EDIT 2: RawBits made a video of his playthrough! http://youtu.be/71kjCy5gnW8 If you want to see what the game is about, or compare times (his was 8 minutes 30 seconds) his video is perfect. The only thing you don't get to see is the death screen!
EDIT: Many congratulations to Ditto, the first winner of Revolvolution! A few others have won too; can you manage it?
Notes: Suitable for Leftys: Both Left-Mouse-Button and Right-Mouse-Button work for shooting. Works with both QWERTY and AZERTY keyboards: Use either ZQSD or WASD to move the player. Is your keyboard not supported? Message me so I can keep that in mind for next time, and just use the arrow-keys.
Here it is, 48 hours later. My entry to Ludum Dare 24, my first Ludum. Revolvolution is a top-down shooter where as the player progresses they receive worse and worse weapons, until they're left with a spoon.
'Evolution' was tough as a theme. But right from the very start, I decided not to go for the obvious cell manipulation. I instead took a twist on the theme and went for 'Devolution', something getting worse over time instead of better (which 'Evolution' can also apply to, if your of the pedantic persuasion).
You play as Scotty, an old biker still in his helmet. He is being attacked by a rival biker gang (also in their helmets, which match Scotty's. I'm lazy, okay?). However, as he defends himself, the items he's using against his foes overheat, jam, break, or slip out of his sweaty paw. So, he grabs the next most useful thing to fight on.
There are 3 levels, each with about 12 enemies each. However, once you defeat the enemies in a level, you repeat the level with an inferior weapon. The weapons are, in order of aqcuisition (with poor humour included): Minigun, Flamethrower, Shotgun, Ass-ault Rifle, Badass Dual Pistols, Revolvolution (Revolver), Smackerel (Mackerel to smack with) and Spoony the Spoon (a spoon).
Because your weapons get weaker, the game gets harder. It also provides the unique opportunity to take down an enemy with a minigun using only a spoon.
The levels themselves also get progressively harder, with more, and stronger, enemies spawned.
The controls (also listed on the menu screen) are arrow keys to move (or WASD for QWERTY folk and ZQSD for AZERTY peoples), mouse to aim, and then left mouse button or right mouse button to shoot. But not the scroll-wheel. My mother thought it was the scroll wheel for some reason...
So, enjoy Revolvolution! If you manage to win, make sure to post a screenie of the victory screen!
Also, about the source: The files are in the .pde format, as the game is made in Processing (www.processing.org). You will need to download Processing to make use of them (it's just a Java lib-type-thing). Or, you might be able to open them in a text editor...
The limited vision hints as a mood that could be really good with sound. The enemy bullets are very hard to see, and without any sound cues either it's difficult to know they are there.
Well done game, but it really needs some music and sounds
Z
Zed27 Aug 2012, 12:36
It's cool, but I am REALLY bad at it. I keep getting killed by my own flamethrower. I've kept it downloaded, though, so I'll more than likely go back to it.
Question. Why did you choose to have that restrictive field of view? It seems sort-of pointlessly limiting?
Ragzouken: Thanks! Yeah. I ran out of time for sounds... But if it helps, you can hum a chiptune while you play? And make little "pew-pew" noises when you shoot?
Zed: Well, at least you got that far :D My mother managed to kill herself with her own minigun bullets before the enemies even spawned. Twice. I think the restricted view adds to the atmosphere. However I agree that I probably overdid it needs to be a little less restricting. The carpet is modelled on the one in my Granny's living room. Hers doesn't have blood stains though :(
My finger hurts from clicking xD I managed to click outside the screen a few times which made me panic to tab back into the game. Awesome job, congratulations! :D
Ditto: Wow. I'm overwhelmed. I really didn't think anyone would bother trying to make it to the end. Thank you! Made the whole thing worth it :D You do know that you can hold down the mouse button? And yeah, I know that clicking thing is a problem, but there's not really a whole lot I can do about it :( So congratulations. How many tries did it take you?
It plays well apart from it being difficult to differentiate your character from the crowd, and the flames conceal your character and others so it's easy to get lost in the crowd. Apart from that, nice job!
@puzzlem00n you're not the first to say they're going to come back to it. I suppose if it's worth playing twice, it mustn't be too bad? Thanks for the comment! @BrothersT yeah, I didn't have time to make different sprites, or a moving camera to centre on the player. But I think the way the fog moves with the player might help? And about the flames, I wouldn't suggest running into them at all, haha. But I could make them more transparent... And getting lost in the crowd is part of the game! Mayhem is fun! Thanks for the words of wisdom, I'll keep them in mind for the post compo version.
It seems the best strategy is to be very evasive. In other words, continue shooting while circling the later levels repeatedly, grabbing health in the path.
This is perfect. You've invoked a game style (Smash TV-esque) really successfully- it feels like the start to a real game. I can't wait to see where you go with this one.
Oh, and I beat it on the first try too! Probably all those years as a kid dying over and over again in Smash TV.
Hey, congrats everybody! I suppose it is a bit easier than I thought, yeah. But I did most of my playtesting before I added health packs. At that time there were twice the number of enemies in a level too :3 @RawBits is it okay if I put the video in the Op?
@Puzzlem00n: you read my mind, haha. I'll also actually cap the player health, and add knockback. And you should see my idea for four player. On the same machine :3
M
Minimax9111 Sep 2012, 02:06
Nice game, FOV restriction didn't really cause me any problems, I won first go and my favorite weapon to kill things with was the spoon 4/5 PS: How do I send you the screenshot?
@Minimax911 cool, thanks for the comment. The spoon is pretty badass isn't it? You can take the screenshot with the PrintScreen key, and post it here or tweet me with it (@iandioch) Congrats on winning!
I think this game is too hard for me. :P Some audio would really change a lot, but the game is pretty playable. Great weapon names, though I didn't find Spoony the Spoon much inferior to Smackerel. Actually both weapons felt kinda powerful. :P Good job!
Haha. I think I made a typo, and that Spoony has twice the range of the Smackerel. But Spoony is meant to be inferior... But yeah, balancing is an issue. Thanks for the comments guys!
This game could have really used some music and sounds. I didn't see any reason there to be such a big limitation on player's sight.
M
matthias_zarzecki16 Sep 2012, 18:25
Good god how do you start this thing. All I see is this massive wall-of-text, which is what people mean when they "Stop with the god-damn instructions and let me play the game."
...oh there it is. Hidden off to the side.
WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT
Anyway, the game. Solid Twin-stick-shooter! Love the bouncing bullets, I think I saw some enemies kill each other. Weapons are also fun.
It could go with a bigger playing-field (especially at the beginning), and the wall-segments make it even smaller. A different color for you and the enemies would also improve this greatly.
AdventureIslands: yeah. I'm fixing those things in the post-compo version.
matthias_zarzecki: hmm. You're the first to complain about the text. I didn't think there was a lot. I'll give it some thought. Yeah, the enemies will kill each other if you line them up. I'm planning on adding a bigger playfield too. But when it gets more open it gets easier I think.
Comments30
The limited vision hints as a mood that could be really good with sound. The enemy bullets are very hard to see, and without any sound cues either it's difficult to know they are there.
Question. Why did you choose to have that restrictive field of view? It seems sort-of pointlessly limiting?
I really like the carpet, by the way.
Yeah. I ran out of time for sounds... But if it helps, you can hum a chiptune while you play? And make little "pew-pew" noises when you shoot?
Zed: Well, at least you got that far :D My mother managed to kill herself with her own minigun bullets before the enemies even spawned. Twice.
I think the restricted view adds to the atmosphere. However I agree that I probably overdid it needs to be a little less restricting.
The carpet is modelled on the one in my Granny's living room. Hers doesn't have blood stains though :(
My finger hurts from clicking xD I managed to click outside the screen a few times which made me panic to tab back into the game. Awesome job, congratulations! :D
You do know that you can hold down the mouse button?
And yeah, I know that clicking thing is a problem, but there's not really a whole lot I can do about it :(
So congratulations. How many tries did it take you?
@BrothersT yeah, I didn't have time to make different sprites, or a moving camera to centre on the player. But I think the way the fog moves with the player might help? And about the flames, I wouldn't suggest running into them at all, haha. But I could make them more transparent... And getting lost in the crowd is part of the game! Mayhem is fun! Thanks for the words of wisdom, I'll keep them in mind for the post compo version.
Oh, and I beat it on the first try too! Probably all those years as a kid dying over and over again in Smash TV.
I suppose it is a bit easier than I thought, yeah. But I did most of my playtesting before I added health packs. At that time there were twice the number of enemies in a level too :3
@RawBits is it okay if I put the video in the Op?
PS: How do I send you the screenshot?
You can take the screenshot with the PrintScreen key, and post it here or tweet me with it (@iandioch)
Congrats on winning!
Thanks for the comments guys!
...oh there it is. Hidden off to the side.
WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT
Anyway, the game. Solid Twin-stick-shooter! Love the bouncing bullets, I think I saw some enemies kill each other. Weapons are also fun.
It could go with a bigger playing-field (especially at the beginning), and the wall-segments make it even smaller. A different color for you and the enemies would also improve this greatly.
matthias_zarzecki: hmm. You're the first to complain about the text. I didn't think there was a lot. I'll give it some thought. Yeah, the enemies will kill each other if you line them up. I'm planning on adding a bigger playfield too. But when it gets more open it gets easier I think.