Ethan Nachreiner

Gel Break by HitchH1k3r 2018-08-14T06:44:37Z

This is the best puzzle game I've played so far (for this Ludum Dare)! I really love everything about it! It's a bit too difficult (I spent a long time trying to beat that one puzzle with 3 green blocks on one row and a square of 4 spaces), but maybe I'm just too tired 😅! Oh and I tried out typing "42".... it certainly was a thing 😐. By the way, make sure you play and rate other people's games so your game appears higher in the searches! (That's probably why I'm the first one to rate the game!)

Blockage by ThePelranthean 2018-08-13T02:32:46Z

First of all let me say that I beat the game 😅(I know this because (spoilers) it just sends you to the menu at the end). I loved the level where you have to build the staircase while on a layer of the blocks. But my main problem with the game is that it isn't really about solving puzzles as much as it is about circumventing the physics system. While you may think what I just said was hard, the truth is that I kinda really liked it. I feel like I shouldn't have, but I did. Every solution feels like I cheated, which I find fun. This game certainly isn't for everyone, but it definitely feels like it's for me.

TIP: Stack blocks on top of each other but with a slight gap so you can use them as a very steep staircase!

(P.S. That giant chasm in the last level can go die.)

The Consumer by foolmoron 2018-08-14T06:11:14Z

One of the most interesting games I've ever played! The actual gameplay could use some polish, but it was still very entertaining! 😄

Lava Rider by Linky439 2018-08-13T21:13:58Z

Okay, THIS is my favorite compo game I've played so far. It's so good 😄! I think my highscore was somewhere around 150. The game is fun, the graphics are incredible, honestly there's nothing to complain about!

Computer Funfare. by Jakegames2 2018-08-13T06:24:25Z

I love the graphics in the Burn-Out and Rodger games! The best out of all of them is definitely Rodger. Burn-Out is... frankly... kinda boring (personal taste probably) (and the meters are a bit glitchy). Shooter takes way too long to get interesting, and even then it's too easy. But Rodger is just really good, and I hope you expand on it in the future! There was one really good thing in Shooter though, the way the sound gets super intense as time goes by (but the sound doesn't really match the actual difficulty). Sorry if I sound a bit harsh, your game has some of the best graphics I've seen so far in this jam! (And Rodger is genuinely fun.) And it's also really impressive that you made not 1, but 3 games!

Computer Funfare. by Jakegames2 2018-08-13T07:03:37Z

@jakegames2 I just tried it out! It looks fantastic! 😃 "Type B" certainly was... intriguing (luckily I figured out that F2 was restart). Not only are level 3 and 4 impossible, but level 2 is very glitchy. Please send me it again (if you want) when you expand on "Type B", cause it seems very interesting (dodging tetris pieces?).

Computer Funfare. by Jakegames2 2018-08-13T07:11:58Z

@jakegames2 Ah I see! I just tried level 2 again! I think you should make it so the hedges fade out instead of just disappearing, although that might clash with the overall art style...

As the world burns by super8bitrafa 2018-08-13T21:26:58Z

This is definitely one of my favorite compo games I've played! I absolutely love it 😄! The art style is especially good, and I really like the music! While I do wish there was more feedback when an enemy gets hit (and maybe lower the enemy hp a bit), this game is still stunning! Although you should make it so your bullets can put out the fire, because if you get trapped in a room you just have to kill yourself (which seems a bit awkward).

Grid Locked by DrunkardWolf 2018-08-14T06:02:21Z

A fun little game! Simple, but I really enjoyed it. Although I do wish the shapes of the characters were more interesting (the player model reminds me of the default shape in Unity).

CRUSHED - Rage Inducing Platformer by Ajay.2002 2018-08-13T07:34:38Z

The graphics are extremely polished! I think the platforming is too slidey, and I don't like how the obstacles slam back down when you release the mouse button. But everything else about the platforming is impressive! All and all this is a seriously great game!

Also that ending... RIP. 😢

Quantum Abyss by Delightfullymad 2018-08-13T21:40:22Z

I really like this game! I especially like watching the little scientists hop around. Although I do think the game could use an extra mechanic or something that would make it a bit more difficult. I got the dark matter ending, which had a pretty dark subject matter (ba dum tshhh). I hope to see this game get expanded on, I really like it! 😄

Spiritship by velvetlobster 2018-08-16T20:28:54Z

I definitely really like the vibe and art style.... but like you said it isn't finished 😔. I hope you continue to work on it anyways, even if the jam is over!

Pre Alpha Build by PlusMinus 2018-08-15T08:12:48Z

I really like the game, especially the concept! The graphics are nice, and I enjoy the sound! There are some things I wish you could add, like having a minimum ore/power generation so it doesn't become impossible to build things. And maybe make it so you can flip the buildings (mirror them)? But all and all, it's a really great game! 😃 (And I laughed when I pressed the help button and got "Nope".)

Meager by Andrew Friedman 2018-08-13T00:02:43Z

I love it! 😃 I'm impressed that you managed to fit a multiplayer mode in, along with the regular mode. While I don't find the idea where movement *feels* like it's turn-based (but it's not) very interesting, the execution was done very well! I also spent quite a long time trying to beat the "impossible" level... the name certainly doesn't lie.

Unfamiliar by Kovakomes 2018-08-15T08:48:48Z

... this game has practically left me speechless. I started to tear up towards the end, I seriously wish I could give this more than 5 stars. While there are a couple of minor grammatical errors ("George always fills *your* with your favorite treats..."), the game is pretty much perfect. My favorite game I've played so far. 😢 If I had to complain about something, I would say the story is predictable; but I think that just made the game even "better" (more tragic).

Escape from Space by shp 2018-08-14T21:28:05Z

Really fun game, I love the aesthetic! But I do think the game is way too difficult. But overall I really like the game, and your choice of engine is really unique! 😄

Out of Memory Exception by fieryvictorystar 2018-08-14T01:05:25Z

I really like the idea of being able to place your own platforms, and having a "stack" mechanic! But unfortunately I think your scope was too big. The platforming itself lacks polish, and it can be pretty frustrating when the enemy bullets keep knocking you back. Also, the precision platforming that's required late into the game can be really annoying (mainly because whenever you jump, you can never really be sure how far you will go). Sorry if I'm being too harsh, I hope what I said was constructive! Maybe remake the game with a smaller scope and put a lot of polish into it, then it might be amazing! 😄

Starship Panic by Evelyn Hagan 2018-08-14T04:46:15Z

I really like the idea of the game! Unfortunately there are quite a few bugs. I was able to beat all the levels (indefinitely, because it seems like the game just loops) by standing still in the vent area. Also, the shooting feels a bit too unresponsive. But I did like how you introduced couches later in the game! I think it could use a bit of work, but all in all I like the idea! 🙂 (Hope I wasn't too critical.)

Tunnel Ride by Xyntell 2018-08-12T23:24:19Z

The game feels really nice, and this is one of the most "complete" interpretations of the theme I've seen! I like how the game has multiple stages to it, where at first the walls start closing in then the player slows down. My biggest problem with the game is that you have to press the mouse button every time you want to shoot. But overall, what this game does it does very well! 😄

Running out of Platformers by Aret24 2018-08-13T07:21:46Z

Fun little game! I liked the ending screen (although my heart skipped a beat thinking it was a loss meme). My favorite thing about the platforming was how you would jump farther when going up slopes. My least favorite thing about the platforming was how it lacked certain programming tricks that make platforming feel good (like coyote time). The art style was.... menacing. All in all, it's a nice game!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T00:23:04Z

@doublebiceps That was certainly an inspiration! 😉 I'm glad you liked it!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T00:24:33Z

@ngupsilon Thanks for the comment! 😄 Was the screenshake too much (I'm a bit too used to it...)? I could turn it down in the next update? (I'll keep the original though so people can fairly review what I made in the 48 hours.)

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T00:31:58Z

@ngupsilon I made the screen shake higher than normal so players wouldn't kill themselves too easily (by shooting too much), but I'm bad at judging screen shake... I'll tone it down in the next update! 😄

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T01:39:58Z

@thepelranthean Thank you so much for your feedback! 😄 It means a lot! The camera size is based on the room you're in, so a big room will cause the camera to zoom out. Since small rooms were too easy I made the camera zoom in (causing your bullets to come back faster). But maybe I made it zoom in a bit too much... 😅. I'll adjust the camera for the next update!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T03:11:32Z

@ngupsilon @thepelranthean I've turned down the screenshake and adjusted the camera sizes! Also, if you had any audio issues they should (?) now be fixed! 😄

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T07:25:36Z

@erendelous Thank you so much for the feedback! The soundtrack was one of the things I kinda made last minute, so I agree that there definitely should've been parts where the song gets more "hardcore". And I might turn down the screenshake again... but I'm not sure. Again, thanks so much! 😃

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T08:13:39Z

@stillnotsure I literally just updated the game to fix the way that the doors determined how many enemies you have left to kill 😂. Are you playing version 1.3? If not, then feel free to try it out! I'm super glad you liked it! Here's some behind the scenes... Originally I was going to make it so that you made money by killing enemies, and your combo would multiply the money you got from the enemies. You would then use that money to buy weapons and upgrades. Obviously the game had to be scaled back, so I implemented the timer system (which is why it can occasionally feel a bit off).

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T08:17:33Z

@naemis Thanks for the feedback! 😄 I'm glad it was able to captivate you! The trick to getting far into the game is clearly the screen at appropriate times, and shooting more often than you think! 🙂

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T08:21:31Z

@kaboosh Thanks for the kind words! 😄

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T08:38:33Z

@ravenflame Thanks for the feedback and nice words! 😄 I'm glad you found it tricky in a good way!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T08:40:24Z

@predominant Thanks for the feedback! If you don't mind me asking, which sound effect(s) specifically was too loud? (And thanks for the compliments! 😄)

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T17:32:32Z

@missalpha Thanks for playing! I appreciate it! 😄

@mike-inprinciple Thank you so much for your feedback! The instructions say that you can die when you have no combo (enemies and bullets kill you), but it doesn't point out that explosions can instantly kill you (but you have to be really close). I have a multi-monitor setup as well and fullscreen seems to work for me... so I'm not quite sure. The controller also works for me, but I think I have an idea of what the problem could've been. The controller only works if it's plugged in as "player 1", and to select things in the menu you have to use the right trigger. Again, thank you so much for the comment!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T18:04:38Z

@mike-inprinciple Thanks for getting back to me! My setup's a bit weird too... they're both at drastically different resolutions. But I haven't tried playing it on a TV, so I'm not sure. But thank you so much for describing the situation with the controllers! I've found an issue with the way I programmed it (it worked when I was testing it, I swear 😅). I'll be sure to fix it as soon as I can!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T18:05:56Z

@allan-kong Thanks for the comment! I appreciate it! 😄

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T18:36:12Z

@bigbosserndog Thank you so much for the feedback! 😃 I'm just about to release v1.4, which will let you reduce the screen shake (and some other effects)! Hopefully that will improve your experience! 🙂

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-13T18:44:28Z

@mike-inprinciple @bigbosserndog @predominant I've added the option for players to reduce the screen shake, and tried rebalancing the audio! Hopefully this will make the game more bearable if you had nausea inducing issues before (sorry 😅).

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-14T19:38:18Z

@jupiter-hadley Thank you so much for including my game in your video! Sorry if the instructions were a bit confusing! 😄

@linky439 Thanks for playing! The audio issues are due to me messing up the audio priorities, which I fixed in version 1.2 (I think). There's a COMPO version available to download, which has all the bug fixes and none of the "new content". 🙂

@mister-kweh Thanks for playing! Yeah, I should probably make the time mechanics a bit more obvious. 🙂

@guardhei I just tested it, and you're right (my bad)! I'll be sure you make an updated version of the Mac version soon! 😄

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-14T20:29:02Z

I've made an updated version of the game (2.4) that includes a special message that appears on the first floor (reminds players to press space to add more time)! I added this because of the video @jupiter-hadley made, and I hope this improves the overall user experience! 😄

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-15T08:03:26Z

@awix Thanks so much for the feedback! 😄 Yeah... the music was a bit of a last minute kinda thing (you can check out the timelapse and see 😅). I'll be sure to check out your game!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-16T20:19:31Z

@velvetlobster Thank you so much for the feedback! 😄 The game has an option in the menu to lower the amount of "shake" (screen shake and camera shake), if you haven't tried setting the shake to low then that might improve the experience! 🙂 Thanks for playing my game!

WHELM by Ethan Nachreiner 2018-08-18T22:04:32Z

@flashviper Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, spamming bullets is definitely an extremely powerful strategy. I focused on making your bullets the thing that stands out the most (because they're the primary obstacle, despite their small hitbox). Although I could make the blood darker for the next version. Again, thanks for the feedback! 🙂

Zero G Hero by dave_troyer 2018-08-14T05:02:45Z

I beat the game! Boy was that one of the more difficult games I've played so far. I really love the art style and animation. I do wish it had a better "game feel" (although jumping while sliding did feel good), and maybe less annoying enemy AI. But overall I really liked it (otherwise I wouldn't have kept trying to beat it)! But why does the game have lives when you can just restart the game? Also the gamepad controls didn't really work for me (only the movement worked).

TightFloe by Catgol1 2018-08-12T23:53:52Z

Well that certainly was an experience... I love it. No seriously, I thought the concept was great. Also, "Peace is dead" made me laugh 😄. Learning a new tool can be difficult, and I hope I'm not being harsh when I say that it shows; but I still had fun playing the game. Also (in my first attempt) when the iceberg started drifting away I jumped off of it and waited on the mainland, and watched as other Father Penguins murdered (?) others as the camera drifted further away... so that was neat.

TooooClose by Alexandre2BI 2018-08-13T00:29:36Z

Simple but very well made! The "feel" of the game is just right! The movement feels responsive and the goal is very clear! My one complaint is that it takes way too long to get back to where you were when you died. Maybe add checkpoints, or like @ngupsilon said maybe cut off the first level?

Missing Space by Marcel Oyuela-Bonzani 2018-08-13T06:32:27Z

Interesting game with a lot of potential! Here's a bullet list of things I would change/add: - Make it so the player dies when the void consumes them, instead of getting stuck. - Make the enemy and player health visible. - Make the enemies have less health, but make more of them. - Add screenshake and other effects to make the shooting feel better! - Add randomness to the angle of the enemies (that updates every second or so), that way they won't clump together and it will look more interesting!

I'd love to see this get expanded on!

Space Debris by Mallapa 2018-08-13T06:39:24Z

The graphics are amazing! The game is fun, and I like the general concept. I just wish the animation was better. Maybe add some effects like explosions, and use some "linear interpolation". I was gonna complain about the bullets staying for a bit after they hit something, but it's actually kinda interesting. My biggest complaint is that the game takes a bit too long to get interesting, and when it does it's still too easy. But all in all it's a fun little game, and a lot of the individual graphics are genuinely impressive!

One Man's Trash by mike_inPrinciple 2018-08-13T09:11:57Z

This is the best hidden object game I've ever played. It's so good that it feels like an insult to call it a hidden object game. Whenever it introduced a new mechanic I would think to myself, "This game has MORE content!?!" All of the 12 levels are unique and fun, seriously the quality of this game has left me stunned. This is definitely the best compo game I've played so far! 😃

Please No Home by Emanuele 2018-08-13T06:54:46Z

If you're having trouble playing this game then here's how to do it: - Right-click on PleaseNoHome.love - Open with... - "Look for another app on this PC" (or whatever) - Find PleaseNoHome.exe (in the same folder as PleaseNoHome.love) and select it

Summary: Open PleaseNoHome.love USING PleaseNoHome.exe

Please No Home by Emanuele 2018-08-13T07:06:42Z

@emanuele No problem! 😄 I like the game, especially the ending!

Leaving Room by LastLeaf 2018-08-13T05:46:14Z

Short and sweet! Well... sort of sweet, more depressing really. I loved how you incorporated the story with the mechanics. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but when "she" was introduced and the game became harder I thought that the story and gameplay was a bit disconnected (to me as a player, she was just another obstacle); but then when the game became easier I also kind of missed her (because the game is only interesting when it's actually a challenge). The gameplay, graphics, and sound all succeed in doing everything they functionally have to, and the game just has a nice overall tone. Great game! (Although I do wish it was a bit longer.)

A Way Out by sdrrv 2018-08-12T23:18:32Z

The game is very cute and the art works really well! I found the movement a bit sluggish for my liking, but the interpretation of the theme was pretty good! Maybe the instructions were unclear, but I enjoyed finding out that I had to shoot the wall after a few seconds of shooting the red balls (might of been my fault 😅). Overall I liked the game, but it is certainly in need of more content.

Beyond Space by Allan Kong 2018-08-13T06:48:04Z

This is probably the best compo game I've played so far! Super impressive! All of my complaints are just tiny little things (I wish you started a bit faster/more powerful, I wish it was more obvious the white void kills you, I wish the shop was a bit easier to interact with). Seriously you should be super proud of this! Parts of it can look a bit messy, but overall this game is incredible!

King of Bjorp by Colin Doody 2018-08-14T05:55:07Z

Really fun and well polished! I'm currently not able to play with others, but the AI was pretty good!

Stuck! by chkkll 2018-08-14T01:17:50Z

This game is very frustrating... but in a good way! 😄 I love the presentation! Although I do wish there was more variation between the levels, and I also think the game is a bit too easy. But this game absolutely nails the feeling and makes me actually tense! Great job making this game! 😊