A jam game for Ludum Dare 43: "Sacrifices must be made". Created by Peter Szollosi and Kevin Szollosi, 2018. Music is by Eric Skiff - Underclocked (Resistor Anthems).
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Goal: ------------------------------- Collect as many gems as you can and get back to your rocket before the lava erupts. Intergalactic gems are highly profitable, but collecting them is very dangerous... You might need to sacrifice some of your crew members to find out which is the right way.
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Controls: ------------------------------- - Jump up: Up / W / Space / C - Move left: Left / A - Move right: Right / D - Activate: Ctrl / E / X
Notice: ------------------------------- A lot of what I have planned is missing. There is only one level but the core mechanics work fine. Have fun! :)
Edit: To make the web version work, I had to add a minimal effort Game Over screen so that the game can be restarted. Other than that, everything is the same.
Hey, I recommend itch.io for uploading games. Makes it a bit easier to download :slight_smile:
Anyways, great game! Love the art style and music. I understand what you were doing with the crew members, but it still kinda just felt like the same character losing lives. Perhaps having each crew member dressed in something slightly different would have given a better effect of different crew members being present.
Also, game ends suddenly if you win or lose. But other than that, I really enjoyed it. :thumbsup: :gem:
Hey @mr-chocolatesalmon! Thanks for the nice words! Yeah, uploading to itch.io is a great idea, I will do it later. Also, I will test your game after work ;) About the different dresses: my brother also suggested this. :) It's on my todo list, I would like to fix it in the post-jam version.
Nice little game :) My only real criticism would be that each new crew member should be a different colour so it is more obvious that you sacrificed someone instead ofjust starting a new life with the same person a la Mario.
Cute, simple game. I like it a lot. As others already pointed out it would be nice to differentiate the crew members. How it is displayed now it looks like in a Super Mario game with the multiple lives you have.
Are there even 20 gems in the game? It felt like I explored everything but I got only 13 gems.
Really funny game! The velocity of the character is a bit frustrating but I understand that it's made in this way on purpose. The pixelart is very successful and the music helps to create a good mood. Good job!
I enjoyed playing this on 3 million fps haha, really smooth! At first I did not see what it had to do with the theme but some more seconds into the game I realised you just had to die to get certain gems!
@hechi I'm glad you like it! It's interesting that some people say the character moves too quickly while others like the way it is. Personally I feel it's just a bit too quick, but I didn't wanted to change the speed in the very last moment... That never goes well. :)
I love the speed of the game - the movement was nice and smooth and the velocity was excellent. The little notes and hints were nice and sometimes sneakily deceptive :)
I died to the lava the first time I played through but eventually I won on my second time through it.
A cute little game. Was'nt easy and quite stressful ! But I really enjoyed it very much :) I played it several time until I could see if there was anything else :p well done !
Agree with the idea that each crew member could be a different colour. What an outstandingly beautiful art and design though. Absolutely lush! :thumbsup:
Cool game! The art is really great and I think the little messages were a fun addition. The game feel is also very good. Very nicely polished and fun game overall, although I agree with the other comments that you could have made sacrificing the crew members more clear. But besides that, not much to complain :thumbsup:
Thank you very much, @karai17 ! I thought I have already answered your comment, sorry about that! :) I guess it's better late than never? So yeah, I plan to paint the crew members differently. Thanks for playing! :)
the game is pretty fun, and the art is nice too. there are some platforms you can't jump out of though, and the game could do with more levels. The camera also feels like it doesn't consistently follow the player, typically not showing enough of what's above or below.
@edmanbosch Thanks for playing! :) Oh yeah, those platforms that are just above the spikes? They are on purpose... Since the theme was 'Sacrifices must be made'. ;) I agree with the camera movement. There was a better one during development, but I didn't have time to finish it so I have reverted the changes. I thought the current camera is good enough for the 5 minute gameplay. Thanks for the tip though! Cheers
Nice! Very stylish look and feel to the game. I think the concept and brevity of the game work really well together, and had an element of replayabiltiy to it too. Really smart choices. The graphics were gorgeous, even the text font and style fitted perfectly. I think everything I want to say has probably been said regarding feedback, but I'll give it anyways. It tTook me a moment to realise how the theme tied in, realising that the "Lives" system was actually meant to represent different cruel members. It would definitely be cute if you were actually a captain in the rocket, and all the crew were standing outside waiting one by one to become the one who has to go out and get the gems.
My biggest criticism beside that is probably that the controls felt a little floaty. I think perhaps the gravity needed to be upped, at least. It felt sometimes like there was an input lag, or some such. It didn't feel as tight and responsive as I'd have liked.
It also would have been great if there was a different screen for the victory condition! It felt a little sad getting the same game over for winning as my losing, but this is the LD, you can't make everything, sacrifices must be made :)
Overall, it had a really simple, smart concept which was compelling and executed fairly well. The graphics work great and you can be proud. Good job!
Fantastic entry, I really dig the art style (seriously, it is incredibly gorgeous), it's just so polished and well put together that I feel like I am playing the first level of a released full game. You used to theme very well, one minor thing that might have been funny is if the dead astronauts remained and the color of their spacesuits shiften (to hammer in the point that it's a new person every time).
Personally I disagree with "pickens-inc" I really liked the controls and the gravity, it felt suitable for the atmospherics since we are not on Earth but on some alien planet.
Nice to see you participating in LD again, even though you seem to have forgotten what true Löve is :wink:
Really nice little platformer, the sound and graphics are really well polished and the controls worked well. It did seem to get very choppy / laggy in between running out of time and getting killed by the lava, not sure if that was intentional (I was playing the web version on Chrome). But upon trying again I was able to find enough gems and launch the rocket after sacrificing only a few lives. Nicely done entry overall! :smiley:
@pickens-inc Thanks for the comprehesive review! Yes, crew members standing outside (or selecting one before leaving the ship, as my brother suggested) would be a nice addition... We'll see in the post-jam version. :) This controls-feel-odd thing is interesting. Kevin, my brother, also had issues with the controls but I have tested it 3 computers (2 windows, 1 linux) and the webgl versions too as I was suspecting something related to delta timing. I dunno. If I increase the lag purposefully then yes I can make a situation where the movement is off, but everywhere else I've felt the controls are the same. If it is not a techincal issue, then it must be personal preference... and I know I cannot please everyone. :)
@simon-rahnasto Hello Simon! :) Nah, I will never forget Löve, I still miss it! But I have less free time to tinker with mechanics recently and maybe even less patience... so I wanted to see what's the fuss is about. Thank you for your kind words! Today I've added different skins for the player characters. About the controls: it might be a technical problem, I need more time invesigate it. I mean, they might have experienced something else on their computers. I'm curious about your game (your games are always very polished), I hope I can try it out soon. Cheers :)
You have to help me... I played the game at least 20 times but I never found more than 13 gems. But everyone else seems to have no problems. I suspect there is some "room" in the bottom right (sometimes you can see there something) but there is no way to get there.
Hi guys! Good jam entry! I love the art and the mood. If I can improve something maybe could be the jump, because isn't feels very nice to me.
Otherwise, when you died maybe you could change the "Thanks for playing" sentence by something related to "you lost your crew", because isn't clear that every time you die you are playing a different crew member (I saw the different colors but I thought were a random player generation). An initial screen with the title and whole crew also could helps to enforce that concept (which is very cool).
Anyway I think it was fun to play and I liked so much the in-game sentences. Good job!
@franfox Hey! :) I'm glad you liked it! Good idea showing the entire crew, @pickens-inc also has suggested something similar. About the jumping: what would you change about it?
Nice graphics, challenging game. I included it in my compilation video series of games from the Ludum Dare, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/kK0cQutPhIg
@easy82 Really well put-together experience. I feel like you did a fair amount of balancing with the level design, or just had a good process for thinking it up xD Made it out, but alone. Sacrifices were indeed made...
@alext-design Thank you very much! Yes, I did build and balance the level for quite a while. As I recall, I thought I will create it in an hour but it was like 3 hours or more. I'll watch your gameplay video when I get home. Thanks for playing! :)
Cool art and snappy physics that work well with the fast paced gameplay. I liked the dialog that was integrated into the game/tiles too. The level design was nice, with the exception of the parts where there was a spike on a gem or you had to hit a spike to get the gem. I Also liked how you go back to the spawn point but the timer still goes from where it was before instead of resetting when you lose one of your lives, so you've gotta quickly run back to where you were before, or go grab the gems near spawn that you may have missed before dying.
Hey @exilegl and @miziziziz thanks for the nice words! :) I plan to add jump height and other small features. In fact, I've been working on the game after the jam when I have a little spare time.
Anyways, great game! Love the art style and music. I understand what you were doing with the crew members, but it still kinda just felt like the same character losing lives. Perhaps having each crew member dressed in something slightly different would have given a better effect of different crew members being present.
Also, game ends suddenly if you win or lose. But other than that, I really enjoyed it. :thumbsup: :gem: