The concept of the game is to pickup goo and bring it back to safety with limited time!, but the more you pickup the bigger and slower you get. And the more you save the more you will lure in vortex monster hungry for goo flesh! Depending on your current size you can also change the layout of the map by going on the slab in the middle of the map.
This wasn't my first game jam, but my first Ludum Dare Compo (I did a GGJ once before with some friends). I'm pretty happy with the result because I was very new to unity, pixel art and sound/music design. My first experience with them was for a school project I finished a few days before the jam.
*EDIT* : The game is a bit broken, when the timer is finished the game doesn't stop so there isn't any real time challenge. Also once on the finish screen pressing a key doesn't go laucnh a replay (you'll have to reload the web page). And finally once you've entered phase 3 there's no real interest in going back to the others which is a mechanic default that I didn't notice since I barely had time to test the game before. I could patch this real quick but I'm not sure if that is allowed or not. Anyway just to say I am aware of these bugs.
*EDIT 2* : I have released a small patch that fixes most of the problems that shouldn't have existed if I had organized my time better and left more time to playtest and this is the game that will launch on the itch.io by default. The original game is still available, you just need to download it (it's a HTML game so no Anti-Virus related hassle, I'm looking at you Avast).
Nice and simple concept that you've pulled off very well, the different speeds for the different sized ball all feel very fitting, and I love how you can change up the levels. I managed to get all 200 in -33 seconds, it didn't seem to finish when I had gone over 200 seconds, but that way it meant I could still win!
I'm not sure exactly what you mean @11tomi12 but if you mean "is there a simple way to cheese the game as hell" then yes there is. I'm gonna add a second patched build, a bit less buggy and more balanced.
Added a new build (Patch-1.1) with a few bug fixes and enhancements (you can read about it more in the dev logs) you still have access to the jam game (you just need to go to the download version, unzip the game and launch the index.hmtl)
@noa-calice Normally you're supposed to be able to pass through the small walls only in the first form (you may be able to glitch out of the collider in intermediate form though, I didn't test it intensively), but maybe that is not very clear when playing.
I managed to get 150 goo balls! It's hard to understand how to reset the level while standing on the switch. Sometimes it catches me, other this it does not.
Art style was cute and the characters remind me of Edmund McMillan's Gish!
@zapakitul Yeah didn't have much time so the way the slab works is a bit messy. Basically when you enter in contact with it, if you can switch phase (-> you changed form) it will put you in its middle and load up the level change (because it would be a huge pain to move towards it back and forth to load up the new map configuration, and I don't want people to enable it without wanting too just by touching it hence the loading time). However if you are not in a state were you can switch the map it just loads in emptyness and doesn't suck you in, I guess I should just disable the loading bar in that case.
Played the game twice, in the first version you submited and the patched version. I liked the way you used your voice to do the "Gom" sound hahaha that was funny! I enjoyed the game, my highscore was 167 (I wanted so much to touch the void monster that when I did, I lost everything hahaha). Good game! (I also read your profile description, and I sympathize with the feeling about loving to make games, but not being that good about it lol hahaha) Cheers!
It does take a while for a new player to get the dynamics, but I see not a big problem with that, perhaps a quick tutorial would solve it. The only problem I had though was with the music. That may be just my opinion, but I think perhaps a not so frenetic song would do better in this.
@velvetlobster I agree in hindsight ^^, the fact that the play time is 5 minutes whatever happens and the music only a 1 minute 20 loop makes it annoying quite quickly on top of it(and it's pretty repetitive too). I'm just very new to music making and have yet to learn how to make calmer music (although I'm pretty sure lowering down the volume would already be better).
Interesting take on the theme, I played it for a couple of iterations but I wasn't close to saving all the goo. It's hard to tell if it's better to use the 3rd form or to save the goo as soon as you get some. My strategy was to use it only to go to the last level that gives more goo (I think), then forget about it for the rest of the game.
The game could benefit giving the player more feedback (What are the pink walls? Why would I want to change levels? Why can't I stop the charcter?). Of course these questions are answered on the game page, but it would feel more natural to explain that in game.
I found it hard to care about saving the goo in the end. The controls slightly frustrated me, and by the time the timer ended I was relieved. That said I think there is potential to continue with it, It just lacks intensity. It seems like LD40 is all about growing intensity, whether that's a good thing I don't quite know. Maybe less time would be better.
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Art style was cute and the characters remind me of Edmund McMillan's Gish!
The game could benefit giving the player more feedback (What are the pink walls? Why would I want to change levels? Why can't I stop the charcter?). Of course these questions are answered on the game page, but it would feel more natural to explain that in game.
Congrats on your first compo :)