You play as a etheric entity that got stuck in a loop and can´t get away. The only thing entity (let´s call it "Bob") can do, is to loop around and try to avoid deadly obstackles.
Controls: button [R] for movement
I have dove few LD jams already but this was my first Compo entry and it was certainly a challenge.
Please let me know your best score. Thank you for Your time with my game!
it's a very nice idea to limit the player on the move using the loop. some more updates on the review (@jin9310): i love the logo and the art style of the start scene. i think the game itself is too dark, sometimes hard to see. i don't think that switching often is a cheat or so, it's part of the game mechanics and that's just fine. to make it more interesting, it would be nice to be able to change the radius of the loop for example, with boosts or so.
Here is my comment on your game: I was impressed by the nice little tutorial at the start! I really like the concept of restricting the players movement to a certain trajectory, until I realized that you can just spam the hell out of the switching key to just go forwards. Maybe restricting the ability to switch directions somehow? Great job on your game! Good work :thumbsup:
I really like the game, but it seems that collision detection doesn't always work - if I go above an object it sometimes thinks I hit it, particularly if I changed direction while immediately above. I'm not sure if I missed one, but the highest score I remember is 68.
@tulipekoni Thank you for playing and feedback. I understand your point and will thing about it(perhaps for some future update), but for now I think that if the switch is not responsive, it might be confusing for the player.
@tesseract Thanks and good job! 68 is pretty decent score ;) I know about the collisions bug, but I wasn´t really able to find the root cause yet. But I will try to dig deeper and find some stable solution.
@merkisoft Thanks for the feedback! Agree with you that the color are too dark. The color changing was the last thing I was doing and I did not have much time left to tweak the palettes. I had the change of the radius and speed of rotation in TODO list, but you know how it goes :D Again thanks for playing!
edit. @caiclone Thank you for your time and feedback! Totally agree with all of your points. The change of pace is quite high and I really wasn´t able to print my pixelart into the game properly.
Really nice game! Loved the pixel art effects like the hits and especially on the hearts! As well as how closely it sticked to the interpretation of the theme! If I had to point something it would be that the change in tempo can sometimes catch you off guard and that the difference in quality between the pixel art and the rest can be a little jarring. But overall it is a really great game!
The music is great as is the player sound. Really liked the little delay effect. Always wanted to move to the beat of the music. My best attempt was around 100, at this point it's going very fast. Thank you very much, this was quite fun.
Very well designed. I thought it was getting too easy when I mastered how to properly maneuver the ball but then the pace got faster and faster. It was a good challenge. Also kudos for the catchy music!
Okay, back to review then. Pixelart on spot, gameplay loop is clear and learning curve is ok for beginner. Good music as well. More colorful backgrounds would be appreciated :)
Wow this was really enjoyable, a really nice game that ties in perfectly with the theme, feels fresh and polished and just the right amount of challenging to keep you playing.
You've really taken the theme and ran with it, it's a novel action game but you quickly get into a groove. Man... that grey background is rough though :D Good job!
I really like it when the restriction of sticking closely to the theme results in a fresh and original gameplay mechanic that's also fun on its own merits. This game is a perfect example of that.
Other people have mentioned it, and I think it's purely a matter of taste, but being able to rapidly tap the 'r' key to stay in one place feels, to me, like it undermines the challenge of the game and the uniqueness of the control scheme. A short cooldown on switching directions or, better yet, a "stamina bar" would probably solve this, if you decide it needs addressing.
I also encountered the same collision bug mentioned by others, but I think that kind of thing is entirely forgivable, even expected, given the time constraints.
If I were to give one piece of honest criticism about the game, it would be this:
The pixel art you've used for the coins, hearts, and explosions is certainly very charming. But it clashes with the otherwise sleek, modern, and minimalistic style used for the rest of the game: the player orb thingy, the walls, the background, etc.
A more high-res, flat appearance for these hearts, coins and explosions would give the game a much more cohesive and striking look, I think.
This simple concept work well. I like the shapes effects that the loops let behind. The rythm of the music is a good base for the notes you do when you move Bob. It's like we are playing music while playing game ^^ Many times I just go quickly right and left to try to go straight... But the nicest is when we can make big circles. It's already addictive, but with an improvement on the LD and art (I know you are good at it. I already test your other games ;-) you could make a very nice polished game. Congrat!
Nice and clever mechanic. The game feels nice, and the sounds of the ball changing direction make it almost a rhythm game. Great job! I enjoyed playing it, although the speed raise is a little bit abrupt, and I have died in seconds. My score is about 100.
That's a really clever gameplay mechanic. The obstacles were really dark though and kind of hard to distinguish from the background. The low contrast can become a real problem on some monitors even for players with good eyesight, so you might want to consider tweaking that if you decide to keep working on this.
The music and sound effects were great, and it almost felt like I was contributing to the music whenever I pressed R. Good work!
My high score, 282. Chill music and fun. I had to turn up the brightness on my monitor to clearly see the obstacles from the background. An effect to let you know you were scoring from the obstacles as they past the screen would have helped in figuring out how it was being calculated.
Comments32
some more updates on the review (@jin9310): i love the logo and the art style of the start scene.
i think the game itself is too dark, sometimes hard to see. i don't think that switching often is a cheat or so, it's part of the game mechanics and that's just fine. to make it more interesting, it would be nice to be able to change the radius of the loop for example, with boosts or so.
Great job on your game! Good work :thumbsup:
@tesseract Thanks and good job! 68 is pretty decent score ;) I know about the collisions bug, but I wasn´t really able to find the root cause yet. But I will try to dig deeper and find some stable solution.
@merkisoft Thanks for the feedback! Agree with you that the color are too dark. The color changing was the last thing I was doing and I did not have much time left to tweak the palettes. I had the change of the radius and speed of rotation in TODO list, but you know how it goes :D Again thanks for playing!
edit.
@caiclone Thank you for your time and feedback! Totally agree with all of your points. The change of pace is quite high and I really wasn´t able to print my pixelart into the game properly.
If I had to point something it would be that the change in tempo can sometimes catch you off guard and that the difference in quality between the pixel art and the rest can be a little jarring. But overall it is a really great game!
I enjoyed it very much (high score 88)
Thank you for the game
Other people have mentioned it, and I think it's purely a matter of taste, but being able to rapidly tap the 'r' key to stay in one place feels, to me, like it undermines the challenge of the game and the uniqueness of the control scheme. A short cooldown on switching directions or, better yet, a "stamina bar" would probably solve this, if you decide it needs addressing.
I also encountered the same collision bug mentioned by others, but I think that kind of thing is entirely forgivable, even expected, given the time constraints.
The pixel art you've used for the coins, hearts, and explosions is certainly very charming. But it clashes with the otherwise sleek, modern, and minimalistic style used for the rest of the game: the player orb thingy, the walls, the background, etc.
A more high-res, flat appearance for these hearts, coins and explosions would give the game a much more cohesive and striking look, I think.
If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/772381107?t=3h1m42s
Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D
💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
The music and sound effects were great, and it almost felt like I was contributing to the music whenever I pressed R. Good work!