The Darkness Evolve!! by juaxix 2012-08-27T13:19:00
I liked the atmosphere but really struggled with the controls and camera.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → wumpus
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Hu | Mo | Co | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 35 | Shapeshift | Subject 96 | compo | 75 | 3.84 | 3.83 | 4.00 | 4.24 | 3.97 | 3.11 | 3.47 | 3.50 | 57 | |
| 2012 | 24 | Evolution | Darwin's Little Pink Worm | compo | 141 | 3.43 | 3.50 | 3.18 | 3.53 | 2.97 | 1.54 | 3.19 | 3.17 | 58 |
I liked the atmosphere but really struggled with the controls and camera.
Can't go wrong with a bit of tetris and theme was worked in quite nicely. It seemed unable to reset properly though as any subsequent goes, I got no score and the pieces were still complicated. Nice, tidy game though.
I found myself getting quite engrossed in trying to figure out what the trick to breeding was but the difficulty in reading that font and clearly discerning the goats/stats got in the way quite a bit. Loved those fight sounds though and enjoyed playing it.
A tidy little piece there. Something about a bit of 'Track and Field' button hammering always gets me swearing (in a good way). Particularly enjoyed the...
"Do you want to evolve?"
No
"Game Over"
Surprise and less hand-holding in games is a good thing.
It was quite therapeutic guiding that guy around. Nice use of the theme and nice implementation overall. Not exactly challenging but relaxing enough to entertain. Nice one.
Haha, loved it. Any questions I had about the use of the them are cast aside when I hear those sound effects. The kinda humour only a Ludum Dare game will conjure up. I really liked the extra layer of being able to throw guns and bodies too. Nice work.
Nice to see a different take on the theme there along with some solid platforming behaviour. Nice job.
I really enjoyed that and (as others have said) a great implementation of the theme. That image of the bug drowning was priceless. I let out quite a cackle of laughter upon seeing that the first time. Pure Ludum Dare funnies.
Nice simple stuff but I gave up after being beaten by the bits that are a jump with a block above them. It seems impossible to squeeze through them.
I found a slight cheat by the way. Sliding doesn't slow you down so you can just hold it permanently and never have to worry about timing a slide.
Just like a real pet I felt more like a slave to him than an owner but any game with pooping as a mechanic wins my vote. Nice little sprite too.
I too liked the idea of the level evolving instead of the player but it just meant I had to keep repeating the same bits I'd already done which became less appealing with each iteration. It would be nice if it were a more open selection of routes and depending on which way you went, it would try to make that route more difficult.
Thanks. The action key will only work if you gain the 'spit' or 'poop' ability. I'll update the info to point that out, thanks.
Yeah you're right, you end up mopping up the remainders and it's quite a slog, especially when they're nippy little super-speed sods. Not sure how to combat that best though.
Evolution happens every time the population drops by twenty. A mutation is awarded to all worms that had dealt 30 damage or more which is basically 3 normal hits. All mutations stack too so getting four speed mutations will see you whizzing around.
Yeah, I'd never used javascript audio before and tried implementing it in the last few hours. It's nice that it's so simple to play a sound but there's only one channel per sound so you can't get it to repeat quickly (unless there's a trick to it I don't know). In the end I decided no sound would be better than sporadic sound.
Took a while to get my head around the mechanics but once it clicked I really enjoyed it. It was good having to think about which trait was needed and when too.
Yeah, I got screwed on the food level too. The evolution cutscene was nice the first time but all that waiting each time put me off in the end. I like the sense of humour to it though. The 'cousin' joke made me laugh.
Yeah, not really sure how it fits the theme but it was kinda fun. I did like the use of lightning in the gameplay. A change from the usual 'jump and run' games.
It always seems to end with some mutant chicken thing running across the bottom of the screen and then I lose. No idea what collecting apples or diamonds achieves either.
Ah ok, I've replayed it after reading your instructions and had a lot more fun this time. It wasn't too taxing but I do like the idea of some resource management while doing some platforming. Would've been cool to have different pickups evolving my units in different ways but 48 hours is always the major factor with these things. Anyway, much better now I know what to do.
Good to see another entrant using raw javascript like myself so you've got my respect there already. And you've done a nice job with the platforming physics and collision. Everything feels neat and tidy which means a lot to me when playing platform games. On my first couple of playthroughs I didn't have a clue what I was doing and even after reading the solution I managed to mess it up once. Not sure where the 'evolution' comes in but the time manipulation was novel.
This works on the theme nicely. Mutant Turtle/Bird combos are an amusing prospect and a fun use of the theme.
Haha, that face was terrifying when it first turned up. The swimming behaviour was quite satisfying. Enough control to dodge but not so easy it was dull. Nice job.
Really nice looking game and it feels quite polished. I liked the ending and the hud indicator was a welcome addition. Om nom nom indeed.
602 was my best. I wasn't actually sure what determined how many neighbouring cells were selected as it seemed to choose some neighbours but not all.
It was a shame there wasn't any sound as the general presentation was otherwise really nice. You got that puzzle game visual feedback right.
I was also just about to submit my rating when I suddenly felt an urge for one more go (and improved my score) so it's clearly worked.
Looks like lot's of people are struggling with the movement a little. It's probably because you spend so long testing it you get used to it so if I can do a tweaked version I'll look into making that easier.
Interestingly enough it was originally WAY more complicated. To do a high jump you had to manually squashed and then time your stretch to carry your momentum upwards. I'm rather glad I took that out to make it simpler now otherwise people would really be struggling.
Thanks for the feedback DragonBearWizard. I think they're all fair points you make and I do think I tend to make things too hard these days so there's probably a few tweaks I could make in the future.
The jump you couldn't make is probably one where you have to flatten out at the peak of your jump as that pulls your bottom up.
@SpringCabal: Yeah, there's still a few collision glitches in there unfortunately. At the end I was so afraid of introducing newer ones with nasty fixes that I had to just leave it as it was. A shame really.
@okoto: Holding the 'squash' button (keyboard down arrow or 360 joypad A button) will flatten the character. Releasing it will make you jump. You can squash again in the air to glide across larger gaps.
I really like your implementation of the theme and whilst it was difficult I did persevere for quite a while so it's doing it's job.
I had to give up on the screen with the red blocks moving from right to left. So hard.
It's a simple concept that does the job quite well. I found the physics a bit slippery but I actually wanted more levels when it was done so it's certainly on the right tracks.
I played it to the end which is always a good sign. My final time was 2:57.084 though I don't think I felt the urge to go back and beat it.
The controls and collision felt a little too stiff to really satisfy but there's a solid idea in there. Popping up out of the water to land on dry land (like a penguin) was kinda satisfying so I'd love to do more stuff like that.
The game was pretty light on instructions but I managed just fine so it would suggest it's fairly intuitive which is good stuff.
Well done.
Yep, I too saw the dino punching blog post and wanted to play. However, I'm just getting a blank screen or a link to google.
I'll try again later.
The platforming controls felt reliable and solid and the graphics are clean and easy to ready. Already off to a good start in my eyes. It doesn't feel like it was made in such a short space of time which is great.
There's something quite satisfying about watching that final punch send a dino flying.
I really like the idea behind this and actually found myself zoning in quite a bit while playing. The collision felt a bit wobbly at times and I found it enough of a challenge just to keep the ball alive but I enjoyed it. Sadly my best score was a measly 8 and that ended when I seemed to run out of squares. I think I need more practice. One more go.
It feels like a complete game (not something made in a weekend) which is great. I like the switching between craft and ball modes. However I really struggled with the control of the craft and was constantly restarting. I think a few tweaks to handling and camera could make all the difference.
On about the fourth go it clicked and I got 827. I like the simple art, the controls are easy to get used to and the challenge level is just right.
I love how clean, polished and finished this feels. Simple design well executed.
This took some perseverance to figure out what was going on but it was worth it in the end. I gave up on the 'revive the enemy' jumping puzzle which was a really nice idea but I was finding it frustrating to execute it.
Loved the jazzy music too.
I too, really really liked the little morphing animations of the weapons. My highest score was 15 but I ended up resorting to just continually firing arrows as the sword seemed too slow and the shield often got me killed.
I think with a bit of tweaking on the speeds and strength of the weapons this could be really addictive.
I really like your take on shapeshifting and I loved the fall anim.
Loved it. Simple idea, nicely executed and some smart level design considering it's only one ability to work with. I'd definitely play more of this if you expanded upon it
Haha, I was going to say it was a bit pedestrian until I found my first hunter and crapped my pants. I got 49/100 before the swines shot me out of the sky.
Movement was a little ropey (this fish was painfully slow) but the objective and challenge seemed to be balanced just right. I like the touches like sound of the bullets zipping by you and it looks quite nice.
I really enjoyed it.
Played it through to the end and enjoyed it. Almost gave up early thinking "it's just another sokoban game" but ended up sticking it out and enjoyed some of the later levels. They were nicely designed and challenging without being annoying. Nice job.
The level design was nice on this. I felt it slowly ramping up in difficulty quite nicely and was challenging without being annoying.
Love the idea that you're playing the loading bar. Sadly I couldn't even do the first one.
I really like the idea that bumping yourself scores points rather than just distance. It's a simple risk reward that works.