Ludum Dare #53compo

TapirBoy

by ruthiepee

Overall:★★★★★★★★★★3.33(#265)

Fun:★★★★★★★★★★3.08(#281)

Innovation:★★★★★★★★★★3.15(#255)

Theme:★★★★★★★★★★4.10(#116)

Graphics:★★★★★★★★★★3.77(#145)

Audio:★★★★★★★★★★3.75(#74)

Humor:★★★★★★★★★★4.10(#24)

Mood:★★★★★★★★★★3.25(#211)

Play in your web browser!

_"It's like PaperBoy, but worse" ~ anonymous_

HOW TO PLAY

Use the mouse to aim and shoot newspapers from your proboscis (yeah, that's what that thing is called) while using WASD/arrow keys to dodge cars. Deliver all 10 newspapers to homes on the block to win.

ABOUT

Game developed in Unity, art designed in Procreate, music created in Garageband using the built-in MIDI instruments. Special thanks to RVA Game Jams for keeping me company + helping me troubleshoot. :)

WHAT IS A TAPIR?

Tapirs are large, herbivorous mammals mostly found in Central and South America. They're sort of pig-shaped, but they're more closely related to horses and rhinos. You may have noticed their most unique feature, which is a prehensile nose trunk called a proboscis. That pink wiggly thing. They can wiggle it in any direction. The more you know! 🌈

Genres: action

Tools: Unity

Comments14

Ravernt1 May 2023, 09:36

The game is simplistic and the character is quite difficult to control but still, I enjoyed my time and I absolutely loved the music and the sound effects! Well done!

Wahooney1 May 2023, 09:47

I found the controls a bit frustrating, I got caught on bushes a lot. I do appreciate the Paperboy feel and with some control polish this could be quite fun.

pauvictor1 May 2023, 10:18

Quite a simple and short game. I was a bit confused by the cars just bumping the character and not dying (I tried if I could die but did not manage). Also, some of the collision boxes for the doormats are weird and even if it was on top it would say it wasn't. Another take on the paperboy concept, it was interesting to see.

josemwarrior1 May 2023, 11:41

I love how inspiring your games are. Maybe the controls may feel clunky this time, but the music, graphics, humor, and mood are still outstanding.

EvoGenGames1 May 2023, 13:31

What did I just play? XD
Amazing art!

haselkern1 May 2023, 16:37

Amazing art style! The game is fun too, a bit challenging at times, when there's too much traffic, but that's part of the fun 😄

foolmoron4 May 2023, 01:15

The tapir animation is sooooo cute esp the nose. Love the music too, very groovy. For the gameplay I think it was too easy to just walk on the right side of the road.

EmeraldAlkemist4 May 2023, 01:54

I love goofy little games like this. It's the kind of thing I would sit down and play for a few minutes when I'm bored. I would love to play this game on my phone. I have no criticism. This is perfection.

Michael Harris5 May 2023, 14:59

This is great. I was hoping I saw a Paperboy-like game at some point. Love how goofy it is and the name "Tapirboy". Good job on this! Also hello fellow NYC-er!

DDesignDude6 May 2023, 03:51

The presentation and music of the game are well executed I especially like the cartoonish art style. The controls didn't take long for me to get used to but I felt it was odd that the tapir wasn't redrawn to follow the proper perspective when rotated. I know that would be a lot more work but if you're ever doing a future iteration of this game I think it would add more polish to include animations for the different directions the Tapir could face.

zundou16 May 2023, 12:42

I was able to deliver 10 packages. The car was very fast and full of power, which was exciting. The applause sound effect when you perform well was a cool feature that really boosted my motivation. It was fun!

David Yates19 May 2023, 18:24

I hate it when people extend the plants in front of their houses right up to the edge of the road, but I guess it's lethal for tapirs! The art and audio were great, I especially liked the applause when I managed to deliver a paper. The perspective was a bit confusing though, it felt a bit like the tapir was a 2D character in a 2.5D world, especially when it went upside down.

The controls were a little sluggish, which I understand is part of the design, but the tapir controlled a lot more like a vehicle than a creature with legs. Specifically the way it would take a while to come to a complete stop after I released the movement key felt a bit strange.

Still, very funny game, and I think it achieves exactly what it sets out too!

zimny1119 May 2023, 21:48

Simple but nice game! Love the music and art style. Also, now I know what is a proboscis, the more you know... :D I would be nice to have more variety in distances to the houses, so aiming is harder and maybe time limit or newspapers limit to make it more challenging. Besides that, I enjoyed playing it. Good job!

SleepyStudios19 May 2023, 21:55

My biggest takeaway was that somehow the clapping sound effect really worked for delivering newspapers. The cars disintegrating the newspapers was also hilarious. Nice work.

Other games by @ruthiepee

★3.83

★3.57

★3.90