Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → DecadeDecaf
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Category | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥉 | 2024 | 56 | Tiny Creatures | Beachfront | compo | Audio | 4.37 | |
| 🥈 | 2021 | 49 | Unstable | Scoop the Pool | compo | Graphics | 4.69 | |
| 🥇 | 2020 | 46 | Keep it alive | Mollie | compo | Fun | 4.52 |
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 59 | Signal | Coverage | compo | 42 | 3.93 | 3.63 | 3.65 | 3.86 | 3.72 | 3.90 | 3.42 | 3.59 | |
| 2025 | 58 | Collector | United Stamps | compo | 132 | 3.23 | 3.44 | 2.84 | 3.97 | 2.94 | 3.07 | 3.39 | 3.15 | |
| 2025 | 57 | Depths | Shafted | compo | 184 | 3.34 | 3.52 | 3.44 | 2.78 | 3.52 | 3.68 | 3.19 | 3.02 | |
| 2024 | 56 | Tiny Creatures | Beachfront | compo | 34 | 4.08 | 3.78 | 3.56 | 3.47 | 4.50 | 4.37 | 4.43 | 4.11 | |
| 2024 | 55 | Summoning | 12 Vengeful Ghosts | compo | 41 | 4.00 | 4.09 | 3.12 | 2.94 | 4.01 | 4.24 | 4.04 | 4.02 | |
| 2023 | 54 | Limited Space | Hole in the Well | jam | 558 | 3.57 | 3.55 | 3.44 | 2.97 | 2.27 | 4.22 | 4.13 | 3.69 | |
| 2023 | 53 | Delivery | Don't Chute the Messenger | compo | 252 | 3.36 | 2.88 | 3.11 | 3.90 | 4.25 | 3.95 | 3.33 | 3.65 | |
| 2022 | 51 | Every 10 seconds | That Which Catches Your Eye | compo | 135 | 3.67 | 3.12 | 3.15 | 3.72 | 4.45 | 4.47 | 2.46 | 3.84 | |
| 2022 | 50 | Delay the inevitable | Musical Thrones | compo | 92 | 3.86 | 3.63 | 3.40 | 3.34 | 3.75 | 4.27 | 3.61 | 3.35 | |
| 2021 | 49 | Unstable | Scoop the Pool | compo | 31 | 4.07 | 3.78 | 4.16 | 4.35 | 4.69 | 3.88 | 4.00 | 3.97 | |
| 2021 | 48 | Deeper and deeper | Surface Level | compo | 147 | 3.85 | 3.22 | 3.70 | 3.47 | 4.40 | 4.00 | 3.67 | 4.12 | |
| 2020 | 47 | Stuck in a loop | break | compo | 85 | 3.86 | 3.88 | 3.08 | 3.44 | 4.00 | 3.72 | 3.41 | 3.13 | |
| 2020 | 46 | Keep it alive | Mollie | compo | 24 | 4.16 | 4.52 | 4.35 | 3.17 | 3.39 | 3.69 | 2.73 | 3.45 | |
| 2019 | 45 | Start with nothing | Vacuity | compo | 221 | 3.47 | 2.84 | 2.86 | 3.84 | 3.88 | 3.72 | 2.11 | 3.23 | |
| 2019 | 44 | Your life is currency | Transfusion | compo | 88 | 3.73 | 3.52 | 3.68 | 3.13 | 3.57 | 3.69 | 2.88 | 3.23 |
@zanyg Thanks so much! I've never done art for a game, so I'm glad it worked out! I decided to make bodies exist because it allows for more puzzle potential in the later levels. But I can definitely see how that could cost a more a simple control scheme.
@wubbaduck Thanks! It might've not been the best idea to make a two button game with four controls, so I can definitely see that.
I appreciate the kind words @dan-thompson! I actually considered making 3 extra sprites to make it obvious which was the original creature. So for instance, a bird+fish that was originally a fish would be a fish with wings, rather than a bird with a fin. Just not something that made it in time.
Oh snap. Our game names are the same.
I really like the game. One thing I found myself doing was beating a level as one character and donating the rest of the blood to the other. It might be a fun idea to introduce a mechanic that encourages more swapping, like buttons/levers or ways to get more blood. Overall very enjoyable!
This was a great execution of a really cool idea, nice job! I loved how intuitive the console was, but some more QoL stuff like hitting the up arrow to paste your last command or being able to select/copy text from the log would've been amazing.
You clearly had a lot of fun making this, haha! Nice job.
Just letting you know the itch link pulls up a 404.
Yup, fixed! The game is really creative, nice work.
Thanks so much @fictions! I hid the mouse because it looked odd in front of the textbox. I definitely could've handled it better, though. Appreciate the feedback!
Thank you @erebus! I was worried that it might be too similar to other games but I'm glad some of my ideas made it unique! I tried to do extremely subtle things to make combinations less "trial and error" but I can definitely understand if it still played that way.
@bobothegreat I really appreciate it! Music was a rocky road this time around. I ended up completely redoing a lot of it, but I'm glad it turned out how it did!
Thanks! @evannex You can click on your character for a hint if you get stuck, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Game looks cool, @ me when the link works.
Thank you everyone for the awesome feedback!
Sorry to hear that @ofirma85. Were you able to jump onto the ground to restart, or were you actually stuck? Either way, that stinks.
To add onto that, a restart button like @veesus-mikel-heir suggested would've been crucial. Not just to avoid getting stuck, but to speed up the process if someone wanted to start over as soon as possible.
@brandann I will admit that my interpretation of the theme may have been a bit of a stretch. When I originally designed the game, I imagined a lot more of the levels to be about keeping the skateboard's position, momentum, and state "alive," but once I got down to making the levels, the game turned out to be a lot more precision-based than momentum-based.
@jake-marks I love that image.
@rextgun I did notice a few people getting their board stuck a few inches into the ground, but I hadn't actually seen anything else. Could you elaborate on the types of bugs you noticed?
@parahunter There actually is a timer (at the bottom), but the ability to replay levels is an awesome idea. The graffiti was a last-day addition to try to spice up the backgrounds. I tried patterns, lighting, and other unique ways to make it less bland, but I settled on some fun, randomly-generated images. Maybe it would've been a better idea to make the backgrounds/graffiti have depth so they actually looked like they were in the back. Also, I probably should've drawn the logo instead of photo-edited one, that would've given the game a lot more style. The song is a 2:50 loop, but for a game that takes most people over 15 minutes on their first go, it may have been worth adding a few more sections. Making the movement tiles animated (or something) definitely would've made them easier to understand, I agree. As with everyone else, thank you for the feedback!
"This game is up there at the top regarding fun."
Wow, this comment aged really well. Thank you so much @peringo and @sn4pi! Extremely happy with my results.
Good pixel art with some impressive UI and an extremely helpful tutorial. I felt like the SFX were a little obnoxious, but that's my only complaint. Quality entry!
I think it would be easier to find the lighthouse if it somehow emitted a strong light. Other than that, I liked the water effects and the raving sailboats, those were fun.
I like the difficulty scaling. Feels really natural, especially since you keep getting upgrades. The heavy use of particles didn't really match the graphics in my opinion, and I was wishing for some music, but it was a fun and conceptually-interesting entry overall!
Controls and physics were well-done, albeit a little floaty. I think the game could benefit from shorter levels or checkpoints. Especially for the first level. I can imagine a lot of people quitting before they even knew that there were more levels. The lollipop system was cool. Maybe it would've been more interesting if your blood sugar only went down while moving or something so it's not just a timer. Pretty great for a first game, though, and there's something to be said about making your first game in less than a weekend!
The idea is really solid. I really like how the enemies can shoot each other. Definitely wish there was a way to restart, though. My highest score was 11.
Beat the game in just over 10 minutes and enjoyed the time spent! Appreciated the good pixel art and believable sounds. On a few of the sections, I was able to walk through without my box, since the checkpoints didn't require having the box with you. Also, I wished the line-of-sight mechanic was utilized more, but that's just me. Really well-made entry!
I loved the visuals and appreciated the multiple control options. Taking out the drones felt satisfying, but I was able to complete the levels by mostly just running past them. The tutorial level was paced really well; I had no issues understanding the game.
A very solid compo entry. Good job.
The game looks and sounds amazing. It was really fun with two players, but I'm imagining it would've been faster-paced with four. The way you choose your button before playing is really clever and intuitive. The power-ups kept me playing for sure.
I would've loved to see some match settings to be able to customize how the game was played, but that's more of a wish than feedback.
Solid entry!
I liked the visuals and overall coziness of the game. I managed to get to a point where the battery charge was lowering faster than I was could raise it, but even so, the game felt more relaxing than stressful. Nice entry.
I enjoyed how the main mechanic could be used for many purposes, and your level design did a great job at showcasing that. One thing that bothered me was the explosion sound playing multiple times when you destroyed multiple bots (it scared me the first time haha). Great compo entry, nice work.
Pleasantly surprised. The particles and circle manipulations were very impactful towards the visuals and tied well with the music. I liked the various ways to earn score. The score multiplier increasing per-round was clever; it kept me playing!
I would've wished for automatic fire, though. I found myself smashing my space bar to fire faster. Overall a clean entry that took me by surprise with its minimalist branding.
I really like how you can gain height by bouncing on the walls; it makes me want to see how fast I can go. The physics and controls felt good to me. I really liked the map art and player animations. It was a bit emptier than some other compo entries I've played, but what's there is really well-done. Great job on this compo entry.
Thank you @ellladee @butterbrot @ugly-robot and @pixel-maniacs! Appreciate the kind words.
@dharby @zackavelli
It definitely would've been cool to allow you to edit the code in some way. I wanted the game to be as friendly as possible to people unfamiliar with programming, so if I were to expand upon this idea, it would probably be very minor.
My best idea right now is to "group" snippets of code together into disks, and then you would be able to enable or disable each disk within the computer.
Thank you for playing!
@dinoraz @diefleder
Appreciate the feedback! I'm open to hearing any nitpicks, even if they're very minor.
I agree with the criticism that the difficulty doesn't ramp up enough. During development, there were more increases to enemy stats, but I wanted to avoid making the "upgrades" feel unsatisfying, so I replaced them with more interesting things. In retrospect, I should've made the golden enemies harder than the normal ones; I think that would've helped a lot.
Thank you for playing!
I've noticed that there are two play-styles for this game. You can carefully hit the ball with only the outside paddle, or you can parry the ball between the two paddles for twice as many points. That honestly adds a lot of depth to an otherwise simplistic game. I appreciated the option to use a controller. Nice entry, even if you weren't able to finish it.
This game NAILS that intense feeling of danger. Running for cover only to be spotted by my past-self doing a 360 is hilariously stressful. Lots of fun; I haven't seen anything like it. The dynamic music kept me invested as well.
The limited vision worked really well, but with most of the screen being pitch black, I would've appreciated some more stuff to look at. Something to fill up space like a noise-filter or more light sources would've gone a long way.
All that being said, I had a great time. I was able to finish it (after many embarrassing tries), but I can understand dropping out early. It was definitely tough to learn without any prior knowledge of the map.
Hey, make sure you include a link to your game so everyone can play it.
@kro the compo hasn't ended yet. Do you have any suggestions for how I could make any of the minigames more fun/interesting before the time runs out?
That was lovely!! I adored all the bug designs, and the glossary was a nice touch as well. My favorite bugs were Geargug and the fullscreen button. It wasn't very difficult, but it didn't really need to be. I did like how the bugs had different ways of blending in throughout the game, but I wished it ramped up a little more. Very charming and impressive compo entry overall.
(also it's really cool that we both made games about bugs)
That was a really good experience! I liked the different solutions to each act. I feel dumb for spending a ton of time thinking of three-letter words for red fish instead of continuing to explore the cubicles. Very enjoyable entry!
Once I understood what I was doing, it was pretty fun! I liked the incremental nature of the gameplay loop, and the premise of the game (as well as your take on the theme) was hilariously clever.
There were times where I had to wait out the rest of the day because I ran out of ingredients. I would suggest adding an "end day" button, or allowing you to purchase ingredients from the store at ANY time, but maybe at a higher price to encourage planning ahead.
As a big fan of food-preparing games, I enjoyed this a lot. It's no Burger Shop 2, though.
🦀
This is a very clever game. Definitely difficult to get the hang of, but once it clicked, it was really fun to build up momentum throughout the level. Sound and visuals were great, and I always love to see PICO-8 games. Extremely engaging jam entry!
(also my game has the same name! sorry for sniping the url from you)
Very fun and stylish! I like how the rocks would fall if your corpse hit them. One thing I noticed was that if you started holding down the jump button before you reached the wall, you wouldn't get a progress bar. This wasn't a big deal, though. A well-made entry!
Very cool idea. I really liked using "balance" as a way to interpret the theme (and totally not because I also did that for my entry). The art was charming and easy to read quickly, which is important for this type of game. Your excellent grasp on UI and screen-space also helped with that!
I did find myself waiting until the very last minute to actually finalize an order, because it seemed like orders would fly in immediately. A benefit/reward for completing orders early might've prevented me from delaying orders.
I think it would've been really cool if some of the drinks were visibly way-heavier or way-lighter. I think that would've added more strategy to the balance section. OR (and I'm spitballing, so feel free to ignore me) there could be things like ingredients or coasters to increase the weight of a drink order.
Anyway, had a lot of fun with this one. Great work!
Huge puzzle game fan, and this one delivers. I liked the setup and writing; that drove me to keep playing (the ending was cool as well). The premise of the levels were simple, but it definitely worked. Since most of the levels were symmetrical in some way, picking up on the patterns was fun and clicked very quickly for me.
I found myself trying to hit the "directives target," on every single level, and that was especially frustrating when the restart key didn't reset my "directives issued." A quicker way to retry levels entirely (or simply an undo history) would be appreciated.
The 3D perspective with the squishy swap animation went a long way. I played for so long that I forgot I was in Firefox's fullscreen mode and was wondering why I couldn't close the game, haha!
The controls were definitely awkward, but I think that's a good thing! It reminded me of old Bennett Foddy games like QWOP or GIRP. I think it would be a little too easy if the controls were any more "intuitive." Fit very well with the theme, and I liked how the liquid in the vial would shake more-and-more the closer you were to losing.
Also "mmm green" SO TRUE that's what I've been saying for my entire life
For a game jam platformer, the controls were extremely tight and the level design was definitely present. I enjoyed the world you built and I adore B. Quick Chadwick (my last name is Quick, haha). The checkpoint character is also a fun addition. The animation was pleasant and the subtle squishes you did to the sprites went a long way.
Great entry!
Extremely creative concept and super fun. All the commit titles had me on the floor. Nice work!
This was an extremely good game!! I ended up seeing some repeats, but the solutions and writing for what DID exist was astonishing. Loved the voice acting, especially the "WOOOOOOO AHA NICE" when you get a perfect day.
27.png
I had a lot of fun exploring all the different ways to distract the mother, but I wish there was a timer to gauge how long I was able to do it. Ruining the living room was a blast and I enjoyed all the furniture art scattered throughout the house (plus you can pet the cat, so you know).
@ntimi I think the depleting bar was very handy, but I was more-so thinking of a timer during the ending scene with the mother. So you could see which actions distracted her for the longest amount of time, you know? Either way, it was a very enjoyable experience.
Love penguins so this was a fun one for me. I liked the gameplay loop of squeezing myself through the fleet of penguins to snag some fish. Props for completing a compo game with new software!
meteor.jpg
Treating "the inevitable" as an expected group of players was really clever! I thoroughly enjoyed browsing the library of art and contributing a little bit of my own. You nailed the visuals, audio, and overall vibe to make this fresh idea work. Fantastic!
@quinn-patrick Thank you! Some of my older compo games struggled with learning curves, so I'm just glad to make one that isn't too tough. I think it's pretty amusing how you called the typing section "completely trivial" considering I've never been able to perfect it myself... as the developer. From watching people play, I've noticed different people excel at different sections, and I think that's really cool! Again, thanks for the notes.
@andy-beers I was worried about the emblem memory controls because I noticed some people didn't see the arrows at the top (or they thought the "choosing" was part of what they had to remember), but I'm glad you were able to figure it out before giving up. Thank you for the comments!
Also, quick side-note for anyone browsing the comments:
The button at the bottom with the crossed-out E lets you toggle "evitable" mode, which lets you play the whole song without getting interrupted by a win. Realizing I didn't really make that clear, but thought it would be a good idea to add before the deadline since some people might want to go for a perfect score!
Extremely fun game! Just HAD to go for that high score. I found that letting the ships crash into each other was more valuable than shooting them, so eventually I was frantically dodging an armada of ships. 1st.png
Oh hey, another typing game. I wasn't the only one!
I loved the art and VFX (especially the motivational posters in the back). The sound design & voice acting was so good you had me *intentionally* losing just to hear the dog get angry. Unpopular opinion it seems, but typing individual letters isn't inherently worse than predetermined words. It's definitely harder, but sometimes harder is good! Had a great time with this one; an impressive jam entry.
Gotta love the panic-inducing gameplay of food service games! Definitely felt the good kind of stress that comes with the genre. The flow of the game was easy to grasp, but the game itself was far from easy. I lasted for quite a while, but inevitably, I made enough mistakes to fill the "fire-o-meter."
Also, the manager portrait made me giggle :)
The controls feel REALLY good and the aesthetic and music are amazing, but I kept running into an issue where the boss would stop attacking! I'm going to avoid rating the game for now, but I was playing on Windows if that helps:
screen.png
also, I found the max hp secret >:]
Playing the web version solved it for me!
I was able to see a lot more of what the game had to offer (plus, I found the other secret) and I'm still super impressed. Very cool stuff! Glad I was able to enjoy it.
This is an extremely unique take on the theme; I never would've thought of a mechanic like this in a point & click. It was fun piecing together the bigger picture while frantically looking for people and evidence. Nice work!!
SUCH a fun game with a LOT of great gags; very charming. It's a creative take on the theme, which was difficult to pull off this time lol. Super impressive for the compo!
time.png
I played that for a LOT longer than I thought I would lol. I do wish the regular rocks spawned a bit faster, because I reached 9999 of that "flesh" resource, but was struggling to get gray ore. Very satisfying to ramp-up in power -- I like the upgrade diversity. Solid compo entry!
Impressive how stable this was. Even though everyone was confined to their own boards, that was SURPRISINGLY competitive. It was funny when people before me placed intentionally-fake flags; that got me real good. Was fun playing against the dev (gg)! hi.png
Woah the difficulty ramped up fast! That was a blast. I liked the expressive animations and pitch-bending narration. Solid compo entry; nice work!!
202.png
@100th-coin thank you for recording the game and narrating the dialog! It was VERY cool to see an unmediated playthrough. Seeing which objects you noticed and which ones you guessed was extremely interesting. And it was also awesome to see that you noticed the track layering (how the vocals only happen during the gameplay). That was very observant of you! I'm sure Jo Anne would be proud lmao.
Maybe next Ludum Dare I can make The Witch Catches Your Eye, but for now I'm super glad you enjoyed the game.
Here's the not-instrumental version of the song, if anyone's curious: https://decadedecaf.bandcamp.com/track/that-which-catches-your-ear
and @ everyone else, thank you for all the wonderful comments and feedback!!
VERY tricky but I loved all the little quips in the dialog. Figuring out which turrets to dismantle was fun.
win.png
Aesthetics reminded me a LOT of Baba is You; very cool stuff! Was surprisingly easy to learn despite only getting 10 seconds per game -- it's like WarioWare in that it teaches you concepts very quickly. I also liked the Undertale-inspired minigame. Even though I'm comparing it a lot to other games, there's definitely huge a sense of style and personality in this. Extremely impressive for a compo entry! Nice work!!
(I'm also glad I'm not the only one who put an amogus in my game)
Music slapped; loved the little ad libs in the song lol. Wish the game had a reticle and a sensitivity slider, but that's definitely asking a lot for a compo. Super stylish entry!!
Enjoyed this a lot. Character swapping is a fun puzzle format, and this was a very stylish way of interpreting the theme. I liked how each character had unique struggles (person 2 is trans in my headcanon lol) and their experiences felt real, even when oversimplified as a game mechanic like this.
Once I figured out the main mechanic, I was *super* impressed. I urge other people to stick it through, and pay attention to the mailbox at the beginning of the game. bagelseeker.png
This might very well be one of the tightest designed puzzle concepts I've ever seen from a Ludum Dare game. The levels were all very smart and intuitive. Fantastic music and VFX, too. Great work!
@soloadventurergames thank you!! and yeah I definitely could've done a better job at visually displaying the roll numbers, especially with the pennies (that one counts the number of "heads" you flip, so technically you can roll a zero). I also agree that most of the spinner options are basically the same; would've been cool to introduce heavier strategy elements. Appreciate the comments!
Thanks everyone for the amazing comments and feedback.
and @la-bread, definitely! I had a lot of cool ideas I wasn't able to do in 48 hours, so I feel like there's way more I can do with DCtM. I typically put all my post-jam updates in a single collection called Afterthoughts (it's on my itch profile) after the rating period is over. Appreciate the interest!!
LOVED the aesthetics here, especially the tile art. Amazing work. I do wish there was a little more puzzle variety — a lot of levels felt like they had similar solutions. I also wish there was a way to undo/remove paths (unless I missed something). Other than that it was very enjoyable and well put together. Congrats!
was NOT expecting that. The clear Hotline Miami inspiration is very stylish. I'm into the escalation of the music a ton, too. Very cool stuff!!
I LOVED thin ice from club penguin when I was younger. This is SUPER cool!! Love how unique the tile mechanics are, and it's very impressive how many of them you were able to add during a compo. Great stuff.
VERY cool concept!! I appreciate how you included a drawing and some theatrics on the LD page; it was a lot more interesting to imagine a mail carrier collecting packages than a bunch of dots in MS Paint collecting more dots. Creative stuff! snake.png
That was an extremely sweet love story!! I wholly enjoyed the combination of using "context clues" from the letters with the mechanics-based pipe puzzles. The fact that you were able to make this game bilingual is impressive and appreciated. That one "stuck" pipe felt a little awkward/confusing; what if it shook or made a little sound effect to indicate that it was intentional? That might be cool. Great work!
Oh my gosh, have you played De Tres al Cuarto from Essays on Empathy?? just conceptually, this reminds me a TON of that game.
Either way, this is a very cool entry, and it would be cool to see it expanded. I love the theming of the card types and the overall vibe of the game world. The music is also great. Nice work!
As far as menus go, this one makes me want to play the game very badly!! Impressive stuff regardless, and good luck with future endeavors.
Where to begin? Okay listen, I'm as sex positive as the next person, so the content itself didn't bother me, but damn you really went all out with this one, huh? To be fair — all that aside — this is a very impressive compo entry. The physics-based combat was extremely unique and the wrapper enemies were visually entertaining. It's admirable how much furniture you were able to model within the time-frame. I do wish there was music/sound but I understand not all solo devs are involved with audio. I actually kinda like how there's no "lose condition," rather a depleting score, but seeing "-10" is admittedly a little awkward. Reluctantly, great job!
Originally played on my laptop (1366x768 resolution) and a bunch of the text was off-screen. Switched to my desktop (1920x1080 resolution) and it was perfect. Solid concept!! Had me playing a bunch to try and meet the quota, but I unfortunately never could. There are some great strategic core elements in here, though. Nice job!
The fact that the game points to the rulebreakers once time starts running out is really great design. Awesome entry!
Oh my GOD that was so terrifying and so much fun. Gameplay felt super clean and fair while staying far from easy. Constantly kept me on my toes even after I got the hang of it. Extremely well done! shot in the dark.jpg 25400 was my best shot. in the dark. get it? like the name?
For anyone interested, here's the music track I wrote for the game: https://decadedecaf.bandcamp.com/track/hole-in-the-well
It uses the double harmonic scale, but with a half-flat 2, and the main melody is played using an oud:
image.png
@thebmxeur @john-gabriel thanks for the comments! As for the compo rules, I've seen discussions floating around over the years about what counts as collaboration: "is receiving feedback during the jam technically getting help with game design?", "is asking people to test your compo game during the time frame technically helping with its stability?", and "is voice acting technically getting help with the audio or humor/mood?"
They're all good questions, and I don't claim to have a definitive answer, but I'll add some info about my own project for clarity: - I did all of the writing, casting, and audio mixing - I allowed VAs to put their own spin on characters or lines, but purposefully did not ask for help with writing or design - I voiced Gene
As for the audio category, I ask that you rate with this in mind. If enough people feel iffy about this game qualifying as a "compo entry," I'll switch it to a jam. If not, I ask that people rate the music and sound design (not the voice acting) to avoid giving this game an unfair edge over other compo games.
@ace17 thank you for this compelling take. I wholeheartedly agree with your interpretation of the compo rules, and even though I recorded most (not ALL) of the VAs myself, their indisputable contribution is enough of a gray area for me to change the classification.
Hole in the Well is now marked as a jam game. (also worth pinging @thebmxeur and @john-gabriel again)
@fredspipa @kylazaur tysm for the comments!! Regarding the feedback about most choices seeming inconsequential, or choosing between "money" and "no money," I totally agree. There are definitely exceptions to this, though!
For instance (SPOILERS), saying "aren't you rich?" to Tabatha is like haggling; it causes her to raise her offer. Telling Wendell that "misogyny is bad" causes him to come back as a changed man the next time. Granting a certain customer $1,000,000 causes inflation, making your IRS fee higher in the future, but stopping at $55 is perfectly fine. Telling someone over email that "I wish we were closed on Mondays" actually causes nobody to show up the next Monday.
One of the things I was going for with the narrative was, "you must sacrifice your morals in order to stay in business," similar to something like *Papers, Please*, but if I were to expand upon this game, I'd definitely add more unique consequences to granting wishes (or benefits to denying them).
@spaceylake thanks!! and OMG it's so funny how many people absolutely despise Harry Humbleton. Some of my friends have sent the character's VA messages like "seals go to hell when they die" LOL
Love the "limited space" spin on touhou. Moving the lantern around was super fun to master. Very cute & charming characters as well! Nice work.
Once I figured out the objective of the game I was hooked. Very stylish and pretty! Love the lil worms :] gems.jpg
I got the pumpkin :]
The clash between the lil alien creature and the cutesy Kenney art is such a unique and cozy vibe. It's perfectly accentuated by the wonderfully weird music and charming "jump" sounds. Congrats on your first game! Hope you keep making more.
Very enjoyable controls and interesting mechanics (especially the gravity/wind section). The VFX are great, too. Nice compo entry!
out of side.jpg
This was my first attempt. It'd be fun to go back and see if I could do better!
The cramped keyboard controls required a little rewiring of the brain, but once I got it down it was a lot of fun! The music's great, and I appreciated the teensy bit of queer inclusivity. Lovely compo entry!
Hilarious and extremely innovative! The new tasks for each level keep it super fresh. Great work!
Reminds me of The Password Game. I could get addicted to something like this. The execution of the concept was wonderful, great work!
Very tricky! Found myself squinting at that recipe book lot, but the ending felt very satisfying in spite of that. Enjoyed the visual style and music a ton. Loved being able to spare the spider and keep it as a pet.
basisseeker.jpg
Not as good as bagelseeker though 🙄
I loved every second of this game! It was completely full of character. The various text effects baked into the dialog system and the various sounds and poses the characters would make were great touches. Congrats on making this for the compo!
I was in the process of setting everything up @cleverdumb. Should work now! :]
@kepsert I believe the issue is that the dodge button still works after the player dies (or on the same frame?), meaning if you dodge too late, it appears as if you "should've" dodged whatever killed you. I noticed this happened to a couple other people. Pretty frustrating, but I'm glad you enjoyed it regardless! Thank you so much for your comment.
Thank you @ollie-d! I'm starting to realize how poor the alternate control scheme (WASD, space, ctrl, shift) actually is. During testing, I used arrows + ZXC, so I didn't realize how awkward using ctrl to dodge would be.
Especially since ctrl+W closes the window, I heavily recommend arrows + ZXC to anyone reading this.
@drainkid thank you!! Though, you can also directional dodge. Maybe I should've conveyed that better in the tutorial.
@drainkid LOL congrats!! one of the best times I've seen so far. I'm glad you figured it out :]
Cute game! My snake SWEPT everyone else. Enjoyed the DIY sound effects a lot. Some more intel on the various stats of the critters would help with coming up with strategies, but it wasn't too tough. Great compo entry. :3
critter duel.png
Brilliantly simple concept; the tutorial was super intuitive and I understood the rules immediately. I'm really glad this game has a multiplayer option, too. It reminded me of board games like Go. Presentation was great, too! Overall, a very solid compo entry. Good job!
This game was so cool. The mechanic is super neat and it's explored wonderfully. Appreciated the coyote time and other platforming niceties. Loved the music, too! Very good stuff, especially for a compo.
When I realized the trick to that last screen my jaw dropped. The main mechanic is super neat, especially with the discovery of new melodies later on. Amazing aesthetics, as well. Extremely cool stuff! My fingers hurt. pied piper.jpg
Once it clicked for me, it CLICKED. The strategy reminded me a lot of Suika Game. Was very fun cramming my pigs in a corner to try to get them to form the right shape! Great work.
super pal summoner.jpg
I'm super impressed by the arsenal of music tracks that you all managed to fit into this game without detracting from everything else. It was visually and mechanically very cool as well, even if a little rough around the edges. This is a super stylish entry, and you all should be very proud!
Side note: as someone with the first name Cadence, I feel moved to give this game the Cadence seal of approval, as it kept randomly giving me Katy Perry's hit 2010 pop tune California Gurls ft. Snoop Dogg, which was both unforgettable AND undeniable.
This game was SLICK. Great controls, VFX, and sound design. Lots of moments that made me go "oh that was awesome." Definitely gonna be going back for those S ranks! Very solid compo entry all around.
shrew.jpg
This was easily one of the most fleshed-out compo games I've ever played. I'm exceptionally impressed by all the work that must've went into this. Finding hidden babies was a cute distraction from that six-digit code I was supposed to be cracking, haha. Had a great time with this. Pleasant music and visual style, too. That zoom-out (at the end of the game) was VERY cool.
@sam-bigos
...oh my GOD
Thank you so much for the comment. Your crude prose is KILLING me here; it made my entire day.
Thanks everyone for all the kind words!
@ramchops-games I know exactly what you're talking about lmao. There were so many cool things I wanted to include but I quickly learned that this genre is not very compo-friendly. Headpats would've been perfect. Thank you!
Thank you @sudocoffee! There's actually a similar issue with buying the sandcastle while there's treasure underneath it, haha. Sorry you ran into that.
Fun character movement and super cool background/tile art. The mechanic introduced halfway through is a great change of pace. Love the little "eep" death sound effect lol. Congrats on finishing another compo!
This is so cool! I love all the effort you put into game feel; the slick controls, the punchy freeze frames, the ascending sound effects upon delivering a huge chain of animals. It's very effective. The music is awesome, and it feels right at home with the rest of the vibe you've got going on here. It's always lovely to listen to something *this* compositionally proficient in a compo game.
I'm unsure if the game has ramping difficulty of any kind, but it might be neat if the difficulty ramped with the length of your current queue. If you're confident you won't die, then there's no real incentive to cash them in for points. I found myself avoiding the balloon for the entire duration of my attempts until I inevitably died. My hubris.
Either way, this is an extremely impressive compo entry! Great work.
Very satisfying seeing my units dig into and shape the planet. I love all the flavor text for the upgrades, too. Would be nice if you could sell upgrades, because I bought WAY too many lasers and not enough energy regeneration! Great work on the compo.
up we go! :D
Absolutely adorable and hilarious. Such a great time the whole way through with some extremely unique physics puzzle mechanics. And the MUSIC, too! It's all so goofy in the best way possible. Loved every second of this. Great work, y'all.
Woo! Yea! Yee-hah! Woo! Yippee!
I had such a great time with this. Fun spin on the genre with a VERY impressive amount of polish for a jam. A gameplay preview on the menu screen? Level titles named after OSHA violations? Graphical variation on the titular *Little Guys*? Editing royalty free music so the lead instrument cuts out while the game is paused?! I see you. Fantastic job!
Thanks @munmungames! If I had more than a couple hours to test, I definitely would've made the early game feel a bit less... sluggish. Those quality-of-life niceties you're suggesting are very sensible and would've cut down on a lot of the downtime. It feels *especially* punishing to be sent back to the beginning of the mineshaft if you die to the boss, since there's no reason to collect gold anymore.
Thank you @gdman and @angry-fridge for the comments as well! I like how the game sometimes forces you to choose between collecting your pickaxes or collecting gold, but admittedly, sometimes it's outright impossible. The idea was that, eventually, enough gold would fall to where it'd barely matter if you missed a few, but I think I went overboard with the randomization. Definitely would've tweaked this if I had more time.
And thank you @tad-i-guess for your super kind comment. Here's the secret: you CAN throw pickaxes at rich people in real life!
@ugly-robot the suggestion about the pickaxe's relative position is GREAT. It would reward attentive players while simultaneously limiting the frustration that comes with too much randomization. I'm happy to hear the core of the game works so well in spite of that.
It's actually raster art, if you can believe it! I can definitely see the similarity to the vector Corporate Memphis artstyle co-opted by Going Under, though. Absolutely LOVE that game btw—Another Crab's Treasure is also a banger. It's an honor to be compared.
Thank you so much for the in-depth comment! Very kind of you.
Genuinely makes me happy that you decided to pivot last-minute instead of giving up entirely; I'm not sure if I'd have the self-discipline needed to do that if my idea wasn't working out. Very unique art & music (as always), and since the enemy spawn location is consistent (rather than being randomized), it's fun to get into a rhythm where you truly feel like you could go forever.
Combining psychoanalysis with KerPlunk is genius. Really enjoyed this! Music and art was great too; I loved the strange aesthetic it all evoked. Like @slef said, we're gonna have to remove a pesky rod to get you to stop talking ill of yourself! At the end of the day, I just love when compo devs try things they're unfamiliar with, and you knocked it out of the park.
Very refreshing to see a unique interpretation of the theme, as well. I did that for LD48's theme "Deeper and deeper" by exploring "deep" relationships, but this time I got lazy and just made a game about mining.
All in all, I loved this entry. Writing was succinct and the "crisis-mode" introduced a fun change of pace. Great work!
The parallax background is sick, and I love the animation that plays when you explode a naval mine. I wish the music looped, because it fits the vibe super well. Great work! Lots of fun.
narcosis.jpg
I think the game remembered the emeralds I collected on past attempts—either that, or I'm just *that* good at finding emeralds!
I love the gimmick; it's perfect for a short and sweet experience like this, and I enjoyed how it also affected the narrative in a very clever, meta way. Voice acting every character gave the game a lot of charm and really elevated the already delightful writing! I'm so glad I went back and spent an additional 3 minutes getting the spike pit ending LOL. Subtitles would've been great, but I can see how implementing audio files might be faster than implementing the game's entire script. Your character designs are lovely (especially the mayor) and you manage to do a lot with a little in areas where the compo left you strapped for time. The soundtrack's use of motif is especially notable; the music feels so dynamic with so little material. "I can't stop dancing!"
Great stuff as always 100th_Coin!
Girlfriend and I had a lot of fun with this game! We really enjoyed collecting tablets and hoping it was either speed or breath. The decor options were super cute and added lots of personality to our playthrough. I do wish the enemies were a little more dangerous, since a lot of the defense-related upgrades felt pretty disappointing. Some music would really tie everything together, too. Great work overall!
otter.jpg
@toppervideogames and @100th-coin thank you for seeing it through to the bitter end! I'm glad that y'all still wanted to complete the game in spite of its unforgiving nature.
For some context, I was working up until the deadline on trying to fill out the game with stamps and enemies. I made sure certain sections felt good in a vacuum, but I barely had any time to actually test the game front-to-back. I was worried there'd be long stretches of the level without much action, so some of the enemy placement was pretty hastily done. The extra life mechanic was a last-minute addition when the game ended up being significantly longer than I expected it to be. I probably would've added some sort of checkpoint system if I had time.
The Dakotas are certainly mean, but I wanted them to be mean in a "haha, that was dumb, now I know for next time" way, not realizing that "next time" would be a full 3-5 minutes in the future, at least. Definitely would've changed this if I had a feel for it!
ALL THAT SAID, I'm proud of how the game feels, and I'm so glad the humor is landing. Thank you for your comments!
@eaglez it does!! I'm so glad somebody noticed. Thank you!
grande concoction.jpg
I love how silly the writing is in this. Had fun climbing the staircase looking for the right things; would be neat if there were some decoy items to throw you off the scent lol. Great work on your first compo entry!
Wow thank you himari the beautiful super genius artificial intelligence for my pink-stained platformer with tulips! I love it!
But for real, this was one of the most unique experiences I've ever had playing a jam game. I felt pretty limited by this theme and struggled to come up with ideas; I never even would've considered using Signal (the instant messaging app) as part of a game. Amazing stuff.
SSdtIGEgc2ltcGxlLCBwdW55IGh1bWFuLiBJIHNlZSBiYXNlNjQsIEkgZGVjb2RlIGl0Lg==
That was such a cool concept executed with a level of creativity that continued to surprise me. Had a wonderful time. I'd love a longer version of this game with some precision-based puzzles to compliment the more "subversive" puzzles you've already got.
Writing was so funny that it made me want to hear all of Winnerman's Live Reactions, even after I'd already solved each section. Clicking on his face during Chet Quizzly's dialog resulted in some pretty awkward audio and subtitle overlap, but it was pretty easy to work around that. I love the way his internal monologue's hair flows.
Another fantastic compo entry! Now, if you don't mind me, I'm going to go enjoy my prize.
boyaredose.jpg
Y'all are great level designers. The chase against the slow green signal on the last level, showing off all the mechanics you'd already introduced in one final stretch? Chef's kiss. The best games for speedrunners give non-speedrunners a taste of what it feels like to go fast, and this game delivers that perfectly.
Loved the music and sound design a lot! Although, I'd tweak the volume rolloff of the moving pillars/platforms, or consider adding some sort of filter/limiter in Unity or FMOD or whatever. Multiple pillars/platforms moving at once sounds quite a bit louder than the rest of the game.
I really enjoyed reading all the scrapped robots' dialog, even going out of my way to see what each one had to say. It's very cute but effective worldbuilding. And omg that ending was unexpectedly adorable.
what that purple signal do 😳
tiny lost signal.jpg
I didn't read the list of "hints" at first, so the first time I grabbed a bomb, it felt like my entire world opened up. And the first time I cleared 5 crates? Oh boy.
This game had a really satisfying learning curve for me, and the fact that everything worked so well with only 4 buttons is impressive. The crates functioning as a bridge between triplets of flags without functioning as a flag itself is super interesting and lead to a lot of scary decision-making in the best way.
I actually really like when games Tell You Nothing, but I agree with other commenters that the lack of in-game information might be a tough pill to swallow for some players.
The music and spritework made me smile a lot. I like how the sailor's facial expression changes depending on the situation; that's a really nice touch. Overall, I really enjoyed this game!! Phenomenal work.
I really enjoyed this game! It took me about 39 minutes to beat, but I was playing it \*very\* safe. I had no idea what the punishment for dying was, and I wasn't about to find out! By the end, I had health kits stockpiled all over the screen. Y'know, just in case...?
Upon replaying the first section, it seems like there are hidden checkpoints scattered throughout the game. I feel like if I knew about these checkpoints, I would've played a lot more fast and loose. I think, in general, this game would benefit from being structured like multiple short levels instead of one long level. Would be a good opportunity to gradually increase the difficulty of the saw obstacles as well! Or just mix things up.
Overall though, I really like the concept of inputting commands via a top-down action game. Deciding whether I should be using a jump or a leap while dodging moving saw blades and trying to commit several different codes to memory felt I was activating every deep, dark corner of my brain at once. Love how the chalky brushstrokes of the play area are juxtaposed with the noise and chromatic aberration of the Martian pixel art. It's a great assortment of aesthetics.
Wish there was sound, but I get it. Compo moment. I'm still really impressed with the amount of gameplay you were able to get done. Great job, Abi!
Now \*this\* is how you make a vertical slice. That was such a tight and polished experience from end-to-end.
Designing the level outwards instead of forwards is impressive work, and I always knew exactly where to go next. The visuals and sound design are so delightful. I especially love how Fillmore is always facing his drone, acting both as "juice" and a QoL feature. Loved the chipper music as well!
The softlock prevention mechanic is great (and necessary!), but I agree with @phlip45 and @j4cko16 that it should reset whatever item the drone is holding, forcing the player to do the puzzle backwards instead of just pressing R.
Great stuff, as always! I do a double take whenever I see the word "compo" next to one of your games, and this is no exception.
I made it to hot chick heaven but I'm not actually surprised considering this happened to me in real life and this is a game about me and all. 😎
Great art and music! Loved charm of the story transition screens. Was laughing the entire time—just like the last time I played one of your games.
Thank you @nathmate! There's definitely an abundance of luck compared to other strategy games, I agree. I tried to focus on designing unique and synergistic plans that forced players to make on-the-fly decisions about what they were being offered, instead of stressing them out with choice paralysis. Hopefully by gamifying this genre, I didn't take away what makes it feel so rewarding to play!
Thank you so much @p1x3lc0w for the insightful notes! - After lots of playtesting, the speed of the computer-controlled cursor started to really get on my nerves, but I wanted to play it safe and make sure new players were able to keep up with its decisions. Adding a way to change the cursor speed in the settings might be a good solution. - Taking away some of the chaos of the random choices would help the game's longevity for sure. Maybe this game works better as a deckbuilder of sorts, allowing players to design their own pool of options? It's definitely worth exploring other modes of play. - Both Y2K and Roaming are "rare" plans, which means they show up less often than the rest. But yeah, the fact that you never know when they might show up means you have to plan around them, which can be pretty annoying (especially against an opponent that often makes illogical decisions). I tried to design these powerful plans with weaknesses. Y2K is weak if you want to train clamshells yourself, Roaming is weak if you're surrounded by your own claimed tiles, TARDIS is weak if the opponent's armies are protected by towers or phone booths, etc. But those "downsides" are pretty niche and therefore irrelevant. The ramifications of these powerful plans are definitely worth keeping in mind for balance.
Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to write all this out! Glad you enjoyed my game.
Sorry @pincushion and @purrseus! Yesterday, I tried to export a web build using GameMaker's HTML5 target, but I ran into a known issue with one of the engine's built-in probability functions. Then, I used the itch page to test out GameMaker's "GX.games" target, because I was told it had better stability than HTML5. In the process, I must've accidentally replaced the Windows build with that web build. Sorry! The download for Windows should be fixed now.
I love the idea to split the plans into groups @frib. It solves a similar problem to the "always have a basic movement action available" idea that another commenter had. Perhaps the first option is always focused on growth, the second option is always focused on movement, and the third option could be literally anything. There's a lot to experiment with there.
Thank you for commenting, and I appreciate that you went through so much trouble to run my game in the first place!
This game is so cool!! You love to see a rhythm game with such effective music. The learning curve is great and I loved all the new mechanics introduced in the second area. I like how you're punished for staying in place for too long, even though stalling is sometimes required to beat levels. That's really great design. The UI wrapping around the screen and pulsating to the beat is also a nice touch.
I tried playing on web at first, but my game froze during the transition to the future. After downloading the game and replaying all the levels, the game didn't freeze anymore. Ended up sticking around for the bonus levels, and I'm glad I did! Had a lot of fun.
cableman.jpg
That last level was a LOT harder than I expected it to be. Combining fact-paced gameplay with intermittent memory challenges was a pretty interesting direction for a game like this to take. Good job submitting your first Ludum Dare game!
langis.jpg
Cute! The music and art made the game feel super comfy, and I loved the fake scanlines. Using the same bar for the ship's antenna progress and the mineral's health is fantastic UX design, and I like how the game lets you keep playing after you win.
I thought it was strange that you couldn't spam-buy the mining robos, but once the rate in which I was gaining minerals surpassed the rate in which I could pay for robos, it felt very satisfying. Great job!
That was fun! The exploration was atmospheric, and it felt super rewarding to hear a new audio clip after each repair.
ld59 radio.jpg
Mi español no es muy bueno, ¡pero me encantó escuchar la radio al final!