Bomb Squad by Levi D. Smith 2013-08-26T17:16:00
Good use of the "10 seconds" theme. I also feel like the difficulty scaled well--not too easy, not unforgiving, and you can't get every bomb so you have to figure out the most immediate threat.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Dylan Wolf
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | Co | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 46 | Keep it alive | Potted Plant Simulator | compo | 4.25 | 3.75 | 4.00 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 2.75 | 3.75 | |||
| 2019 | 45 | Start with nothing | Self-Made Spaceman | compo | 3.50 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 3.62 | 4.18 | 3.43 | 1.83 | 3.37 | |||
| 2018 | 43 | Sacrifices must be made | Omnomelettes | compo | 4.00 | 4.25 | 4.00 | 4.75 | 4.75 | 4.00 | 4.50 | 4.00 | |||
| 2017 | 40 | The more you have, the worse it is | WizCorp | compo | 3.50 | 3.75 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.50 | 2.50 | 3.16 | ||||
| 2017 | 38 | A Small World | Tiny Planet Dash | compo | 3.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | |||||
| 2016 | 37 | One room | Isolation Knight | jam | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 36 | Ancient Technology | Retrofuture Archaeology | compo | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 35 | Shapeshift | Shifty Shapes | compo | 118 | 3.73 | 3.57 | 3.17 | 3.43 | 3.47 | 3.45 | 3.32 | 57 | ||
| 2015 | 34 | Two Button Controls / Growing | Super Autoscrolling Space Robot GROWZINGER | compo | 20 | ||||||||||
| 2015 | 32 | An Unconventional Weapon | Lightbender | compo | 770 | 2.93 | 2.52 | 2.89 | 3.44 | 2.93 | 2.38 | 2.61 | 2.73 | 46 | |
| 2014 | 31 | Entire Game on One Screen | Ice Fishing Derby | compo | 97 | 3.76 | 3.51 | 3.18 | 4.08 | 3.92 | 3.47 | 3.38 | 3.48 | 61 | |
| 2014 | 30 | Connected Worlds | Parallel Puzzles | compo | 297 | 3.47 | 3.52 | 3.31 | 3.54 | 3.72 | 3.27 | 2.31 | 3.18 | 49 | |
| 2014 | 29 | Beneath the Surface | Upper Crust | compo | 614 | 3.13 | 2.94 | 3.55 | 3.87 | 3.10 | 3.31 | 3.05 | 3.00 | 53 | |
| 2013 | 28 | You Only Get One | One Card Hero | compo | 399 | 3.13 | 2.73 | 3.14 | 2.86 | 3.50 | 3.13 | 2.32 | 2.85 | 40 | |
| 2013 | 27 | 10 Seconds | Sixths | compo | 820 | 2.78 | 2.61 | 2.06 | 2.50 | 3.17 | 3.29 | 24 |
Good use of the "10 seconds" theme. I also feel like the difficulty scaled well--not too easy, not unforgiving, and you can't get every bomb so you have to figure out the most immediate threat.
I like the different take on "10 seconds." The concept is really funny, though the amount of text in parody French accent is a bit tough to get through.
I like the challenge of the random letters--it's much tougher than a touch typing exercise.
I like the art (especially the background) and the humor (the game over screen is dark). I also like the game balance--as the balloon gets larger and easier to hit, your hands go out of frame.
As you commented, it really is like the opposite of my game.
I like the concept, but it's rather difficult--not a bad thing, since "hard as fun" seems to be a game genre. The levels that are built for multiple lives are a nice touch.
The only problem I had was with the wall jumping (which seems to be a known issue), though the "easy" version did seem to fix some of the problems. I really think it's an issue of keyboard control, and a very narrow window where the wall jump is possible.
The visual effects and slow-mo are great. The tutorials introduce concepts well but I found even the first few levels very challenging.
It'd be nice to have the timer in the HUD.
Nice platformer, though short. Like the graphics style, and how the balloon isn't just the goal, it actually affects the game.
Neat concept, and the first several levels are very well paced. It's a very polished game. I love the pixel art graphics style.
Interesting take on a classic concept.
Trying to add cells to starve off viruses was tough to wrap my head around (since there are a lot of rules in play), yet I scored over 1500 points. I felt like I should have died far earlier than I did.
This is a good start. I like the look and mood, but the shadow was distracting in its current state (I was finally able to outrun it and explore the rest of the house).
What's the connection to the theme--only getting the one lantern?
Good multiple use of theme (one topping, one burger, one complaint).
The graphics really are "so-bad-it's-good" MS Paint, as opposed to "actually bad" MS Paint.
I like the alternate interpretation of "you only get one," the number series matching concept, the changing shadows, and the cutaways on death.
It'd be easier if there was a marker noting the bullet spawn point. It takes a bit to figure out how to line up your shot.
It'd be a hassle to implement, but it's frustrating when you fire right before the wanted poster changes.
I think so. The highest I've managed is a bit under 11000. Really, the level is very biased towards picking alternate paths.
This is a good platformer once you get the hang of it (especially wall hang/dash/jump burst), though I'm not into the hard-as-fun genre. I barely reached the second story.
Took me a while to get a feel for what I was supposed to do, but once I figured out how/when to switch between harvesting energy/health/ammo it was really fun.
I like the graphics style--pixellated/retro without being too simple.
This is a neat concept. It's brutally difficult early on, but it's not as noticeable as most difficult platformers, because you get 2 chances and most of the obstacles are coins.
I like the art style and the Mario references--it definitely feels like the darkest timeline version of the Mushroom Kingdom.
The graphics, light effects, and procedurally generated levels are nice. It took me several games to find anything, though, and I usually only found one thing per game. The spiders pretty much killed me as soon as they showed up.
Interesting take on the theme.
With the environment, I was afraid I wouldn't be sure I'd targeted the right objective, but it was rather clear. In the few rounds I played, the stalker was never the problem--my own impatience in picking the right target did me in.
Feels like a very solid platformer, and I love the retro graphics. With the one-arrow limit (and the fact I can't fire while jumping), it's a bit too difficult for me, though.
This really does feel like an attempt at old-school Atari Adventure. Hit detection on the boss is a wonky and could be tweaked, but the workaround is to just charge while holding A. I think the flying sword glitch could be interesting as its own mechanic.
Extra points for the backstory as recounted at KnoxGameDesign meetup.
Nice RPG, and good way to integrate the theme into a familiar genre. The Game Boy-style graphics and music are impressive.
I did run into some issues during battle--when party members began dying, enemies would sometimes target themselves, and when I got down to one party member combat locked up.
This was a really innovative mechanic for a puzzle game.
I wish there'd been more levels, but the first few levels do a good job of teaching you the basics. The last level was just the right amount of challenge--it required me to test a few different approaches before I figured it out.
The humor, voice acting, and credits screen are great. It's a novel interpretation of the theme.
The atmosphere is neat, and the use of ambient sound and lighting effects to accomplish it is neat. I wish the objects of interest were a little more visible, because I had a hard time figuring out what I was supposed to do.
I got stuck on the room with the 3 floating spheres after I pushed the rolling sphere into the water. I'm not sure if I was on the right track or not.
I got 516 days, 14274 energy score. I really like the challenge in trying to balance water and energy usage--it's frustrating at first but once you get going it's pretty rewarding, and then the challenge becomes sustainability.
Nice take on the theme. It reminds me a bit of the Apple II game Odell Lake, at least in concept. It took some time to realize the yellow fish wouldn't eat me.
The RTS controls here are pretty solid and the tutorial is a great idea. I like the concept, although it is possible to get stuck very early if you spend too much.
Incidentally, the giant bit was a reference to the original Final Fantasy.
Originally I'd hoped to add one more enemy type and have some more interesting levels, but I got started on level design way too late in the weekend.
I've made a minor bug fix: I had texture compression set incorrectly and had decreased the display resolution to compensate for some of the problems. It's set correctly now, so the updated version looks a bit better.
This took a bit of time to figure out (at first, I thought I was building towers to block attackers), but once I did it was a really fun fast-paced action game.
I like the world swapping mechanic--I tried to do that with my game as well, but you used it much better than I did.
The atmosphere in this game is great, especially the music. I really like some of the subtle effects that enhance it, like the tilted world.
Funny and relatable, although honestly, I think most people who get into a hobby like this handle this sort of disappointment differently.
The difficulty progression on this game is great--it's slow enough to get a feel for it, and ramps up enough to be a real challenge.
The sandbox nature of the game was a lot of fun. I couldn't really figure out whether I was making any progress towards shade points or a signal fire, though.
Pretty interesting take on the theme, and rather educational. It'd be nice if it provided some references to additional information on each choice. Also, it might be interesting to decrease the starting money, since most of the choices revolve around figuring out whether the low-cost or mid-cost item is the worst.
There's a steep learning curve, but once I got the hang of it this was really fun. Nice graphics and music as well.
The atmosphere in the game is great (both the lighting and the music). I never quite figured out how to really control the arms, and I tried both the arrow keys and mouse.
Reminds me of the original Legend of Zelda, especially with the short side-scrolling areas. Interesting boss battles and map design.
Incidentally, I got stuck on a platform at one point and had to restart, and noticed my progress had been saved--that was really impressive.
Neat concept, but tough. After several games, my high score was 13.
I like that the game itself tells a story--the puzzles become extremely difficult after the halfway point.
Seconding the previous comment on the inner thoughts helping to explain what was really going on. It might even be helpful to have more early on, to give context for someone like me that has no experience with the subject matter.
Neat concept, and the levels were pretty challenging. I did find it a little odd that Willy could move over 1-block gaps--in one level, I had to reverse his direction a time or two to get him to drop down a hole.
The dark humor makes for an interesting twist on stealth games.
The humor/reference is great. As Sodaware said, it'd be nice if they were divided up, because I didn't know if there was a larger goal or I was just trying to score more resources.
Neat mechanic, and your levels show off a number of ways to use it. I did find it a little easy and wish there had been some more complicated puzzles.
Neat concept, though I don't really have the patience or accuracy for it. I did notice some issues where the hit boxes for hazards were much larger than the graphics, and where yellow things spawned too close to hazards.
The overhead keyboard control with mouse aim takes a little getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun. I like that the different room types combined with the larger blast area forces me to choose my shots carefully.
I like the art style and the brand of dark humor. I did have to use the walkthrough, mainly because it took me a while to realize there was a tiny "!" prompt for smells/digging spots.
Nice basic RTS. I think my only gripe was that lorries will max out their stock even if it bankrupts you, which resulted in a couple of unexpected endings for me.
Neat concept, but the learning curve's a bit tough since there's a lot of variables to consider.
Good job on the surreal atmosphere. The parallax backgrounds (especially with the texture and blending) and the voice-overs were good (though given the length of the game, you might reduce the frequency).
The interface was a bit tricky--I often moved the whole cable when I just wanted to drag one end. Still, the puzzles were challenging (especially the last few) and the tutorial was really helpful.
A really solid, minimalist RTS game. I could never beat the computer, but I had a lot of fun playing it.
The map and upgrades adds a lot of polish/complexity to lunar lander gameplay. While the "virus" was a neat idea, I got stuck because it ramped up the difficulty too quickly.
While it's tough because the controls are a bit touchy and the timing on the lasers is very precise, it's neat that there's almost a stealth element to avoiding the orbs.
Great concept, and the theme and retro feel are wonderful. It's a simple mechanic, but it's really tricky to master.
Neat physics-based puzzles that required both planning and careful execution. I liked the difficulty ramped up but wasn't brutally hard. Wasn't clear on the "connected worlds" theme.
Fun and different, and the combination of photos and drawings was great. Reminds me of Wario Ware.
This is a neat concept for a deduction game, and I like the polished retro style.
Interesting concept, and the puzzles were really well-designed.
Solid idea for a platformer, but the acceleration/physics made it a bit tough to get used to.
For some reason, sound didn't work for me.
Good retro platformer. It was tough (the arcing bullets added to the challenge) but not punishing. The connected worlds mechanic worked well and was a great problem-solving tool.
A good economic game. Even with the tutorial, it's a bit hard to figure out--I think it'd help if there was more in-game explanation.
It was definitely a hardcore platformer in that I was frustrated by the second level, but I also felt like I learned and made progress, so it wasn't punishing.
The story behind the game is really good, as are the win and loss screens. I wish there was more to it than clicking, though.
Interesting concept with potential. It was a little confusing at first--I didn't feel like I lost anything by not going to school or work, and I didn't connect the speech to the poem you ask Jim about.
The style was really neat, and the optical illusions were amazing. The puzzles weren't always clear--I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do in the last stage, and figured it out through trial and error.
Good twist on tower defense. Also like how you incorporated the theme into the maze aspect.
Neat multitasking concept--it took a few games to understand all the subsystems (especially stability and email) but I like how the challenge ramped up.
Neat concept. I like how the screen controlled objects on the map, so it wasn't just a limitation, it was part of the puzzle.
Neat interpretation of the theme--combining what would otherwise be multiple screens/menus into one.
The system was good at early levels, but I found it easy to game if you invested in the right party combination early on.
The mechanics in this game were interesting. I like the way your bobber would get caught on debris but still attempt to follow your cursor like a real fishing line would. I also like the way you had to "lead" the to catch them (though it was frustrating that some fish would dart away even if I wasn't moving the mouse).
Nice shoot-'em-up. The fact that you move between levels on the same scene was a good implementation of the theme. The range of musical styles was impressive.
Only wish the max on fire rate/spread was higher so it would be a little more bullet-hellish. :)
Neat idea. It took me an entire game to realize the "clear" ornaments basically allowed you to see what was outside--I thought they were wildcards/free points.
The jam version is a solid but very basic top-down shooter, but the post-jam version is actually a fun game. I like the upgrade paths, and the fact you really have to learn timing if you want to accumulate money.
Good combination of genres. I like the progression between "stages" and it's rather challenging.
Not a huge fan of dress-up games, but it was well-animated and illustrated.
Neat idea, and from the map it looks like you had it planned out well. I got stuck on the disappearing blocks in B.
Nice graphical style.
Good interpretation of the theme, although because there were so many games some of them didn't feel fleshed out.
I didn't quite get the idea behind the color matcher. The game I played, there seemed to be leftover tiles after I cleared the similar ones out.
Scaling down a platformer to one screen/one pixel was a good idea, and the graphics were good. Collision felt a bit odd--I couldn't walk or land on some seemingly flat surfaces.
The looping tower was a great interpretation of the theme, and the dual-wielding mechanic was cool (although I ended up killing myself with the magic staves both games).
Nice puzzle game, and Standard Mode is a take on match-3 I haven't seen before. Having two modes makes it interesting too.
Neat platformer. Puzzles and challenge were good, though I'm not sure that attack did anything. I'm not sure where the "entire game on one screen" comes into play.
I agree with the other comments--it'd be neat if this was a full game. Feels like it'd work as an air hockey game if the player followed the cursor a bit more closely.
I like how each successive level introduces a new mechanic that (aside from the music level) builds on top of platforming. Good challenge as well.
Neat game. I agree with the previous comment about lives/score missing (though it was pretty tough--I couldn't tell if different TVs had different shot angles/patterns).
The changing maze idea was interesting. Combined with the limited feel of vision, though, it was a bit frustrating. While I recognized certain areas and switches, I really felt like I only solved it through trial and error.
Good concept. The combination of learning the attack patterns and figuring out to best upgrade path made me want to keep replaying.
Neat concept. I played it a couple of times, and it was hard to tell if the choices were really slowing him down or not.
Interesting interpretation of the theme, and good job on the "old TV" effect.
Impressive. I like the fact that you built so many puzzles into a single level, and that you had to discover what they were.
It was challenging, and I felt like I had to learn/get a feel for moving around to find some of the hidden caves. A few of the jumps were painfully tough, though.
Great retro style--the background with animation was a great touch.
My only issue is that, since there's not really an indication of the timing until you successfully land an attack, it wasn't clear that the controls were doing anything at first.
Pretty funny. Reminds me of Papers Please. And it triggers the visceral reaction to a phone ringing that you get once you've taken enough client support calls.
I wasn't completely clear on how the hang up/transfer worked. There were times that I felt like the conversation wanted me to transfer or hang up, but they just called right back later (without the previous context).
The concept and puzzles were neat. My only issue was with the screen--I wish it could be turned on and off, simply because it was disorienting to look through it when timing jumps, etc.
It took a while to figure it out, and the physics were really tough to get used to, but this was a really addictive game. I ended up playing all the way through the 5-star challenge.
This is a great idea for an unconventional weapon. I think my main gripe is it takes so long to find llamas.
The style and puzzle design are really impressive, and the voice acting is a nice touch.
I checked it out, but didn't try with other players. The turn/walk movement is sort of tricky, but given the attack I understand the reason for it. I liked that powerups were tied to specific (real-world) titles.
Good take on the theme. The mixture of photo and pixel art is a bit surreal.
This was a neat take on the theme, and a rather challenging puzzle. I like the pixel art style.
The 3D modeling and lighting is really impressive, and it's a good take on the theme.
I tried implementing a fancier jumping system than anything I've done before (jump higher if you hold down/are moving full speed), and I don't think I tweaked all the numbers quite right.
I couldn't reproduce the double jump, but if it detected you're grounded incorrectly (you're near a ledge, etc.), you'd definitely see that happen.
recursor: I started with the mechanic. Admittedly, once I was well into theming I realized it's way darker than I initially intended.
A great take on the theme, and really well-designed puzzles. The graphics are really nice too.
Good use of the theme and great graphics. The exploration/strategy required provides a challenge--I think my only problem was it felt tough to get pianos to connect with enemies.
Great graphic style and animation. The platforming was good but enemies were rather tough--I gave up on the boss fight.
Reminds me of Wario Ware, and the mini-games all seemed challenging without being too confusing. Good art style as well.
Nice shoot-'em-mechanics. It was challenging, but not frustrating. The music and photo usage was really good.
Good concept, use of the theme, and puzzles. Stage 10 was very challenging. It'd be interesting to see more puzzles that expand on these concepts--for example, enemies that could only be killed by a certain color.
I like using the music as a guide for the level, and the randomly generated weapon names.
The pixel art is great, and I liked that there were multiple dimensions to the puzzles (lining up shots + figuring out how to match up enemies). Restarting on each encounter balanced out the challenge.
Really good art, music, and effects. The fact that the guns affect your movement is a nice touch, and they're over-the-top without being over-powered.
It was good, but I also ran into what I assume were problems with collision, where movement was slow in some places.
Neat concept, and well-executed, especially the music and graphics. I didn't have much problem finding the right person to give a script to, but it wasn't easy to figure out how to "save" a failing scene.
It was tough to keep up, but I felt like I was getting the hang of it enough to start a few plants off.
I think my biggest problem is the rhythm and pauses--even with the post-compo version it's hard to learn that from the written codes.
Neat arcade-style FPS, although I found it pretty tough for my skills. The Doom references and art style were nice touches.
Nice simplified take on the rhythm game genre. Are the prompts randomized or generated from the music?
Neat puzzle mechanic--I like the fact it's not just keeping up, but figuring out what order you need to create pieces. There's a lot of potential for more puzzles.
Oddly, I think it gets easier after a few levels because you can use the second level to juggle pieces you missed.
Really neat mechanic, and well-designed puzzles. The graphics and sound set a nice mood, too.
I think I got past one of the levels simply because the balls were spawning fast enough that they hit the ramp faster than they should.
Nice platformer. Good job with the different enemy attacks. The weapon shifting mechanic was good, but since you lost it so quickly I don't feel like I had time to get the hang of them.
A great twist on shoot-'em-ups, and nice effects. I like that there are different strategies--either shift quickly to keep the board clear, or risk saving up energy to do a large attack.
Bejeweled + Cookie Clicker is a good description. It's an interesting concept, although I felt like the once I started making purchases I didn't have to watch the board as closely to make a ton of money.
I like the mechanics--it's not something I've seen used a lot in puzzle games, the puzzles ease you into it, and it takes some thinking to work out even after you know the mechanics. I feel like there's a lot more potential puzzles in it.
The levels are more challenging than I expected from the description. I like that you really have to learn the enemies patterns to get by them.
@MrDave @Ithildin @srakowski I added a post-compo version that adds arrow keys and mouse/touch gestures for sliding.
@tanjent That's actually intentional--if spawning blocks triggered a clear, I figured it could take off too much pressure.
Neat concept. I think my only problem was pressing multiple keys at the same time sometimes didn't trigger--not sure if that's an actual bug, or just me.
Good job with the range of options and dialogue. I felt compelled to think about how I'd actually respond, not just min/maxing or balancing money and happiness.
A well-done shooter. It took me a few tries, since my instinct is to try to clear rooms, and the randomized levels added to the challenge.
Interesting concept, and something I haven't seen before. I felt like I got the mechanics if I started thinking about it like air hockey.
I think my only complaint is it's hard to get fine control, so I found it easier to ignore the bullet patterns and just push the shapes around.
The art style is great, and the ghosts spawning from the top as the difficulty increased made the game challenging.
Very well-executed--the UI and graphics are impressive for a weekend game jam. The levels seem pretty challenging; I finally gave up a few levels in because stealth games aren't my thing.
Interesting mechanics, and a good job balancing the different factors in play against each other. I also like the fact there are different win conditions.
Nice tower defense game. I think the only issue I had is I didn't always select the button I intended when shapeshifting.
Really interesting take on Tetris. It took me a little bit to figure out strategy on banking blocks but ensuring you have enough time to clear the wall, but once I did, it was pretty addicting.
The graphics were impressive. The mechanic was interesting, but I scored around 8-10 each time. Felt like the strategy was following individual people, where a shorter transformation might have made it worth trying to catch multiple targets.
Great use of the theme, and good level of difficulty.
Nice variant on the rhythm game concept that I haven't seen before. Takes some getting used to, since you have to think opposite of DDR, and once you start failing it adds in the rotation mechanic.
Good use of the theme and neat mechanic. It would have been interesting to see difficulty ramp up (more enemies, faster enemy, etc.)
The concept is neat. I think my only issue is it becomes difficult to focus on a single color once you start clearing it. Adding progress meters for each color might be helpful.
Very polished--the menu screens, the "collection" feature, the creature designs, and the graphics in general are really good.
Interesting story, and nice use of branching choices for storytelling (I really like the first choice). The art style is great as well.
Reminds me a lot of King's Quest. Great graphics and interesting puzzles.
I really appreciate having a walkthrough for LD games like this--helped when I got stuck.
Nice concept, although I couldn't figure out how to get past the first pit inside the cave. Checkpoints would be helpful.
The art and music were great. I think my only problem was it wasn't obvious where the hit boxes on George and the holes were.
Great use of the theme, and really challenging puzzles. It's a twist on endless runners that I haven't seen before.
Nice graphics, and really well-designed puzzles. Reminds me of some of the multi-floor dungeons in Link to the Past.
I think my only gripe is it's really easy to fall in pits, especially when pushing blocks.
I like the art style, and the sound is relaxing.
Good job with the puzzles--I like that, because of the angles of the different piece, you don't always use the piece you'd expect at first glance.
The story was great, and I really like the Gameboy-style graphics.
Interesting concept and good graphics. It'd be nice to have a timer/score based on how long you survived or how many things you ate (to compare game-to-game how you were doing), and to make it more obvious how much certain foods cost/gain.
Interesting concept. I like that as you generate more slimes, there's a management aspect of catching arrows. The pixel art is great.
Thanks for the input.
Level 8 is the last level.
I didn't think about right-click. I'll probably add that for any future PC builds I do.
I was aware of the selection/drag confusion, but I haven't worked out a fix. I think it boils down to the fact that the selection and panning code are completely separate, so panning still happens if you click a tile.
It's pretty good, especially considering you said it's your first beat-'em-up--I think I'd feel a bit tighter if you tweaked the speed/timing on the AI vs. the player's punches.
The animation adds a lot to the presentation. Cell Fracture worked out pretty well.
@endurion Thanks. Those are both ideas I had, but didn't think I'd be able to do (successfully) within the weekend.
@levidsmith Thanks. A top-down NES shooter was sort of the feel I was going for.
This feels pretty polished for a game built in a weekend, and the various gravity, friction, and challenges add a lot of variety.
The puzzles were really well-designed. You were able to get a lot of variety out of a couple of easy-to-understand mechanics.
Good take on the theme--it'd be interesting to see this sort of income/deduction/tax rate balancing mechanic explored further. The random generation, "Zelda dungeon"-style camera, and "dependents" following you around were nice touches.
@McFish: it's an "idle clicker," so there's really none (although I did consider making a "lose" condition at one point by making crystals the upgrade currency). Admittedly, it doesn't take long to run out of meaningful upgrades.
The mix of Asteroids-style controls with area coverage is interesting. It's pretty challenging but the mechanics are solid and fair. Might be more accessible if it eased into the difficulty (i.e., use a larger payload area in earlier levels and introduce turrets on level 2).
@levidsmith Thanks. I almost bit off more than I could chew on the art, but scaled it so it was manageable (e.g., egg arms, legs, and eyes are all animated separately, each ingredient in the pan is an on/off layer, etc.).
Like the other economic LD games I've done, there's really no end-game, and even the mid-game isn't very balanced. I tried to balance the system well enough that it feels like it works so long as you only play a few quick games. :) You only lose points for failing orders; at some point, though, I imagine you can never catch up enough to stay above 0.
The 360 reference was unintentional but the first thing that came to mind. I don't think Unity sprites support radial fill like UI images do, so dividing the long touch indicator into pieces was just easier.
This was a good usage of the theme. The graphics are polished, the music is relaxing (good for a puzzle game) and the puzzles are well-designed. Infinite respawns plus frequent checkpoints was helpful (especially on puzzles where you have to retrace your steps multiple times). I did start to get frustrated in later areas where it depended on using a light touch on the controls. Overall, a great entry.
This is a neat combination of games, and I like some of the bells and whistles (drop guide, identifying matches, etc.). I think it's something you'd have to tweak a bit, because it seems easy to get stuck given how many possible tiles there are.
Really challenging. Took me a second to figure out (mainly because the keyboard is labeled C/V/N rather than C/V/B), but early levels introduced the concept before ramping up difficulty.
Probably my only suggestion would be to move the button prompts to the play area.
Nice puzzle game. I like that the concept is simple, but the puzzles are tough and can't easily be brute forced (the ones I got just seemed to "click" after I thought about them). The minimalist black-and-white graphics feel sort of retro, and the firework and level loading effects are slick.
Great use of the theme. I like the idea of building out all of the game elements, including the UI, as part of the theme. It's also interesting that you only figure out what's going on "behind the scenes" after unlocking certain elements (timer, etc.).
This is good for just 6 hours of work. We had similar ideas, but I like that yours uses less linear and more interesting ship movement patterns.
Really nice presentation and it feels like a solid basis for a puzzle game. As with some of the other commenters, I didn't quite get some of the concepts, but on a second playthrough it started making sense (e.g., what items get moved by arrows, when arrows trigger, where mirrors must be to trigger).
I think a few extra "filler" levels between introducing concepts would help reinforce the rules.
I like that there's a balance to the mechanics: you don't have to stop every apple, but if you don't you won't have as many extra chickens (although that's easier to keep track of). If you kept working on it, there's a lot of possible game modes based on different win/lose/advancement conditions.
The graphics, music, leaderboard, and overall presentation feel polished--feels like you got scoping just right for a weekend game jam, which is tough to do.
This is a really good stealth game. The level design forces you to explore, make choices, and time your movement, but it's forgiving enough to feel challenging without being frustrating.
It'd be interesting to see this polished up into a longer game with a checkpoint system.
I like the concept of having to move between overlapping resource management mini-games. I like the challenge of having to plan ahead (for example, send Charon out in advance) rather than simply react to whatever.
My only complaint is that the fishing minigame takes getting used to (since you have to lead), so it took a while before I could really do anything useful.