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Meltdown: Out of Control's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Fun | #1147 | 3.167 | 3.167 |
| Overall | #1207 | 3.250 | 3.250 |
| Presentation | #1468 | 3.292 | 3.292 |
| Originality | #1763 | 3.208 | 3.208 |
Ranked from 24 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
The only control you have over your character is slowing them or making them dash in a direction, they bounce out of control the rest of the time. You also need to shut down an uncontrolled reaction.
Did your team create the art for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
Yes
We created all art during the game jam
Did your team create the audio for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
Yes
We created all audio during the game jam
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Comments
very fun, it took me a while to understand the controls, but in fact it's the theme :). Good work!
Thanks!
Took me a while to figure out the controls exactly, I didn't quite catch that you had to hold the direction arrows THROUGH letting go of the spacebar. Great concept though, and pretty well executed! [Also nice game name ;)]
Needs some feedback on the charge, even if its a little sound cue of when it can be used again or how much it's charged up by. Overall, really fun, levels could become really nvetive with some more moving parts
Does the bulb color not change? I thought I got that working as the indicator. Moving parts sounds fun to experiment with, I'll try that in a future build.
it did but I couldn't figure it out so maybe an audio cue could help
I planned on audio but couldn't figure it out in time
The charge could use a lot more feeback but the core loop is pretty fun :)
The setting is cute & geeky, and the wonky-movement mechanics work. However, it's the combination of level design and selection of objects/hazards that really make the game.
That said, as the devs have acknowledged, the game is buggy in many ways. The controls have multiple bugs, including inconsistent angle determination and sometimes not recognizing input (might be a state-machine bug actually). And the bounce sometimes inverts the L-R direction on the 'dx' of the character. Some of it may be intentional, but the fact that the player cannot tell what is and isn't intentionally "out of control" in that regard makes each thing feel like a bug every time. And in a physics-based platformer, control & physics bugs are just about the worse types.
In terms of presentation, on the other hand, there is a lot of lovability and small details added in. Personally, I feel like these count, as they play a major part in helping the player view the character as a clumsy-but-cute hero of the story trying its best rather than just a bundle of frustration. They set up expectations properly. And the music is also perfectly on point. If nitpicking, the background feels rather bare.
It took some extra time and frustration to beat due to the bugs, but I believe it would otherwise have been quite fun. Nice work, and good luck fixing the bugs.
Thank you so much! I only did the level design, programming and character animation, though I did suggest adding background variety to my tile designer (I think it got lost in communication), so I did what I could with the stripes to make the levels at least seem a little different. I'm sorry about the physics bugs, I had to move on to complete the rest of the game on time (most of the levels and objects were created or finished a few hours before the deadline) . I had some sounds I wanted to add to add to the charm, but due to a lack of experience and time had to cut them to make the deadline. I'll continue to polish the game after the deadline though, hopefully removing the frustration you had to deal with.
That’s totally understandable. It’s a game jam after all. That said, I did beat it, so the listed detractors were not so bad that I quit halfway. My intentions were to provide actionable feedback, not to complain. It’s a 48hr game jam, so finishing a playable game in time at all is already plenty compliment-worthy IMO.
Very fun and cute! Love the "squeeze through the crack" animation and the music is bouncy and great. Well done!
Thank you so much! My friend who made the music hasn't uploaded the rest of his songs yet, but I'll let him know. The crack animation was the first created, so I'm glad it worked. I'll keep working on it beyond the jam as a separate project too, trying to fix more bugs. Your game was amazing as well
It is fun to bounce around. It seems the space does not work every time you press space to dash. I guess it refreshes when you bounce. Not sure if I understood how exactly it works. But definitely good concept and fun. Nice job
I had a lot of issues getting the dash to recharge even with 3 backup methods of recharging it, so I just added a "tired" animation where the ball turns yellow when you can't dash. It was supposed to be really consistent and intuitive but since it's my first game I couldn't get it to work as smoothly as I wanted. Glad you liked it anyway though!
It is really good for the first game! You should feel proud.
Thanks! Technically I started another project for 3 weeks of work, but this was my first finished project. I'm really happy with it though.
I like the idea, but the controls feel just a bit "gummy" for lack of a better word. I enjoyed flinging the little guy around, though!
Glad you liked it! I did my best with the controls, but I had a bunch of issues getting it to work at all. It was my first finished game, so sorry that translated to gummy controls.
It's ok! No need to apologize, I just wanted to give you some feedback to make it better! It's a really clever idea, and I wish I could articulate better what exactly felt off. Maybe even something as simple as lessening the refractory period between moves would help.
The controls are pretty wonky, but once I got used to them this game was a lot of fun.
Thanks! That was my idea, though I realize it can be difficult for some people. I might update to add more peaceful levels in for the future. I probably focused too much on the "out of control" bit.
This is really clean, I'd want to play this on a phone.
Thanks! I'm working on an expanded version of the game that I might be able to port to a phone, though I'm not sure how well it would work.