Kinderkaos

co-authored: @leiv-erik
Overall★★★★★★★★★★4.09
Fun★★★★★★★★★★4.08
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.94
Theme★★★★★★★★★★4.09
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.82
Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.90
Humor★★★★★★★★★★4.53
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.96

Kinderkaos

The kindergarden is understaffed and you are seriously outnumbered by these pesky, little rascals.

Keep them out of harms way! These restless rugrats can't wait to explore the world. They will run into traffic, drink bleach, eat poisonous mushrooms, stick cutlery into the electrical outlets or run with scissors.

Like most toddlers they also need nutrition! Make sure you pick up a cookie in the kitchen and hand it to toddlers when they get hungry. And finally, remember to clean up their poopy pants before they get a bacterial infection.

Good luck!

Controls

* Arrow keys: movement

* Space: Interaction
* Pick up toddler / Put down toddler
* Pick up cookie / Feed toddler
* Confiscate scissors and forks from toddlers

Art



All art was produced during this game jam.

Sounds

Music and sound effects were produced during this game jam.

Source code

All source code produced during this game jam using Godot.

Link to source code and assets on github below!

Comments51

LDJam user 269161
LDJam user 2691614 Apr 2022, 22:14
This game is so funny! I didn't even understand at first that they gonna eat those shrooms in the garden! another one ran on the road MADNESS :smile_cat:
You music is really nice! reminds me somewhat of a game that I played last time with dragon kindergarten or smth like this, these games are always funny!
IndigoWolf4 Apr 2022, 22:14
The sense of utter helplessness as the toddlers slowly make their way to the poisonous mushrooms while you're trying to help another take a dump is hilarious.
LDJam user 5143
LDJam user 51434 Apr 2022, 22:17
Idea is funny. I realy enjoyed, but I have alot of hungry death and I don't know how to feed children. I pressed Space bar near cookies (when I hold todler), but nothing happens.
Gravityflipauthor4 Apr 2022, 22:28
@kurakurture you have to pick up cookies from the plate and then feed it to the children! This was not communicated clearly so that's our bad! Hope you enjoy the game
OddSocks
OddSocks5 Apr 2022, 12:20
Hahahaha! Brilliant. My favourite entry so far. Those poor, poor, kids... they were dropping like flies. Love the humour. Fantastic LD entry :raised_hands: Kudos
jgundersen5 Apr 2022, 12:37
Great fun, hectic running around keeping those kids alive. Managed to only kill 3 💪 Great job, nice music and fun gameplay.
spacecadet5 Apr 2022, 14:24
Oh my god that was awesome. My favorite so far. It fits to the theme really well and was funny. The audio and pixel art was also really good. The movement felt a bit slow but maybe then it would have been too easy. Why aren't there doors on the building tho? :D A great entry overall
Guy Girmonsky5 Apr 2022, 17:34
This game is one of the funniest ones I've seen.
At one point I left a kid dead on the road and one dead near the mushrooms, hoping other children would see them and conclude what they SHOULDN'T do, because I couldn't keep up.
Nice take on the theme!
Only criticism is that I'd add some kind of speed up button (and if you're worried about the difficulty - maybe make the kids a bit faster) since sometimes I felt like those 3 seconds walking to the kid take a lifetime (they are running towards a bus so.... I'd sprint)
Anyway, was fun and the music is also a nice touch!
PickyBurrito49
PickyBurrito495 Apr 2022, 18:00
So much fun! I do enjoy some macabre humor and literally exclaimed out loud when I saw one toddler dart for the road and one headed for the bleach! I was closer to the bleach than the road and hand to chuckle when the inevitable happened!
Yvanor
Yvanor5 Apr 2022, 18:01
Very fun game ! I liked how it's all colors and game until a bus come or someone dies, suddenly the whole game turn get into a more dramatic mood.

Well done !
amkingTRP5 Apr 2022, 18:30
Quite fun; the graphics and audio suited it perfected. I thought I'd be clever and prevent the kids leaving the playroom, but then they started starving for lack of cookies..
circle
circle5 Apr 2022, 20:16
Come along little Timmy, let's get in the street. You too little Sally. Everyone just come with me and stand in the street. Yes just like that. No, I don't care if you're hungry. All these cookies are for me.
binaryDiv
binaryDiv5 Apr 2022, 20:18
Nice game, cute graphics and music! I even succeeded to keep all children alive in my third attempt. :D I just wished there was a key for sprinting (maybe only for a short time so you don't always use it).

(Also, this is not a criticism, more like a fun note, but why the hell does this kindergarten leave all the doors open? This is not a very safe place for children :sweat_smile: )
SpaceyLake
SpaceyLake5 Apr 2022, 20:43
Fun game and it follows the theme in a good way. The gameplay reminds me of "Think of the children". I think the graphics are nice and the soundtrack good. The description of tasks like cookies, poo, scissors and forks was good. However the description of those tasks without explanation of the other hazards like bleach, mushrooms and the road made me overlook those hazards.
moi931015 Apr 2022, 21:12
Ok, I take A LOT of time on this one, really good job !
First time, I managed to save all kids (just one died of starving :'( )
After that I would know what they do when I just take a break and look.
After a while, it's finished in a smiling mass murder by mushroom (I tried with the road, but it's too much hasardous :'( ) with final road murder/suicide (I think it sould be a dedicated gameover for this one :stuck_out_tongue: )
I think I finished the game this last time xD
ThatRandomProgrammer
ThatRandomProgrammer5 Apr 2022, 23:18
Really funny with the music and how no children care or know what they're doing. Great Job!
ArianaD
ArianaD5 Apr 2022, 23:23
I LOVE THIS GAME!!! I played for so much longer than I thought! The sound made it 10x more hilarious and I literally screamed when one of them croaked because I didn't get them a cookie fast enough :'(
Super fun!! I'd probably play again in the future tbh
Junklab
Junklab6 Apr 2022, 00:47
What a laugh, this is such a funny concept. Half the fun is watching the kids die in hilarious ways. You could easy implement a level system that increases the chance of kids trying to kill themselves. Good job!
firetwoonenine
firetwoonenine6 Apr 2022, 00:53
Teacher got run over trying to save two toddlers. Not paid enough for this. :(

But really, this was a fun game with cute graphics and music. Just the right difficulty where you feel like you have things under control, then suddenly you realize a kid got all the way over to the mushrooms without noticing.
AndyZYZ6 Apr 2022, 02:11
The gameplay loop is clear and fun.Art and music is cute too.
Cakestorm
Cakestorm6 Apr 2022, 08:51
Haha, this was great! I really liked the idea of the game, having to manage an unruly group of toddlers, and it definitely was chaotic. The fact that they spread out over time was great for challenge; at first I thought I was being clever keeping them all in the same room, until I had to leave and they all spread out like some sort of gas, it was brilliant to watch! The artwork and music fit very well with the game too, they worked very nicely with the kindergarten theme. I had a lot of fun with this game, so great job on making it!
kory
kory6 Apr 2022, 13:16
Really fun! It reminded me of over-cooked in a way, going to different stations. The art was very cute, I loved the cookie-eating animations! I'm curious, did you experiment with having a dash option to get around a bit faster? Maybe if you dash into a toddler too many times they would die.....
Leiv Erik6 Apr 2022, 13:41
@kory Thanks for the feedback! We did not actually experiment with this, but several people have given that same feedback.

I think it would have been a nice addition if we had thought of it, of course with some tuning on the difficulty to compensate. Kids dying is supposed to feel inevitable after all ;)

Your suggestion on dashing into kids having a negative effect is also very nice!

Maybe we will add this in a post-build!
Wlqwos
Wlqwos6 Apr 2022, 14:44
This is just hilarious, we loved it! A little work on the sound design would help with the mood a lot tho.
settings
settings6 Apr 2022, 17:39
Really nice game! Everything works very well together, I had a lot of fun.
VixenMink
VixenMink6 Apr 2022, 17:44
I can't with this game. It is such a JEM. Being understaffed in any profession is stressful and even worse if little kids are involved. Great idea and concept. Maybe if there was a run button which in turn could run over the kids could be an added feature. Great game
Kat6 Apr 2022, 18:36
I love this game! Very well done.
stoffe
stoffe6 Apr 2022, 19:14
Really fun and stressing game, I enjoyed it a lot.
Tiny improvement, would have liked if you could either use WSAD or arrow keys to control the character.
Omega_Troll6 Apr 2022, 19:20
Loved this game and the idea is hilarious!!!
Steve74116 Apr 2022, 20:42
This was fun! I wish they weren't so good at dying all the time
Renge
Renge6 Apr 2022, 20:48
Haha, this is an amazing game. There should be a timeout corner to place unruly kids in and a revive machine that summons the children back from death with a pentagram or what not.
Niklas Zhaga
Niklas Zhaga6 Apr 2022, 20:48
Just saw it on twitch stream, it's funny :D 10/10 dead toddlers!

And I have a little cemetery here in the bathroom :grimacing:
Proxy-Games
Proxy-Games7 Apr 2022, 07:29
Really funny game. I was expecting some of the deaths, since they don't get mentioned in the instructions, but that's part of what makes the game so entertaining. The concept is unique, and I haven't seen another game approach the theme in quite this way. The artstyle in cute and charming, but the music does start to get grating after a bit of time. It fits the asethetic of preschool well and gives a cohesive mood to it, but it does get repetitive. In the end, though, I managed to get through the day with only 2 dead toddlers-above average in terms of daycares.

Overall, 10/10 would get hit by a car trying to keep a toddler from getting run over again.
Tulio7 Apr 2022, 09:10
I killed them all xD
SAGIII
SAGIII7 Apr 2022, 09:20
Hello! I liked this messy game x).
Euler Moises
Euler Moises7 Apr 2022, 14:16
It's really hellish to take care of a lot of kids at the same time. I've had this experience. The game was very well thought out! Congratulations! the gameplay is pretty cute. Some kids die for nothing and I don't understand why.

I made a game with this premise of chasing children. It's not from Ludum Dare, but if you want to see it:

https://fiwon123.itch.io/gmtk
Leiv Erik7 Apr 2022, 14:36
@euler-moises Maybe they died from hunger or had pooped their pants! remember that the mushrooms in the corner and bleach in the storage room are also hazardous! :) Its not easy to pay attention to what everyone is doing!

I tried your game, it was super stressfull! I feel the kids where taunting me as i ran around :D Good fun!
LDJam user 258850
LDJam user 2588507 Apr 2022, 16:30
Absolutely amazing! I sent this to my friend who's job is working with kids and he can't stop playing it xD very good job! one of the best I've played this Jam :)
Debone7 Apr 2022, 20:24
Thanks for your submission and it's great that you achieved a working core loop for the game in the 72 hours :D As much as I understand that this was on point to the theme, I was a bit overwhelmed by the game, I didn't feel much satisfaction about finishing a day with zero toddlers died as it was stressful (probably kinda like in real life? :P) Maybe if I moved faster I could have the positive feeling of being better at the game by fixing 3 toddlers in a row, for example, because now I'm hopeless about some of the toddlers actions and that is frustrating.
Honest Dan
Honest Dan7 Apr 2022, 21:43
A very silly concept, well executed. It feels very frantic, and because of the nature of the game you end up not getting mad when you fail. Not sure how it could be expanded, but perfect for a jam game!
Dining Philosopher
Dining Philosopher8 Apr 2022, 10:14
Very nice, especially the singing children. My only frustration is that I lose my cookie if I press spacebar anywhere.
Xeke-Death8 Apr 2022, 11:47
After the first day I don't know why I was still given children to care for.
After the second day where I turned children into cookies, I don't know why I had any freedom at all on the third day.

But I managed to almost keep them all alive. One died and I didn't notice.

Fun game, it started out nice and easy but those toddlers just won't stay put!
Cary Stanley
Cary Stanley8 Apr 2022, 23:05
Really great game! Love the Graphics and the take on the Theme, really funny.

Reminds me of a game 10 Jams back:

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/hyper-diapers

I was doing so good only one kid died of starvation (I think), but I didn't realize there was bleach in the backyard.

"3 toddlers dies today, I'm sure their Parents will be thrilled!" :grimacing:
LDJam user 234120
LDJam user 2341209 Apr 2022, 00:23
No game has made me laugh as much as this one so far!

best-ill-do.png

Constructive Critique is hard on this one. It's a very solid package from start to inevitable end. Stretching it's probably more explanation of the hazards before you get going. Maybe a different color in the 'thought bubble' to differentiate from a need versus a pending disaster as well?

Extending this would be pretty fun! I could imagine having to drop off and help kids off the bus, parent pick ups, and other such nonsense. And of course, like most games this jam, an online leaderboard of some kind, somehow, would be amazing.

Anyway great work!
marcmagus
marcmagus9 Apr 2022, 16:47
Thanks for bringing your game by my stream for feedback! If you’d like to revisit the play and commentary you can view the highlight at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1449912092

Silly fun, *fantastic* BGM. Solid frenetic management, who built this kindergarten without doors?
LDJam user 250825
LDJam user 2508259 Apr 2022, 22:40
That's one frantic game, wish I had a run button to get to everything :D The deadpan downed kids (didn't think I'd write that today :D) really make it less frustrating when you inevitably lose track of them. Great soundtrack as well!
Trexxak
Trexxak10 Apr 2022, 19:24
I like how innocent and wholesome this game plays… up until one of the kids gets hit by the school bus, then the next one drinks bleach and chaos ensues.
TheBlitz11 Apr 2022, 08:58
I'm supposed to kill as many toddlers as possible, RIGHT?
Totally got a high score of 6!

Jokes aside, i really enjoyed the game. Loved the attention to detail when a toddler gets ran over by the bus, they drop their glasses. Also how the game had a totally wholesome first impression (along with the music to create that cheerful and sunny atmosphere), only to have the kids kill themselves by various means XD
Link27021 Apr 2022, 19:23
This was awesome, one of the few games that legit had me laughing out loud. The music fits so well and the toddler Ai is perfectly realistic haha nice work.

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