itch.io

i dont really even know what to say this is so nice of a comment. im so glad everything i put in worked for you and you had a great time with playing. if i work more on the game in the future i will look into that bug first. thank you so so much!!

thank you so much for playing!! adding the very obviously bad ingredients was a lot of fun, and all the sound effects for them i thought added a lot. I'm so happy you enjoyed playing the game!

Had fun hiding from the snake once I figured out it had a cone-of-vision, definitely having some kind of visual cone from the snake would've helped with that. good job <3

hoooooly shit gunklois real

art is really really nice. and i love the different types of bowling balls everyone came up with, especially the shadow ball and the splitter ball. so fun!

Like I did 5 minutes ago on my 2016 LD submission, I want to keep procrastinating my CV by writing about old submissions. This one is more recent, but I still like to think about it.

Programmer Art will be the death of me I think. My biggest issue with this game comes from my inability to make a game with a colour scheme that isn't genuinely horrendous in a stressful 48-hour period of time, what a weakness!! So I will try to look past that and talk about the actual design from here on (though the sounds are still very nice in my opinion):

This game fits the theme super well - and I think that as a core set of mechanics it works great, you can tell I was really interested in the idea of "versatile verbs" Mark introduced in one of his videos: mechanics which serve many functions. The bash was something I was very proud of, having offensive and defensive functions - as well as movement risk/reward from the recoil of hitting walls and enemies. With some number tweaking and adjustment to player control, the bash could provide lots of micro-decisions to make during playtime about its utilization. Perhaps adding breakable walls/boxes which restrict players also?

The compromise of Tetris was something that I disliked at the time of submission - probably because of it being simpler than the initial idea of a jigsaw dungeon crawler. But now, I only look back at this design choice fondly and think that it is also a great case of versatile verbs, using health as a doubly-important resource to provide more options for tiles as well as just not dying. Bugs aside I think that the idea here works really well, and still had fun with it booting it back up just now.

Regarding improvements, putting aside aesthetics, I would rework player control to be a bit faster and make collision with walls clearer to stop it from feeling as clunky. Then, tweak the bash mechanic so that it feels fun in an isolated room with an enemy or two and some destructible objects like crates.

I'd then add the function of turning enemy bullets friendly after a bash, like a parry hurting enemies. This is because later in the game, bashing projectiles becomes pointless with the upped firing rate of the turrets, and it is more viable to just dodge them. Giving them offensive capabilities would be an improvement in my opinion.

Also, I am unsure if this is implemented already, but letting player movement increase with the speed of the room scroll, AS WELL AS the speed of bashes. Reducing the bash cooldown later in the game allows players, who have by then gained a certain familiarity with the mechanic, to really put it to use in higher-octane situations that require more reflexive and reactive gameplay. High-level Tetris is all about "the flow state" and being able to clear lines almost instinctively. I think that with some clear colouring choices (make all enemies some shade of red, including bullets, keep the player blue or something, etc) and keeping movement free and possible to manage at higher speeds, we could achieve something similar with this game.

If I was to work on this game again, id remake it from the ground up. I could likely get something decent prototyped in GMS within a week or two, and tweak it over the course of several months if needed. It is a very short and simple game so I'd hope it not to take that long either. We will see.

If anybody reads this, thank you!! And I hope u found it interesting,

Liam :)

I haven't returned to this game in a while, but having found it while writing up my resume I have gotten to critically thinking about it. I am going to put off writing my CV now and procrastinate by writing this instead:

This is mainly about what ideas could be expanded on from the original submission, and ideas that I missed 5 years ago that I just thought of.

The use of momentum to ride up walls is cool and I remember it being fairly fun to mess around with, and I am proud that I added in a tutorial of the mechanic by following the principles of Egoraptors Megaman X Sequelitis video over the first few levels. However, I think that I was too focused on this aspect of the game instead of the other mechanic, the sniper rifle.

The sniper rifle serves little purpose in the final game, only a needless function for reaching the end of the level to fit the setting. However, I think it could have been much more versatile if given more functions from a restricted number of bullets.

The idea here comes mainly from how frustrating the later levels are to play, which are difficult in the sense of trial and error from projectiles that move too fast and are too frequently placed in the levels, especially since a single hit is all it takes to be killed. Being able to destroy obstacles using the sniper rifle could have made for a slower but more thought-out approach to playing levels.

For example, a room with 2 turrets on the floor and ceiling, and a bomb on the lip or the final entrance to the end room. If the level gives the player 3 bullets, they need to decide which obstacle to keep in the level (they need to save a bullet for the end room). This case is very simple, and players would likely be able to complete the level without needing to remove obstacles, but the idea is still there.

Add in some sort of scoring system depending on the number of bullets you've used, a lock-on function to ensure players don't mess up right at the finish line, and boom: assassination golf is born.

Might work on this sometime as a fun idea, but have other things on my plate right now. Mainly, the whole cv thing. If anybody reads this or plays the game i hope u find it interesting!! and have a good day!

Liam :)

Thank you so much! The idea was definitely my focus here, and unfortunately, my drawing abilities just aren't up-to-snuff for such a short timeframe. Most of the "jank" from the gameplay I think is from the block placement with the mouse - if this is wrong please do let me know. ANd I know there are many bugs, which just couldn't be ironed out during the small time I had left. So glad you like the idea, though!

Yeah, I couldn't think of a better implementation during the timeframe I had left - which is a shame. Really am glad you enjoyed it, though!

Hahah - I think that my position is still very good for how few ratings I actually received, maybe I would have landed better if I had been more active over the entire week (or maybe I would've scored less, who knows)?

Going into the jam, the position wasn't too important to me, and I am super proud of being able to just put something out there. What I am most interested in with these game jams is the process that leads to the finished product, which is why the game's description is a lot more about what I couldn't include in my game, rather than the features that ended up in it.

It's always fun doing these kinds of things, and all the positive comments I got were well worth the effort - just happy to get back in the saddle again. Thank you so much for your kind words & I hope you and anybody else that reads this had fun, too!

That's amazing to hear! I was thinking about expanding on the idea a little over the summer, if I make anything out of it I will let you know! So great to know that you enjoyed it!

Yeah couldn't quite think of how to fix that in the time limit sadly :( - hoped that since you can replay quickly, the bug isn't too detrimental. Really glad you enjoyed!

Wow! Really enjoyed this one. The art is very unique and impressive for a short jam, and the way everything bounces and squishes slightly in the animations really helps with the game feel. The sound effects also compliment this. The concept interested me a lot, too, with a  lot of potential for a larger game. I personally made sure to keep Mike very happy during my run, and hope that their jarred food business goes well for them!

Fun Fun Fun!!! Enjoy the art style a whole lot, and the dashing really was just "fun" to do, no other way to put it. Had a good time trying to combo it up for a while. Not too sure about the link with the theme, but it was a good time regardless. Great job!!

What a head-scratcher! These kinds of puzzle-platformers I find really tricky. Ashamed to admit it stumped me on getting to the end of the first level. Perhaps if the mechanics were slightly less "touchy"? I don't know any better wording for it. Even without getting past, I spent a surprisingly long time having fun messing with the momentum-based mechanics and flinging myself with the rope. The quantum-entanglement theming was interesting, too. Good Job!

AAAHHHH WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS!!!!!!! Kicking myself now haha. Really glad you enjoyed it!

Awesome Hotline-Miami styled brawler. Really did enjoy the combat a lot, was very fun. Some bugginess with bullets not always going where I am aiming (or maybe that's just my bad aim lol) but didn't happen often. Enjoyed the visual style a lot, and the music complemented it really well. Good Job!

Great Game! The central mechanic was really interesting, and I had a great time dashing into enemies. The idea of differently shaped/coloured bullets was very cool and still made it a bullet-hell style game even with the idea being flipped on its head. Really outstanding job here!

Very unique aesthetic here. Loved the soft piano in the background, accompanied by the unique jump sound from descending piano notes. All of the sounds really helped bring this one into its own. I'm personally not too good at paying attention to all the poetry on the sides though lol, from what I read it was nice. Levels took a few tries but were all doable and, most importantly, enjoyable. Had fun playing. Good Job!!

Enjoyed this one. Finicky at first, but I got the hang of it eventually. Was fun making a dash in the last few seconds to get those final few gems to get over 1000 points. The music & sound was all great too Great job!!

Enjoyed this one a lot for what I could get through. The slingshotting mechanic was super fun to play around with, and that song really is groovy! Couldn't get past the level with the super long moving platform part, though. Well done!!

I was looking forward to seeing some couples/relationship-themed games! Had a blast with this one! It was just fast enough to have me panicking each time I played - tried desperately to get to a 50 score, but all I could manage was a 49! Good job!

Very unique aesthetic from what games I've seen so far. The way Bicc lays down made me laugh a lot. Always fascinated whenever somebody puts together a 3D game in a short game jam like this. It's buggy (especially with collision, and the chain snapping), but so are almost all game jam games! Well done!

The reveal of your clone at the beginning is top-notch. Reminds me a lot of those celeste sequences where badeline follows you, good stuff.

Cool concept and really nice music. The waving effect on the bottom half really gives a nice touch to the game. Enjoyed all levels!