Second GameJam, and holy crap that's hard ! I tried, my best, but the game still lacks some cool features, like...musics and sounds or preview for earth and air spells !! :cry:
Well, nevertheless, I'm proud of me :smile:
The game doesn't really have a name, so call it "Keep it alive".
You play as a mage using 4 elementary spells to protect and bring the last spark of Mana to the world's altar.
Fire burn foes
Air push everything away
Earth build irremovable walls
Water protect from every danger
Use those spells cleverly to pass all 5 levels and save the World.
I love the spells, I found the air spell very fun to use! I noticed that dropping the mana next to a wall causes it to drop out of screen, was that intentional? Either way, the mana mechanic fit the theme excellently, good job!
The game was good and I liked the idea but there were a couple issues with the movement I wasnt able to move to the left with A so had to use arrow keys and with the control layout arrow keys didnt work that well, also I felt like the wizard was a bit slow but other than that it was a good game and nice concept!
Couldn't get to the end because the game wouldn't let me progress to level 2 (even though I was holding the spark of mana). The wind spell is pretty fun to use, especially when you start to fly away. One little thing I found was missing is the ability to change spell by clicking on it rather than using the keyboard, it felt more natural to me :slight_smile:
Good beginner game! Something to be proud of for sure. I liked that you had a tutorial. A surprising number of games overlook this. Some critiques:
-The controls were really weird. I could only move with Q-D? Seems like a strange choice. Also I feel like you could have made this a full keyboard game w/o use of the mouse and it would work well
-Several game breaking bugs. The mana potion kept falling through the floor and making me restart the level. I'm glad that you considered this though and made the level restart.
-Game felt sluggish. I would suggest just speeding everything up.
I walked past the mana spark and couldn't go back!!!... took me a solid 20 seconds before realising move left is 'Q' on a QWERTY keyboard haha. You must use AZERTY.
Gameplay was a little slow to start but it introduced the mechanics very well, and there's a lot of variation here with the spells! Nice work :)
I dropped the mana on the zobmi's head. I launched mana into space. I stood on the head of a zombie. I dropped mana into the abyss. Of me a useless keeper. It was fun :)
Good concept, and I like the art!! The tutorials were helpful, but the A key doesn't work for movement, and I accidentally walked past the mana so I couldn't pick it up. The keys for spells were also not super intuitive. Great job finishing your second jam though!!
I liked the pixel art graphics, the statue looks super cool. I would work more on the background. Maybe do it in pixel art style too or add more details. I got stuck a few times because the "A" button dosn't work Although it was supposed to. Only after restarting the game a few times I notices that the "Q" does the work. I also had a problem with casting the wind spell. Good job, maybe next time make a shorter game, but more polished.
Good job. I thought having different spells was fun and I was interested in the world. I found the Q/D button combo to move to be a bit odd and the second level the mana kept falling through the floor wich made progressing the game to be impossible. The art was good and I do see potential for the game.
Fun and challeging game! The controls took a while to get used to but in the end it was quite fun (also A and D doesn't seem to work, only Q and D). My favourite spell is definitely the wind spell which in combination with the earth spell to create platforms opens up a lot of movement options. Unfortunately I couldn't get past the final level, because my mana got stuck in the ground with no way to pick it up again. I also really like the statue art! Good job!
The game idea is quite effective, fits the theme well and the different skills are nice, but there are some bugs in the controls making gameplay a bit frustrating.
Like another commenter mentioned, A doesn't work and using the arrows makes it tricky to switch between clicks and E/F keys, so I had to move with Q/D,which was less than optimal.
The wind skill was an unexpected nice touch, even if using it next to a wall usually caused the mana jar to fall off bounds.
Nonetheless, there's a cool idea here with potential to become even better. Good job!
I encountered a bug when I put the mana down and it kept falling though the world. As several people pointed out, casting the wind spell is a bit strange and A key doesn't work (and using QE for movement feels very strange).
I like the color palette you've got in your game. It's simple but feels really nice. Would have been nice if you have music but I get it, jam stuff happens some times. :stuck_out_tongue: Gameplay is pretty interesting though and the spell switching is a nice touch.
One thing that I'd recommend is changing the font to one with a bit more personality (or aesthetic, or style, whatever you wanna call it lol). It's a little change that goes a long way in helping the game have a unique mood.
Comments22
Overall great entry
At one point the mana fell through the level after dropping it.
-The controls were really weird. I could only move with Q-D? Seems like a strange choice. Also I feel like you could have made this a full keyboard game w/o use of the mouse and it would work well
-Several game breaking bugs. The mana potion kept falling through the floor and making me restart the level. I'm glad that you considered this though and made the level restart.
-Game felt sluggish. I would suggest just speeding everything up.
Good job on making it though! Cheers!
Gameplay was a little slow to start but it introduced the mechanics very well, and there's a lot of variation here with the spells! Nice work :)
Like another commenter mentioned, A doesn't work and using the arrows makes it tricky to switch between clicks and E/F keys, so I had to move with Q/D,which was less than optimal.
The wind skill was an unexpected nice touch, even if using it next to a wall usually caused the mana jar to fall off bounds.
Nonetheless, there's a cool idea here with potential to become even better. Good job!
I encountered a bug when I put the mana down and it kept falling though the world. As several people pointed out, casting the wind spell is a bit strange and A key doesn't work (and using QE for movement feels very strange).
Glad you enjoyed it !
I made a second version fixing some of the bugs you all noticed.
And buttons to switch spell @evanaellio ;)
Oh, and yes, i'm on an azerty keyboard, that explained why I use Q to walk left :p
One thing that I'd recommend is changing the font to one with a bit more personality (or aesthetic, or style, whatever you wanna call it lol). It's a little change that goes a long way in helping the game have a unique mood.
Overall not a bad experience though!
If you happened to miss me playing the game, you can go to this spreadsheet to find what timestamp I played your game
https://tinyurl.com/yau8hjzn
And then look in my latest videos and find your game being play (after the current stream ends)
https://www.twitch.tv/ursagames/videos
Good job !