This was one of the most engaging of the games I've played this jam. Both the positioning and timing needed for combat kept me locked in. The visuals and sound design were also noteworthy, and adding a unique pick up sound for mana was a nice touch since I was always looking out for it. I was going to suggest increasing the spawn frequency of mana, since I was often near death before I got enough mana for a campfire, but the numerous retries did force me to improve in the end. The game was definitely challenging, but genuinely engaging too.
kambopoloid
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Very interesting! At first I was a little thrown off by the lack of scoring/combos/other gamey stuff, but towards the end I started hitting the notes at my own pace, kind of just making my own music. I always love that feeling in rhythm games when you switch from tapping notes because you're told to, to tapping notes to make your own tune as if you're "singing along," so I really appreciate the freedom you give the player with their timing.
This was a simple game, but quite enjoyable! The combat felt pretty nice and the warmth/terrain mechanic was neat. I think that being sent to warm up a planet is a really interesting and creative premise. Is the player's goal to warm up large parts of the planet, getting fire powers that convert increasingly larger patches of land to grass? Do the slimes gain new attack patterns and forms to defeat the player's attempts? There are a huge number of ways you could go, and I'd love to see where you take the idea.
First off, the visuals look extremely polished, and if I could easily mistake this for a full release rather than a jam entry. Other comments have covered some issues I had, like the slightly awkward aiming and the slow recharge, but overall I think a faster pace could help the game a lot. I got used to the controls (although you could try WASD for movement, arrow keys for aiming), but more noticeable were the long waits without any enemies. I think the more waves you beat, the more rapidly enemies could spawn, or more than one spawns at a time. I came to enjoy combat, but the long periods of downtime were more of an issue in my opinion, especially after double damage meant I started one shotting enemies as they spawned. But I was still invested for quite a while, so great job!
Going into these jams I value uniqueness and an enjoyable experience over things like visuals or polish, so I'm absolutely thrilled that you got that from playing the game. I try to nail the gameplay aspect first before working on the visuals, so only the bike and cars got any modeling attention. Those cubic buildings are next in line for a revamp though! I love your idea for more natural road patterns. A grid was simplest to implement, but having curves and different intersection types would give the map much more personality. Accidents and blocked paths sound like a perfect way to throw off a player's plan and keep them on their toes. Thanks for your feedback!
I can see a ton of potential with this project! With the game as it is, it was a bit aimless, and I was able to just run around and collect leaves/sticks to make an infinite supply of torches. But I can easily see some sort of progression based on the crafting system, where you're first stuck by the fire, tossing leaves into it to keep your source of warmth alive. As you collect some twigs and make torches, you can move further away and find things other than sticks and leaves, like stones to make an axe. From there you can chop down sticks to make torches, no longer stuck to the wooded area surrounding the fire, and so on. Even without a concrete objective, collecting random stuff on the ground still manages to be a satisfying experience. Definitely one of the most promising projects that I've seen so far.
This was definitely a fun little shooter! The twin-stick aiming felt nice, and it was pretty satisfying to knock enemies out while wasting as few snowballs as possible. In some situations the snowballs didn't always come out right, like how rescued enemies still block snowballs and how they don't emerge if you're too close to an enemy while shooting. I'd love to see some expansion on the concept, like more environments with obstacles to navigate, different weapons, or different enemy types.
Great job! I think there's a ton of potential with this "orb altering the environment" concept. The game can feel a bit unforgiving at times, with some of the jumps feeling like they demand pixel perfect execution. This could also be because of the rate your temperature decreases, which doesn't allow much time for redos, or because you can't get your orb back after you throw it in some places, forcing you to wait for your cold demise. I'm very glad I persisted to the end though, because the closing dialogue was very heart warming (no pun intended).
There are some really interesting dynamics at play here. Preemptively chopping down wood and storing it near the fire, baiting enemies away from the fire, and setting up in between waves were notable examples. I think there could be a bit more depth to combat, like being able to throw the logs at enemies or different enemy patterns (some shoot projectiles, some emerge from trees when chopped down). Overall you did a good job!
This is really impressive for something you accomplished in three days. I really like the art style, specifically the look of the sprites and the shadow effects. Some of the game was a bit unclear at first, like having to hold the mouse button to mine/chop instead of click. Some sort of visual/audio feedback that plays every time an action is performed may help. I initially struggled with what each resource did too. I eventually understood that the fire was the lamp's fuel level, but it took me a bit to realize you need coal and timber to build turrets, more coal to fuel the turrets, and more coal to fuel the lamp. Putting what each building costs next to its button (i.e. 5 wood, 10 coal) could solve this. There's definitely a solid and engaging gameplay loop to discover with a bit more tinkering.
Great job! The gameplay loop is a bit simple, but it's very well done. Visually, I love the enemy design and the use of shadows to create a sense of unease. As far as mechanics go, enemy movement was unpredictable enough to keeping the shooting difficult and enjoyable. I loved the escalation as more foes begin to appear, forcing you to shoot, reload, and immediately fire again, and the rhythm I was able to fall into. Since I could see most of the map from atop the rock, sometimes my strategy devolved into standing there and spinning to shoot things, so a future addition may benefit from more obstacles or trees lying around. It may force the player to maneuver around slightly more. I definitely enjoyed this experience.
I seriously dig the art style. I can tell a lot of effort was put into it, and it shows. The story is great, the music is great, the dialogue is great, just wow. The fireflies are a little hard to catch, but scurrying back and forth fits the seagull character, so I don't mind at all. This was an excellent experience.
The absurdity of shooting crabs with assault weapons as they menacingly crawl towards you is very amusing to me. It would've been nice if the guns had different stats besides their ammo capacity, like different spread or reload times. The camera is a bit delayed, so I often couldn't see enemies that were right offscreen so I ran into them. The mechanics are straightforward and satisfying. Good work!
The mechanics were solid, but there would have to be a gradual increase in difficulty if this were turned into a full game. Something like the game speeding up over time or enemies becoming harder to beat. Adding a delay after the player attacks would make combat more strategic so you can't just spam the mouse button. The sound design was haunting and I love it. The lack of music make those little "twang"s when you pick up shrimp that much more powerful. Good work!
Well it may not have followed the limitation but with a premise like "an island management game but on a recursive island," I could not care less. What a fantastic premise! It's really inventive. The gameplay was enjoyable, though I had difficultly understanding where I could and couldn't place things at first. It wasn't until I gave up and went as deep as I could that I even saw a patch of trees, which made me understand why I hadn't been able to place a lumber mill before. The ambiguity around when/where you can place things can be frustrating, but it was enjoyable otherwise. I really hope you expand on this project, because I'd love to see what it becomes.
I think the premise is really neat and well thought out. I also think there could be a bit more depth to the combat. Perhaps the trident continues moving after hitting a fish, allowing you to spear multiple fish with one shot if you time it right. The combat was difficult enough to keep me engaged for a while, but there'd have to be more to it if you turned this into a full game. The concept is really solid and the art made the experience come together nicely. Good work!
You had me at the menu screen honestly. It's just so fun to create your own little medieval sand tower. The aesthetics are great and and the sounds are peaceful and satisfying. A recommendation would be adding a way to place sand on the side of blocks. Also the photo could get in the way of building sometimes, so a way to hide it would be appreciated. Overall this was fantastic!
I really liked your execution of this concept. The map system seemed intimidating at first, but once I got the hang of things I really liked the small puzzle it offered. There's definitely room to take this concept further, with trying to optimize your strike. The presentation was really smooth too, with all of the visuals and sound adding to one fluid experience. Overall, great work.