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Life of the Party's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Presentation | #8 | 3.833 | 3.833 |
| Enjoyment | #9 | 3.389 | 3.389 |
| Overall | #10 | 3.389 | 3.389 |
| Design | #14 | 3.278 | 3.278 |
| Metroidvania | #19 | 3.056 | 3.056 |
Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Engine
Godot
Team/Developer
Solo
External assets
External Assets are on Game Page. Only external assets used are font and game music.
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Comments
This game was near-perfect on enjoyment. It's not the most impressive game in the jam per se, but it gets high marks for everything but genre--even there the dancing-based progress and nonlinear interconnected world (albeit a small world) is going to get it some points. Also, it didn't break.
I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, I understand the genre part. I think I would call it a "microvania-like." It has just the bare minimum to meet the requirements, but barely haha.
This game is great fun. A little slow at times, but the music was a good choice and the animations are worth playing to the end. Well done. Thanks for making.
Thanks for playing! Yeah, I just wanted to end the year with something chill and silly. Just have fun with it. I think I accomplished that haha.
Yeah! i loved it.
The style is very cute, it and the gameplay capture those good ol' Atari era vibes!
The tutorial was slightly frustrating, I got caught twice and had to restart from the beginning. I also think the explanations have quite a bit more text than necessary, buuuut that's definitely way better than having no idea what I'm doing at all!
I'm still not sure if there's any trick to stealth. In the end I just jump over every goon, but that's still plenty fun. Another layer to the stealth (which may be there already I'm not sure? I tried hiding under the truck in the intro but it didn't do anything and there wasn't anything to try hiding under in the house) might help spice up the gameplay.
I would also recommend making the pause button Enter instead of Esc, since Esc knocks me out of fullscreen mode.
The core gameplay loop feels like it's missing something... there's not really any thinking the player puts into it, and the different dances don't do anything interesting, as fun as they are. You just kind of have to check every single person every single time you get every new dance, and the walk speed makes this quite a chore. I'm not really sure what the easiest way to remedy this is, without adding mechanics that the dances do that physically let you reach new areas. There isn't really any incentive to reach new areas anyways, since everywhere is simply full of random people regardless...
It's not quite a stealth game either since you don't really need to run and hide, the goons are ultimately not much different from a hole in the floor you need to jump over... Maybe if there were more goons or smarter goons who could follow you upstairs/through doors, the dances could be used to hide the player, but they only pair with a specific person or object? Not sure how much that would really contribute to making it more of a metroidvania, but it might be fun.
One more thing I'd like to add, I never felt like the goons were unfair, and I really appreciate that. I never once walked over into a screen and ran into one instantly or anything.
I think the aesthetic is really charming, I love the little dances and the scarce bits of dialogue (I got MJ, not sure if the others were references!) and honestly the jumping which would feel way too floaty in any other game I think actually works really well here! Nice choice of music as well.
Thanks for playing! Yeah, one of my goals is to integrate tutorials into gameplay rather than walking through walls of text. I just tend to implement them at the end of the jam when I'm burnt out.
Originally stealth was going to be the primary mechanic, but once I started doing the play animations and dances, the idea switched from being a challenging stealth-based metroidvania to a chill and playful microvania. The truck in the tutorial was supposed to be for learning how to drop through platforms. You could jump on top of the bed and cab of the truck. I should have just went with a down + jump button, but by the time I really noticed how awkward it was, it was past the point where I make any adjustments to the player controls and chalk it up to being a down-side of being a jam game.
In regards to the pause button assignment, ENTER isn't intuitive to the player as a pause button. If my P wasn't being used as a dance, I would assign pausing to it. It makes more sense than ENTER. Its just a shame that web builds will suffer if ESC is used in any capacity.
The gameplay loop is definitely not challenging and definitely is repetitive, but it stems from the chill direction. Like floaty jumps aren't my favorite either unless there's a specific purpose for it, but floaty feels chill in this case and I went with that.
This game is much different that my previous entries (much more metroidvania like than this) and my intended future entries, but one of my goals for this year, which was year one of focusing on game dev, making 6 games in total. I made #5 a while back and felt like #6 had to be the best game of the year, showing off everything I learned over the year, which made me feel a lot of anxiety and doubt. Just having fun with it and keeping it chill, took that edge off.
As for the references, just MJ and the headbop teachers were actual references. The headbop guys were referencing a recurring Saturday Night Live skit with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, where they were obnoxious party guys that get kicked out from clubs, high school proms, nursing homes, etc for their behavior.
I definitely appreciate the detailed feedback. I always keep good feedback in mind when working on future games, so while I wouldn't make the changes suggested for this game specifically, all the criticism/feedback will help me not repeat mistakes like how I implement drop through platforms.
Sorry for the wall of text, I'm still trying to wake up and organize my thoughts before I continue playing entries and providing feedback. Your game is in the queue for today, so you'll hear from me again lol.
Ohhhhh yeah I got the complete wrong impression from the trucks, I totally thought you were supposed to crawl under it to avoid being seen. I didn't see any reason to try jumping on them and then down. Thankfully descending staircases ended up being intuitive anyways 😌
I'm surprised you don't find ENTER to be intuitive (I used it as pause in my game), but asking people around me and checking games on my PC I guess I am the odd one out. I think it maybe it's traditional for WASD games, but less so for arrow key games where the player's hands are positioned differently...? I grew up playing flash games and emulators and very few actual PC games so using ESC has never even occurred to me, except in the case when it's a separate menu for specifically quitting the game. Very interesting, I'll have to keep that in mind in the future. I'm worried people who play my game might not even realize they can pause now.
I totally respect making a chill game, I think you definitely accomplished that!
Yeah, you're not the only one who had that impression. A few people who played the game for me mentioned it and the confusion about the stealth not actually being a game mechanic. So that's definitely something to keep in mind in the future.
I'm not a big fan of emulators and have been completely confused by the use of arrow keys and z and x being commonly used. It wasn't until a couple months ago that I downloaded a gba emulator to play Pokemon Fire Red and realized why that those control schemes were being used consistently. So I definitely get that. Thats why I try to include gamepad support or alternate keys.
And thanks! I'm glad I was able to communicate the chillness haha
Creative idea, polished overall design, UI is convenient. I also liked how stairs mechanic is implemented, had tough time to think of it in my other project and made lift finally:)
It's fun to make all people to make different dances. Closer to the end it may feel somewhat repetitive but the game finishes right in time to not become boring. Gameplay is kind of simple to my taste, bouncers are easily avoidable and not dangerous even when hit - just teleporting you.
Nice overall quality, keep it up!
Thanks for playing! Yeah, this entry is different from my previous entries. I wanted to end the year with something chill and attempt to work on my poor art skills haha.
In regards to the repetitiveness, I worried that it would be a little much so I definitely took some time trying to balance how much backtracking is necessary. I also intended that, if a player decides to do it, the bouncers can be essentially as fast travel to speed things the game up.
I'm surprised you liked the stairs haha. Its been the most common criticism about the game aside from the player movings a little too slow.
I liked this non-standard metroidvania idea and the graphic style. Looks atmospheric
Thanks! My past two MVM entries were more of the classic metroidvania, but I wanted to end the year with something light and goofy. And I reeeaaally needed to work on the lack of my art skills. Making all the dances was probably the most enjoyable, but also time consuming part.
I have your game coming up in my queue, so you'll hear back from me again haha
Cool! I will be glad to hear your feedback
I really liked that you did something creative with the theme, and I really liked the entire vibe of the game, the dances were really fun to watch everytime there was a new one! I got a bit confused how to dodge the bouncers and how to get downstairs, but figured it out eventually both times.
In general it became a little repetetive, going over the entire house after every dance, just checking off all the people, I would'be preferred a smaller house or faster move speed, I think.
I'm glad you enjoyed the vibe of the game. I really went for a chill vibe compared to all the other games I've made. It was also about time to practice/learning how to pixel art haha. So I'm really glad people enjoyed the dances.
Yeah, after testing it out, I can totally see where it could be repetitive. My hope was that if a player felt like this, they would cheese it and use the bouncers to "fast travel." I definitely think i would prefer a faster move speed over a larger house. Originally there was going to be a house and a barn party with a bonfire, but I scaled it back to just the house.
+ Interesting and well executed concept.
+ Smooth and responsive controls.
+ A unique art and cohesive art style.
+ I love the little player feedback touches in the game.
I thought the tutorial section was great but felt like the information was disconnecting from the experience. I would be walking along looking at my character and then oh oops there is text up there. So then I pause and read (admittedly very good writing) for a few seconds before going back to the character where I have to reorient myself. A minor complaint really but thought you might like to know.
-I got stuck, I couldn't figure out how to get downstairs.
Excellent submission!
Thanks for playing! Yeah, I still need to work on my tutorial sections. Make them more integrated so that the information is given when necessary. Unfortunately, menus and tutorials are usually implemented at the end when my brain is about finished haha.
Yeah, the stairs seem like the biggest issue so far. Dropping through them requires you to crouch then pressed down again. I think if I had made it so that holding down and pressing jump made you drop through, it would have been better.
I totally get that, I tend to have the same approach when it comes to that stuff. I had planned a few more of those types of elements that didn't make it into my own game. Strangely I was able to drop through the truck just fine in the tutorial but I had trouble on the stairs. It was probably just my brain defaulting back to the tried and true Mario style of dropping through platforms. Maybe if action was required to progress through the tutorial it would have stuck in my brain better.
Hi!
Awesome entry! I was somehow really suprised by the concept of getting new dance moves to advance in the game.
I really liked the chill atmosphere of the game! The music was great and the dance moves looked amazingly smooth. I really enjoyed the little dialogues. It's a great way to introduce new mechanics.
I would have liked it to be a little faster paced, but that was okay. Even though I used the bad guys a lot to shortcut certain things.
The biggest problem was probably the stairs. But that's just a minor thing and didn't bother me too much.
One question: What was the crouching ability needed for? I was desperately looking for a small hatch to crawl through, but I didn't find one :(
Thanks for playing! Yeah, originally there was supposed to be a stealth element to the gameplay, but I kind of gave up on it when I started going into the more chill direction. The stairs seem to be most people's issue with the game and I can see why. I thought about doing the classic castlevania stair movement where it was simply press up at the base of the stairs, but I can't remember why I chose not to do that.
But yeah, I'm glad you liked it. I had a lot of fun working on the animations (I'm a terrible artist).
Really cool game. Love the simplicity and how entertaining it is.
Thanks for playing! Yeah, I decided to stick with the theme and go for a more casual, relaxed game to end the year with.
Sooo much fun! always look forward to your entries, and this one was great.
Haha thanks so much. I'm looking forward to playing yours as always. Such a big fan of your art style!
Cute game! Loved the thriller dance.
My hot take is that not having jumping and enforcing the stealth elements more would have probably improved the game. Jumping over the bouncers was too easy and traversing the stairs was awkward. The hardest thing was to figure out how to go down the stairs.
Nice game, banger music. I just prefer more action-oriented games myself.
Thanks for playing! The stealth elements were originally intended to be a big part of it, but after the first week, I switched to a more relaxed gameplay. I just wanted to make something fun and not stress during development and I think that's why I switched directions.
And yeah, dropping through platforms was one of my disappointments. I should have went with the "hold down and press jump" to drop through. Really regret that one. Overall, I'm mostly satisfied with what I made, but there are things I think could be improved on.
The lil pixel people looked great! As a future reference, when you have bright and simple character art, darker and optionally more detailed backgrounds give a better contrast. The jumping felt a bit floaty but honestly, in the context of the game I really didn't mind. The gigantic furniture also gave it a slightly surreal vibe, and not in a bad sense. It was a cute experience!
Thanks a lot for playing! I appreciate the tips for the pixel art. I just started putting on focus on that and animating all the dances (thriller being the funniest). Most of my time was spent on the art, rather than programming. In regards to the floaty jumps, that was intentional. I wanted my last game of the year to feel chill and the theme really helped guide me there.
I'm glad you liked it!
The dances were pretty great, I'll give you that haha. My wife was watching me play and we both instantly recognized the thriller, so I'd say you did a pretty great job!
Haha that's awesome! I'm glad its recognizable!
An original idea. I liked your pixel art too. Kudos!
Thanks! I'm just starting to really improve my art skills. I spent the most time on the dances. My "thriller" dance was so fun to make, I laughed the whole time. As for the idea, I really wanted to go for a more chill game than my previous entries.