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A jam submission

BounceMergePlatformerView game page

Merge with other balls to grow.
Submitted by decisivedovegames — 6 hours, 49 minutes before the deadline
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BounceMergePlatformer's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Audio#212.5792.909
Graphics#252.4172.727
Theme#262.0152.273
Originality#272.5792.909
Fun#271.9342.182
Overall#282.2032.485
Controls#301.6921.909

Ranked from 11 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Godot Version
3.1

Source
Not Available

Game description
[PLEASE NOTE THAT I FORGOT TO ADD SHADOWS TO THE SECOND PART OF LEVEL 1] You control a ball that is TOO SMALL. Merge the ball by collecting other balls so that you grow large enough to accomplish the goal, which is to reach the flag. This game is not as easy as it looks. There are multiple challenges throughout the game. I apologize if there are any bugs; this is my first real game. Currently known bug(s) are:- > Keyboard input is required for moving platforms. The input required is not a lot though. How to play: Align your camera with your mouse/trackpad. The controls are aligned with respect to the local transform of the camera. Here are the controls: Movement: [W] [A] [S] [D] or Arrowkeys Jump: [Space] Jump on top of enemies e.g. boxes to defeat them. Collect as many coins and defeat as many enemies as possible before reaching the flag. The controls are intentionally difficult. Currently there are minor issues e.g. you must provide a little manual input on moving platforms. If you encounter any issues, or have any feedback do not hesitate to comment. HOPE YOU ENJOY BOUNCEMERGE BY DECIESIVE DOVE GAMES AS MUCH AS I DID MAKING IT!

Discord username
AnshSrivastava#6228

Participation level
This is my first time taking part in any game jam. I am new to game development and this is my first time using godot.

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Comments

(+1)

Like the other commenters said, it's brave to make a 3D game on your first try.  You made it work though :)

My biggest issue is with the physics.  The fact that the ball comes to a complete stop when you stop pressing a move button seems very unlike a ball.  Also there's the issue with the moving platforms, but you already mentioned that's a bug.

I also agree that it starts a little too difficult.  If you look at similar games (like Super Monkey Ball) the levels start as straight lines or simple curves with guard rails, then get harder until they're insanely hard at the end.  This lets the user get a feel for the mechanics of the game before challenging them.

Developer

Yes I will make simpler levels for the beggining. 

The reason the phyiscs might be a little flawed must be due to the fact that the rigidbody of the ball is of type character and I am manually rotating the mesh. The ball was too difficult at that time to control. I do agree and I will work on the physics a little before the next second update (the first will just fix the shadow issue).  I will also reduce the friction, especially in the icy enviroments and make the rotation of the ball more realistic. 

Thank you for the feedback. I did not think that the issue was noticable before. I wish you good luck for your future game jams!

Submitted(+1)

3d, sweet!  Game was tough for sure.  I hit an issue starting the second level (second part of first level?) where the ball was kind of floating and eventually accelerated away in a random direction.  If I gave it controls immediately it seemed to resolve the issue.

Nonetheless, 3d on your first go, impressed for sure!  I am not that bold. Going to play a bit more and see if I can master the controls a little better to see more of the game

Developer

I am glad you enjoyed the game. I tested the game again and after reaching that stage I did not find the ball floating; however one of my teacher pointed out that there is no shadow so the ball looks like it is floating. I forgot to enable shadows in that scene; I will make the change after the game jam and will test again. Regarding the floating, does it seem to appear right after spawning in the scene or later? After giving input does the ball seem to drop to the platform ?

Regarding 3D, when I started learning game development, I started off with 3D in Unity  veryrecently. I had however made a 2D game using Python and pygame half an year ago (eventough that wasn't serious game development) and I was working on a ball game in Unity before this. I recently encountered Godot and I really liked it; I ussually prefer open-source software over closed-source as long as it can get the job done. Then I decided to learn Godot during this jam and the limited experience from Unity and Python were transferrable to Godot and GD Script easily in 3D.

I wish you good luck on your game development!

Oh yes, that is the second part of level 1 after you reach the first huge flag. I considered it wise to call it 1 level since you do not get to merge with any enemy balls yet.

Regarding the controls, was it intuitive? I.e. was it natural to press Esc to exit mouse capture mode and use the menu?

Thank you very much for the feedback.

Submitted(+1)

You're right, not having the shadow was definitely what made the perspective seem strange.  Trying it again knowing that and it seems to be behaving correctly.  Really must just be the subconscious expected the shadow.

I did beat the first full level.  I use vim regularly, hitting escape is no big deal.  Having joystick/gamepad support would be cool.  I'd probably also drop the health meter and maybe focus on the balance aspect.  Ever play marble madness for the NES?

Thanks for sharing your game!

Submitted(+1)

Very creative game. It sort of had a 3d aspect to it, which made it unique to most games in this jam.

The  game was extremely difficult. It took me a while to figure out the controls - Even now, I don't know exactly how to navigate each level.

Developer(+1)

Thank you for the feedback. I will also add a tutorial level to it in the future and as ereborn suggested, I will make easier closed levels for the beginning.  As the developer of the game, I used to struggle a lot with the game. Even now I struggle with level 3. I made it difficult on purpose. One thing I should have done before was to provide the instructions to use the controls in the submission feed too. I have done it now but it may be too late.

I wish you all the best for your future game development endeavors! 

Submitted

Great ideas. Same to you!

Submitted

This game is very difficult. I managed to complete the first level, though only because I went backwards, fell down to the lowest platform and rolled to the flag somehow. I did not actually get to see any other balls to merge with?

In the second level, you seem to be starting "floating" in the air rather than on a platform. At some point, the ball just shoots off in a direction and no way to control it. I see the rings on the platform below but the ball does not want to fall to it.

I have no experience creating 3D games, but I think the game can become more playable if you place it in a closed room instead of this enormous open space where you constantly fall to your death. Especially in early levels where the player needs to get familiar with the game. In Mario Kart you start with a simple map like Luigi Raceway, not the Rainbow Road :)

Submitted(+2)

Don't let my comment discourage you though: I am very impressed you are brave enough to start with a 3D game for your first jam / Godot / game project! Keep it up!

Developer (1 edit)

You find a ball to merge with in the second part of the first level i.e. after you reach the flag. I did want the player to infact fall off; that is why I made it very difficult to get on the platform. Yes the ball is very difficult to control. I will consider adding a few more basic levels in a closed enviroment like you suggested. 

I was not finding the ball floating in the second part of the first level. The ball just drops from a small height maybe and then you can move. Maybe my controls are too sensitive. There is supposed to be very little friction in an icy enviroment. Be sure to adjust your camera using mouse/trackpad before moving because the controls are aligned accordingly.

Thank you very much for your feedback. It really helped. I wish you good luck on your game development endeavors.

Developer

I think it was the  lack of a shadow that caused the perception of floating in the air. I forgot to add it to the scene. Sorry for the inconvinience.