Ludum Dare #38compo
Empathy Swap
Link: https://supergoose.itch.io/empathy-swap
Source code: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4WSIBJH0kK2TEd2ejdYSlRVLWM
This game was made as a solo project for Ludum Dare 38 (Compo). The theme for the game jams was "Small World".
How To Play
Start with no resources. Plant mines to mine your planet for resources. Resources allow you to shoot missiles. Resources are also your health. Your health is reflected by the size of your planet. Get pickups to increase your health. Your paddle can shoot and can deflect missiles. You die when your health reaches zero. Last planet standing wins.
At random points throughout the game, an *Empathy Swap* will occur. Basically you swap to the other planet. One twist you could add is having to swap controllers at this point.
Backstory
Mine resources in order to shoot missiles, gradually undermine your own defence in order to have a strong offence - a reflection of how we treat each other and our planet. A casual arcade game, or a sideways glance at the human condition, you decide.
I used Unity 5 for dev, Adobe Illustrator CC for art and https://soundation.com/ for the music. I used http://www.bfxr.net/ for sound effects.
Critique
The game is an arena battle crossed with pong with a bit of RTS thrown in. As a game it definitely struggles with the "too much going on" side of game design, but the content was fun to make (particularly the sounds and voice acting) and I guess it could be quite strategic if you really got into it. It needs balancing too :\
Requirements
Only works on screen res 16:9.
Only tested on Windows 10, Intel I5, Nvidia GTX 960, 16gb RAM.
One controller supported.
Controls
I will be updating these so both players can play on one keyboard.
UPDATE: Version 1.1 supports two players on one keyboard (WASD and Arrow Keys)
*Gamepad controls (e.g. Xbox Controller)*
Left Analogue: Move orbit paddle
A: Shoot
B: Plant mine
*Keyboard controls*
A/D or Left/Right: Move orbit paddle
W or Up: Shoot
S or Down: Plant mine
Comments9
Graphics: These are pretty good and make it clear what's going on. The effect when swapping looks really cool. The planets in the background (or are they supposed to be stars?) could be a tad darker though. While it's not a problem to make out foreground from background, it could be a bit clearer.
I personally would've turned down the size of some of the particle effects, since the blurry nature of Unity's standard particle effect clashes a bit with your vector graphics.
Audio: Actually really solid. The music is good and the sound effects are as well. I like the voiceover when Empathy Swap occurs.
Gameplay: Not going to say that much because I just controlled one of the planets. The controls feel really weird and I would've preferred to have two pairs of buttons next to each other instead of WASD. WASD just feels like it should be movement only to me. Something like AD GH would've worked better I think.
The mechanics seem really fun, but I'm not sure how to strategize the swapping thing without having someone to play with. But I like the idea, so this made a positive impression on me. I really feel like you can abuse it by just not building much though, which makes the game stand still if I understand the whole mechanic correctly.
Overall it seems like a really good entry. Good work!
By the way: You should probably just start with the 'two players on one keyboard' from the beginning next time. If I hadn't seen V1.1 I would've just moved on to the next game, since most people will probably not have a gamepad attached to the PC when judging LD games. And I certainly didn't. 😄
I did a little video with my thoughts.