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GMTK Game Jam 2023

Hosted by Game Maker's Toolkit · #GMTKJam2023
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A jam submission

Contrary DeserverView game page

A twisted metoidvania platformer thingy.
Submitted by karakuja — 1 hour, 43 minutes before the deadline
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Contrary Deserver's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Creativity#5393.9553.955
Enjoyment#11033.4093.409
Overall#11413.5763.576
Presentation#19313.3643.364

Ranked from 22 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?
Rather than defeating enemies, this platformer challenges you to be defeated by them.

Did your team create the vast majority of the art during the 48 hours?

Yes

We created the vast majority of the art during the game jam

Did your team create the vast majority of the music during the 48 hours?

Yes

We created the vast majority of the music during the game jam

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Comments

ParisSubmitted1 year ago

The game looks great, love the death effects and the low res distorted visuals :] It can be a bit tricky at times and I did et stuck in the end but it’s a pretty fun concept! I would love to have hear some BGM and SFX :]

Submitted
BORZOINK!
Reply
karakujaDeveloper1 year ago(+1)

Thank you for the feedback! You were a bit slow here. You need to get killed by the spider before it vanishes in the flames to progress.

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Apamate StudioSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Very nifty idea and I really like the pixelated filter, although as others have mentioned, it sometimes makes it a bit difficult to see the edges of some collisions, and makes you get stuck somewhere without really understanding what's going on. But overall, great job!

Submitted
Downgrade Dungeon
Reply
DhafoSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Level design is a bit brutal and i almost debated quitting early + the hitboxes are a bit off but I think the visuals are ok, could use some sound tho. the idea is interesting but a couple times it confused me like with the final boss, i tried beating him normally and just got softlocked so had to reset

Submitted
ribbit town
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for the feedback and thank you for playing the whole game :3

I should had maybe included some instructions or something, that you are supposed to be killed by the boss instead of killing it. Or at least include a "you failed" message, when you kill the boss by accident. But I have to admit: the boss and the flying enemies were very rushed and last minute implementations.

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LeslieLlamaSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

I really like the idea of bodyswapping to different enemies in place of permanent upgrades, it feels like a more druidic or observational approach to the world. I DID find the level design a bit harsh, the room where you drop back to the start, if you're accidentally a slime and not a hopper is a pretty brutal setback. Love the sketchy feel to the world (though the pixel filter does make it hard to see certain bumps in the collision). Really neat entry overall!

Submitted
Gromits Train
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Preposterous_productionsSubmitted1 year ago

It  seems like it shouldn't work, but it does!

(except when i couldn't figure out the level :P)

Submitted
Noob Raiser (GMTK 2023)
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago

Where did you get stuck?

Reply
Preposterous_productionsSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Third screen, took me a while to realize that x now flattens the player :P

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Daniel SidorenkoSubmitted1 year ago

Love the mechanic and the art style! This could become a great puzzle game! Controls need to be fixed a little (f.e. i think I can move too fast with the little slime, so I have some difficult to enter in little spaces). Anyway, great job!

Submitted
The Good Overlord
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20akshay00Submitted1 year ago

I really really enjoyed this game. The vibe is perfect for the central idea, and personally I think the visual style complements it very nicely. Initially of course, I was a bit confused on how it worked, but I think that also added to the experience with the eery static transition whenever you swapped roles. The hit boxes were a bit tedious at that one point, but otherwise I think this is a neat demo for a promising concept. Great job!

Submitted
Trickshot
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Ethan StoneSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Very interesting game. The art style is cool but as some others said some of the platform hitboxes were unclear and I hit my head on some platforms when I thought i wouldnt. The lack of sound hurts my enjoyment a bit. Returning to the start to get the final enemy form to defeat the boss was really cool. Good job!

Submitted
Deal With It
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you very much for your feedback :)
Sadly I did not have enough time to add sounds and music.

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rugeboySubmitted1 year ago(+1)

This is really cool. The progression of abilities is really neat and going back to the first area after having the new spider ability is really cool. And the boss fight at the end was really cool. For me it was actually harder to try to get killed by him without accidentally attacking him than it was to actually try to kill him. Great Job!

Submitted
ZONE TIME
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you very much for your sweet words <3
"[...] it was actually harder to try to get killed by him [...]" this means I succeeded, yaaaay :3

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Lena TaylorSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

The idea has merit, and I like the art style overall and think it makes the game stand out. I particularly liked the feel of the spider's jump. Going from the slime, to the spider, to the psychic kid also felt like an interesting progression of power. 

However, I do feel like some clarity was sacrificed for the aesthetic. Personally, I argue text legibility should come before a unique style every time. Not much point in trying to achieve a particular style if that style can't be (or is tough to) parse. 

I also feel like this game could have done away with any kind of traditional health system. Trying to be damaged is an interesting twist, but not if the game only  requires the player to just sit there. I personally found the best way to die to the blue kid was to get on his head and jump every so often. Rinse and repeat. If it's too easy to take damage, and the player has too much health, then the game becomes a mater of grinding easy hits with little interesting decision making or reaction. 

Submitted
Gotta Catch Botiman
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AndrySubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Very interesting idea, love the aesthetic of it, sort of reminds me of those old flash games! Missing sound effects, but it's good either way. Could see it be expanded upon very nicely.

Submitted
The Monster In Your Pocket
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago(+1)

Thank you very much :)
Did not have enough time to do sounds and music. It was initially planned: I wanted to adjust the volume of the different music layers depending on the enemy you currently control.  The stomper/jumper would be more base heavy and the slime/blob would focus on the main melody higher pitch for example.

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axi*Submitted1 year ago(+1)

Really neat game! It was a bit difficult to figure out at first but once you get it it's got a lot of potential.

I especially like it for the one enemy that passively spawns attacks, which makes it actually challenging to die.

The art style is also very unique! I personally quite like it, but the blurriness makes it a bit inconvenient for a platformer. Still, it is very pretty and I think your limited use of color works well with the pixelated look!

Submitted
Cubism with a side of Thorns
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago(+1)

Thank you soo much. I am glad people enjoyed this game and liked my ideas :3

Your feedback means a lot to me.

Reply
PleistogamesSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

The spiders reminded me of a monster in Hollow Knight - never knew I would love to play as one, but I sure did!

Submitted
I am the Hatman
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago

Now that you mentioned it, its quite similar to the Hopper. I knew I had the idea from somewhere but I was not sure from where hahaha

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PleistogamesSubmitted1 year ago

Yes, that’s the one :D

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oolimrySubmitted1 year ago(+1)

I've got pretty mixed feelings about this. The concept is brilliant, and alot of levels expand on the concept of dying, some require you to not die, while others require you to race to die. The best part was with the slime and spiders, I think those levels were really interesting.


The art choice seemed the most jarring to me. The stages had alot of uneven surfaces that I can't tell are solid platforms or not. There are also some annoyingly tight gaps that made the experience abit annoying to play. Overall I did enjoy exploring the concept and consequences of the game, but over time it got a little too difficult to carry on with the game

Submitted
Bullet Heaven
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago

Hey, thank you so much for the feedback. It makes me really happy that you liked the concept :)

About the tight gaps, did you mean this spot here (pic below)? I noticed I put the hitboxes there a bit too tight, but sadly after the jam ended :(

I worked on this game solo and focused not enough on the art. Combined with my lack of drawing experience and the time pressure: it shows.


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oolimrySubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Yep it is this one tight spot here. This concept feels like something can be expanded on alot, with interesting enemy types and exploring the consequences between them. Anyways great work with this, solo jams in 48 hours are hard :(

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PerilousCapersSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Great Concept! It was probably an art choice but it's a bit blurry for me, still made it work!

Submitted
Meanwhile In Greenland
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karakujaDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you! Yep, I messed up the art direction a bit, the pixelart does not slap. Might remaster it thou after the jam ends ^^

Reply
PerilousCapersSubmitted1 year ago

I am joining: https://itch.io/jam/post-jam-jam-7 ; I would love to see you there for your remaster :) 

Reply
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