A jam submission

Alchemist SurvivorView game page

Survive the dark by combining alchemical elements

Submitted by Riccardo Gennari — 13 hours, 50 minutes before the deadline

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Alchemist Survivor's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Playability	#804	3.000	3.000
Artistic Style	#970	3.000	3.000
Theme	#1330	2.000	2.000
Cleverness	#1471	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.

So this game is HEAVILY inspired by the arena shooters of ages past, and you did a solid job on getting the basics down! However, the use of shadows and alchemy seem simply tacked on to existing "collect to upgrade" and "scary monster" archetypes, which is functional, but not very exciting. I like all the sprites and the music that you made! Especially the little wizard guy, the monsters leave something to be desired with formless blob (yes I know they're supposed to be shadow but you could at least give them spooky claws lol) Overall, decent for a 2 week game jam, and I really believe you could make it into something special given more time! Just think about adding more complexity and depth to the game mechanics beyond pick up thing to upgrade after shoot monsters. Also a faster pace to the game would be nice! Despite the criticisms I have made though I am still impressed that you could get this done in two weeks all by yourself! Well done, keep making things! Be proud of yourself!

Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes

Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
Yes

Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes

Tell us about your game!
Alchemist Survivor is a top down arena shooter. Your objective is to survive the monsters that will try to kill you and arrive in ever increasing waves.
From the slain enemies you can collect alchemical elements with which you can create permanent or temporary power ups to help you get through the waves.
Your only light sources are your magic stick, the shots you fire from it and the alchemical station.

Extra Notes
I would like to thank you for this wonderful opportunity and the inspiration you give.
This was my first solo game jam and although I initially thought I couldn't even make a decent prototype, I managed to learn new software, complete the GDD and the prototype and feel satisfied.
Thank you,
Riccardo Gennari

Comments

EcksSubmitted131 days ago(+1)

A really fun and crunchy little vampire survivors-like.

The gameplay was really solid and the level up mechanic worked well. I got to about wave 8 before I accidentally ran into an enemy and died haha.

I wish I could just hold down the mouse to fire my weapon instead of constantly clicking as my hand got kinda sore after awhile.

The art was pretty basic but it worked fine. I really liked how crunchy the audio was the music had some really awesome vibes too but the tempo seemed to get a little weird sometimes? Maybe my ears are just weird I dunno.

A solid little game that I enjoyed and if you continue working on it would love to revisit :)

Submitted

Blood X Thirsty

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Riccardo GennariDeveloper131 days ago

I appreciate your feedback on the control scheme. Holding down the mouse button to fire sounds like a great quality-of-life improvement, and I'll definitely consider that for future updates to help ease any hand strain.

Thanks again for playing and for your constructive feedback!

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awaynameSubmitted132 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

nice job! plays very smooth. Having the game run in upgrade feels a bit of. just collecting 2 of each feels a bit boring, I think blue+red, blue+yellow, yellow red would've done more for the crafting aspect (but then I'd definately would want my time in the upgrade menu). Also damage felt weird in it's upgrade cycle: you upgrade damage and for quite some time it does nothing until you need one less hit per enemy, rinse and repeat (until they become entirely useless). Overall really fun though sorry for the long nitpick :D

Edit: I think I died from running into my own bullet in wave 10 on my second play :D Engaging Game, honestly good job :)

Submitted

GLOWTIONS

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Riccardo GennariDeveloper132 days ago

Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed the game and found it smooth to play. I appreciate your thoughts on the upgrade system and crafting mechanics. If you check theGDD, you'll see that I had already planned to incorporate the combination ideas you mentioned in the features to implement section. Thanks for playing and for leaving such a detailed comment! All advice is welcome and helps make the game even better.

Thank you again!

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prescriptionggSubmitted133 days ago(+1)

Really well done - simple and fun! I wish being in the upgrade menu paused the game though, would have made it easier. Other than that, good stuff!

Submitted

Midnight Path

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Riccardo GennariDeveloper133 days ago

Thank you very much! initially I thought about it but decided to not pause it to make the game more fast-paced. Probably slowing down time would be the solution.

Thanks again!

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Massive Melt MediaSubmitted134 days ago(+1)

Really impressive and well made game, easy to understand and play so a big up from me.

Submitted

Balor's Chosen

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Riccardo GennariDeveloper133 days ago(+1)

thank you very much!

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