Ludum Dare #54compo
Negative Space
Here is the (skippable) lore (in form of the dialog):
>"Hi, Alex. How is your ship going? Still broken after the crash?"
>"It can fly again, but some things are still broken. Only one third of the cargo hold is operational. And container turning wheel is not working. I could use some funds to finish the repairs"
>"I have a work for your ship that it can do even in that shape. We need some boxes taken from the several planets and brought to the HQ"
>"You remember that I can't take much?"
>"You see, about half of those boxes actually have the negative size"
>"What"
>"Yes, you can put them into the space already occupied by the other boxes. On the other hand, you can't put negative-boxes into the non-occupied space"
>"Sounds weird, but it's a sci-fi setting, so why not"
>"Good. I'll try to procure you some funding, so you will finish the fixes along the way. Maybe even install some new equipment. Also, it's ok if some boxes are left behind. Not great, but we can live with it. Just take as much as possible"
>"OK, I'll do this"
And here are the rules.
You will visit few planets where you will have to move as much boxes as possible from the dock to your hold. Click the box to take it and click again to drop. "+" boxes can be placed only in vacant space, "-" boxes only in occupied space.
You can move on to the next planet at any moment by clicking "Take off", but boxes lost behind will be lost forever. Try to minimize the weight sum of the left behind boxes.
From planet 5 on you will be able to turn boxes with the mouse wheel.
From planet 7 on you will be able to flip the cargo once per planet.
If you think that the game is too easy (and it probably is) you can try to play it with a homerule of not using the top row (or two) of the hold. And do not use the Flip on the last levels.
Some additional notes.
This game is kind of a fusion and extension of my two other jam games
"Negative" pieces are from 4x4 tetris (which would probably fit this LD theme ideally, btw) https://js1024.fun/demos/2021/21/readme
"Game engine" is from Weird Cannon https://dev.js13kgames.com/2023/games/weird-cannon
>"Hi, Alex. How is your ship going? Still broken after the crash?"
>"It can fly again, but some things are still broken. Only one third of the cargo hold is operational. And container turning wheel is not working. I could use some funds to finish the repairs"
>"I have a work for your ship that it can do even in that shape. We need some boxes taken from the several planets and brought to the HQ"
>"You remember that I can't take much?"
>"You see, about half of those boxes actually have the negative size"
>"What"
>"Yes, you can put them into the space already occupied by the other boxes. On the other hand, you can't put negative-boxes into the non-occupied space"
>"Sounds weird, but it's a sci-fi setting, so why not"
>"Good. I'll try to procure you some funding, so you will finish the fixes along the way. Maybe even install some new equipment. Also, it's ok if some boxes are left behind. Not great, but we can live with it. Just take as much as possible"
>"OK, I'll do this"
And here are the rules.
You will visit few planets where you will have to move as much boxes as possible from the dock to your hold. Click the box to take it and click again to drop. "+" boxes can be placed only in vacant space, "-" boxes only in occupied space.
You can move on to the next planet at any moment by clicking "Take off", but boxes lost behind will be lost forever. Try to minimize the weight sum of the left behind boxes.
From planet 5 on you will be able to turn boxes with the mouse wheel.
From planet 7 on you will be able to flip the cargo once per planet.
If you think that the game is too easy (and it probably is) you can try to play it with a homerule of not using the top row (or two) of the hold. And do not use the Flip on the last levels.
Some additional notes.
This game is kind of a fusion and extension of my two other jam games
"Negative" pieces are from 4x4 tetris (which would probably fit this LD theme ideally, btw) https://js1024.fun/demos/2021/21/readme
"Game engine" is from Weird Cannon https://dev.js13kgames.com/2023/games/weird-cannon
Comments21
Very cool concept, I'm replaying to see how little space I can use if I try really minimizing
- I enjoyed continuing with the mess that I've made trying to dig myself out of it. I didn't get the turn mechanic so didn't really use it, I also flipped once towards the end, thinking I'll flip a piece or maybe the bottom board, not the top one.
- You said it's too easy, I didn't find it hard, but it was quite enjoyable, I think the flip mechanic might be too strong, have the player deal with the consequences of his decisions.
- Could use a background track and maybe some sound effects when moving boxes.
Cargo area was not obvious from the first sight.
And I have a bug, when already putted in the cargo box just reappeared on the planet after some clicks.
Cargo area was not obvious from the first sight.
And I have a bug, when already putted in the cargo box just reappeared on the planet after some clicks.
Simple yet effective game loop and presented well.
A bit of conclusive info at the end would be nice, maybe even a time trial to spice it up.
The negative cargo idea was fun, although felt a bit pointless in cases where the port had the same shape in positive and negative as well, in these cases I mostly just added and removed the same block essentially doing nothing.
Overall I like the presentation of the game and the positive negative idea. I suggest trying to work on the difficulty/puzzle tuning by creating smaller levels with less pieces and a more limited space.
Good job!