Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Sam Machell

Sam Machell

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Category Medals

YearLDThemeGameDivisionCategoryScore
πŸ‘₯ πŸ₯‰ 2018 43 Sacrifices must be made Brownie Cove Cancelled jam Mood 4.59

Games

YearLDThemeGameDivisionRankOvFuInThGrAuHuMo
202456Tiny CreaturesπŸ‘₯Pompeii, Bubblelandjam4.003.502.002.004.003.004.00
202354Limited SpaceπŸ‘₯Feast Workjam7043.432.783.683.713.274.07
202250Delay the inevitableπŸ‘₯Memphis, Bubblelandjam3.503.004.504.004.004.003.50
202148Deeper and deeperπŸ‘₯Unpaid Serenade for Future Solution Group [2026 eCon Grief/Heartbreak Singalong]jam634.243.494.033.394.514.193.574.57
202047Stuck in a loopπŸ‘₯Exhaustlands IIjam
202046Keep it aliveπŸ‘₯Dark Kitchenjam3.672.503.672.834.333.835.00
201945Start with nothingπŸ‘₯Some Excavated Woundsjam3.292.333.713.254.173.634.21
201944Your life is currencyπŸ‘₯Kitchen For Onejam8383.142.534.212.284.003.882.613.88
201843Sacrifices must be madeπŸ‘₯Brownie Cove Cancelledjam804.023.053.603.254.574.093.584.59
201842Running out of spaceπŸ‘₯Exhaustlandsjam2363.733.333.522.513.523.934.11
201841Combine 2 Incompatible GenresπŸ‘₯Definition of a Ghuestjam2623.782.983.694.003.672.644.50
201740The more you have, the worse it isπŸ‘₯Between Stationsjam694.033.544.013.174.234.103.324.49
201738A Small WorldπŸ‘₯The Cashbags Manjam2.502.503.001.002.503.002.002.50

Performance over time

overall score (left axis) percentile (right axis)

Correlations

Feedback left by Sam Machell

Sam Machell leaves an average of 10.9 feedback comments each event.

LD54 — Limited Space (3)

Floodwater by John Gabriel 2023-10-05T08:30:09Z ♥ 1

Fantastic! It feels really innovative to have such a sense of danger and immediacy in a puzzle game like this, the water moves so quick so you have to be very precise! My one critique would be the graphics and the level readability - making the door and the box the same shade makes my brain have to do a little bit extra work to parse what I need to achieve

Clutterophobia by georgus 2023-10-04T10:41:06Z ♥ 1

This is really well done - there's attention to detail here that makes it stand out. I liked that I had to move around to confirm I understood the controls before it started, and there's a nice sense of increasing danger

Drift Store by Jonas Michael 2023-10-04T10:23:38Z ♥ 0

I like driving my trolley around, but I found it frustrating trying to locate where items are - there are too many shelves, and the numbers on the shelves are completely unhelpful to me. Maybe if on the list there were corresponding numbers it would be easier to find things

LD48 — Deeper and deeper (14)

Dig it up, dog! by MaDuShI 2021-04-28T15:15:53Z ♥ 1

This has been my favourite game I've played so far! Really fun. I love the graphics!

I Stole a Wizard's Sack and All I Got Was This Lousy Infinite Pocket Universe by 6smith 2021-04-28T15:06:31Z ♥ 1

Great game! Amazing mechanic and really smart puzzles!

Dwammings by Eden Shazar 2021-04-28T14:58:41Z ♥ 2

I really like the idea and the presentation, but pretty quickly I got in a situation where all my dwarves were stuck in one long narrow hole lol

you are chained to an egg and are falling down a pit by goblinkingmatt 2021-04-28T14:53:12Z ♥ 2

Pretty fun! It would have felt a lot more fair if the framing was vertical - at the moment it feels a little luck based because I can't see what's ahead and plan my fall. But, because of this it did potentially do a good job of portraying the experience of being chained to an egg and falling down a pit, so...

Deep Exploration by aposs 2021-04-28T14:45:32Z ♥ 1

Really cool! When I got super deep, I accidentally let my energy run out, and when the light turned off it was very eerie. Cool stuff!

Devil's Deep Dish by tweedle 2021-04-28T14:36:24Z ♥ 2

Love how you've used the theme! Really great idea, and the visuals are lovely! The intro cutscene especially, but all of the sprites were charming and I enjoyed the colour scheme. The thing I found tricky was the platforming itself. I think about the most successful vertical platformers like Downwell or Spelunky, and how they're either zoomed out or have vertical aspect ratios so the player can plan their descent better!

Cave Rider by Iker DΓ­az 2021-04-28T14:31:45Z ♥ 0

Like the others - I like the idea behind the visuals, but found the enemies too fast and unfair. The only way I could succeed was by spamming shoot, which was pretty rough on my ears. I like neon shark's idea of larger enemies at the beginning.

Deeper Learning by NachoLR 2021-04-28T14:19:54Z ♥ 2

Looks really interesting! However, I can't seem to get the "Welcome click here to read more" button to move and can't read the text because of this! Is there anything I'm doing wrong?

Vertigo by Rolph 2021-04-28T13:39:20Z ♥ 1

Really beautiful animations! The graphics are great and there are some nice details! I wasn't very good at it... especially at the combat, which felt a little unfair. Once I'd decided I would be better not fighting I tried to avoid the enemies but sometimes couldn't jump over them. The autoscrolling works really well to keep the player constantly under pressure: always needing to move down but sometimes needing to wait in order to see what's coming. Very cool!

Pokefish : Gotta flash em' all ! by Legolula 2021-04-28T13:33:20Z ♥ 2

I really enjoyed this a lot! The way the waters get darker and the need for droppable lights makes the process of going deeper feel really immersive. It's one of the nicest ways I've seen the theme used! I also really appreciate gameplay like taking pictures, that is peaceful and exploratory. I think the game could have benefitted a lot from audio feedback - when a picture has been taken successfully, or when you are low on oxygen, etc, just to make the flow feel more fair!

Dig It! by Rusty Bailey 2021-04-28T13:26:34Z ♥ 3

I got 767! Very fun game! I really enjoyed the time pressure, it made me not overthink things and I ended up developing an instinctual understanding of where to go, which was very fun. The different powerups are also done super well!

Foundations by cottontshirtz 2021-04-27T16:14:13Z ♥ 1

Wonderful game! The audio is especially well done, and the clarity of the tables with the gramophones in the otherwise abstract place is very striking

Mine Flower by Denzil Gomes 2021-04-27T15:37:13Z ♥ 1

I really enjoyed this! The main mechanic of using the axe to grab walls is really great and engaging. It's cool to use it to wall jump, and to slide, and makes me think more about how often I take those mechanics for granted in other games. I think there's lots of room for experimentation with this! I found the combat a little frustrating and wonder if the game would've been stronger with more of a focus on the platforming? Maybe the caves would be even eerier without enemiesΒ±!

Little Lost Sheep by Hydezeke 2021-04-27T15:03:39Z ♥ 2

Beautiful visuals and atmosphere! Lots of wonderful details in the way the story unfurls. I especially found the opening incredibly effective!

LD45 — Start with nothing (5)

Slinger by Bungalow 2019-10-16T11:17:10Z ♥ 1

really enjoyed this one. nice amount of feedback and pretty solid game feel/controls/whatever you wanna call it. i think there's more you can do here, you pushed a mechanic pretty far and id like to see it expanded on

incandescence by drtizzle 2019-10-09T20:06:12Z ♥ 2

really nice experience! the lighting effects on the rain/fog are really great and the first time the firework went off i actually gasped out loud! beautiful!

i get that the experience is a meditative one, but it felt slightly too sluggish. not a pacing issue but a gamefeel one perhaps?

great audio also - nice stuff

Jumbo Throne by Vlad Ilisan 2019-10-09T19:59:06Z ♥ 1

probably the most innovative game ive played all jam! the art style is very unique :D

Negation by gasgiant 2019-10-09T19:52:14Z ♥ 1

really nice idea conceptually and in terms of puzzles, it plays well. i wasnt super convinced with the writing and narration... but i like what it was attempting :D

Memory Palace by MattWagar 2019-10-09T19:43:45Z ♥ 1

nice idea for sure. im not sure the moving symbols really help the key mechanic of remembering and story telling though.. and im not sure how you could implement it but some kind of way of the story the player writes coming back would be good

LD44 — Your life is currency (15)

Plant-iverse by coatline 2019-05-05T19:51:57Z ♥ 0

Pretty fun game! The flying feels great. Took me a long while to work out what to do, but once I got it I was great haha.

Meaningful Life by Belea 2019-05-05T19:43:27Z ♥ 1

This is really great I like it a lot! Very smart entry. I wonder if escape should even be an option, though? I kinda like the idea of an infinite loop you can't win. But really great entry! Best I've played I think.

King's Alchemist by Vlad Dae 2019-05-05T19:40:12Z ♥ 2

Nice and polished entry, I like it! It was quite difficult to work out how to get started, I felt really stupid. Also I kept clicking the down arrow button that swaps screen, like all the time lol

Seize the Clay by SecondDimension 2019-05-05T19:35:22Z ♥ 3

The process of making the pots was fun but I found the paint specifically confusing. The lack of feedback made it hard to work out what I was doing wrong when it wasn't coming out well. Graphics are beautiful! Great job!

Don't think about others by DAVidus 2019-05-01T12:18:51Z ♥ 1

I wonder if Notre-dame would be the final boss? rich folks unable to resist the pull of tax-deductable nation treasures huh. Nice work! The game didn't develop enough quickly enough to keep me interested for long but it's well polished and I like the audio especially!

Petite Cuiller by lagrume-masque 2019-05-01T12:08:44Z ♥ 0

Really effective way of emotional storytelling! Limiting choices is one of my favourite tropes in terms of making a player feel constrained and it was done really well here :) sound was simple enough to be effective as well, and obvs the graphics are gorgeous! great work

Wild West Devil Pact by Skyball 2019-05-01T12:00:42Z ♥ 1

Nice idea and I think the incorporation of the theme was nice, but the rest felt slightly janky. I hard a really hard time even killing one enemy! but good job !

Basil Price: Mint Investigator by minibobbo 2019-05-01T11:54:58Z ♥ 1

This has been my fav game so far! It's all so polished and coherent and fun! 5 stars all round!

Cats Without Cars by B33Thr33 2019-04-30T11:09:59Z ♥ 4

Really gorgeous game, had loads of fun!

Hospital Horrors by PseudoBytes 2019-04-30T10:46:10Z ♥ 1

The animation and controls were nice and smooth but the difficulty is a bit unnecessarily punishing imo. I don't understand why the elevator music? I was listening to this and it was helping with the atmosphere a bit more lol https://burial.bandcamp.com/album/subtemple . But overall nicely done! Feels like a pretty substantial game here given the time frame!

BOSS FIGHT! ultimate saturday night billionaire skirmish by Orrchy 2019-04-30T09:21:58Z ♥ 3

It's a shame both billionaires didn't die. Or at least have their wealth confiscated. The controls were pretty wild, I don't have an end or delete key on my laptop so my player 2 couldn't attack me as well - I'd consider changing them, or at least giving the player the option to. Nicely done overall though! And nice interpretation of the theme ✌️

CREAM by shulololo 2019-04-30T09:15:13Z ♥ 1

Nicely done. Eat your landlords! I like the switch between easy and hard mode, it's humorous but also like pretty poignant.

Blood For Power by Finnhax 2019-04-30T09:07:58Z ♥ 1

Nicely done! I really like the music, it's catchy, but feels tonally dissonant with the rest of what you're going for. I think the recharge time on the attacks is pretty brutal, not super fun. But overall really well done!

King Heart by PRIZRAK.88 2019-04-30T09:05:10Z ♥ 1

This has been really nicely put together and the overall end product is really polished. I really love the music, although it definitely gets repetitive quickly. Overall nicely done, but perhaps the design could have been pushed further into a bit more of a unique area?

Mine Corp. by Hadik 2019-04-30T09:03:23Z ♥ 1

Definitely easy to control and makes fun. The noises got a bit grating and repetitive: very harsh. Nice tying together of concept and gameplay but I think you could've taken it further and pushed the idea into something fresh. Nice work!

LD43 — Sacrifices must be made (5)

The Cold Remains of Warmer Days by DragonInstall 2018-12-19T17:04:42Z ♥ 0

is there any chance you could build this for mac? im desperate to play it!

Fix by harark 2018-12-18T17:54:44Z ♥ 1

Very nice game! I disagree with lots of folks about the need for a tutorial - made sense to me and i enjoyed the process of discovery. Good way of turning the theme into an anticapitalist game lol :) I especially like the audio!

Reactor Overdrive by JUSTCAMH 2018-12-18T17:47:09Z ♥ 1

The simplicity of the controls works well! but the visuals are messy and make it hard to tell what's going on - not intuitive. I think a different font choice would have been better as this one was not very readable. I also found the audio (music in particular) really grating and far too repetitive. The balance of the gameplay itself seems pretty good to me tho! but i don't play this kind of thing tbh :)

Accept this Offering by xPheRe 2018-12-16T11:04:30Z ♥ 1

I really enjoyed this! I love where games integrate meaning into the mechanics and you did that perfectly here. Nice way to turn the theme into something positive as well!

Arden's Artisan Artefacts by blinry 2018-12-08T10:45:56Z ♥ 2

Nice game! I really like the art style and the world that you've created! It's fun to play games where the goal is to some extent subjective - means there's lots of room for player expression!

LD42 — Running out of space (22)

Demon Space by FreezedIce 2018-08-21T23:31:45Z ♥ 1

is there any way at all you can port this to mac? i really want to play it, looks amazing

CapyBarbra: A New Brow by Ratherjolly 2018-08-21T23:29:50Z ♥ 1

very funny idea, good stuff. the animations on the hair really stood out to me, feels almost like some kind of cosmic horror these monobrow hairs bursting through the groundskin like that i dunno lol

No Space In My Stomach by Roman Petrov 2018-08-21T23:25:31Z ♥ 3

i found it hard to tell exactly what was going to happen with each pill due to the colour coding that mostly worked? but sometimes not. the levels are really well designed and fun to solve! but i wish the snail thing could have moved slightly faster. good entry though in general! reminds me of the game Spewer somewhat... some similar ideas i think...

The Sword in the Darkness by Benjamin123 2018-08-21T23:20:28Z ♥ 2

i actually found the silence, minimal graphics, and claustrophobic camera zoom to be quite effective at creating a mood! i liked how worried and still it felt - the calm before the storm. but i had no idea what i was doing and couldn't find the sword unfortunately

Evercloud by SecondDimension 2018-08-21T23:15:35Z ♥ 1

great game! really love the sense of time progressing, routine, learning the surroundings. i liked the snippets of dialogue from the character but often wished that they remained quiet as they spoilt some of the joy of discovery/puzzle solving. graphics are gorgeous and so is the sound, really helps to create a mood! beautiful stuff! the music is great. would have loved if there was maybe a couple more sound effects to just make it feel more punchy to play, but seriously cool stuff one of my favs so far

Sofamino by shide 2018-08-20T21:54:53Z ♥ 2

greag game very polished very smooth very fun and rewarding! really makes you plan out your moves

Croatan by Colestia 2018-08-20T21:49:31Z ♥ 1

this game is absolutely fantastic! fantasy narrative games to explore ideas of capitalism! this is the best stuff! keep it going please please please

We Have Important Work To Do by Five Side Studios 2018-08-20T21:45:16Z ♥ 1

hey really liked this game a lot! i thought the sound was especially great! really fun! dont have much else to say really O Y S T E R

Stuck! by chkkll 2018-08-20T21:27:01Z ♥ 1

fun game! wish that you took the idea a bit further and developed it into some new concepts etc but it's very well polished and fun! love the music as well

Take care of her by KiiroHanabi 2018-08-18T12:50:10Z ♥ 2

any chance for a mac or web build of this game? would love to play it!

The Sand Will Bury Me by anacat 2018-08-16T13:50:04Z ♥ 1

really nice game! love to see games like this made for the ludum! the art is beautiful and the puzzles are great, but i wonder if failure has to take you back to the previous level? i think being trapped on the same level when you fail feels more thematically in check and is not as punishing? but i dont know, obviously it's your game lol. great stuff tho i really like it, probably my fav so far!

Crate Typist by Luca1152 2018-08-16T13:45:27Z ♥ 1

i really love typing games! good fun haha, i got 320. i reckon what would be cool is being able to build towers to help defend, and maybe theyd run out of ammo and youd type to refill them? just to help when it gets super hectic. good sounds tho made the typing feel really satisfying

ENCRYPT3D by Mapt04 2018-08-16T13:40:51Z ♥ 0

very punishing game, nice graphics, but maybe a bit too repetitive?

PLS Grandma STAPH by Necromic 2018-08-16T13:38:17Z ♥ 1

great game! reminds me of rhythm heaven a lot! (which is a good thing)

Dungeon Trader by TomG 2018-08-16T13:36:53Z ♥ 0

fun game! really frantic! beautiful music!

The Return by seizethedia 2018-08-16T13:33:48Z ♥ 0

to me this felt as though it would work better as a puzzle game, the way the poison spreads is a clever idea to make the player hurry to the next floor, but i think it would work better if it was specifically designed rather than random, as it feels unfair often. but as others have said the music helps create a great pace!

The Consumer by foolmoron 2018-08-16T13:26:40Z ♥ 1

this is a great game! exactly the kind of work i like to make and like to see! i think it would work really well in an installation setup with multiple screens. really unique interpretation of the theme! nice one :)

Keyboard warrior by ango97 2018-08-16T13:12:39Z ♥ 2

i really loved this game i think the idea is so great! I don't know if you know of Bennet Foddy's work (QWOP, Getting Over It), but he talks about utilising the computer keyboard by designing games specifically for it, rather than using the keyboard as a controller substitute, and this is a great example of that. really great stuff! beautiful hand drawn animations as well! big score from me :)

Night Shift by lootgrounds 2018-08-16T13:07:30Z ♥ 1

wow this looks great! please let me know if you put out a mac build i'd love to play :)

Crate Stacker πŸ“¦ by xUMR 2018-08-16T13:05:16Z ♥ 2

i like the way you've done subtle world building, by making the like club on top and the little lights it really places the game in a world, which often games like this dont tend to do. i got upset when it insulted me though because i thought i was doing a good job :(

GoIn- Behave or GET LOST! by gurkenlabs 2018-08-16T12:59:25Z ♥ 0

nice idea and felt really polished! i would like to see more dynamic events or unique things that could happen. or perhaps a day/night system like a game like paper's please?

One Billboard Outside Of Catville by Team Catwheel 2018-08-16T00:11:09Z ♥ 1

i feel very stupid because i feel like i didnt really get it, i need to try again lol. but the art and concept are great i imagine seeing this as a mini game in a future animal crossing or something!

LD41 — Combine 2 Incompatible Genres (21)

Discorc by rodel77 2018-05-01T08:05:35Z ♥ 1

i think the idea is really really great. i think theres a lot of potential in this idea of musical dialogue options. im thinking about the cardboard computer game Here and There Along the Echo for another nice phone line system. and also early Steve Reich pieces like Come Out that use the human voice in a musical way. or perhaps even thinking about theatre musicals. lots of territory for exploration that would be super interesting... hope some more comes out of this!

Late for Love by Gaze Team 2018-04-28T17:41:41Z ♥ 1

beautiful game! i love the flow of the conversation and the ongoing feeling of tension caused by trying to focus on the road. briliant stuff and lovely to see more text based games in the jam!!

Escape by Gamekrazzy 2018-04-28T17:24:18Z ♥ 1

really fun idea! i like all the clues and everything. definitely can see this kind of concept included in a larger game, or perhaps more fleshed out i dont know. great work tho!

Erglow by benbusby 2018-04-28T17:19:10Z ♥ 1

really funny game and really interesting interpretation of the theme! i really like the interplay between action and slowing down to contemplate! cool stuff

Dating Fish by Nage 2018-04-28T17:14:23Z ♥ 1

really fun game! nice interpretation of the them and felt pretty good to choose through the dialogues!

Boxes by wwhnl 2018-04-28T15:28:58Z ♥ 0

my favourite game ive played so far! exactly the kind of game i love to play and make and see in jams! cant wait to see what else you do!

Daxua by mainghia95 2018-04-28T14:04:12Z ♥ 1

any chance on a mac or web build? looks great id love to play

Murder in the Refuge of Retired Monsters by dock 2018-04-28T12:36:19Z ♥ 1

lovely game! i really love the aesthetics and style and the interpretation of the theme is funny and original! really great job

In My Car by przekop 2018-04-27T19:52:00Z ♥ 1

any chance you could do a mac or web build? this looks exactly like the kinds of games i love

Tiny Crusader by nilstastic 2018-04-27T19:41:45Z ♥ 0

fun game! love the art and sounds its so cool to see pico 8 games entered! good job :)

SKYWOOOD PIER by designernap 2018-04-27T19:26:31Z ♥ 0

looks absolutely beautiful and exactly like the kind of games i love to play and make and we need more of this in ludum dare! but im on mac and cant play it lol any chance youll be doing a mac build?

SmackPaint! Combat Painting with Ross Bob by GregWLyons 2018-04-27T18:44:36Z ♥ 1

beautiful idea and really well presented! very fun! gonna come back to this one definitely!

Zeus Fever by ret44 2018-04-27T18:18:43Z ♥ 2

very tricky! lovely art style absolutely beautiful, felt really great and the audio was immersive! i like the idea of combining the two genres and i think theres a lot of potential in it. i especially like at the beginning the way the dialogue flowed and read (but that's just a weird small thing i like in games) good job!!!

On The Fly by qkjosh 2018-04-26T15:46:07Z ♥ 1

absolutely beautiful game!! realyl really lovely!

City Blocks by legavroche 2018-04-26T15:20:34Z ♥ 1

nice game! i like the multitasking and the slow reveal of story elements... very interesting

ACCIDENTAL EXISTENTIAL by slovnoslomo 2018-04-26T15:10:10Z ♥ 1

lovely game! really nice to see some more experimental games that tackle topics like this! love the shifts in art style, really reflect the shifts in tone. nice work :)

The Big Spy Fiction-Comedy Mashup Game by karmo 2018-04-26T15:02:25Z ♥ 0

hey id love to play this game i really love text adventures and those are the kind of games i make (and made for this jam) but am on mac. any chance of a web or mac build?

LoveGarden by Le6barbare 2018-04-26T15:00:13Z ♥ 1

i wouldve liked to have been able to chat with the plants as i thought it was going to be a dating sim type experience, but a nice idea overall and the art is adorable!

gxf1 by JLV 2018-04-26T14:54:37Z ♥ 2

really enjoyed it! i love the idea of following orders as well that feels like a really interesting consequence of the visual novel formula. beautiful writing as well, really got a sense of the characters

Jeff From Accounting by Almax 2018-04-25T21:33:42Z ♥ 1

really fun idea! some of the art and sounds are beautiful and it feels great! clever way of thinking about the theme as well!

Woodsy by ghodan 2018-04-25T21:07:41Z ♥ 1

really beautiful artwork and sound design! creates an amazing mood! really like it a lot!! would really love to see this kind of idea taken further into a larger scale and see how you could develop friendships with the characters

LD40 — The more you have, the worse it is (2)

DIM by guoboism 2017-12-07T08:07:21Z ♥ 1

really enjoyed this! excellent interpretation of the theme and really nice graphics! I feel like theres more you could do with this idea!

Orbits by tuism 2017-12-06T13:47:53Z ♥ 0

fits the theme nicely but basically didn't work for me because of mouse sensitivity.