Sorry, this game is unfinished. There is no audio and a LOT of features are not implemented, the balance is broken etc.
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Mechanics explanation:
An enemy is approaching and you have a cannon to destroy it. However, the cannon is not a conventional one: it has emotions. So you have to put the cannon in the right mood to make it shoot.
There are 4 characteristics:
- Probability of success. Indicates whether the cannon is likely to shoot at all.
- Accuracy. Indicates the probability of hitting the enemy. So, even if the cannon agrees to shot, it can still miss.
- Power. Indicates the amount of damage the enemy will take if hitted. Concentration also affects power. "100 +/- 20" means that the final number will be between 80 and 120.
- Concentration. Affects power.
There are 8 emotions ordered into 4 scales. Some emotions also form pairs and set a certain mood, For example: Trust + Fear = Sumbission, Joy + Trust = Love etc. There are 8 types of mood, each one has some bonuses. At the moment it is hard for players to determine how each mood affects the characteristics. I will work on it and release a post-compo version later.
Promising prototype ! Feels like The Sims for inanimate objects. With a bit more levers to pull and a clearer link between actions and emotions, it could make a nice little game.
Really like the idea, take some time to put the cannon in the right mood and telling this is already the sign of a good game :) maybe you should push it a bit more?
It's a pretty good idea in itself. The game as it is is not really making sense and "responsive". I don't know if you actually can get Berta to shoot, but the idea that a defense cannon must be in the correct mood to shoot is one of the best take on the theme I've seen so far.
The GUI is a bit confusing as well, some labels indicates +X, +Y when it is actually -Y which makes gameplay sense.
2Kyatic, Thank you, I totally agree that the game lack some feedback and it is very hard for players to find out the connections between their actions and consequences. Probably I should add some hints. And yes, the balance is completely broken, It is the main issue here.
Yep, idea is good, but the balance was not done. At least, I can recommend greatly increase "time remaining" or simply remove this option. Time pressing rarely can make game better.
Yaroslav, thanks for advice. Actually, mechanics wise Gods Will be Watching was one of the inspiration sources.
"Time remainings" refers to the amount of actions a player can perform, not the actual time in seconds. So, removing this will result in removing challenge.
Great idea you had here! Having to talk a gun into firing would be a very interesting and amusing challenge! It's just a shame you didn't have enough time to add more possible conversation options. As a thought for your post compo version, perhaps the cannon's mood could influence what effects each choice gives you, like having a negative option give it an anger boost if it's already fired up!
Nice idea. I think it will be interesting if you have more time to make some improvements. Need some feedback for player to know whether doing right or wrong.
thoughts: - Paging Dr. Susan Calvin, Dr. Calvin, please come in. - Apearantly you can hit and do '0 damage'? No wonder she doesn't feel like shooting... I'd get stage fright as well ;-)
Interesting concept! I was not sure at first if I was supposed to force it to shoot or to try to prevent it from shooting, and then I read in the description that I should fire, I did not know which emotions would help it to do so...
Dining Philosopher, it is assumed that the player will find out how emotions affect characteristics by trial and error. Nevertheless, I understand that mechanics is not enough clear to understand and I'm going to improve it in post-compo version.
Comments30
The game as it is is not really making sense and "responsive".
I don't know if you actually can get Berta to shoot, but the idea that a defense cannon must be in the correct mood to shoot is one of the best take on the theme I've seen so far.
The GUI is a bit confusing as well, some labels indicates +X, +Y when it is actually -Y which makes gameplay sense.
There is something to work further on here.
Sure, I will definitely continue the work
Thank you, I totally agree that the game lack some feedback and it is very hard for players to find out the connections between their actions and consequences. Probably I should add some hints. And yes, the balance is completely broken, It is the main issue here.
Take a look on Gods Will Be Watching game. This game also was done on LD and after that released in Steam. It has similiar management mechanics, when you need balance pluses with minuses. http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-26/?action=preview&uid=11045
"Time remainings" refers to the amount of actions a player can perform, not the actual time in seconds. So, removing this will result in removing challenge.
- Paging Dr. Susan Calvin, Dr. Calvin, please come in.
- Apearantly you can hit and do '0 damage'? No wonder she doesn't feel like shooting... I'd get stage fright as well ;-)
it is assumed that the player will find out how emotions affect characteristics by trial and error. Nevertheless, I understand that mechanics is not enough clear to understand and I'm going to improve it in post-compo version.
The buttons could have some sound feedback when pressed.