Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Jack Maxwell
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 59 | Signal | 🤖 | Singing Space CEOs | compo | 226 | 3.15 | 2.89 | 4.05 | 4.02 | 3.23 | 3.64 | 4.09 | 3.35 | |
| 2020 | 46 | Keep it alive | A Desperate Theif | compo | 995 | 2.80 | 2.77 | 2.80 | 3.18 | ||||||
| 2018 | 42 | Running out of space | Light Towers [WEB] | compo | 616 | 2.88 | 2.85 | 3.14 | 3.06 | 2.53 | 1.61 | 2.24 | |||
| 2017 | 40 | The more you have, the worse it is | Tiny Empires | jam | 510 | 3.50 | 3.34 | 3.06 | 2.82 | 3.10 | 2.47 | 2.25 | 3.11 |
Jack Maxwell leaves an average of 18.5 feedback comments each event.
The camera movement is really clean and its fun to figure out where to put turrets to kill the most spiders and not shoot each other. I found that i didnt really need to think about powering the generator that often though. Pretty fun!
Also, a little bug maybe?
(Im under the map)
You can finish a level even if you run out of time. The game is too easy and is not fun at all, maybe thats because its too easy.
Im assuming art is placeholder
Overall, I dont really understand what the vision for this game is, maybe if you flesh out the game more and make it challenging it would work.
The main problem is that the gameplay is running from tree to tree growing them and if you just reduce time I dont see how someone could get better at the game to be able to complete it if its more challenging.
There just isnt any skill involved.
Also, this game seems a lot like your previous LD entry. The thing that made you last entry work better is the movement was hard to master because you needed to go fast since there is a timer but also slow because its space and youll lose control of you ship and run out of fuel.
This game needs something like that
Of course I know you still have 20h, im just reviewing this now since I saw it and was bored. Good luck! and good for you for competing in LD!
Fun gameplay, reminded me of old arcady minigames on the wii. Graphics and audio are amazing and the game fits the theme well. The movement of Sodaboi was perfect, it was sporadic enough to keep me on my toes but linear enough for me to get awesome hit streaks. I think its been mentioned before, but the cannon fire rate seemed strange, It was good when i got on a nice streak of hits, but I think that feeling of being on a streak could be instilled in a better way as to not confuse the player about when the cannon can fire. But Overall great work!
Graphics are really cool, the style is nice and refreshing. The running out of space mechanic is cool and helps increase the tension in the gameplay. I think more powerups that change how you shoot or different enemies would make the game better. Good job!
Cool game, fits the theme well, although very simple. Congrats on third LD when so young. My first LD was LD 40 as well. It's great to see someone so young doing game dev in such a professional manor. Im only 18 but when I was 13 I was still just messing around and not finishing games since I really didn't know how to code.
The blue powerup which shrinks you can catch you off guard when you resize to larger since there is no warning when you resize and you could be close to the wall when you resize and then instantly die.
The green death wall hit box or maybe the player hitbox seems to be off. When i go near a wall the visual sprites shows there is still distance but I die. A good practice is adding some wiggle room, make the wall hitbox slightly smaller than the visual so players feel it's more fair.
The deceleration of the player seems to slow as I release the key but keep moving, this usually results in a death if i'm trying to be close to the wall. Maybe a personal thing but I prefer a more reactive control.
Great job!
Interesting game, not really that fun. I prefer more of a challenge but It was fun messing around with it. Your message was very clear. The art style was very cool and the whole game seems very well made and polished. Great game, just like your others :) good work.
Theme fit pretty well but it felt kinda unfair, maybe 5 seconds is too short or I want more visual feedback, I cant tell. As far as my experience with the game, It is kinda boring, at least for me. I found myself not paying attention to the shapes and getting ready to match them, just clicking where I saw something light up. When i lost it felt pretty cheesy since there was nothing I could do but wait for my eventually defeat since I didnt move a bag earlier. Maybe an ability to speed up a certain carousel would make that better.
^^ Game looks cool but cant play it. Also if you want more ratings you have to play more games
Fits great with the theme, Ive always liked those restaurant managment games and this one is no exception, its intense and the art style is good. Great work!
I say this exact same game done by someone else in LD 40. Art is programmer art, game is generally unoriginal with the only new thing being the screen being covered which, like I said, Ive seen before
I beat it! Delivered boxes to 50 customers. The theme only really starts to fit once you get later on in the game where you have to push through or go out of your way to get where you want to go. The screen zoom effect was cool at first but made me feel sick and got annoying to look at after a few minutes. Didn't have headphones in so I didn't hear if there was any music or sound fx, I wont be rating that cat at all. Overall I enjoying the first few minutes but the game got annoying, maybe that's because of the screen effect or maybe that's because it was a bit repetitive (which is fine as long as there is some other activity in between the repetitive parts. Maybe after 10 packages are delivered you drive to the post office and bring a bunch back to give to the people again.
One last thing, I don't think its possible to lose. A timer for like 15 minutes would add more panic.
Wow, just wow.
Cool idea, I don't quite understand how it is at all difficult as you can just walk forward and complete the levels. Often I would get more than the required amount of things and the game wouldn't end (WEB). There are various graphic issues where there is a grass tile underneath the surface or things like that.
On the first level (Moon level) If you walk to the left you can just infinitly jump up the wall (not sure if that's a feature) and then reach the top of a wall, this is probably not intended but it would be cool if you had a little secret up here.
Noooo! Why why why!!!??!!!! The theme is the more you have the worse it gets. But why punish the player! Collect resources, but the more resources the more enemies or something. Why punish the player for playing the game! Slowing down movement feels horrible!!!
Its unclear which direction the player is facing, this can make the already really bad controls worse.
Graphics.exe is not available. Honestly though, please pick some better colors. I can see you are a programmer not an artist but do you have eyes!!!!
When walking into something the player jitters.
Invisible walls are horrible game design, just throw down some rocks that show the invisible wall.
Overall the game is pretty bare bones, there isn't much here that makes it different than other survival games and I don't recommend working more on this. Instead keep doing jams and keep coming up with ideas.
Sorry for shitting on your game, I'm not trying to be mean I want to help you learn. :)
Wow! This was an amazing and very innovative take on the theme, both categories, innovation and theme, were a 5/5. Even though the medals were obscuring my view I also was happy to get them haha. Puzzle mechanics were simple but man did I enjoy the medals. Great work!
@x-budsterized-x
I think I beat you...
Just a quick note before I begin my review, you cannot make any balance changes or add any features after the deadline, you are only allowed to fix bugs.
WEBGL Version does not work. I got into the game and it crashed when I placed 1 defence, then I went into an infinite loading screen when I refreshed the page
I Then tried a windows version and I got this
I am using Windows 10 with latest hardware.
I based my review off of screenshots, If you can fix these problems, mention me and I will re do my review.
Umm I saw that you updated the game. You fixed bugs but you also said
music added arrow pointing to checkpoint
These are features, not bug fixes that improve the game. The COMPO has ended, you are not allowed to add features to the game. You need to supply a version that is the same game as your entry but with bug fixes only. You can also add the updated version but for voting, in order to not cheat, you have to have the updated version separate and make that clear.
@Zachary-shah
Also congrats on doing game dev so young, your last game you said you made when you were 12. This is my first LD and I'm 17 although ive been doing game dev since I was around 12 aswell It was not very serious.
Really cool concept! It is really intresting and the terribles keep the game intresting, needs much better art though. After 4 terribles though I got a terrible called "FHT Gamer" or something close to that I didn't really see. But I couldn't move my character anymore and I couldn't ESC out of the game. Not sure if the ESC was a bug or you just don't have ESC to quit out as a feature but I had to WND-D. Strange bug but the game was cool. Maybe to make the game even better change up the actual level itself aswell, like move platforms etc.
Its a strange game that doesn't really have a point, but It looks cool. How did you get all those grass things to react to player without destroying the cpu?
Cool idea but I think slowing the player because of the theme is a bad idea. It makes the game less fun, I think a better choice would be to add something to the gameplay which makes it more difficult rather than punishing the player for playing the game.
Really boring. Not my cup of tea. It needs some actual gameplay. Graphics are great.
No link...
There is no link...
Cant run the game, rating based off pictures. The font is terrible and the graphics are bad.
Charming little game, music is good, graphics are not very good but it is a compo so. Overall, not bad. Music is my favourite part and the idea is pretty interesting/funny
Gameplay is nothing new, killing enemies and the more ____ you pick up the more enemies. It connects to the theme in a very interesting manor, the graphical style is not my favourite. Pretty good for Compo tho.
Its a fun game, and the graphics are not bad, the idea has been done before, google did it the other day. But It was made in 3 days and it was fun to play so good work!
Seems kind of strange that it took you a full day after seeing the comments to upload a build... Not saying anything but that is what people who take extra time do. Game looks great.
The graphics are really cool, I love the the puzzle ish gameplay! Good work! Also I fixed up the shop button in my game Tiny Empires, so it is now playable.
really fun game! I love getting tested on my fast typing skills right after LD! haha. I got a score of 57. It got so hectic after the words went from KEN to OAKLAND and I had to use keys from all over the keyboard. The graphics and especially the UI looks very clean and I really respect good looking UI, so kudos for that! While I was playing I got a lot of words like "RAY" "TYPE" and other things similar to that and it made me smile as I thought of a dev trying to cram some more words into the game before the deadline and just looking at their code. Good submission and great first published game!
ITCH.IO version wouldn't load. :(
The game had lots of trouble running on WEB GL. Not quite sure how the theme connects to it, but it has fantastic atmosphere, the lighting is especially good!
Yeah ^^ Same problem, from the screenshots I think you could've really benefited from some better graphics
Really awesome game, I love the little character portraits and all the abilities and such. Really great work!
Graphics style is really cool, and I like the UI. Gameplay is fun too. Good work!
Fun little game, very glad the font isn't Arial haha. I like the risk reward mechanics with the gold but I think upgrades would have made it more fun.
Game crashed when I destroyed an asteroid :(.
Simple but fun. I really like the take on the theme its very innovative. Good work
Theme doesn't quite work here, since I am not getting more to make it worse, I am killing enemies to make it worse. Gameplay and graphics is rather basic, (I've seen ALOT of shoot the spawning enemies and collect a thing to make more enemies - games). BUT considering that you made the engine too, IN TWO DAYS! That is very impressive, so goodwork
Its a fun little game but it is not that innovative. I think some more mechanics would make it better!
Beginning cut scene took a bit too long. Graphics need some work, the jump felt weird. I love the sound effects. The puzzle gameplay is really intresting but the cats take too long to walk around to where I want and it is hard to figure out what I need to do. I couldn't get past the second level.
Also the slowing down of the character is really annoying, I know you were trying to relate to the theme but slowing the character is not the right way, I suggest doing something that makes the gameplay experience more hectic/fastpace/harder not something that makes it slower and boring.
Overall a good entry!
Couldn't play, I tried clicking on HTML 5 (web) but I got this
Maybe try uploading on itch.io
I really like how you used the theme. I love your idea of increasing difficulty by changing the level rather than just adding enemies like so many other games did, (Mine too, sort of). Of course art/graphics needs a lot of work and the controls could be better, but the gameplay and concept is fantastic.
Really cool idea that connects really well to the theme. The UI needs some work but overall its pretty good!
I enjoyed the game, the art style is really cool and different and the gameplay is pretty good. Nice work!
It wouldn't run.
My OS: Windows Computer is a Mac with really good specs. I was trying to play the WEB version and I heard some sounds but no visual and nothing happened. :(
Fun game, I really enjoyed the stealth and robbing mechanics, definitely different from other games. It definitely needs music
I love the graphics style and the games roots in asteroids and I'm very glad to see you picked an appropriate font for your style! Good Work!
I don't really see the connection to the theme. It is fairly innovative and I really like that the car has no speed limit, it made me want to see how fast I could get the car going. Nice work! Graphics and UI design need some desperate attention!
Really cool game! Theme connects well. I'm not too fond of the art style but the gameplay is really good. I like the complexity you were able to put into it, as a 1 man team I was unable to put too much complexity in my game. I think the game is a little daunting to beginners though with all the spells and buttons and stuff, but it is a management game so.. GOOD WORK!
Very interesting and creative game, the theme connects very well and I love the art style.
I really like the risk reward mechanic with the armour. Enemy fighting platformer isn't the most innovative BUT the character design definitely is, and the *graphics* were very nice, haha
The font is not the best and I think if you picked a better font it would have made the game look nicer, the graphics were strange but not bad. overall its a very interesting game that has a lot of complexity but is also easyish to learn, thanks to the tutorial. Also gameplay is good. Nice work!
The theme connects very well although it is rather basic, because many other games also took the approach of the more ____ you collect the more enemies spawn. But the controls, mainly for driving, were clean. The beggers don't quite fit your graphical style. Nice font but it is kind of hard to read.
Doesn't really make much sense that I get angry when my FPS is above 60, I love FPS above 60. This was an interesting game I think some better fonts would have made the game better and maybe a decluttering of the UI as its often that stuff is overlapped and cannot be read. Also as manbeardgames ran into, I also received a NEW CPU message but was maxed out on CPU.
The theme isn't quite there. since the player doesn't really control how much mice they have it doesn't quite work because it isn't the more YOU HAVE, the worse it gets. Although it gets really hectic and its a fun little idea. The paw moved kind of slow and an acceleration might have been a better idea. Controls worked very well.
A really awesome and innovative idea! It was lots of fun with my brothers!
Very awesome style It really reminded me of fun times playing N64 games, I love the art and the game idea, of trading stuff, is really creative. Awesome work!
Theme connection is great and this is a very creative take on it, I also really enjoyed the graphic style. I felt the controls were unresponsive though. Sometimes I thought I clicked on the mole but I must have missed the hit box. Anyways I think a more forgiving hitbox that maybe even extends farther than the actual hole would fix this feeling. Overall its a fun little game that is very unique. Good work!
Connects to the theme, but the graphics are boring and the gameplay is basic. I see the connection to flappy bird like games but I feel that you should have spent some more time on the graphics. As a fellow solo LD'er and this as my first LD as well, I know it is difficult to manage time so I suggest doing more Jams or game making competetions to get better at it.
Audio is too loud, UI and Text was kind of simple/boring. A "I'm Stuck" button is kind of alarming. I didn't really notice the bus handling becoming worse, I felt that the bus had its brakes removed by the kids attached to its side. Overall is a interesting funny game but the gameplay isn't that fun.
Looks good but It glitched out, I was playing for a few seconds and then the game just paused and the music continued I refreshed the page but now it wont load.
Interesting idea, controls are a bit hard at first. Good work!
Really fun little game! I made a base that welcomed both cavepeople AND mutants. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing haha but it was fun. One problem I had was that I could pan even when the pan tool wasn't selected. This made building difficult. Great game!
Great game, did find one thing. At the end when it says "The more assholes you have, the worst it is" worst is improper grammar and should be worse. Overall an interesting idea
Hilarious! Platforming was difficult at times (I was hitting my head on the very edge of a platform.
I agree with that is said before. The attracting to people is a little much although it is a core mechanic, I suggest using large circles to represent their pull radius, this will make the game a bit more like a stealth game but with risk and reward. Should the player wait for the people to go away or should the player try to run through the ring of detection. Overall a very solid entry.
Fun gameplay, the theme is definitely a core element of gameplay and I agree that it needs a stamina bar. Very good entry!
Awww not WEB GL :( Looks amazing though! Good work
The theme is very well integrated into the game, the mood is awesome, the sounds are amazing (The breathing is too loud/constant, maybe have him more silent but start breathing more when enemies are near, the end screen sound is kind of loud but maybe that's just me and the snake sound was loud and hurt my ears. The mood was amazing. The controls were very clunky. I really do like the speed run possibility but I think this idea could be expanded on to make speed running more rewarding or exciting.
Text and UI is rather simple, I suspect that you were rushed and had to make something quick haha. Its a very fun game and an intresting concept. Great submission!
Wow this is my first LD too! Platforms were a little hard to see. Very innovative though, well, I'm just glad its not another shoot the enemies that are spawning game haha. I like the endless runner concept. I was going for a endless capability in my game aswell.
Very glad that the theme didn't make you create an unfun mechanic. The idea of the more gelatin you eat the higher you jump but you could fall off, connects to the theme and is a risk reward mechanic. FANTASTIC game design
Very funny! Great Idea!
I like the bodyguard a lot :) fun game but its not very innovative. Good submission!
Interesting style. I have been seeing a lot of 'shoot the spawning enemies' games but this one takes it a few steps further with more mechanics like the different weapons and trade
The font is pretty basic, gameplay is fun and the idea is really cool, this could be an awesome little game with some more polish and maybe add abilities of some sort to shake up the gameplay. Overall, pretty good. :)
Yeah its hard, the spin mechanic for me was just a use it and hope I hit someone. Also HOLY CRAP that death sound is horrible!!! Hurts my ears every time, music is nice though
Very nice looking graphics, I love the risk reward mechanics
Very funny! Like others have stated I cant see the theme in here and also graphics are kind of lackluster
Really cool that you made it in VR. Very basic gameplay though
Very interesting concept. This reminds me of playing stat heavy RPG where you need to create a build and trade off health for damage or vice versa. Very innovative, but graphics are really simple and need to be expanded on and should have been expanded on even tho its a compo.
Graphics are brutal, the background is hard to look at and the text is hard to read, I understand you are going for a specific style but the font is questionable and the color makes it worse. Cool concept and interesting gameplay. Computer would always take such a long turn.
I couldn't get the game to load. But It looks really good based on screenshots!
Wow! This is an absolutely amazing game! The puzzle is super fun and difficult. I got stuck on the second level haha But it was really fun
Nothing worked! The enemies didn't kill me and I couldn't pick up gems ;(
Meh. Gameplay was ok I guess, I enjoyed balancing all the boxes alot.
Very fun game, enjoyed it a lot. I really like the arcade style. A thing about balance though: The $250 turret is by far the best. It shoots fast and is cheap. I ONLY bought it.
Fun little game. It was a little bit too easy but I still enjoyed it a lot.
Fun and funny. Gameplay is somewhat boring/repetative after some time. Audio is awesome and hilarious. Good game!
LD59 — Signal (14)
Faros by Korpilintu 2026-04-20T23:29:51Z ♥ 1
Its not loading for me!
Licence to Fine by IndigoWolf 2026-04-20T23:28:15Z ♥ 1
I had also spent time this weekend thinking about how to create a sound wave matching puzzle, but couldn't come up with something. This is really well done!
Traffic Control by Alec Cunningham 2026-04-20T23:22:18Z ♥ 3
Very funny Screenshot 2026-04-20 192152.png I found it best to step aside and let nature have at it
1000ms by sodaman 2026-04-20T23:15:38Z ♥ 2
Very creative take on the theme that creates pretty unique puzzles kinda like braid!
Cookie Signal by Kurakurture 2026-04-20T23:12:37Z ♥ 1
This was fun. Love the textures and specifically how you have the frames kinda wobbly like Courage the cowardly dog
Federal Bureau of Dance by drainkid 2026-04-20T23:06:52Z ♥ 3
This is really great. I love the idea and the music and mechanics come together in a really fun and good sounding experience. I like how you have to manage multiple aspects of the mix and dodging in the 3d space. It almost reminds me of sunset overdrive in the way how you are almost combo-ing the aliens with your mix. I would love if it was less focused on moving/aiming and instead almost snapped you to your targets when you hit a good combo. Great game!
Mini Mobile Network Operator by Stratcat66 2026-04-20T20:03:35Z ♥ 1
I really love this. Reminds me of factorio and War of Dots. I wish I could view all cell tower ranges at the same time to optimize my placement. Love how the procedural generation forces you to support a 'suburb' kinda distant sprawl but also consider the capacity of the dense areas
The Transmitter by austinmerrick 2026-04-20T05:26:31Z ♥ 1
Flying feels really good. Reminds me of rocket league. I love the artwork and sounds too. Overall a fun experience!
TRAPTOMB by fullmontis 2026-04-20T05:23:20Z ♥ 0
The signal effect is really cool and unique. I found I could spam the dash button to essentially fly but without doing that the game is a great mix of puzzle and platforming!
FINDER-1 by richjbaron 2026-04-20T05:19:22Z ♥ 2
I really love the way the world is presented to you in this narrow way. This has such a high degree of polish and it sounds great. I was able to complete the first few levels but I didnt fully get a sense for what I'm looking for / what is anomalous. Regardless, the mood, graphics and audio is amazing
Salvager by J4cko16 2026-04-20T05:11:13Z ♥ 0
Music is amazing! Love how it changes with the depth. I found a good strategy of sticking to the side of the wall at first. Graphics look great too and I love the variety of fish.
Fae'calling by BarnabeWild 2026-04-20T05:07:20Z ♥ 1
The music did really well to provide feedback about where I was going. I also loved the texture of the ground with all the dots and the way that + the sky looked like tv static
While You Were Here by jpat 2026-04-20T04:07:21Z ♥ 3
I'm not sure how to complete the second level, but I love the aesthetic and idea of the theme
Gridlock by MaggardJosh 2026-04-20T03:58:51Z ♥ 1
I love playing simulation games and this scratches the itch. I like choosing which lights to set and watching the traffic be directed automatically. I wish there was different types of intersections and maybe more automation you can set up. I also found it somewhat difficult to click the light I want quickly. Of course I know this was made in 48h which makes it all more impressive. I'm particularly impressed by the car AI.