Overflow
Introduction
Overflow is a game about saving persons with your little boat.
The water is constantly rising and you have only one seat on your boat.
Save them all by putting them on the raft.
*To fully enjoy the game, please play in high quality and enable the sound (even better with headphones).*
Have a great journey and enjoy the ambiance and relax on the waves..
Controls
Move - arrow keys or WASD
Take/Release a person - E key
Credits
*Ressources used, links and everything coming.*I didn't made all the models and the music, this is why you can't vote for this categories.
But any feedbacks on it in the comments are welcome.
Please share your thoughts, and comment below :)
Comments140
But if you don't manage to go to the end : Alt+F4. I didn't implemented a pause menu (yet) :P
@mahalis Thanks ! Yeah it's exactly one of the game that inspired me to make this one ! And yes, at first I wanted to enable non perfect scores. But I thought it wasn't really moral to let someone die x)
I should remove the sentence "you saved X/X persons" when you win.
Love this game
P.S. Only menu is super slow IMO
@delightfullymad @dankar @sharky3188 Thank you very much for your feedbacks !
As everyone says, the 'tank' controls are a bit old school. Something depending on the view rather than the player usually feels better!
But overall it's really good.
- Great compisition
- I need to feel like i have more choices, I don't feel like I have alot of impact or say on my decisions and I don't feel like my personal skill and awareness is being applied.
- There are issues with spatial awareness and objectives
- Inconsistent teach methods that should be applied
- The biggest weakness is that I don't feel that there is like skillful choice. I get that this is more of puzzle, but if you are going the puzzle rout then you may want to change the water rising in real time. Idea, is have water rise when you move.
- Clean up learn by failing, I believe you can be the better designer, win by failing is for newbs.
@cranestyle Huge thanks, you have been really helpful !
@cranestyle Huge thanks, you have been really helpful !
@cranestyle Huge thanks, you have been really helpful !
@cranestyle Huge thanks, you have been really helpful !
@cranestyle Huge thanks, you have been really helpful !
Here is the clip from my stream where we played your game: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/297137623
@kornel, @foxserranu Thank you, I'm pleased you liked it !
It is a solid entry for the jam, congrats!
@deadeyejoe02 Wow, this is really nice of you ! Don't hesistate to share this game around you and spread the love ! :v:
the game played very smooth locally on my machine, just the stream output looks choppy. I think there is an issue with my video card when I play 3D games on stream.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/297300090?t=01h04m03s
@tigerj Oh thank you for coming back to vote ! Really appreciate.
Thank you for the show ;)
Good job with the tutorial as well, that needs a special mention.
@ildfuglen Oh yeah, thank you for coming back and for the test on your stream ! I'll test you rgame right away !
It's very aesthetic and it was really fun while still being a nice challenge.
I did find myself losing track of where the raft was though. Perhaps some form of indicator where it is?
Nevertheless great job!
Everything was cool. Good job!
@chocolat-endive Pleased you liked it ! Yeah I would like to make some contemplative levels too because I really want the player to relax and have a nice happy time :)
I need to find out the right balance between contemplative levels, puzzle levels and race levels maybe ?
Anyway big thanks !
I can imagine an expanded version of this where it's one big archipelago with islands and mountains and land-bridges, and it becomes a big puzzle of moving people around. You'd need lots of time to explore and work things out - which would not be a problem!
the boat controls well in big open spaces but not so well when you have it smashed up against an island or the raft. I had fun playing it, thank you!
I wouldn't call it relaxing, though :)
Try our game too, maybe you'll like it)
I have rated your game, but all of my feedback was captured in the stream.
You can hear my comments in the archive at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/297520764
Graphics and the behavior of the boat are excellent.
Great idea, great use of the Ludum Dare theme.
The game is minimalistic but has a nice climate.
Maybe you'll add music in the background.
And yea, do more levels! :D because the game is great!!
I personally think the boat handling is spot on and feels like you're actually handling a vehicle.
And everything else is just real slick, love the theme implementation.
Very cute game)
(I saw that you're looking for a game with special mood, wanna try mine ?)
One of my favorite entries so far, good job!
@alex-adedge This is so frustrating how there are some people who totally like the controls and others who totally hate it x) What do you think if i decrease a little the turning speed ?
@alex-adedge Haha yeah I think that the turning speed is nice when you have to be quick too x)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts !
One of the best ones in this Ld! :exclamation:
Otherwise, great graphics and the sound effects worked well. I was grateful for the flashing platforms and the little health bars, although sometimes it took me a while to work out where the raft was! I agree with someone above that being able to let people out/pick up from the side of the boat would have been great.
I'm not sure if I understood the thing about the controls : Do you say, for example, that the boat should turn to the right if we press the left key ?
If you then began to reverse with the tiller and rudder in the same direction, you'd move back along the same curve. So in terms of mechanics, if pressing 'right' whilst moving forwards turns right, then moving backwards with 'right' still held down will turn the rear of the boat left, meaning you end up in the same position you started in. The same as for cars: if the wheels are at an angle, you'll follow the curve forwards and backwards.
I hope that makes sense (and I wasn't too long-winded)!
To the controls: I can agree with the others and I don't agree with the others.
I think it's hard to say what's better, because it comes by the already existing experience of the players which controls they prefer and which not. The only thing you can do is to make two options to choose for the player, but that's something for later I guess.
And than it depends also if you play with the keyboard or with a controller. I tested it and with controller it feels a bit weird but with the WASD Keys it works for me.
And you said it would be a really relaxing game, but I disagree to 50 percent. What it makes relaxing is the soundscape and the whole presentation of the game. The gameplay itself is to the end really challanging. What works against a relaxing state. BUT it is a good combination of it in your game because of your delicious sounds.
That's all. :)
And please make more levels. Maybe in a post jam version(?) :D
@norrimo I'm really happy you liked the colors and long notes in the sound !
I don't have actually a controller so i couldn't test and see how is it. But maybe i'll simply make the boat turn and everything with a single stick to make it super easy OR go forward and upward with right and left triggers and turn with the joystick.
And yeah.. At first i wanted the game to be really realxing like those game (monument valley, flower, flow, journey.. Do you know them ? ). But finally i see that water constantly rising is putting pressure on the player.
The "problem" is that this mechanic was really appreciated and I don't really know actually in which way i should continue; because i would like to make the game relaxing but this mechanic is opposed to the concept of relaxing itself !
So maybe i should raise the water only when the player is moving ? Like that there will be no pressure of time BUT I want the player to be free and have fun controlling the boat.
I could also keep this kind of levels and add some where there is no pressure of time and you just have to explore the sea, find persons or items to collect in order to complete the level.
I'm really thinking of it right now and it's hard to decide.. x)
What do you think ? :)
Loved the art style and the simplicity of the game. Congratulations!
What all these games have in common is that they have no time pressure or a lose state. It's all about you and to be in this world. About the wondering and exploring.
I'm inspired too of these games. That's the reason I wanted to do a relaxing exploration games in this Ludum Dare too.
But I also inspired by Dark Souls. Not by the combat system more of the exploration and wondering of the world and leveldesign. :)
Anyway, I think you should not quit this direction your game goes, because I think it's a really good game because of this challange factor. But If you want to do only a really pure relaxing game than you should throw a way all the time presure and make more exploration and tell tiny stories through the enviroment maybe. Maybe you explore more a giant sea and take peaople sometimes with you and bring them to other places or to other people and they are a kind of happy or gave you a story hint about the world. You can make blockades for the player so that it's harder to get to these stranded peaople. But do not do a lose state!
And get a controller and try the controls out. It is really more enjoyable with it.
Btw, I really want to see in which direction you go with your game. Have you a twitter account so that we can follow each other? https://twitter.com/NORRIMO I will continue the work on my game too and change some things a bit. :D
@norrimo Haha I just followed you everywhere (LudumDare, twitter, itch.io) ! I definitely want to see more games of you, I loved the mood of your game and I think it could be super nice if you have more time to complete and polish it.
Thank you so much for your feedbacks and ideas, i didn't even thought about blockade ! This is a super nice idea ! I think I'll mix those 2 ideas and make levels with and without pressure of time. Some levels with exploration, some about puzzle solving and some that require a bit of challenge but with a nice gentle curve of difficulty. Instead of making little tiny levels, i could totally make a giant sea and make the player explore the different island where he will find a challenge, a puzzle or an object to collect. Maybe if a person drown it doesn't make a lose state but influence the environnement. Like the more people you save, the more the environnement will be beautiful and everything.
Anyway thank you very much for your feedback, it's soo nice to be able to speak of it with another passionate and it's soo motivating !
You are welcome. It's for me as well good to give these comments. I think that people learn so much about what for games they want to make while thinking about good game critism. You ask yourself what was good or not and WHY? That's mabye the reason why I've currently spend more time in the writing of comments as to play the LD games. But thats ok. I have fun with it. :)
And I found this.
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/lighthouse Check it out. It need ratings and maybe it inspires you.
Not much feedback but here's what I got:
1. Controls wise W,A,S,D obviously fine, but I probably would have had pickup/place on Spacebar/LMB instead of 'E' because I had to take my finger off 'D' to pick it up and it broke the flow a tiny bit.
2. I probably would have made the person placement system more forgiving, I think placing people from the sides would mean quick slick deliveries that would feel a lot more fun, I had to turn around to just to be able to place and that could be a little frustrating.
3. I think some other kind of goal(s) would allow for much more replay value. One example could be you have it timed and there is a "You beat the part time medal", another one could be that there are bonus people/animals that you can save but don't have to and there is a "Save All medal".
4. Have you considered allowing multiple people in the boat at once but having some kind of side effect. Effects could include: Slower boat, sharp movements like tight turning maybe the extra people could fall out the boat.
Just some food for thought, still though really great game, solid polished experience.
For the 1 and 2 I already plan to make those changes as they were asked a lot.
Concerning the 2 last points, i already thought of this 2 possibilities yes. Especially the save all medal, the game is currently designed to make this mechanic happen. In fact i can say that only 2 persons on the 3 are needed to be saved to win the level (that's why you can see "good job ! you save X/X lives". I totally could have put "you saved everyone" instead.).
I also thought about the fact that taking multiple persons could be possible maybe with some boat upgrades.
Initially i wanted to do an infinite game with random generated islands and persons. The more the times goes, the more the water rises quickly and the more persons need help. By helping a person you could earn some currency that you could spend in a shop boat passing by from time to time to upgrade your boat and have more seats, more speed, etc.
Finally, I didn't had much time and preferred the puzzle route from the action.
But maybe I can keep this idea for later or another game :)
Thanks again, it's really kind of you !
Great sound ambience and the little "cutscenes" are a nice touch.
@shell-pirate Thank you for the feedback ! Yeah the third level is badly designed because the player will learn by failure, this is frustrating for the player and i really don't want the player to feel that.
I'm glad you liked the sound of the waves :)
For the future of the game i was thinking about adding a soundtrack composed of few notes, bearly noticeable to make the game a bit less empty. Also add more sounds effects to make the ambiance more rich.
Thank you again for your ideas !
The graphic is really good
The gameplay is easy and convenient
Good job
I think the chime for finishing a level could have faded out a little quicker, but that's a pretty minor complaint. Clean entry -- nice job!