Savannah

by themadstrauss

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.83

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.39

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★4.00

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.21

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.71

Audio★★★★★★★★★★4.27

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.10

Mood★★★★★★★★★★4.17

The Savannah is a dangerous place when you are a gazelle.

Learn to adapt to this salvage world, get stronger and survive.

_________________________________________________________________________

Explore the Savannah and find its secrets:

Arrows: Movement

Twice arrows: When you are being chased, press an arrow twice to start the run mode.

S: Instinct animal

F: Drink/Eat
_________________________________________________________________________

Look at the box icon and press the buttons when it glows to get extra boosts while running, eating and drinking.

Links

* DROPBOX WINDOWS: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mi8s894ml0r8sx2/Savannah.rar?dl=0
* DROPBOX MAC: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8scvqzvu8vs8ins/SavannahMac.app.zip?dl=0

Links POST LUDUM

* DROPBOX WINDOWS: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4xg1v491jekkhdz/SavannahPL.rar?dl=0
* DROPBOX MAC: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wo43r1dywxq4mxy/SavannahMacPL.app.zip?dl=0

Changelog PL version:

Lower difficult: The initial version was a bit difficult due to polish aspects. The post ludum fixes this issue so the players can enjoy it more.

Totems: Now, totems refill the energy.

Birds: Now, there are birds

FX: New totem sound

Graphics: New sprites

_________________________________________________________________________

Credits:

Miguel Arias (@apoonto https://twitter.com/apoonto) - Artwork, animations.

José Arias - Programming, effects.

Stephen Tanksley (@StephenTanksley https://twitter.com/stephentanksley) - Music.

_________________________________________________________________________

Extra:

Video by Randomise User: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3sYzFupNuI

Comments20

GhostAndShell25 Apr 2017, 07:53

oh, cute! is it also on indiexpo.net?

JOrbits1 May 2017, 11:15

The graphics are very well done and it was fun. One thing I would change, I think the water bar is green, you could make the water bar blue and the food bar green.

neontropics1 May 2017, 14:01

Graphics and music are pretty great! The core gameplay has lots of potential as well, as it is (and in the post LD version as well) I do think the normal speed is a bit too slow and starting the fast run you don't really know if you succeed in it until after a while - maybe more of a sound effect and some dust kicking up when you start it would make it more apparent? With some further fine tuning and a bit faster gameplay I think the mechanics would be really fun, right now the chases are still cool but sometimes feel a bit unfair. Feels great to outsmart the predators.

Yetikatt1 May 2017, 14:49

Loved the graphics and the audio. It was fun and definitely has more potential, I'd also agree with neontropics in that I think some faster gameplay would really benefit it. Although I did find it funny going round in circles with the predator as they try to catch you. Great entry, well done!

davidthelazar1 May 2017, 15:09

Love the art, love the music. I really like how the music picks up when a predator is after you.

I was confused for a long time about how to start running from a predator. I think it would have been better if the double-tap made you run (or gave an indication that it registered) even if you weren't being chased, because it made me feel like the controls weren't working.

Overall, neat concept. With some additional tweaking I think it would be a very fun game. Looks great, sounds great.

fakefrogsonly1 May 2017, 16:11

A really cool game! Sometimes the controls feel a little unresponsive, but I love the style!

GerardB1 May 2017, 16:23

As said before controlls may not be the best but it's a super cool idea and the graphics are just mindblowing! Very good job!

baptisteq1 May 2017, 19:44

A bit confused how to actually run from a predator by using the music and the double tap system. since the box never lit and the double tap seems to not working. I see i am the only one to be concerned so i must have forgot something. but really cool animations and graphics.

danman99141 May 2017, 19:56

Excellent audio and graphics. I was never able to escape from a predator though. A short in-game tutorial and a reset button could go a long way!

🎤 TheMadStraussauthor1 May 2017, 20:23

@danman9914 Maybe you are not activating the "running mode" by pressing an arrow twice. The ingame tutorial is a mandatory improve! And yo can reset by pressing Return or R! Thanks for playing!

holgk1 May 2017, 20:25

The mood is fantastic! But I have to agree with @danman9914. It's hard to run away from predators.

HuvaaKoodia4 May 2017, 07:38

Beautiful presentation and once I got the hang of running it was even surprisingly tense. Until I realized that I can just stay near the starting pond and not be in any danger at all...

There are other related issues too. The running controls, very tricky as mentioned, cannot be practiced in peace! You need to be in danger to try them out which means I ended up dying a dozen times practicing. Going out of my way to find danger is an *antithesis* to the whole experience!

There should also be some sort of a goal to push me forward, to make me move and take risks. For instance you might want to join your peers over yonder. The only way to them is through the danger filled Savannah... That would also work thematically.

Solid work. A few tweaks here and there would elevate this to a whole new level!

DGSpitzer5 May 2017, 12:03

Overall 5 stars. Really creative and immersive game! So much fun to play around with predators. Survived for 20 min.

KingofWhaWha5 May 2017, 19:36

Great art and music! The controls are a bit hard to grasp though. Overall it's really a fun game to play!

🎤 TheMadStraussauthor6 May 2017, 20:34

Wow. It is a surprise to see so many problems with the controls. It is true that the game is not as polish as we would like but the main problem seems to be about start running when a danger appears by pressing twice an arrow. We choose this mechanic from old school beat-em-up, since we thought that it was a common way to do it, with the exception of only using it when you are being chased (gazelles only run when they have to!). Unless the lions comes from a bush, where you have very low reaction time... but pay attention! if you are careful, you will see it before the lions start chasing you.

Using the rhythm to run faster is more complicated and it is a tricky challenge that we wanted to include into the game.

We will have all your comments in mind for the next ludum... or for the final version of Savannah!!! Thank you very much for playing it!!!

CoderDozer7 May 2017, 15:32

Really nice style of art and captures the atmosphere of the wild well where tiny mistakes will cost you dearly.

Really nice game.

Phaix8 May 2017, 10:17

Great one! I really like the art and how you have gotten all together in this great project,

PeachTreeOath9 May 2017, 03:56

Very cool concept! The look and feel of the game is amazing, I really like the sliding around when dodging the lions. I thought the rhythm running idea is great, but it was very hard for me to tell what the benefits of it were (the speed wasn't obvious to me). Either a dust trail or even DDR text that says "Perfect!" could help with that. This was honestly themed very well and the first LD38 game for me to 5-star for Mood. Everything in its presentation came together amazingly.

bemmu11 May 2017, 12:14

Beautiful game with a great atmosphere, now I feel like a graceful gazelle.

It's already great as it is, but it might be possible to expand this to be a full game.

rwoeltjes13 May 2017, 10:04

Sometimes I seem to be unable to outrun enemies, responsiveness of the game might be the problem (as previously mentioned). Great game though, the sound is very good and the graphics look very cool!

Other games by @themadstrauss

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★4.04