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Iron Sands's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #1733 | 3.517 | 3.517 |
| Overall | #2643 | 3.126 | 3.126 |
| Style | #2703 | 3.172 | 3.172 |
| Enjoyment | #3577 | 2.690 | 2.690 |
Ranked from 29 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?
Iron Sands is a platformer in which the player can *scale* a large mech. The player can also control this mech, altering the way in which the player can use it as a platform as well as piloting it. When piloting the mech, the player interacts with the world through a different lens. The player interacts with this game at 2 distinct scales.
Development Time
96 hours
(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
All assets were custom made for this Jam
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Comments
Very cool idea, there’s so much potential here. Wish there was music and sfx to really drive the feeling home
Thank you!
I originally put this game down after struggling with the first wheel and door. I just could not figure out how it worked. But after then reading all the nice comments, I went back for another try and eventually i worked it out. I would say that with some polish and tutorialing, this could be a really cool mech puzzle game. I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance! Nice work!
Thank you for coming back to it! It's very easy to (literally) bounce off the first section, so I'm glad you gave it a second chance!
This kind of game is totally up my street! I love that feeling of being a scrappy lil guy jumping and scrambling all over their ungainly mech home to explore and find a way out! I really like the choice of using wheels for all interactions, and I especially like sending the mech turning before engaging the throttle and vice-versa. Those kind of simultaneous interactions should definitely be explored post-jam! You really captured the look of a brighter version of Mech Warrior 2, in terms of presentation literally all it needs are interaction highlights and sound/music.
In terms of issues, I think the player needs a bit more air control or the platform around the mech should be a bit wider, even when being careful it's too easy to fall off. I also think it would be worth having wheels interactable in the bottom half of the screen or even just by distance so that steering and throttle could be engaged a bit more smoothly. A neat addition would be to have side and rear windows/mirrors to further sell the feeling of operating heavy machinery.
Given that everything works through wheels, it surprised me initially that you couldn't place them where you liked. Obviously this complicates the design, and you might want to add constraints (e.g. once placed a wheel can't be moved), but I think this element would suit a metroidvania and the fantasy of operating this machine. If you wanted to look for inspiration for more mech components I'd suggest looking at heavy machinery used in construction.
So to reiterate, I loved this! I'll be patiently awaiting the full thing!
Thank you so much!!! I agree. I'm honestly a bit disappointed that I didn't just crank up the air acceleration a little bit. "Not falling off your mech" wasn't intended to be part of the challenge but it is artificially difficult in a way that is annoying rather than challenging. I did briefly consider letting the player decide which wheel would go where. Unfortunately, I simply didn't have the time (or intelligence tbh) to design a level with that any variations in approach! In a future version, that could be a cool idea for non-essential upgrades or maybe classes of controls that can be added in any order. I like the idea of taking mechanical ideas from construction equipment! For me, the moment this game clicked as "something" was when I realized I had accidentally designed the cannon to be scalable. Having a big ol' arm that can retract and rotate like an excavator would be a fun way to platform! Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it! Also I'll have to check out Mech Warrior 2!
Awesome concept, would definitely play a full game of this!
Wow thanks! I'll definitely have to make one!
Despite my control problems (web version was unplayable because the mouse wasn't being locked, initially even figuring out how the wheels were supposed to be interacted with was a struggle, then every time I tried to climb off the roof of the mech I'd fall all the way to the ground, and staying on top of the cannon was a challenge) I found this immensely enjoyable, collecting 8/8 in 27:43. I assume that's the end of the game at least, because the timer stopped. The shader makes it look great too -- definitely wish for sound effects, but this looks like it took all of the 4 days already.
Wow thank you so much! I appreciate you sticking with the game through the jank! 27:43 is very respectable! Yeah I should probably add a note in the description that the game is "over" when you get all 8 and the timer ends. SFX is at the top of my list (well right under tightening up the controls) for a post jam release! When I was developing the game, I was making robot stomping noises to myself pretty much the whole time lol But, thank you, that's quite the complement!
Nice movement of the mech! Would have loved to have a small ambiance music.
I got stuck after picking up the 3rd wheel. Couldn't figure out what to do from there. I was hopping I can set it somewhere to spin the canon up top to get the 4th one.
Thanks for playing! I'd love to add some subtle music (and not so subtle sfx) in a post jam version! You're way ahead of me on spinning the cannon ;) If you're stuck in the big area after getting the "crouch" wheel, there's a cave off to the side that might just fit a slightly shorter mech!
Hey I love the concept ! Great level desing for a jam! I liked the pacing of the new controls and the door that explains how to use the wheel! Oh and the canon that also works as a ladder was a great touch! The main issue to me is the lack of an indication when you can select a wheel and the kinda floaty physics but overall great idea!
I could see it as a full game where you have a few mechs with different shapes and controls!
And yes a coop version would be the best way to play this. it would be hilarious!
PS: I finished it in 27 minutes
Hey I love the concept ! Great level desing for a jam! I liked the pacing of the new controls and the door that explains how to use the wheel! Oh and the canon that also works as a ladder was a great touch! The main issue to me is the lack of an indication when you can select a wheel and the kinda floaty physics but overall great idea!
I could see it as a full game where you have a few mechs with different shapes and controls!
And yes a coop version would be the best way to play this. it would be hilarious!
PS: I finished it in 27 minutes
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to find the little details. I was laughing to myself for a solid 5 minutes when I realized I could attach a ladder to the cannon. 27 minutes is a pretty solid time for a first run-through!
Nice little snap shot of a game. Climbing ladders was a bit jank, though.
Thank you! Jank is a good way of putting it 😂
Nice! Controls were a little tricky but the concept was super cool; and definitely would be very fun in co-op with multiple people controlling it like in Power Rangers!
Thank you! I like that idea! It would be fun to delegate different tasks throughout the mech.
Really good interpretation of the theme. Going back and forth into the mech was super fun but the controls and lack of feedback made it hard to play. Super creative take non the less
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
This was very creative and I loved the concept. I can imagine really sinking my teeth into a full release of this, there's so many possibilities. I didn't manage to finish as it was a little clunky and a few times I fell out of the mech and couldn't catch up! If you kept working on this I think a grappling hook or some sort of cable attaching you to the mech would be cool
Thanks for playing and for the feedback! I'm very much thinking about expanding this game into something closer to a full release. I also found it very easy to fall off the mech. If you click the Right Mouse Button, the mech will come to a stop wherever it is. The controls are not communicated at all in game 😬 but there is a list on the main page, if you feel like giving the it another try! Either way, thanks so much! I really like the idea of grappling onto the mech, maybe rappelling down to collect precarious pickups.
Played the downloadable version, it worked fine there.
Great game, got all 8 pickups (though the last one needed some searching to find)
Really like games where the interactivity is in the world, even more so when it affect physical objects you can ride!
Wow! Thanks for playing all the way through! That's quite the complement! Feel free to post your time ;)
About 22 minutes.
I liked this game the most so far. There was always the anticipation what upgrade I unlock next for the mech.
Very nice time! Thank you so much 😭
Loved the physicality of controlling the wheels to move parts of the mech one-at-a-time, and the chill artstyle. Can imagine this type of idea leading to tense situations where you frantically have to adjust little knobs and such to keep it running smoothly as you move.
Thank you so much! And, I like that idea! Maybe a timed gauntlet to get through an obstacle course where you have to climb all over your mech to get through quickly. Or if you mech gets damaged your controls starting going haywire one by one until you fix them or enough break and it's game over.
Totally!
I love a mech game where you need to use your player to control the mech. It really makes the mech feel like a vehicle rather then a bigger player character. I also like that you get to add functionality to the mech as you go. The game would benefit a lot from a crosshair. It was hard to figure out where I was supposed to be looking to interact with things.
Thank you! I agree. I think one of the biggest weaknesses of the game is the lack of visual cues for interacting with items in the game. Definitely top of the list for post-jam improvements!
Really unique idea and good visual style!
Thank you!
I need more mechs in my life
Happy to supply them!
Visually interesting, I was also having issue getting the browser version to properly capture my mouse :(
Thank you! Did you run into similar problems with the Windows version?
This game looks promising based on all of the screenshots / gifs but I can't do a lot since the game doesn't seem to capture my mouse :(
If you're playing on Web Browser, you may have to click on the embedded window to connect your keyboard and mouse inputs to the game. This seems to only happen some times? If the Web version isn't working, I'd suggest downloading the Windows version through the Itch client. Let me know if any of that helps resolve your issue. And thank you for giving the game a try!
I think the game concept sounds great, for some reason I found it really hard to do basic tasks like climb the first ladder or spin the wheel. I would put some post jam time into UI UX work so that the game play can shine.
Thanks for playing! And for the feedback! I agree with you, visual feedback is majorly lacking. Top of my list of post-jam features is some indication as to which ladder/control you're targeting before you actually interact with it. Right now, it's very easy to think you've grabbed a control only to end up doing a little shuffle because you were half a foot too far away. Once you get used to the distances, it feels less sticky, but that's also one of those things you get used to more easily as the designer while you're spending hours play testing. Hope that didn't stop you from enjoying the rest of the game! Thanks!