In this high-score arcade game, you play as Groll, a generally peaceful monster who's decided to take revenge upon his human antagonists by destroying all of their corn-transporting wagons. Angry as he is, however, Groll cannot betray his peaceful nature, and will not attack any human directly. That doesn't stop them from hunting you down with swords and arrows!
Try to destroy as many wagons as possible while evading the guards. When in doubt, retreat to the forests where no one can see you!
Controls: WASD to Move SPACE to Lunge
Tips: - Plan your movements carefully by sticking to the forests and moving out when it's safe. - Lunging at the right time can dodge missiles and evade speedy knights, but be mindful of the cooldown! - Cherry picking easy wagons doesn't earn many points - try to keep track of wagons on long routes! - An apple appears when you're below half health. It'll bring you up to full if you can find it.
UPDATE: After reading lots of feedback (thank you!!), I dove into the code and discovered a couple of pathfinding bugs that I believe were making the game much more difficult than intended. The fixed version is below, as well as a new Web build (Unity player).
This is my second Ludum Dare entry. I struggled coming up with a good idea until I had the current design of attacking merchant routes. It was only after spending an entire day coding that I realized how similar my idea is to a game called Hoard, released in 2010. I haven't played it, but it's clear both games are of the same unique genre, raiding supply lines. That said, I think Groll's Revenge offers a stealthy and less-destructive experience when compared to Hoard.
I hope you enjoy Groll's Revenge! Let me know your best score in the comments.
- Tyler Paul
Audio: "A ninja in the oscillators" by Rolemusic (from FreeMusicArchive.org)
All links are pointing to a Windows version if I'm not mistaken. Couldn't run on my Mac
J
Jani Nykänen25 Aug 2015, 06:34
A bit simple, but fun.
By the way, I downloaded the Linux version, but what I got was a Windows executable. It didn't matter since Unity's Windows builds work fine through Wine, so I was able to play the game.
I love the concept of a stealth caravan raider game - it's something that I had never even considered until I saw this, but now that I have I'm shocked I haven't played one before.
There's just one thing about the gameplay that annoys me: there doesn't seem to be a way to avoid damage while you raid a caravan. If you get close enough to touch the corn, the archer protecting it is close enough to take a free shot at you that you can't really dodge. I can lure away the melee units, vanish into the forest, and grab their caravans, but the archers don't have such a tactic from what I could tell.
Maybe I'm missing some strategy, but it seems like it's inevitable you will take some archery damage from the guards. I think adding something like if you hit somebody with your lunge they get stunned for a second so you can retreat without getting shot?
Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. The textures were nice but pretty simple. There were a few moments where I was fleeing from a huge mob before hiding in a tree or preparing to snatch three caravans at the same time when the game really got exciting, but in general the game gets dull after a few games.
That said it really was a fun game to play and I think I need to try something in the same genre later. Well executed all around, and thanks for the game!
It's got the great aesthetic and the difficulty of an old school arcade game for sure! Good job with that! The enemies are super fast to react you coming out the woods though and I found that a bit frustrating at times, but it might just be me not understanding all the mechanics correctly.
A good, solid entry. It was fun lunging out of the woods to destroy a wagon, and then dash back to safety. It was pretty brutally difficult, but overall you've done a good job. Well done!
Good game. Fun and addictive. Maybe you should add some "scare scream" button to scare humans around.
Oh, and also I don't get the story. Why is this monster destroys wagons but not humans. Like "I'm peaceful and will not touch any human, they will die later anyway by starving. Winter is coming and I destroy their supplies".
I liked concept of the game! it's a really funny gameplay! some points importants to commentL spacebar seems do not work sometimes and its kind strange start with "T" and reload with "L". There are unusual letters and t would be cool if there is only one key to both actions. Overall nice entry!
I found this via your post-mortem post. It's very much the kind of game I would create so I thoroughly enjoyed it! I understand why players might find it difficult at first, but with a little patience / thought it becomes clear how to stay safe and rack up the points (ambushing passing caravans from the forest is fun). In my opinion it is very well balanced, the possible exception being how fast some of the shooting enemies are to react to your presence. Great job!
Great game, the music and graphics gave me strong Zelda 2 flashbacks. I found a sweet spot in Corner Forest by the south western city, grabbed 20k points before I quit. Seems like being a Groll (who looks a lot like a Tarrasque!) is pretty tough!
Nice work with the idea, and I enjoyed the simple graphical style too. It's a shame it's so hard to avoid damage, and that there's not really much of a chance to wait and pounce once the knights start roaming. All in all a fairly solid entry, though!
Comments28
By the way, I downloaded the Linux version, but what I got was a Windows executable. It didn't matter since Unity's Windows builds work fine through Wine, so I was able to play the game.
There's just one thing about the gameplay that annoys me: there doesn't seem to be a way to avoid damage while you raid a caravan. If you get close enough to touch the corn, the archer protecting it is close enough to take a free shot at you that you can't really dodge. I can lure away the melee units, vanish into the forest, and grab their caravans, but the archers don't have such a tactic from what I could tell.
Maybe I'm missing some strategy, but it seems like it's inevitable you will take some archery damage from the guards. I think adding something like if you hit somebody with your lunge they get stunned for a second so you can retreat without getting shot?
Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. The textures were nice but pretty simple. There were a few moments where I was fleeing from a huge mob before hiding in a tree or preparing to snatch three caravans at the same time when the game really got exciting, but in general the game gets dull after a few games.
That said it really was a fun game to play and I think I need to try something in the same genre later. Well executed all around, and thanks for the game!
I felt weak, a more destructive dash could add some fun. Music tune was good btw !
Keyboard: doesn't know how close it got to being snapped in half.
Very cool music, good choose!
Oh, and also I don't get the story. Why is this monster destroys wagons but not humans. Like "I'm peaceful and will not touch any human, they will die later anyway by starving. Winter is coming and I destroy their supplies".
Anyway, this is the game worth to play.
I liked concept of the game! it's a really funny gameplay!
some points importants to commentL spacebar seems do not work sometimes and its kind strange start with "T" and reload with "L". There are unusual letters and t would be cool if there is only one key to both actions. Overall nice entry!
A bit hard but I don't have a problem with that. Actually that is how old school games were