Hey it's my first time in Ludum Dare, i hope you'll like what i've done. I also can't wait to play other games :thumbsup:
Mr.Grind is endless clicker game with pixel art graphics.
Lore
You are Orc that lives by mining gold and you have nothing except your pickaxe. Your pickaxe is your everything. You are feeling happy when you are grinding and you don't even feel the starvation that your body feels. Only thing you care is your pickaxe. You are selling the gold you earned to the costumers and you are earning gem in exchange. Since your pickaxe is your everything you are using the gem you earned to upgrade your lovely pickaxe. :heart:
Controls
Use A, D and arrow keys to move around. Use "Space" key to jump and use "Mouse Left Button" to mine gold. While i was play testing this game it was much more fun with joystick so try to play it with joystick if you can.
Screenshots
Changes v1.1 (6 October 2019) - "Upgrade" button removed from "Menu", it now appears on game screen instead.
Changes v1.2 (6 October 2019) - The truck timer is now more game jam friendly (short).
Changes v1.3 (6 October 2019) - Now the upgrade tree is more game jam friendly. (Cheaper)
Changes v1.4 (7 October 2019) - The GPS upgrade bug fixed. (Huge thanks to the LD community for reporting this one out)
Comments151
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6 Oct 2019, 16:08
Looks nice, although jumping mechanic is useless right now. Good art and music but not much gameplay other than clicking the gold and dropping gold for gems. However, it is a good starting point for a bigger game
Hey, thanks for the comment. (I don't know if you realize that but there is specific menu for upgrading your character/pickaxe. You can access the menu by pressing "Esc" while playing the game)
It's a cool concept, and I like the idea of a cookie clicker-esque game with a bit more external world. It would be cool to see a game expanding on the truck concept.
Good clicker game, but its too slow. Timer between trucks should be way way shorter, the ratio between gold/diamonds should be more friendly. You have to play for maybe 20 mins until you can unlock '+1 gold per second'. So it's a fun clicker game, but the balance is off, especially for gamejam game it takes too long.
The art is neat and the gameplay is simple enough for us to understand. However, I didn't even have time to buy anything when the truck came :( Nice work overall !
I feel like the biggest issue is that I don't feel like my choices matter. If I miss truck, who cares itll be here in another few seconds. If I upgrade on thing or another it doens't really matter my gold increases about the same amount any way. Two upgrades are really good, the other two are pretty useless. I feel like it doesn't matter what I choose.
A lot better with new truck timer! Maybe one last thing you should add is a win condition - maybe if you collect ~250 gold you win the game. Then the upgrades matter because they make you collect gold faster and there is end to the game so it doesnt get boring, because there arent enough upgrades.
I like the soundtrack and the style. The truck concept is cool, nice to see some variation in the standard clicker formula. A bit of slow to progress though.
Thanks for the feedbacks. I posted an update and now upgrade tree is cheaper. Player should be able to achieve Gold Per Second upgrade like in 2-3 turns now.
It's a solid starting point for a nice clicker game :) And it's a first for me I never played one of these... But Gold per Second just made me happy :D
Haha I found it oddly satisfying and a bit addictive. Played it for a solid 10 minutes, trying to get the upgrades. The upgrades got quite expensive fast, but very fun game! Well done!
Pretty solid for a clicker made in this timeframe. One thing I would say is for the gold per second you might want another sound. It was fine as a sound for mining but with it going off every second it got a bit annoying. I realize you have a mute which I used but I think adding another sound or maybe even maybe making it a bit quieter would help.
Played for a good while. Very addicting! But the gold dinging sound is kind of annoying. Also, the 1024 cost "-1 Hit Requirement" upgrade doesn't appear to do anything (hit requirement was already at 1?) Great art, idle animation, grass, etc.
Nice entry, and surprisingly fun! I think the gold per second upgrades were stuck at adding +1. Even though I upgraded to +5 per second, it was only adding 1 to my gold count.
Regarding the other comment about a win condition mentioned by @lil-penguin I'd also find it interesting if the game had a time limit. E.g. how much gold can you earn in five minutes? Then there'd be more of an element of strategy.
The game is cool, I must admit that a clicker it still works well ... By cons, I wanted a little more change or add in the environment, is too basic ...
Regarding the game I noticed that the GPS does not work properly and the -1Hit continues after it is 1 :)
@kevinalbs Thanks for your comment, i just tested that out in the engine but it works fine for me. Adding a "win condition" idea is really cool but i wanted this game to be endless. Thanks a lot!
@TasakaSama Seems like GPS feature is only working for me (It's a developer special i guess :P) ahah, i'll try to look into that. Thanks :)
Idle games are going to be a strong candidate for this Ludum Dare, and I found your work quite satisfying seemingly. Great Job. Any thoughts on having the BGM be something more soothing?
@stefanie-leitch Hey thanks for your comment. At the start i planned to have 10-20 upgrades and i worked like 1.5 days non stop. I am burned out and i decided to publish early. That is why there is lack of upgrades. Thanks.
Seems like the start to a fun clicker game - It needs an ultimate end goal though. However if I was to give some criticism I would say you should work on the graphics a little more. You have the tendency to mix and match pixel sizes and it comes off looking jarring. The truck for example is using pixels that are maybe 3 times larger than the orc. That being said the upgrades scaled nicely and I liked the idea that the gold had to be sold at the truckto be worth anything
Cute clicker game, I like how fast the truck leaves. I missed it the first two iterations.Maybe change the pickaxe z placement to be infront of the orc?, feels weird being behind him.
maybe its just the perception because he's looking at us, and not the rock. Maybe use a side angle and just flip the sprite when moving in the opposite direction. Either way, nice submission.
Sound effects and graphics are good but upgrades feel pretty bland. There is no change to gameplay or graphics and the only thing it changes is the number going up. It doesn't feel very rewarding. Overall the appearance is good and it is an endless clicker, as it says on the box!
Nice clicker, I like your graphics! I don't really like your music but I dont even like my music so I guess we are better in making game than making music XD GG, well done!
Awesome clicker game! I made one too, as you saw, but I like how yours is far more active (and well paced).
The only criticisms that stuck out to me were that sometimes UI elements would overlap, for example it would show my GPS while I was looking at upgrades, as well as the fact that there is no need for the jump mechanic.
Had fun playing it and played for lots longer than I intended to
Cool entry and proof of concept! The game is lacking substance at the moment but with a two day time limit I can't blame you. Kept me interested for far too long, haha.
Really nice clicker game i like the addition of having to move to the truck to sell gold. I find its a nice little addition and helps to make it keep it interesting as there is more interaction than just clicking and upgrading. Great Job.
Looks really nice and is quite addictive (probably got an RSI now). I like the music, but the sound effects are a bit abrasive, though you've got a mute button so no harm there. I ended up playing this a surprisingly long amount of time. Would love to see more content for it.
I guess you should turn off background mode for a webgl 'cause I've earned a lot of gold during the writing of this comment =) Good work btw! As mentioned - jump mechanic it not very useful, but game is still pretty fun!
Is it me or does upgrading to +2 gold per second or higher not work? I still seem to get just +1 per second. strangely addicting, as clickers can be, but I was done in 5 minutes.
The truck was an interesting way to add some breaks from the clicking and stop things from becoming flat and repetitive. It would have been nice if you could have done more with that idea.
It would have been cool if there were more different types of upgrades, or ones that start off locked and have to be unlocked somehow. As it stands, there's a nice progression but it feels a bit linear.
The music really helped build the kind of frantic mood that's perfect for an endless clicker game.
This is surprisingly addicting and having the truck be on a timer really keeps you focused on how many clicks you need to get in before it arrives. It's a small twist but it feels fresh and I think that's a great thing for a genre where you mostly want to automate the entire thing. Good job!
Solid clicker, got pretty deep into into it without any Auto clicker... ha! A bit dissapointed, not sure what i expected tho but when i passed the 10th upgrade, nothing happened!
I usually don't like clickers, and I probably don't like this one either, BUT it kept me engaged, and I giggled a bit. I think it's that bumpin beat. Add some explosions and this might be the Michael Bay of clicker games.
Okay, i think i found the solution to the GPS bug, i'll investigate on it when i get home today. I don't know if Ludum Dare allows developers to fix bugs after release, will look into FAQ and other things like rules. Thanks for reporting that bug everyone!
Alright just checked that one out. Ludum Dare says;
_"Certain Bug Fixes are allowed. You can’t add new features, but if something broke or didn’t work correctly as you were finishing up, you can fix this after the deadline. You are asked to highlight the changes you make in your submission (a short change log). You probably wont get a 2nd chance with some players, but at least it wont be a problem for future players."_
Cool start to a clicker game. Movement speed and jumping didn't seem incredibly valuable right now but the game looks like it could be addictive which is pretty much what clicker games need to succeed.
Nice little clicker game. I think the timer between the truck showing up could be shorter which would then make the back and forth a bit more engaging. Other than that, great work!
This is a very interesting take on the Clicker Genre. The game feels very satisfying and responsive whenever you upgrade or move around. I also really enjoyed the pixel art.
This is a solid first entry for Ludum Dare! You did a good job keeping the scope small and polishing it :smile:
One bug(?) I encountered is that I could continue to upgrade clicks per gold below 1. I tried just for fun and it looks like it didn't do anything, other than take my gems :joy:
I mean, I'm no clicker fan so maybe I'm missing something here but I really didn't like the constant clicking. Usually in these kinds of games the "wow" factor is all the useless feedback to get you hooked in, and this just has the clicking.
Keep on trying to make something though, this is definitely a good start. Balancing is key when it comes to these kinds of games.
This is a very nice entry! I would only have hoped to unlock something I didn't have in the beginning, which would have set some goal to the game (and fit the theme slightly better :))
But honestly the game feels solid, and even if the music is a bit noisy, it brings a nice mood to the game. Congrats on your first jam!!
@twelvoo hey thank you so much for playing my game. It depends on you if you want to upgrade your pickaxe you have to earn gems otherwise you don't have to stop mining gold.
I cheated, I used left ctrl to click faster, then I used mouse click + l ctrl for more gains... then I went to town with a macro to do all my clicking for me (at double the speed). I just don't really like clickers, and I like saving my mouse :P It did allow me more fun though.
It's a solid bare-bones clicker game, could be expanded a lot. I like the humor (the description, and how the truck escapes quickly). The upgrades seem to go on forever needlessly (what's the point in upgrading click reduction past a certain point?)
Sidenote: While it works fine on the PC (chrome, firefox), on macOS safari the game never loads fully, I'm presented with a black screen with logo and 2 green buttons (no intro music or background). The game onwards is all black with just gui elements and music
I like clicker games and this one is on exception. Could definitely be expanded and refined though, I felt a bit detached fromt the game somehow. Good job though, I had fun.
Very fun game. Question did you record the "get gold" sound in the supermarked? Because it really sounds exactly like the scanner when it scans your groceries. Made it even more fun though :D
Great simple game. I understood everything there was to it in the single tutorial screen you provided. Great job on that. And... I got addicted. Even though I knew what the game was I couldnt stop clicking. Good Job!
The coin drop mechanic with the car is a nice touch, too bad you didn't have time to add more upgrades that unlock with progression. Had to stop playing because i'm hooked on cookie clicker
Good simple clicker. I'm a bit disappointed that when I reduced my Hit Requirement to zero, my eyes didn't burn a bright golden colour and I didn't slowly rise into the sky surrounded by a golden glow, consuming the universe with my infinite divide-by-zero gold, but maybe that's just me.
good job on your first ludum dare! simple little fairly barebones clicker game, well done enough— hope to see you expanding and learning and making more in the future!
Really well polished - and as others stated... played a little too long as well.. :wink: It's a really simple entry - but it still works very well :thumbsup_tone1:
I collected so much gold and ore. I wanted to see what would happen if I got down to zero hits, it didn't cause the game to play itself but I do think my money still went up. An end screen would have been nice and maybe a little more animation on the orc.
Ok, I played for way too long.. haha. Nice clicker!! With a cool add of movement. It'd been cool to lose some gold if the truck left making the movespeed mechanic more valuable.
Congrats on finishing your first Ludum Dare! I really like the game, I still have it playing in the background. Its a great start and you should develop it more or use it as the basis for a new game. There is so much potential and you've just scratched the surface. I look forward to seeing what you do with this next and what you bring out in the future!
This was surprisingly addicting! Even after I had gotten most of the upgrades and knew I had pretty much exhausted the gameplay, I still wanted to finish it out to see how much money I could make with everything maxed out. The vibe of the game was great - very chill, good background music, and good basic graphics. The mining sound got a bit annoying after a bit but no feedback to give - this is a super polished LD entry. Well done!
And addictive one~ makes me wander if there is a reborn system like all the other clicker game~ But I can't just keep playing it, this kind of game is just too addictive that where did my time go? HaHa. Good work!
Reminds me of Peons in WoW :D I really wish I could hold the mouse to keep mining and buy upgrades to mine faster instead of manually clicking / installing auto-clicker.
Some feedback and visual changes to my character or scenery with each upgrade would be great. Knowing how many times I upgraded each ability would also be a great addition.
Thinking on port to mobile or publishing on web game portal? Thats an addictive one, you can transform this on a "gold mine" if you invest in some polishing.
@khud0 Hey, you are correct! Peons were my inspiration point while i was designing the character. Thanks for playing my game!
@danilo-freire Hey, thanks for feedbacks. No, currently i do not have any plans for the future of this game but at the same time i can't predict the future. It depends on my time and mood i guess. :fire:
Fun game! For me personally, the button audio was a little to loud. Also, by any chance was this inspired by Brackeys game, Fire Alarm? Anyways, great job. :)
Simple yet addictive! I found myself clicking for way longer than I would have expected. As others have mentioned there isn't really a use for jumping. The sound effects were very effective. Well done!
I'm such a sucker for clickers :D That was a lot of fun even though it was really simple.
Scoping small enough is often the biggest challenge when doing LD, so I'm going to congratulate you on this! The game felt really polished for what it was. I still played it for way too long, even if it was so simple :D
Comments151
However, I didn't even have time to buy anything when the truck came :(
Nice work overall !
i mined like 100 ore xD
feels like minecraft
well done
I'll make to sure to come back for rating!
I do not understand some upgrades.
Regarding the other comment about a win condition mentioned by @lil-penguin I'd also find it interesting if the game had a time limit. E.g. how much gold can you earn in five minutes? Then there'd be more of an element of strategy.
By cons, I wanted a little more change or add in the environment, is too basic ...
Regarding the game I noticed that the GPS does not work properly
and the -1Hit continues after it is 1 :)
In any case it's a pleasure to play
@TasakaSama Seems like GPS feature is only working for me (It's a developer special i guess :P) ahah, i'll try to look into that. Thanks :)
edit: ran fine for me in Firefox. Fun game, with some more pixel art goodness I could ocd out on this for a while :)
Minor potential bug - Gold Per Second is giving me 1 per second and i'm on 4 :shrug:
The only criticisms that stuck out to me were that sometimes UI elements would overlap, for example it would show my GPS while I was looking at upgrades, as well as the fact that there is no need for the jump mechanic.
Had fun playing it and played for lots longer than I intended to
Very entertaining and addictive.
Maybe shouldn't have been the first game I played, because now my hand hurts, lol.
The truck was an interesting way to add some breaks from the clicking and stop things from becoming flat and repetitive. It would have been nice if you could have done more with that idea.
It would have been cool if there were more different types of upgrades, or ones that start off locked and have to be unlocked somehow. As it stands, there's a nice progression but it feels a bit linear.
The music really helped build the kind of frantic mood that's perfect for an endless clicker game.
Great job.
The game itself is pretty fun with its simple mechanics, good job :)
A bit dissapointed, not sure what i expected tho but when i passed the 10th upgrade, nothing happened!
but a solid game otherwise
Thanks for reporting that bug everyone!
Alright just checked that one out. Ludum Dare says;
_"Certain Bug Fixes are allowed. You can’t add new features, but if something broke or didn’t work correctly as you were finishing up, you can fix this after the deadline. You are asked to highlight the changes you make in your submission (a short change log). You probably wont get a 2nd chance with some players, but at least it wont be a problem for future players."_
So the bug will be fixed today when i get home.
One bug(?) I encountered is that I could continue to upgrade clicks per gold below 1. I tried just for fun and it looks like it didn't do anything, other than take my gems :joy:
Keep on trying to make something though, this is definitely a good start. Balancing is key when it comes to these kinds of games.
But honestly the game feels solid, and even if the music is a bit noisy, it brings a nice mood to the game. Congrats on your first jam!!
It's a solid bare-bones clicker game, could be expanded a lot. I like the humor (the description, and how the truck escapes quickly). The upgrades seem to go on forever needlessly (what's the point in upgrading click reduction past a certain point?)
Sidenote: While it works fine on the PC (chrome, firefox), on macOS safari the game never loads fully, I'm presented with a black screen with logo and 2 green buttons (no intro music or background). The game onwards is all black with just gui elements and music
nice work!
Cheers!
simple little fairly barebones clicker game, well done enough— hope to see you expanding and learning and making more in the future!
It's a really simple entry - but it still works very well :thumbsup_tone1:
:purple_heart: :dart: :frog:
Thinking on port to mobile or publishing on web game portal? Thats an addictive one, you can transform this on a "gold mine" if you invest in some polishing.
Congrats! Fun game! :D
@danilo-freire Hey, thanks for feedbacks. No, currently i do not have any plans for the future of this game but at the same time i can't predict the future. It depends on my time and mood i guess. :fire:
Edit: Just checked that one out. The truck system is exactly same but again it is my first time seeing Fire Alarm.
Scoping small enough is often the biggest challenge when doing LD, so I'm going to congratulate you on this! The game felt really polished for what it was. I still played it for way too long, even if it was so simple :D
Oh I just realized its your first entry, taking my words back its a really good start!