Ludum Dare #48compo
w o r m
The planet is on fire! Dig Deeper and Deeper to escape the heat, and don't forget to eat rocks along the way!
Controls: Left Mouse Button
Objective: Eat rocks to grow bigger and escape the heat.
This was built using HTML5 Canvas and Javascript completely from the ground up without any external libraries or tools. I used Paint.NET for the art and VS Code for the programming.
I unfortunately didn't have time to add audio or any more interesting game mechanics because I spent a good chunk of Saturday implementing and optimizing a complex system for generating rocks infinitely that remain persistent. I realized afterwards that completely randomly generated rocks would have given the same result since you're generally not going back to the same areas. Oh well, I still had fun building it. Here's an example:
Changes:
v1.01 - Increased the win condition a bit as the original would cause the game to end abruptly just as it's getting to the fun part.
Controls: Left Mouse Button
Objective: Eat rocks to grow bigger and escape the heat.
This was built using HTML5 Canvas and Javascript completely from the ground up without any external libraries or tools. I used Paint.NET for the art and VS Code for the programming.
I unfortunately didn't have time to add audio or any more interesting game mechanics because I spent a good chunk of Saturday implementing and optimizing a complex system for generating rocks infinitely that remain persistent. I realized afterwards that completely randomly generated rocks would have given the same result since you're generally not going back to the same areas. Oh well, I still had fun building it. Here's an example:
Changes:
v1.01 - Increased the win condition a bit as the original would cause the game to end abruptly just as it's getting to the fun part.
Comments25
Baturinsky26 Apr 2021, 08:11
I kept wondering why players can't read even couple of sentenses in instructions, and then missed the "eat the rocks" part myself:) I personally try to fit the most key part of instructions in the game name. Such as "Rock Eater".
Like the art. But gameplay could use some variety.
Like the art. But gameplay could use some variety.
LDJam user 23654526 Apr 2021, 23:44
I had a few extremely long horizontal lines of rocks that were generated, it let me get big really quickly. Once the worm gets big, it's super fun to zoom around and eat everything. It's a shame that part only lasts a couple seconds.
Nice work!
Nice work!
neverautomatic27 Apr 2021, 00:44
@andrewkennedy Those are meant to be barriers blocking progress if you're not big enough. Haha, you're right, it would have been more fun if the win condition was based on being an absolutely massive worm rather than a trigger at a specific depth. I'll definitely do that if I make a post-compo version. :D
Thanks for playing!
Thanks for playing!
Hestrateja27 Apr 2021, 01:38
@neverautomatic Very satisfying game, if it had sound it would be even more satisfying!
minibobbo27 Apr 2021, 04:20
The worm moved super smoothly and the trail was great. I really liked how the game zoomed out as I got bigger, and it was a lot of fun to see the rocks that once dwarfed me now small enough to be gobbled. I think you balanced the zoom out with the scale up very well.
I think that you can go right around some of the large string of rocks though. Of course, that would really just kill you because you would be in an area with rocks too large to eat, but I think you could do it.
Well done. I do wish that it had some sound effects and music. 6 months to practice until the next jam!
I think that you can go right around some of the large string of rocks though. Of course, that would really just kill you because you would be in an area with rocks too large to eat, but I think you could do it.
Well done. I do wish that it had some sound effects and music. 6 months to practice until the next jam!
Gno Evenimente27 Apr 2021, 08:08
This was very fun. The controls were great, and eating rocks was strangely satisfying. The weird "You Win" popup window made me sad, I wanted to grow bigger!
thesnide27 Apr 2021, 12:43
I really appreciate the placement of rocks, as it feels smooth.
The growing part is a little too "exponential" and therefore like others said, the fun part is much smaller than the grinding part
The growing part is a little too "exponential" and therefore like others said, the fun part is much smaller than the grinding part
neonjeff27 Apr 2021, 16:41
I liked how smooth your worm movement and trail was. Mine was done less smooth and I'm jealous. It was also interesting how you stay at a size and then all of a sudden grow pretty fast. I wish I got bigger and could escape the lava :)
Noel Widmer27 Apr 2021, 18:10
@neonjeff Here we meet again lol. The Worm Trio has found each other! :D
Anyways. I didn't understand that I could eat rooks until I went all the way to the right and to the left and realized that there is no way out. Only after reading the description did I understand :)
The final "win" dialogue feels a bit out of place since it is reported by the browser rather than the game :P I started to really have some fun after I figured the eating part out.
Anyways. I didn't understand that I could eat rooks until I went all the way to the right and to the left and realized that there is no way out. Only after reading the description did I understand :)
The final "win" dialogue feels a bit out of place since it is reported by the browser rather than the game :P I started to really have some fun after I figured the eating part out.
Meenakshi28 Apr 2021, 07:25
Extremely satisfying and relaxing to play! You nailed the worm movement.
Dilem28 Apr 2021, 08:19
This is brilliant! As you said we had very similar ideas and honestly based on the movement alone I prefer you implementation, I didn't get a chance to polish mine. Well done, really cool game!
dhim28 Apr 2021, 12:49
This is a very solid game! The you start slowly avoiding rock, your own tail as in a snake game to realize you are going to get stuck against a wall of rock. And then the real game starts.
At first I went through wall a bit to early each time, meaning it was then difficult to find something to eat. Finally I ate a whole wall and won.
Maybe have large rocks or ore that are uneatable to prevent the player to sniff a line and going berkzerk ? Or maybe that's the game play ?
At some points when I ate a very small rock the screen became redish until I ate a larger block. Close to the end it was a bit strange the background did not scale correctly :
At first I went through wall a bit to early each time, meaning it was then difficult to find something to eat. Finally I ate a whole wall and won.
Maybe have large rocks or ore that are uneatable to prevent the player to sniff a line and going berkzerk ? Or maybe that's the game play ?
At some points when I ate a very small rock the screen became redish until I ate a larger block. Close to the end it was a bit strange the background did not scale correctly :
crazyMouse28 Apr 2021, 12:59
I love this game! It was really slow at the beginning, but at the end I just got insanely huge so quickly. I did not expect it at all! hahaha
Katsuhira28 Apr 2021, 13:46
Extremly satisfying to play!
neverautomatic28 Apr 2021, 16:41
@dhim Breaking up the lines would definitely help balance out the game's progression a bit better.
I've never seen the problem you posted, but there's definitely something weird going on with the scaling there. Can I ask what browser you're using?
Thanks for playing, and I appreciate your feedback! :D
I've never seen the problem you posted, but there's definitely something weird going on with the scaling there. Can I ask what browser you're using?
Thanks for playing, and I appreciate your feedback! :D
dhim28 Apr 2021, 16:47
I used chrome (Version 89.0.4389.114 (Official Build) (x86_64)) on Mac Os X
tengusheath29 Apr 2021, 05:24
Gets more and more satisfying the longer you play
Secret Magic 40429 Apr 2021, 06:01
There is a number of multiplayer games online in which the objective is to grow bigger. Some of these games are good, but this game... this game is great! Seriously, the developers of the other games should play this and take some notes :smiley:
StarryNiteGames30 Apr 2021, 17:48
This is a really impressive piece of work, even more so considering you did the Compo and used no engine. I'm also just psyched to see that somebody else did a burrowing worm game! :smile:
The rapid increase in the worm's growth rate was unexpected but it made for an even more exciting end game. I think a worm length counter HUD would make for a nice feature addition.
Great work! Thank you for this gem.
The rapid increase in the worm's growth rate was unexpected but it made for an even more exciting end game. I think a worm length counter HUD would make for a nice feature addition.
Great work! Thank you for this gem.
IcyySilver1 May 2021, 18:29
This was a pretty fun game! The begining was kinda slow but that is to be expected with this type of game. Maybe you could add in some enemies to add some variety?
IndigoWolf2 May 2021, 15:33
This may have been pretty simple but I really enjoyed this, impressed with the scaling mechanics and deformation too.
DragonZBW8 May 2021, 22:53
Cool game. Pretty simple but enjoyable. I like the worm's visuals. It was definitely a bit easy, but still fun nonetheless.
candlesan15 May 2021, 03:46
Great entry. Really loved the execution on this. Screen shake, good camera zoom out, rock spawning, general vibe and execution. Fantastic entry.
adrupen17 May 2021, 17:45
Nice game! The pace really ramped up while playing. At the end it was crazy fast with the worm taking up all of the screen. Could be made a bit more difficult, but great game otherwise!
A restart button when you die would be useful, had to reload my browser (which wasn't a bit deal really)
Some juicy sounds with the screen shake as you eat rocks would make it really satisfying for sure!
Nice work on the game! It was pretty enjoyable and the way the worm moves is pretty cool.