LifeLine

by pomeroyb

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.80

Fun★★★★★★★★★★4.02

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★4.00

Theme★★★★★★★★★★4.32

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.38

Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.39

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.76

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.40

Keep it alive! Control the heart beat for as long as possible to get the highest score!

Left and right click (Or press the "W" and "S" keys!) to move the ECG signal up or down, avoiding obstacles. Gain a combo multiplier by following a natural heart rhythm -- Up, down, up, down... Don't beat too fast, or you risk suffering from tachycardia! Press "R" for a fast restart if you lose!

For best graphics and sound quality, download the 64 bit Windows .zip file and play from there.

Also available on itch.io for web browsers and Android (with lower graphical/sound fidelity)

Video: https://youtu.be/_ojuuW9fZYs

Tools: Unity

Comments39

No Grapes Games21 Apr 2020, 04:23

Really cool. Really tough but really cool. This was very creative and I like how the line glows and the feeling you get when you click over and then under. Great use of the theme! I'm no good at this but I still had fun.

Darylsteak21 Apr 2020, 04:29

A challenging little game! Really difficult, but I like the idea. The audio and visuals were also quite nice.

TheQiwiBoy21 Apr 2020, 04:29

This game is pretty cool.

DJN21 Apr 2020, 04:30

I thought you had to go from top to bottom at first, but when I realized that you could go anywhere I was dodgin' back and forth like a madman! Legit fun game, good job!

xeno-software21 Apr 2020, 04:30

Great job! Loved this game! Perfect balance of difficulty and fun! I think maybe you could use a CRT post-processing effect, as well as sound effects for the up and down. Very fun overall.

kschmidt21 Apr 2020, 04:31

Great job! I glossed over the instructions and so was just left click tapping at first :) It would be cool if there were some keys I could use instead of mouse clicks, it's a bit hard to do on a laptop touchpad. Overall I had fun!

Don Fouts21 Apr 2020, 04:31

This is one of the better games I've seen today. Awesome work! I love how you incorporated the theme into your design. The controls are nice and snappy, and the visuals are on point. Really solid game.

HEXIEZ12321 Apr 2020, 04:32

Very well-rounded experience. I love how you die from tachycardia if you spam the heart.

Plepletier21 Apr 2020, 04:33

Great game!!! really challenge. Very fluid the animation of the heart line eheheh Good job

SynysterCola21 Apr 2020, 04:33

This is probably one of the most creative games I've played. Well done! Really like the concept and music! The green glow goes really well!

whydoidoit21 Apr 2020, 04:35

This is a great game, I'm struggling with right click on my Mac trackpad, but the point is, I am struggling with it not just moving along to the next game. Classic "hard" puzzle. One of my favourites today for sure.

Carson Bentley21 Apr 2020, 04:35

I really like this one. I'm gonna play this for a few more minutes. Probably my favorite game so far, of maybe 10 that I have tried.

Thiago Nascimento21 Apr 2020, 04:36

So nice! Its the same name of my game lol

Quillwerth21 Apr 2020, 04:36

I thought this was really cute, and *extremely* on-theme.

I'll echo the feedback that it's really hard, and sometimes it seems like the patterns aren't actually beatable (hah! get it?). The music really fits the gameplay, and when you nail a quick movement, it feels really good.

I have to wonder how much of the difficulty is due to how quickly you move when you click or release. Did you ever try a slower motion?

JanGamesDev21 Apr 2020, 04:37

Nice little game. This is really simple but a ton of fun.

Euix21 Apr 2020, 04:40

I bit too literal of an interpretation of the theme for my taste, but the gameplay was surprisingly creative and very difficult. I didn't get a sense of "staying on beat", at all, but the challenge was interesting. Some potential for a pleasant mobile game.

G.A.GameStudio21 Apr 2020, 04:41

Amazing game! I like the distinctive idea.

Enya45421 Apr 2020, 04:41

Yeah, it was pretty fun. The controls were a little confusing, but once you understood it was pretty addictie

Reid Willis21 Apr 2020, 04:42

Awesome interpretation of the theme. It was hard at first, but you quickly start getting the hang of it. Quite addicting actually. Could make a real nice mobile game!

Shugor21 Apr 2020, 04:43

Yeah this is pretty tricky to do well in, but it's nice that it lets you jump right back in so quickly. It's pretty interesting to experiment with how the game interprets different ways of moving around; the inspiration taken from how natural heart rhythms work make for a nicely coherent set of mechanics. Fun game~

PHPGator21 Apr 2020, 04:45

Things I liked, graphics fit the concept very well. The sensitivity was tough, but felt good. Things I disliked: I found it to be difficult for a beginner. I died within a few seconds several times in a row until I could get the hang of it. I think it probably needed a shorter slope to difficulty. The first 10 seconds were great though!

zillix21 Apr 2020, 04:47

Simple, yet super engaging. Really great. Awesome work!

Actyl21 Apr 2020, 04:48

I can't train my brain to be good at this! Hard game, nice take on the theme, good stuff.

Matthew Bond21 Apr 2020, 04:48

Very fun game play, would do well as a mobile game. I feel like there could be some more feedback when your heart rate gets too fast or slow, maybe the line changing color. Great game!

Begocio21 Apr 2020, 04:49

Amazing game, I had a kinda similar idea. Loved it !

lectvs21 Apr 2020, 04:55

Neat entry! I've played a lot of "dodge the obstacle" games, but I like how in this game you're encouraged to move around and not stay in the same place even if it's safe. One suggestion I have is to associate the controls with the direction of movement (i.e. if you used up/down arrows to correspond to moving the beat up/down). Overall a nice, simple, fun game!

Ricna21 Apr 2020, 05:03

Its hard and addictive! Sometimes frustrating because is impossible to find a way to continue. Nice game!!! Well DONE! :)

pomeroybauthor21 Apr 2020, 05:17

Thanks everyone for the comments! I didn't think about trackpads while playing, and have just updated the release -- you can now play using the "W" and "S" keys. I appreciate all the feedback! :thumbsup:

Cornel21 Apr 2020, 13:09

Addictive and hard. I missed "R" button to restart instead of using mouse.

Bonyok7721 Apr 2020, 13:57

It's so hard but the theme adaptation of this game fits really well...

pomeroybauthor21 Apr 2020, 19:36

Added the ability to press "R" to restart on death. Thanks for the suggestion!

Trace21 Apr 2020, 20:41

Controlling a Heartbeat is pretty fun, especially when you have to make sure not to beat too slow or too fast. i like it.

devook21 Apr 2020, 23:31

Excellent for a game jam entry! Great concept and really cleanly executed!

Suggestions:
* Heartbeat counter isn't very useful because you can't look at it during gameplay - maybe some sort of visual or auditory feedback would communicate status better to the player
* Obstacle placement felt super random and sometimes unfair, and the little off-center-but-not-quite ones that still get when you're holding on that line felt a little cheap

pomeroybauthor22 Apr 2020, 09:03

Full disclosure: Obstacle placement is 100% random. If you feel the game cheated you out of a good run, it probably did! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Emperor Eagle22 Apr 2020, 10:23

Now this is a very unique game! I found it really fun and innovative! It truly is a great game due to its simplicity and how you nailed every aspect. I would like to see a difficulty setting just because I found it quite hard. Fantastic!

AryanJumani22 Apr 2020, 19:07

Best game I have played uptil now!! Completely unique! Found the gameplay better than Tiny Fragments and Lich Clicker(Hated Lich CLicker). Loved the concept of the random obstacles. Audio, graphics, gameplay, concept, everything was exceptional. It is the most Live-ly game :wink:.

krakadushka23 Apr 2020, 13:33

Cool game! Very nice to play

lexusinator24 Apr 2020, 11:13

I most definitely sucked at it but I simultaneously really enjoyed how physically anxious it made me. Really hard, but with some practice it becomes noticeably more fun. Cool idea as well!

gagapete25 Apr 2020, 11:14

Best interpretation of the theme I've seen so gar. Played the Android Version for a while. The graphics and Sound are nice but the gameplay rocks.

I'd recommend making restart easier (see Super Hexagon) as searching for the restart button drew me out of the flow a bit each time.

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