red-stake

Catacombs 51 by csnxs 2022-10-05T09:49:56Z

I really enjoy the foundation of this, and there's so many cool things you could do with this! I love top down shooters too, so I played this for quite a bit. I think everyone's ideas on the 10-second theme are interesting - I agree that forced you to make snap decisions, which I liked, but there often wasn't enough time to interact - like one level I was stuck in a corridor and couldn't explore at all. Maybe if the level were a tiny bit more open with less walls, or they were smaller, they'd really fit the 10-second time better. Just a thought.

Overall, I really liked it, and would play more if you decided to expand it!

Shimash by thedashdude 2022-10-06T08:19:15Z

Making not just 1 minigame but 3 in the 48 hours is super impressive! I felt like they were all really good fits for the format, the pacing across all of them is great, and the challenge was a good steady increase.

My only note was that I felt like the arrow firing minigame was a bit more challenging than the others, so whenever it came up, I knew I was probably going to lose a life. But maybe that's just me being not great at it. That and, as others said, would've been good to have the lives on the UI, but that wasn't a problem.

Overall, great entry, good work!

That Time My Dog Got Space Hiccups by nanolotl 2022-10-08T00:53:42Z

This is a genuinely really clever idea, and I loved how my brain would jump to "Now I can do this thing!" whenever it swapped location. It works so well for this theme, and 10 seconds feels about right.

My only issue is that I'm not great at puzzle games, so after the first 3 or 4 bones, I found it to be pretty hard, and I lost track of what I was doing once or twice. I still enjoyed it, but it just tipped over into the "too challenging" section, but that's me, not the game.

I think overall it's a great idea, and it's been really well executed. The art works, it's innovative, and it fits the theme really well.

Tank Factory by GlacierEclipse 2022-10-03T14:39:22Z

Hey :) I liked your game. The variety of upgrades was neat, and I love games with compulsive upgrade loops like this. Reminds me of flash games. I don't think I've played one where the upgrades reset, which was different. It would be neat if it was a little quicker to start - because picking upgrades when I hadn't played the game yet was a bit hit or miss. I also only got to wave 5 (I always got a difficulty spike on that one), but it would be cool if there was more interactions in each level, like walls to destroy or bonuses to collect. Overall, I liked it, and there's clear scope for expanding it into a bigger game, which I think would work even better.

Avelainho by ccglp 2022-10-06T16:07:29Z

I love the central mechanic of having 10 seconds but losing time as you get hit. It works really well, great job!

Onades by sergilazaro 2022-10-03T14:52:38Z

Neat stuff!

I really like the look of the game, I used low poly geometry but yours looks even better with a strong color scheme. Great job!

The subtle impacts and audio (which worked fine on Windows), on enemy hits work so well, it feels lovely and crunchy. My only issue is that after I tried spinning slowly in a circle as a tactic, that seemed to work a bit too well, because I started acing every wave.

But that's not a big deal in such a short jam game, and I ended up playing way more of this than the other games I've tried so far. Thanks for the game!

The First Fire by scottgoldsmith 2022-10-04T07:33:21Z

I like that there's an inbuilt pacing to the game where you rush around during the day and hang around the fire at night, which gives some tension to the night time. It would be good to make the night slightly shorter, and give you slightly more to do during the day, to add some extra action and tension on top of everything. I like the art style of the game a lot, and I would totally play more of this if you expanded it. Thanks for making, I enjoyed it :)

Bug Out by wavertron 2022-10-04T07:49:19Z

I like the goofiness - the death sounds and physics of the limbs flying about was neat. The combat often felt good with plenty of monsters, but it occasionally spawned way too many for me to be able to kill - you could easily expand this with powerups or extra weapons which would be awesome. I think the central idea of a shifting level and the wall disappearing so monsters can get you is super cool. Thanks for making this!

Defense Engineers by Jiri Hysek 2022-10-07T22:34:08Z

The interplay between the battery/radar/turret is interesting, I don't think I've seen anything like that in a tower defence game before. It does make the first level a bit more difficult than a first level probably should be - though maybe I missed something obvious. Other than that, I think it would really heighten the challenge and force more thought from the player if there were less spaces on the level, and maybe some spaces had better stats than others, because it'd make your have to consider that decision a bit more.

But those are small considerations, because overall I think the core of the game is good, and I'd encourage everyone to try it out.

Battle of Nephthys by Milestone Games 2022-10-07T22:49:19Z

Making an entire strategy game like this is super impressive, and there's a decent amount to do as well, which is even more awesome. As other people said, the music is nice, it fits really well.

My only complaint is the balance felt a little off, because it felt a little too easy at times. I didn't do a good job at defending my base or scouting, but I was able to win a bunch of the fights.

With a little expansion and some balancing, I would totally play more of this. Thanks for making it :)

deep_lab.escape by IntangibleMatter 2022-10-03T16:00:06Z

I liked this mechanic initially, I don't think I've seen it executed in this way before. I thought the story snippets were nice, it must have been hard to do that stuff within the 48 hours. I actually wanted a bit more - like what was going on with this place and why we were there, so that's good.

I got to the level where there's a tiny gap between the sensors and tried it several times, but I found the timing was really tight on that and I couldn't do it. It was an interesting variation on the mechanic (e.g. having to jump at a certain time), but the timing was so precise I couldn't get past it. I'm not that great at precision platforming though, so maybe it's just me. I like the idea.

Overall, I liked it, and I think if you cleaned up the graphics and fleshed out the content (i.e. one or two breaks from the sensors), you could have a really neat atmospheric experience.

Cult Of the Сelestial Knight by SnappyPath 2022-10-08T12:53:27Z

Absolutely beautiful artwork, well done! I liked the dark atmosphere, and the sound effects were thematic and really aided the experience. Great work!

Coupled Explorers by Noam Zeise 2022-10-04T07:24:19Z

I liked the idea of switching between characters that handled differently, but I did kind of struggle with how floaty the jumps were, maybe because I'm not great at difficult platformers. I think the core idea is a good one - you could have a lot of interactions between the two characters based on when they freeze (e.g. jumping off each other).

Ten Second Survivors by Threaded Lama Digital 2022-10-03T16:10:51Z

I thought it was interesting that all the enemies move at the same speed and have the same direction behaviour. It meant that as long as there was a small gap you could escape them, and doing that in game felt really good, really satisfying. I also played this a lot! Replayed a bunch of times and went a really long run. It was surprised at the number of items for a 48 hour jam, that was neat. My only complaint is the graphics are a little eye-straining and too small. Aside from that, great game!

Channel Flipper by Knipsch 2022-10-07T23:18:59Z

I'm so blown away that I've now played multiple games that did minigames, and handled them so well. That's crazy, being able to do all that in 48 hours is so impressive. I also loved the unique setup, and how all the minigames tied together, it made great use of theme.

Thanks for the good game, I enjoyed it!

Spooky Glitch by nicorm 2022-10-08T12:32:14Z

What a great idea to enter Ludum Dare as Uni students! Well done on the effort you put into these minigames. I've been blown away to see minigame collections in this jam, since working on all those must have been really tricky, so well done.

Overall I liked your game, but I think there are a few areas where you can improve: - The Music looping felt a little abrupt, especially when restarting the game. If you keep the music going, and ensure that it loops well, it will work even better. - Some more info about what controls are required for each minigame would help beginner players adapt quickly to each game. - Do try to reserve time to add sounds. They really do support feedback in the game. I know it's tricky (I didn't manage all the actions in my game), but if you can get the key ones (picking up coins, jumping), then it adds a lot to players enjoyment, and helping them learn what's happening.

Overall, good effort, and well done. I liked the theming of the games, and they connected well to each other. Lots of potential, keep up the great effort!

One Shot Death by cafebeef 2022-10-04T07:39:15Z

It's an interesting decision to make enemy bullets destroyable with your bullets. From most of the bullet hell games I've played, that doesn't happen. It's neat because you can block enemy shots coming at you, but it also blocks your shots at them, making them often pretty hard to hit. I thought that was a really neat decision! Great job.

Watch Your Step by red-stake 2022-10-04T13:33:01Z

Thanks everyone for all the lovely comments!

@kevin-du and @elros, yes, as you guessed the fixed aiming is an intentional design decision to get you to move more and not just coast by being able to shoot wherever you want. I get that's not always the smoothest, but I think the benefits probably outweigh the drawbacks. Certainly if I'd had more time I would've worked more on custom enemy types (I especially wanted a boss but wasn't able to), which would've probably solved that better.

Thanks again for all the nice comments, and I'll try to incorporate your excellent feedback in future!

Watch Your Step by red-stake 2022-10-05T05:50:03Z

@velaachlorine thanks for the nice comment :) With the music, the rules say generators are encouraged though? And I didn't just hit generate and drag and drop it in - I spent an hour or two re-editing what it generated, removing fills, changing the pattern, and re-editing the ending so it looped a bit better. But like this is my first LD, so I don't exactly know the way it all works. Hopefully someone can clarify? I removed the rating on the music until then.

Watch Your Step by red-stake 2022-10-14T11:27:28Z

@mossieur-patate, thank you so much for your lovely comments! I will respond to some below:

2. I'm really sorry about QWERTY only controls, this was on my list to get sorted but I ran out of time at the end of the jam. I will remember this for the future. 4. Running out time was also the reason for the lack of shooting/enemy death sounds - I tried a few but didn't like any of them, so I cut them. If anyone has any advice for working with repetitive sounds, I would be really interested! 6. The autofire issue is a good point - in larger games I make, I generally do have some reason not to use a verb, but in this game it probably should have been autofire. 10. I'm not sure what you mean by gallery, but, yes, you can fall and die by dropping through the floor. It's intentional, I do want the player to look at the ground they're moving on, hopefully it should add some tension. 12. It's infinite! No ending, it's all about the highscore! 15. Corner hugging is an option, but obviously you will have to deal with shooting enemies/floor issues etc. In a bigger game I would expand out enemy spawnings so this is less of an issue. "Bit more variety" - yes, this again, was on my list, but alas lack of time was an issue. I couldn't actually use the full 48 hours, so hopefully next time I can do that and make a bigger game.

Thanks so much for your detailed comments! It's interesting because what you mentioned is mostly what I thought as well, so that's good I think. Very helpful, thanks :)

Overdrive Blaster by WolK Xeneder 2022-10-03T15:42:11Z

I love the sprite work, ideas, and had a lot of fun playing! The concept of an overkilling gun that kicks in every 10 seconds is neat. I think it would be cool to increase the pace a bit (start a bit faster, have more enemies), and have the contrast between the overkilling at the regular gun be more distinct. Might make everything more intense, and give more ups and downs to the game. But honestly, I liked it as is, and I really liked the art style and mood. Great job!

Mr.AdBar by eddynardo 2023-10-02T16:43:14Z

I have never, ever looked at the address bar of a browser and thought that could be a videogame level. So smart, well done!

As for the experience, most of the time it was, as mao said, surprisingly smooth, but every once in a while it would hitch for seemingly no reason. That meant completing the spike jumps was more difficult than intended I think.

5/5 for innovation! I would like to see this expanded with more crazy browser elements.

Boxed Boxes by jebouin 2023-10-09T17:34:47Z

I've played a ton of indie platformers, but I haven't seen this mechanic before - it's really creative! I loved the level design, that fit well with the central mechanic.

Well done, this is a great game!

Wings over Bagel Bay by madjackmcmad 2023-10-11T10:41:08Z

The central mechanic of transforming from plane to boat is really cool - the idea there two totally different ways of interacting with the map in front of you is such a neat idea. My only complaint is that I'd like a bit more of that. It would be neat if you had to transform into a boat more often - e.g. to get more bagels instead of spawning with them, or to get pickups/bonuses etc. just because currently it's a little air-focused.

I really enjoyed playing this, thanks for making it :)

Too Much Car by pkenney 2023-10-02T16:57:05Z

Driving actually feels really good, so I think the time you spent paid off. I liked taking big swings around corners, and accelerating out of tight stretches feels so much more satisfying with this mouse control scheme, rather than simple button presses.

My only complaint is that I know the theme is about limited space, but hitting the cones restarting you feels a little too restrictive.

I could imagine a setup where you're allowed the complete levels however, but you get a gold star for not touching the cones, or something similar.

I would totally play more of this!

Bon Voyage by binroot 2023-10-09T15:26:23Z

This is such a creative idea for a game! I like the idea of having to create a good set of survivors, maybe this could be enhanced by them having different stats like health, food searching, survival skills etc?

Hellbarrel by allenski 2023-10-02T16:23:31Z

This was so much fun!

I liked how the game is paced out, with small pauses, and varied enemy design so it feels lively. I liked the music & sound design, which fit the aesthetics nicely. There are nice touches like the red ring animating.

My only criticism was that when I got hit for the first time, in the time it took me to readjust, I'd get hit again. So while I had multiple health points, I often got a game over after get hit only once or twice. That, and the difficulty spike felt a little aggressive - I think the game could've kept in a sweet spot for longer.

Overall, loved it, and wouldl ike to play more of it!

Turtle Gatling by Francisco Lucas 2023-10-02T16:32:02Z

Games with absurdly large guns are my kind of videogames! I like this!

I can't ever remember playing a game that has the casings you fire actually become a gameplay element, so that was super creative and created a neat experience when you're dodging around them.

This is one of those games where my recommendations are just, like, I want more it: more enemies on screen at once, more and different things to blow up, and more and bigger guns!

Claustroshooter by José Bonilla 2023-10-03T10:31:28Z

I really liked this!

Loved the central idea of shrinking the circle when you miss a red shot, that adds an extra level of tension. It makes me think if you could do something extra with the green shot? Like if you hit an enemy it strengthens them? That might add some extra chaos.

Other than that, I liked the sfx and music, and the overall level of polish was really neat.

I would totally play more of this - you should expand it out with extra mechanics/enemies and stuff.

Forest Nothing by Corporation 2023-10-03T10:17:32Z

I like how chill this is, and the cute color palette and lo-fi presentation. My only issue is that I didn't realize I had it on the slow speed until half-way through playing so I was stupidly waiting a while for everything to be completed. Other than that I liked it, but maybe would tweak the balancing a little, so you can get a bit more food and bit less wood.

Thank you for making this, I really liked playing it!

The King is Watching by Tvorojok 2023-10-11T20:43:42Z

This was one of, if not my absolute favorite submission that I've played this LD. I love the central mechanic, the pixel art is delightful, and the pacing and gameplay choices are excellent. It even has great little animations!

Thanks so much for making this, it's a blast to play.

Re: Charge by polyforma42 2023-10-03T10:58:17Z

I love the art style of the this, I wish I could make art like it. I found it surprisingly challenging quite quickly, so my only suggestion is a slightly slower ramp-up of enemies, and some additional variety (maybe a meele attack, or other weapon pickups?)

But I think the strongest thing is the atmosphere and tension, which I really enjoyed.

Thanks for making this! I really enjoyed it.

Spectra by red-stake 2023-10-02T16:10:35Z

Thanks so much :) Yes, sounds would've made the game much better but I find designing repetitive sounds (shooting, dying) really challenging, and so I didn't have the time to do them. And, yeah, the wall sticking is a bug.

Thanks for the kind words about everything, especially the aesthetics, I hoped people would like it!

unBound by mz_eth 2023-10-11T20:49:49Z

Such a clever central mechanic that fits the theme excellently! My only issue was that I'm not so great at it, but I had a lot of fun playing and replaying it. The art, animation, and general polish are excellent as well.

This was one of my favorite submissions, I really enjoyed this one.