Starbinder by HunterAugust

[raw]
made by HunterAugust for LD32 (JAM)
Since the dawn of time, stars have controlled mankind...

The goal of this level is really up to you, You can use the stars to wage war between the two populations or keep them at peace. Arrange incoming stars to influence the populations on the planet below.

Star types:
- Gather: draws the population toward it
- Scatter: drives the population away

- Aggro: inspires the population with an attack buff
- Defense: hardens the population with a defense buff

All star types can be combined into constellations. Use them to strategically lead one group to planetary dominance.

Colin Allman - Programmer - colinallmangame@gmail - www.colinallmangame.com
Michael Baker - Programmer - www.mBakr.com - @M1CHAE7
Alex Evans - Sound Design - aevanssound@yahoo.com - www.alexevanssound.com
Hunter Lawson - Artist - HunterAugustLawson@gmail.com - www.hunteraugustlawson.com

Play on itch.io! http://august.itch.io/starbinder

Ratings

Coolness 61% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.41 346
Audio(Jam) 3.97 49
Fun(Jam) 2.83 661
Graphics(Jam) 4.57 29
Humor(Jam) 2.04 875
Innovation(Jam) 4.07 35
Mood(Jam) 3.68 132
Theme(Jam) 3.61 342

Feedback

morokiane
21. Apr 2015 · 02:08 UTC
Very cool.
peggy
21. Apr 2015 · 11:55 UTC
Fab. Impressive. Bravo!
ajopart
21. Apr 2015 · 20:02 UTC
Innovation 5* :-) Great graphics and audio. Congrats.
strong99
22. Apr 2015 · 08:11 UTC
Good atmosphere. I liked the strategy and clear gameplay. I didn't understand why the game ended with the message "Back to main menu" did one side win?
paruthidotexe
22. Apr 2015 · 10:26 UTC
nice game
SecondDimension
22. Apr 2015 · 17:24 UTC
Really liked the atmosphere and concept.
Hyoga-3D
22. Apr 2015 · 18:22 UTC
Nice game, a bit confusing at first, because the tutorial screen closed much fast, I could not ready all, maybe a skip button would be better.
But the graphics are very good and the gameplay when I understood was very innovative, great job.
goblin
22. Apr 2015 · 18:56 UTC
Hey! your game is not bad. It is fun. look at mine. http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-32/?action=preview&uid=44367
Drauthius
22. Apr 2015 · 20:02 UTC
Interesting and beautiful game. Couldn't quite create constellations, nor make any bigger effect on the population.
DKoding
22. Apr 2015 · 20:55 UTC
Very good looking game.
crazyninjamofo
22. Apr 2015 · 20:58 UTC
My only complaint is that I wish there was more feedback as to what my influence was on the population and guidance as to what my goal was. Other than that, awesome work. I really dig the concept. The graphics and sound effects meld together in a very cohesive manner that enhance the overall experience. Please continue to run with this idea and turn it into a full-fledged game.
rd127p77
22. Apr 2015 · 21:04 UTC
Neat Idea.
sydan
22. Apr 2015 · 21:15 UTC
Very relaxing but somewhat confusing. I wasn't certain what I was supposed to be doing but I really enjoyed the art and innovative idea driving the gameplay!
Borkleby
22. Apr 2015 · 23:12 UTC
Wow, beautiful art and music. I couldn't seem to get anything to happen because the stars kept disappearing but I still had fun just looking and listening to the music. Other than that the game is magnificent in every way! Can't wait to see what you come up with next!
xbcw
22. Apr 2015 · 23:16 UTC
Nice mood. A bit more guidance at the beginning would help out.
DiegoEscalante
22. Apr 2015 · 23:30 UTC
Very polished, visuals and sounds really gave it a great mood. It was a bit difficult figuring out what I was doing. I am not sure if that is a bad thing or not. I was confused but experimentation felt like part of the game.
Split82
22. Apr 2015 · 23:33 UTC
Looks and sounds great, but I had a hard time understanding what to do. A little tutorial would probably help.
sP0CkEr2
23. Apr 2015 · 00:03 UTC
impressive graphics but the gameplay was a little confusing
Taldius
23. Apr 2015 · 00:09 UTC
The art is awesome, and the concept is really interesting, well done. However, the control felt a little frustating because I wasn't able to take a star a the opposite side directly, but that's just a detail.
Great job!
Jared Sartin
23. Apr 2015 · 00:11 UTC
Needs some UI and tutorial polish, but is AWESOME!
CriticalMammal
23. Apr 2015 · 00:14 UTC
Ah, I really wish I could have gotten into a groove with this game since it reminds me a bit of my own entry (in terms of controlling a population with by modifying their properties). But as attractive as it is in the visual and sound department, I just felt like the changes being made gameplay-wise were rather hard to observe.

Again, that's doubly disappointing for me to say because it reminds me of my own game's shortcomings for the Jam submission. Showing those reactions that the population is going through is incredibly important for this kind of game. Without it the person playing can't fully understand what they are affecting, (or fully appreciate it), and a sort of futile feeling becomes really intense. I had this growing urge to just stop playing because... well... I didn't understand fully what I was doing, and I think because of that I couldn't appreciated the open-ended nature of the game.

I'd highly recommend adding in some sort of animations or transitions to the movement/growing of the population you're affecting. I think instantly popping things around made it very difficult for me to determine what specific elements were being altered.

I also couldn't seem to get a grasp on what the requirements were for creating stable constellations. When I drag them near each other they end up just fizzling out and breaking their connections.

I really liked the overall concept though, and the idea of populations being influenced by the stars. It's very poetic really. And obviously your team has a stellar handling on the visuals, sound design, and "feel" and polish to the camera/star movement. Great job with this entry overall, and best of luck in future jams! If you continue work on this I'd love it if you contacted me to let me know.

I'm on twitter @CriticalMammal
email: gallardodylan42@gmail.com
sputnik
23. Apr 2015 · 00:14 UTC
Very beautiful game.
scottthoo
23. Apr 2015 · 00:38 UTC
Very eye candy game, but pretty hard to understand the game at first.
Dejvo
23. Apr 2015 · 08:16 UTC
really nice game. very impressive what you did in just 72 hours. it's very calming. and has a lot of potential to expand and make it more fun. but overall, fantastic
Lyje
23. Apr 2015 · 18:19 UTC
Just lovely.
rd127p77
23. Apr 2015 · 19:04 UTC
Pretty Impressive game.
FistBumpGames
26. Apr 2015 · 20:53 UTC
Fairly interesting game that looks and feels stunning!
The lack of real influence, a real goal or some feedback on the population makes it kinda boring though.
mike.cullingham
04. May 2015 · 01:40 UTC
Really cool graphics and concept. Think it would be improved with some more feedback about what constellations would do. Very nice job.