Ludum Dare #39compo

Flip The Switch

by madalaski

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.12

Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.84

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.58

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.49

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★2.58

Audio★★★★★★★★★★2.86

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.08

Mood★★★★★★★★★★2.56

Explanation:

The aim of the game is to get 3000 GJ of power stored in batteries.

You are given 1 switch which can turn on any component it's connected to but it has a limited amount of connections. The switch will turn off automatically over time but will turn back on if supplied power.

You can build pylons which, when turned on, will store charge in any connected batteries and also turn on anything it is connected to.

The more batteries you have, the more monsters will spawn. If you have no batteries then the monsters will leave you alone, giving you some breathing room to build up your circuit.

Turrets, when turned on, will search for and destroy any attacking monsters who are looking to destroy your batteries.

Controls:

- Left Mouse -- Interact

- Middle Mouse Drag/ WASD -- Move The Camera

- Scroll -- Zoom In/Out

- Right Mouse -- Make Connections

Connections:

- You can connect any component to any other component! The only component with a limited amount of connections is the switch!

- Hover over a component and right click on it start a connection.

- Click on an empty square to cancel the connection.

- Hover over another component and right click on it to make a connection between that and previous component.

- Connect two objects that already have a connection to get rid of their connection.

Links:

- Itch.io page for Windows, Mac and Linux downloads
- Source Code

Screenshots:

Tags: #post-apocalyptic, #real time strategy

Genres: strategy

Comments30

Falk Bruskeland31 Jul 2017, 13:31

Intresting and cool game!

increpare31 Jul 2017, 13:46

I found making connections to be a bit confusing - I wasn't sure what was a valid connection/what wasn't a valid connection. Sometimes I could place them, sometimes I couldn't.

nintendoeats31 Jul 2017, 15:48

As mentioned above, setting up connections wasn't totally clear. Ia lso found that after a while it became a "sit there and press the button simulator. That font is hard to read and having it pop up in the middle of a game was not fun.

I like the core mechanics though and while I was getting everything together it was fun. The main thing it needs is better feedback, maybe coupled with tighter balance. I liked it, definitely a solid LD entry. Here is the setup that I won with very easily:

https://ibb.co/c3sBek][img]https://preview.ibb.co/mnZeX5/Circuit_Win.png

The music was also quite good for this sort of game. The synth became a little bit grating after a while, I think a reduction in treble might help to mitigate that.

BoltKey31 Jul 2017, 15:53

It took me very long to understand what is going on, the instructions were not very helpful. Once I did however, it was quite fun.

PixelFormedStudios31 Jul 2017, 16:32

A little hard to get started and figure out exactly what to do, but overall a very neat concept!

jahndis31 Jul 2017, 16:40

Once I figured out what was going on, it was pretty fun. Although it wasn't too tough to come up with a strategy that very quickly "won" the game. (I did a target shape with switch surrounded by batteries surrounded by pylons surrounded by turrets). Figuring out that pylons could power other pylons was pretty cool. And I *think* one of my pylons was actually re-powering the button? At one point I didn't have to click anymore lol

Perhaps a cost-based placement system would help make the player not so overpowered? Other than that the story was interesting. Nice work!

Spetsdod31 Jul 2017, 16:51

Interesting concept. As others have said already, the font is very hard to read. The instructions weren't very clear and there was either an error or I misunderstood the humor (it says that it has been collecting power for "{Error Data Unknown} years") and the instructions say you need 10,000 power but the game interface only shows 3,000 max. Placing blocks was confusing. I would click a block and try to place it, and sometimes it jsut won't register and I had to click on the block type again to get it to go. Trying to make connections was very confusing. Rather than having all the pathing lines, it might be better to just make them direct lines from the edge of one block to the edge of the other. I felt like the cockroaches came out too fast, and they were too quick to destroy your components. I suppose with practice that might improve. Overall, not a bad entry. Has some good potential, just needs more time to tweak it.

Jonathan Whiting1 Aug 2017, 09:12

I struggled with the interface a bunch, even with the instructions. I like flipping the switch though!

Vivoubos1 Aug 2017, 16:48

WoW! Hard game when haven't read the control ^^
Ok ! After two try I did it!!
The concept is really nice!

But there is no limit on contruction?
Because I begin to build 1.000 turets and no bug can reach me ^^

Nice work on this game, very innovating!

MiltonNH251 Aug 2017, 17:43

Good job with the game. It was a bit difficult to figure out what was going on at first, but once you got it, it was fun to play.

KRP1 Aug 2017, 17:53

Really didn't understand this game to be honest. It sorta kinda just delta like a button pusher after a while tbh. Also I think a better tutorial was needed, as I was very confused in the beginning about how the whole game worked. There were major bugs involving connections too, sometimes they just didn't work.

KRP1 Aug 2017, 17:53

fingamer1 Aug 2017, 18:08

Interesting concept. Quite difficult to get the idea, the font was a bit hard to read as well. Aside of those things I think this was a decent entry.

Michael Feldman1 Aug 2017, 19:21

Very novel game. I always love these machine / circuitry games. It gives the user the power to make functional creations that shine or in this case up the power output. The wiring and placement of items has a good UI to it. The system is interesting yet not too complicated, as I think any game should have some learning curve. Nice story at the beginning. Keep it up.

crass_sandwich1 Aug 2017, 19:25

this is a solid entry! my thoughts pretty much echo everyone else's here: a little too hard to get into, the font is hard to read, but a fun game once you get the hang of it. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the music; it's a nice touch that fits the game well

Johnny Turbo1 Aug 2017, 20:11

This game was pretty tough to understand. I really like your art style. It's mostly gray-scale but you can definitely tell what everything is and the color really stands out because of it.

Mikkel Rohde1 Aug 2017, 22:49

Although I found it hard to understand what's really going on I think that, as an entry to the jam, this game is pretty cool!

binary_coder1 Aug 2017, 22:50

Took a bit to figure out, but very unique.

Mathiouza2 Aug 2017, 13:05

Strange way to display if a connection is made or not. Also maybe you could include an HP bar for constructions and a systeme to repear them. Cool idea though.

Lawrence2 Aug 2017, 14:33

It was hard to "get it". But afterwards it was pretty fun! :) Good job

SelfTitled2 Aug 2017, 16:10

I think I lucked my way to the winning line. Fun stratedgy game [TM]

Syl-WhatsUpDesign2 Aug 2017, 17:29

You did a lot of work in few hours/days ... that's impressive. The idea is really good. I also choose to work around electricity and switch but in a totally different way... Anyway, that's an interesting game dude ! :)

Badly Drawn Rod2 Aug 2017, 20:24

Fantastic idea. It would have been better if it was clearer how to make circuits, but once I figured it out, I thought it was quite a good game - definitely scoring high for innovation.

Emery3 Aug 2017, 08:50

INteresting concept, i really like the idea and the game was really good. It took me a while to fully understand how the mechanics worked but after that, it was really fun and I played it for a while. Good Job

Deke3 Aug 2017, 13:51

I really like the concept and how you implemented the given theme into the gameplay and backstory. Also your art was clean and mostly clear, so I understood quickly what's what. I have to say though, that I'm not too sure what to think of the current mechanics. While I dig the idea of connecting the right parts to one another I never really felt as if I've ever really understood what's happening. That you can basically build stuff without running out of some kind of resource didn't help either. In the end I just packed everything full of random objects, connected them and won after a few minutes.
Still a great idea that only needs some good polish to become truly great! :)

Enot4873 Aug 2017, 18:17

Very intresting game! I loved that there is so much of the narrative in it. And the process of building power elements is quite exiting. I support the previous comments that it would be greate to add some kind of resourses required for construction.

Local Minimum5 Aug 2017, 14:15

I really didn't quite understand what to do in this game. It took be quite a while to figure out that right-clicking existed. That might have been because of the initial text with that color-scheme really wasn't readable. I think the game desperately needs some showing and incremental complexity rather than telling the player what to do.

tybantarnusa5 Aug 2017, 14:19

I did it! A bit confusing at the start, but when you get it, it's pretty fun to play around. It's very easy, though, because you can build anything you want without any constraints, maybe put some kind of "currency" in order to be able to build something. More polishing here and there, then this game will be awesome. Cool!

designernap6 Aug 2017, 19:55

Tricky to understand the core mechanic at first was tricky but once it clocked it was cool. I agree there should be a restraining factor but a really good entry. Well done!

Jason20010115 Aug 2017, 20:50

Very nice game! You could show the controls a little better though, so it would be easier to play.

Overall, nice game, great music and great idea! The gameplay felt solid and enjoyable! Well done! :smile:

Other games by @madalaski

★3.61

★3.94

★3.08