Part of the ambition that I have (personally) is figuring out the proper workflow in a large team. Obviously, I haven't gotten there yet, but I'm getting closer every time!
The space is entirely enclosed, there is no out-of-bounds, so don't worry, you did not cheat the board.
Some controls were added last minute to bridge the gaps in what you could do. We added that stuff to the game page, but that's no substitute for having in-game explanation of some kind.
The ideas that I really wanted also failed to make it into the game. I had hoped we'd get multiple characters in, and a persistence system where the things you do on the level are remembered by the level. Without those things, we have something basic for a game, and there are basic elements that we failed to implement properly as it is.
ZXfrigginC
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The team is my thesis, in fact. Ever since the disaster of #64, it has been my mission to master the workflow of a team.
The original idea was to implement a camera system similar to Crash Bandicoot's. In order to do this, I had proposed a rail-switching system be implemented. Unfortunately, what it became had simply failed to work for us. I think if it was one camera and many rails instead of many cameras, we may have been able to have a smoother camera that would allow players to properly enjoy the game.
Grieve not for me, for I have set these challenges upon myself and my team. Next jam, though, depending on their opinions, it will be a very different process we work under.
We had planned to get character selection in the game, which would leave their mark on the temple so that other characters would have an easier time going through. Instead, we had to cut that entirely and have just one character. This is by far the greatest tragedy we had.
Our control system is a clear pain point, something that we will want to keep in mind as we continue to jam.
We've struggled a lot with the camera on this production, I must admit. We'll want to take another look at the tool we've built for it to see if we can do better for it.
The polish on the game isn't nearly what I had hoped for, and I'm certain that comes down to the lack of agreement between the assets produced. I told the team not to worry about this from the beginning, in order to try to make things easier. We'll likely be enforcing agreements in the future, though.
This game was made by a splinter of my own team. Despite my own lack of participation, I've been asked to look at it.
First, I want to talk about audio, as I noticed a couple of things: 1, there was audio clipping which I noticed in the menu music. While I have heard a complete style of audio, these small errors mar the quality of the game overall. 2, the options menu did not affect the volume of sound. If I remember Pablo talking to me about it, you can modify audio buses via code to change their volume property (and a 0 just means to mute, since you can't achieve true 0 with decibels).
In the world of art, I will commend the person responsible for having a complete art style, animations and all. You've done your duty, no more and no less.
I see you have gone with a souls-like melee style as opposed to a swift style. It's different than the usual for a 2D isometric dungeon crawler, not necessarily better or worse.
The ranged attack is very weak, but does work. It just requires some rebalancing, I think it takes 5 hits to match 1 melee.
Every idea is a wager, and every submission is a committed wager. A shallow wager like this serves to help with the learning process for everybody and help them develop their skills, and in the end, that's what this particular jam is all about: learning.
For those interested in seeing the systems in action, here is a walkthrough of the game:
Items to pick up: Pill Bottle (Servant's Quarters), Glass Bottle (Farmstead), Muddler (Yard), Key (Farmstead)
When picking up the key, you'll hear my voice. I'm curious as to whether or not people think I should continue attempting to Voice Act.
Mouse over to the tab on the left to open the item usage bar
Drag Glass Bottle on green goop (Yard) to get the Acid Bottle
Press 'E' to open the inventory
Merges: Pill Bottle + Muddler (Crushed Pills), Crushed Pills + Acid Bottle (Chemical Solution)
Drag Chemical Solution on Sheep to reach game's end.
The game is far from a finished state, and we will be refining our process so that we can eventually deliver a quality product. This is not our month, and I do not expect to see us scored well at all.
Our camera control really could have used a little more work. The system was fine, but its implementation didn't go that well.
I believe in our godot scene implementation, navmesh was autocalculated from the built scenes. One of the major things we looked back on instantly was that we needed to use primitive shapes to start off, and this was one of the problems that it would solve.
Weirdly enough, I've seen some discussion about this, and I've even done a help ticket. The trick, if I remember correctly, is putting all of these materials and particles into a static object so that they're loaded and cached throughout the lifetime of the app. That is to say: make a scene of nothing and put a script with static variables into it.
After touching a total past 100 games, I can confidently say that this is my pick for Top Prize. While not an artistic masterpiece, this game still rings the most in my memory as the most painful experience that I successfully endured. In a way, this game had a little luck on its side because as I played more and more games, the novelty of the concept was quickly wearing off.
You've done very well. Perhaps this style of game is something you should revisit and refine.
In this game, run away from the suicide spheres while dodging and counterattacking the triangles.
I can see a little bit of what you wanted to do. While both use basic NavigationAgent, one goes for the chase and eventually explodes while the other enters its attack pattern when getting in range. It makes the game interesting enough to go through the levels that you do have.
I feel that you've suffered from having no support. A very supportive group is around on Discord, and I think teaming up will help you grow your skills.
This is a twin stick shooter. Take the power offered by your blue friends (without maxing out), and dish it out against EVERYONE.
The way the enemies move around is rather interesting, and a big step up from basic NavigationAgent usage.
The presentation could use a little work, but it gets the job done here.
When I couldn't figure out what to do, I looked for the game page to see what you guys put down. Webapps can get away with this, but I generally recommend having even a low effort how-to-play page viewable in game when we're using desktop exports.
A strong entry for a newcomer, and you'll grow as you continue to jam.
This is a turret shooting sequence, something featured in many RPG games of old. Shoot a side panel off and then shoot the turret through the side.
Good ol' fashioned elbow grease for the art style. We can always appreciate that kind of effort. Lack of sound does undercut the experience a little bit.
I didn't fully understand how it all worked first time, but I got through just fine on the second.
A healthy entry for a newcomer. As you continue to jam, your ambitions will raise, and you will become stronger for it.
In this game, manipulate a charge ball to deliver charges and drag boxes to buttons and electrical boxes to power gates.
I got stuck on the level with the gate trap, where you must manipulate the ball to roll upwards through an open gate and reach an elevated box while stuck between two closed gates yourself.
A solid entry as a newcomer, and you'll grow as you continue to jam.
This is a platformer, deliver charges from Battery to device to power them.
I stuck with the ThrowBot. The Melee bot worked fine, but the Ranger bot seems to have limited application. Still, though, good job with this implementation.
The charge delivery mechanic was a little awkward, but it still plays smoothly.
The Pigeons...and their sticky bombs....AAAAAH!!
A healthy entry for newcomers, and you will grow as you continue to jam.
This game plays like Getting Over It. Climb the mountain, and if you run out of boost, slide back down.
While there is no audio to speak of, the game is otherwise well presented. While I found it to be rather easy, I did make mistakes and could go improve my time if I wanted.
It's a healthy entry, and as a Professor, I have a feeling that you'd rather keep it that way.
In this game, learn the outlines of 6 passenger types and match them as requested, rotating them to fit the chalk outline. You will do this 12 times and the outline will be partial at many instances.
It is, in fact, a simple game that controls just fine. Rather than being difficult on its own, it chooses to time you instead.
This is a healthy entry, and as you continue to jam, your ambitions will raise and you will be stronger for it.
It's time, once again, to take a look at the veteran team and their game.
To start, I'll talk about art. It's quite high quality in terms of fidelity, but like Perfect Cell and the weird Green Tile (DBZ Abridged reference), there's a flaw that I can't unsee, and it's in the splash screen's animation loop. Most of it is on point, but there's a foot that does not go back to its original position, so the loop abruptly resets it.
One day, I'll figure out how a loading screen works.
I chose the pink racing boat. Unfortunately, the act of throwing junk seems to be a little awkward because it just...goes upward. I didn't know about jumping in the first attempt, but then I figured out that I could jump the enemy boats to circumvent their nature to just shift away from you as you encroached on their boat. The task became rather unsatisfying.
I find it strange to think, but this one...it fell short, and it just seems uncharacteristic. Am I misjudging things? I'm hesitating to push the button and put this down, but it worries me, my own failures notwithstanding.
This game features 4 separate tasks that are unrelated to each other.
In the Mall game, I ended up just spam clicking, my eyes were never going to parse through the crowd.
The "Purchase" game simply demanded a little patience to parse through so you don't overdraft by getting more than you can afford.
The balance game was the hardest (naturally)
The beat'em up was the second hardest, mostly because it lacked the kind of feedback you'd normally have in a game like that.
A strong entry for a solo newcomer, and you'll grow as you continue to jam.
This is a typer. Type the words as quickly as you can to file the paperwork away.
The overnight effect seems to cause the game to slow down for me. This is either a limitation of the webapp or something on my end. You guys also exported to the 3 desktops, and that makes for a big point in Accessibility.
Once I got to Day 5, the words piled up so much that I could not finish the day (4 uncompleted tasks). Corporate doesn't want to pay overtime, who knew?
A strong entry that competes with other typing games. It may be worth expanding on this project, using it as a medium to teach touch typing.
In this puzzle game, maneuver sets of boxes to scale small cliff faces.
My experience was cut short when the boxes started...what's the word..."Physics"-ing. Nevertheless, I am quite appreciative of the music coming on when it came time to move to a new challenge.
A healthy entry for a newcomer, and you'll grow as you continue to jam.
This game is an information parser, in a style reminiscent of Papers Please.
It took me several tries to fully figure out the whole setup, and I noticed how the information, both on the machine and in the manual, changed with each attempt. What I struggled with was the "Flashing LED" part of it. I originally thought this meant the LED was simply lit up, but when that didn't seem to work, I went for "Rapid-Blinking LED" which got me there. Best part? My head's not exploding!
There are still many left for me to go through, but I expect this one to rank very highly in Graphics!
In this game, GET EXCITED OR get scammed TRYING!
The dopamine meter was a welcome surprise, and the difficulty curve was such that you could get those periods of excitement (dopamine rush) that propelled the game to being an enjoyable experience. I lost when I tried to take my time parsing through the messages instead of just replying to all of them.
Very well done. I'd say this entry is a rather strong contender!
This is a twin stick shooter. Maneuver in a way so that the aliens never touch you. Every 3rd wave, crush them all.
In the overload wave, I would have liked to see an intense opposition to match the intense power wielded. Feels like a wasted opportunity.
The lack of sound tells me your woes as a solo dev. It can be hard sometimes, of that I see no doubt.
A healthy entry as a newcomer, and you'll grow as you continue to jam. It may be wise to team up in the future to fill the gaps you have at the moment in order to grow in your specialty, rather than being forced to become a generalist.
This game is reminiscent of Hotline Miami. Punch someone, take their gun, and gun down the rest of'em.
I was suffering from a significant framerate issue on this one, but was able to get through anyway.
It took me a while to just punch people down, but you know the golden rule: The SHOTGUN is KING!
Another solid entry, but it leaves me wondering what the limiting factor is for the webapp. There's been more than a few games that I've experienced framerate issues with this jam, which means I need to figure out if I can do something to fix that.
This game is a runner. Get your cat as far as you can and dodge...well...everything, really.
I think there were problems with the resolution on this one. I get the sense that this one is supposed to mimic the feel of a mobile platform, but it ended up cutting off part of the screen.
When I hit the snail, things kind of...broke down...in a game-breaking way.
I think it will be important for the team to continue with this project and see if they can replicate and fix the occurring issues. Do not Despair, for you cannot be stronger if things like this don't happen.
This is a platformer. Collect 9 pieces, getting a faster run and a higher jump for every 3 you collect.
Welp, My copy paste didn't work. I apologize.
I suspect there is a slight framerate issue, but it didn't give me enough pause to try to solve it.
You did well as a solo newcomer. Continue to jam, and you will grow for it.
This is a typer game. Complete the typing tasks to hack the security system and overload it to shut it down.
I got stuck on a 6-key-hold problem. There is a limitation on many keyboards in which the keyboard cannot process too many inputs simultaneously, and it seems that my keyboard also hits this limit before 6. I did get through one 6-key-hold problem, so I can tell you that this is not a limitation of the game you made, but a common hardware limitation.
An unfortunate result to an otherwise well presented entry. The lessons learned here will go a long way to shape your development as a game dev.
In this game, parse through DM's to find your suspect. Rule out suspects with opposite matching statements, and highlight suspects with matching statements. Continue this process until either there is only one suspect left, or one suspect has a complete set of matching statements.
I made it through 2 rounds and screwed up on the 3rd. Also, don't oysters smell really bad?
A solid entry. Keep on jamming, guys!
This game is a lie. If you defeat enemies, your health will deplete, so ignore them and run to the exit.
At least, that's what it felt like to me. With no feedback, whether it be about hitting or getting hit, running past everything was the best summation I had.
A healthy entry as a newcomer. Continue to jam, and you will grow. Otherwise, I wish you well at school.
In this game, discover the Villain Arc of the creator of Cat Box.
I can't do a normal review of this game. You have a very clear intent with this one and my head's still trying to bend and twist trying to figure this one out.
Just be careful with this style, as you are the only person who can identify true issues. What may be an issue to me is not necessarily a true issue for you to fix. Like...how does sneak and unsneak work?
Another...uhm...solid entry...keep going, man...you're doing great........
This is a Puzzle game. Manually control the Switchboxes so that the wires only get as hot as necessary to carry the electricity through. Certain wires are shorter, but can't handle as much.
Level 1 seems to be a demonstration of the rules while level 2 is when the game actually starts. Getting a 2/3 on something you have no control over doesn't feel great, but in the grand scheme, it's minor.
I didn't have much of a strat beyond "keep the short wire loaded, detour the rest". Based on the graded scoring, there must be a better way to do it, I just don't know what that is.
A strong entry, and you'll grow as you continue to jam.
This is a game in which a laundromat enjoys popularity similar to a restaurant.
The browser version had a consistent framerate issue, so I went to use the downloadable. I don't like doing this when there is a missing export, but it technically works.
The first 5 levels do a good job teaching you how the game works while the second 5 levels has you playing the game proper. When I got to level 8 (At least I think that's the level I was on), I suffered from the constant stream of things piling up, which forced me to reevaluate several times over which ones went into the laundry first, not even to mention that the shades of blue were starting to blend together. I made it through with a single star, but I could not go on.
For those looking to go even further than I did, you need to organize the clothes on the floor first before committing them to a washing machine so that you don't lose sight of what you're doing. Only run 2 washing machines at a time, trying to run 3 will almost immediately cause the circuit breaker to trip. In a way, this implies that you're using one of the machines as a Laundry Basket.
A strong entry, and for a newcomer no less! Now, I need to rest, that was a little exhausting.
In this game, hold down left mouse, shake until DING, then release. Make sure you're standing in the central carpet while doing so.
Strangely enough, I found the game to be kind of laggy in terms of the chargeup. This is unusual for a 2D game, and it would demand an investigation.
A solid entry, and you will grow as you continue to jam.
In this game, move as quickly as you can to interact with objects that are prompted. As you near game over, feel yourself mentally cave-in.
The game is competently made and well presented. A solid mark for newcomers.
I feel that the difficulty curve on this one gets steep pretty quickly, but this is preferable to being in a state where you never lose.
The "Mental Cave-in" depiction is the go-to way to describe sensory overload. For me, it moreso manifests as a form of paralysis because processing detail and logic gets harder and harder as things continue to pile on.
The extra minigame is a little extra special touch. Every addition to a game is a wager, and I'm glad you guys went for it. It turned out pretty well, I think.
A strong entry, and for newcomers no less! Continue to jam, and your ambitions will raise naturally, which will allow you to grow as a team.