Hi guys, this is my first attempt in Ludum Dare and my first game ever. Started coding a month ago, this weekend was a real challenge. The game is quite simple but I do believe the story is good. Hope you enjoy it! :-)
Control
Is very simple — Arrows or A/D for movement and SPACE for jump
P.S.: I know my code is TERRIBLE, but I promise I will work with it:)
Hope you can find yourself in my game!
P.S.S.: Completely new here and very nervous so I might do something wrong here. Hope it's okay still!
UPDATE v1.1: Fixed bugs with platforms and some minor issues with camera movement.
UPDATE v1.3: More bug fixes. Hope I'm done with them. Haha!
Hey, since it is a game jam and it is all about having fun on what you are doing you should not care about writing good code in my opinion. I love the way how we start as little dot. But i didn't understand how to proceed to the next areas after some point. (I think it was the words like "Well done" "Good job")
@iozsaygi, Thanks for comment! I feel shame deep inside after looking at some parts of my code. But I a little bit proud that it's working.
I have some problems with collider detection cause lack of knowledge. So u have to stay for 0,5 sec on every movement up-and-down words before move to next one. It's kinda annoying but I will try to fix this.
But I hope that players can feel the game and it's point even with this problems.
Nice game, i love this idea of "symbolism" that can kill or help you during your journey
The patterns elements are also a nice touch.
I just have an issue with some colors of bad stuff that aren't obvious (Some orange things killed me and others not), i know that you have to read the words but it's more like a UX detail.
Great game! I loved the meaning behind the positive words lifting you up and the negative words hitting you down. I encountered a few bugs but all in all a great first game!
Nice job! This is really good for a first attempt! Sometime platforms seem to stop moving too early but everything else worked perfectly! I feel like a lot of these thoughts are everyone's during a LD. I feel that having "SLEEP" chasing you the entire time would be hilarious. Also, most game jam code isn't great, even from experienced people, because it's about getting something done not getting it perfect! Keep it up!
The difficulty curve was great at the start, but it got slightly tedious later on — partly because you have to switch from the keyboard to the mouse to restart. Letting the player press a key to start again would have helped.
It also seems that some of the words stop moving (or don't start falling) if you're in the air. I assumed this was a bug, since at one point it seemed to make it impossible to progress, but it also added a little bit of extra strategy to some sections.
I really liked this. I loved the concept of having the words helping you and hurting you, and the way you had little moments like "lover" stopping words from crushing you and "friend" catching you after taking a leap of faith was really beautiful. And the ending was really nice.
Obviously a few technical issues, but that's to be expected. And I wouldn't worry too much about messy code, the important thing for these jams is getting it done in 48 hours! IMHO it's only an issue if the code is so messy it slows you down.
I feel like a story is definitely being told here! This is a very interesting interpretation, and the symbolism with the size of the words (and how they jumped in front of or around the player) was fun. Nice job!
@cethin, solution about platforms came to me in night xD I will try to fix it ASAP. Thank you for respond! My goal was that everyone could find in this game some part of yourself.
@vivienw, Small hint: black screen isn't a bug. It's symbol of despair that falls suddenly on our shoulders. But if you find something that could pull you up, everything could change. You can find it in my game too :)
@geoff-nagy, Symbolism in everything that we can see, feel and touch. And words could be as painful as any physical hurt. So yeah, I tried to show this in this game.
This is... amazing. It's such a simple way to tell a story, but it is surprisingly effective and powerful! There's bugs, but you already know that. Your ability to tell a story like this will surely help you in your next games.
Hey good job man! I have some constructing feedback to help a bit :D. In the sections where you are moving and nothing is on the screen you can't really tell if you are moving, you could add some particles or maybe a texture at the background. Also some sounds go a LOONG way, even just a quiet ambience could make this game come alive. I know toy can't implement that now but just for next time :D. This was fy first game jam too so well done! Loved the idea, keep it up!
@crochar, Thank you! I know about this issues, but... Lack of Time destroyed me xD I thought about background and movement cause of this reason, but just couldn't made this in time.
Congrats on your first game, the platforming was quite fun and it looked very good. I think the text colour could've been a bit more consistent at telling you what will happen when you hit it, there are a few jumps that are a bit fiddly so disrupt the flow of the game (e.g. proficiency) and some of the game design ideas went on for a little too long or were repeated too often. Overall good job, I hope you continue to make games.
@the-enigma, Thank you! It's not about colors, but meaning. Words can hurt, it doesn't matter who said that. Color differentiation shows player that friends, lover and even parents can hurt you even when they are closest people to you.
Congratulations with the very first Ludum dare. The game idea looks interesting, and here is some advice for the next one: 1. Work on movement thoroughly, this time it's not bad (I've seen much worse) but for platformers, movement is a key system. 2. Read something about level design, right now it's plain as hell and tedious, literally. 3. Add some simple procedural animations which make your game look better.
Comments37
I have some problems with collider detection cause lack of knowledge. So u have to stay for 0,5 sec on every movement up-and-down words before move to next one. It's kinda annoying but I will try to fix this.
But I hope that players can feel the game and it's point even with this problems.
The patterns elements are also a nice touch.
I just have an issue with some colors of bad stuff that aren't obvious (Some orange things killed me and others not), i know that you have to read the words but it's more like a UX detail.
And THANKS for adding checkpoints !
Great entry overall :v:
The difficulty curve was great at the start, but it got slightly tedious later on — partly because you have to switch from the keyboard to the mouse to restart. Letting the player press a key to start again would have helped.
It also seems that some of the words stop moving (or don't start falling) if you're in the air. I assumed this was a bug, since at one point it seemed to make it impossible to progress, but it also added a little bit of extra strategy to some sections.
Great work on your first entry!
I really liked this. I loved the concept of having the words helping you and hurting you, and the way you had little moments like "lover" stopping words from crushing you and "friend" catching you after taking a leap of faith was really beautiful. And the ending was really nice.
Obviously a few technical issues, but that's to be expected. And I wouldn't worry too much about messy code, the important thing for these jams is getting it done in 48 hours! IMHO it's only an issue if the code is so messy it slows you down.
I think the simple art style works for the game although a few sound effects would be nice and add a lot I think.
Thanks for making this.
Thank you!
YOU ARE A GENIUS.
Update 10/07/2019 10:01: 11 ratings? Seriously, this one deserves much more attention...
Thank you for feedback!
Overall good job, I hope you continue to make games.
1. Work on movement thoroughly, this time it's not bad (I've seen much worse) but for platformers, movement is a key system.
2. Read something about level design, right now it's plain as hell and tedious, literally.
3. Add some simple procedural animations which make your game look better.
Anyway, it's a good first try.