Galactic Pest Control by HeyChinaski 2014-09-01T21:34:00
Love how you can get tangled up in the web. Good fun. Some creepy music when they chase you would the icing on the cake.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → leftright92
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | Co | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 38 | A Small World | 👥 | Critter | jam | 187 | 3.70 | 3.20 | 3.75 | 3.79 | 4.37 | 4.08 | 4.08 | ||
| 2016 | 35 | Shapeshift | Wizard Fight | jam | 524 | 3.26 | 2.92 | 3.40 | 3.16 | 3.70 | 2.92 | 100 | |||
| 2015 | 32 | An Unconventional Weapon | Scrapshoot | compo | 536 | 3.19 | 3.04 | 2.73 | 2.65 | 3.41 | 2.86 | 2.84 | 46 | ||
| 2014 | 30 | Connected Worlds | Harmony | compo | 379 | 3.38 | 2.97 | 3.58 | 3.67 | 3.21 | 2.26 | 1.50 | 2.93 | 61 |
Love how you can get tangled up in the web. Good fun. Some creepy music when they chase you would the icing on the cake.
Nicely done, beautiful graphics and catchy sound, though I couldn't work out why my guys would randomly take damage, although I can only assume it's the tower damaging them?
A nice game, even if a little short.
Few bugs: Music stops after first death (which is a shame because it's awesome) and you fall endlessly if you fall off of upsideland (or w/e you named it :P).
Lovely art, music and narrative thought put into this...maybe we'll see a full game in the future? Plz?
The controls are unnecessarily complicated (unless I'm missing something). Maybe keyboard controls would've been better? Feels like this game ultimately boils down to click spam
Exceedingly pretty, however, due to the fact it's not a game it can't score very highly....
Game seemed very strange...either I'm missing something or the 'heal link' button seemed to have no net gain. This ultimately meant the game boiled down to 'add x' and creating the link. You probably need to give more detailed instructions, as at the moment, my input as a player feels ultimately deterministic.
That all aside, both graphics and audio had a lovely elegance to them and the idea of playing god and connecting things from the ground up links back to the theme nicely.
To summarise: a lovely concept, just poorly communicated to the player.
Interesting concept and the crafting concept is novel. However, the inability to move more than one object around at once, the 'ice-rink' like physics and the relative muteness of the game meant it wasn't long before my attention was lost.
Unfortunately, when the game first loaded for me no trees spawned, so I was a bit confused at first.
However, ultimately, I feel like you've got a great kicking off point as the potential to expand on this and make it into a puzzle/platformer with a crafting aspect is definitely there. If you decide to go further with this, I look forward to hearing of future releases
Brilliant game (even though I have NO idea how it relates to the theme). Took me a while to work out which icon related to each system.
Can't help but feel the game becomes significantly easier if you just lock the door to the computer room?
The star really threw me off when it first appeared.
Maybe use LMB, MMB, RMB rather than repetitive LMB?
Overall, lovely entry with very only a few tweaks that need making.
Lovely game (well, less 'game' more 'art piece') I really enjoyed it.
Simple, but still manages to feel like it's lacking in mechanics and I don't see how it ties into the theme at all. You definitely need to add a little something more to it such as mechanics for interaction between the two squares or some competitive component (depending on your angle).
Nicely done, this game makes me feel painfully stupid :/
Very clever game mechanically and just plain fun.
Viciously clever mechanic, deceptively simple one button play but leads to a very enjoyable and playable game.
The simple art and sound only add to the clean execution you've created here while the surprisingly natural narration creates a nice counterpoint.
Great submission, both as a game and a work of art.
Frustratingly flawless. Well done
what the fuck was that!?
I thought it was easy...then sudden and terrifying difficulty curve. Nice.
Nice game, solid core mechanics, even if they've been done before
Enjoyable game, looks like you've built a strong starting point for something you could seriously take further. My major issue is how it connects back to the theme...
@frogcheese
Dammit, I had hoped I'd squashed that bug...apparently not. Thing is, I'm still not entirely sure what causes it....
Not sure if this was intentional humour but doing anything other than working seems to plunge you straight into -work.
Interesting concept but could've done with more visuals
Can't rate because game appears non-functional.
Only green blob/red blob and no other asteriods
definitely should've zipped the items...and don't create a web link if it's not playable directly in browser
Fun game, though I can't see how it relates to the theme. Great pace although I'd allow the dodge to charge slightly faster.
Are you hosting it anywhere? itch.io can host html games/jar games I believe....
Nice concept but obviously in need of work.
Aside from the obvious, I can't seem to be able to select other characters apart from the first.
An interesting concept that feels like you could've done more with it. However, definitely a solid entry.
Definitely feels like the start of something but unfinished on it's own. Trading doesn't seem to work at all for me.
Hopefully you'll release a finished post-LD version?
Really nice game for a compo entry (puts mine to shame :P). Not a lot I can criticize about this other than the logic governing the bombs didn't entirely feel consistent.
Clever, even if you did lean heavily on the connected worlds metaphor in the ending. Nice puzzle/adventure reminding me slightly of Monkey Island.
The camera felt a bit sluggish, it could definitely do with moving faster.
A lack of feedback/feedforward to the user makes it difficult to follow what's going on. Although I was able to set up a trade route, it took a lot of fiddling and a restart of the game.
Nothing happens after 'pressing 2 if my workstation is on fire'. Not rating yet in case this is a bug, as I would really like to play the whole thing...
Yay, fixed!
Other than the previous bug, I really can't find anything to criticise on this game, a wonderfully thought out piece, great fun.
My only suggestion would be to slightly randomise some of the mechanics to add a tiny amount of replayability.
More than a prototype than a finished game, but shows promise and is entertaining none the less. I look forward to a fleshed out (option A!) version.
I'm absolutely dreadful with games like this, but from what little I was able to see of it before I died horribly it looks really good.
Concept was very fun and graphically it was pretty. Jetpacking!
My only criticism was I lost control too easily, but I think that's more my fault than the game.
Pretty much a flawless game, nicely done. Lots of fun!
Really clever use of PDFs, liked the idea of using a line.
TENATATEN
Absolutely brilliant game
My only gripe is that I accidentally pressed Escape instead of Enter to access the pause menu at one point and quit the game :(
Can't really fault this in any way.
Some direction would have been nice, as I had no idea what I was supposed to have done or what the objective was. Pretty in places, but could still have used some work. Considering this was a jam entry, I was expecting something that felt more finished.
Little confusing at first so maybe could use a little more in-game explanation, felt like I needed a little more to keep me engaged while still on the learning curve.
Very clever concept and graphically very pretty, well done.
Adorable game and the various applications of the seeds made you have to think about what you needed to do. Could have tied in with the theme a little more strongly, but I see the inspiration nonetheless. Really nicely done.
Simple but fun game (which makes me wonder why you aren't accepting judging in the 'fun' category).
My most major critique is you decided to opt for boxes when you obviously have more artistic talent than most LD competitors.
Very nicely made game and fun to see something for an alternative platform. Shame there wasn't music in the cave too.
For me, the jump/fire buttons felt back to front, as I'm used to having jump on Z, but oh well
Very amusing little game, really liked the art in this one.
I must say though, there was no noticeable difference between the guns I tried (on the desktop windows build).
Overall, a nice little game that plays well and is completely adorable, just needs a cutesey soundtrack!
An amusing if slightly laggy game. I felt maybe one or two more game mechanics could have made it a lot more fun. The music is seriously catchy.
Nice idea (elastic bands/pencil case), however I feel it's poorly executed.
Gameplay could use some work, as the concept is overly simple, especially for a jam entry. Considering this was a team of four, I honestly expected more...
The music, however, was my favourite part of the game and kept the whole thing enjoyable.
Fun game and nice twist on the mandatory "Kill X rats in my cellar" mission in RPGs.
Two quick things:
Your cauldrons have no colliders :(
Also, you may want to consider switching the particle system on the vacuum from local space to world space.
Interesting, but having trouble working out how to determine which direction to fire in.
Best way to summarise this game is 'different', interesting entry.
Getting "A java exception has occurred" when running either jar file.
Zip file has been extracted and I haven't done anything to screw with the file structure, will try updating java on my end and running it again.
Updating your java versions seems to fix it, folks:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html (and select JRE and your appropriate platform)
Regarding the game:
Interesting concept, but I feel as though it wasn't explored to its full potential. In it's current form, it feels a bit like one of those missions where you have to protect a useless AI and escort them from A to B.
Adding a few puzzle mechanics etc could make this a real gem.
Overall though, a very solid entry and kudos on the music.
Nice prototype (given that's what this really is) and has potential to be padded out into a finished title. Even in it's current state, a few things such as balancing, better feedback and a slight enemy variation (other than aesthetically) would bring this closer to something actually "game-y".
I can't really critique anything that you probably aren't already aware of...
Haven't rated this as the game doesn't appear to work as intended. Running this on a 64-bit system but all I get is a line I can drive along and bump into swordfish. Game looks nothing like screenshots provided:
http://imgur.com/aXnXRt3
It now works!
Given what's here it's really nicely done, the lighting and particles really help to draw the art style together and the slightly sluggish nature of the controls lend an authentic feel to piloting the submarine. Would love to see a finished version of this.
Also, no in-game sound? :(
Interesting premise, but unfortunately the poor contrast between the background & platforms along with some dodgy collision checking put me off. Doesn't *technically* follow the theme of SHAPEshift, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere you created.
Good fun, but very slow to start, would've liked to jump in more around the level 4/5 kind of mark. The hitboxes are way too small, I missed too many things that passed right through me.
One thing that threw me off that you might not have picked up on was the fact the square was before the circle in the button order. Most of the other games that did geometry based gameplay put their shapes in order of number of sides (ie circle, triangle, square, hexagon, star etc). While it's definitely a minor thing, it really threw me off unfortunately.
Overall, a solid and fun submission, but I would've liked to have seen something more fleshed out from someone with your LD experience.
Nice submission, however I feel it has a few flaws.
The ability to kick/punch felt largely redundant and the fact that you gained health for every enemy you killed made you nearly invincible, given how trivial most enemies were to kill. Overall, good core concept on the design front, but I felt like more attention could've been paid to the nitty gritty stuff.
The animation for the character and enemies was nicely done, praise for that. However, the lack of environment art detracted from the overall experience, especially when you start the description of your game as 'Trail through ruins of previous civilizations'.
The levels themselves felt largely unstructured, although this may have been due to the lack of environment art. Some blocks or areas felt unnecessary or redundant.
Your composer really did a good job, it's not common for an LD game to feature multiple original tracks.
Overall, nice game and enjoyable to play, just need to tighten up on the design front. Good job, but I was hoping for more from someone, by the look of you account, with this much previous LD experience.
Really nice game, however I felt it was overly similar to the game you made for last Ludum Dare. You're a really interesting designer and I'd like to see something fresh...
Very creepy. However, I felt like I wasn't getting quite enough direction and got lost too easily. Got stuck in a room, not sure if that was an intended end of game or not. Good entry
Interesting concept but I'm not sure I understand it fully. Would definitely have benefited from some tutorialisation.
A really good concept, but I feel the fact you went for a near reactions-based difficulty detracts from the game.
Music was cool but the shapeshifting mechanic seemed tacked on and made the whole game too easy...
Really enjoyed the art style and you seemed to have enjoyed making that aspect too. It's a shame the level generation creates jumps that are impassable at times.
Looks interesting, please host your web build somewhere rather than just offering a download...kind of self-defeating otherwise.
I'd love to keep playing this, but it crashes every time I try to restart. Good to hear some narrative in LD too.
A really solid entry, seeing another local multiplayer game makes me happy. A little more flair could push this game a long way.
An interesting premise but lacks any challenge or flair that would be needed to really come into its own
Regretably frustrating due to the flight mechanics making moving difficult.
Unfortunately, it was too easy to just hug the top/bottom wall and sprint to the end rather than bother with the shape shifting (or even the shooting). Essentially, you've got a game that's tried to weave stealth mechanics and action mechanics and they don't play well together.
I enjoyed the clean, minimalist style, it definitely worked in your favour. Overall, I liked the core concept, just needs a little more work and it'll really start to shine.
Difficulty curve was a bit steep, but clever idea
@Headmade
Win condition is listed in the Itch description. You need to reduce the enemies HP to zero by having a unit sit in their spawn point.
Music was good but you screaming down the mic at the start was really annoying. Mechanically it was interesting though.
I didn't notice the schakra symbol first time I played, it was easy to miss, so I'd rework that to be more obvious somehow. Thematically, the game was nice but it was uninspired and didn't really offer any interesting gameplay. Visually, it was simple, but pretty and worked well with the audio. A solid entry.
Controls clearly weren't implemented properly. Couldn't turn around...
Real promise here and I enjoyed watching your updates during LD, just a shame there's so little content coming out in the release version. The art and music is great and it plays very responsively, I especially like that each transformation has its own theme. A shame you didn't have a dedicated bod working on levels.
Regrettably lacking.
Really liked the concept and quite fun to play. However, I feel like if you're going to pick a graphic style you need to stick with it. The lights made your colour palette too large and the particles and rotating pixels are just out of place.
Good fun, but very difficult...I want a baby easy mode
Please make a WebGL build
Clever game and a nice change of pace compared to some other submissions. The one thing I would like is to know how many I need to look for at the start of the level, sometimes it's hard to keep track of which ones you've found while looking for ones that might not be there.
Interesting concept and I really enjoyed the music.
Unfortunately, the pathfinding algorithm you chose means enemies bunch up into a single blob all to easily, making it possible to just circle round the enemies indefinitely and forget the attack altogether. You need to get some path prediction or group coordination (simple vector driven swarms could work) going.
The titular 'Lucky Grenades' not only felt redundant but also completely over-powered. It was possible to wipe an enemy out within a second of them appearing. I'm guessing they were invisible because you ran out of time to work on the art for them?
Overall, a nice looking, awesome sounding little game with a solid core concept, however the execution needs work.
A good core mechanic, however there definitely needs to be something more to help direct this game towards its potential. Whether that be visual flair or additional mechanics is up to debate.
Really cool little toy. When it comes to LD, I really like seeing little things that are well made rather than large things hastily thrown together. This really played to my enjoyment of that.
A good looking game but the controls were annoying and the transitions from land to water weren't as good as they could be.
Really interesting core mechanic. Definitely needs checkpoints and more levels.
Really nice game, the random colours difficult change threw me off hugely :c
Nice submission, I enjoyed it, but felt like it needed a little more fleshing out.
I ran into an interesting bug where if you held down punch and move at the same time for a little while you'd be teleported once you released them.
You also need to watch your z-draw, some bandits were being drawn behind the saloon when they should have been in front.
Liked the art, loved the music.
The nutrients don't seem to be flowing in the web version for me...
Please make a WebGL build.
Really nice entry, just slightly disappointed some of the puzzles were self-solving or too easy. Would like to see more
Really nicely put together game, shame I'm terrible at this kind of thing.
Needs a loss condition (obviously, being a dreaded 'infinite x' game, no win condition). Currently, the transforming serves no other purpose than to fit the theme. Also, you can teleport to safety by clicking elsewhere.
That all said, I really liked the sprites.
At the moment, you've got the shell of a game here, needs more work before it becomes viable, but you seem aware of that, so congratulations on completing your first LD.
A simple game that's been quite well executed...the main thing holding this back from getting higher scores is the lack of content
Fun little game! As you said you were focusing on the art/sound, I'll focus primarily on that.
I really liked the main theme and it was suitably 'game overy' on the game over screen too. However, the track played during the game was something of a funeral dirge and didn't match the feel you were trying to create with the art and gameplay. Additionally, the fact that it was drowned out by the sound effects made it difficult to hear.
Graphically it's very pleasing, however, a big nitpick I have with games that use pixel art, especially if the sprites are any smaller than 32x32, is that pixels shouldn't partially overlap or 'slide'. Pixels are supposed to be atomic, therefore when you see them moving cleanly it breaks the visual style that the art style possesses.
Individually, however, I liked the bold colour palette you went for, each sprite is nicely made. I see you spent a lot of time working on the explosions and they look absolutely great.
Overall, solid entry given your background. It's always cool to see LD participants trying things outside their comfort zone and pushing themselves to learn, so commendations there.
(Just as a sidenote, two bugs I caught: 1) the score doesn't reset between tries and 2)if you click the menu button in the game it layers the game over screen on the menu screen)
Not quite a game in the classical sense, but an interesting experience nonetheless.
Great game, really enjoyed it. I wanted more. My only critique would be to have the character move a bit faster.
Good basis, would like to have seen more, both mechanically and in terms of levels.
As many have commented, the rules were a little tricky to work out, but in the end it all makes sense. Solid entry.
Not really much point to make the car wider and the collision physics got me stuck in a wall. Nice concept and I enjoyed it overall.
Ran too fast for me to keep track of what was going on...
Regretably, the game seemed to end before it even began...
It was easier to dodge left and right to avoid the blocks, but congrats on your first jam.
Well, that was mayhem, but good fun.
Attack speed seems arbitrary variable and a lower spawn limit would be nice. Good graphics and sound though.
Game throws a js error on Play. Running on Chrome.
Fun but unfortunately repetitious, maybe could've increased the difficulty curve slightly?
Regrettably, there doesn't appear to be much actually here...your artists appear to have put in the work, but it looks like the rest of the team dropped the ball.
Good job for a 12 hour effort, shame you didn't have more time. A really nice idea and it was a refreshing change from many of the other games produced for this LD. Regrettably, I was unable to finish it as I didn't seem to be able to break the fence with Brutus.
I encountered a few bugs with collisions/camera but you seem to be aware of them already.
Can't help but feel it would have been more fun with a little more direction...
Felt like either shapeshifting needed to be more controlled or to warn the player they were about to shift.
Couldn't seem to join a game :\
Really nice concept and I quite liked the music. Unfortunately, the inertia on the character makes it very unsatisfying to move around and I hit a bug on the cannon after the flat platform:- I seemed to flicker back and forth between two loading zones.
The guide feels more or less mandatory. A clever idea but seems to suffer from the classic problem of 'guess what the game designer is thinking'
Really charming little scene. As you've said, it's not a proper game, so I'm not going to comment on that. I spent a good five minutes exploring the scene and taking in the art. If you wanted to, there are a few small things I think could add to it: - Really simple music track, something thematically nursery played on a child's xylophone or something similar. - Some small degree of interactivity, like picking apples from the tree or the butterflies reacting to your presence by moving away.
Overall, loved it, definitely my top pick so far.
Nice game and the game mechanics paired with the title well, the idea of there being fewer and fewer blocks as you progressed definitely added to the challenge. The character controls were really good and the little touches like edge grab and wall jumping put the cherry on the top. I am terrible at platformers, so I can't really comment on anything beyond the first two or so minutes of gameplay. If there are extra levels, I never reached them :P
Really fantastic entry, there's very little to suggest in improvement given the time constraints. In Ludum Dare, it's all to easy to release a game that doesn't quite 'feel' right to play. This is absolutely not the case here, I found myself really involved and enjoying the game.
Good fun, very cute graphics and a lovely little soundtrack. I wanted more!!!!