itch.io

I just sent you a friend request on Discord! My username is Berndt.

Hi Aaron, currently we are only looking mainly for a sound designer.  However, did you make the music for Shadowtail? I really like it!

Where can I reach out to you directly?

Hi everyone,

A week ago I & a friend of mine started a new game prototype, provisionally named AntCraft,. The name probably already tells you all you need to know. We are both committing to this project full-time at least until we have a polished demo, i.e. there are two full-time coders on the team.

To accomplish this, we are looking for pixel artists and sound designers (no musicians yet() to join our team. At the moment, we have a minimal but functional RTS prototype that includes:

• 3 unit types
• 1 central building, the Hive
•  Procedurally generated maps using two base tile types: sand and rock
• *A simple but working UI for resources and commands

Our philosophy is to produce a minimalistic version first and polish it to very high level of quality before expanding gameplay complexity. We already need a talented pixel artist to define the visual identity of the game early on. 

We are aiming for strong readability, expressive silhouettes, and a cohesive RTS style similar in clarity and charm to Tooth and Tail (in fact, Tooth and Tale is a fantastic example of what we need) . Your role would involve creating unit sprites and animations such as idle and combat states, as well as helping us shape how procedurally generated maps can look rich and visually interesting despite using only a small set of tile types.

This is paid work, and most likely not just a one-off commission. We are serious about finishing this game, and this collaboration would very likely grow into a longer engagement. We would also highly value creative input beyond asset production, especially if you have thoughts on visual direction, readability at RTS scale, or production workflows.

If this sounds interesting, I would love to share the prototype and discuss scope, timeline, and budget.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Bernhard

P.S: A quick "about me" so you can verify my credibility.

Game jam submissions:

https://muellerberndt.itch.io

Other work history:

https://floatingpragma.io/selected-works/

Thanks for the feedback! The balancing definitely still needs some work.

Thank you :)

Thanks for playing!

Hey! You mean the slow music from prototype 1?

Ping me on Discord: Berndt#9474

Wow, you missed 1st place by 4 seconds 😂 Thanks for playing!

Yeah I think I died from him shooting me. He was low on health, not sure if he died also.

Got it! I made it to the first boss (first prince?) and encountered a bug - after dying, the player character didn't respawn correctly (the boss fight restarts the player character is nowhere to be seen and the screen is darkened a bit). I'm attaching a screenshot.

The game is really cool so far! The spear mechanic works well and solving the platforming challenges feels rewarding. I liked the boss design also. The presentation is great, perhaps the music loop could be a bit longer as it becomes repetitive (but that's a minor detail, the overall presentation is a step above most other submissions - obviously this title has been in the works for a while :)).

Yep, it works!

My feedback to the game: Maybe give the player some feedback when clicking on the correct wall(s) (e.g. play sound) because right now it's hard to be sure if anything is happening. Also, in level 1 it's hard to see the pickaxe because it's right above the player so you only see it as a 2D line. 

Keep up the good work!

Thanks! I always wonder why other games have such low volume 😅

I did play your game, some of the controls didn't work for me. I left a comment on your submission page.

Thanks!

Good to know, I’ll give it another try!

Wow, this looks like AAA title :)

Great game, I like the 2.5D art style. The level was straightforward IMO, it was always clear where to go. I didn't get the point of the zoom... I kept it zoomed out all the time to have a greater FOV. If you keep working on it I'd like to see a bit polish (like enemy hurt/death animations) and of course more levels and more variety! It looks very promising.

The game doesn't work for me? 3D Escape Room Desktop is only 376kB & for some reason the file gets removed when I try to open it.

Looking good! the experience was very short though, I encountered the boss in the first room I entered and finished the whole game in less than a minute. What's there is promising though so keep at it!

Windows Defender says:

Trojan:Script/Wacatac.H!ml

webfile: C:\Users\Bernh\Downloads\Where are you brother English 0.36.7z|https://w3g3a5v6.ssl.hwcdn.net/upload2/game/1824120/7595835?GoogleAccessId=uploa...

I hope it helps!

Wow, this looks like a fully fleshed out & polished game!

I had some problem with the basic controls... dash and melee attack didn't work for me (playing with the mouse). Any idea what the issue could be?

Nice entry! I like the unique mix between adventure/exploration & platforming. I couldn't figure out how to save the game which made things quite punishing (since it's game over immediately once health is used up). Also, it would be neat to be able to attack during jumping.  Another thing I couldn't figure out is what to do in the town... is it possible to interact with NPCs? Presentation and music is pretty neat. Keep up the good work!

This is a very good-looking game, love the PS2 graphics style. I did experience some medium stutter/framerate issues (playing on an RTX 2070 Super) and one time the reticle got stuck (I could no longer move it until I went back to the shop). Also, after clearing a wave the next one didn't start until I visited the shop again, is that intended behavior? This definitely has a lot of potential!

Cool looking game! Yep, it was fully operational on my PC. There were a couple issues though... firstly, it was pretty easy to fall off the track and the car would just keep falling forever forcing me to restart the game. Also, it definitely needs some sound effects, at least an engine sound :) I did love the retro look of the game. Unfortunately, I couldn't try out the two-player mode. Definitely keep at it!

Wow! It shows that you have been working on this for a while. Super relaxing atmosphere & the music creates the perfect JRPG vibe.

Thanks for playing!

Nicely done! I agree with some of the other reviewers that a more detailed tutorial would be nice. I don't think I figured the game out completely, maybe because I'm not familiar with this genre at all. The game definitely has a lot of potential given the deep gameplay mechanics & great presentation.

Thanks for the feedback and congrats on making the leaderboard :)

Great presentation and music! I believe I encountered a bug when fighting Dario (whose fighting style is hilarious btw. :)) - he fell to the ground right at the start of the fight and never got up again.

One more comment, it would be great to have a tutorial that explains the fighting controls. I believe it's mouse only? I don't think I fully figured out how the controls work.

Impressive work for such a short period. My feedback:

- Make the car turn faster... currently steering left and right is very slow, making it impossible to take curves s at higher speeds.

- Maybe add an option to keep the camera behind the car?

Looking forward to see further improvements of the game, I hope you keep working on it!

Thanks for playing!

The game looks interesting, unfortunately I don't have a second player to try it out! Did you consider adding an vs. AI mode, it would definitely get you more ratings.

"The developer has not uploaded a game yet..." I guess you need to upload something :)

Interesting idea. I'm not sure the game is working correctly... the game stopped whenever I clicked any of the balls, even if there were multiple balls (I was assuming the goal was to catch all balls).

God entry to the jam. The gameplay is actually very similar to my own entry :) I feel like you could do much more with the concept, as currently the game is very short. Maybe add more enemy variety and make gaining sides more difficult somehow. The minimalist graphic style & music are very cool.

Nice platformer. I like the level design. Combat felt a bit weird, you should add some feedback when hitting / being hit by enemies. I wasn't sure whether I was actually doing damage. Also the range of the player attack could be a bit higher.

Neat prototype, although there isn't a full gameplay loop yet. I got stuck in the corner of the map after pushing the rock down the cliff :)