SpermWorld by AnimeGeek32 2012-05-10T23:54:00
I found it hard to play, but I like the concept :-)
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → icefallgames
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | Co | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | Deeper and deeper | Untitled Bruce Game | compo | 67 | 4.05 | 4.13 | 4.13 | 4.21 | 3.34 | 3.18 | 3.41 | 3.32 | ||
| 2016 | 37 | One room | Comfort Zone | compo | 9 | 4.22 | 3.93 | 4.70 | 4.67 | 3.93 | 4.00 | 3.96 | 55 | ||
| 2016 | 35 | Shapeshift | Phil Fortier | compo | 118 | 3.73 | 3.38 | 3.45 | 3.90 | 3.76 | 3.00 | 2.30 | 3.48 | 71 | |
| 2012 | 23 | Tiny World | Quantum Entanglement | compo | 45 | 3.83 | 3.70 | 3.85 | 2.52 | 3.52 | 3.20 | 1.50 | 3.08 | 93 |
I found it hard to play, but I like the concept :-)
A very unusual game... neat concept. I found it a little rough around the edges (hard to get a feel for the layout of each level), but it was pretty fun. I think some sound effects of the whos screaming would be nice.
I can't see any lizard... nothing is moving. Though the music is nice and the shimmering around the screen's edges is nice.
How do I run a .jar file?
Trippiest graphics I've seen so far in LD...
Haha, simple mechanics but very original concept :-)
Looks like a neat concept, but I am having a lot of trouble with the controls.
The tiny window is a nice touch!
The graphics are really nice, and I was surprised at how many things I figured out how to do. However, the god never seemed to change expression at all, so I'm not sure how to judge if what I did was good or bad. His mouth/eyes flickered briefly, but I couldn't tell if that meant anything.
Ah, I see, I didn't notice I could type "[command] help". I'm still finding it hard to read the god's expressions though, and I haven't figured out how I can attack. It just tells me "no attacking possible".
Hmm, I can't figure out how to "zoom out". I placed a purple thing, but nothing seems to be happening. Anything but self-explanatory (and I'm playing the "non-buggy" version).
This is the best game I've played yet in this compo. Great job!
A youtube video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxejOUtnfjw
@Sanguine, that's probably because this requires the XNA redist to run. I have a ClickOnce installer here that will install the game along with the XNA redist:
icefallgames.com/Downloads/QuantumEntanglement/publish.htm
@Syntaxide: The discs are filters that remove color components of the lasers.
Thanks for the comments! Yeah, there are a few bugs in the levels (esp 7 and 8), where they ended up being easier than I had planned (e.g. there was an easier solution than what I'd mapped out). Level 9 is the hardest, I think.
Well I considered making a browser game *this* time, but I had to use the tools I was familiar with, and that was XNA.
@Lawrence, thanks for playing all the way through! Yes, that's a bug in level 7 :-). I would upload a fix, but I'm not sure of the "legality" of that wrt to contest rules. Although, the "Windows Installer" link, which I added later, does have the fix, and also one for level 8. The fix just adds a couple of blocks to get in the way of things and prevent the unintended easier way to solve the level :-)
@VDOgamez, you're right level 9 is also solvable in a way I hadn't intended. Looks like I could have spent a little more time play-testing!
@LukeRissacher: I agree, it is difficult to keep track of which things are entangled in which manner. I made some attempt at it with the colors of the "sine waves" that connect the pieces, but it isn't that clear. I need to think of a better visual representation that lets you grok that at a glance.
I agree with the more gradual introduction of new concepts... I attempted to do that, but I need to do a better job. I'm thinking of adding a bunch more levels and releasing as a mobile app.
Couldn't play because no Windows version
Fun, but I wish you didn't put someone back at the beginning of the game for dying in a level!
I agree with some of the other comments. Neat concept, once I got it. Just a few implementation issues that if fixed would make it a lot better:
- I didn't realize for a long time that my position was shown on the map. It's very subtle, consider making it more obvious.
- What is the key for? I didn't seem to need it.
- The arrow key movement is annoying - I think when changing directions I should also try to move in the new direction. And maybe key strokes should be buffered.
- The colors of the tiles didn't match what I would expect to be walkable.
I also agree the instructions are confusing (for the reason the first poster mentioned). Neat concept though.
I'd really like to rate this, but I find it way too difficult to play, so I don't think it would be fair. I can't last more than 5 or 10 seconds.
I like the music though :-)
errr... how do you get from planet to planet?
Um... shouldn't this be a game jam entry then? The 48-hour compo rules state that it has to be done solo.
I really like the background graphics. I find the controls sluggish though. I think it's because the jump key is only registered on the up... feels weird.
Also I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be collecting. I see some objects, but most of them the cat just ignores (they don't disappear when get stands on them, walks up to them)
I really like what you're trying to do here, but I think it starts off pretty hard. I would prefer a more gradual introduction. Progress (for me anyway) seemed slow, like a wasn't getting anywhere (I did manage to unlock all 4 worlds), but it seems if there were a gradual ramp up players could feel like they were making significant progress.
I'm only criticizing it because I think it has potential. Overall very well done :-)
The link to the Windows binary just seems to be a zip file with source code. There is no executable.
Oddly fun...
Interesting concept, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to save the buildings or destroy them? (It was more fun to destroy them :-)).
997! Neat game, well done.
Looks like it might be neat, but I couldn't figure out how to get into the game. It always says "All Destroyed", even though (I think) I managed to put two players on different teams.
Also the game froze when I put focus in another window, and then back to the game (though I've seen this in other LD entries, so it may be whatever library you're using)
Simple mechanic, but well done and nice graphical style.
I managed to escape the universe after several tries! But the difficulty level was drastically different each time due to random factors.
Interesting concept... I think I was about to win (I think I need to smash all planets together then send it to the sun?), but the game hangs for me whenever I switch away to another window then back.
Well done, especially for 48 hours. I think I got stuck though, I only got 3 friends after having pissed off Maria by buying her wine! She really should have told me what she wanted...
I enjoyed it more and more as I played. The last level was hard, but interesting enough for me to push through. I think this has potential with some refinements: (1) drag, rather than select and click again for drag, and (2) drag "life-meter" used maybe should be based on the final distance you drag it to rather than the exact path you take ('cause if you accidentally drag it to the wrong square as you're dragging it, you use up too much).
Great music and very nice graphics. Interesting gameplay mechanics too. It seemed a bit too easy, but overall this is very well done.
It looks nice and has great atmosphere, but I don't really "get it". I just die when I reach the final screen with the 3 rooms with parallel bars...
Very strange, I couldn't really figure out what to stuck. Seems like I got stuck. Can you get into a situation where there is no way out?
Anyway, I like the graphics, and this game is definitely unique :-)
Simple, but nice. I agree about getting rid of the dialog boxes.
I couldn't really understand what was going on, or how to use the "atomihook". But I seemed to get better scores when I just didn't do anything :-)
Well that gets intense quickly! It's simple, but there's something incredibly satisfying about unleashing a torrent of bullets on tons of enemies.
I had no performance issues, and the Xbox 360 controller worked fine for me (I used the html5 version). Nice job!
@undefinist, yeah that's probably the toughest level, maybe I should have put it last. You need to switch right hand ball to a square after it goes down the shaft and before it rolls off to the left. Then swap back and forth between square and circle to inch it to the tip of the platform. Then switch it to a circle just as the left hand circle flies toward it, it should launch it to the right with just enough speed to make it to the correct spot in the lower platform..
@dylanwolf ... oops, I know for a while I had a bug where more balls were spawning than were originally on screen, but I thought I fixed it. Is that what happened? The balls should only spawn when one of them hits the bottom and dies.
Thanks for playing! Yup, that's a bug. I'll see if I can repro and fix it....
Multiple spawning bug should be fixed now.
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I should have made it more obvious that the shifting swaps with the object in your thought bubble. Maybe by visually moving them towards each other or something.
Agreed that the platform jumping collisions need more work!
You can't reach the door in the subsequent levels, because the space around the door isn't large enough for the player. But agreed, the visual language could be clearer.
Oh man, almost got to halfway green, but then I turned back into an alien because I was too far away from my ship, haha
The blinking eyes are a nice touch, and the beam effect is pretty cool :-)
I'm not sure what to do. I reach the statue, but can't leave that room. The other world only appears when I'm next to the statue.
Really like the character movements, and just how the environment feels. Very nicely done.
Really impressive for 48 hours. It's so expansive!
I'm not generally a fan of these kinds of games, but this is really well put together. It pulled me in enough that I made it to level 32 after a few tries :-). Very polished and well-designed.
I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to do, but it definitely is creepy! The mood is setup nicely, and I definitely got spooked when i realized the maze had changed when I went back to where I was. Nice job.
I was able to kill one dinosaur, but I can't really do anything after that. I'm blocked at both ends, I can't climb the tree... how do I proceed?
The look and atmosphere are great. And the controls feel awesome (with my gamepad)!
Just needs some missions and gameplay ;-)
Nice puzzle game that progresses steadily. Good job!
I did find the classes difficult to distinguish though - It would have been nice if their shapes were more different from each other.
The moving backgrounds are a bit annoying, I think you could have just left that out. Sometimes I just found myself losing track of what was going on and gazing at it :P
Love the look and feel and atmosphere of this!
Seems like it has potential, but I was never able to escape the maze, even in easy mode. I suck :-(. Sometimes I dashed myself to an isolated island from which there was no escape. Without knowing beforehand where I'll end up, how can I manage to avoid that?
Nice simple game, cute graphics. The high scores didn't work for me in the embedded web game due to security stuff ("no valid cross domain policy available to allow access"). Too bad, I would have liked to see how high people got (I got 37).
Is there a reason you used the deprecated Unity web player (which doesn't work in Chrome anymore, I had to fire up an old version of IE), instead of WebGL?
It seems to have a bug (at least the Unity web player version)? I can't exit the first room. Like, no matter where I click around the exit door, the player doesn't go through. Also, the UI could use some work.
Other than that, it seems like a really awesome concept! The special effects are great. The lighting is beautiful. If you can explain how to get out of the first room, I'll take another look, because I want to play more levels!
I thought the controls were very difficult to use. Very hard to aim at an object, and it would be nice to have some feedback that I'd copied something.
Once I figured it out though, it was pretty cool swapping objects and seeing what would happen! Plants flying into the air!
I'm not really sure what my goal is though - got through the door and then wreaked havoc in the office. That was fun, but then what?
Graphics are nicely done.
It's really beautiful, I absolutely love the presentation and the feel. It is a bit confusing to play, but I at least reached all the points I see in the screenshots.
I agree with someone else here that wrote that it feels like a very personal story. Games are definitely a great medium for storytelling!
Very cool concept. Love the idea of customizing your ship like that... shields, weapons, boosters all in the place I want.
Graphics are also very crisp. Some nice touches, like the contrails on the rockets (I wish they made a sound though).
Some critiques:
- by going slowly I never really needed to swap the ship much - just for going through narrow sections.
- the layout editor didn't work very well, it never dropped the components where I wanted - not sure if it's a mouse accuracy problem with the HTML5 version or what.
- couldn't figure out how to get rid of dead components, and sometimes I left that good components just vanished.
- it was unclear what the level goals were. Kill all enemies? Reach a certain point? I got to level 4 (I think), and killed everyone (I think), but never got the "level completed".
Overall, a really need concept though - it would be cool to see it taken further.
Cool concept, but it seems it would be even better if the amount of potential energy was relevant. As far as I can tell, from any drop at all, you can then become airborne indefinitely. With more constraints, I think there could be some interesting puzzles. But maybe it's just more about fine controls in flying around?
I really like the trippy mood with the fuzzy/faded/flickering graphics.
Oh, btw, you can cut about 35MB off your zipped download size by deleting the .pdb files that Unity generated (they're for debugging).
Cute game, and there could be some interesting mechanics to expand on here. Like others said, wish there were more levels ;)
Haha, OMG. Love the sound effects.
I was a little confusing trying to figure out which animals kill which enemies (the traps make more sense). And it took me a while to figure out how to win the level. I got to level 3, how many more levels are there?
The graphics and mood are amazing though. Really like the painterly style! Good job.
Definitely one of the best I've seen in the jam. Hilarious, innovative, and fun! Always kept me cracking up to see how contorted I could make him!
And the sound effects... brilliant.
Definitely challenging. Or maybe it's late and I've had too much wine, lol.
The shape switch effect and sfx were good.
Nice job taking into account colorblind people.
Also, fyi you can shave about 35MB off the download size by deleting the .pdb files (they're used for debugging only).
I found myself wanting to explore the world, but kept getting into battle.
I like the idea, but unfortunately it was too hard to find words that worked (I didn't look at the spreadsheet). I just kept using Wolf because it was stronger than any other words that worked for me. Only about 1 out of 10 words that I tried worked (really? no dragon?), so that made battle frustrating.
I think it's a cool concept though. Some things that would help:
- scope it to words that relate to things the player has encountered in the world. So that way the player has something to reference.
- crowdsource it :-). Have some server where people can upload words and descriptions. Maybe each unique player has x damage points to distribute among the words they submit.
Some of the sprite designs were very nice.
Cute game, I enjoyed the owls - especially that second to last level with a whole bunch of them (even though that was easy).
Could use a little more polish on the movement, level transitions - but hey, it's a game jam. I'd like to see some harder puzzles too. And if you can't find good background music (it's too repetitive) I would suggest maybe just going with ambient noises.
Really like the models, and the chaos when everyone's attacking you (especially the T-rex's). I never did find the gamepad... nor was I able to enter a device. Can you enter the T-rex's to take control of them? I tried, but nothing happened...
Superb graphics and polished feel! Would be nice to have some upgrades and stuff, but this level of polish is really impressive for 48 hours!
Really cool concept. The controls make it really difficult to use. I thought it would be easier with the gamepad, but nope. Not sure how to get past the top of the stairs. I tried jumping from yellow world into grey world (since that's the platform that seemed in reach), but that didn't work...
With some polish on the controls, I think this would be really cool.
Great entry! Really nice atmosphere and music. Graphics were taxing on my PC though :P
I think it's a great concept, but can get bogged down in the number of available maps. I think if you take it further (and it's a good idea, so you should), maybe make the puzzles harder, but with less maps available at any one time?
Great job... the way the audio interacts with the action is superb. As are all the subtle touches of polish everywhere. One of the most impressive entries I've seen so far!
Nice :-). Takes a while, but not too long to figure out what's going on, then the difficulty ramps up nicely. And it's like... so true.
Love the music.
Once I figured out the rules, this is pretty cool - and ties nicely into the story.
I just wish the text were faster (I am impatient person ;-)), and that it didn't look so blurry (because of the shadow).
Overall, very well done though!
Really hard game, but overall really nicely done. The first idea I had for my game was very similar, but I didn't think I could execute it well. But you did! The faces on the shapes are a nice touch too. Smooth camera zoom was some nice polish.
The graphics and overall aesthetic are really polished and beautiful!
It's confusing what levels the platforms are on though, and that makes it really hard to play. Encountering that long staircase after the first checkpoint was so daunting given the difficultly in seeing where to jump.
I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to do. I turned into a bird and kept flying up on platforms, but my score didn't go up much (220). Turning into an animal didn't seem to help much. What does the saw form do?
I really do like the menu system and the cool simplistic look of the game though. That's nicely done.
Neat concept, and the graphics and feel were really good. I did find the controls hard to use though. The response was sluggish, which makes it hard to toggle to the right shape. I also found myself wanting to watch the battle unfold above, but I guess that distraction is part of gameplay :-) It would be nice to be able to see the reward for my careful alignment of shapes without making me miss the next shape!
Nice game, played to victory. Sometimes the characters were not visible at all though (between two rooms)
I can't seem to control the character in the "past" tab. No matter when I click, he doesn't move (though I hear the duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh walking sound). I really want to play!
Well that was strange!
It looks like it has been updated since the close of the compo (the version in the link says it was uplaoded 4 days ago, so Dec 14). Do you have the original version?
Nice atmosphere/graphics, but the rubies blocks came fast, so they are hard to avoid (or catch before they go through the floor)
The links don't appear to work? There's nothing there...
Great game, very innovative concept! Didn't like the music though...
Nice and simple, good for a LD.
Nice work... could use a little more strategy/variety though (but hey, 48 hours)? I played through about 9 encounters.
Neither Chrome or Edge supports the Unity Webplayer, so I can't play your game. Why not upgrade your Unity and build for WebGL?
It's super hard for me, so I can't play enough of it to actually give ratings. But I will say it's pretty impressive from what I've seen! There's a lot of nice polish and it actually feels like a shipped game, not a compo game :-)
Nice, different game.
I'm not very good at these kinds of games (especially once you start getting into wall jumping), but this is well done. Nice simple graphics (character blobiness is nice), good sound effects. Not sure how it fits with the theme though, since it's kind of the opposite of one room ;-)
Good job on the furniture modeling.
Download links don't work (I dunno if google drive is down or something, but it says "resource unavailable")
Great job... some tricky platforming there, but nice use of theme. Still can't figure out the level where the flag is on the left sandwiched tightly between two platforms...
The controls slowed me down a lot. Also I had several packages with an orange/white/green flag that were rejected on all belts. Maybe I don't understand what I'm supposed to be doing? Nice graphics and concept though, and with better controls this would be fun!
High points for mood :-) But I don't really know what's going on. Does moving around have any effect on anything? I created some food and PCB.
Crashes when I try to run it
Great concept, nice backgrounds, but the first level was much more difficult than the subsequent ones - all the mechanics are just thrown at you right away. It was also hard to see around the level - it would be better if the camera could zoom out.
Not sure how to catch a fish. I hold to cast, then release when the line "jiggles", but I never see anything happen. A bunch of the game seems cut off on my monitor (1440x900) (e.g. the instructions on the right are cut off, and maybe other things)
Really nice graphics, I made it to around 30 days :-). It's a lot of work being a person.
Very impressive and solid puzzle mechanics. I didn't make it past the 2 key, 2 block, 1 fish puzzle, but I really enjoyed what I played!
Interesting concept. Enjoyable, but the controls are very unresponsive, which makes it hard to know how to control the "main character". When they turn upside down, do the arrow keys reverse? I was in the lead until nearly the end, but then I got stuck and started going backwards... didn't matter in the end because the egg was not there. Also, the sound is clipping quite a bit on the web version, must be too many of those little guys for whatever engine this is to handle!
Very impressive effort the compo. And the special effects are great. And the music getting faster and faster and more tense. Very polished!
Ha! One of the best ones I've played so far. I just wish the controls were better! I was enjoying the strategies of taking shortcuts and kicking my friend's car back, but still had too much trouble maneuvering and kicking to be able to finish the final race. Really clever and polished (except for some of the controls).
What an unusual game! Very different. I found it pretty difficult after the first day. I think the way my brain works makes it very difficult to consider what judgement to use while all the distractions are happening. If you meant it to be stressful, it worked :-). Also, love the music and sound effects.
Impressive effort for 48 hours! Very hard though!
Ok, this is actually pretty neat. It felt buggy at first (with how quickly I was moving, making it hard to position myself), until I understood what was going on - the tutorial screen didn't help when I originally read it. It's so fast paced it's hard to develop a strategy for though! But pretty impressive effort for a game jam.
Oh my... those are super trippy aliens. Especially the dark ones that spawn all that purple stuff. Love the graphics, very creative! Lasted until I got attacked by a whole bunch of the alligator-jaws-in-a-head things....
I can't really figure out what to do. I think I got past level 1, since I saw some colored balls falling around one of the plants, and then the level reset with new things and a new graph.
I don't really understand what's going on though. Why do objects change shape when I pick them up? And the laser beam changes color?
I think the controls could use a little work, but overall the game works pretty well. Played the WebGL version, and didn't have any performance issues!
Checkpoints sure would have been nice :-). I got far enough in to kill a few baddies, but kept dying during the big drops... I'm not sure how I'm supposed to anticipate where to move?
Also, I see other people commenting on the audio, but I didn't hear much other than the attack sounds and some barely audible whistling for the background ambience.
Cool game. Would be nice to have some sort of HUD to show where everyone is, so I know which general areas to head for. Wasn't too much of a problem, because I didn't get that close to 50 (maybe around 30), but I assume if I did it would end up being an issue. Agree with the player who mentioned getting stuck on walls - often had to use more energy than I wanted to get unstuck.
Depth 613, Health 999999. Awesome! Simple, but pretty fun! Agree with the commenter that the enemies should be a different color (or shape).
Very original concept. I was confused at first because I thought I needed to rotate the cube, and didn't understand (originally) how the text on the other sides was related. Still not sure what "ld:" means? ... actually ok, I just realized that's probably ID? Like a unique idea for each thought?
I think I've clicked on everything, not sure what to do! But I really like the art :-)
I think I keep running into a bug where I stopped being able to control the red box. Pretty neat concept though! I think you should take this further!
I'm not really sure what I'm doing? I assumed I had to eat the red ones (because I assume that's iron?), and avoid the blue ones? But neither seemed to really push me up or down, so I'm kind of confused....
Hahaha... nice ending. And cute graphics, good job!