The Bear Hunter by Devark

[raw]
made by Devark for LD33 (COMPO)
The Bear Hunter

When the hunter's family is murdered by a monster, he seeks out revenge, only to make a disturbing discovery ...

Controls:

- Movement
- Draw bow/Fire
- Toggle Fullscreen
- Exit



Developer notes (please read if you have time):

Hey guys, David here. Unfortunately I know a lot of you guys will be disappointed despite the seemingly promising premise and screenshots. There's more than 12 hours left but I have to submit now because of work commitments. Sadly, that means there isn't anywhere near the amount of content and polish that was originally intended. It's playable from beginning to end but you might feel "cheaped out" in some parts (especially that part which everyone's likely going to complain about), and for that, I apologise. It seems I was too ambitious after all. I worked really hard on it though so, nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoy my take on the theme and get something out of it, even if just a little.

Follow me on twitter for game dev and pixel art! @daviddchen

https://twitter.com/daviddchen

Oh, and if anyone finds the side area, please comment that you have found it! It's a nice little "side story" but most people seem to miss it. Also the voice SFX were done by yours truly! (Technically this is my voice acting debut)

Ratings

Coolness 41% 1578
Overall 3.82 73
Audio 3.41 165
Fun 3.60 131
Graphics 4.41 24
Innovation 2.86 554
Mood 3.97 37
Theme 3.69 271

Feedback

crare
23. Aug 2015 路 21:00 UTC
Really beautiful game! Nice twist of story at the end. I like the gameplay. Except you can kinda spam the arrows, but then again they won't go far so it's kinda balances it anyway. And now I feel bad for the bear.. :D
馃帳 Devark
24. Aug 2015 路 09:07 UTC
@crare, thanks for playing! The spammed arrows also deal less damage. The intention was to reward players for drawing the bow back further which meant if you couldn't spam the arrows, there wouldn't be much to compare the strongest level of draw to. Glad you enjoyed it!
DragonXVI
24. Aug 2015 路 09:14 UTC
Combat system's actually really cool & well presented. Graphics're great too! Could've done with a few more enemy varieties, the larger groups of slimes felt a little tedious. Nice twist at the end too :D
Andrew Deem
24. Aug 2015 路 09:16 UTC
Good game. Loved the art style and the gameplay. Shooting them arrows felt rewarding. Sad ending is sad. :(
nicotuason
24. Aug 2015 路 09:22 UTC
Beautiful art and music! But now I'm saaad...I saw the ending coming from the start but it made me sad anyway.
ajopart
24. Aug 2015 路 09:25 UTC
Great entry. Beautiful graphics. Effective gameplay and sound.
Orni
24. Aug 2015 路 09:44 UTC
what a beautiful game
amazing work!
GoldPlatedXplodingFist
24. Aug 2015 路 09:57 UTC
Your game may be short, but the graphics look really good and the plot twist was a nice surprise.
Great work! :)
tuben999
24. Aug 2015 路 10:22 UTC
Great game :) felt bad at the end ;P
Joseaper
24. Aug 2015 路 11:58 UTC
Amazing game, I loved the art and music. And gameplay was even greater the arrow mechanic is brilliant. What could be improved is the enemy types, I would prefer less and stronger over more and weak, but for two days that is amazing.
goet
24. Aug 2015 路 11:59 UTC
Clich茅 as heck but enjoyable.
Conk
24. Aug 2015 路 15:37 UTC
Love the art style! What's with all the slimes? I just stared at the bear and quit, I'm no monster :P I mean if anything, I should be killing her family, not her, then we'd be even.

Anyway, good job!
Fatal.
24. Aug 2015 路 22:34 UTC
I really loved it. The graphics were great and I actually almost teared up at the end(even though I saw that ending coming from a mile away). Only critique would be that it's a little easy. But, overall, think it's one of the best submissions I've played so far.
Manou
25. Aug 2015 路 08:11 UTC
This got potential, nice work.
Togimaro
25. Aug 2015 路 11:34 UTC
A wonderfull game! A little too simple, we see that the narrative is the most important, you can shoot the enemies away before they react and the game becomes too easy with that, but overall it's an excellent game
S0rax
25. Aug 2015 路 14:41 UTC
Nice game, I love the design of this game, the music is really beatiful. But for me, the mother bear don't move, I don't know if it's normal. Small game, small story, but for me big success !
shawn42
25. Aug 2015 路 16:40 UTC
Beautiful game. I want more. So. Short. Nice twist at the end; I really felt bad pumping arrow after arrow into the bear.
gnuwilliam
25. Aug 2015 路 18:17 UTC
Beautiful game!
SaintHeiser
26. Aug 2015 路 07:16 UTC
Very emotional ending! Game is lack with gameplay but visually and ideologically there is all right =)
cowboycolor
26. Aug 2015 路 09:27 UTC
Dude awesome! I had to play because the screenies made it look so similar to ours, and it actually is pretty close, both in concept and controls. Keep up the good work <3
dancingmad
26. Aug 2015 路 12:05 UTC
Nice art direction and clean gameplay (well that I didn't found since the beginning that I had to maintain left click for powerful attacks) !

Theme is interesting but wasted because of the "boss" behavior (I know that it's because of your short time development and this work is already cool).

We'll try to follow your next productions because you have good potential !
Squid Blink Games
27. Aug 2015 路 07:58 UTC
Simple, yet very satisfying controls and gameplay. Great execution, had a lot of fun with this one! Would definitely be willing to pick up a lengthier game developed in this style.
SoulGame
27. Aug 2015 路 08:35 UTC
Wonderful entry. A few notes:
- The art is super cute.
- I get the intention for the music, but it's a bit raw. The recording seems to be of poor quality, and the composition itself is a bit repetitive. (But I just realized it was a compo entry so... Nice work!)
- Gameplay & controls are neat. I'm fund of archers in general, and this one I love much. The Game Feel is clean and everyting in the controls seem super polished. I especially enjoy the speed of my character, I think it plays a big part in the Game Feel quality. Here again, impressive compo work.
- Too bad there are only defensless jellies... Enemies with ranged attack would have been sooo fun to kill. Looks a bit like a shooting gallery now. Lack of time? Design choice?
- The final boss was a disapointment for me. Of course I completely understand (do I? :D) what you tried to achieve with it, but the thing is it was too obvious... So non solely I have no boss fight, but I'm also not intrigued at all. Everthing basically screams at me "You'll be the monster if you kill it" : the name of the boss ("mother bear"...), the fact that is doesn't move, the fact that my character actually notify me that it doesnt move... All that breaks the ending twist which should be metaphorical and poetic (I guess?).

Anyway just wanted to make a constructive feedback, this is a super great entry anyway.
lemer
27. Aug 2015 路 11:05 UTC
The map is not very challenging, but overall the game execution is really good. Hope to see an evolution of this game in near future ;)
lucentbeam
27. Aug 2015 路 11:17 UTC
Nice work! I'm jealous of what you were able to accomplish in the time you spent. I love the combat... I've wanted for a while to see more of this style - I guess I would call it action RPG pushed in the direction of Nuclear Throne. I wouldn't beat yourself up about the end. In all honesty, this LD's theme was too narrow in scope, so the title gave it away before even playing.
Literal Games
27. Aug 2015 路 15:36 UTC
So sad! Incredible graphics and a great gamefeel. Arrows mechanics were fantastic, good enough to make a whole game out of!
randoman
28. Aug 2015 路 10:30 UTC
Very nice gameplay. I like how the arrows deal damage based on how much you pulled the string. I could see the ending from miles away, but it was enjoyable anyway XD
tmpxyz
28. Aug 2015 路 11:02 UTC
Well implemented idea, nice work!
MrMordem
28. Aug 2015 路 11:10 UTC
Beautiful entry with a nice approach on the theme :) sprites are beautiful, the music sets the tone, and the gameplay is really solid, well done !
crucknuk
28. Aug 2015 路 11:35 UTC
I love this kind of graphics
Mach60KAS
28. Aug 2015 路 18:44 UTC
Story is a little clich茅, but the spritework, animation and tile designs are all great. The game suffers from a sequence break - by cutting through the tree line, you touch one less set of footprints (as a result the boss doesn't spawn). I managed to find the graves, if that's what you meant by side story? Still, I was quite fond of this entry on the whole. Kudos!
Datamosh
28. Aug 2015 路 19:32 UTC
Small, beautiful, depressing. I loved it.
guoboism
29. Aug 2015 路 01:21 UTC
The developer to use the uncompleteness to aide the story telling, making a twist in the end! And thus the making the whole game complete!
HappyHour
29. Aug 2015 路 07:05 UTC
The simple but super solid controls made for a satisfying playthrough. Digging the design of the player character.
r8berto
29. Aug 2015 路 08:48 UTC
Nice pixel art, it's amazing you could do this in just 36 hours. Gameplay whould have been better with the addition of ranged attack enemies (IMO)
Berserker_Chris
29. Aug 2015 路 10:32 UTC
Really nice Game, 5/5
intXparts
29. Aug 2015 路 12:50 UTC
Fantastic game! It was the perfect length and with a great spin on the theme. The gameplay is solid, I mean shoot, it's a bow and arrow, what's not to like. =)
gillenew
29. Aug 2015 路 14:29 UTC
Nice I enjoyed the game, and also liked the brief story, was quite dramatic in the end :)
BoyWithStick
29. Aug 2015 路 14:42 UTC
Good ending. I really enjoyed spamming arrows, but figured out late in the game the charged arrows shot beyond the light and kept you stealthy. Was fun to play!
pirate_shell
29. Aug 2015 路 14:52 UTC
The graphics were well made but I did suffer some screen distortion sometimes. It was very minor though and the game still looked great. The piano melody was strong and was a nice mood piece but I felt it was just a touch too short and a touch too pronounced to be just a atmospheric track. The gameplay was simple and to the point and the story was well told and was a nice twist on fairy tale, RPG like narritives. Overall, a very solid entry with a few flaws that are understandable with the short time period!
dunin
29. Aug 2015 路 16:02 UTC
nice looking game, but the end isn't surprising: too long time with "mother bear" and why she doesn't protect her children when we arrived? With a real boss fight we don't think about the end and I think it would be more impressive...
Thingo Studios
29. Aug 2015 路 17:21 UTC
The twist isn't super surprising to be honest-- we've all played Shadow of the Colossus, yeah? I wish the bear made SOME attempt to dodge your shots if nothing else. But the gameplay mechanic was very enjoyable and the graphics and music are fantastic, so it's not like this is a bad game by any measure. In fact it's one of the best entries this LD I think.
NidzaKornjaca
29. Aug 2015 路 19:02 UTC
Combat system is cool, graphics are great, love the light. I found the ending quite predictable though, and the encounters with the enemies somewhat lacking variety and challenge.
xvw
30. Aug 2015 路 02:57 UTC
I like the graphics and the battle system!
That's a very good compo!

For your description: Don't worry about this, NOTHING can be "originally intended" in the LudumDare :D No apologise! You FINISHED this game, congrats! :D
Jupiter_Hadley
31. Aug 2015 路 19:36 UTC
Super cute graphics, smooth gameplay. I included it in part 13 of my Ludum Dare 33 Compilation video series, if you would like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/1VzFVc1MuWc
kruemelkeksfan
05. Sep 2015 路 14:19 UTC
Great game. Worst about it are those depressive, pessimistic "Developer Notes"!
CtrlAltTea
05. Sep 2015 路 23:55 UTC
Beautiful art, solid mechanics, good music. I'd like the ending to be a little more... dramatic? but despite that, it managed to convey the message quite well. Good job.
uheartbeast
10. Sep 2015 路 04:14 UTC
This was very well done. The mechanics were simple but solid and so even though there wasn't a tone in the game it was fun and satisfying. My only issue would have to be the music feels a bit repetitive but I understand that cause my game has music (if you can call it that) that I wrote in like 20 minutes haha. Once again. This has been one of my favorites! I hope you get at least top 20.

If you feel like playing a LD entry by a fellow GameMaker user check out my game "Grave".

-Ben
LukeZaz
10. Sep 2015 路 04:42 UTC
Very nice game! Would've liked more to fight, but you can only do so much, and what there was was excellent - especially the art. Loved shooting just to see the effects.
namrog84
11. Sep 2015 路 03:39 UTC
that was beautiful and wonderful, loved it!
DuzDuz
11. Sep 2015 路 17:09 UTC
Beautiful game! I love it!
kerotan24
11. Sep 2015 路 18:07 UTC
Combat system is nice, good game.
ilikescifi
15. Sep 2015 路 17:34 UTC
Oh i love it. The combat system is (as mentioned) fantastic and simple. The story is nothing new but perfect for a Ludum Dare game. I really love it!