LudumData

Jammie Dodger by dreamlogician

[raw]
made by dreamlogician for LD32 (JAM)
Jammie Dodger* is a basic shmup with a twist: all of your ship's movement is performed by firing your weapon.

As the pilot of the Jammie Dodger, your mission is to guide your tiny ship along the two different-colored tracks to avoid being hit by flying asteroids.

How long can you survive?


[Instructions]
- Move the mouse to aim your laser sights.

- Click to fire your laser. You can also hold the left mouse button down to fire a continuous beam.

- Your ship is the white diamond, and it will move each time you fire your laser. The movement direction is based on the color of the asteroid you hit:

No asteroid hit = move left
Same color as current track = move right
Different color from current track = jump to other track


[Credits]
Jamey Stevenson (dreamlogician)
Anthony Rossello (Brightstar)
Ampera


* a.k.a. "Star Track" (EU), "Shmuppet Babies" (JP)
Web http://jameystevenson.com/games/jammieDodger
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-32/?action=preview&uid=23224

Ratings

Coolness 45% 1497
Overall(Jam) 3.41 346
Fun(Jam) 3.34 298
Innovation(Jam) 4.24 15
Theme(Jam) 3.29 563

Feedback

Omiya Games
21. Apr 2015 · 01:20 UTC
Interesting mechanic. There are multiple strategies possible to increase the length of your survival. The "anything hit line automatically moves character" part is incredibly brutal, leading to a lot of accidental deaths. Combined with limited controls, at times I feel the game can be unfair.

That said, the level progression is pretty darn good. Since it's so short, it's pretty darn addicting.
jackrugile
23. Apr 2015 · 05:55 UTC
I loved the concept, I have played anything quite like that before. I got 86 seconds. With some more levels, sfx, music, and little bit of graphic tune up, this game could go far. Nice job!
chikun Dev Team
23. Apr 2015 · 06:10 UTC
Really fun concept, and I like the way it was executed. Pretty cute :)
tummyache
23. Apr 2015 · 06:29 UTC
Didn't click at first and thought that the best strategy was to just sit in a corner, but once I got it I found it really intriguing. I think it's a really cool concept.
ajopart
23. Apr 2015 · 06:41 UTC
Truly an intriguing concept. Keep digging and you should be on somethinhg there. Perfect for a touch based gamplay.
Techblogogy
23. Apr 2015 · 06:45 UTC
Very good concept. Really enjoyed the game!
Dejvo
23. Apr 2015 · 14:30 UTC
it's a bit confusing, but neat and original. good job
Taldius
24. Apr 2015 · 01:15 UTC
Good concept, I like the idea of the main mechanic. However it's really hard to play, but with some polish it could be a really good game.
I also love the minimalist style, it's simple but it give it a good style.
Good job!
TheMeorch
24. Apr 2015 · 20:29 UTC
This is a really cool and unique mechanic. It takes a little while to get the hang of, but once you do, it's a really fun arcade game. The one thing that frustrated me was asteroids appearing right next to one of the endpoints of the red or green line, since it's the one position where you have next to no time to react to the asteroid spawning. If the game screen were just a bit wider, this wouldn't be an issue. Either way, awesome game!
Gunzil
25. Apr 2015 · 05:11 UTC
Simple little gameplay prototype. Combining attacking with movement is interesting, but overall it felt a too unpredicatable regarding whether I lived or died. You can potentially make some very fast, dramatic movements that can end in you just skirting past an enemy or running right into them. Both outcomes were usually not planned by me and just kind of happened. Visualizing the trajectory of the player before they shoot an enemy might help with this.
steboots
28. Apr 2015 · 23:52 UTC
Thank you Jamey for making a game simple enough that I feel I should be better at it. And thank you jackrugile for announcing 86 seconds... only 40 more seconds to go...
Geckoo1337
29. Apr 2015 · 04:27 UTC
Really fun concept. Neat ++
alpha_rat
29. Apr 2015 · 09:39 UTC
Simple and effective gameplay idea!
NickMakesGames
03. May 2015 · 02:04 UTC
this is an extremely novel concept which came together impressively well! I'd be very interested to see if this could be expanded to work with hand-crafted bullet patterns at all.
The game does currently work very nicely with random hazards, however, and might even work well on mobile as a twist on the randomly generated endless runner.
mike.cullingham
05. May 2015 · 03:10 UTC
Interesting and challenging mechanic. Can be frustrating at times because it never quite got to be an intuitive mechanic, but cool little game nevertheless. Nice job.
Crowbeak
05. May 2015 · 06:56 UTC
That's a really unique game you've got there. Well worth the mental adjustment in getting used to the mechanics.
NAL
10. May 2015 · 11:21 UTC
This takes some wrapping your head round! :S Unique concept, and for how simple the game is, deviously fun.
Larzan
11. May 2015 · 08:21 UTC
Wohoooww, this is difficult to wrap ones head around.
Interesting controls, not sure if they can work, for me it was quite frustrating to be honest.
But interesting concept.
Forlorn79
11. May 2015 · 23:24 UTC
The concept is good, and I think it could be improved with more polish and more variety. It is a difficult game with no win condition, but maybe that could change? See you soon!