Great job on your first game! I included it in my LowRezJam compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :)
Play game
Mr.BALL's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #295 | 1.434 | 1.714 |
| Visuals | #308 | 1.793 | 2.143 |
| Gameplay | #316 | 1.554 | 1.857 |
| Overall | #331 | 1.404 | 1.679 |
| Authenticity (use of resolution restriction) | #336 | 0.837 | 1.000 |
Ranked from 7 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Did you work in a team?
No
Was the resolution a challenge?
Yes it was.
What did you learn?
I learned something about bolt.
Comments
I saw this entry on the bottom of the Unrated-list.
Putting a jam-game behind a paywall is generally unheard of, and not including proper screenshots whatsoever would seem like a major red flag to most people.
Who in their right mind would pay actual money for this?
…uhhh, well… You ought to question my mental state from this point onward then.
Mr.BALL is the first entry in a series of games starring the titular Mr.BALL.
Telling a story of epic proportions, it conveys the whole human experience in heart-wrenching ways.
When firing up the ‘New Unity Project.exe’, it was immediately clear that we will be traveling into unfamiliar territory.
The player assumes the role of a black dot with red outlines, who has to jump over a mean looking spiky rock guarding a pyramid in order to advance.
Not an easy feat!
After reaching a red wall in the distance, things immediately get even more intense.
Next you’ll have to navigate a complex series of grassy platforms in order to plunge yourself into something that looks like a gray loudspeaker. The background graphics and overall design is jaw-droppingly unique and inspired in this part of the game.
But one of the aspects that I find the most ambitious is the dynamic change of seasons.
You rarely see realistic simulation of natural phenomena in games, but here it’s in fact so well conceived that the player won’t even notice when Mr.BALL is suddenly about to perish in the harshness of winter.
To make matters worse, the mean looking spike-block army has gathered all of their forces to stop Mr.BALL reaching his final goal: Himself.
I’ve got to admit, when I first finished the game I was literally speechless.
The thing Mr.BALL was searching for all along… …was himself.
You rarely see video games tackle philosophical questions like this in such depth and elegance.
Seeing Mr.BALL get reunited with his own self is such profound imagery that it has the potential to bring a grown man to tears.
I’d say it really is worth the investment, and I hope more players will allow themselves to experience it.
The game really didn’t follow the set resolution limit of the Jam, but who really cares at this point.
Mr.BALL rules!
2 years ago (+1)
well, it was supposed to be his gf at the end
but now that i saw your pov, i think that it is better
and the grassy loudspeaker and the red line were actually supposed to be gates to the next level
Rolling ball game concept isn't a bad concept itself, but I have a few points as a kind of recommendation for future jams/games you make:
- First, consistency. I think you were telling a story with your game but when things change out of nowhere in a non-intuitive way it can confuse the player. In this example the final destination for the player and the camera zoom weren't consistent and it can be confusing at first.
- Second when you join a jam it generally is to make a game with the limitations and the learning opportunities that brings (Also the fun), it would have been harder but possible to make this in an actual 64x64 pixels resolution and would recommend to join smaller and simpler jams too that have less restrictions when starting out.
- The last one is the game itself is not bad, movement is well implemented and level design is not bad either, great for a first game and good luck in the ones that will come! Hoping to seeing you grow in your journey :)
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