Bigmode Game Jam 2023

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A jam submission

Ogrewatch 2View game page

Protect your village from the brutal ogres in the forest

Submitted by soclosesam — 3 days, 1 hour before the deadline

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Ogrewatch 2's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Fun	#292	2.562	2.667
Presentation (graphics, audio)	#325	2.642	2.750
Originality	#356	2.562	2.667
Theme	#447	1.681	1.750

Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does your game represent Mode?
Many years ago I made a very simple game based on the premise that I should change a letter in Overwatch and make a joke game out of it. Thus was born Ogrewatch. Many years later I realized Over->Ogre requires also moving letters around but it was too late. Ogrewatch had already launched and blown the world away. The game was simple: sit in a tower and raise the alarm if you see an ogre. The townguard will go out and kill it.
So when presented with MODE as a theme I thought, well what if there was a different way to play the hit cult classic Ogrewatch? What if your role in the tower was more elaborate, at least at first, and you had to actually face the approaching ogres yourself. What if instead of guards running out to defend the town, you had to take matters into your own hands? So I built a new mode for the old concept, one where you still play as a lone isolated guard, but now you wield a crossbow in first-person to take out the approaching hordes. More possibilities unlock as you progress through the game (and I may add even more if I have time) and your MODE of play changes if you get further along. I'll keep it vague to avoid spoilers though, and I hope you enjoy.

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Comments

duccSubmitted357 days ago

it's all ogre now

Submitted

MODDING: in the rat kingdom

ElmgroveSubmitted358 days ago

The gameplay loop with upgrading your crossbow and killing waves of ogres is pretty satisfying. I found myself jumping around in circles between waves wanting to take the fight out to the ogres rather than waiting for them to come up to me. The aesthetic of a calm forest outpost besieged by ogres is pretty unique and interesting. The ogre model and animation are great, we have an ogre in our game too so I can definitely appreciate that lol. I would've liked to have more than 1 life or to start at the beginning of a wave after dying since the sprinting ogre caught me off guard on my first attempt. All in all a fun and satisfying game, great job!

Submitted

soclosesamDeveloper356 days ago(+1)

Thanks for playing and for all of the feedback! I'm glad to hear you had fun!

OzMaisterSubmitted358 days ago(+1)

Satisfying gameplay with beautiful visuals! The crossbow was really fun to use and upgrade. I didn't quite get the guards and the game has alot of downtime. I would suggest adding some target practice dummies to shoot while waiting to pass the time and for earning some extra coins. Great work overall!

Submitted

Big Trouble in Little Garden

soclosesamDeveloper358 days ago

Thanks for playing and sharing feedback! I like the target practice idea! I initially had some plans for downtime activities but had to cut scope because life got in the way. Unfortunately that means the game ended up feeling slow with big gaps between waves and nothing really to do in between.

The guards are intended to be used to kill an ogre that gets past you if you notice it in time. The map is helpful in keeping track of that, as it shows an overhead view of the area and any ogres, but it seems like some players haven't figured out the map either. Did you unlock it and did it work/make sense to you?

LeyzaSubmitted1 year ago

Pretty fun game. My crossbow was basically a machine gun at the end, only limited by how fast I could click. I don't think the map worked for me, or at least nothing changed when I bought it, and I was also confused by the guard states in the bottom right.

Submitted

Grow BIG (or go home)

soclosesamDeveloper364 days ago

Thanks for playing and reviewing, I'm glad you had fun. Do you remember what level you reached or how many ogres you killed? Purchasing the map should have spawned a live overhead view on the back wall, and purchasing guards unlocks a new action cube that can be used to sound an alarm. The guard states represent the number of guards you have ready, active, and recovering, in that order.

LeyzaSubmitted364 days ago

I think I stopped at lv16 cuz finger was getting tired lol. I didn’t even notice the action cube appeared only after purchasing guard, I saw it alternated the guard states but I also thought it sped up next round (it felt more sped up). Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing a giant grey square on back wall, but there was nothing on it so I didn’t register it as the map.

LightSubmitted1 year ago

Machine gun crossbow go brrr. I got to level 10, not really sure what the guards do or the map for that matter, but it was fun when I was getting swarmed from all directions

Submitted

soclosesamDeveloper1 year ago (2 edits) (+1)

Thanks for playing, glad you enjoyed the machine gun crossbow!
Level 10 was the end of the game for quite a while during development so way to go on reaching that point!
The map gives an overhead view of the surrounding area so you can see where ogres are approaching from, and the guards allow you to sound an alarm to kill any ogres that get past you before they get to the village.

In theory you can transition to a different mode of play later in the game by investing heavily in guards after unlocking the map and using them to kill all of the ogres instead of using the crossbow. It's very challenging to get to that point though.

kobemanoSubmitted1 year ago

it should be faster between rounds, maybe give the player a confirmation to start the next round? or just make it faster. Good job for the jam, bring on ogrewatch 3

Submitted

Little Stitches

soclosesamDeveloper1 year ago

Thanks for playing and for the feedback, I'll be exploring some game tweaks along with additions after the jam reviews close

Michael GrieshoferSubmitted1 year ago

I think I didn't play long enough to get to the mode phase or whatever that was going to be. But I unlocked some stuff like the guards and the map. Not sure what those do but I think it's neat.

Nice pun tho. Hope to see ogrewatch 3 in a few years when ogrewatch 2 starts loosing players.

Submitted

Legend of Lu: Remastered

soclosesamDeveloper1 year ago(+1)

Thanks for playing and reviewing, I think I'll end up expanding the game after the jam to address some things players bring up in these reviews and add some more things I hoped to include initially. If you're interested in trying future changes follow my itch profile and I'll keep you informed.

I didn't explicitly explain some of the game mechanics to create more discovery in game, but since you asked about the map and guards here's some info:

The map shows an overhead view of the tower you're in and the surrounding area so you can keep an eye out for approaching ogres.

The guards allow you to sound an alarm to kill and ogre that gets past you before it gets to the village.

lilfoxbotSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

If the game has some surprises I think it should move along a little faster, there's a lot of waiting.

Submitted

soclosesamDeveloper1 year ago

Thanks for the feedback! I'll keep that in mind as I work on it more in the future