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A jam submission

The Little AlchemistView game page

An alchemist seeks something in the dark.
Submitted by Faulko (@Faulko_), Faulkard — 6 days, 14 hours before the deadline
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The Little Alchemist's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Artistic Style#15.0005.000
Cleverness#15.0005.000
Theme#1964.5004.500
Playability#2584.0004.000

Ranked from 2 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.

  • This game is very polished, unique and fun spin on punch out, with mixing elements to make attacks in various combinations, like punch out arts meets avatar the last air bender with mixing elements, I love this.
  • Really unique combat system. It takes a little getting used to but started to feel natural. Lack of visibility into mob health/difficulty made it hard to know how impactful my attacks were. Also map had some unclear barriers that weren't obvious. Sent me to restart the level several times without warning. This was frustrating as a new player and reduced the amount of time I wanted to play.

Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes

Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
Yes

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

Tell us about your game!
Take control of an alchemist who dwells in a dark dungeon-like place in search of the mysterious Shining Water. Overcome strange enemies and get to your desired treasure in this short adventure!

CONTROLS (In Overworld):

W, A, S, D - Move around
Z - Interact
Left mouse button - To choose options during dialogue or in the game over screen
ESC / Enter - Pause

CONTROLS (In Battle):

A, D - Dodge
Q, W, E, R - Select element
Left mouse button - Select enemy
Right mouse button - Attack enemy

GDD Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ep_qKe0hbzvXGoK9YLqRTeyofkmwOKHe/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106493393198316017444&rtpof=true&sd=true

Extra Notes
We hope you like it!

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Comments

Viewing comments 20 to 1 of 26 · Previous page · First page
Submitted(+1)

Really good idea, i like the battle system, really solid core, that can be greatly expanded. It just needs a little work in the UX but that's expected for a jam game. Overall i liked, congrats

Developer

We're working on improving and polishing things, but I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for playing!!

Submitted(+1)

Playing through this game felt like stepping back into a world of childhood wonder and adventure. Sort of like the feeling you get from watching a Miyazaki movie? From the get-go, it hooked me with pixelated charm, reminiscent of those classic 16-bit RPGs of those glorious days of old. The use of dark colors in this trecherous dungeon, on my epic quest to find enlightenment, perfectly captured the theme of shadows and light. Felt like I was exploring a lovingly crafted homage to the SNES era. With tasteful soundtrack that perfectly matches the overall mood to boot! And the combat being a clever blend of action and strategy, urging me to carefully manage my 3 brain cells (that are really bad at multitasking) between dodging beautifully animated enemy attacks, while pulling off my own attack combinations, really drove alchemy home.

The twist at the ending was executed so well! It was hinted at, all along, by the wacky enemies I had been fighting, and yet I didn't see it coming. But it made everything click in place just right. Including the title of the game!!! Much charm, much heart and soul, eggcellent game! 🌞

Developer(+1)

Wow. What an incredibly lovely and thoughtful review... it's even hard to know what to say!

There's absolutely a lot of inspiration from SNES titles and I'm happy to see it translates through the game! Even though our small green-cloaked friend has to go through some training and improvement for battles, it's wonderful that you still managed to find enjoyment in these deadly and scary confrontations!

It seems that, despite the many dangers you encountered in the dungeon and the many odd enemies you may have faced in battle, you indeed went far to reach the truth. The enlightenment. Even going as far as connecting the ending lore with the game's very own title! You truly have proven yourself to be one egg of a kind.

Thank you for playing!

Submitted (1 edit) (+2)

Short but sweet game, with fun battle mechanics and a really adorable ending. My only issue was how long it took me to figure out the room with the pathway, lol. Did you animate the character yourself? It's very fluid. Great entry!

Edit: Emphasis on the adorable ending. Anyone who hasn't seen it should make sure they play to completion. Definitely worth it!

Developer

Thanks for stopping by!

Yeah, that room is currently quite devilish. We're definitely gonna change some things about it. 

I'm glad you enjoyed the battle and animations! Yeah, I did everything in house! 

And I really appreciate that you played until the end of the prototype. I know it's rough currently, but it means a lot.

Thank you for playing!

Submitted(+1)

the combat system on this feels amazing once you get the hang of it. The controlls are a little complicated but rewarding to master. Got a little lost on what to do to progress but I had a blast defeating vampires and baseball players. Congrats!

Developer

I'm glad you had fun! We intend to improve things both in and outside of battles. Who knows, maybe you'll have more than just vampires and baseball players to defeat...

Thank you for playing!!

Submitted(+1)

I love the battles. The animation and sound effects are great. Some of the sounds and music cues reminded me of pinball machines. I'd say that about 75% of the time I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to in the battles, but the rest of the time, I'd hit a key that corresponded to an element that I saw, but nothing would happen, or I'd get hit. I wasn't able to progress very far in the game, seemed like every way was blocked. Overall, I like this art style a lot, I hope you do some more with this game!

Developer

Hey, thank you so much for stopping by!

One of the things we definitely hope to improve on is feedback to the player, so we'll be taking a look at the attacking part of battles for sure! I don't blame you for not getting far in the game, there's big issues from our part that need fixing. But I really appreciate you taking the time to play it and to give your thoughts. It means a lot!

Submitted(+1)

Well this was an experience! This feels like a great concept, but it needs a really big amount of polish. I love the art style, the visual background, the way it looks like undertale but is more an homage than a copy. What I don't like is the lack of feedback in the gameplay. No hit animations, no damage animation, when you defeat someone they dissapear so quickly, I thought it was a glitch. And the puzzle was too hard, not because of the puzzle, but because it looks like a glitch when you teleport back. It's all about feedback for the player. That being said, this is a sick concept that could be a great game, especially with the theme and twist in the ending! 
Keep working on it :) 

Developer

Hey, we appreaciate you checking out the game!

You're absolutely right, there's a crazy amount of polish we need to give this one. Whilst there are damage and hit animations, I can see how they need improvements since they aren't as punchy as I wanted them to be. And that puzzle section's gonna get some pretty significant changes, including some proper feedback regarding errors in the puzzle!

Makes us happy you see potential in it, though. Thank you very much for playing and for the thoughtful feedback! We really do appreciate it!

Submitted(+1)

The battle design for this game is awesome! Unfortunately, I was not able to progress beyond the locked door. Every time I would approach what I assume is the key, I would get teleported back to the beginning of the hallway for seemingly no reason. I ended up just hanging out waiting for more battles to happen, which I did enjoy. I could feel myself getting faster at the battling, and I could totally see some really intense battles with dodging and longer combos.

I felt like I didnt really need to dodge in any of the fights I encountered, but that may be because I was stuck at the beginning.

Either way, great concept, and if I was missing something please let me know!

Developer(+1)

Hey, thanks for checking the game out!

Yeah, there's a puzzle in that key room, but it's absolutely missing proper hints to clue the player in, which is something we gotta fix!

For now, there truly isn't a lot of punishment other than losing HP. We intend to change and refine both that and some more stuff in the post jam update for sure. I'm glad you got a little bit of what we were going for, though! And most of all, I'm glad you still managed to have some fun with it, despite the issues. 

Thank you very much for playing! 

(1 edit) (+1)

Short but unique. The artstyle is definitely one of the best. Very good!

Developer

I'm happy that you enjoyed it! Thank you for playing it!

(+1)

Simple but exciting game. The scenery and sound effects are good. One thing I found a little confusing was the battle mode, but as it's still in the development phase, I'm fine with it. The puzzle took me a while to understand, but after a while I realized that it wasn't a mistake. I think it would be better if it invested more in unique and addictive sounds that would make people remember the game (undertale style), and a slight improvement in battle, such as enemy hp, changing layouts etc, because in a way the game is based on that. I see a good future for this game. That's it. 

Developer

Hey, thanks for playing the game!

Yes, there's definitely a lot of sound related stuff that needs to get done. We gave priority to trying to make everything work more or less as intended and the sound department suffered because of that. But I'm happy you see potential in it! We're really excited to refine things and improve the game in general.

Thank you for the feedback!

Submitted(+1)

I think I understand the idea of this game. The combat is interesting even though the current state combat can be ruined. The art is good despite it is being simple.

But the animation makes a little difficult to predict the attack in combat. And these previous comments already mention what I'm about to say more.

However, good job. This does not look bad overall.

Developer

I think one of the things I'm the most glad about is that people get a little of what we're trying to go for. I'm hoping the post jam update will improve a lot of the current issues the game currently faces, even if it might take some time to develop.

Thank you so much for taking the time to play our game and leave some feedback! It means a lot!

(+1)

First of all, I would like to highlight how unique and captivating the game is in various aspects. The combat system is undoubtedly one of its most notable features. It brings an innovative and interesting approach, which contributes to a sense of novelty and challenge. The game’s art has a lot of personality and is quite distinctive; I loved the psychedelic backgrounds during the battles.

The music and sound effects also deserve special mention. They were well-integrated into the experience, adding an extra layer of immersion and atmosphere to the game.

One suggestion for a possible expansion of the game would be to include a progression in the difficulty of the enemies.

Echoing the feedback from others, the battle controls could also be refined to avoid situations where the player accidentally presses the wrong button while trying to quickly dodge an attack. A slight adjustment to the interface or a more gradual introduction of the elements could mitigate this issue.

Lastly, navigating through the game world was a bit confusing, with unexpected teleportation between rooms. Adding more narrative or visual clarity on why these teleports happen and how the player can avoid or control these movements would make the experience smoother.

In summary, this game had excellent art direction, and it aligns well with its references and inspirations. I found the idea of incorporating this type of combat very cool, and I think it’s one of the elements that sets the game apart from others. Additionally, I would like to point out that the sound design was handled successfully here, as it's an aspect of development that is often neglected, despite being essential for a game’s quality. Congratulations on another creative game and excellent work. I can't wait for your next release!

Developer

Yo, thanks for checking out the game!

The battle system definitely is something that'll need a lot of adjustments and small tweaks, and that includes changes to the HUD too. I am, however, glad you see the potential in the combat, despite its current flaws.

(And yeah, that corridor does have that pretty annoying issue that we gotta fix lol)

Thank you so much for playing and enjoying our game and giving this very thoughful feedback though. I truly do appreciate it.

Submitted(+1)

One of the most unique and interesting combat systems I've ever seen in a game.

It's a shame I figured out you could just spam mouse+buttons and win every fight in 2 seconds and ruined it for myself.

I genuinely mean that though the combat was super interesting but I feel like I was quite confused by the layout of the elements I had to select. Maybe if they were in the same row order as QWER it would have made sense to my brain but being in a 2X2 grid in the corner felt weirdly disconnected to me.

Pretty sure I don't even need to open your GDD to know it was inspired by Earthbound, I loved the wacky *** characters and backgrounds. The clear Undertale inspiration is there too in the environment and I don't blame you because either of those are awesome, but you brought your own style and spin to the formula that made it your own and it was very cool

The music and SFX were great too and at one point there was laughing in the music that was creepy and awesome af. Really cool job.

The ending was really funny I thought and well done. I would have been interesting to know what you thought the other fights/scenarios were in the "real-world". I hope the dog is okay!

Developer

Hey, first of all, thanks for checking out the game!

Other people mentioned being able to spam and tank through battles as well as the stuff about the element layout. We're gonna do a post jam update, so stuff like that will be changed (hopefully for the better). But I'm glad you see a bit of the vision with the combat! 

And you're absolutely right about those inspirations. I wish to make a game with the same spirit as them, so having people notice and see hints of that spirit on this game truly means a lot to me.

And DO NOT FRET, for the doggo is okay! One of the things we'll do on the update is expand the ending to what it originally was meant to be like, so a couple of things should be cleared up.

Once again, thank you for playing the game, for enjoying the game and for the feedback!

Submitted(+1)

Very nice! I am starting to get the hang on it and it just end there.. I want more ;( Also the ending XD

Anyway, the idea is great, the combat is not bad in my opinion, nice music that works with the style, good job!

My suggestion would be 1) make the combat hint (Q,W,E,R) layout horizontally, 2) Maybe add a brief time out before allowing the next attack input? I breeze through the final boss by just spamming buttons

Developer

Hello there!

These are two very interesting suggestions! I can see how laying the elements out horizontally could help with associating them with the keys. I'll have to discuss with my brother a possible attack cooldown! I can see how mashing buttons could just let you cheese enemies so it's a good thing you pointed that out.

It makes me really happy that you enjoyed so many aspects of the game! We're planning on making a post jam update and were hoping to add both some cut content and maybe a little bit more meat to the overworld. 

Thank you so much for playing our game and giving your thoughts!

Submitted(+1)

Very nice game! Reminds me a lot of the Mother series but with a fresh take. Good job!

Developer(+1)

Oh, saying stuff like that will make me go emotional. The Mother series is very important to me. Thank you for playing!

Submitted(+1)

A great game! I love the art and music, but like the rest of the comments, I think that the battle controls could use some work.

Developer

We'll be taking a closer look on those battle controls. Thank you for playing and leaving feedback!

Submitted

Ok there's a lot of things I already love about the game. The art style, battle music, and battle backgrounds were all charming and drew me into the game. I thought the battle mechanics were fun and unique. The battle controls gave me some funny moments, because of how dodge buttons and element buttons were so closely spaced, that I would fat-finger the wrong element because I needed to dodge an attack quickly while in the middle of figuring out the element attack.

I thought most of the attacks were hard for me to dodge, I wasn't sure how they were telegraphed and which direction they would go, and would have to take the HP hit a couple times to learn where the attacks land and where I need to dodge. But I kind of just spammed a random direction hoping it was right :)

The room puzzle was a bit confusing at first, but I eventually got it through brute force, and then I realized after getting the key what the solution was. Oof :( I should've read more carefully.

Overall fun game!

Developer(+1)

Yo, thanks for taking the time to play our little game!

I was a bit worried if the attacks were a little too sudden or fast. I'm not sure if we'll make immediate changes to it, but I'm considering some possibilities to help telegraph things. Having to learn enemy patterns is intended but I don't want to make every enemy attack cutthroat. 

And don't worry, we do need to make it a little clearer what's going on in that puzzle room. That's on us!

I'm happy you enjoyed the game though. Once again, thanks for playing!

Submitted(+1)

Oh man, same sentiments with the other comments.  Didn't really understand what was happening in the overworld, but the overall vibe of the combat was super cool.

For the combat controls, I think that the input layout would have been cleaner with just three spells (Q, W, E) since having to press the forth spell is a bit cumbersome.  Especially when you have to focus on dodging, it keeping your fingers in a consistent placement helps make the combat feel better.  And simply pressing to attack would be cleaner rather than having to select the enemy first.

Developer

Hey, thanks for checking out our little game!

There was meant to be a longer, playable ending sequence, but we had to cut it away and switch it for  a very simple "cutscene". I think the sequence would've made the things in the overworld make more sense, so I'd like to implement it on the post jam update.

We'll definitely be considering changes to some of the input layout as well, since it's very important for the controls to feel comfortable. That also includes how the attacks are done!

Thank you so much for playing the game and giving us some feedback!

Submitted(+1)

Okay, I really love this! The art style and general vibe were impeccable. I love the battle and it's a fun concept, the only thing I wish with the battling was that it was a little more intuitive for what keys I should be pressing, e.g. a more "guitar hero" style mechanic or some other way of being able to more easily link the icon to the key press. Maybe it could use the arrow keys, and you could gradually introduce each element with a rationale for the arrow? E.g. Air rises so it's the up arrow, ground is at the bottom so it's the down arrow, water flows downhill so it's the right arrow, and fire travels uphill so it's the left arrow? And just introduce 2 elements first, then the other two, then start to combine them.

It's also a little confusing in the battling screen how I have to sometimes select an enemy and sometimes right click to attack - I would've thought the combos would do the attacking for me! And I'm not always sure when I've dodged correctly.

The overworld was also very confusing, I kept getting teleported back to another room and I don't really know why! I'd love to see some more story in the overworld and something to connect the fights together, but the fights themselves were very fun!

Developer(+1)

Wow, first of all, thank you for this thoughtful feedback! 

I found the idea you brought up about the arrows really interesting and I'm probably going to discuss it throughly with my brother. The whole thing about linking it to the elements and all, I really like the sound of it. And yeah, originally it was meant to be a single left click to attack an enemy directly but we had mouse detection issues. However, you bring up an interesting idea with the whole "select enemy, enemy stays selected, combos automatically attack selected enemy". 

I did actually consider making a little popup saying "Dodged!", but time constraints and all. We're gonna cook a post jam update though, so that's going in the list.

Oh, there's a bit of a puzzle with that room that teleports you back, but from your and other people's feedback, we should've done a better job of hinting or communicating what's going on in that room!

Once again, I'm very thankful for your feedback. It's given me plenty to think about and I'll discuss a lot of it with my brother! And thanks for playing our game!!!

Submitted(+1)

I am of the same opinion as SuperStudios. The overworld only really has 2 rooms. But I can see the fighting mechanics being really fun! I found selecting an enemy and then attacking to be annoying. It was hard to juggle that along with dodging as well as paying attention to the different elements. The animations are pretty cool, definitely reminds me of Earthbound.

Developer(+1)

Hey, thank you so much for checking out the game! Yeah, as I said to SuperStudios, we sadly had to cut some stuff due to time constraints. And I totally get it about the selecting enemy thing! It was originally meant to be a single left click to attack directly, no selecting first, but we had some mouse-detecting issues that we can get to fixing now. Thank you so much for checking it out and leaving some feedback, we really do appreciate it!

Submitted(+1)

The overworld is unpolished and i didn't really know what was going on, but the battles were actually really nicely polished and fun to play. Really cool concept, played to the end 👍

Developer

Thank you so much for giving the game a chance and finishing it! It really does mean a lot to us. We got quite busy polishing up the battle system and fixing a lot of issues regarding the dialogue system, so some of the originally planned overworld content ended up being cut as a result. Makes me happy you see potential in it though. Thanks for playing!

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