Marc Jones

Superhero Problems by boddiul 2017-12-16T11:16:20Z

Extremely polished game that plays well and looks fantastic, I really enjoyed it. The progression of powers being unlocked and upgraded gives you a real feeling of becoming more powerful! Of course, as you do, your collateral damage damage increases, which I interpreted as a match to the theme. The interactivity of the world is very well done, and adds a lot to the sense of chaos. The enemy design is clever, fostering the use of your different powers to try and deal with them with minimal casualties. My only criticism is that the audio could be improved, as the music is very basic. Very well done!

Damage Control by ThatRumme 2017-12-07T11:40:18Z

Sharp, clean graphics and interesting game play. Working out the best order to take out enemies was good. Although I understood how the damage trade-off fits the theme, I don't think there was a lot of motivation to play at the lower damage. Perhaps if the levels were timed, then the player would have an incentive to be more fragile to try and get a better time? A little bug; my mouse click wasn't very responsive to shoot. I found that I had to wait until the game registered it, then remain in auto-fire for the rest of the level. All in all though a really good jam game with some nicely designed levels.

Traffic Troubles by TheOZoneBE 2017-12-07T11:11:07Z

I like the concept. It was a little reminiscent of the original SimCity in terms of both the music and graphics. I understood that the real challenge in the game would come to which roads to upgrade, but I think having a limit on the number of basic roads would also add to the game. It would lead to decisions like "Do I upgrade this road, or build a new one?". I had the same problems as others in terms of finding the squares that were congested, and a slightly annoying thing later on where a new house would spawn and I wouldn't have time to build a road there before the game ended. Perhaps pausing the game to build roads would alleviate these problems, although that would of course detract from the slightly frantic gameplay which is perhaps what you were going for.

The Exalted by Flubz 2017-12-13T01:40:14Z

A nice spin on the "bullet-hell" genre. There's definite strategy in knowing when to send off a volley of shots, and I suspect there are multiple different strategies possible to take out the core. I managed to beat the game by waiting until I had a few damage powerups and then going mad on the core, but it wasn't easy! Very nice graphics, although I would have appreciated a slightly wider perspective on the action, particularly when you've picked up a few speed powerups. I also sometimes found it difficult to find the core. I realise that's what the rays around the core are for, but perhaps a permanent arrow near the player might help? The music loop got repetitive quickly, and if this game was taken further I would like to see some sort of procedural music that gets more frantic the more bullets are on screen. Overall, though, a really solid little game that fits the theme well.

Pet Watch by Skyward 2017-12-07T00:43:10Z

Really clean graphics and decent audio. Having your interactions with the world happen via your phone is a nice touch, and could easily be expanded if you wanted to take the game further. This might be a design decision, but I found the interface a little bit clunky. Having to go to the store to buy items, then back to your home page, then to the storage page, then use it, was a little frustrating. Perhaps having the items appear in a room in the house when bought would make it flow better. Overall, an interesting simulation game and impressive given the time constraints.

#realfeel by lot9s 2017-12-04T23:37:56Z

Very nice art style and I liked the music. The game was a little easy though, as there wasn't time for the ghosts to catch up with you, but a nice concept. Just to let you know, the hit boxes on the platforms were a little buggy and I fell through the level a couple of times.

ThemeTris by Hackschnitzel 2017-12-16T09:09:58Z

Tetris as a representation of coding is a nice idea, investing time (tetrominos) into features (completed rows) makes sense as an abstraction. I thought, though, that you could have innovated on the core game, Tetris, to fit this theme even better. For example, when I code I have features I need, and features I would like. Perhaps you could have represented that as different rows score differently when you complete them, with the amount of points you get for each row displayed at the start of the game. This would have fitted the theme better, and would have put an interesting twist on the core Tetris gameplay, where you make sub-optimal placements in order to score rows that are worth more.

I liked the humour in the game, and the graphics and audio were functional.

I think I found a slight bug, in that if I started a new game after finishing, the game said that I'd finished after only a few blocks. But a browser refresh sorted that out.

Overall, an interesting idea that could be polished into quite a humourous representation of the game jam process.

Solaris by Villfuk02 2017-12-07T10:48:23Z

A really impressive experience! Fantastic visuals, appropriate music, and the mechanics were really solid. It was very satisfying to slingshot red stars away from you, or frantically try and find a green star if you were being orbited by too many red stars. Had a similar mood to Osmos. My only criticism would be the lack of basic instructions; just having "The star follows your cursor" appear when you start would have helped. Overall though, really good game, well done!

Dead Weight by Marc Jones 2017-12-05T10:03:40Z

@batmanasb That's strange, we tried to set it to open in a window 800x600 but clearly that didn't work! I'll try tweaking it, thanks for the feedback!

Dead Weight by Marc Jones 2017-12-13T10:04:03Z

@steve-johnson I'm really sorry that didn't work, but thanks for trying our game. The island where you need to stash the gold has an 'X' marking the spot. Perhaps the random map generation bugged and put another island or a powerup on top of it.

Dead Weight by Marc Jones 2017-12-13T15:32:04Z

@joror If you dare to sail with a few crew and only one or two shots, then the range improves a lot!

Xmas Fair Drinking Simulator by Wakka2 2017-12-13T01:10:07Z

Fantastic art and appropriate music! However, I didn't really have much idea of what Cold or Temp corresponded to, and I wasn't sure what some of the drinks were and what they did. Perhaps some audio cues might help with this. I thought your interpretation of the theme was really good, as the control changes did give you the effect of feeling drunk. I also found the idea of drunkenly sliding across a bar, downing a drink, then stumbling into the next booth pretty funny. As others have said, making the AI slightly more predictable would probably improve the experience.

Robin Loot by zanzavar 2017-12-13T00:53:28Z

Great game! Controls were tight and the mechanics solid. As others have mentioned, it got a little frustrating to line up the goods on the final door, and I found it difficult to judge whether the dogs were in earshot or not, which meant that I crept around everywhere! Music was very chilled and the graphics were simple, but effective; I really liked the pixel art Mona Lisa and The Starry Night! Theme was also well imagined. Well done!

Slithering Secrets by meanmon13 2017-12-16T10:00:51Z

You captured the sense of dread really well, and the simple, but effective, lighting effects played into that. It got a little tedious wandering around the dungeon, which wasn't helped by the slightly awkward hit boxes. Saying that, I appreciated the indicators scattered around the dungeon indicating how many more lights you needed. That indicator could have been a UI element, but having it incorporated into the world added to the immersion. In fact, the entire lack of UI is commendable for this reason. Overall, I didn't feel like it captured the theme very well, but the ambiance of the game was spot on.

Those Who Wander by foxtrotluna 2017-12-13T00:32:47Z

Fantastic music and an interesting graphics style really sets the mood for this game. The puzzles are clever and I like that they slowly introduce extra mechanics over the course of the levels available here; very good design. The controls are a little fiddly, however, and I'm not sure how well it fits the theme of LD40. Despite this, the game has potential to be expanded, and I really liked the exploratory nature of the game. Reminded me of Monument Valley.

Burry this… Thing by LeReveur 2021-05-03T13:31:52Z

Considering this is a troll game, it works well and has good fundamentals. I can definitely imagine this being a mobile game. While I liked the mystery of finding things in the background, I was too focussed on hitting the right buttons to properly read and understand them! I liked the humour / commentary being made by the game.

shaftception by testudor 2021-04-30T18:06:31Z

Nice entry. Could do with a tutorial level and perhaps more forgiving hit detection, but the graphics were polished and the audio suited it well.

The Legend of Water by darkfrost 2021-04-30T06:30:02Z

Well presented dungeon crawler type game. Graphics were very good and the shooting mechanics have the scope to be made more interesting with additional gems to find.

The Fall of Alice by kr4ft3r 2021-04-30T06:47:46Z

Interesting take on the theme. I was very impressed with the procedural audio and how it worked with the overall mood of the game.

The Bottom of the Snow by Enver Arco 2021-05-06T21:00:43Z

Lovely pixel art and the audio suited the game really well. Perhaps there's some randomness in the game, because my first couple of tries I couldn't find any fish in the snow. I think you capture the routine nature of survival games, which considering it's a jam game is impressive.

Paleontologist with bombs by cjgammon 2021-05-06T20:13:28Z

A nice idea, but I agree with other commenters that it's pretty random at the moment. A mechanic I was expecting, and which might add to the strategy in an updated version, is the rocks falling on you if you mine underneath them.

Healer Simulator by Don Fouts 2021-04-30T07:00:14Z

Nice idea for the theme, and a humourous take on MMORPGs. I ended up just spamming the first heal ability though, perhaps making the player aware of the different mana costs of the abilities would help, or have the abilities come to the player randomly and you have to choose which character to apply it to? Very good presentation, which added to the humour.

Deep Space 99 by CG_Fred 2021-04-30T18:19:26Z

A really polished entry. The flight and shooting mechanics felt very satisfying, especially swinging around and destroying the missiles which were following you. A little more variety in terms of weapons and enemies would have elevated it, as would indicators showing where the nearest missiles were if they were off screen. I really enjoyed it.

Back Down by juako 2021-05-06T20:32:37Z

Really liked that, perfect length of game, tight controls, and lovely art. If it had music and sound effects it would elevated it a lot. I doesn't quite fit the theme for me (because your goal is to escape upwards), but that's a small gripe. I thought the level design was stellar, reminded me of VVVVVV. Great job!

Dig Frenzy by Boon 2021-04-30T07:12:33Z

I solid, minimal tower defence game. I don't think it fits the theme too well, although I suppose you're experiencing deeper and deeper waves. I was quite impressed by the enemy AI, in the way it seemed to reroute around danger. Additional towers and enemies with different abilities would add to the game.

Under the Surface by Wolfrug 2021-05-02T22:15:06Z

A very atmospheric game, you built tension and did a good job of building the world. I found the controls and UI a little clunky, and I had a black screen upon heading back up at the end of the game, but apart from that I can't fault it. Great narrative game which fits the theme perfectly.

Ballast by Ekoxe 2021-04-27T22:37:02Z

A very polished game, great graphics and the various systems linked together well.

Deeplift by CaptAndrey 2021-05-02T19:14:26Z

Really nice presentation; crisp graphics and good audio. I found waiting for the doors a bit frustrating, and the trial and error nature of working out the connections wasn't that satisfying for me. Perhaps faster iteration in terms of trying routes would mitigate that. Plenty of potential here though!

Disaster Dig by alpharock6 2021-05-02T08:49:48Z

A very good entry, which had a good progression system and fit the theme perfectly. Reminded me of Steamworld Dig which has a very similar core gameplay loop of mining to get resources to get upgrades to go deeper, which considering this is a jam game is very impressive! Simple graphics and audio but good enough to convey what's going on. Only thing I would improve would be a more forgiving failure state. Perhaps you lose your current inventory and respawn at the top? Good job!

Drill Deeper by remram44 2021-05-04T22:12:32Z

Some really great decisions here which give you great fundamentals. Even with the basic combat mechanics you have here, strategies emerge like having two of the characters set up as an ambush with the third as bait. If the three characters had different abilities, for example, then the possibilities would be huge. The current build is quite basic in terms of the level variety, and the control scheme makes it awkward to play. Being able to move all your characters at once would be great. The current graphics are basic, although 3D is impressive. Lots of potential here, and the idea is a good one.

Raid' Simulator by alpacalypse 2021-05-04T22:23:59Z

Interesting idea. I also didn't spot that the enemy's attack was displayed under the health bar, but actually, copying what the other players were doing blindly was in some ways more thematic and funny! Having some players as healers was a nice touch. The game in general was lacking clarity; perhaps the healers could have been a different sprites and the enemy attack could be telegraphed with animations rather than text, for example. In its current state it doesn't meet the theme, but I can see how it would with additional levels. There's potential here for a funny commentary on MMORPGs, perhaps as a casual mobile game.

Aquaphobia by Szenos 2021-05-06T14:00:14Z

I loved how surreal and funny the game was, especially with the voice over work. The game play was lacking in challenge, and the shooting mechanics weren't used, but those could be improved. The pixel art and animations were really nice.

Asteroid Showdown by Saathvik 2021-04-30T21:43:46Z

The foundations of a solid game. I found it repetitive and it was difficult to determine how I was progressing, but the shooting mechanics are all in place for additional weapons and enemies.

Solar Winds by bkelly 2021-04-30T15:06:41Z

Interesting control scheme, it's a cool concept which adds to the immersion. I didn't find the core game loop very interesting unfortunately, and although the ping idea is clever and realistic, it felt frustrating. Perhaps if the game was turn based it would be less so, or if you had a way of reducing your ping by investing in relay towers or something then it would be something the player could mitigate. All in all, a very innovative concept.

Cliffhanger by Lamamour 2021-04-29T10:50:39Z

Very interesting game, would be a fun local multiplayer tournament style game. Aiming was quite difficult, but I imagine this would be greatly improved if it was remade to use controllers. I thought the idea of your platform being ammo and sort of your health was interesting, and being able to choose which cube to use added a base building aspect to the game.

Darkness Muse by Evil Villain Games 2021-04-27T22:59:23Z

The graphics looked very good, and having your health be linked to your ammunition and vision is an interesting idea. I thought the feedback loop in the game was quite unforgiving though, as running out of light meant everything got worse and it was difficult to come back from. I also thought the combat could be made to have more variety. The mechanic of bouncing your shots off walls was interesting and implemented well with the audio cues, but wasn't utilised to its potential. Perhaps this could be a mechanic explored further in a post-jam version.

A Fast Breakfast by Epicnoob1002 2021-05-07T17:27:40Z

Quite a forgiving auto-scrolling platformer, which ramps up in difficulty nicely. The decision to allow the character to go off screen a certain amount is a good one, but I think there should have been an arrow to show the player where the character is. The character didn't feel very good to control, but I think with some polish it would be a good mobile game. I liked the risk / reward of whether stopping to dig up gems was worth it.

Moth extraction by rhys_vdw 2021-04-29T08:43:14Z

Such a good body horror game, well executed with great graphics and silly audio. Could definitely imagine a WarioWare style game with you extracting insects from various orifices with increasingly inappropriate implements.

Trolley-ho! by MrMattSim 2021-05-06T20:08:01Z

I agree with other commenters about the lighting and unresponsive controls. It's a shame that there didn't seem to be a win state, as I was able to reach lap 4 of 3! I think if you added some more abilities (like Mario Kart) you could have a fun "on rails" racing game. Keeping in front of your opponent seemed to be a good strategy, and I think vying for the leading position to hoover up the gems before your friends could be made into a fun game.

STORM HARVEST by xk_the_name 2021-10-10T10:13:20Z

A very polished entry, with a great variety of missions and objectives. I really liked the missile lock on mechanic. I didn't think that the theme came through from the game itself; perhaps if the unstable weather affected the missions in some way? A great entry!

Unstabled by Pennycook 2021-10-05T23:32:04Z

A nicely presented game, and I liked the pun-y take on the theme. I think the enemies' actions were telegraphed by the text, which means that although the combat isn't pure chance it would require a few playthroughs to make informed decisions. The UI was really well implemented.

Unstabled by Pennycook 2021-10-06T09:32:04Z

Oh, I just found it difficult to know / remember what phrases were "Attacks" and which were "Specials", as I thought the dialogue was quite similar.

Cosmic Time-Out by nratcliff 2021-10-13T22:31:38Z

A lovely presented entry, with great graphics and audio. Unfortunately, the janky physics really spoiled by enjoyment, as I found I'd lose build progress due to the thing going crazy and spinning off the screen. I also thought the difficulty curve was all over the shop; the first level was hard, the second and third level were easier, then the fourth level was so hard I quit. I think having simpler levels earlier on e.g. get these two blocks to stay on a platform, then slowly ramping up the difficulty, would make the game more enjoyable and give you a better idea of what to do and how the "victory condition detector" works. The control scheme was also very frustrating, as I felt that holding space to increase height didn't have much effect. Apart from these problems, the game was polished and fitted the theme.

SIRTET by Aggrathon 2021-10-15T23:06:45Z

A really fantastic entry! Can't fault it; great graphics and audio and a clever take on the theme. I've seen "Tetris with physics" games before, but I thought the way this was presented and the challenges made it the best of this genre I've played. Very good difficulty curve I thought.

Cthulhu goes to Work by battlecoder 2021-10-05T23:43:38Z

Absolutely amazing art, and the main screen of Cthulhu in an apron is a funny sight! The mechanic is interesting, although I thought the fading out of the food made things difficult as it was harder to see, at a glance, how much was on each platform. Perhaps the food disappearing could have been communicated differently, like flashing before disappearing? As others have said, a little more feedback on whether you'd clicked on food would have been appreciated, like an outline or a colour change. A very nicely presented game.

GhostShore with a bulb by RIBOUT Horace 2021-10-10T22:13:22Z

Very polished entry. Relatively minimalist graphics, but they suited the game and looked good. Audio was fantastic; I loved the feedback you got from switching lights and how it sounded good whether you were going quickly or slowly. As another commenter said the theme wasn't too well represented, but otherwise a great entry.

LIFT-UP MACHINE (nightly version) by Avzgui 2021-10-17T08:55:16Z

A great stress test of Godot's 2D physics! The progression was fun and humorous; I chuckled when the height marker suddenly became part of my pile of stuff! I liked how the theme was incorporated both at the level of "make an unstable tower" but also the entire game being unstable, especially at the end when everything collapses. A nice entry!

H2G0 by HarveyU 2021-10-16T23:32:54Z

The game looked really nice, and had a good atmosphere, although it would have been even better with some audio. I couldn't quite work out the mechanics of losing health, recharging my raincoat, and making a beacon. For example, I felt like I was protecting myself from the fire with my umbrella but I was losing health when I did that. The sliding mechanics were fun and nicely animated, although wasn't that useful as you were incentivised to go slowly and carefully.

Portal Rescue by Vimlark 2021-10-07T07:26:53Z

Very nice game; the dual controls were tricky to get used to but I did find myself eventually lining up shots with one portal as the meteor went into the other which felt satisfying. Great audio and graphics too. My only complaint is that it doesn't fit the theme too well for me. Although you make the tower unstable by hitting it, for most of the game it's on the floor and it's actually frustrating that it's too stable! Overall however a strong entry!

Gossip Market by LoicLeGrosFrere 2021-10-07T23:46:37Z

I really liked this game, well done! Fits the theme well and I thought it was a surprisingly good representation of the stock market. When the balances were swinging, for example, it reminded me of day-trading. I enjoyed tanking the price of a stock, only to buy a load and manipulate the price back up. Having the rumours and fake news have different weights but also frictions (I think?) was very clever. You mentioned it in your description, but local multiplayer would make this game. Having everyone buying and selling at the same time, and putting whispers/rumours/fake news on simultaneously would lead to fun chaos, a little like the game Chu-chu rocket if you ever played that? All in all, a very clever entry, I enjoyed it!

Unstable Robot Soccer by Ausstein 2021-10-07T06:55:56Z

A very cleverly designed game, which interprets the theme well. I thought it was clever how you respawned at your goal, so although you hopefully moved the ball closer to your opponent's goal when you exploded you loose ground on the pitch. The only think letting the game down is the camera angle, which I think should have been static or slow moving and angled higher up. Great game!

Very Stable Nuclear Reactor That Definitely Won't Blow Up by AWildEkans 2021-10-17T08:46:00Z

I enjoyed trying out different building orientations and plant designs. I'm glad you posted a picture of the "basic setup" though, as otherwise I don't think I would have worked it out. I felt like the theme wasn't very well represented; I don't know if it's possible for the cores to become unstable, but it didn't happen for me! I enjoyed the humorous upgrade descriptions.

Elbatsnu's Brewery by Feraligatr 2021-10-10T22:40:09Z

An interesting take on the theme. The game seems heavily inspired by the board game Quacks of Quedlinburg, and I think you've done a good job of reimagining that game's push-your-luck mechanic. The game could have done with a slower, better tutorial, teaching better how you had so many potions per round, and had quests to complete in each round. Tweaks to the UI and I think this could be solved. A nice entry!

Don't Kick The Oxygen (more of a physics sandbox really) by shreemp 2021-10-07T06:44:06Z

No gameplay as such but really great choice of soundtrack and I thought the art was good. With the floaty physics it did a good job of conveying that the player was underwater.

Cytoplasm Madness by dagon 2021-10-05T23:55:44Z

A really nicely presented game. I thought the idea of having to protect the organelles which affected the rate at which your ammo came back was interesting. I didn't find the shooting mechanics particularly satisfying though, and I don't think it fitted the theme that well. I did enjoy that you could use the nucleus as cover!

UNSTABLE GROUNDS by Voodoo51 2021-10-17T09:18:41Z

A nice entry! Really liked the graphics and animations, and the sound effects fitted the cute, diorama aesthetic. I think a few tutorial levels would have been nice so you could have learnt the mechanics in game. I also think some more UI elements (for example, having an indicator so you know when your cannons are going to fire and the corruption would spread) would remove some frustration from the game. I forgot that the objective was to make a rocket rather than fight off the corruption, so I had the state below for ages before remembering!

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