Looper - The Last Mission is an arcade shooter/puzzle game where you are a time traveling agent dealing with a mission that will be his last one.
*Looper* is my entry for Ludum Dare 47, which is also my first LD! It was exciting but tough: I submitted just a minute before the deadline. I just wish I had enough time to work on some music and fix small things but oh well I'll definitely add them in the future.
How to play In looper you get stuck in a time loop. Every 10 seconds the timeloop reset the game and you'll face your past selves. Your mission is always to kill your target, which will allow you to go to the next loop. The game starts easy, but quickly become challenging.
You get points by killing the target (+30) and your past selves (+10). My current best score is 350, can you do better?
Definitely a more interesting 'playing with your past self' type game than I made! Would be great to see some variety on levels and missions added post-jam. Definitely would have been worth changing the default background colour to add a quick bit of polish.
This is so accomplished and interesting! You've done something really incredible in such a short amount of time. I'll definitely be playing this one again.
Really cool concept, great execution! As the game went on I became more conservative with my gunfire so it was really fun to try to dodge my more trigger happy past selves.
@rex64@tomeks Thanks! All right, I'll think about it. I'll probably do a post jam version with more maps/weapons and some other addctions (like some music).
@lukebandy Thank you! The default horrible blue background ... what a shame😅. This happens when you postpone doing a thing, then you forget it because you have to do 200 other things and there's only 1h to go XD
@hamus Thanks! Yes, the game, even if it doesn't seem like it, is also a puzzle: you can plan your movements and shots to make your life easier in the next loop
Really addictive gameplay and great visuals, just seriously impressing! That's definitely a game I'll play again from time to time.
To provide some hopefully constructive feedback: The one thing I missed was some sort of death animation. You're thrown out of the game very suddenly in case of a hit, sometimes without knowing what it was exactly that hit you. And the short introduction sequence with dialogs at the start of each attempt got a bit annoying as I just wanted to get back to the gameplay and try to beat the score. But in the context of the Ludum dare event that's just nitpicking of course, congratulations on getting this done in 48 hours!
@future-labs-unlimited First of all thank you so much for the message and the feedbacks, they are always appreciated!
I'm just a bit triggered by the words "*death animation*" cause it's actually in the game but I didn't have enough time to show them without breaking the game (1h before the deadline) xD
As for the *introduction sequence* after the first game, I don't know if you noticed this easter egg: some messages from the boss slightly change... the boss seems quite bored and nervous and we don't want to contradict the boss.
No, seriously, I preferred to leave the introduction because it is part of the "plot" of the game (this is how the first loop begins) and to be able to dedicate the remaining time to coding something else.
Or finally, if you prefer, the player is also *stuck in a loop*, and has to repeat all over again 😉
The introduction is no big issue of course, and it's indeed not that much dialog you have to skip after the first run. It's actually a compliment for the game that I always want to start over so quickly. ;)
Really nice pixels, buddy! Is this game somehow related to the movie "Looper" with Joseph Gordon-Levitt? :smile: I just got that small feeling after the name of your game.
I think that it would be already mentioned, but game lacks some of death indicator. At first I was killed and dropped from game, I was like "That's it? Ok, very short game :O".
@bukkaketears Thank you!! It's not related to that film, but it was certainly inspiring along with *Predestination* and Christopher Nolan movies.
As I wrote in another comment, unfortunately death animations are actually in the game (for both the player and his copies) but I didn’t have enough time to show them without breaking the game :(
@holyperceval Thank you for the feedbacks! Yes, not having much experience in making music I left it for last and in the end I didn't have enough time. Surely I'll add it in post jam version! :)
Very nice idea that fits the theme! The design is nice, I really like how you made the chat with the boss. As some have said, a little music would be enjoyable, but it's completly understandable that you didn't have time to make it. 5/5
A great idea that fit the theme really well! There was a nice level of polish to the overall game and loop mechanic was a lot of fun! It kept me thinking throughout and was an enjoyable experience. Well done on a great entry!
This absolutely put a smile on my face... nice interface, nice graphics, nice feel (to me the cross hairs seemed a smidgen off.... but not much). Really fun concept and game :smile:
Ooooh, this is so goooood, so smart! I loved this one, it's brilliant. I wish I had more to say but... I'd just repeat everyone who pinpointed all the good about this game. Great work!
@timbeaudet Thank you Tim, really useful feedbacks!!
@purpledartfrog Thank you for the feedback. I agree, I think it's because it has a different resolution than the game and maybe it's not very visible? Or did you not like the design too?
It's cool game! I hope u'll continue develop it after jam, coz I want to have that bullet-hell-timeloop game on my mac or ps4! I think it would be better, if u add some new guns(I needed it to have fun) and new maps!
I like the game very much. The tutorial was solid and the gunshooting had a lot of impact. The graphics look great too, it all fits together very nicely.
The only thing I could not figure out for a while is why I died so soon every time. Later I found out the bullet bounces back. Which is a fun machanic, but maybe the player could get feedback why he/she died. I had about 7 runs until I noticed it.
I had a lot of fun playing it and think this is impressive for a game made in 48 hours. Good job!
This is is a great idea that was executed very well! The art and audio is great, and you have a leaderboard! My only complaint is sometimes I miss the target when I am in front of him, or hit a wall that I didn't think I should.
Great game, beautiful pixel art, I *had* to play it at least until I had managed to enter the leaderboard (with 400 points).
I have only two little things to point out that you may or may not want to fix in a post-jam version: One, I think the timer being in front of the view made some targets harder to hit. Two, maybe ties in the learderboard should be broken in favor of the first player to reach that score, instead of the last (there were other two players with 400 points when I entered the leaderboard).
A cool game, but on the easier side. I myself got around 2000 point, but didn't submit the score because..I..had.. no internet connection! *Phew!* So that's how Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks in pixel art XD
Wow, this was actually pretty cool! A closed game loop with such fancy pixel art as a compo? Count me in! You even got a leader board going. What the hell :D That's what I call good time management. Really nice! But seriously, the game runs fluid, controls intuitively and I didn't encounter any bugs. The walking speed was a tad slow and the soudn effects could use some more volume mixing but other than that It's awesome! The idea is not too innovative (the concept is as old as there are games with time jump mechanics) but fits the theme well. This is a lot better than most jam entries I played so far. Kudos!
@arthurds thank you for trying it and for the feedback. P.S. I mentioned you in the devlog above, take a look if you want :)
@wouter52@petturtle@wendel-scardua@duke Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I agree, these are things that I will fix in the post jam version. If you are interested check the devlog (link above).
Like many have said, this is an incredible piece of work! Complete with a scoreboard and everything! Wow, you truly managed to do a lot in the 48 hours! Hats off to you my friend. Keep up the good work!
I do agree with others regarding the tutorial bit. But I did notice you mentioned why you kept it in.
I really dig the pixel artstyle you have, the theme is very xell executed and the dialogs are a nice touch. You made what could be a full fledged indie title with more time and polish!
This is a really interesting concept. Thinking where you are, when to shoot, and where to shoot makes this a really strategic shooter. Awesome entry well done! Btw Highscoree :P
I found the game quite enjoyable, but the tiny, bouncing bullets made it hard to work out why I'd died the first few times. Obviously the game would be a bit boring if they didn't bounce, but if you plan on revising or revisiting this game, maybe experiment with making the bullets more visible.
The game is very fun, but not being sure why you died makes for a bad first impression and I'd hate for people to decide they don't like this game before realising how much fun it can be.
The game has a cool concept, however I feel like the player is too sluggish. The lack of music compounds the issue of sluggishness. It feels like the game was built to be faster paced, but the controls and lack of fitting music holds it back. Also, the bullets feel too hard to see coming. However, I like the idea of being able to get rid of the clones. Overall, this is a nice prototype.
An interesting set up. Once you know the set up it's really easy to get it done pretty quickly, but I could see this set up getting more complex with larger levels, buttons, etc.
Nice idea, and well executed. I like the pixel art graphics :) A little background music would help to set the mood a little.
I think it would have been nice if your past self could shoot your other past selves, so I could set up a chain or something. But that's just me trying to game the system... Otherwise, cool entry!
@onkel-mo Even if I'm not that good at making music, I'll definitely add it in the post jam version. If your past self could shoot your other past selves the game would probably be too boring. If you think about it, the first copy would kill the second which would kill the third... Each loop you should only kill your last copy.
P.S. It seems that our past self enjoys dancing on our corpse. Poor thing, he doesn't know that the same end awaits him.
Also it looks like the red guy got bored of standing still xD. If you are interested you can read the changes in the post jam version in the DevLog and follow updates on my Twitter.
Great graphics, fun gameplay, goes well with the theme. I've like to see this expanded on. I did have an issue with fullscreen on my ultrawide, I think your anchors/scaling aren't set up the best (ie i'd guess the leaderboard names are ancorded to the right center, not the right edge, so it's vertical scale is off) the game over screen is pretty abrupt so I never know what i did wrong, it happens so much just as i'm killing the target that i feel like i've experience a glitch. in post-jam, maybe have a slow-mo replay with bullet traces? but overall it's a great game, I'll check back later.
This is a fun game! Simple idea and very well executed. Hard to keep track of what you've done, and the fact that bullets bounce on the walls make it even harder, and I really enjoyed that touch! The boss changing his lines every try is also very nice, I did not expect he would go on a pizza break on my second attempt aha. There have been a few time when I could not even find the target on time because of all my past self haunting the ground. Graphics are also perfect for this type of game. Again really nice game, well done it's truly impressive! A bit of music would have been a nice touch, but the sfx were pretty neat already and in such a short time it's totally understandable
Liked the idea, the graphics, the humor of the robot and the way he became bored. One thing that made the game less satisfying to play than it could have been is probably the death. I never knew why I died and what hit me, so it always felt a bit unfair. Otherwise a great game!
@shaolin-dave Uh thanks so much for the feedback, you are the first to play it on an ultrawide monitor, I never would have known. In the post jam version you will surely understand better how you died. The replay is also a great idea, I'll see what I can do.
@macmist@frankarlovic Wow, you are among the few who noticed the dialogue changes! Thanks also for the feedback, I'll try to fix these problems in the post jam version.
@doctorhummer Man, this is amazing! Impressed as usual, I love your artstyle! Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the game. Keep it up!
The concept is very cool, having to score points but also be careful in doing it in a simple way to avoid having bullets all around and therefore score more point.
Seeing this is a compo make I can say it is super polished, but I would say anyway that there could have been a bit more content because it's very small and related to how much you care in scoring, but for a compo is more than enough.
The visual are nice and consistent, I liked the background colors, the way you present the text is cool and fit the rest of the game, I liked the rumbling words. The "main menu" is also very cool and polished. I also liked how you change the text on the second run, it's a little detail that makes the difference!
My only complaint is about the aiming and shooting: aiming doesn't feel good enough, I don't know if it is about the collider being too small, or the shoot being too slow so the target moves, but it felt a bit awkward to miss so easily the targets, it is frustrating and sadly detracts from the immersion.
The shoot itself was also not that satisfying, the bullets are maybe too small, like a single pixel. They can bounce and that could be nice, but combined with being so small it's impossible to foresee it, you just get hit. I'm not sure those are the reasons I didn't like the aim/shoot mechanic but there was something off for sure. Maybe the movement could have been a bit faster too (?).
Apart from this, the game is very well packed, especially for a compo! Great work! And also nice timelapse video, thank you for it =)
I really like the idea! I love how the clones look like at the start of each run. It's like a hive of mindless people executing their tasks blindly. I wish the game leaned more into the conflicting orders your receive from your boss, and making death permanent, but that sounds like a different game all together :) As is, an awesome entry! Congrats!
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@rex64 @tomeks Thanks! All right, I'll think about it. I'll probably do a post jam version with more maps/weapons and some other addctions (like some music).
@lukebandy Thank you! The default horrible blue background ... what a shame😅. This happens when you postpone doing a thing, then you forget it because you have to do 200 other things and there's only 1h to go XD
@hamus Thanks! Yes, the game, even if it doesn't seem like it, is also a puzzle: you can plan your movements and shots to make your life easier in the next loop
To provide some hopefully constructive feedback: The one thing I missed was some sort of death animation. You're thrown out of the game very suddenly in case of a hit, sometimes without knowing what it was exactly that hit you. And the short introduction sequence with dialogs at the start of each attempt got a bit annoying as I just wanted to get back to the gameplay and try to beat the score. But in the context of the Ludum dare event that's just nitpicking of course, congratulations on getting this done in 48 hours!
I'm just a bit triggered by the words "*death animation*" cause it's actually in the game but I didn't have enough time to show them without breaking the game (1h before the deadline) xD
As for the *introduction sequence* after the first game, I don't know if you noticed this easter egg: some messages from the boss slightly change... the boss seems quite bored and nervous and we don't want to contradict the boss.
No, seriously, I preferred to leave the introduction because it is part of the "plot" of the game (this is how the first loop begins) and to be able to dedicate the remaining time to coding something else.
Or finally, if you prefer, the player is also *stuck in a loop*, and has to repeat all over again 😉
The introduction is no big issue of course, and it's indeed not that much dialog you have to skip after the first run. It's actually a compliment for the game that I always want to start over so quickly. ;)
I think that it would be already mentioned, but game lacks some of death indicator. At first I was killed and dropped from game, I was like "That's it? Ok, very short game :O".
As I wrote in another comment, unfortunately death animations are actually in the game (for both the player and his copies) but I didn’t have enough time to show them without breaking the game :(
There will be in the post jam version for sure.
@holyperceval Thank you for the feedbacks! Yes, not having much experience in making music I left it for last and in the end I didn't have enough time. Surely I'll add it in post jam version! :)
I'm glad you enjoyed it!!!
:purple_heart: :dart: :frog:
@timbeaudet Thank you Tim, really useful feedbacks!!
@purpledartfrog Thank you for the feedback. I agree, I think it's because it has a different resolution than the game and maybe it's not very visible? Or did you not like the design too?
The only thing I could not figure out for a while is why I died so soon every time. Later I found out the bullet bounces back. Which is a fun machanic, but maybe the player could get feedback why he/she died. I had about 7 runs until I noticed it.
I had a lot of fun playing it and think this is impressive for a game made in 48 hours. Good job!
I have only two little things to point out that you may or may not want to fix in a post-jam version: One, I think the timer being in front of the view made some targets harder to hit. Two, maybe ties in the learderboard should be broken in favor of the first player to reach that score, instead of the last (there were other two players with 400 points when I entered the leaderboard).
I tagged you because you are the ones who asked explicitly. I started working on the post jam version. You can see what will be the news, follow the progress and continue to help me with feedbacks in this DevLog.
@arthurds thank you for trying it and for the feedback. P.S. I mentioned you in the devlog above, take a look if you want :)
@wouter52 @petturtle @wendel-scardua @duke Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I agree, these are things that I will fix in the post jam version. If you are interested check the devlog (link above).
@seth-tal Thank you!
@kolkav wow what a bad luck! It’s not related to that film XD, but it was certainly inspiring along with Predestination and Christopher Nolan movies.
I do agree with others regarding the tutorial bit. But I did notice you mentioned why you kept it in.
You made what could be a full fledged indie title with more time and polish!
Awesome entry well done!
Btw Highscoree :P
I found the game quite enjoyable, but the tiny, bouncing bullets made it hard to work out why I'd died the first few times. Obviously the game would be a bit boring if they didn't bounce, but if you plan on revising or revisiting this game, maybe experiment with making the bullets more visible.
The game is very fun, but not being sure why you died makes for a bad first impression and I'd hate for people to decide they don't like this game before realising how much fun it can be.
I echo some of the other comments: bullets are too small and there are times you do not know why you died, that is frustrating.
But otherwise it is a quite cool and fun game!
Great work
Thanks for adding leaderboard, that gave me some kind of goal and satisfaction when I reached 4th place.
A little background music would help to set the mood a little.
I think it would have been nice if your past self could shoot your other past selves, so I could set up a chain or something. But that's just me trying to game the system... Otherwise, cool entry!
@onkel-mo Even if I'm not that good at making music, I'll definitely add it in the post jam version. If your past self could shoot your other past selves the game would probably be too boring. If you think about it, the first copy would kill the second which would kill the third... Each loop you should only kill your last copy.
@squimmy @capital-ex @ricargoes Thanks for the feedback!!! Yes, many have pointed it out and I fully agree
P.S.
It seems that our past self enjoys dancing on our corpse. Poor thing, he doesn't know that the same end awaits him.
Also it looks like the red guy got bored of standing still xD.
If you are interested you can read the changes in the post jam version in the DevLog and follow updates on my Twitter.
I did have an issue with fullscreen on my ultrawide, I think your anchors/scaling aren't set up the best (ie i'd guess the leaderboard names are ancorded to the right center, not the right edge, so it's vertical scale is off)
the game over screen is pretty abrupt so I never know what i did wrong, it happens so much just as i'm killing the target that i feel like i've experience a glitch. in post-jam, maybe have a slow-mo replay with bullet traces?
but overall it's a great game, I'll check back later.
The boss changing his lines every try is also very nice, I did not expect he would go on a pizza break on my second attempt aha.
There have been a few time when I could not even find the target on time because of all my past self haunting the ground. Graphics are also perfect for this type of game. Again really nice game, well done it's truly impressive!
A bit of music would have been a nice touch, but the sfx were pretty neat already and in such a short time it's totally understandable
I've also made some small drawing inspired by your project.
@shaolin-dave Uh thanks so much for the feedback, you are the first to play it on an ultrawide monitor, I never would have known. In the post jam version you will surely understand better how you died. The replay is also a great idea, I'll see what I can do.
@macmist @frankarlovic Wow, you are among the few who noticed the dialogue changes! Thanks also for the feedback, I'll try to fix these problems in the post jam version.
@doctorhummer Man, this is amazing! Impressed as usual, I love your artstyle! Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the game. Keep it up!
Seeing this is a compo make I can say it is super polished, but I would say anyway that there could have been a bit more content because it's very small and related to how much you care in scoring, but for a compo is more than enough.
The visual are nice and consistent, I liked the background colors, the way you present the text is cool and fit the rest of the game, I liked the rumbling words. The "main menu" is also very cool and polished. I also liked how you change the text on the second run, it's a little detail that makes the difference!
My only complaint is about the aiming and shooting: aiming doesn't feel good enough, I don't know if it is about the collider being too small, or the shoot being too slow so the target moves, but it felt a bit awkward to miss so easily the targets, it is frustrating and sadly detracts from the immersion.
The shoot itself was also not that satisfying, the bullets are maybe too small, like a single pixel. They can bounce and that could be nice, but combined with being so small it's impossible to foresee it, you just get hit.
I'm not sure those are the reasons I didn't like the aim/shoot mechanic but there was something off for sure. Maybe the movement could have been a bit faster too (?).
Apart from this, the game is very well packed, especially for a compo! Great work! And also nice timelapse video, thank you for it =)
Dawg, it's crazy just how much content you were able to pack into this title in such a short amount of time all by yourself. Kudos to that, for sure!
I do kinda wish the bullets didn't ricochet off of walls, but maybe that's just because I suck...