itch.io

I was kinda relieved with my score. I had a limited time budget (~10% of the jam time) so I said if I landed in the top 50% I'd be happy. It's not my first rodeo but with that limited a time either the prototype is fun or not - no turning back!!

On the story point. Some games simply don't or shouldn't have a story as it would detract from the experience (the original 1993 Doom being a perfect example) - though every year I've considered doing something to up my average. I know some people vote 3 for story for games they liked but didn't want to lower the average. It's a perennial issue.

My usual thing is just to look at my 'fun' rating and rank my game that way. Although in this case this year has been a poor showing from me :D I think it was a fair result though.

Lovely game. When you said sokoban I thought I'd be pushing those bridges around but was kinda relieved I just had to pick them up :D Just a small thought to add to the cozy/laziness, maybe allow holding the keys down to keep moving (say after a second's delay)? Really good job.

This was awesome. Well done. I just had to get to the end and I'm glad I did.

Congrats guys. I can tell you had a lot of fun making this one.

Being able to add weapons to my weapons never ceased to amuse me :D I attached 25 in the end.

Also my boomer Star Control II tactics of sticking all the weapons on my aft worked a treat. Was worried the queen was going to ruin my cowardly party.

Also appreciate the kindness of allowing the player to soak up a lot of damage. Lots of fun, well done.

You got the systems in place and they worked well so respect due there. Slightly tighter controls and a couple more levels would have been great. Left me wanting more which has got to be a good thing :)

Awww, that was a lovely experience. Just what I needed after a demanding week :) Well done.

Made me wanna go back and start learning Chinese again. Already knew how to draw those characters from studying Japanese years ago.

Thank you so much! I was a bit afraid that the game concept was a bit abstract, especially without sprites. And demanding a bit more time to get to grips with than a game jam player would be expected to.

FMOD. Yes :) I had a bunch of library code that I thought I was being oh-so-clever by slotting in and literally having one-liners to play FMOD events. That Saturday debugging session was an ouchie. At least Unity webGL publishing seems miles faster nowadays.

Well done, guys. Building all these systems and creating content AND a full game loop is a great achievement. My playthrough was a lot of fun.

Only thing I can say is that in Firefox the right click power caused some lag but that's all I got :) Maybe just needs offloading to a coroutine or something.

Thanks for playing! I'm going to play through again to make sure my last minute changes didn't break anything... The things that can confuse are: 1) inverter chips, they really require a lot of thinking as to what impact they'll have 2) unknown chips, these are unfair if more than one are next to each other 3) I probably could have done a better job with the chip graphics to make them clearer. In my defense the game was thrown together in 6 or so hours and 8 painful hours of fixing WebGL FMOD issues. That learning is probably the most valuable thing I got from this jam, so I call that a positive.

...On the real game this is based on, the other rows could flow into each other. I didn't model that, but honestly it meant each move felt like making on in chess. Probably worth implementing though?!

Thanks for playing! Yes the concept is hard to explain and even in my case, knowing all the rules I still have to think a bit about what I'm trying to do. I probably should have called out the 'inverter' chips more as they are really the ones that require a lot of processing to determine the result.

Thanks for playing! I will have to confess the concept is from a minigame in a PC spy game from the very early 90s (you are wiretapping phones). It confused me at the time but was kinda fun when I got the hang of it. I wanted to see if I could define it sufficiently and get a prototype built quickly...

Re: the disconnecting / connecting. Yes, this is actually something that's always bugged me about this game. I probably should have listened to my nagging conscience and inverted it. I'll probably do that and bung it into another game I'm working on as a mini-game. Thanks again.

I did not know that! I was being a bit cheeky with a double-meaning on the 'German simulator' comment, i.e. going to work and then going to work during play time :D Ahem. I feel I can make these jokes to strangers being of 1/4 German extraction myself.

Nice one. I really appreciate the mechanics so scored higher despite you running out of time with wrapping up the win condition. The world needs more audio-based games. I saw from your other comment that you have some music production experience - maybe lean into that! 

On my submission I loaded a bunch of FMOD randomisation, DSP and looping into my game for the sound effects and music... And then learned just how 'exotic' the solutions for getting FMOD to work in WebGL, 1) at all and 2) without hurting eardrums.

Found the 'how to play' button - nice inclusion of tutorial there.

Took me a while to figure out the controls, WSAD and arrow keys (tank controls from facing direction) - might be worth adding them to the page description. I think level 4 has a bug as I got to the red square but it wouldn't take me to the next level.

Nice game. Straddling just the right line between fiddly and satisfying with the pickup mechanics. Amazing amount of work to get fully working in the time, AI or otherwise.

You probably have a new Simulator game on your hands here - in the vein of other German simulators like Eurotruck (definitely felt some ETS2 vibes here!)

Thanks for playing! As Itch kinda hides page details I've added a quick note on the loader scene for the game.

There's more details in the page description - will add some gifs to explain things a bit better. A bit of trial and error and hopefully it becomes clear.

It's totally allowed and if you have a solid idea and good ideas about game design then AIs can definitely help move things along. And also break everything suddenly! Definitely consider the use of source control (AI will tell you exactly how to do that too if required). Then you can safely roll back to a previous commit if they make a mess of things.

For my gdtv game last year I used AI code-gen extensively (as an experiment). It worked out pretty well. All I can say is that the AIs are WAY better now than a year ago.

Nice one! Worked in Firefox on Windows. Are you using Unity PlayerPrefs? It's pretty solid. One annoying thing I did find with Itch was uploading a new version of my game killed my savefiles. Had to use their 'Butler' command line thing to not lose progress. It's possible it's something weird I was doing but just FYI!

Nice :) Every time I play a Breakout game I think "here I am in xxxx year playing Breakout again". Except it being 20xx I'm bouncing the ball off an eggplant (ok, aubergine).  All works well, please add some sounds! And consider a playerprefs to store progress (works in webgl too)

The procrastination thing is real. I've been doing gamedev for years and aside from gdtv jams my finished output has been nowt. Actually if I'm being honest I've been doing it since Unity first came out (and then I paused for a decade..!)

Of late I've tried to look deeper, is it that I don't see the value in what I'm doing? Is it that my game is not going to get the attention it 'deserves'? Is my progress too slow? Do I fear it'll suck?

I think I've made peace now. Told myself my soul would never forgive me if I check out before getting a proper game out ;) I dropped to an hour a week last November but now up to 3-6 hours a day following a good chat with myself. Obviously work and lumbar permitting.

I think you have to ask yourself what you want out of the game you're working on. And make a target idea of what the end product should be. Then along the way, when all those beautiful ideas are jostling for your attention, keep the best ones and work towards an MVP. I'm using Gemini and Claude to help me organise my ideas in .md files. And to attempt to keep me on the straight and narrow re: plan.

Hope some of this ramble helps... (will check out the games when on PC)

Yeah that's understandable. My first gamejam game felt like I was doing a work project where I didn't know how to do the task plus with a deadline that didn't include time for learning. Very rewarding in the end, but the last 48h was an oof. 

Your game was really good! But I totally understand shelving it. I reckon my plan for reworking my 2020 gdtv game will be when I'm retired, lol.

I love to see people putting in those touches to their game jam games that time didn't allow. Good for you, Rheyan.

Thank you for the kind words, glad you liked it!

Yes I had some good ideas last night which I seem to have forgotten - fortunately I wrote them down in Obsidian on my phone - I've got cool sync mechanism going now with syncthing.

Do you think you'll build or expand further on your game?

Awesome :) Great job. And congrats again.

I went back and removed most of the dodgy bits from my game and now to - gulp - turn it into something I wouldn't be embarrassed to market... 

Kept found myself writing that a puzzle game needs a story like a fish needs a bicycle, but I think my inner struggling writer is going to try and prove me wrong (who doesn't like a bit of internal mental rivalry)

That was cool! Felt like I was a teenager again, jumping up the Ziggurat level in Quake 1 with God mode and a quad damage lol. Made it to the end in a tragic 6 minutes!

Was fun falling out of the world in level 2 like one of my leaky Quake maps... :)

Great game. Managed to get through it in a very decent amount of time - the combat was well balanced and I got the hang of it very quickly - I knew those years of training on QTEs in Shenmue would come in handy again some day :)

I really liked the idea and immersion of literally playing a table top game - the intro camera sweep to the game area was inspired. Reminded me of a game of (very long) game of Risk I played with several buddies many years ago in less savoury environs where the board got invaded by a very brave ant. Who we named 'Purple' as it hung around the purple parts of the map... Don't ask me why I remember this, though I'm doubtless one of my friends would too...

Sorry for the digression, lovely game - well done all!

I basically did the left side first then split between the right and left - my brain got the hang of it eventually! Shoulda dug out my controller really to do it more justice.

This was cute! I just missed 6 stars on my playthrough (my first two level placements were howlers lol). The placement tolerances were pretty generous which balanced out the challenge of getting stuff where you wanted it :) Good game.

Really polished stuff and having a laugh within the first few seconds is always a good sign (the sheep dropping from the sky). Everything was intuitive and looked great. I only have tiny nitpicks as the game flowed perfectly: maybe a visual indication that a sheep is equipped with a parachute and a faster/fastest option like the original Lemmings... 

Oh and I guess the cruelty option that always made me feel bad: the 'mushroom cloud icon', lol. I'm glad you didn't make the levels absurdly difficult like Lemmings 2 though I'd loved to have seen a couple more levels (and I don't usually say that on gamejam games)

 ...also couldn't help but make a dog tower of babel on level 5 :)

Thank you so much for the review! I agree on the criminality. I was even thinking of starting up a streaming channel just to play through the games in GDTV '25 (I've never done any streaming before). I'm sure my views would be measued in two digits but honestly I feel the games deserve their 'stories being told' in some digitally preserved way...

Re: the additional shapes, this was on my todo for the last day, but I bottled it. I'd had my crack team of playtesters (ahem, two good friends) playing it the day before the deadline and was afraid new shapes might introduce (more) bugs.

The T shape would be a game-changer and was present in the original game. As it stands I think the shape-roster is dancing a fine line between trolling and challenging :) I'm planning on cleaning the game up and remaking Squarez (and including my more relaxed spin on the game as presented here...)

Well done - highest rated game I've played this jam.

Obviously all subjective but this is my interpretation, lol. Loved the mid-90s PC sprites duck-taped onto primitive 3D worlds aesthetic. And who doesn't like being pepper-sprayed by a 1980s leather bar enjoyer in high heels? I swear I recognised some of the er, characters... Loved the art btw, were they original creations or edits? Would love to know your process.

Got ending #3 so far as I'm a gullible worker beee but will see what else I can do (probably in extra-curricular time). Trying to avoid spoilers in case anyone comes here and wants to play some more...

Just to chime in here - I didn't know FMOD would cause any performance issues, good to know. I only didn't go FMOD on my entry cos I was lazy and didn't feel like hooking up all the events and stuff.

BTW did you know Unity uses FMOD under the hood (though presumably an *ahem* Unity-tier stripped down version of it) - I only learned that during this jam...

Great game. Managed to get through it in a very gamejam friendly amount of time - never felt particularly endangered - I knew those years of training on QTEs in Shenmue would come in handy again some day :)

I really liked the idea and immersion of literally playing a table top game - reminded me of a game of (very long) game of Risk I played with several buddies many years ago in less savoury environs where the board got invaded by a very brave ant. Who we named 'Purple' as it hung around the purple parts of the map... Don't ask me why I remember this, though I'm doubtless one of my friends would too...

Sorry for the digression, lovely game - well done all!

Eyyy, you remade Hungry Shark :) Was great fun. Even with my pro hungry shark skills I only got 4300 and had my butt whooped by those baby seals just like in the good old days.

Had an issue with the leaderboard but probably my silly over-secure settings.

I enjoyed it! You got a good rating from me, and I don't mind bugs that help me like the cheese count :D

This was cool! Fixing the full screen scaling would help a lot - I played on easy and defeated the first monster though I'm sure my strategy led a lot to be desired :)

I think the music was cool and I don't want to mess with your vision but maybe something more relaxed for the story mode would fit better?

Edit: wanted to say the menu and the amount of content you made is seriously impressive. As with all these gamejam games it's a challenge to balance challenge, fun and keeping the game to a shortish duration (but not too short!!). I'll come back and play some more when I have time, as I am interested in the story!

That was fun! I got to the end - one thing I noticed was that the cheese count doesn't appear to get reset when you get caught. So I had a count of 0 well before the mega cheese :)

The dog's a beast, I wasn't sure where he was when I tried to sneak past him as you can't see behind you, but managed it in the end.

Edit: oh no, I'm an idiot you can 'mouse' look :)

Seems like it. What a game!

Thanks for the recommendation - I thoroughly enjoyed it and even got to the end :) It's such a shame with these games that you're just playing to a small room of people that'll get to see your game.

I reckon your friends have something that could be a full game here - PROBABLY for the purposes of a full game needs to be smooth-brain friendlier as not everyone is as clever as us gamedevs :P