Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → Tom Robson
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | Unstable | Shinobi Rivals | jam | 231 | 3.92 | 4.02 | 3.71 | 3.69 | 3.97 | 3.70 | 3.50 | ||
| 2021 | 48 | Deeper and deeper | 👥 | Hellfall | jam | 175 | 4.03 | 3.94 | 3.20 | 4.15 | 4.20 | 3.77 | 3.94 | |
| 2020 | 46 | Keep it alive | Agewalker | jam | 666 | 3.72 | 3.51 | 2.85 | 2.69 | 4.01 | 3.35 | 2.76 | 3.45 | |
| 2018 | 43 | Sacrifices must be made | 👥 | Space Hopper | jam | 557 | 3.39 | 3.13 | 2.63 | 2.17 | 3.82 | 3.76 | 3.41 | |
| 2017 | 40 | The more you have, the worse it is | Squares & Hexes | jam | 683 | 3.33 | 3.59 | 2.45 | 2.73 | 3.47 | 1.87 |
Since it seems there's a few minor things that a few people aren't so keen on in the game, I'm looking to add in a few settings to mute bits of audio and reduce camera shake. But is it within the rules of Ludum Dare to update the game to add these even after the deadline?
A little slow at the start for my tastes, but once it gets going it's really fun and rather addictive! The art style is simple but effective, and the sound really added to the humor elements in the game.
If you wanted to keep going with it, all I'd really suggest is speeding up the rate you get cultists until you reach your first 5 or so, before slowing the rate down to where it's currently at. Would also be nice to maybe see a few added elements come into the equation later in the game.
Good job, really solid entry! :)
Honestly my favorite from the jam so far! I love a good moody atmosphere, and that Fallout-esque humour was a great touch to keep it from getting boring. I'd love to see it expanded. As someone else said, having more to do in the bunker, and more to do outside would be a nice addition, just to keep each loop more varied.
Other than that though, I'd love to see it taken further!
Awesome entry! Love the idea, the theme integration, and just everything about the game! I love that there's people so dedicated to their childhood consoles that they still make games for them.
Great entry! Loved the time I spent with the game, the movement was fun, and everything about the presentation was great. I only got about half way through though, I just couldn't clear one of the rooms (though that's just me not being all too good at the game) - but the half I did play was brilliant!
Definitely keep developing this.
Pretty good entry overall. The presentation was stellar! The art was lovely, the music amazing for a jam, and it felt great to play most of the time.
There were a few issues I had though. - I was lost for most of the time I spent playing. I just didn't know where to go. I must have spent a good 20 minutes just running around areas I've already been, until I eventually found the right path. I feel like adding a map, compass, or just some directions from the NPCs themselves would solve this, then at least I can have some idea of where to go. - I found myself getting caught on edges a lot. Never to the point where it ruined the experience, but enough to the point that it got annoying. - Both enemies and friendly NPCs were always getting caught on things. I feel like the idea was to have a big gang of friends following you around but their pathfinding meant that, at least for me, they always got caught on stuff before I could get more than 2 of them together. (Obviously though, it's LD, 72 hours isn't much time to go about adding complicated pathfinding, so I totally get why this would be a thing)
Please don't get the wrong impression from this comment though, I had a lot of fun playing the game! I feel that with a bit of polish and development post-jam, you'd have a really great little game! Everyone involved should be proud!
Loved it! The overall mood and atmosphere were great, and as someone with anxiety (especially at work), it all felt more real than it had any right to! Which, in this case, is exactly what I was wanting.
I'd love to see a little more variety going forwards, rather than just exploring around and interacting with the right item. Obviously it's a jam game, and for the time we had this is a great effort; but if you keep developing it further, I'd love to have some minigames or just different encounters in the blackout sections.
Overall, great job! Would love to see more in the future.
I love it! The aesthetics were beautiful, the sound work shockingly clean, and honestly the gameplay was far more fun than I'd expected.
There were a couple things I'd love to see added/changed/improved/whatever, though:
- I feel that just rotating the level wasn't quite enough to get a proper perspective, there were a few time where I would try turning the level in each direction and I still couldn't get a good read of the situation. Any way to improve perspective here would be brilliant, whether that be toggling a top-down view, toggling a 'flat-mode' view, or just letting the player rotate it in more ways; anything in that department would be ideal.
- I didn't really have to move much, I don't think i used it much until one situation with a Boomer, but that seems more like the exception rather than a rule.
Seriously though, I loved my time with this, and would love to buy a full version if you developed it further!
A good entry! Everything feels polished and fluid, and just running and jumping around is great fun (coming from someone who rarely likes platforming!)
Only issue I had was that in some of the levels, it was really hard for me to make out just what was going on. A lot of the time I wouldn't notice spikes until I hit them. Now that could just be me, my vision isn't amazing, but I feel that the restrictions Pico-8 brings isn't helping. Don't get me wrong though, the art is gorgeous, just a little hard for me to fully take in while playing.
Good job overall!
Loved the time I spent with it! The first few days where I was exploring the island, finding my way around the games mechanics, and seeing the colour slowly return to the world were honestly magical. I think the fact that I didn't know about the colour changing going in really added to that moment.
As it went on I found the days to get a little repetitive, especially towards the end where I had to go from one end of the island to the other just to water two trees. I would love to have kept playing if there was more to do. Perhaps talking to the octopus-people that live on the island would have been a great addition - give them something new to say each day. But, I know it was a jam game and scope is a big issue. Please keep working on this though, you've got something really great here!
The only other thing I would address are the controls. They worked, but felt very clunky. It's as if there was a small delay between me changing which direction I was pressing, and then the character actually going that way. It wasn't a dealbreaker, but should definitely be fixed up.
Overall though, great job!
Was a really fun game! It's like someone took the Berserk powerup from the new DOOM games and made a full game out of it - which is a-okay in my books!
The mouse sensitivity was a little high for my tastes at first, but I got used to it pretty quick (it's not hard to miss enemies with the lunge so it wasn't a big issue). But I never really felt challenged, which can be good if there was a bit more variety in the kill animations.
Obviously though, it's a jam - you made a game in your own custom engine, that's impressive enough! Just if you were to take it further, either add some more challenge to the levels, or try to take the kill animations even further! Preferably both.
Great entry though, bloody brilliant!
@alex-adedge Thank you so much for the feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The world and graphics were something I was really trying to push for this jam, and I'm glad they worked out!
@slimbun Thank you! I'll be honest, I had to go for the 72 hours jam to cram everything in, but I'm still really proud of it all!
@phoenix-fireflower Thanks! I'm glad I managed to get the gameboy aesthetic right, I wanted to experiment with a new art style for the jam, so I'm happy I pulled it off!
@god-colo Thank you so much! I wanted to make sure the gameplay and art were as polished as they could be - though there's plenty more polish I want to do post-jam! :)
@benjamintausen Thanks for the feedback! 100% agree that it needs some clear communication on the controls - I think given the scope of what I wanted to do for the jam, adding an in-game controls screen just slipped my mind somehow haha. Definitely something I plan to add to the post-jam version!
@azathothep Thanks! I'd actually intended for combat to only really happen from the sides, but I can see why it might be frustrating given how the levels are designed. I'll be sure to try to work on it some more post-jam! And yeah, the HP bar is definitely a weak point. I wanted to improve it during the jam but didn't have much time beyond having empty hearts be filled in black, so it's a little bit easier to see how much damage you've taken. it's not perfect though, and I'm totally going to polish it up post-jam as well! Thanks for your comment, glad you enjoyed!
@guin36 Yeah, 100% agree on the boss fight's final phase. I'd tried to keep the henchmen spawning back in when they die but I found it killed the pacing even more since it was hard to keep focusing on the boss. Definitely something I intend on looking into experimenting with more though post jam! Thanks for the feedback!
@superpatch Thanks for the feedback, I'm really glad I got the mood right! I did add an option to speed the text up a little, but I've noticed myself that really it doesn't do much for longer pieces of text, so i'll definitely go about adding a full on skip! And yeah, speeding up the transitions would be a nice addition! Thanks again!
@inkedsplat Thanks for the great advice! Truth be told, art isn't my strongest suit, so while I'm happy with the individual sprite-work, I 100% agree that there's room to improve on the actual practical applications of it all. I'll definitely keep experimenting and trying to get it right as I keep developing it further!
@wegpast Thanks for the input! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I wanted first and foremost to make something fun, and to work a bit on my graphics. So, the theme being less of a focus is absolutely something I agree with. I still like the idea overall, but agree that I could (and should) have done more to express that story to the player! And, I'm actually quite curious: what's the Links Awakening mechanics you're referencing? I'm ashamed to admit I haven't actually played it! So any tribute or reference or what have you is pure coincidence haha!
I absolutely adore the PS1 style of graphics, it's one of my all time favorites (both to look at and work with!) - so seeing an entry with that style was great!
I had read a comment or two going in about the lack of gameplay, so with my expectations set accordingly, I really enjoyed this little scene! I'll keep an eye out for any future update you might do, since reading over your plans and such I think it could make for something really quite unique!
I think a little bit of direction on what to do when you start would be a good addition, but honestly I really liked the idea here!
It's something I could honestly sit and play for hours if it was a little more fleshed out. Sure watching a meter go up is fun for a few minutes, but man just imagining all the possibilities if you took this further makes me really excited to see what might happen next! Scale the planets up, add more stuff to find and do, and maybe slow the pace down a little bit, and I would adore this game!
Great job!
I'm a huge fan of old-school shooters, so seeing the billboarded sprites thing was an instant plus in my books! The movement was pretty fun too, being able to just strafe around at crazy speeds is always a good thing! I think adding some jumping so I could bunny-hop would make movement even better!
The idea is pretty neat as well, I like the idea of bouncing between aggressive and defensive play all the time.
What needs a lot of work though is the gun play. Right now it's just press mouse 1 a few times until the enemy dies, or you die, whichever happens first. Which, technically, is how it works in all shooters. But you'll notice about other shooters is that they do a bunch of tricks to make that action feel really powerful and fun. Look at the animations in some of your favorite shooters and try to get the guns in your game to move in similar ways. Also make the enemies really react to getting hit. I'm talking particles, knockback, a bunch of sound effects, hit markers - anything you can do to make sure the player knows they hit someone, do it!
I think for a game jam it's definitely a solid effort, but if you decide to take it further you should really try to polish that gameplay up!
One of my favorite entries so far! The concept and execution was great, and the overall presentation was brilliant!
I did encounter a bug, though. After dying, I was unable to open anymore letters, all I could do was sleep. Refreshing the browser fixed it
Other than that though, I loved it! Bravo.
I loved it! The simple concept alone had me hooked for a while!
I could honestly see myself playing this over a really long period of time if the game were further developed. There's so much potential here and I'd love to see it taken further! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it.
Great job!
Was a good little game, plenty of stuff that can happen to keep it interesting.
If you were to take it further, I'd love to see some more extreme consequences for certain choices. Little events that might make you regret you choices. For example, I thought it would be funny to just annoy the chef and say no to almost everything he said. It'd have been great if, as a result of my actions, the chef hates me so much that he leaves, leaving me without a solid source of food.
That's just one example, but having little things that can be a threat other than the flame going out.
Good effort overall though!
Loved it! I've always wanted to see sound be a more important part of games, and making it the main mechanic was a great choice!
Maybe I just didn't spend long enough looking, but I'd love to have a bit more stuff to find! Those first few minutes of blindly exploring and trying to figure out what was making each sound was a blast, and I'd love to see that taken beyond the small handful of things present in the jam version.
Absolutely take this further post-jam!
Had a blast playing this! I'm sure it was designed this way, but I ended up finishing every level with a second to spare, so every single level clear felt like it was just through the skin of my teeth. And given how bad I am at platformers...
The music was great, the aesthetic was great, even the level design was great (I loved that you showed off the main gimmick in a level before getting the egg, great touch).
Definitely keep going on this, I could play this for hours.
I think like a lot of people it took me a while to figure out how to play, but once I did it was a pretty fun game!
For a jam game, the art is really nice, the animations are smooth, and I really liked the atmosphere! A little more story would have been nice though, given the game's inspirations.
I feel like it would be nice to have a little bit more to do other than just combat. Maybe in the segments between waves the player would have to do some kind of short mini-game to help speed up the ritual. That way, the player doesn't get burned out on the combat so quickly.
A nice entry for the jam, definitely keep this one going post-jam!
The funniest jam game I've played so far! Took a few attempts to get the hang of it, and especially in the later rounds it became insanely hard to read and memorize the sequence, but that's all part of the fun!
Not a bad entry! Has a really good atmosphere, I think just knowing there's a jumpscare but not knowing where can put the player on edge right away!
But, there's a couple ways you could improve it post-jam.
- Try to fix up the movement, it felt pretty loose and floaty, which wasn't a huge issue, but the big one was jumping. If I have to jump up stairs, I don't want to constantly be getting stuck on them. It just kills the pacing and atmosphere.
- Personally I wouldn't have the flashlight battery levels be a UI element. Sounds like bad design, but in horror you wan't to make things abstract enough that players are never quite sure, but still give enough info for them to have a little bit of understanding. So, with the flashlight, maybe have it flicker at certain percentages, with the flicker getting faster the less battery you have. This way, while the player can't put an exact number on it, they can tell by the flickering that they need to find a battery soon.
- Give the player something to read! A big part of horror is the writing - you have to get the player invested in the story and trying to figure out just what on Earth is happening. That way, when the jumpscares hit, it's not just some scary face and a sound effect, it actually means something, and thus hits harder.
It's a cool little horror experience, but I'd love to see this expanded a bit! You don't get a lot of 2D horror games, so it'd be nice to see this one become something great!
Was a fun little game! I really like the overall idea behind it, having to defend 4 points it a lot more interesting than jut running around endlessly, so good job there! The environmental art is brilliant as well, the flaming tree down in the bottom left was a sight to see!
I feel like more could have been done to polish everything up though, a lot of the game just felt flat to me, the combat especially. It's not so bad in the first wave, because it's slow enough to be able to see the enemy flash, but even in the second wave, that's something that blends in more than feedback should. You could easily fix this with a little bit of camera shake when the player kills an enemy, and a sound effect for hitting them. Apply that to the player and things should feel a lot better to play!
Speaking of sound, what was there was great, but the game definitely needs more! But, I can't judge too harshly, it's a jam game, and given the time constraints, what's there is good! I especially love the music, great job to whoever did that!
Overall, it's a good game with plenty of potential. Polish it up post-jam and I'd love to play it again.
Great first jam game! That's a really impressive achievement for your first, so massive congrats there!
And as for making a horror game in a jam, yeah, that's not an easy feat either (coming from experience, the only good horror game I've made in a jam still took me a week!), so good job for attempting it and sticking the landing!
The binaural audio for detecting the ghost was a great touch, the art was brilliant, and honestly the player felt surprisingly good to just walk around with!
Would love to see it taken further!
Was a fun game! The shaders were really nice!
I think the design could use a bit of work, as a lot of the levels were super easy. A couple ideas could be to add a set number of waves you can make, as I felt that if I made a mistake it rarely went punished, so limiting my resources would be a nice catch. Also, I never found the shark to be particularly threatening, it only killed me once because I was taking ages to look at the level and it spawned super close. Also, I'd speed the timer up, I didn't once feel like I was being rushed by it.
But, I'm gonna be honest, puzzles are hard, I've always struggled with them, so good job for getting a solid foundation for a good puzzle game! Give it a bit of work after the jam and I would love to play more!
The art style here is great, I love the blend between 3D meshes and bloom but with a pixelation filter to make it look 2D, it's a really nice style!
The game's idea seems pretty fun, running around and dodging the shots, but I think the movement needs some more work post-jam. It felt really floaty and just a bit sloppy overall. I think just stopping the characters horizontal momentum on the ground when the player isn't inputting anything would really help the responsiveness.
Also, it was never clear which point I'd be hooking on to, and the distance I had to be to hook to a new one. Just a little UI element to show that would be a huge help to the game!
I think with those tweaks, you could get something really fun here, it's definitely got character and potential!
I really enjoyed my time spent with the game, though i didn't finish it. Honestly I could barely get the chick half way across the road without them dying haha
But, I did take the time to explore the map without the little chick, and honestly the game has a really nice mood and atmosphere. The graphics really add to it as well. It's just a shame I couldn't get the hang of the chick's controls, I'd love to experience everything properly!
Really great job regardless though!
Love this take on the theme! The art is great, and just the general presentation is brilliant! Not many games can boast rat ragdoll physics!
A couple little problems though: -It felt a little bit cheap having a bunch of hay bails be put at drops that the player just can't see the bottom of. Obviously once you die and know they're there it's fine, but the first time it happens is still annoying. It's not really a challenge, and comes off more as a joke at the players expense. Which hey, first time around I actually found it funny! Less so afterwards though. - When I started I somehow managed to get myself turned around, so trying to get used to the tank controls without knowing which was was forwards was a bit frustrating. Just something to roughly tell the player which was is forwards and back would be a great touch!
Seriously though, I loved this game! Great entry!
There's not a lot to say that hasn't already been said - fix the movement up a bit and it'd be perfect. The visuals are really nice, and the audio especially fits really well! Not a lot of games make the character landing feel as good as it does here, so definitely a big plus as far as game feel goes!
Really good entry though, wish there was more!
The art and atmosphere in this are incredible - for one person in <72 hours, that's impressive!
Though, it does come at the cost of the gameplay feeling a little weak. The movement is floaty, which is my main complaint; but the combat also feels a little weak at times - you've got a good foundation on that, but I think maybe some more bass-heavy hit sound effects might help sell it?
Overall though, I'm nit-picking, this is a stellar entry and you should be proud!
Just an ending note: I saw you say that most of the art was sourced rather than created, with an exception being the character. The character turned out awesome, and was by far my favourite art piece! If you develop this further, I'd love to see what you could do with a whole game.
Really nice game! The gravity switches are a fun mechanic, and the level design is nicely worked around it. Though I would maybe switch the last two levels around, as there was a bit of a weird difficulty spike there.
The presentation was awesome, too! The transitions, the character animations, the little gems in the tileset - it really feel super polished.
Solid entry, good job!
Not sure the gameplay is really my thing, but everything else? Oh yeah.
Loving the background art - the twisted bodies in the background are super visceral, which makes the contrast with the funky jazz music even better.
We definately had the same source of inspiration, but drastically different approaches! Your game is more metal-album-cover to my more chibi approach. Nice!
Not really much else I can comment on! Love the art and setting, but the gameplay isn't for me. Great job!
Super moody and atmospheric!
The voice acting was nice, but there were a few times that I just had no clue what was being said. Some subtitles would probably help there.
Everything else though, I think has already been said, so, I'll just say +1 to all the other feedback haha
Excellent job guys!
This was super fun, if not a little punishing. I think having a heart system, and some slightly more fluid controls on the wall jump (maybe it's just me but I found it really cumbersome to have to quickly switch directions when I'm wall jumping? Might just be me) would be a nice addition. But those are just a suggestion, I could totally see myself playing this as a longer game. Keep it up!
Nice entry!
Gameplay is fun, I especially love the mystery boxes, I truly never knew what I was going to get. My only criticisms are that: - It's really hard to get back on the platform after I fall off - The sound and music got pretty grating at times
Good job overall though!
This is one of the best looking and best sounding LD games I've played. Just, ever! The combat especially I liked, but the weight mechanic was fun too.
If I could suggest anything, I'd say perhaps to make it so, on the way down, I'm encouraged to explore more. I found myself just finding some rocks, and then riding the balloon down to the bottom, with just combat keeping things interesting, which ended up just being the chase sequence, but slower and less tense. Personally, I think having a monster that would perhaps eat the boulders you have, forcing you to explore and find more, would help make me want to explore this beautiful level even more.
Solid entry though, just, so well done!
A really nice idea! I'm genuinely curious about the elf - what did they do?! Rare for a jam game to get me somewhat invested, in such a short time.
I'd have loved to have seen the loop be committed to a bit more though - just keep the player looping, maybe change the position of the key, and maybe (in an extended version) introduce some other mechanics to keep things fresh. But still, the fact that I'm wanting more is the best praise I can give!
This was super fun! I love the art, but especially the character design.
The combat was good, though it felt a bit clunky and slow. I think somebody already mentioned that the attack is a little slow, but I also think that being able to roll in any direction would help too, given the player's slow movement speed, and how the crab moves pretty slow.
But, that's nitpicking - awesome job!
A pretty fun little game! A little more polish would have gone a long way, but once you get the assault rifle it's a good twin stick shooter!
I also really like the style you went for, though some of the lighting issues that you can see on the kicking gif here do muddy it a bit.
I can't complain too much, it's good, I just wish it was a little more polished. Good job though!
Really fun little game. The gameplay was simple, but there was enough back and forth between mining, defending, and upgrading that it was fun throughout.
Good job!
I might just suck at rhythm games, but I found this one really tough! It's a shame, because I think the presentation and music is awesome, and I really wanted to see where the story goes, but I couldn't even clear the second level (again, I am really bad at rhythm games).
If it was maybe a little more forgiving, I feel like I'd love this!
A really nice entry! I especially love the animations, they're super smooth and feel great.
The gameplay is a little floaty, though. The movement especially, but the attack feels a bit weak too. But I can't complain too much, because this is still super fun!
Really nice entry, good job!
Loving the atmosphere on this one! It feels both relaxing and mysterious - exactly what I want in a puzzle game!
I'd love to see this expanded more! More mechanics, more puzzles, more little gear friends. I'd play that!
Awesome job, hope to see more in the future.
Definitely an interesting idea! Tactics gameplay can really ramp up tension, in ways that even the original Dark Souls games can't - so mixing the two could be really cool.
I think the concept here is nice, but, idk maybe it was a bit too ambitious for 72 hours, as the execution could use some work. Mainly the combat and world, it feels a little flat and lifeless. I get that Dark Souls is meant to be dark and decaying, but the worlds still had something to them, this felt a bit like walking through fields until a generic skeleton killed me.
I don't want to complain too much though, because I did have fun with this! I just think the concept could do with some extra time in the oven - so definitely keep working on this! I want to see what it *could* be.
Love this! The art especially is awesome, the rope and damage effects being some VFX highlights too. I really adore the atmosphere you have going too - though I wish you committed a little harder to the mysterious tone, because a moody sense of wonder and mystery clashes a bit with constant **"HMPH HAAAAAH"** ahah
Also, I wish it was a little more fluid. The amount of times I would take damage just because I jumped or dashed before I could see an obstacle I was going to land into... If I could just dash from a jump, or perhaps change the direction of my dash after clearing half the screen or something, I think the challenge would be a bit more palatable.
That might just be me though. I don't want to seem too negative, I ADORE this game!
A super moody game! The atmosphere, tone, and visuals were awesome! Though, as a few people have mentioned, the perspective made using the arrow keys a little strange... But, not too bad, I managed!
The art in this is awesome! Though I felt the gameplay was a little awkward. The ship was a bit floaty, killing the enemies was pretty hard, and it wasn't until I just stood still for a minute or two that I actually died. The concept is solid though, so I'd love to see this developed a bit further!
But, don't take that criticism too badly, as for your second LD, and to achieve something with infinite generation? That's an incredible achievement! You should be proud.
Took me a little while to realize there were multiple weapons. But when I did? Ooooooooh boy I had a rootin' tootin' time with yer shootin' partner!
Seripusly, this was great! The characters and their animations were quirky and enjoyable, the combat was satisfying (once I stopped using the pistol...), and it's one of the more fun entries I've played. I'd maybe move the camera back, increase the pistol's fire rate, and add a reload button - but other than that, this is awesome!
This is an amazing idea, with a really unique art style, atmosphere and gameplay! I really liked the story too - the mysterious tone as I kept sinking deeper and deeper into the sea was fascinating. I just wish the visuals were a little more user-friendly. The concept of using sonar for visuals is genius, please keep that, but perhaps speed up the rate scans are sent out, and reduce how long it takes for them to fade afterwards. I'd have enjoyed the game a lot more, and been far more immersed, if I wasn't bashing into walls I could hardly see until a few seconds afterwards.
But, that one issue aside? Amazing game, I loved it.
I'm in love with this art style! This is a really nice looking game. Lighting the level, and getting to see how my previous runs have changed the level is a fun idea.
I'll admit though, other than just running around, I really didn't know what I was meant to be doing? What was the deal with the "Energy of Cog"? Just a little more direction, even on the game's pages, would have helped a little!
But other than that, great job!
I was really enjoying this, but ended up getting a pretty nasty bug where I just couldn't do anything? I guess my hero and the unit I just recruited were on the same tile and it bugged it? I really don't know.
But, from what I played: the art is incredible, as expected; the intro was nice; and the emchanics were interesting, and absolutely stuff I'd like to see more of.
Nice job!
This is a super moody little game. The art was nice, especially at the city; but the music was a standout for me. It fit the tone and atmosphere of the art perfectly! A nice little story, too.
The controls were a little clunky, imo, but other than that, I have no real complaints - good job!
The art and tone of this are awesome! I'll be sure to check out the LD46 game you guys made if this is a sequel! Would love to get as much of this as I can!
I didn't think this was my kind of thing at first, but I got through a good chunk of it! Pulling off the reflections is just that satisfying, I love it. It did feel a bit inconsistent, but that might have just been me being bad at it though - I'm willing to admit that. I think the difficulty curve was a little off, though - swapping a few levels around in the middle may help make it a more gradual progression, imo.
Nice entry though!
Like a few others, it took me a minute to get used to it, but once I got going this was a lot of fun. Though, it wasn't until the last level that I was really using all the mechanics - until then I'd just slow-mo>shoot>kill>repeat, and never even thought about dodging; but the final level fixed that. This feels less like a shooter and more like a strategy/puzzle game. It's pretty unique!
The art is awesome, *especially* on the splash screen!
Though I think the levels could be a bit better. Similar to the last comment, I had no clue what to do on the third level. I'd get caught by the creature the second I get to the hatch, but couldn't find another way. Which is a shame, because I was getting into it.
With some more polish on the gameplay, and a bit of clean-up on the animations, this could be an amazing little jam game.
Love the concept of this one! Took a little while to get into it properly but once I got the hang of gameplay this was a really tense and fun experience!
The audio especially was great!
Awesome entry.
The idea here is cool - it's a shame you guys didn't have longer to flesh it out. The enemies in the first room that charge at you were fun to fight, and the atmosphere of the maze was really nice!
My main complaint is that it just feels unfinished. The combat felt a little inconsistent, the art style is a little all over the place (when going for pixel art, generally you should stick to only having a few colours per sprite, and each pixel in game should be the same size), and the balance with the skeletons was a little off. But, it was made in 72 hours, so assuming all that gets fixed in a post-jam version? This is a solid little game! Nice one.
Not a bad effort for your first jam game! You guys got really ambitious though, wow haha
My only real complaint was that the aiming was off, but it seems you guys fixed that in the later versions (I was playing 1.01), so, no worries there.
Though, a few suggestions: the balance felt a bit off, wonky aiming aside, it felt like other cultists took a huge beating, yet I went down in a few hits? Was strange. Also, the environments could use a little work - a splash of colour would help, but definitely get rid of the shininess! Low poly looks best with just completely diffuse shading, imo!
I wish you guys all the best with your studies, from one gamedev student to some others!
I love the art style in this one! The gameplay is nice too, but the aesthetics are the main pull for me. The platforming felt great, in no small part due to the great animation work!
My only complaint is that I had a really nasty audio bug that made the sound constantly cut out and jitter, so much so that I had to stop playing. Which is a shame, because that aside the sound work is phenomenal! Usually when people have issues with their sound on a web build, it works nicely as an executable. If you could build it as an exe so that I could replay it, I'd be more than happy to come back and finish it! This game seems amazing.
I really enjoyed this! Almost played without audio until I read that you guys had it working on the downloaded version, but I'm so glad I downloaded it. The atmosphere is great!
I do want to give some constructive feedback though: it took me a little while to figure out what I was doing. Not a game breaker, I eventually figured it out, but something in game, or even on here explaining how you ward fish off would have been helpful.
But, the main thing that really made me like this game was the story and narrative. Might seem a little silly, someone being depressed because they don't have any ideas, so they go diving for one?? It's wild. But once I finished it and started to reflect, there's genuine meaning to it, and it's deeply relatable. I feel like this is a game I could write an essay on the metaphors of. I don't know how much of it was intentional, but either way, it landed. I don't think it's the best playing or best looking LD game I've played, but it's probably the one that's impacted me the most.
Awesome job!
このゲームが大好き！
Seriously though, this was a super fun take on the theme, and really nice little horror game. The way the music slowly got more twisted, then fading out all together; the bamboo getting denser as I went; the story and it's delivery! Great stuff!
There were a few disappointments though. Mainly, the performance. I have a pretty powerful machine yet this game chugged at times. I'm assuming you guys are rendering all the bamboo at all times, which is why it would stutter if I turned around. Also, the scare at the end was good, but having the trigger box so close to the sign meant I had a whole walk back to the beginning, before being confused that I hadn't been eaten by a yokai. The scare still got me though, after I walked back.
Nice work!
The art in this one looks amazing - colours especially! While the gameplay could use some polish - the double jump felt inconsistent and the movement felt a bit floaty - it' still a solid entry! Nice work!
Enjoyed this one a lot! Took me a little while to get what I was meant to do, but once I got into the flow of it, it was a fun adventure!
I think some extra polish on the UI might help though, it was a little all over the place with the text boxes.
Can't complain though, I had plenty of fun!
For your first LD game: this is a really good job! The drawing is a cool mechanic, if not a little clunky.
I do want to say though, there were a few things that really made it hard for me to enjoy. Mainly, the shadow effect. There's times where it looks really nice, but it's usually a problem, as it makes it really hard to see upcoming obstacles, or to see what their hitboxes are.
With a bit of polish, this could be a really fun little game!
Just a heads up: I couldn't use WASD on the web build, but it worked fine on the Windows executable. Not sure what's up with that, but I thought I'd let you know.
Anyway, the game itself!
It's awesome. The level transitions feel awesome, the combat is nice (though a little more impact to your hits would be nice), and the aesthetics are good too!
Would be cool to see this expanded further!
Awesome little game! Controls took some getting used to, as with most physics games, but once I got going it was real fun! The art especially was a high point.
I'd perhaps make it so I can control the ship with WASD, just as a personal preference. I'd also make it so I can recover a bad run by picking up extra lives as I go. But honestly? This is nit-picking - this is a solid entry!
Absolutely adored the atmosphere. There's something about the soundscape, the graphics, and how frantic the gameplay is, that really adds to this feeling of impending doom.
I couldn't quite figure out how to get into the torpedo room, as it's flooded, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed doing everything else!
Awesome entry, loved it.
Love the art style! I do wish the camera was a little further back though - you've clearly made some amazing art for the environment, it's a shame to only see little bits of it at a time!
I wish there was a little more, too - the messages in the second level really got me hooked. If a post-jam version ever happens, I'd love to see what gets done!
For your first jam game this is amazing!
I really like your take on the theme - there's a lot of games about going deeper and deeper underground, but yours is probably the most original version of that I've seen.
The combat was an interesting idea with that hat throw, but it did feel a bit flat. This is partly to do with the lack of sound, which is understandable - but some other effects might have elevated it even further.
Overall though, really well done! Keep it up!
Really nice presentation, which makes the fairly simple idea 10x more engaging! I played this a lot longer than I thought I would. The ambience and mood was really great, but it comes with a but...
I had a weird audio bug where some sound effects only played in my left ear? But others worked fine? This was on the windows downloaded version, as you warned against playing the web build.
It just hurt the immersion a little, which is unfortunate because so much clearly went into it!
Nice game! It's simple, but it's still pretty fun!
I didn't find any caves or anything on my first run, and instead ended up just strip mining, thinking that was just what you were meant to do. But after reading some of the comments, I jumped back in and immediately came across a cool cave. Which was the most fun part of the game, for me!
Some audio would have helped set a mood nicely, but making a procedural game in a weekend is hard enough as is. The light effect was cool though, really added to the atmosphere.
@quantumseagull Awesome! Yeah, I wasn't sure what I was looking for with the golden nuggets when I first played. So I ended up just assuming it was like Terraria or Minecraft and assumed it was an ore, for some reason! Mostly my bad on that one.
Will be cool to see the light having a function, too. Keep it up!
Awesome game! With some tweaks to the way you do difficulty, this could be great.
My main suggestions are: - Keep the paint in the world after death (but this has been suggested a few times) - Maybe have the outlines of shapes appear over the splat effect? I found myself dying a lot to shapes I just couldn't read because the splat effect lingered for too long. - Reduce the number of blind spots, OR, keeping the persistent paint idea, make the paint you splat when you die red, so I know there's danger there on the next run.
Those are only suggestions though, this is a solid game for Ludum Dare, especially for your age! Keep going with game development, I think you'll be great at it!
The visuals and design here are awesome! There's some really cool ideas in here and I'd love to see it refined and taken further! Some sound and music would have been nice - and the level with the shield slime could use a redo (having some checkpoint system would really make that one much more fun). Other than that, though? Awesome!
This was awesome! I went in expecting something scary, ended up with something that was strangely funny and charming for a horror game - and it *still* gave me a good spook! Polish the visuals up and extend it a little and you'd have an incredible little indie horror game here.
ALL HAIL THE POWER COMPANY
Nice little game! I loved how you animated the player character, it has so much charm and character! The hat system was also a cute addition. The game itself was a bit cumbersome, though. The floaty controls are the main issue. Next jam, spend some time making sure the player character feels nice and responsive, and your game becomes 10x more fun! I'd also add a little screen displaying the controls - you can even add the text straight into the level. Not everyone reads the controls screen on your submission/itch page - I know I didn't at first ^^
While the aiming felt a little off, I can't deny how much fun this was! Everything had so much feedback; the visuals were great; and the gunplay felt tight. Add some more movement options in, and maybe fine-tune the controls a little more, and you could have a wonderful little arcade shooter on your hands!
Awesome job, everyone!
This was an awesome game! My favorite take on the theme by far - it's so simple yet creative! I wish it was a little easier to place towers together - I know that the physics is what's meant to make things interesting, but I'd rather have that come from gradually making an unstable tower + the wizard's experiments, rather than just not being able to accurately place things down. Maybe a snapping system would be cool? Not sure...
Regardless though, keep going with this and release it, this is one of my favorites of the jam so far!
Cute little game! The visuals were really nice, and getting some world generation made during a jam is a pretty big accomplishment!
The game itself is a little clunky though - I read through the intro, which explained what needed to happen with the reactor stuff, but I hardly got to interact with any of that since I spent so long figuring out how to interact with the crafting bench. With a bit more clarity, and more/better sound effects, this could be a really nice game!
This is awesome! Designing a really creative and addictive puzzle game is hard enough, but doing it in the space of an LD Jam? Insanity! This is a huge accomplishment, and I loved every second with this game.
The visuals on this one are the best I've seen in the jam so far! I loved the ambience you set, with just visuals and gameplay alone. The unique take on the escort mission you have here is interesting, but I think you could go further with it...
Absolutely take this thing further! I'd love to play a full release of this.
My only complaint is a lack of sound - which, obviously it's LD and time is limited, but the atmosphere could have been so much thicker if there was just some ambient sounds!
Awesome gameplay! I really liked having the menu also act as a playground for players to learn the mechanics in before starting - a really nice touch for a jam game.
The control scheme didn't feel right to me, I personally prefer having a dodge on shift (when using a WASD move type), and then attack on the mouse - but this is a personal problem more than anything. Would have loved to be able to rebind keys a bit, but in a jam that's a really low priority QOL feature haha
Awesome job, wouldn't mind playing more of this!
Awesome job! This is a super unique game, but it's also really impressive to have pulled it all off in a jam. You have so many different elements going on, yet they all work so well! How you pulled it all of to such a high standard in 72 hours is beyond me. You guys should be super proud.
My only concern is that the sound was a bit grating - the music was pretty good, but way too loud, and a lot of the other sounds were just too high pitched for me.
The atmosphere and visuals on this were stunning! I was gripped throughout the whole experience. I loved the gameplay too - the decisions felt meaningful, and I felt the sense of panic when time was running out. I'd love to see this concept taken much further - I'd buy something like this if it was a few hours long!
I really like this take on the theme! I feel as though a little more juice would really sell the player's actions, though. It took me a while to figure out what the life drain ability was doing. Otherwise though, a really nice little jam game!
Tell Geoffrey I forgive him
This was awesome! Absolute insanity from beginning to end. It'd have been nice to have a bit more explanation/advice on how to control things, as getting stuck on stuff brought the pace and fun down a bit - but the game almost immediately won me back every time that happened.
Awesome game!
Apples are the best! I love apples.
Apples.
Apples...
The art and animation here is incredible! You should be really proud, it'd probably take me the whole weekend to make half of those sprites! Awesome job!
I think the game itself is neat, but without any feedback I found it really quite hard to play, and found it even harder to enjoy. There's so much going on at once, but none of it has that much clarity. Usually a jam game not having sound is okay, but this game particularly really could have done with a good set of sound effects to clarify what on earth is going on half the time haha
Other than that though, this was an awesome little game and I'd love to see more!
A cool take on a city builder! Having to use structures as a sacrifice is a nice idea that I'd be interested to see taken further!
Having an in-game tutorial that explains things would be nice, but I appreciate that in a jam, that can take a while for a game like this.
Good job!
This was so cute! The graphics were simple yet charming, the gameplay was simple but fun for a few rounds, and the concept is just so wholesome. I can't really critique much - maybe some more animation to make things more lively? I'm nitpicking here - this is awesome for a compo entry made in 7 hours.
The visuals and sounds on this are incredible! And the mechanics are simple yet unique, a really nice combo to strike in a jam! It took me a while to figure out how exactly everything was working, but when I did I was having a blast!
Awesome game, well done!
This is a fun little game! The art style is really cool, especially with the cute voxel player and enemies! I also really liked the running sound effect! The camera was a bit funky at times - mainly when I was behind an object and it got really close to the player (I'm talking, it was clipping the player model) - but other than that I can't complain too much, good job!