This is a great gameplay idea! And it looks awesome to boot.
It's rather difficult, though I'm having a hard time trying to lay my finger on why. Maybe it's simply a bit too fast?
One thing I couldn't quite make out was whether I was supposed to be alone *with* the star, or if the star simply doesn't matter. On some early levels, I can make the enemy drop with the star, and succeed. On others, notably where the fall is longer, I fail if I do the same. (And I really have to avoid him from grabbing my star when I lean over the edge.)
Incredibly hard, but I must say fun as well. Best I got is a distance of 1200.
The hint is rather unintuitive; wouldn't have discovered it without your help. Perhaps this would've worked better if there was no rotational thrust at all? Just have the ship spin at all times, with only forward thrust available. Can even advertise it as a one-button game then, which is all the rage these days. :)
Now I feel stupid for not even giving Myst a single thought when I set out on this compo. It seems so obvious after the fact! A Myst inspired game makes a great choice for the Alone theme.
Though, it takes talent to create Myst-like visuals. Something you clearly have a lot of. Well done, sir!
And thanks for bringing back good old Myst memories. :)
Just the "Web" link would've done. In fact, the "Source" link is not terribly accurate, is it? ;)
Your question is a bit broad to answer. Right now, it's a fairly plain platformer, and you can take it in a hundred different directions that involve “multiple levels, plot, battles and enemies‘.
What this has to offer right now is a lot of style and mood. That's definitely something you can expand on. It looks absolutely gorgeous, but I did feel that the audio intro and cryo-themed story were a bit more grim than / out of line with the vibrant colors used in the artwork.
Haahaha, I collapsed a single cell away from my spaceship. XD
This is really good in almost all aspects. The graphics are decent, the audio is enjoyable and moody, the theme is well represented, and it kept me playing for quite a bit despite its difficulty. Stellar job, IMHO!
If there's anything I can leave you with, besides difficulty, is maybe a bit more visual feedback on game events. During my first game I wasn't even aware there were levels, and I was surprised to see everything around me change when I walked into a black spot. It took me another two deaths before I figured out what was doing the ranged attacks. ;)
But at the same time, I think a higher difficulty and having to figure things out a bit are two pillars of rogue-likes.
A lot of interesting and lovely mechanics in this game. I love the night fall and snake aggression that comes with it. Props also for procedural content and destructible terrain.
It's a short, but fun little thing, and nicely presented. A bit frustrating, at least when controlled with a mouse, how controls seemed to not respond very well.
Your main function should be defined as `int main(int argc, char **argv)` for portability.
To build on Mac: - The above change to main(). - SDL.framework, available from http://libsdl.org/download-1.2.php - SDLmain.m/h, found in the devel extras package on the same page (bottom most link). - SDL_mixer.framework, available from http://libsdl.org/projects/SDL_mixer/ - clang -ansi -pedantic -O2 -framework Cocoa -framework SDL -framework SDL_mixer SDLMain.m alone.c -o alone
I got stuck on the second level, but like the mechanic and narration. Good work!
I did find it rather unforgiving at times though. For example, enemies respawning the moment they go off the screen. Or enemy projectiles that pass through obstacles you cannot shoot through, making for the occasional seemingly impossible scene of bullet barrage.
It also wasn't very obvious where to head at times. Personally, I didn't feel like going on after getting the grey key, which opened a pit I couldn't escape from. I went to the menu and continued, went around some more, but couldn't really find any clues what to do next.
Overall I still think this is mighty impressive, though!
Kudos to you for giving it your best shot. Still, I have to apologize for the rating I'm about to give you. :)
Next time, don't bother with anything but your main browser during the 48h window! Compatibility with other browsers is porting, and can be done after the deadline.
LD22 — Alone (23)
Space Ghost by madmaw 2012-01-09T22:47:00
This is GENIUS. Or maybe I've just not seen a whole lot of these before. Absolutely fantastic.
Lonely Star by Dietrich Epp 2012-01-08T20:24:00
This is a great gameplay idea! And it looks awesome to boot.
It's rather difficult, though I'm having a hard time trying to lay my finger on why. Maybe it's simply a bit too fast?
One thing I couldn't quite make out was whether I was supposed to be alone *with* the star, or if the star simply doesn't matter. On some early levels, I can make the enemy drop with the star, and succeed. On others, notably where the fall is longer, I fail if I do the same. (And I really have to avoid him from grabbing my star when I lean over the edge.)
Never Dance Alone Darryl by BlennosoftGames 2012-01-08T12:02:00
Like the mechanic, and that's a lovely winning sequence you got there. :)
10,000 Space Leagues from Delta Station by Dan C 2012-01-07T16:53:00
Incredibly hard, but I must say fun as well. Best I got is a distance of 1200.
The hint is rather unintuitive; wouldn't have discovered it without your help. Perhaps this would've worked better if there was no rotational thrust at all? Just have the ship spin at all times, with only forward thrust available. Can even advertise it as a one-button game then, which is all the rage these days. :)
ZERO2 by kato9 2012-01-07T00:52:00
Now I feel stupid for not even giving Myst a single thought when I set out on this compo. It seems so obvious after the fact! A Myst inspired game makes a great choice for the Alone theme.
Though, it takes talent to create Myst-like visuals. Something you clearly have a lot of. Well done, sir!
And thanks for bringing back good old Myst memories. :)
There Can Only Be Static by cards 2012-01-07T00:46:00
So far, the best and most original theme interpretation I've seen. And good fun too!
Final Trip Soccer by Benjamin 2012-01-02T16:02:00
Very original, and well executed!
[Greeble] by McFunkypants 2011-12-23T00:20:00
Just the "Web" link would've done. In fact, the "Source" link is not terribly accurate, is it? ;)
Your question is a bit broad to answer. Right now, it's a fairly plain platformer, and you can take it in a hundred different directions that involve “multiple levels, plot, battles and enemies‘.
What this has to offer right now is a lot of style and mood. That's definitely something you can expand on. It looks absolutely gorgeous, but I did feel that the audio intro and cryo-themed story were a bit more grim than / out of line with the vibrant colors used in the artwork.
Solitary Traveler On A Far Planet by vubuntu 2011-12-22T22:57:00
Haahaha, I collapsed a single cell away from my spaceship. XD
This is really good in almost all aspects. The graphics are decent, the audio is enjoyable and moody, the theme is well represented, and it kept me playing for quite a bit despite its difficulty. Stellar job, IMHO!
If there's anything I can leave you with, besides difficulty, is maybe a bit more visual feedback on game events. During my first game I wasn't even aware there were levels, and I was surprised to see everything around me change when I walked into a black spot. It took me another two deaths before I figured out what was doing the ranged attacks. ;)
But at the same time, I think a higher difficulty and having to figure things out a bit are two pillars of rogue-likes.
Alone (Except for some Snakes) by BlueShaman 2011-12-22T21:34:00
A lot of interesting and lovely mechanics in this game. I love the night fall and snake aggression that comes with it. Props also for procedural content and destructible terrain.
Great work!
Last breath by deepnight 2011-12-22T20:59:00
Very impressive.
I managed to jump off the map once. For what it's worth. Because, you know... there's just so little else wrong with this. :p
Sol Solo by dcfedor 2011-12-22T20:33:00
Very nice! It looks and sounds good. Very polished presentation.
I didn't really see the theme connection, though the music and style definitely make it moody.
Keyboard controls would've been nice; mousing gets a bit tedious after a while.
Your star/avatar also gets rather big after a growing a bit, making it hard to see even the grid.
Occasionally, enemies seemed to jump around, or I was able to move on top of them.
Overall, a great entry! Awesome job!
Turbo Singulation 6000 by DrPetter 2011-12-22T19:53:00
It's a short, but fun little thing, and nicely presented. A bit frustrating, at least when controlled with a mouse, how controls seemed to not respond very well.
Growing to escape by sharbelfs 2011-12-22T19:34:00
Missing the connection to the theme, but a very nice entry otherwise! Good fun, looks good, and an original idea.
Ancient Rover by tnelsond 2011-12-21T19:14:00
Your main function should be defined as `int main(int argc, char **argv)` for portability.
To build on Mac:
- The above change to main().
- SDL.framework, available from http://libsdl.org/download-1.2.php
- SDLmain.m/h, found in the devel extras package on the same page (bottom most link).
- SDL_mixer.framework, available from http://libsdl.org/projects/SDL_mixer/
- clang -ansi -pedantic -O2 -framework Cocoa -framework SDL -framework SDL_mixer SDLMain.m alone.c -o alone
I got stuck on the second level, but like the mechanic and narration. Good work!
Lonely Robot's Kitten Quest by Beerman 2011-12-21T18:48:00
Props for procedural content!
The intro pages skipped by a bit too fast for me to read, perhaps because I'm not an English native speaker.
I also found the controls confusing. Would've expected 'up' to be the diagonal, instead of along a single axis.
Arzea by arkeus 2011-12-19T22:17:00
Very impressive! This is absolutely great work.
I did find it rather unforgiving at times though. For example, enemies respawning the moment they go off the screen. Or enemy projectiles that pass through obstacles you cannot shoot through, making for the occasional seemingly impossible scene of bullet barrage.
It also wasn't very obvious where to head at times. Personally, I didn't feel like going on after getting the grey key, which opened a pit I couldn't escape from. I went to the menu and continued, went around some more, but couldn't really find any clues what to do next.
Overall I still think this is mighty impressive, though!
RGB by Benn 2011-12-19T21:21:00
Fun and definitely challenging! Also somewhat hypnotizing graphics and music, but that fits well I think.
I'm a bit skeptical on the theme connection, though.
The Ice Maze by Fenmar 2011-12-19T21:00:00
A fun puzzle, even a bit challenging in the final levels. Good job!
Sociophobia by cappelnord 2011-12-19T20:46:00
Short and not very difficult, but definitely fun! I love the panic mechanic, and I think it's an original take on the theme.
As for the 'killing', I didn't find it portrayed as such, but I agree that it's maybe a bit twisted when given some thought.
Empty World by beeglebug 2011-12-19T20:36:00
Kudos to you for giving it your best shot. Still, I have to apologize for the rating I'm about to give you. :)
Next time, don't bother with anything but your main browser during the 48h window! Compatibility with other browsers is porting, and can be done after the deadline.
Feeling Alone by idanmiller 2011-12-19T20:30:00
I've beaten it, and the difficulty seems right. I'll be honest, though, the controls and music made it a bit tedious for me.
Blue Moon by Cirrial 2011-12-19T20:17:00
Very nice indeed. The style reminds me a bit of Another World, which is definitely a good thing. :)