DictionBlade by Azure_Kyte
DictionBlade is a game in which you employ a physical manifestation of the weapon we use most: Our words. Early on, you gain the almighty pen, with which you smite your foes!
However... On its own, the pen is a mere baton, with only the strength to push your enemies away from you. To destroy, you must use your words.
There are three main elements you can write with: Meanness, Nicety or Weirdness. When the Return key is pressed, time is slowed, giving you time to charge your Diction Blade with an element. Which element you use is up to you, and your enemy.
CONTROLS:
A/D: Move Left and Right
Space: Jump (press again for double jump)
Repeatedly press space at a wall to climb.
E: Pick up the DictionBlade.
WITH the DictionBlade:
Return/Enter: Toggle Typing mode. Typing mode slows down time 50%.
Words like "Mean", or "Nasty" are red, being polite "Nice", "you're cool" for blue, anything that doesn't fit those two criteria is green for weird/unrecognised.
On pressing enter again, your weapon will be infused with a colour depending on the sentence's overall element.
To attack, press the Left Mouse Button. Attacks follow the direction of the cursor, so plan ahead. In retrospect I should have allowed for directional attacks with the Arrow keys, but sorry, no more time :<
Attacking once loses the element, so see enemy, type, attack.
EDIT: Updated the build for OSX and Linux to be in line for the Web and Windows versions, and included updated source.
However... On its own, the pen is a mere baton, with only the strength to push your enemies away from you. To destroy, you must use your words.
There are three main elements you can write with: Meanness, Nicety or Weirdness. When the Return key is pressed, time is slowed, giving you time to charge your Diction Blade with an element. Which element you use is up to you, and your enemy.
CONTROLS:
A/D: Move Left and Right
Space: Jump (press again for double jump)
Repeatedly press space at a wall to climb.
E: Pick up the DictionBlade.
WITH the DictionBlade:
Return/Enter: Toggle Typing mode. Typing mode slows down time 50%.
Words like "Mean", or "Nasty" are red, being polite "Nice", "you're cool" for blue, anything that doesn't fit those two criteria is green for weird/unrecognised.
On pressing enter again, your weapon will be infused with a colour depending on the sentence's overall element.
To attack, press the Left Mouse Button. Attacks follow the direction of the cursor, so plan ahead. In retrospect I should have allowed for directional attacks with the Arrow keys, but sorry, no more time :<
Attacking once loses the element, so see enemy, type, attack.
EDIT: Updated the build for OSX and Linux to be in line for the Web and Windows versions, and included updated source.
| Web (V1.1) | http://azurespace.net/DB |
| Windows (V1.1) | http://azurespace.net/DB/Win |
| OS/X (V1.1) | http://azurespace.net/DB/OSX |
| Linux (V1.1) | http://azurespace.net/DB/Linux |
| Source (V1.1) | http://azurespace.net/DB/src |
| Original URL | https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-32/?action=preview&uid=52473 |
Ratings
| Coolness | 66% | 3 |
| Overall | 3.18 | 548 |
| Audio | 2.81 | 493 |
| Fun | 2.79 | 779 |
| Graphics | 3.09 | 529 |
| Humor | 2.77 | 513 |
| Innovation | 3.18 | 493 |
| Mood | 3.19 | 337 |
| Theme | 3.56 | 372 |
Interesting game you got there. The idea to type in different words depending on the enemies is very neat and the randomized levels is a nice touch.
I noticed that some mean and nice works was seen as weird but I guess it's pretty hard to figure out as many different polite and mean words in 48 hours as possible :P
The idea is kind of neat, but ultimately I'd rather just press a button to use the different pen types instead of type words. The art has a nice style, but the blue sky cloud flashes are a little seizure-inducing.
I didn't finish because I died just after the black tornado and restarted all the way to the first level. ;(
On top of that, there's not really much incentive to actually USE the system. I found the mouse-based attacking to actually be very satisfying to use and wound up using to knock enemies away. That was actually more fun than stopping to type in a word and your mouse and keyboard control scheme feels very nice on its own. It's also not particularly hard to just run past enemies and bolt towards the end of the level.
I do have to give you major props for NOT using W/Up as your jump button and binding it to a more convenient and separate button instead. That's quickly becoming one of my biggest pet peeves.
Overall, the idea is pretty cool, but in practice it doesn't really work. Your platformer mechanics otherwise feel pretty good and the sketchy paper style is very charming.
Other players have also voiced concerns over the mouse combat system, and in hindsight, I 100% agree. I'll be changing the system to allow the player to attack using the arrow keys on the keyboard after the Dare is over. That will heavily reduce the arm exercises while still retaining the game's word mechanic.