You dock your ship with the platform. The jerk thing spins, though. Captain Skyhawk was the inspiration here.
Controls: Arrows/WASD = Movement. Left/Right to rotate, Up/Down to move forward and back. R to restart Q to quit Enter works on the title screen to bypass clicking the button.
So this is my first LD, and my first non-tutorial Game Maker project that I've actually finished -- I'm pretty happy with that.
I was not enthused with the theme, but managed to think of something that skirted it closely enough and got it done. The shapes which comprise the docking platform shift around, and though it's done in the manner of levels, the ship's shape changes as you progress.
Did a ton of new things, learned a lot, and solidified some of what I already knew, which is always nice.
Tools: Game Maker Studio Bog standard Microsoft Paint (I know) Game Maker's Sprite/BG editor (I know, I know) BFXR
The concept was really good. The ship movement was really good! Maybe you should add some kind of inertia on the ship. When you release the forward/backward buttons you keep moving slower and slower until you're finally stopped. The game was really great though!
Cute little game, well-scoped and focused. An interesting take on the theme, too. I definitely enjoyed the lo-fi graphics and thought they helped to give a bit of ambience, despite a relatively simple theme. Definitely something that's replayable and fun. Good work!.
Sometime I found a perfect timing right at start, but then realized that I must press Enter to get the controlls available... The game can be rather challenging as the ship get bigger, and I can think of many kind of external elements. And congrats for your first LD!
Spent many trys and tons of restarts to pass the last level buut had a lot of fun with it! It makes me addicted to beat the level. :D I would enjoy some more levels with different barriers :)
@ajayajayaj: You know, that was something I did consider for this. I decided it was so short that it might be better to start over from the beginning on it, more like older arcade games - but it wasn't a very firm decision, really. But I can see where it could be a little frustrating, especially given that games don't generally work like that anymore, expectations have changed a bit. This feedback is something I'll keep in mind in the future, thank you! :)
Welcome to Ludum Dare ! It's a nice game you made there, especially for a first one. I enjoyed playing it and it kept me engaged until I beat it after many tries. Wish my first game ever was that good.
1) when you die, restart from last level, not the beginning. 2) When the narrative words appear to start the level, don't spin the dock until the player clears them so they can start moving. Very often it seems like there was a chance for a quick win if they could move immediately, but reading the words delays them and they miss an opportunity for a quick win.
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The game can be rather challenging as the ship get bigger, and I can think of many kind of external elements.
And congrats for your first LD!
Controls felt a bit odd at first for a ship in space but you get used to it.
It's finished, it does the job and has everything required. Good one, kudos.
Keep up the game dev.
I would enjoy some more levels with different barriers :)
A few tips:
1) when you die, restart from last level, not the beginning.
2) When the narrative words appear to start the level, don't spin the dock until the player clears them so they can start moving. Very often it seems like there was a chance for a quick win if they could move immediately, but reading the words delays them and they miss an opportunity for a quick win.
Otherwise pretty good game!