Divine Drifter

by enzar17
Overall★★★★★★★★★★4.25
Fun★★★★★★★★★★4.29
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.94
Theme★★★★★★★★★★4.38
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.51
Audio★★★★★★★★★★4.54
Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.94
Mood★★★★★★★★★★4.32
s.jpg
Nobody knows the true use of the traffic circle. People just keep going around it, using it for, "lane merging," or, "getting somewhere else." But what if... the traffic circle WAS the destination? That angle, those obstacles, this... aesthetic. Everyone else is wrong. Show those plebeian passengers what it's truly like to be a Divine Drifter.

- Slide sideways through 6 traffic circles so you can show everyone in the city your driving prowess

- You can't leave until you prove you're the coolest cat on the road by:
- Drifting close to other vehicles
- Scraping paint off the uncool motorists
- Drifting under semi trucks
- Tailgating
- Breaking roadblocks and knocking out cones. Nobody likes a road with no freedom.

- Drifting increases your score multiplier, but if you drift alone for too long you'll burn out and lose your bonus

- Compete for a live high score with other Drifters through an online leaderboard

Note: The menus must be navigated with a mouse, but the car can be controlled with either M&K or a gamepad.

Entirely original soundtrack!!! https://broodmachina.bandcamp.com/



Credits:

Jake McLeman - Programming

Matthew Rom - 3D Art

Hayden Yeagley - 3D Art

Eli Wulff - Programming

Keenan Wulff - Programming

Chris Meese - Programming, SFX

Dylan Satterfield - Soundtrack

Erick Holloway - Producer

Liam McAleavey - Design, Writing, Voiceover

Kyle Bieganek - Design

Shane Finnegan - 2D Art

Remi Vaillancourt - Voiceover

screenshot

Comments52

Ruud Cremers
Ruud Cremers5 Oct 2020, 23:29
The download link "Microsoft Windows" points to a Linux Build only. Mistake?
FireGamer3
FireGamer36 Oct 2020, 00:08
This is pretty fun! Had a great time.
killerkun
killerkun6 Oct 2020, 01:27
Quite the atmosphere and quality finish, I loved the soundtrack and voice acting!
The whole aesthetic is on point, pretty glad to have this being my first game to review. You guys nailed it!
Ausstein
Ausstein6 Oct 2020, 01:52
Very cool and polished game!
Good that you made such a big team work, that is not always easy.
The controls felt realy tight, which is alreay most of what is needed in a game like this!
I loved the voiceovers, the models were great and the theme was well executed.

Overall good job in all categories
Vanea
Vanea6 Oct 2020, 02:00
GOTTA STEP ON THE GAAAAAAAS♪♫ \O/

I love this so much, what an amazing way to show off drifting prowess to these plebs.
Bongard22
Bongard226 Oct 2020, 02:05
@ruud-cremers all the download links should lead to an itch page with all builds.

@killerkun Thanks!

@ausstein Thanks! Yeah big team can be difficult, you can go back and see our last game, Whalestrom, was a big team game that didn't work so well haha.
Ausstein
Ausstein6 Oct 2020, 02:23
@bongard22 i dont think i played your last game, but I did play the one before that, which I quite liked.
PopDaddyGames
PopDaddyGames6 Oct 2020, 02:55
This game is a real treat to play!

It has 6 levels that very fairly 'ramp you up' to the point where the final level is both a challenge, but also surmountable. It remains fun the entire time.

There is a leaderboard so if you want to challenge yourself to crush others- this is a great offering.

The music and sfx are great- they match the theme and keep you pulled into the environment quite well.

There is a tremendous amount of polish on the overall GUI experience, both in and out of gameplay, to enhance the experience. Even though there were 'juicy' bits during the gameplay, they were subdued enough to not distract you-- yet loud enough to provide fun info.

I did not at any point feel as though it was not purposeful decisions in design.

A+ -- this is a masterpiece LDJam entry. Keep an eye on this team- their future work is likely to be incredible.
MrPiedPiper
MrPiedPiper6 Oct 2020, 03:17
This, was fun. Excellent job on the game! Drifting around feeling like a pro was a blast, and the near misses make for such a cool feeling. Loved the graphics, the audio, and I've gotta say, the intro video was awesome. Loved it!
lectvs
lectvs6 Oct 2020, 03:40
Wow, this game is probably my favorite jam entry thus far! Every aspect of this- the music, the retro-techno aesthetics, the radio commentary playing in the background, the tight controls, everything meshed really well together. Props on you guys for making a 12-person team work so well :)
Victor Hallock6 Oct 2020, 04:02
Great job! I would love more levels and would pay for sure :D
cyphyrGriffon6 Oct 2020, 04:46
The drifting mechanics in this game were so much fun! It felt real good to trade paint. Good work on your submission!
Anant Ahuja6 Oct 2020, 06:44
The graphics, radio and music were amazing. The gameplay was really good as well but I felt the car was not oversteery enough. I like my drifting games to be driving right on the edge almost getting a tankslapper on each drift. Great effort and a fun game. One of the most polished games I have seen in this jam.
Jake Marks
Jake Marks6 Oct 2020, 17:30
"The triple A Ludum Dare experience" - @evilscotsman

This game was so fun I had to force myself to stop playing it. It's crazy that you got such a huge team to be able to work together over the 3 days and make something this polished. Excellent entry! Played it on my stream, here's the VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/762084596
Bongard22
Bongard226 Oct 2020, 18:55
@jake-marks Thanks so much for the vod and for playing the game. Very appreciated.
Eugenik
Eugenik6 Oct 2020, 22:26
Great game. Really enjoy it !!!!
Adil7 Oct 2020, 06:12
Wow, it looks greats, it plays greats and it sounds well too! It's good in all spheres, I even don't know what to change or add, so my feedback will be constructed only with marking, nothing to improve, except adding some cool features!
kuro
kuro7 Oct 2020, 06:17
Great stuff. One of the best submissions I played this LD. Thank you!
MrRedbeard7 Oct 2020, 06:40
Loved it. For me the speed could go up way more tho :tongue:
Meek Bits
Meek Bits7 Oct 2020, 07:09
Beautiful. Disk OH station was me favorite :)

I really enjoyed it all. The only thing I wish was different was other penalty for crashing than having to start over. That was interrupting the enjoyment too hard. I would like the game to be a bit more forgiving.

But apart from that, I love how your game plays.
pichuscute07 Oct 2020, 07:14
It looks great, but the gameplay felt really broken to me? The drifting didn't really feel much like it was doing anything and the acceleration equally didn't feel like it was working properly. I also got a windows crash message before the title screen, which was odd.
Wolfier
Wolfier7 Oct 2020, 07:24
Being only able to drift one direction felt a bit weird, and the collision was a bit sensitive for how hard the hits actually would be.

I really kind of wish this game had a physics reaction when you crash into another car.

The music was quite nice.
LetterAfterZ
LetterAfterZ7 Oct 2020, 11:03
Yeah sweet this game felt great. For some reason there's a heap of people that made roundabout games, but so far this one is my favourite. Love the theme. Out of interest, what did you guys use for your leaderboard - I really wanted to get one going in our game, but I ran outta time before I could get it worked out and the tutorials out there were pretty average.
Yngvarr
Yngvarr7 Oct 2020, 13:19
You guys have mixed three of my favorite things together: games, driving and synthwave. :)

The game has many great details in it, radio being my favorite touch. :) I have just two complaints: UI could be better (especially when played with gamepad, navigating menus with mouse feels kinda annoying) and driving with a booster turned off feels like you driving an old junk of a car rather then Lamborghini-looking super racer.

In all other ways, the game feels great! I had a very good time with this one.
aCuriosity7 Oct 2020, 20:20
Love the aesthetic, but the gameplay was not everything I wanted.

A little Tron-y, a little synthwavey, I really liked the vibe and visuals for the most part. I'm a sucker for that synthy/tron feel. And arcade style driving(Rush 2 anyone), I'm a sucker for that too.

I had a hard time determining the near miss colliders from the oh shit you crashed colliders.
And would have liked a little more variation on the driving mechanic to keep me going.

Great Entry, glad you made it.
Lohreck7 Oct 2020, 21:24
Great game, love the graphics, music and gameplay :) dumps up
Lohreck7 Oct 2020, 21:24
Great game, love the graphics, music and gameplay :) dumps up
Syafire
Syafire7 Oct 2020, 22:41
This game is so much fun. Honestly its very funny to. The idea of driving badly to score points is hilarious. Keep up the great work I hope you guys continue to work on this game.
PvPlayz277 Oct 2020, 23:40
Very fun game! Enjoyed myself.
Vivien Fargette8 Oct 2020, 09:00
Graphics and audio are so cool! I would have liked a bit more variety in gameplay (maybe some kind of figures you could do to score points, not sure how it would integrate) but it is still pretty fun to play. I had a hard time getting to the exit but seeing no one complaining about it make me think I am just bad :p I liked the radio parts and bonus point for the ranking
BloooBird
BloooBird8 Oct 2020, 12:46
Probably the best game jam game i've ever played, the only feedback i have is that crashing breaks the flow of the game a bit with the instant just cut to black. Otherwise its amazing, the music, radio talk, gameplay and graphics are just amazing
Dj Depressive
Dj Depressive8 Oct 2020, 17:35
Really cool game! You really managed to create a cool and consistent style for the game and I love the concept. The only thing that I didn't like was controlling the car, it felt clunky and I never really felt in control of the car. It might be because I'm really used to how you drift in Slipstream (which I've played a lot). I'd also would have liked crashing to be more forgiving since I feel that having to restart after just touching the side of another car was a bit too harsh. Otherwise an amazing game, really impressed by how much you managed to pack in in just 72 hours.
jharler8 Oct 2020, 20:35
Unfortunately I was unable to try your game. It got to the logo splash screen (the water droplet one) and then crashed.
aevek
aevek9 Oct 2020, 20:55
@jharler sometimes the music takes a while to load on that screen and for some reason inputs make windows think the program has crashed. If you leave it for a few extra seconds it should advance into the game. We're also working on a post-jam build without that issue, so if that doesn't work for you maybe check back later. Thanks for the error report.
Shelvid
Shelvid10 Oct 2020, 00:19
Very fun entry, loved it thank you please add more cones. xoxoxo
- Conean The Barbarian
Rhoka
Rhoka10 Oct 2020, 01:13
@shelvid Thanks for playing! We had a great time watching you play. We're continuing work on this so there should be more levels with more road blocks, cones, and other fun stuff! So keep an eye on our Itch page for updates!
Shelvid
Shelvid10 Oct 2020, 01:30
@rhoka I'm glad you guys did! I had a great time having you guys there! I await for the secret road level which is ridden with cones
walaber
walaber10 Oct 2020, 04:51
really fun! played this with my kids on stream, and my 8yo loved it!
michaelaranda
michaelaranda10 Oct 2020, 05:35
This was pretty fancy! Great job on taking the theme and making something fun to both look at and play.
Andreas Roschal
Andreas Roschal10 Oct 2020, 13:18
Super fun game, I enjoyed it a lot. The gameplay is very satisfying. I love how smooth the drifting controls are. The visual neon style and the sound tracks are amazing. Very polished feeling overall. Excellent job!
ColeSlaughter
ColeSlaughter10 Oct 2020, 20:51
This game was so slllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick!

The visuals, the music, the simple mechanics, this all works super well together!

I kinda wish sliding underneath semis was easier to do, but I love the fact that you can do it at all! I think with a little polish, this game could see some success on Steam or something. :slight_smile: Nice job!
Yubs10 Oct 2020, 23:14
This game was absolutely fantastic. I am a huge fan of the vapor wave aesthetic, and the music and visuals in the game were so good! Also it was such a satisfying feeling to get a good drift chain going and keep racking up points. Controls felt a tad off, although I was using mouse and keyboard and not gamepad. But this was an absolute blast to play, and I am incredibly impressed with the quality and polish on this, and in just one weekend!
HappyGamer50011 Oct 2020, 20:26
Bug Report: When I was playing, it randomly closed out of the level. I was in level 4 and it happened a second or two after I stopped drifting
ProdigalSon
ProdigalSon11 Oct 2020, 21:42
This is a big team. Not sure how ya'll managed to come together and make a game in such a short time seeing as large team can be really hard to please/agree on an idea. Overall, a nice simple game with beautiful graphics and fun music/sound. Don't have much else to add
Blue Pin Studio
Blue Pin Studio15 Oct 2020, 05:38
I have played this game 5x more than my 2nd most played out of over 100 jam games. This game is amazing. I am the record holder for Level 6. I feel good. I feel great.

Some of the feedback i have :

- Put the current score somewhere easier to see
- Make me invulnerable while exiting
- Get rid of those motorcyclists

Amazing game. 5/5 in every category.
Egan Henderson18 Oct 2020, 20:57
This game is fantastic! The music and art is incredible, and the gameplay is fun and satisfying. There were a couple times when vehicles would phase through each other, but that seems to be the only issue. Thie hitboxes are super tight so I never felt it was unfair when I hit something. This was really well done. Good job to everyone on the team!!
Peace Of Cake Games
Peace Of Cake Games23 Oct 2020, 04:32
OH YEAH, RECKLESS DRIVING!! This is the perfect game for anyone who has ever wanted to go way above the speed limit! Just add a few more features to this game and port it to Xbox One, and this'll be an instant hit!

(Yes! I made it on four or so of the leaderboards! Kirito2031 does not give up!)
erikiene
erikiene23 Oct 2020, 20:34
Nice job! I like the mood, especially since it reminds me of one of my favourite itch.io games I often come back to when i need to clear my mind - Tanuki Sunset (check it out, i'm certain you'll appreciate it as it's super similar in style to your game).

One thing I'd work on further is making the drifting somehow more controled and, well, drifty. Currently it just felt like it changes the state of movement (faster mostly) and then you can control yourself same as usual more or less.
Trexxak
Trexxak23 Oct 2020, 20:57
This is lit!

Aesthetically you just nailed the mood! The gameplay is a lot of fun and due to the different vehicles, "stunts" and levels varied enough
to allow for multiple playthroughs! Bonus points for the different radio stations and occasional voice overs, charming the player's skill :D

Thank you for this great gem you delivered! I had a lot of fun drifting around in circles!
Hawkin
Hawkin25 Oct 2020, 00:44
If you are trying to appeal to my love of reckless (virtual) driving and all things synthwave, then you have SUCCEEDED. The near misses take me back to titles like Burnout, where you are rewarded for taking things to the edge.

Your attention to the aesthetics and sound design should be commended. I enjoyed being able to switch between radio stations (a la GTA) and vibe to the awesome tunes (excellent work, Dylan). I do wish that the "retry" was instantaneous without having to show a screen and then countdown to begin again. If you are going for higher scores, you are going to be pushing it as closely as possible, which means the potential for multiple restarts, and I would rather just zoom right back into driving. In my opinion, that would keep me a lot more engaged without interrupting my vibe B)

Otherwise, I appreciate the work that went into this. It really is a great piece. Also, kudos for the commercials ;)

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