A jam submission

First Break - Pirate Jam VersionView game page

A puzzle/bullet-hell hybrid about surviving a strange prison filled with traps.

Submitted by rcab (@rcab_dev) — 1 day, 22 hours before the deadline

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First Break - Pirate Jam Version's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Cleverness	#79	4.500	4.500
Artistic Style	#85	4.667	4.667
Playability	#90	4.667	4.667
Theme	#425	3.333	3.333

Ranked from 6 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

Playability 5/5: This game runs flawlessly. I haven't experienced a stutter, a misaligned hitbox, or an overly-frustrating level. Learning the mechanics is a breeze and rather intuitive even with little guidance. Theme 3/5: This game is quite clever with the way it engages the theme, but I do wish there was just a bit more. Of course, this is two weeks and this is one dev... but as an impartial judgement it leaves me wanting more. Cleverness 4/5: As stated prior, this game is rather clever with the way it approaches the theme. I do wish the mechanic was further explored, but all-in-all I very much enjoyed what you did with it! Artistic Style 5/5: This game's style is wonderful. My one critique is increasing the contrast of the enemies colors, as some of the colors on the blue side of the spectrum could be confused depending on the monitor. This is a phenomenal submission and I hope you continue to develop it, no matter what the end result.
While it doesn't hit the theme as hard as I'd like (and I think it could be adapted to have the narrative lean harder in that direction quite easily), First Break introduces its player to the mechanics quickly and efficiently without ever explaining itself, is immediately engaging both mechanically and artistically and remains so until the end.
Loved how you introduced mechanics slowly. Difficulty ramped up pretty quick (but it is a game jam so I get that you wanted to show a range of gameplay!). Music was tops. Loved the feeling of dread. Appreciate the intro as well Brilliant
Good use of intrigue in the story. Really compelling gameplay. Clever use of the theme though I feel it could be taken further. Wonderful style on this as well. Damn good job
I'll be honest, I'm just bad at games, especially like this. It's not bad in the slightest, but after attempting however many levels I got to, with over 100 deaths, I had to stop playing for my own sake. Love the style (art & combat), but definitely didn't catch on to the controls in the very beginning until I played around with the controls (could be on me if it was specified and I wasn't paying attention)
VERY VERY good! nearly impeccable, I find the theming to be a bit weak, but otherwise stellar! Please develop this into a full game, the ending has me hooked to see more narrative :)

Did you include your Game Design Document in your downloadable files?
Yes

Tell us about your game!
First Break is a atmospheric puzzle/bullet-hell hybrid about surviving a strange prison filled with traps.

Four creatures tell someone to pick something from a bag, a sling, before they get thrown into a seemingly endless pit. They wake up in this strange prison, and for every room, they need to find a key in order to open a warp and move forward.

Many enemies live in these rooms, and as they move, they spread deadly trails that will affect the player moves in many ways. The player is also very fragile, and every contact with an enemy or trap will end in a Game Over. Dying is fine, just try to escape.

Controls

WASD/Left Stick - 8-Direction Movement
Mouse/Right Stick - Aim Sling
LT/Right Click - Interaction
RT/Left Click - Shoot

I RECOMMEND USING A SCREEN REFRESH RATE OF 60HZ TO PLAY THE GAME WITH THE INTENDED FIRE RATE AND ENEMY SPREAD RATE - 144HZ WILL WORK PERFECTLY FINE, IT WILL JUST BE A BIT EASIER

Did you remember to include your Game Design Document?
Yes

Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes

Extra Notes
Thanks Thor for organizing the jam and everyone for playing the game! I recommend using the mouse and keyboard to play, gamepad is supported but there is no aim assist.