Ludum Dare #40compo

Radioactive Cavemen

by deathray

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.13

Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.50

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.23

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.23

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.46

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.92

Mood★★★★★★★★★★2.96

_The more... radiation, toxic air, mutants, refugees ...you have, the worse it is._

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to survive a nuclear apocalypse? Have you ever wanted to build an ant colony filled with stupid, genetically volatile savages? Do you enjoy the warm glow of radiation? _Then this game is for you!_

:radioactive: Play it right in your browser: http://deathraygames.com/play-online/radioactive-cavemen/ld40/ (Not mobile friendly. Sorry.)

Tips

* Cavepeople like fire and like the company of other cavemen and cavewomen. :hugging:
* Cavepeople don't like mutants. :scream:
* The air is radioactive -- too much exposure will cause mutation and death! :exploding_head: :skull:
* Both cavepeople and mutants get tired easily, and have to take frequent breaks. :sleeping: If you're trying to get them to move somewhere, just be patient.
* If you get to 300 population, you win! :medal: Post your screenshot online and tag @deathraygames

Tags: #management, #post-apocalyptic

Genres: simulation, strategy

Comments16

CMLSC4 Dec 2017, 05:26

Nice game, but I feel like there should be more to do. It seems a bit repetitive. Also, the sprites are very blurry. The concept is a good idea, but I wish you had taken it a bit further. Good work though.

MrPhil4 Dec 2017, 05:29

Neat, lots of potential.

Darylsteak4 Dec 2017, 05:51

A nice game overall that has a ton of potential. But too little content too keep the game interesting.

deathrayauthor4 Dec 2017, 06:27

Thanks for the feedback CMLSC. I fixed the pixel issue in the post-compo version.

exezin5 Dec 2017, 04:12

Lol fun little sims caveman-edition thing you've got here, not really sure if I was doing everything the correct way. Got pretty chaotic fast :D

Really like the monster sprites!

diptoman5 Dec 2017, 07:08

That got too chaotic too fast, hahah. Also probably because I was terrible at it. Neat idea though - has a lot of potential.

Jack Maxwell6 Dec 2017, 03:23

Really fun little game! I made a base that welcomed both cavepeople AND mutants. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing haha but it was fun. One problem I had was that I could pan even when the pan tool wasn't selected. This made building difficult. Great game!

TolMera7 Dec 2017, 16:39

Hey @deathray I played your LD 39 game (Star Hopper Crank), and was really looking forward to seeing what you managed to make for LD40. The games got an interesting feel, though I think it appeals more to peoples aesthetics than actually being mechanics driven. It's an interesting game, that might have been better with polish, but I stuggled to find the fun. I dug a deep hole, dropped a bunch of fires down, then focused on the move command to send mutants to the surface, while everyone else just milled around. Will look forward to your next LD game.

simonhutchinson9 Dec 2017, 13:48

Nice. I like the aesthetics here (needs sounds!), and I love the art on the mutants. It sure ramps up fast!

Logan10 Dec 2017, 01:39

Hmm, it didn't really feel like what I was doing had much bearing on the cavemen, or vice-versa. After I gave up trying to herd the cavemen into the tunnels to keep them out of the radiation, I ended up hollowing out a huge cavern and filling almost every tile with fire, 'cause I couldn't think of a reason not to. The cavemen slowly did their own thing and either filled my cavern or didn't. I made it to around 30 citizens, then learned I could place fires in the sky.
Then I gave up.
I dunno, it seems like it needs something more. Like, it's more of a little simulation than a proper game.

Chartman12 Dec 2017, 04:32

Nice artwork and animations. It felt more like a simulation, but it was fun seeing where it went.

Zinkler12 Dec 2017, 09:40

Nice art, but the game definitely lacks a proper gameplay.

valkling-friend-of-all-things13 Dec 2017, 04:37

It has an addictive quality to it. However, I did not play it for too long because of the panning glitch. The screen would pan every time I tried to use any tool, not just pan, and it made progress annoying. I'm guessing that you forgot to cancel defaults maybe? With that fixed, and maybe a drag or "area" size tool would make this game much more enjoyable to play. Also, a little sound would make it pop. A quick atmospheric track would do and a few sfxr made effects would do.

Anyways, my Compo game is over here, if you want to have a look: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/squirrel-puncher-4000

Zirrrus20 Dec 2017, 08:05

Cool little game, really felt a bit like watching an anthill. Filled with really lazy ants, just wandering about :P

The digging was a bit tedious, a drag mode would have been nice. And some more options for stuff to do, maybe additional build options and such?
I really like the sprites, the mutants look very fun.

hunttis23 Dec 2017, 06:27

Interesting, but I didn't really understand how what I was doing was affecting the characters on screen.

Like Zirrrus said, drag-digging would've been nice.

Definitely something original though :)