Having no creative bones in my body and only being good at infinitives, I asked myself, "What is the most minimalistic game you could make?" At first, I thought of a 3D open-world, cover-based shooter, but, as those are so common in jams, I thought I'd go for the least obvious route: a shmup.
Everyone knows the only cool dimensions are the 1st and 4th dimensions. But, while a 4th dimensional game would be a good idea, I've yet to see a 1D game.
So, there. A 1D shmup.
A and D to move left and right. Right and Left arrow keys to shoot. You are the green square. Your enemies are red. You shoot purple. You collect the yellow for POINTS.
Once your accustomed to the game, the enemies speed up.
edit: Also, the green tiles in the middle heal you. Forgot about that. That's pretty important.
cool idea. a few things: i had a hard time keeping off the wave of guys after a bit. maybe i'm just not understanding the mechanics yet, because i don't know what the darker squares seem to do. also i would make the player's square stand out more & (a minor thing but) ingame when it said "L&R to shoot" it confused me.
Really have no idea whats happening. It gets hectic too fast so there isn't enough time to figure anything out before you die. The "L&R to shoot" text confused me too.
It's a 1D super crate box with 1 weapon, and I like it! Though i couldn't play it without zooming into the browser window its soo tiny. The game could be a bit more visible - maybe if the shots were less flashy so that the protagonist and the enemies would stand out a bit better. Also, i'd change the screenshot you have here - the BEST thing about the game is how simple it is, don't photoshop it to make it look more complex. No one photoshops paper bags on supermodels so don't spoil your work as well ;) You followed the theme, made a game that's hilarious in how it works, and is enjoyable and engaging. Good sir, have my like!
Another game that hurt my brain from all the flashing details and game elements that are hard to make out. After understanding what was actually going on it was actually a very playable game! Cool concept and great that you have now shown me what a 1D-shooter would be like.
Nice concept! Became too easy once I reached the green squares, since it just meant I could focus fire on one side and then switching to the other if it got too close.
Very neat concept, though, a others have mentioned, it's difficult to tell what's going on. That could stand to be improved.
Also, I wonder if there is really much strategy or choice available in the game. It seemed to me that I just needed to hold fire for the direction I was going to move to get a square, then the other way, then back and forth until I ran out of life. Is there any way to actually minimize lives lost, or is it an inevitable decline regardless of what you do?
That is a very unique idea, and has a lot with the theme! But the execution leaves a bit to be desired.
The enemies move a bit too fast even in the earlier levels, and the shooting cooldown is way too high, so I die very quickly. The option of holding down a key to shoot would be very welcome.
Also, it was a bit hard to see the enemies, the shot and the player - maybe make a higher contrast between the rectangles and the units in the game?
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Felt like the grid set up made it hard to see you/the enemies past the rather large flickering squares.
Also, I wonder if there is really much strategy or choice available in the game. It seemed to me that I just needed to hold fire for the direction I was going to move to get a square, then the other way, then back and forth until I ran out of life. Is there any way to actually minimize lives lost, or is it an inevitable decline regardless of what you do?
The enemies move a bit too fast even in the earlier levels, and the shooting cooldown is way too high, so I die very quickly. The option of holding down a key to shoot would be very welcome.
Also, it was a bit hard to see the enemies, the shot and the player - maybe make a higher contrast between the rectangles and the units in the game?
Anyway, thanks for the cool idea.