On Sale: GamesAssetsToolsTabletopComics
Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
Tags
A jam submission

Sisyphus, an Uphill BattleView game page

Made for SBIG 2020, theme "Impossible"
Submitted by cubehero — 1 hour, 31 minutes before the deadline
Add to collection

Play game

Sisyphus, an Uphill Battle's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Modifier#33.9383.938
Graphics#93.8133.813
Sound#153.3753.375
Overall#203.3333.333
Overall Bad#243.7503.750
Overall Good#362.8132.813
Gameplay#572.3132.313

Ranked from 16 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

If you have implemented the modifier, how have you done so?
The myth of Sisyphus is about an impossible task, so the setting was my inspiration and implementation!

Any additional information for voters?
I hope it's fun or at least funny!

Leave a comment

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

Comments

(+1)

Interesting game. I included it in my compilation video series of the ‘So Bad It’s Good’ Jam, if you’d like to take a look. :)

Developer

Wow, that bugged really quickly, ouch! I knew about the bug, but didn't have time to track it down and fix it. : ( I hope you still enjoyed it in some fashion, thanks for letting me know of the video!

Submitted(+1)

I recently played a version of the Myth of Sisyphus in an expo here in Barcelona about the Culture in Videogames. And there was one game similar, much more simpler (you can play it here). Your game goes deeper with the myth and I liked it. I've also found your art election very adequate. Good job.

Developer

Thank you! I sadly couldn't get the linked games to work (Just a white page for me), but I'm glad you liked my entry and its artworks!

Host(+2)

Really loved this one! I had no idea what I was doing at first, but then I got a slightly better hold of the mechanics, an I had a really good time. I think the game works very temperamentally, but not in a frustrating way, which is a great fit for this jam.

Also loved the art: It fits very well with the theming, and I loved the way you managed to fit the modifier.

Overall this is a spectacular attempt, especially since you had to restart twice. Well done!

Developer(+1)

Thanks a lot! "Temperamentally" is a very nice word to use to describe it, haha - I don't think I managed to invest enough time into balancing, so the result indeed seems extremely chaotic.

I'm glad you liked the art!

Thank you very much as always for hosting the jam! I hope to join again 2021!

Submitted(+1)

I don't know if anything I was doing was affecting anything happening in the game but I really enjoyed watching it for ten minutes.  At one point the boulder sat not moving at all for almost two minutes and then for no discernible reason pinged off into the ether.  The graphics are almost too good, but the way they jerkily fly about the screen makes up for it.  Great job!

Developer

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the game despite its strange nature, especially the art style! I'm also happy something good came from that bug I didn't manage to track down and fix during the jam's time (The boulder flying off to space, that is).

Submitted(+1)

I enjoy the theme and modifier implementation a lot. Taking a myth of an impossible task and turning it into a game was a great idea!

As for playing it though, often the boulder would get launched and I wasnt sure what to do. 

The graphics and sounds were great!

Nice job!

Developer

Thanks, I'm glad you like the theme and art!

The boulder getting launched super high is an unfortunate bug that turned up (too) late into development, where the boulder weight is reduced to 20kg for some reason I did not have enough time to track down. It can be countered by smacking some missile launchers on the boulder quickly, but it's very much not ideal for the gameplay. D:

Submitted(+1)

This is probably my favourite so far! It really captures the spirit of the jam. I like how weird it is, and the way it always ends with the boulder endlessly flying all over the place. I found the actual goal in the description, but I like this ending better. I also like how the music supplements all the craziness going on. Well done!

Developer(+1)

Thanks a lot! I'm glad you enjoyed it! In that case, I'm kind of happy that bug slipped through the radar :D. Maybe it makes up for the fact that some other fixes caused Sisyphus to "mount" the boulder and fly to the heavens with it less... I really liked that as a feature, but it sadly made the game completely unplayable!

Submitted

I really like the graphic style! It has a really good quality to be an actually good game, but also a bad enough quality due to the ball being launched SUPER HIGH and sometimes the camera went out of focus (it was until I did some jump the camera panned where it should at some point haha). I also really like the design of the shop as well. Haven't been able to win yet, but despite that, this game is really fun and entertaining, and nice to look at. I also liked the music chosen. So many things were happening on the screen it was insane, it only got more crazy as it went along. Well done!

Submitted(+1)

I liked the art style and I like the Sephysus story, but overall it was a weird experience.

Developer

Thank you! I can imagine it being quite weird :D

Submitted(+1)

I've decided to try using a standard format for all my feedback this time around. Please excuse me if I come across as overly curt or miss something important about your game. I'm writing these all quite hastily as there are a lot of games in the jam this year!

What I liked

Classical greek art style, but then when you look closer it's got tons of crazy stuff mixed in.

The music is cliched, but somehow works perfectly for this game.

Chaotic and hilarious in general.

What I didn't like

I didn't really feel like I was controlling the game. Stuff was happening, and I thought I was influencing it, but I was never sure what clicking and pushing buttons was actually doing.

Did I think it was so bad it was good?

It's not a 100% confident absolutely, but at least an 80% confident yeah.

My thoughts on the modifier implementation?

Very creative and a definite "oh yeah" moment when I saw it. I never thought of the legend of Sisyphus but it makes perfect sense to build a game around it for the jam.

Other remarks

I never figured out how to buy and use items.

Verdict

Love the concept, love the style, wish it was a little more playable.

If you have any questions, comments, queries or concerns, please reply and I'll do my best to get back to you.

Developer

Thanks for the detailed review! I'm glad you seem to have enjoyed your time with it. I think the game might have been able to profit from more detailed instructions on the game page, maybe I should do that in future projects...

But if you want to try again at some point, you can place the turrets on the boulder itself, or at least it should work if it's not bugged for some reason! I'm glad you liked the art, since that's normally my main focus. I think there's definitely not enough feedback on what some of the things do, I had trouble trying to balance the numbers as well - physics in this engine seem like a bit of a can of worms to open.

Though, next year, if there's an SBIG 2021, I might try to make something super wonky like in the first year!

Thanks for playing and reviewing!

(+1)

I don't know if it was intentional but that physics sure did glitch! The ball launched itself up far into the sky, and kept bouncing more and more crazily all over the place. Well done!

Developer

It's... semi-intentional :D. Sisyphus and the boulder are supposed to be able to go flying, but there's a bug that I couldn't track down that reduces the boulder to minimum weight, which causes that to happen! Thanks!

Submitted(+1)

This is one of my favorites of this jam. The graphics are nice and the music fits well. Gameplay is clunky but fun enough to keep interested (though sometimes it gliches and I couldn't keep playing). The enemies are varied and clever. Great game!

Developer

Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it despite the glitches. I didn't have time to really polish it, though for SBIG in particular, I do sometimes wonder what bugs are good and which are bad... (I try to remove those that I think make the game less fun, but sometimes that seems a bit unclear)