LOWREZJAM 2020

Hosted by JackOatley, Gurpreet Singh Matharoo · #LOWREZJAM

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A jam submission

Laser LooterView game page

Explore Space Stations in this Twin-Stick ASCII Shooter

Submitted by MansterSoft (@MansterSoft) — 5 days, 21 hours before the deadline

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Laser Looter's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Authenticity (Use of resolution restriction)	#53	4.667	4.667
Audio	#145	3.222	3.222
Overall	#150	3.542	3.542
Graphics	#150	3.389	3.389
Gameplay	#203	2.889	2.889

Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Did you work in a team?
Two member team. One person did all of the ASCII art. The other coded everything.

Was the resolution a challenge?
An ASCII game can only be 8x8, so it's a huge challenge. We were initially going to have it be room-based, but found that it felt too crowded. We opted for a scroller instead.

What did you learn?
I learned a ton! I had never made a multi-directional scroller before. Our team hadn't collaborated in many years, so this jam was also the catalyst for that. I'm very excited to continue work on this game (in a higher resolution).

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Comments

iandaprixSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

You did a great job with the graphics, and the color palette is particularly nice for evoking an old-school feel. The laser effect is choice.

Sometimes when I was at a corner, and an enemy was around the corner, it felt like I was in a real fight, ducking behind the corner and planning my next move. It's cool to feel that level of action in a game with this small a screen size!

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Thank you very much for the kind words. I spent a good deal of time on the laser effect and I'm pretty thrilled with how enemy behavior turned out. The strengths you mentioned have me very excited to continue developing this game.

securasSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

A self-imposed challenge on top of an existing challenge with ASCII over 64x64... Dang... You went all out. Well done!

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Ha, thanks a lot. This jam is always a super fun challenge.

NaX 89Submitted4 years ago(+1)

Interesting idea, and fun to play, the old school aestethics its perfect!

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Happy to hear you enjoyed it! I can never get sick of ASCII.

ineedsleeppleaseSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

ajshakjhkjah I can't open it on linux :")). I'm pretty sure it tured out great, though!

Submitted

Dumbass Chicken: The Game

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Did you try it in Wine? That worked for another user.

I almost always make Linux distros, but I'm moving and my Linux machine is in storage. Sorry!

ineedsleeppleaseSubmitted4 years ago

Haven't tried it in Wine yet, as the last time I tried using Wine my old laptop crashed. This one's faster than the last tho, so I'll try.

Cody WardSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

Love the added challenge of using ASCII. Great job!

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Thanks a lot!

And I do too! I always make ASCII games, but there's a big difference between 80x50 and 8x8. The worst part about the dimensions is that there's no center.

zombz4 years ago(+1)

It was difficult at first but once I got used to the controls I really enjoyed myself.

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Thanks for persevering! I did pretty awful the first few times I played it, but now I can ace it.

dancrampSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

Really interesting concept! Looks like a lot of thought put into the style and gameplay. I found it very difficult as enemies moved very quickly and a bit erratically. The controls made sense to me and was a good way of doing a 4 direction twin stick shooter. Good job!

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Thanks for the feedback! The enemies do have specific behaviors. The most common one aims for the corner of the player in an effort to dodge getting zapped by their laser. I think people get so used to really stupid enemies that just sit there waiting to get shot that these comparably smarter ones put people off.

The speed of the enemies will definitely improve once I don't have to be limited by the 8x8 screen.

dancrampSubmitted4 years ago

ahh! I see! Very cool!

jujuleSubmitted4 years ago

Ouch! I found it real difficult to predict from which direction the enemies would attack so I didn't go too far, even after a good ten tries. Maybe you could have the enemies move a little bit slower than the main character? But I love the esthetic and the take on the twin stick shooter that is really palyable in ascii.

Submitted

Sentimental Wake

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago (1 edit)

Thanks for playing! The enemies do move slower than the player. Plus, levels aren't randomly generated, so enemies should become more predictable with more play-throughs. It seems a lot of people try to rush through the levels, but it's better to be cautious.

jujuleSubmitted4 years ago

Thanks for the advice! I'll give it another try and be more cautious!

Kevin HutchinsSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

This was a lot of fun—it reminded me of games I used to play when I was a kid. Great job using simple symbols to evoke scenery.

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Thanks for playing and the kind words. Once I have more time I'm hoping I can evoke the games I played as a kid, mainly Robotron: 2084 and Chip's Challenge.

RED BONE GAME STUDIOSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

i like atari style, it's very retro!!

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago(+1)

Me too; it fits well with the low resolution restrictions.

JasonsummSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

haha! This is crazy and great, I love it. He's the best ASCII character there is!!

Submitted

TamagoCity 2029

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago(+1)

Thanks a lot! I think in a fight between the guy from Rogue and the Laser Looter, the LL would win.

Denis_GrenierSubmitted4 years ago(+1)

The game just looked way too bonkers to pass up. Impressive considering the added limitation while using ASCII art. Made me feel very nostalgic.

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Thanks for playing! Bonkers is a good way to describe it.

LynxJSASubmitted4 years ago(+1)

A twin-stick Roguelike? Nice!

Submitted

MansterSoftDeveloper4 years ago

Thanks! Two of my favorite things.