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Grooveyard's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Fun | #9 | 4.338 | 4.338 |
| Overall | #10 | 4.400 | 4.400 |
| Presentation | #29 | 4.538 | 4.538 |
| Originality | #185 | 4.092 | 4.092 |
Ranked from 130 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
One often finds that a freshly-raised skeleton is... uncontrollable. Thankfully, as a practitioner of magics most profane, you are able to manipulate the very walls to steer your wayward minion to safety! For those looking for "controls" or a "tutorial," seek further instruction on the game page. There, your thirst for knowledge will be fulfilled.
Did your team create the art for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
Yes
We created all art during the game jam
Did your team create the audio for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
No
We used pre-existing audio
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Comments
This game was really fun, I'm glad it had a skull ranking system, which made replaying the levels worth it and having to think differently. and the 3bit art is quite nice!
Thank you very much for the kind words! We thought the rating system was a good addition, and we're glad you think so too!
The title of the game sounded to me like it's going to be something like Mausoleum Tycoon, but I got where the "maker" part came from when I started playing :D The game was very solid and polished, and the gameplay didn't disappoint me (although it wasn't a Tycoon :P). Simple but well executed idea with good level design and very, very nice aesthetics.
I think I encountered only one bug in level 4 or 5 not sure, where something killed me for no reason, but it wasn't game breaking and 48h is not a lot of time :)
Great work!
Haha, sorry to disappoint on the title front! And yeah, that bug's listed on the game page, but still, sorry you had to experience it in-game!
Loved the art style, gameplay, and concept.
This would make a great game if fully developed. There's lots of ways this mechanic could evolve over the levels -- new characters with special traits, multiple characters at once, etc.
Thank you very much! We think so too, and are gonna keep working on this post-jam!
This game looks and feels amazing!
It's fun to play, although I didn't get too far... Might try it again when I am less tired ;)
Well done!
Thanks for giving the game a play! And don't sweat it, we absolutely appreciate the feedback, even if you didn't make it to the end!
The art style accompanied with the music and addicting game play combine to make a wonderfully tasty, bony snack of a game that oozes personality. It's quite accessible too, but does require your attention and brainpower. Difficulty progression of the levels was also quite nice. It is, as they say, a jam.
Haha, thank you for the whimsical review! That was such a treat to read. And of course, thank you for the feedback!
Very nice game! I love the art style, and even if I am not a 2d fan, this game is neat! You deserve all those ratings!
Hey, thanks for giving the game a try even though you're not a 2D fan. We really appreciate different perspectives, so it's great that we got to hear yours! Thanks for the comment!
You’re welcome! 😄
I love that you know the movement up front. I definitely had at least one collision or sprite error where I died for no reason I could see, and I would maybe tweak the animation if a jump gets interrupted (if I block his jump he just kinda crouch floats). Brilliant execution of the idea and theme, can't wait to play more :)
Oh no, sorry to hear that! Yeah, there's an invisible spike hiding in level 6, and unfortunately we didn't catch it in time. Apologies. As for the bugged animation, that one's on us as well. We noticed it during development but didn't quite have enough time to fix it. Although I will admit, it is a bit funny seeing the skeleton bonk its head and get stuck in the animation, haha.
Yay, made it through all the levels! :D
That's a pretty cool idea, getting to see how the skeleton will move to create the level accordingly. Normally it's the other way around, you see the level and then have to "program" the movement in these kinds of games.
It'd be great if you could see how far the skeleton would move for every command. Maybe have lines on the movement lanes so you could actually plan ahead. Right now it's more like placing a few blocks, see what the skeletondoes and then adjust you level.
Also on the second to last level there is one invisible spike block, I think.
Apart from that, love the visuals and audio.
All in all a really fun game.
Hey, good job completing the game! And that's a good suggestion! I'm definitely gonna
stealadd that to the notepad file of all the changes we've got planned for a post-jam version, haha. As for that spike, sorry about that! That was an unfortunate oversight on my part during development.Great puzzle, really fits the theme of the jam, and the art is beautiful! Love the skeleton animations, and the levels felt chalenging, but never unfair. Great entry!
So glad you enjoyed the game! It's especially good to hear you enjoyed the animations, since I did them, haha!
Best puzzle game in the jam I've played.
Aw, thank you very much! We're so happy to hear that!
You already know this but: on second to last level there is Invisible spike and last jump doesn't seem to work. But what can I say: this is the game Mark made this jam for, so that he doesn't have to make it.
Ah, yeah, that darn invisible spike. Sorry about that! With that said, thank you so much for the kind words. It really makes the whole team so happy to hear such positive feedback.
Pretty much everything about this game was perfect. The couple small bugs you warned about in the description are totally forgivable given the limited time we had. The concept was awesome and the game play was really fun. The puzzles were well designed so that there was always more than one way of getting where you needed to go. Great work, and awesome game!
Oh man, you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that you checked out the game page! The invisible spikes were an oversight on my part during development, and I've tried so hard to let people know that they're in the game. We're thrilled you enjoyed the game regardless of its faults; thank you for the feedback!
Wow. Such a beautiful game. Level design is incredible. (Completed all the levels!) The concept is so cool and unique. I really want to play more.
We're so glad you enjoyed the game so much! And hey, congrats on beating all the levels!
I really liked a lot of this game and had a great time, very polished, and think that there's really potential to be a full game of some sort, so an feedback, not looking as a jam game, but what it can became: while I was playing, felt more like a "ok let the skeleton running and then I can see where it dies and I insert an block", I know there is the skull rating system if you die less, but still don't seen to be enought to just try withouth doing this way. Maybe if you guys put some reward shop in exchange of the skulls or something, I really hope if you guys do some more with this, great work.
Thank you very much for the feedback! And yeah, we all agree there's definitely a better way to puzzle out the solution rather than just placing down one tile at a time and seeing when the skeleton dies, haha. As for rewards,
myour current idea going forward is that getting a three-skull rating on a level would unlock a filter or chroma players could use to change up the color palette!Thank you, really. I always enjoy reading comments, but comments like these really make my day. We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed the game, and thank you very much for the feedback.
This is such a fun and original mechanic that is well executed and has to be a winner! Extremely well made, great job! 5/5
Aw, thank you so much! It makes us real happy to hear how much you like the game. We hope it's a winner too!
SO this is the one fine take on the puzzle game with character out of control
Oh man, that's great to hear. Thank you!
Very nice puzzle game! It's a bit tricky to estimate the timing of the different actions. This makes it a more trail and error rather than strategically placing of blocks. If the actions where shown in a grid maybe, it would be more fun and achievable to reach high ratings for a level. But I don't know if that was intentional. It is a very nice concept and the art is well made. I really enjoyed playing it!
Hey, thanks for the feedback! Yeah, the current iteration of the action bar doesn't do good enough of a job at timing out the skeleton's actions for players. We're currently exploring ways to improve it, so thank you very much for the ideas! I'm definitely going to
stealadd these suggestions to our notepad file of changes, haha.I wasn't sure about the trial and error nature of the gameplay at first but by the last level I was absolutely hooked! I reallly, really like this concept, seeing your route to the end slowly come together was really satsifying!
I hope you've got plans to expand on this after the jam as I really want more levels! :D
Great game, good work!
Edit: Meant to say I love the art style and music as well, really works well with the theme of the game!
Awesome! That's real good to hear that you enjoyed the gameplay loop. Thank you for feedback! And yes, we're totally gonna work on this once the jam is over (maybe even develop it into a commercial release, who knows!). And we've got a ton more levels on the way; our level designers think they've got enough ideas for about 50 more!
Excellent, will keeping an eye out for sure! :D
Really interesting concept with well executed mechanics. I also like the visuals a lot, very good job!
Thank you very much! We really appreciate the kind words.