The Trader

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.55
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.01
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.31
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.38
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.14
Audio★★★★★★★★★★4.03
Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.28
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.96
Coolness★★★★★★★★★★100%
The Trader connects the world.
The Trader sails with arrows.
The Trader eats to survive.
The Trader trades.
The Trader is driven by riches.
Lighthouses recharge his lonely ship.

Follow me on Twitter: @travischen

Comments41

Follett26 Aug 2014, 01:00
The lighting on this was amazing, the music as well was really great. My main complaint would be the sound when the lighthouse shines on you is just a little to loud.
ob6160
ob616026 Aug 2014, 01:03
The atmosphere was superb! The graphics also work very will; giving the game a clean and minimalistic theme. Great game.
VikingWarriors26 Aug 2014, 01:03
Really cool. Love the art, sound, and mood. Maybe make the goal of the game more clear though.
FakeHair26 Aug 2014, 01:04
Really like the feel of this. Takes a few deaths before you realize that you need to click the tab to eat and sit by lighthouses to get your meter back up. Feels good to find a place to buy your beans for 3x what you paid. Nice work
mechabit
mechabit26 Aug 2014, 01:07
Lovely audio and graphics. Bit annoying that eating your precious cargo gives so little energy. I spent most of my time near those magic light houses to save on energy. Well done.
Cad26 Aug 2014, 01:08
I believe this is my favorite entry so far. You did everything in the right way and it turned out great, nice job.
H1S226 Aug 2014, 01:09
I really liked your game. Great Mood because of great Audio and Graphics!
Good Job!
laremere26 Aug 2014, 01:14
Utterly fantastic graphics and polish. Unfortunately the gameplay doesn't have quite enough depth. I found two ports close with a lighthouse and enough price difference that sailing back and forth was more profitable than exploring, which I did anyways after I had more money than there was use for.
Maxium
Maxium26 Aug 2014, 01:42
The art style and the audio really bring the mood together. However, the gameplay seemed a little too much like going grocery shopping in a ship.
ehtd
ehtd26 Aug 2014, 01:45
Art and music are great
uvwar
uvwar26 Aug 2014, 01:54
Was confused as to why I kept dying until a lighthouse hit me. Then I realized I could just scoot back and forth between the starting ports and wrack up tons of money indefinitely until I died of old age. If things ran out of stock and forced me to move you could get around this. Otherwise really cool aesthetic and atmosphere!
TravisChen
TravisChenauthor26 Aug 2014, 02:16
Thanks for all the great feedback! Made a last minute change where the ports now have inventories of goods. So you have to explore once you've expended all the resources. Cheers!
NnelGdaBandit26 Aug 2014, 03:26
I like the sailing and art. Cool prototype!
buckslice26 Aug 2014, 03:30
Great game, the music fit perfectly. I died pretty quick though hah. I didn't get if the bar on the right was the hunger bar or not? Because it only got refilled by the lighthouses, but when it ran out it says I starved. Twas still an wondrous adventure on the open seas!
Victory Garden26 Aug 2014, 03:31
Wow, this game is absolutely gorgeous! I loved the bobbing of the boat, the slow movement, the sound of other people as you pull into port... it's really sad that with all that festivity, you still have the goal to trade and rack up money until you die.

More than anything I'd like to see a gameplay boost, because I don't feel like the chosen elements--though each beautiful in its own way--really meshed together. You forsake company for money, but then the things you buy don't really need to be eaten, thanks to the lighthouses. The feel of simultaneous isolation, through the lighthouses, and company at the markets... well, simply put, it seems to be a bit slow and contemplative to really match with the goal, if you know what I mean.

That said, this was *extremely* graphically impressive. Great job!
jesterswilde
jesterswilde26 Aug 2014, 03:35
Great game you guys! I could really feel the mood in this from moment one. The audio design especially makes me feel right in the world.

I feel like the camera could be looking a little more out to the horizon, but if it's placed the way it is to help add mysteriousness I think it ends up being a good choice.

I'd love to see this turn into something bigger!
JordanFitz26 Aug 2014, 03:36
The goal of the game was a little confusing.
liquidminduk26 Aug 2014, 03:39
Great visually, and the audio was great too. Gameplay wise, it would be great to have a visual indicator of which ports recharge, and which are just for trading (or maybe I missed something) Great overall
jas722926 Aug 2014, 03:49
Nice graphics, I really like the lighting effect!
TheGamingProject26 Aug 2014, 04:27
I liked the concept, but it definitely took a few tries before I finally knew what was going on with the Lighthouse and food. Really great atmosphere though.
AortaStudios26 Aug 2014, 04:31
Really great atmosphere, I can't really explain it but it feels good to sail the boat. Also the simplistic art style really complimented the game!
gnuwind26 Aug 2014, 04:45
That funny but difficult to decide with eat and sell. Awsome game.
Greg Klein26 Aug 2014, 07:32
Great style and sound. The objective of the game is a bit confusing.
ivanhlb26 Aug 2014, 07:56
Wow very impressive graphics and sound!
The handling is very stiff and un-helpful though...
eastes
eastes26 Aug 2014, 08:03
Great theme idea and gorgeous visuals. Unfortunately I wasn't very skilled as I often died of starvation.
dustyroom
dustyroom26 Aug 2014, 09:01
Very nice, though the cam is too low imho. Sounds and visual are badass.
w84death
w84death26 Aug 2014, 09:14
Nice graphics and animations.
sephyka26 Aug 2014, 09:28
Interesting concept. I really like to travel into the ship with this kind of atmosphere. Not really dynamic but peaceful gameplay. Good work.
skiddings26 Aug 2014, 18:31
The sailing was a little awkward but everything else was great! The use of light worked well.
jdavidson091
jdavidson09127 Aug 2014, 03:23
Was surprisingly fun; I love "stock market"-lite games like this. Would love to see it expanded to have the ports dynamically change prices, and to have it be a little harder to "die" out in the ocean. Cool concept though, very fun
zillix
zillix27 Aug 2014, 06:27
very cool, and very immersive. I loved the simple graphics and gameplay.
Otrora27 Aug 2014, 15:12
Cool concept and really nice graphics. 5 stars on Mood
43iscoding
43iscoding28 Aug 2014, 07:27
Very beautiful game. Music/Graphics are extremely well done!
John Drury28 Aug 2014, 10:39
Great graphics! Great music! Great Mood! Being young and eager was great :D
MechanicMoon
MechanicMoon28 Aug 2014, 22:36
Is a masterpiece of resource management. we have tried to do something very similar. congratulations, good job
Artamus29 Aug 2014, 09:20
Nice game, congrats!
rogueNoodle
rogueNoodle30 Aug 2014, 12:08
This felt like art. Really beautiful entry.
jukimv198631 Aug 2014, 07:11
And I died of starvation :( Great art, audio and mood, but I couldn't do much in there. Anyway the game was quite polished. Good work!
lotusgame1 Sep 2014, 12:39
A great gameplay idea, very well executed ! I really like the graphics style. It makes me want to explore more lands and to buy stuff for upgrading the ship. It's a very good start :)
bluesky1 Sep 2014, 17:25
Love the graphics and the sudden escalation of action. Cool idea!
Snicklodocus
Snicklodocus10 Sep 2014, 20:52
Great art and sound! The waves and music really set the mood. Gameplay is not super interesting but it's fun to sail around. Good job.

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