story driven reason to explain why I'm on this planet, why I'm killing...monsters? aliens? why there's giant ducks and screws and bombs falling from the sky. I just feel like the game owes the player a little bit of an explanation or goal to make the player feel like they need to keep doing what they're doing.
Overall, I think it was a nice little prototype/proof of concept or a hectic top down shooter.
I really like the idea, And I eventually figured out how the mechanics worked.
I think you did very great with the time you were given but boy did you take a huge bite! I'm impressed with what I saw but perhaps tightening up the scope would have given you more time to polish things up.
Either way, I actually really enjoyed what I saw.
I think we need a better explanation of how the food works. A few runs died because I just couldn't get enough food for my civilization, eventually the population would grow, eat all the food, and then die, they would equalize at a lot less than what I had before. So I just spammed cabins because they gave food faster than pop would grow. then I was able to upgrade to Level 2, and had access to farms. From there things were a lot easier, but I also didnt exactly understand how military power worked. It seemed like i was able to beat monsters with 200 military power with just 5 of my own, but then later I had like 15 and wasn't able to beat monsters with around 250 military power? I'm not really sure I understand.
Overall, I liked it!
Absolutely incredible. Obviously Others have said pretty much everything there is to be said about it. Love it. Congrats on maybe winning some categories :wink:
I liked it, especially the animation of the character, and the mood overall.
It was a very unique idea but I didn't really see a reason to ever choose truth. It feels like it's a lot easier to fail that minigame than it is to fail dares. I was able to get to a point where I could do 2 or 3 dares at once, and it gave me just as many points as truth, so I was able to rack up plenty of points by just doing dares really quickly.
The game needs some balancing, and some reasons why I should use both mechanics, some sort of balancing middleman-minigame. That could also feed into the unstable theme perhaps.
Overall, a neat little concept for a game! :)
Fish was a hard one ;)
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