itch.io

This game looks quite impressive!  And its design is unique too.

Looks impressive!

Progress update: I ran into a bug that threw a monkeywrench into the project.  I'm not going to finish the project in time now.  I intend to finish the project after the deadline instead.  It was so close to being playable too, but that bug was poor timing.  I would say I got about 85% done.  I will chalk this up to experience.  Hopefully next time I will be able to finish a project a few days before the gamejam closes.  Thanks for hosting this gamejam, and if you host another in the future I will most likely be interested in participating.

Progress update: I've been working on it all day, but this is not looking promising to get it finished and uploaded before the deadline.  Maybe I can upload an HTML5 version initially (AppGameKit exports to both Android and HTML5, among other target platforms) for keyboard input, and then later upload an Android/Ouya version mapped to the controllers.  I've still got about 2 hours left... maybe I can do it yet, not sure at this point.

Thanks, I appreciate the information and I totally understand if you are under restrictions/terms of an NDA!

That's neat, what are the requirements to publish a game on Nintendo Switch?

Progress update: I am narrowing down and filtering the features and functions of the grid system, to what this particular game project requires.  I was almost going to add features to the grid module that this project wouldn't even need or use.  That in itself (reducing the scope of the grid module to prevent "feature creep") is valuable experience in development for me: I must limit the scope of the modules I create to the requirements of the current project that they will be used in.  I can always add additional features, enhancements, modifications and revisions to a module later for future projects, if future projects happen to need additional features that the module in its current state does not have.

I am enjoying participation in this game jam, and I am excited to see what others produce as well!  It has been a number of years since I have booted up my Ouya console after it was abandoned and its support withdrawn, and it sure would be neat to revive its use now again.  Have a wonderful day!

Progress update: I am currently creating a grid system module that will be at the heart of this game.  The pressure is on because there are only a few days remaining, but I am hoping to get this finished before the submission due date.  I have most of the graphics ready, and parts of the gameloop for user input are also done.  Once the grid system is established, then I have an idea how to make simple levels with a randomization factor that will create limited variety for new levels as the player progresses through the game.  Although the game is a simple concept and a very basic design (a paddle and ball game essentially, somewhat like Arkanoid but not as refined as that) there are a number of facets, or modules, to create and develop, even for such a simple game.

While I am happy that progress has been made over the past number of days, I am finding that my project is looking rather amateur and unrefined at this point in its development.  But after some reflection and consideration, I am actually okay with that.  I am starting off simple and deliberately small scope, even minimalistic, in order to attempt to finish a project before the gamejam's submission date.

Currently, I am working under some imposed limitations, not only limitations of time, but also limitations of my own experience level in both designing and producing games generally, limited experience in my particular toolchain of Apps used to produce graphics and audio, and a limited amount of individual experience programming using a particular game engine or development system (in this case, AppGameKit).  Taking these current limitations into consideration, I understand that this project is not going to be a highly refined game, nor a commercially viable product (at least not in its current iteration).  But I am ok with that, and I need to accept that.

My point is, I hope that anyone reading this will be encouraged to pursue developing game projects if that is something you want to do.  As a point of general advice, do not necessarily expect your first projects, especially your very first few projects, to be spectacular or high quality, to contain rich seamlessly integrated assets, to have great depth, to have underlying fine-tuned honed gameplay mechanics, or possibly even to be entirely playable.

At first, in the initial stages of designing and producing games, the experience gained is more valuable than the game / finished project itself.  This gained experience carries over into pursued future projects whose quality level will only increase and exceed past initial/early projects.

And there is also something intangible about completing a project (no matter how seemingly small or lacking that project may be) in and of itself.  That satisfaction and joy of completing a project is not always apparent in the finished project itself that others see or download, but it is something that is a reward in its own right, apart from the end product and regardless of its quality.

To clarify, my goal was and remains to design and produce high quality games.  I am not changing my goal.  But in the process and pursuit of fulfilling and accomplishing that goal, it is okay to benefit from the experience of what some might interpret to be failure or shortcoming, or unrealized potential.

So, I hope that this message is a source of encouragement to aspiring or developing game developers.  I continue to enjoy participation in this game jam and working on my project toward completion, even such as my project is with all its present limitations and as-of-yet unrefined aspects.  Thanks, and have a great day!

Hi, where can I download the demo?  Thanks!

Recently I have been programming in AGK, and I just saw this Ouya gamejam recently yesterday.  I would like to create an App before the submission deadline, but does AGK target the Ouya specifically?  I realize that AGK targets several platforms, including the Raspberry Pi, but I wasn't sure about Ouya.  Is there anything additional that I need to do to have an Ouya build succeed in AGK, or should it be able to execute a regular Android target App?

AGK is listed at this URL as one available development platform for the Ouya:

ouya.world URL

Thanks in advance for any information / help that you may be able to provide!

On the other hand, you are a very competent reviewer. In my opinion, game developers appreciate objective expert reviews because these reviews can help them identify and fix problems within their games.

Thanks, it is always a pleasure to test and review games.  I hope that any positive feedback or constructive criticism/suggestions reviewers can give will encourage game designers and programmers.  And I look forward to receiving the same when I submit a gamejam project in the future!  As an early-stage developer and designer, I anticipate that user feedback, whether positive or negative, will be very valuable to help me refine and strengthen the games I hope to produce.

Thanks!  I look forward to it as well.

HTML5 export is currently not working as expected... I will try to resolve this and update the uploaded files.

Oh, it stands for Table Top Role Playing Game after I did a quick search.  Please disregard my previous question, I found the answer thanks.

I'm not familar with that term, what does the acronymn TTRPG stand for?  Does the RPG portion stand for "Role Playing Game"?  Thanks

It was fun to play all the games and review them.  What a variety of submissions!  I love to see the unique creative slant of each author's submitted game and how each game is so unique to all the others.  Congrats and kudos to all the participants, well done!

This is like 3 minigames melded into one!  That feature adds balanced variety and longevity to the game, while seamlessly retaining the theme of the game.

I found that the graphics could use a bit of improvement, namely the UFOs have boxes around them instead of being rendered with a transparency mask.  It does make them easier to target and hit though!  Besides that, the graphics could use increased consistency, meaning the style of the graphics could be more consistent (i.e. some graphics look cartoonish, while other adjacent graphics look life-like and almost photographic).  Unless that was the intention, to "collide" or "superimpose" two distinctive styles of graphics clashing together.

Nice job making this game.  It is simultaneously both challenging and fun to play, which is not an easy feat to accomplish.

Interesting concept.  The levels become progressively more difficult, but not too difficult so as to be discouraging to the player.  The game has achieved a nice balance between playability and challenge.

I like the little extra of the title screen's instructions falling into bits and individual letters.  Nice effect!

The gamejam's "unstable" theme was very well implemented in this game, to make an understatement.  It was incorporated as an integral component of the game, not just tacked on lightly.  Nice job!

This game has a lot of refinement and visual appeal.  It also has a very good "look and feel" to it and presents itself as a well-rounded, solid project.

If I were to suggest any improvements, it would be to include more songs which could fade in and out depending on the current zone that the player is in.  Also, adding robot sounds and shooting sounds would greatly enhance the experience.  I would also suggest a "run" modifier key, such as <shift>.  Finally, user-defined keymapping would be a welcome addition (I personally found it awkward to use the <E> key to interact with objects, especially doors, when I am so accustomed to using the <spacebar> key instead from past similar genre games).

I really like the unlimited ammunition of the firearm.  And the robots look really neat too.  I like the creepy, tense atmosphere of the maze, and how the field of view is limited shrouded by distant darkness, making each corner turn more intense as you progress through the maze.

A really impressive project overall.  I don't have much of anything negative to say about it.  Really nice "polish" and refinement.  More levels or missions please!

This game has a neat concept, but I found it difficult to control because the camera would bounce around quite a bit sometimes and cause momentary disorientation.  Some audio / sound effects would really enhance the game.  Really nice 3d graphics.

Maybe the 1st few levels could be slower-paced with fewer orbs to help the player get accustomed to the gameplay.  And a tutorial or demo that gently introduces the rules of the game would be a welcome addition.

Including the level editor is a really nice  extra feature!  Possibly a higher 3/4 3d view instead of a 1st person  3d view would improve the overall playability of the game, but that 3/4 perspective might not be what you were aiming for in your design of the game.  It's neat how the gamejam's "edges" theme was incorporated into this game, and it's also nice that you can't fall off the edges which would make the gameplay very difficult!

There were fatal technical problems with this game using the Firefox browser under Linux OS, but after using a different Chromium-based browser it seems to execute smoothly without issues.

I love the concept  or idea behind this game.  It does a great job of incorporating the gamejam's themes of "edges" and "unstable".   But even beyond the gamejam's themes, the concept behind this game holds a unique theme somehow.  Furthermore, the game's overall simplicity is one of its greatest strengths.

Unfortunately however, its merits are overshadowed by sluggish, inaccurate controls which make the game practically unplayable.  If the controls could be refined, it would make the game so much better.  It is almost impossible to control the hero to make him land on the small platforms as his movement inexplicably and harshly accelerates from slow and sluggish to very fast and beyond control.  I don't know if this resulting level of difficultly was intentional or not, but I find it to be far too difficult and presumably not part of the game's intentional design, unless I am obliviously overlooking something.

The graphics, while minimal, could be improved to include some animation.  That would go a long way to improve the overall appearance of the game in general, even if just a few frames of animation for each main character or main object.

Overall, this would be a more decent game were it not for its overly difficult controls.  In that aspect, its gameplay mechanic definitely needs to be improved and refined.  Again, the game's theme and premise is good and almost precious, and alongside that the game's somewhat simplistic overall concept is one of its greatest strengths.  It was a privilege to try out this game, and it showcases the creative endeavors of its author.  Great job overall!

Hi, I installed a new browser on Linux (Brave browser, which is a Chromium based browser).  At first it seemed to be doing the same problem where the <enter> key would not work, but similar to how you described after a few tries the <enter> key did register and I was able to proceed with the game's execution, thanks.  Still not sure why I had trouble with Firefox running under Linux, but in any case it seems to work with the Brave browser.  I also tried to click on the screen with the mouse cursor as you suggested to ensure that the App had the focus, but I think I did the same with Firefox also.  Thanks for your help!

Don't forget to join the next BASIC Jam.

I definitely plan and intend to; I really like this gamejam with its emphasis on using BASIC.

Thanks!  I hope to review and test out the entries.  To me, that is definitely one of the highlights and best aspects of the gamejam: seeing and experiencing the projects that others have created!

Ya, I totally agree.  Or as it has been said "the journey is the destination" or "the process is more important than the product".  Of course, it is also satisfying to reach the milestone of finishing and submitting a project before the deadline as this is its own accomplishment in and of itself.  So all around these are all good experiences and pursuits, each with their own reward.  I agree, it's not about winning the gamejam but it's all about the participation in the gamejam.  I look forward to reviewing and voting the entries; I always much enjoy seeing what others have created too.

Hi, thank you for your response, and above all I hope that your family member is well.  Thank you for the kind and encouraging comments posted.

I can't get this game to execute.  I click on the "Run Game" icon, and then the prompt "PRESS ENTER TO START" appears, but it does not respond.  Tried with Firefox browser running under 2 different Linux OS distros.  Any suggestions?  Maybe I should try using a Chromium based browser?  Thanks

Doesn't look like an extension is an option, that's totally ok.  I hope to do better next time.  Like one of the participants in this gamejam commented of their own submitted game: "It needs polishing but better than nothing".  Next time I hope to submit something (even if not refined) instead of nothing; lesson learned.  I am finding that one of the biggest challenges in any gamejam is the limited time factor, not only the time limit of the gamejam itself, but also how other unrelated time demands emerge and compete for one's available time, sometimes "out of the blue" and totally unexpected.  Even so, it was still fun participating in this gamejam, and I look forward to its next iteration!  In the meantime until then, I hope and expect that my programming skills will only continue to improve through continued practice over time, which will better prepare me for the next gamejam.  Congrats to everyone who was able to complete a project and upload it as an entry, well done and I am inspired and motivated by your success!

The small game I've been working on is certainly nothing fancy!  Quite simplistic and not refined yet.

Wow, that looks great!  Reminds me of LucasArts "Dark Forces" with some Wolf 3d mixed in.  I especially like the 2d overlay map with the hologram effect.  That's impressive!  What type of BASIC did you use?  Is n7 a dialect of BASIC?  Nice

Thanks! Time will tell I suppose

I'm close but not complete.  I don't suppose a 24 hour extension to the submission deadline could be granted.  Is that a possibility?  If not that's totally ok.  Thanks for hosting this gamejam in any case.

Is it okay if a participant submits more than a single game?  Or is there a limit of one game submitted per participant?  Thanks

I struggled through this gamejam and didn't complete my project.  But, nonetheless I did learn some valuable principles and gained some valuable experience.  And looking through others' comments there were also valuable pieces of advice.  Thanks for the encouragement, I will not give up and I plan to participate in future gamejams successfully.  Do you recommend any specific future gamejams to participate in?  Thanks!

Thanks!  Running a Linux OS, but I think it might be a problem with an outdated browser I'm running because I had the same problem with another Godot online game too, same error message.  Maybe I can try the Steam offline demos, thanks again

Those graphics / characters look cute

I would generally agree, something is better than nothing, especially in a gamejam setting.  Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration!

I had the same issue with another Godot game I tried to play as well.  So, it might be an issue with my browser, not sure.

Nice overall game!  Has balanced gameplay.  I like the spinning debris effect when the ships explode, and the overall vector-graphics style.