Swarmed by DonovanWu

made by DonovanWu for LD31 (JAM)

I finally made it!

This is the second Ludum Dare I joined, and this time I went on solo again. But I didn't make it in 48 hours to finish the game. Actually, I have just barely finished it to turn it into Jam Entry.

This game is much more time consuming to make than I previously expected. Plus, it is final week in college now so I had an exam on Saturday morning, which gives me less time to concentrate on making this game. To make up for it, I went almost non-sleep for three days, so I'm a bit tired now, but I think it is a fun experience.

Since I ran out of time, I barely had time to test the game balance. There may be also some small bugs I haven't discovered. Thus, please write in comment section about what you think I should improve. I may also post a post-Jam updated version of it some day.

Anyway, the link to the game is just above. The game is a Top-down view shooter. It may become chaotic and bullet-hell-ish as you progress on in it, so I named it "Swarmed". Hope you will enjoy!

Web	http://donovanwu.github.io/showcase/Swarmed/index.html
Post-jam	http://donovanwu.github.io/showcase/Swarmed_postjam/index.html
Source	https://github.com/DonovanWu/Swarmed
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-31/?action=preview&uid=36681

Ratings

Coolness	100%	1
Overall(Jam)	3.05	638

Audio(Jam)	2.58	539
Fun(Jam)	3.11	455
Graphics(Jam)	2.78	719
Humor(Jam)	2.36	616
Innovation(Jam)	2.44	840
Mood(Jam)	2.74	711
Theme(Jam)	3.33	694

Feedback

MrMushroomCloud

09. Dec 2014 · 04:04 UTC

Pretty good considering you did this during finals. My biggest problem with the game is the volume of the enemies' guns. They're really loud compared to everything else. The noise also seems to fire even when the enemies aren't firing.

It's also a little confusing what's going on when you restart. It seems like you take the place of one of the dead enemies but the game leaves off at whatever point it was at when you died which is kinda disorientating. On a side note, one time I respawned and I couldn't fire my weapon. Not sure why. It said that my gun was loaded but nothing was happening. Hope some of this was useful.

karlipoppins

11. Dec 2014 · 05:01 UTC

Quite a nice game. I enjoyed the ability to hide behind cover and shoot after. Good balance at first, became impossible pretty quickly as the amount of ennemies is way too high compared to the screen space. Good job considering the circumstances!

elvaq

11. Dec 2014 · 05:17 UTC

Really nice effort. Lots of features and options in the game. The use of cover and ability to line up shots was quite nice. The difficulty curve was very steep, though. It went from being easy and enjoyable to almost impossible very quickly for me. Nice work though! Would be nice to move around a larger arena, that way you have an escape when you get... swarmed!

Miziziziz

11. Dec 2014 · 05:32 UTC

this is a really nice looking and polished game you've put together.
the AI is bad at times and fails to aim at you when you're walking past them, but otherwise everything works fine.
also, the explosion animation is really good, and the SFX were put together really well!

Boracho

11. Dec 2014 · 06:15 UTC

It's a neat game, but the controls could use some tweaking. The gun sounds are a little abrasive as well. It's fun for sure, just needs some polish. Good work either way.

Junuxx

11. Dec 2014 · 06:29 UTC

Entertaining! Would be better with a more visible cursor, I think.

ciaodavinci

11. Dec 2014 · 06:46 UTC

Hey good job. I liked how you can jump right back into the fight with a new robot and how the AI's moves can be learned to beat them. If you are updating things maybe make the text on the main page stand out more because it is hard to read when overtop of objects.

Geckoo1337

12. Dec 2014 · 06:43 UTC

Really nice effort. Lots of features and options in the game. Well done. Thank you for your comment about my game ++

Taldius

13. Dec 2014 · 01:29 UTC

Nice little game, I like the idea of moving the block, but it's sad that it bugs a little an you can't totally block the enemy.
Good job.

Raiyumi

13. Dec 2014 · 03:16 UTC

Nice. I know how it feels like when you got finals, since I looked messed up when I had my final presentation on Monday. :P

Anyways, I think a different color crosshair would be better so it doesn't blend in the BG too much.

martial_cantarel_games

13. Dec 2014 · 22:02 UTC

))))

Wilson

13. Dec 2014 · 22:30 UTC

Fun little shooter, the weapons felt good. A bit more challenge would be nice - after the first larger enemy appeared with a bunch of others, I didn't feel like it got any harder.

Backterria

14. Dec 2014 · 07:13 UTC

Cool music!Also it's great that it has upgrades!

Leaghorn

15. Dec 2014 · 01:40 UTC

nice crimsonLand clone. Gameplay could be a little more dynamic.

Halleflux

15. Dec 2014 · 20:15 UTC

This was rather well done.
I think you could really expand upon the idea of selecting another dead robot as your new self. Such a game could be truly amazing.

BUG: Something happened with the 'double barrel' weapon, and I couldn't fire.

Larry

18. Dec 2014 · 01:59 UTC

I did enjoy playing the game. I do think the cursor could be a different color or design as it blends into the background after the corpses pile up. When I respawn, it takes a while for me to figure out who I am.

masterhyjinx

18. Dec 2014 · 09:58 UTC

Good work getting this done during finals. (I hope your finals came first!) I like seeing people who have a passion for making games that's so big, they just can't help themselves and jump in and make something. I liked the cover moving. If you made a modular cover system that changed as the waves of enemies came in, it could be interesting. You could find cover to regen health or plot a course to go pick up some ammo. The whole time I played the game, I was sort of expecting to pick up better weapons but I got "swarmed" instead.

Franklin's Ghost

18. Dec 2014 · 11:07 UTC

Fun game and liked that you were able to restart by clicking one of the dead robots. Although I was disappointed I couldn't come back as one of the tanks since they blew up. Had an issue with the audio dropping out and not coming back on. Also think less text in the title screen would be better. Fun game though and congratulations on finishing this during finals.

🎤 DonovanWu

18. Dec 2014 · 19:12 UTC

Actually, the tank has a chance to leave a dead body. It kind of depends on luck if you can get one in the game...
The first two tanks are most likely to leave dead body, so if you have time, maybe you can restart the game and try again? :)

🎤 DonovanWu

20. Dec 2014 · 23:46 UTC

Hi, I have posted a slightly improved post-jam version based on some of the comments I get. Also, the tank boss will definitely drop a dead body now while it used to have a 50% of chance to drop a dead body. The game will also progressively get harder as you level up your weapon or become the tank boss.

01rafael

21. Dec 2014 · 00:49 UTC

Top down shooters will never die!

freaknarf

21. Dec 2014 · 03:29 UTC

nice gameplay evolution i didnt expect it at start

chakitp

23. Dec 2014 · 06:56 UTC

Nice game.
Its confusing who player is when its crowded.. so, player should be lil bit different in color. And AI goes Crazy Some times.

SolomaZ

23. Dec 2014 · 07:58 UTC

I liked the move-able terrain, and while at first it was kinda tedious the click to fire, it made more sense when I got the automatic. Nice depth.

cxsquared

24. Dec 2014 · 01:57 UTC

Nice work. The game play is solid and fun. The audio could do with a bit of work especial the sound effects but overall nice work.

Mindcake

24. Dec 2014 · 03:50 UTC

Feels nice, smooth, good job!