Ludum Dare #35compo
windowframe
manipulate the shape of the game itself to beat six nasty vampires!
///////// CONTROLS /////////
move with WASD or ARROWS
jump and wall jump with W or UP or SPACE or CTRL
shoot stakes with LEFT MOUSE BUTTON
pull pinned stakes toward you by holding RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON
recollect all stakes by holding R or SHIFT
toggle mute with M
cheat and skip level with P
exit game with ESC
visual aid: http://puu.sh/omjWB/511d7c92a1.png
///////// HOW TO PLAY /////////
your stakes (once collected) can be thrown into enemies, walls and the edge of the game's window, where they will pin down that edge and stop it from moving. once an edge is pinned, you can right click on the stake pinning it and, while holding right click, pull the edge toward you (you cannot push the edge away). you cannot pull edges while in the air. you can recollect all of your stakes in the level by standing still and holding down R or SHIFT until they pop out.
your goal is to defeat all six vampires. beating a vampire uses up one of your stakes permanently.
///////// NOTES /////////
there is no save feature, but you can use P to skip previously beat levels (or levels that are simply too difficult). In boss levels, pressing P will first defeat the boss, then on the second press will skip the level.
left click to skip through cutscenes.
///////// ABOUT /////////
this is my eighth ludum dare entry and it took until the very last minute to put it all together but I'm so happy I managed to get it all in! the game has six fairly unique boss battles (especially the last one) and a few puzzle levels that are quite mentally demanding, so if you love action but hate puzzles, or hate action but love puzzles, hopefully there's something there for you (and, if you really want to, you can skip the types of levels you don't like).
windowframe was made in GameMaker:Studio, with Aseprite for the art, jfxr for the sound effects and FL Studio for the music. it uses DawnBringer's 32 col palette (http://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16247).
///////// HELP /////////
the game may run strangely on some systems, so I've included an extra compatible version ("more fake window"). if it's still unplayable for whatever reason, please let me know in the comments, on twitter (@managore) or via email ([email protected]) and I'll do what I can to fix it for you!
if you're stuck in an early room, watch the screenshots above (they're animated gifs).
///////// CONTROLS /////////
move with WASD or ARROWS
jump and wall jump with W or UP or SPACE or CTRL
shoot stakes with LEFT MOUSE BUTTON
pull pinned stakes toward you by holding RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON
recollect all stakes by holding R or SHIFT
toggle mute with M
cheat and skip level with P
exit game with ESC
visual aid: http://puu.sh/omjWB/511d7c92a1.png
///////// HOW TO PLAY /////////
your stakes (once collected) can be thrown into enemies, walls and the edge of the game's window, where they will pin down that edge and stop it from moving. once an edge is pinned, you can right click on the stake pinning it and, while holding right click, pull the edge toward you (you cannot push the edge away). you cannot pull edges while in the air. you can recollect all of your stakes in the level by standing still and holding down R or SHIFT until they pop out.
your goal is to defeat all six vampires. beating a vampire uses up one of your stakes permanently.
///////// NOTES /////////
there is no save feature, but you can use P to skip previously beat levels (or levels that are simply too difficult). In boss levels, pressing P will first defeat the boss, then on the second press will skip the level.
left click to skip through cutscenes.
///////// ABOUT /////////
this is my eighth ludum dare entry and it took until the very last minute to put it all together but I'm so happy I managed to get it all in! the game has six fairly unique boss battles (especially the last one) and a few puzzle levels that are quite mentally demanding, so if you love action but hate puzzles, or hate action but love puzzles, hopefully there's something there for you (and, if you really want to, you can skip the types of levels you don't like).
windowframe was made in GameMaker:Studio, with Aseprite for the art, jfxr for the sound effects and FL Studio for the music. it uses DawnBringer's 32 col palette (http://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16247).
///////// HELP /////////
the game may run strangely on some systems, so I've included an extra compatible version ("more fake window"). if it's still unplayable for whatever reason, please let me know in the comments, on twitter (@managore) or via email ([email protected]) and I'll do what I can to fix it for you!
if you're stuck in an early room, watch the screenshots above (they're animated gifs).
Genres: platformer
Tools: GameMaker
Comments253
I quite like the idea you did, made game window in a game core, it's surprisingly interesting, and the feeling of exploration also get more tension in this way.
Really solid one, good job! :D
@Crowbeak: haha, I'm glad you noticed!
Some very neat puzzles stemming from a very simple mechanic. I particularly like the ones where you have to control whether bullets are on-screen or off-screen; that's a mechanic that normally goes unexplored, but here it works great.
It's quite a difficult game, I had trouble with some of the twitchy platformer bits, especially the boss battles, and especially especially the final boss. On my second playthrough, I noticed that P skips the level - perhaps that could be made more obvious.
My laptop uses an Intel integrated graphics thing which doesn't always play nice with edge cases, and it gave me flickering triangular glitches whenever the window resized. The extra-compatible version worked fine. Perhaps this information is useful.
The SFXR sound effects were a bit cheap, but above par for a Ludum Dare game.
All in all: a very clever idea, executed well.
Also, so many levels! :O
By the way, I found one tiny bug: Bats sometimes can stuck in the bottom window border if it's pinned and they hit it.
Also, I have a question: On some level real window moves and resizes with ingame one, but on other levels real window remains big and fixed, only ingame window moves inside. Bug or intended?
For now, I'm stuck in two arrows left level, but I will rety later...
From seeing this on Twitter I almost think it's a shame some of those gorgeous graphical glitches didn't make the final version :P I'm curious, why does it switch to a "fake" window occasionally, when in multiple levels you demonstrate that you can do it using default windows? Is it due to the graphical problems?
@mklee: I've never made a bullet hell type of game before so it was a learning experience. I sort of like that you have to find a safe spot to get your stake back but I can definitely see how it would be frustrating!
@snowyowl: now I'm thinking about whether it would have been good to remind the player about the level skip feature once they die a certain number of times on a level. maybe for next time! thanks for letting me know what kind of weird effects you got, and glad to hear the alternate version fixed things. :)
@holyblackcat: whoops! thanks for the heads up, I think I know what's causing that (hint: hacky programming) and how to fix it. I'll address your question below.
@dunin: the two puzzle levels where you have two stakes are both really tricky, good luck!
@flobster: yeah someone mentioned the snail-shell game from LD23. hopefully the way you have control over each of the edges and the way the bosses use the window shape makes it different enough!
@danman9914: I set a program to take a time-lapse of the weekend, so if it worked out well I'll put that up, should be fun to watch!
@bradleypollard, quaternary, holyblackcat: quaternary is spot on, the fake window makes it a lot easier to see and grab pins, and runs a lot smoother for some people. unfortunately the real window is almost unplayable on some computers, which is why there's a second build of the game (which removes the real window mode from the main game)! another reason I have both versions in the game is because I wanted the game itself to shapeshift between using a real and fake window.
Great job!
This game was amazing! Most unique take on the theme I have seem. Absolutely amazing.
About the gameplay, I really liked the puzzles and the design, and the wall jump took a few tries to get used to but then it went smooth. An excellent entry overall!
Lovely graphics, fantastic mechanic, excellent idea of level design
Really great job!
Amazing job!!
The level design was super good too. Congratulations!
Also, was there any pattern to the vampire's names? I could swear there was something there, uh? ;P
WOW!!!!
I really enjoyed the fact that there were a ton of moments when I would be stuck for a second then I would figure it out and be like "Aha! So the level design is *this* smart!".
Overall, I think taking the game outside of the constraints of the window just brought it closer to the player and made it incredibly more immersive.
I couldn't to think of some critical feedback to give, but I can't think of a thing. There were a couple of graphical glitches at times, but considering how the game I'm a) not sure it wasn't an intentional part of the game, and b) completely willing to forgive it for the crazy coding that got something like this working in the first place. Best game of the jam for me.
Fantastic!
Genius!
Give that man a cookie!
That was one of the best concept I've ever played!
My only complaint is that it is very easy to miss a click and accidentally close your window.
I'd buy it.
It reminds me a lot of an entry done back in LD31 (http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-31/?action=preview&uid=14496), where you had to move the screen along to progress through the platform world. I wasn't sure if you were inspired in anyway by the entry, but I'm confident in saying you improved vastly upon it by having the screen move independently so well.
Thanks for the game =)
Now for the LD Feedback loop stuff. My feedback is really more of an opinion from just me this time so I'm not sure how valuable it is but still:
As I said, I got a bit confused about the mechanic at first, like.. I didn't fully understand the capabilities of what I could do until much later. But it wasn't like an "aha" moment thing, it was more like a "brute force trial and error" thing where I felt it could've been introduced in slightly smaller steps to make me fully understand it.
I mean, at first I was playing it like a platformer, but by the end I was examining levels, thinking about it and then deducing the solution, which worked. Like, I'd almost call it a puzzle game with platforming elements. The point of the game is to solve it.
And I think something that kinda threw me off about that is that there are levels which aren't about solving a solution, they're about twitch platforming. I feel almost like there's two games here, the boss levels and the normal levels, and honestly I think the puzzley levels are all you need - those bits of gameplay felt unique, while the platforming bits felt like another twitch platformer (of which there are loads, I am also guilty of contributing to this problem) but with a reduced field of view.
I don't think those levels really explored the mechanic in the same way the other levels did - they didn't involve the stake/window stretching feature at all and I think that was your great idea here, the unique, interesting mechanic, I don't think you needed the other stuff.
Either way, it wasn't like the platforming bits were /bad/, they played well and they weren't too frustrating, they just felt a bit unnecessary. But again, that's just a personal opinion and I can see how someone would completely disagree with me and think the bosses enrich the game experience so whatevs.
It's another great game man, you strike again. Good job.
I have other games to rate, ya know!
Also, could I request a walkthrough?
Great work dude!
Try my game out if you get a chance... its incomplete but its fun! :)
http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=65633
My primary issue was that the controls made going through some of the levels a bit of a chore. There were definitely instances where I felt like I understood what I was supposed to do but failed to execute it properly because jumping is so hard to do precisely on a mouse and keyboard. I would recommend adding controller support for future versions.
One little hiccup: It took me quite a while to figure out how to get through the fireballs and was tempted to quit the game there.. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure out that you can DRAG the spears to resize the window! maybe that should have been a little more clear..
other than that, GREAT GAME!! :D
Unfortunately I had to skip two levels and one boss... Anyways congrats on your entry!
I guess some of the rooms are quite dull/easy to pass, even after you've done some puzzles, there's rooms where you just jump to the door and that's it.
The sounds are nice, the graphics are simple but great, the mechanic is genius, etc etc
the window control is neat and the overall game is 5/5 for me :D
Seriously, do you work on larger projects? you must be working in the industry right?
@matiasbontempo: I've added a timelapse video of (most of) the 48 hours, so you can get a rough idea for where I spent my time. towards the end it gets very, very frenetic.
@deltaF1: there actually is some background music, but it's REALLY quiet, and it's only there so that the game isn't absolutely silent when the player stops moving. if you include the 5 "filler" levels, there are 30 levels altogether!
@swinestudios: it's definitely the hardest puzzle! here's a gif of the solution if you're curious: http://i.imgur.com/ekTyD56.gif
@politewhale: no pattern at all, I swear. ;)
@omlette.du.fromage: I'm glad to hear it was still playable on a retina display!
@been: the glitches are a sort of happy accident. I like to think the game is straining at the seams.
@headmade: I know! I was scared of that happening to people, which is part of the reason the game starts to use a "fake" window for the trickier bits.
@oxysoft: I tried to make each level use something new, but yeah there are a couple which ended up feeling a bit like "X, but harder" which maybe could have been scrapped. there were two awful levels I took out before I released the game because they were pretty bad!
@alexrose: thank you for the detailed feedback, as always! regarding the twitch platforming levels, I wanted a mix between slow, puzzle levels and fast, frantic levels, since I wanted the game to have a little bit for everyone. and then the bosses let me explore ways the window could shapeshift that were out of the player's control, which led to some fun situations like sliding along the wall as it zipped across the room, or having to rush through a level before you get crushed. you're right in that the twitch platforming, by itself, isn't anything new, but I guess I don't mind that!
@miziziziz: a walkthrough is a great idea! I'll try to record one soon.
@mukult: I love seeing what similar ideas people have, so thank you for sharing! and wow, the window aspect of your game is really similar, hope you get a chance to finish off the game if that's something you want to do.
@mitya1234: sorry to hear that. if you play the "more fake window" version and endure the first two levels, the game should become a lot more playable. you can also press P twice to skip the first two levels, if they're too unplayable.
@malvern: thanks for the feedback! I don't mind using WASD but I know it's not for everyone. it's actually possible to play with a gamepad and mouse, but I don't know whether or not that's even worse. I would have loved to make it playable with a controller but there are problems with the cursor going offscreen and being hard to find (since the window moves around) that were too difficult to solve.
@codeartisticninja: I wish I could have made it clearer, maybe with some in game animations to show off the mechanic. I tried to make up for that by describing it in the controls, the how to play and showing it in the screenshots, though that's still easy to miss!
@snowtato: if you don't want to kill vampires at all, that's perfectly fine! you can hang around and chill with Oediv for as long as you like, and he's totally cool with that.
@tacospice: I'm not sure if it was a good idea or not but I wanted to have a few "breather" rooms before or after particularly difficult sections. the game actually has music, but I stupidly set it so ridiculously low that a lot of people can't hear it! :)
@weepingrupee: I sometimes finish experimental games outside of game jams, but they're still usually quite small projects. you can find them at https://managore.itch.io if you're interested, almost all of them are donationware! unfortunately I'm not employed in the industry, as much as I would like to be.
I tried all 3 versions but always ended up with an empty black window behind my windowframe "window" after I got my stakes.
I really hope this gets some more content in the future because it's a really cool concept and really fun to play.
I do think the speed of recalling the stakes could be increased, or allow the player to recall them while moving. Some of the boss fights (notably the last one and the one with all the bats) are significantly more complicated because of the amount of time you have to sit still and hold the recall key to get your stakes back and release the screen. Also, walking over a stake on the ground and picking it up would be a nice addition.
Overall, this is probably my favorite game I've played from LD35 so far. Great work!
Full respect, well done :)
omg man this is really really neat!
I only had to skip 1 level because I just couldn't figure it out hehe :p
Really great, super sick mechanic, great art and holy snap how did you got time for this many levels.
Keep it up!
Couldn't get past the second boss level though - the slowly shrinking window really fosters a sense of urgency!
Really enjoyed this.
It's funny to see your progress in your blog posts, looks like this was a very tricky game mechanic to get to work correctly. Nice work, the platforming- and arrow shooting mechanics are perfect! Really nice graphics as well. Lotsa stars!
This is my favorite Ludum Dare 35 game I've seen yet! Overall, AMAZING JOB!!!
Looking at the other comments, it seems that you're well-known in these competitions (it is only my first). I will have to look up your past entries, if this one is any indication of the quality of your submissions!
Again, great work!
Very creative! I really like the game.
I haven't managed to pull stakes, so once I put stake i get stuck.
I really love the difficult progression!
The window here got a little crazy but it didn't affected the experience.
Great game, good levels, nice graphics. Amazing job in 48 hours!
Now i found out that the game has been Made for the ld, and lol i would have given U 10 stars if just i could have!
The best I found. Oh my god I can't speak because how awesome it is :D
How do you do this every time?
Thank you for the great experience!
I'm not sure if the silver bats weren't underused. Also, there might or might not have been some music; sometimes I got impression I heard something, but might be random noise around...
Still, really great entry here. Looking forward to more games from you. ;)
The graphics are simple, but convey the message and set the mood quite well. Nice work on the audio, with FL Studio, too! :)
I had to bang my head a few times on the puzzles, but they were all great.
Congratz and cheers! :)
It works perfectly with the fake window, but i had some issues with the real window where the game would slow down and the screen would keep flashing white; this eventually made the game completely unplayable in the second boss level where the screen is slowly descending.
I really enjoyed my time until then, though. Brilliant work!
Really strong execution on a great concept. I'm impressed at how you thoroughly explore the various uses and ramifications of the core mechanic. Great work!!
Love the pixel art and gameplay, as well as the impressive amount of content for an LD entry!
It is the best game I have played for sure. Just one thing.. I tried to pause the game and I pressed esc. The game is very very long and ok, esc = exit makes sense but without saving... A message saying "Do you want to exit? you will lose the progress" would be great.
The puzzles are great, the "combat system" is simple but funny (I was fighting Erad and enjoying it a lot). Just awesome. 5/5