Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Matt Walak
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 54 | Limited Space | 👥 | Blowfish Baybies | jam | 792 | 3.33 | 3.05 | 3.63 | 2.73 | 4.08 | 1.25 | 2.88 | 3.26 |
Very unique gameplay! This is the first game of this kind that I have come across from this jam. I also quite like the graphics: very strange and abstract, but the animations are super delightful.
I, unfortunately, was not able to figure out the function of each piece, but discovered a few behaviors that remained consistent throughout the game. I know you call yourself out for it in the description, but I do wish there was a bit more onboarding, or maybe if the interactions between objects was a bit simpler. Perhaps fewer objects to start and then as the game progresses more objects are added?
Super funny and really well executed!
From a mechanics perspective, I wish there was a little bit more variety with how grandma came and went. Maybe if the time periods she was gone varied a little bit more in length, or if I could throw a cookie to distract her or something. I think a little bit of variety could make it even more fun to eat and/or spit out cookies behind her back because I would feel even more sneaky doing so!
I agree with @caryoscelus, I wish there was a way to influence or deduce crowdedness ahead of time. There wasn't much replay value once I realized my choices were not really impacting the outcome of the game since there would be no way to improve upon my previous play without hoping for a better roll of the dice. If there was a way to influence or predict crowdedness it was not clear what those methods were.
I did enjoy the usage of the theme though. The story is relatable, and makes me feel existential dread lol. As uncomfortable as that dread is, it was very effective.
Made me smile haha. Very cool use of pre-recorded video, haven't seen any other games like that in this jam!
Very cute and very fun!
I think a lot of my feedback has already been mentioned, but just to second some of the things said already, the vibe of the game is really great. Between the graphics, music, and atmosphere, you really nailed that part of the project. I found it a bit difficult to control the ship and wished it was a bit more responsive, as some other folks have mentioned. Overall though, I found the game very fun and I'm very impressed this was made in such a short time frame!
The overall mood was really well done! The colors and soundscape created a really great atmosphere.
Really amazing models and world design!
I've seen this gameplay mechanic a couple times before in 2d where you control only the cars, so in giving feedback on this game I'm looking at it from the perspective of asking: "what does putting this kind of game in 3D and controlling the game with an in-world character do to improve the experience?
Putting the game in 3D did seem to heighten the stakes. The cars felt more real because I had a surrounding world and an in game character to compare them to. The sound effects and particle effects when I crashed a car into something also gave them weight.
On the other hand, the game is still a puzzle game, and the goal of each level is to free your car. From a level progression standpoint, needing to walk through a 3d world to get from car to car actually slows down the main gameplay of moving the cars around, and all I really wanted to do at times was solve the puzzle.
Its tough to tell if heightening the stakes is worth slowing down the gameplay. Maybe we could have done with a full 3d world but you control the cars directly and not an in-game player. Maybe if there were more things to do in the 3d world it would make that choice more justified. Just some things to think about, the game was still fun regardless and the world was very fun to run around in.
I really liked the atmosphere. The game mechanic of only being able to flash the light for a short period of time really helped contribute to the feel of the game. The soundscape was also great.
I couldn't quite figure out what the objective of the game was, and it didn't feel like I was making any progress through the game unfortunately. I do think there is something cool that you could do with the flashlight mechanic though since flashing the light a lot makes the scene easier to see, but perhaps it draws more attention to yourself.
I did feel very claustrophobic playing the game though, so good job on making me feel like the playing space was limited.
For a simple game, there was quite a bit of replay value! Overall, I think more laser patterns to keep the game interesting and a bit more balancing of the power-ups would beneficial to the game moving forward - I felt like there was a certain point where the speed and size of the lasers kind of forced a game over. Ideally, smart choices on what power-ups to use and skilled execution on gameplay should be able to delay the game over screen so long as the player continues to play well. The skill level required to continue playing the game can certainly rise throughout the game, but I don't think there should ever be a point where a game over is forced. Maybe I'm just not skilled enough haha
I really like how the doors to the electricity and O2 cabinets actually obscure parts of the display while they are open. Not only does it make the game feel more claustrophobic, but gameplay wise it actually adds an addition function to having the door open - you can no longer see how your actions inside the door impact some of your resource monitors. This added an additional challenge when figuring out how the game worked, but was also a great way of making the small space of the spaceship important in terms of game mechanics.
I wish there was a bit more complexity regarding how the resources were used / refilled, and potentially a few more events I would be challenged to respond to other than the meteorite, but the basic gameplay was pretty interesting. Felt a bit like a Five Nights at Freddy's game.
@ping78 oh no! You played so well our menu couldn't handle the number of points you scored 😂
Hi @rongon! The timer exists because we wanted to give an extra bonus for players who master the game mechanics enough to go fast. Even if the timer runs down to 0 the game does not end, you just don't get the time bonus of 1 extra point per second left on the clock when you finish. I agree though, 5 minutes is a long time for a run. Perhaps a bit more thinking could go into how we can reward players for mastering the mechanics and completing obstacles quickly.
Thanks for playing!
I was not able to figure out that I could click on the statues without reading the comments, so I was initially confused why none of the doors were opening. It also took me a second to realize I was triggering traps when I stepped on certain tiles. There were a few times that an arrow hit me from behind and I wasn't really sure what happened.
I also found rotating left and right a bit confusing since the camera just jumped there. I know that might be a callback to some of the earlier games in this genre, but I personally would have liked a little camera rotation to give me some context of the 3D space.
I'm a fan of the sound effects haha. A little unusual, but a very fun way to generate original sounds quickly. Good use of the theme in regards to gameplay and graphics. Nothing says limited space like being trapped underground in a dungeon