Ludum Dare #31compo

Swarm

by stephenhaney

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.26

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.42

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★2.97

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.61

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★2.78

Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.73

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.41

Coolness★★★★★★★★★★51%

Keep it all on one screen? It's gotta be retro. Swarm is somewhere between Pacman and Frogger. It's challenging, but I think you're up to the task. Grab those little juicy boxes and beat the swarm!

Note: this is a compo 48 hour solo game, please rate accordingly!

I created the "engine" from scratch using Canvas during the compo. That left less time for world building; the end game is a bit short once you get fast. My first time using canvas, I'm impressed by the performance!

I wrote the music in Logic using the built in virtual instruments, you can get an mp3 here if you like it:
http://www.thinkingswiftly.com/swarm/sound/song.mp3

Other tools I used:
Photoshop, Sublime text, gulp.

--- Controls: keyboard arrow keys. ---

Comments24

Snail_Man8 Dec 2014, 03:00

Really nice mood on this! The music really added a lot, and I liked the idea of 'memorizing guard patterns' a lot! Good work!

Insality8 Dec 2014, 03:02

nice music ;)
Explain the controls of the game in the descr.

CheeseyBob8 Dec 2014, 03:09

Fun and nicely polished. Could have done with being a bit longer, but otherwise very good!

zanenga8 Dec 2014, 04:06

Solid game. It was quick and fun. Love how you get smaller everytime you die, making it a little bit easier.

mtinkerhess8 Dec 2014, 04:41

Very smooth graphics. Nice music. I like how getting smaller when you get hit makes the game easier instead of harder.

Jhandsy8 Dec 2014, 05:04

Nice game man! I love how essentially built three difficulties into the game from the get go, then each time the pluses spawned it was like going to a new level. I only wish it has been longer!

Paperscraps8 Dec 2014, 05:07

Short and sweet. Nice core to the game.

vekjeft8 Dec 2014, 05:08

Liking this:)

Kitch8 Dec 2014, 05:08

Really liked that. Would like a lot more.. but you know.. 48 and all that. Thanks!
Soundtrack is kickass... btw.

stephenhaneyauthor8 Dec 2014, 05:14

Thanks for all the great feedback!

Those that liked the music, if you are interested in an mp3 you can grab it from the game's asset folders: http://www.thinkingswiftly.com/swarm/sound/song.mp3

Cheers! Going to return ratings to all comments that I can run on my Mac.

Interface8 Dec 2014, 05:26

Nice. The level layout looks vaguely familiar ;-) Good stuff, great mood with the music.

davidB8 Dec 2014, 14:52

I like the music. I've got the same start idea, but I stay more pacman like.

Gins8 Dec 2014, 22:37

Cool short game, I liked the idea of the hero getting smaller with each hit, so you'd have an easier time evading the more often you lose. That makes it an extra challenge to beat the game without getting hit :)

Sound effects really satisfying too!

kts_kettek9 Dec 2014, 04:22

Booo~ wish it was longer

SirRicecake9 Dec 2014, 05:16

I really love the sound when one reaches the white cube! Also nice idea that one is getting smaller and smaller, when hit.

barry.p.evans9 Dec 2014, 05:45

Very challenging! and a great game concept!

Drtizzle9 Dec 2014, 17:27

I really like the fact that you get smaller when you die, it makes the game easier, so it's somewhat a built in difficulty level.

Fluid movement and animations, very well done, especially for a Canvas game

jmborden9 Dec 2014, 20:02

Another fellow JS/Canvas coder. Nice game!

StackAttack9 Dec 2014, 21:30

Pretty fun, though not much depth - I do really like the built in difficulty curve that others have mentioned, smart idea

barryrowe10 Dec 2014, 01:57

Fun game, and good mechanics. The animations feel good (fades) and the faces are funny. I wish there were more puzzles and levels, but it's a fun game.