Play game
Blob Arena's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Playability | #100 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Artistic Style | #109 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Theme | #426 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Cleverness | #876 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
Ranked from 1 rating. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- Pretty nifty game! I wish the movement speed was a -tad- higher.
Did you include your Game Design Document in your downloadable files?
Yes in the rar file
Tell us about your game!
Blob Arena is a top-down survival arcade shooter.
You defend yourself from an onslaught of blobs in an enclosed space.
One of the mechanics I am proud of is the gunplay and a big part of that is the element system.
There are 3 elemental guns (fire, ice, and explosive) and one neutral (shotgun)
There are 3 elemental blobs and one neutral blob.
If you use the same element gun on the blob, it will create another blob, and do no damage so it is important to be careful with the 3 elemental guns, as also they are area of effect weapons. You also can only carry 2 at a time, so pick wisely.
You must also avoid the goo spread about, as it has various negative effects that will hinder your survivability.
The story is mainly undertones, and it's not front-and-center, but I've hidden some things to get people's minds racing about where you are and who you are, because that is a mystery.
Controls are currently mouse and keyboard, WASD and Mouse, scroll wheel and 1&2 number keys for switching weapons. You can currently adjust the screen size if you wish by pressing the Del to pull up my test screen, and the controls are listed on the top left.
I plan to add controller support soon, I just did not have enough time. Well, enjoy, I really like how it turned out so far.
Did you remember to include your Game Design Document?
Yes in the rar file
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Extra Notes
Thor, you are a big inspiration for me to continue my game design passion, you got me back into it! Thanks man.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
Nice one! I remember Smash TV, can clearly see the influence! The ensuing chaos when the whole arena is filled is really entertaining, and the screen resize is very welcome, it all flows really well.
I would've love to carry all the weapons, I often felt like I was missing one. Overall it's a fun game with a solid gameplay. Great job!
Maybe I'll do something with carrying more weapons. The 2 limitation is there on purpose but it does seem too hard near the end when only sticky, fire, and ice blobs spawn. I'm thinking of a simple passive progression system where carry limit is one upgrade you could get.
Great job! This was a really inspired game with nice art, sound, and game feel. I could tell after 3 playthroughs your level design was pretty thoughtful, and intentful, and does a decent job of self teaching the game mechanics. I liked it a lot. The animation of the assigned weapon is nice and the art/ui is simple and cohesive. I have some feedback
For accessibility, it might be nice to make the arrows work for left-handed players too. I also would consider playtesting your game with a color blind simulator to see if it still looks good under that condition. Add a pause screen, especially for those quick alt-tab moments, and a volume slider. The enemies kinda remind me of pig noses, in fact it was impossible to get out of my head.
Maybe consider adding a custom cursor for additional polish. You could probably add a bit more impactfulness when the play is hit by the final blow, such as a flash or bounce and scale effect, or a . Adding some color to the main menu could highlight the elemental resistance thing nicely.
And on the "wrong element," maybe think about switching it to "same element?"
I noticed you can pickup items you already have and can switch to an empty weapon slot.
This was an amazing game, great job.
Thanks for your in-depth review. A lot of things you mentioned are being worked on/tweaked. Follow the game for the post-jam update!
Interesting mechanics for sure. Music is upbeat and fun. I had issues the first couple of tries figuring out how the elemental resistances worked. Think better feedback would be helpful to the player to indicate what hurts more and what doesn't. I get it now thought after my first couple of runs so def could be skill issue. Cheers though!
Excellent camera movement! I like the way it feels like you're drifting around the map, sliding into changes in direction. As discussed on Discord, it seems like it could be clearer that you have to use the right "elemental" weapon for the right target, but that seems like an interesting mechanic that could be developed more. Also as you noticed the health bar seems to spawn in part-way up the screen some of the time.
Overall, a great submission! Nice job!
This game was really fun to play. I love the gun options and different mobs. The games core is really fun.
There are a LOT of really interesting ideas here.
The slimes splitting if you hit them with the shotgun, unless they're frozen? Fascinating, caught my interest immediately. The different elements and needing to be careful how you used it was pretty neat, but it seemed like I could only carry two guns at a time, so that worked somewhat against the spur of the moment picking. On the whole, this is a really great entry, I think you should be proud!
Thanks for playing! The idea is the shotgun falls off of damage after a bit. The medium and large blobs split with all weapons except if they are frozen, and the blue blobs cannot be frozen. Splitting blobs also pass down their fire status to their split versions. (: