Ludum Dare #31compo

Color Is Everything.

by csanyk

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.19

Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.82

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.31

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.60

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★2.23

Audio★★★★★★★★★★2.21

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.10

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.19

Coolness★★★★★★★★★★60%

*As always, if you leave a comment I'll play and rate your game.*

I really wanted the theme to be Color is Everything, but that's OK; I can fit the game I wanted to make on one screen.

In *Color Is Everything*, you control police officer Ferguson Cleveland of the N.Y.L.A.P.D. as he strives to Protect and Serve the city. Some of the city's people are black, some of them are white. Some of them are criminals. Your job is to protect the innocent while bringing criminals to justice.

The post-compo version adds:

- a bugfix for lower-resolution screens (down to 800x600) so the endgame text doesn't go off screen.
- slightly tweaks the pacing.

Controls:

- Move using WASD or the arrow keys
- Arrest criminals by running into them.
- Shoot criminals by pressing Z or /
- You're not supposed to arrest or shoot innocents... but it's bound to happen sometimes. You have a dangerous job.

Scoring:

Your actions will be judged according to the values of society.

Tips:

- You can't tell who's a criminal and who isn't just by looking at them. You have to observe their actions. It's not easy!
- As in real life, nothing bad will happen to you if you arrest or kill the wrong black person. However, you will lose points if you arrest an innocent white person, and your career will end if you kill an innocent white person.

Comments28

Fanttum8 Dec 2014, 01:49

Sounds like quite the idea. Too bad I'm on mac and can't play :/

csanykauthor8 Dec 2014, 02:16

I was going to make an HTML5 version so that everyone can play, but currently it's having serious performance issues, I believe relating to changes they made in GM:S 1.4 with the drawing pipeline. If I can get acceptable performance out of it, I'll add a link to it.

Mopz8 Dec 2014, 16:13

Nice satire :)

johnbrynte8 Dec 2014, 18:50

A meaningful game. Simple and truly thoughtful. Well presented!

SamCyanide9 Dec 2014, 02:24

Very well made! Good luck mate!

Keumar9 Dec 2014, 17:58

Hey ! Your design's choices fit your satire very well. Good game in general and thank you for the source code, I learnt things out of it. I really appreciated the little "joke" in your comments by the way !

Bladdock9 Dec 2014, 20:03

Brilliant concept. I was very concerned reading the description before I realised it was a satire. Bravo

FergusonTV10 Dec 2014, 14:11

Interesting theme, the gameplay is cool, it could have been served by art but i suppose you don't have any graphist

csanykauthor11 Dec 2014, 05:41

@FergusonTV, if you read my post-mortem article, it explains a bit about the decision to go with highly abstract graphics. Partly it was to be expedient, but there is some meaning to it as well.

Devark12 Dec 2014, 03:23

YOU'VE UPLOADEA

FloatingGhost12 Dec 2014, 03:24

Did I just play racial profiling the game? I think I did.

Topical/10

cmcoto12 Dec 2014, 03:26

Wow, loved the concept behind the game! It brings insight to people when played, great job!

sorlok12 Dec 2014, 03:57

Cool concept, and decent mechanics. Love the double-themes. A bit sparse on content.

lase12 Dec 2014, 04:03

I really like this concept. I had been thinking about doing something similar at a later date. It seemed tough to catch criminals, but easy to jack up your score at the same time. Not sure if this is a design problem or feature :)

Tater_hater12 Dec 2014, 17:54

Its pretty awesome that you threw in some recent developments into your game. I wish the whole thing was as simple as your game haha

Just Tom13 Dec 2014, 01:27

I didn't even realise it was topical until the end screen and that's what makes it so amazingly clever. I felt like an ass.

Some instructions in game or a light tutorial are my first thoughts on feedback, but honestly my favourite game on Dare so far, genuinely brilliant

csanykauthor13 Dec 2014, 03:23

@Just Tom: WOW, thanks! I am humbled.

I agree, the game could have had some instructions in game... perhaps I'll add something like that in the post-compo.

Managore13 Dec 2014, 03:23

As soon as I saw the code snippet I knew this game was going to be good. This is a fantastic commentary on current issues.

spotco13 Dec 2014, 05:18

Caught me off guard! Good message!

csanykauthor13 Dec 2014, 05:46

Added post-compo build. Worth replaying if you were on a display < 1680x1050.

ramyaanudeep13 Dec 2014, 06:07

wow wat a wonderful concept

TijmenTio13 Dec 2014, 23:07

Way to make a statement haha

snickersnacks14 Dec 2014, 02:47

Interesting concept, I thought it was pretty difficult to tell what was going on. Reading the behavior was tricky. But I dig the idea :)

kirbytails715 Dec 2014, 00:13

Topical and enjoyable. I think the scoring needs tuning, though; arresting everyone as they appeared seemed too viable.

hbocao15 Dec 2014, 00:27

I really enjoyed the idea and the message you're saying, but the game was no really fun to me. I liked the way you used (and twisted hehe) the theme and how unique was your design decisions. Keep rocking!

rjhelms24 Dec 2014, 17:43

Good thought-provoking topical game. At first I thought "Where's the colour?", but then it dawned on me.

It was a little hard to figure out what was going on, other than just arresting everyone - but the incentives the points give you get the message across pretty well. Great job!

lparker27 Dec 2014, 16:54

Definatly a thought provocing game.

EvanEGibbs29 Dec 2014, 02:21

This was a super good idea. I'd love to see it expanded. The subject matter is a good idea. Some of the information was confusing to me until I read the instructions and really thought it through. I feel like just reading your instructions got the point across and I wish it was conveyed in the game. A great start though!