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A jam submission

Galactic VigilView game page

Submitted by Sly-C-
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Galactic Vigil's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Music/Sound#53.9333.933
Technical Implementation#153.7333.733
Overall#243.5873.587
Theme/Limitation#463.4003.400
Graphics/Animation#473.5333.533
Fun/Design#673.3333.333

Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does your game implement the focus, Multi-Use?
The health and ammo systems are tied together, as is the players score and currency.

Team Size

Solo (1)

Completeness

Complete Game

What tools did your team use to construct the game?
Unreal Engine 4, Blender, and GIMP2

Which art and audio did you / your team NOT create?
The materials for the levels and the audio

Which art & audio did you / your team create BEFORE the jam started?
Nothing

Which diversifiers did you use, if any?
Infinite, Quick Run

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Comments

Submitted

This game SCREAMS 90s at me. I don't know if that's what you intended, but the laser tag / blacklight bowling alley vibes were immaculate. The ship launch also felt right out of an old mech anime or something.

I didn't notice at first that the flow was to play down to the wire, then retreat to repair, then come back. It might be good to call that out more on the first run.

Another thing I noticed was that the waves seem to restart every time you return to the mission. It would have been cool to be able to keep your place to make it easier to get to the end. Maybe I'm just not great at twinstick shooters though :P

Couple small bugs: sometimes for the little ships, the explosions all trigger at the center of the map. Also, seems like occasionally the enemies stop spawning after the first wave, but retreating and coming back fixes it on the next run.

The actual gameplay was pretty fun! Just enough room to dodge shots, and a spicy "oh crap" moment when a new wave spawns all around you. Would have loved to be able to do a barrel roll at those moments. :P

Developer(+1)

Oh no! I'm sorry, I thought that I had hit reply, but I must have forgotten and lost my message. I'll just kind of quickly go point by point here. 

I love that the game gave you 90's vibes. One game that gave me some inspiration was Silpheed for the SegaCD. I didn't really think about laser tag or backlight bowling alley, but now that you mention it, I totally see it and think that's great haha.

Yeah, I'll look into ways to let the player know as they're going in. Maybe an introductory stage or just a prompt when they start to get low.

I agree that jumping back in would help keep the pace of things for sure. The way I was looking at it initially, was that you are breaking through an enemy's defensive line, the mines and then the turrets, before enemy fighters came to attack you. Then when you retreat, they are able to re-set up their defences before you get back. But for this, I definitely agree that it would have been better to keep it faster paced. Also, for this I didn't end up putting in an end, so it's just a basic survival mode of sorts.

Bug time! Okay, first off, ughhh lol. It took me a little while to figure out why the enemy explosion was triggering at the centre of the map. It was because of how I set up the weapon hit and the enemy death explosion, they were conflicting on which would spawn. But I've got that sorted out now. As for the enemy spawning, this one was kind of annoying too. So, it's not technically a bug, they do spawn as far as I know. The problem comes it that they are hard to see and find plus with how big the map is. I've had to sweep the map, back and forth, scanning for where they are. It's definitely easier to retreat and then come back so they are in a new location. A few solutions that I am going to consider are: first, make a model for the mines that light up or flash to catch the player's eye. Second, maybe make them spawn closer to where the player spawns (at least for the first wave) so you don't have to look everywhere for it. Lastly, I'm going to see about adding a radar or mini map.

Ooo yeah, a barrel roll could be a really cool addition. I am going to look into making the enemies have an effect when they spawn as though they just came out of light speed or something, or have some of them kind of warp in. That way there is at least a bit of a warning that they are coming and where they will be. But I'm really glad you had fun. I am working on a full release of the game, and this is great feedback, thank you!

Submitted

Really fun Arcade game with nice controls!

I really liked the graphics and music/SFX too :)

Developer

Thanks for the feedback! I will be working on patching bugs and putting together a full release of the game, complete with survival (similar to what's submitted to the jam), a story-mode, and maybe even a local multiplayer versus/co-op mode. If you're interested, consider following for updates.

Submitted

Great little game! Feels like I'm playing an old arcade game. I like the connection of health and fuel too. I really liked how you had the start of the game with launching out of the bay.

Developer

Thanks for checking it out, I'm glad you liked it. Launching out of the bay was one of the biggest things that I wanted to include in the game. I spent way more time on it than I wanted to, but I like how it turned out. It didn't have all of the features that I wanted, like some camera-shake and sound effects, but I'll see about patching that in the full release later down the line. Thanks again!

Submitted

Interesting game, brings back memory to the oldschool games. I like the feel of the movement. For the controls it would've been really cool to aim with the mouse. Really nice twist having ammo  bound to health, that way we players dont just press down the arrow keys haha 

Developer

Thanks, that's part of what I was going for, using some old school games as part of my inspiration. The full game will be a bit different and have some variety with the mechanics. I agree having the player be able to aim with the mouse would have given more control and made for a better experience, I think. 
Restricting the player from being able to just shoot wildly is something that I really like. --lost my train of thought here Haha-- But anyway. In the full release, I am going to see about including a multiplayer feature that will have friendly fire, so more incentive to be careful with your shots.
Thanks again for the feedback!

Submitted

Pretty solid game. It all works well but quickly ran out of challenge. That being said it felt nice to play and begs for more content. Good job

Developer

Thanks for checking it out. I agree, after you get a feel for the pattern and game loop, it gets pretty easy. after the jam I will be working on patching bugs and putting together a full release of the game, complete with survival (similar to what's submitted to the jam), a story-mode, and maybe even a local multiplayer versus/co-op mode. Of course, most of that is subject to change, I don't want to over scope and go crazy with feature creep, like how the jam started.
Thanks again for the feedback.

Submitted

Nice game, the music really fits well. I did had to get used to shooting with the arrow keys, I would have preferred the mouse for aiming. Graphics gave me some nice Tron vibes. I couldn't figure out how to heal back up though. Nice job.

Developer(+1)

Thanks for checking it out! Yeah, I think you're right in that implementing mouse aiming would have made it easier and probably a bit more fun for players for sure. I did have a bit of inspiration from Tron with the ship model and level design actually! If I decide to update the game and flesh it out more, I am going to see about adding some Tron-like glow to some parts of the ship and including some glowing engine trail.
As for healing, you'll need to pause ('P') and then select, 'retreat.' And when you are back at base, selecting the 'Merchant' option will spend your funds/score to replenish your health. I'll look into making that clearer too.
Thank you so much for the feedback!

Submitted

Nice shooter.  450mo is way to big but I saw you comment a lot of game, so... I like cinematic intro. The controls feels good, the shoot with arrows did not bother me. And it was satisfying to see my enemies shooting at each others. Some variety on enemies would have been great. SFX were ok. Good job on this.

Developer

Thanks. Yeah, I guess that is a bit big for a game jam game. I think it's a bit of excess files that I didn't use in the project, (ie: Unreal Engine's Starter Content, and some files that I planned on implementing). I should have found the time to remove those or told the engine to only package what was used. I'm glad you liked the cinematic and the controls. The friendly fire mechanic is something that I enjoy too. Thanks for the feedback.

Submitted

I was like hold up wait a minute what is that what the f-- -is that 456 mb download size then I realized....ohh....Unreal engine 4 (my only complaint which is out of hand) I love the cinematic and the UI , the graphics are cool aswell , and it seems like alot of effort went into making the gameplay work as intended , I found few issuess here and there and they're already mentioned but thats fine I liked the game alot , and I'm glad you managed to submit something amazing like this you did an incredible job! you'll get a solid rating from me!!!!

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Haha yeah, sorry. I'm sure I could have removed a bunch of the unused assets and things before packaging. Or just made it package what was used. Thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it. I'm pretty sure that most of the issues are pretty simple fixes. I'm debating going back into it and fixing it up, and maybe even building it into the full game along the lines of what I was originally scoping for. Or just putting it on the shelf as and calling it a success as a game jam game. Thanks again for checking it out. I'm glad you enjoyed it. 

Submitted

I had a lot of fun playing this game! It has a really good arcadey feel to it. I don't know if you did this on purpose because you didn't mention it in your description but I really liked that the enemies shots could do damage to each other. I had a lot of fun dodging in between shots to try and get them to collide. I really like your opening cinematic bit and your menu and UI look really good! Overall a great game!

Developer

Thanks for checking it out! I'm glad you had fun playing and I'm glad that you liked that enemy shots could hit each other and that the enemies could destroy one another. I did do that intentionally; I really like playing the idea of using friendly fire. Thank you, I have started to take a lot of interest in game UI and menu systems. I think they are super important to a game's immersion.

Submitted

this was a nice twist of what makes a shoot'em up. the ammo and the life bar being connect makes it so that you need a lot more precision when shooting as opposed to other games where you are randomly blasting all over the place. however, I feel like this would be a lot easier to do with a mouse and not with the arrow keys, I'm not really sure as to what gives me back my ammo/health, sometimes I gain some back when I kill an enemy, and other times it does nothing. also, it says I had funds, but I had no idea what to use them for, I feel if that was explained in the how to play menu, I would have done a lot better. I also don't know if this is intentional or not but whenever I die my final score is completely blank, is my score not based off of how many enemies I kill? is it based off of whatever I do with the funds I have? the music and the level itself was nice looking. Hopefully in a post jam version of this, you can make those enemies cooler to look at. 

Developer

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I wanted to set it up in a way that the player wouldn't really want to just fire freely, but I'd have to agree with you that having it set up with a mouse instead (or as an option even) would have made that both easier and probably more fun. I was kind of going for a classic 8-direction style with it, but the mouse would have fit the game better.
For replenishing your energy (health and ammo), you will regain a portion of it back after each wave of enemies.
As for the funds/score, the purpose of that is to replenish your energy at the space station. To get there, you have to pause ('P' key) and then select the option to retreat (but you need to have at least 25% of your energy (explained in game to be the amount of fuel it costs to make the trip back to base)). Then you'll be at a screen where you can return to the game, resupply ('Merchant'), or quit to the main menu. This is a common response I've gotten, so I'll look into making that clearer in a future build.
The final score page has a little bug where it uploads your score, but it only takes the score from the last time you were back at the base. It's a really simple fix that I noticed right after the deadline. It should project the amount of 'funds' you have when you die, but I just forgot to carry that information over there. So yes, it is based on how many enemies you kill which equals your funds, but you can subtract from your funds to replenish your energy.
Ah yes, the enemy models... I so badly wanted time to throw something together for them, but I just didn't have the time in the end. I almost recoloured the player ship and used that for the moving enemies, but I came across some issues with that too. 

Submitted

It was fun but maybe it could use some more enemy types but the challenging way the big enemies move and shoot make up for it. You could tell the player how to get to the repair shop . Maybe leave enemies on the field after the repairs so it won't disrupt the flow.

Developer

Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you had fun with it! I think some more variety to the enemies would be pretty cool, yeah. I had a few other concepts in mind, but that deadline is intimidating, Haha.
The repair shop is a common thing being mentioned. I agree I should have made it more clear on how to access it and I'll play with some solutions for that. As for picking up where you left off when you get back to maintain the flow of the game is better too, yeah. My thoughts on sort of resetting everything has two purposes: firstly, that it plays with the theme a bit more to start off slow and "turn up the heat," when the game picks up. And secondly, it is kind of like, you are in enemy territory and then leave. While you're gone the enemy is rebuilding back up their defences, so when you get back you have to punch through their mine field and turrets. But I think it would have been more fun to just jump back into the heat. Thanks again.

Submitted

I liked the introduction scene, I was a little confused with the game at first, shooting with the arrow keys was a bit weird but an interesting idea.

Though, for some reason, I died instantly the second time I played and got shot, not sure what happened there.

Overall, not bad, may not be a bad idea to have the instructions come up when starting the game at first!

Developer(+1)

Thanks for the feedback!
Yeah, I thought it would be a bit different and kind of play to some of the classic 8-direction shooters. But it would have made things a bit easier to aim and use the mouse to shoot.
That's interesting that you died instantly when you played the second time. I want to say that it was because of the way that I set up the energy system carrying over between levels. I'm sorry that happened though. It's a pretty simple fix thinking about it now.

Submitted

Yeah, no worries! I have plenty bugs that I see in my games after submitting them, and I'm like "Oh, well DUH, I know exactly what line to change to fix that" haha!

The 8 directional shooter idea is a cool idea though, I've never seen something like that, I think maybe just a bit of guidance could have been helpful in order to let me know I could do that, my first instinct was just to ram things when I couldn't figure out how to shoot.

I still really like the introduction scene, great job on that part ;)

Submitted

Its a pretty fun top down shooter that has a 3d twist. I like the graphics and everything but the slow big guys really messed me up. I lasted a decent amount of time after a couple of tries. There Is also a bug that will not let me see my final score.

Overall good game.

Developer

Thanks for checking it out! I'm glad you had some fun with it. Yeah, those moving guys are tricky, if you end up trying it again, one tip is that the enemies can hit each other.
Also, for the bug, yeah haha. I know exactly what is wrong with that too. It's a simple fix, but I just didn't quite have the time correct it lol.

Submitted

Pretty fun I game. I enjoyed it

I do have to say, its really hard. I didn't spend much time on this game, but I couldn't get basically anywhere. The moving enemies always move together with you, which makes it almost impossible to hit them, and not take damage. My energy is drained very quickly. Though I probably would have got better with time.

The upgrade/score mechanic sounded nice, though I have no idea how to access the repair station. But it sounded nice still.

I didn't really like that you could only shoot using the arrow keys. It doesn't give me enough precision. I much prefer shooting with my mouse which is way more precise. Other than that, its a neat game!

Developer

Thanks for checking it out! I'm glad you had fun and enjoyed it. Yeah, those moving guys are tough to get around for sure. I agree that if I set up aiming with the mouse, it would have most likely made it a bit easier. One tip for taking them out, is that they can actually shoot each other if they are lined up properly, but it's hard when they are moving to random locations.
As for getting repairs, aside from restoring some energy between each wave, you can press the 'P' key to pause the game and select the retreat button (as long as you have >25% of your energy remaining) and it will send you back to base. When you are there, you can select the Merchant button, and that will subtract from the funds you've collected and add to your current energy.