The Paper Dance by TravisChen

[raw]
made by TravisChen for LD31 (JAM)
The curtains rise. A single spotlight comes into focus.
The lone dancer stands silent. Waiting.
Strings cry. Flutes flutter. Trumpets roar.
Her movement inspires.

A six minute interactive movement.

Choreography
ARROW - Movement (Adagio)
SPACE - Jump / Attack (Allegro)

A loving collaboration between the soon to be married Travis Chen (code) and Roxanne Young (art).

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall(Jam) 3.76 118
Audio(Jam) 4.25 8
Fun(Jam) 3.04 506
Graphics(Jam) 4.50 35
Innovation(Jam) 3.79 103
Mood(Jam) 4.21 16
Theme(Jam) 3.85 240

Feedback

apiotrw
08. Dec 2014 · 11:04 UTC
Great visuals and great music. :)
dannyhodge
08. Dec 2014 · 11:17 UTC
That is the best looking entry I've seen so far!
Gamepopper
08. Dec 2014 · 11:18 UTC
Pretty good game, controls are a bit floaty but I definitely like the art style.
dekkuran
08. Dec 2014 · 11:19 UTC
Fantastic. Loved the way your fellow dancers follow you around the stage and how all the 2d cut outs flow to nicely. The black swan killed me... pretty quikly ;_;
Louisload
08. Dec 2014 · 11:21 UTC
this is a very beautiful game and experience. The graphics are perfect, and the concept is just magnificent. congratulations on the marriage, I wish both of you much happiness together!
Wayward
08. Dec 2014 · 11:25 UTC
Beautiful :)
Nuclear Napalm
08. Dec 2014 · 11:27 UTC
Great gra[hics, music and atmosphere, but I didn't figure out the goal. Is it just a game to enjoy movements?
olligobber
08. Dec 2014 · 11:30 UTC
Looks, feels and sounds amazing. I love this game so much. It is so unique and... wow.
43iscoding
08. Dec 2014 · 11:31 UTC
Impressive work! Graphics look astonishing! Gameplay is too simple, but this one isn't about gameplay imo.
P.S. I still remember sitting for a few hours playing The Trader ^^
Aglavra
08. Dec 2014 · 11:33 UTC
Graphics and sound are really impressive. The only problem is, that there is no difference between player and other dancers, so it is confusing.
Jed T.
08. Dec 2014 · 11:34 UTC
Best beautiful looking LD game I've ever played. I don't know if I could consider it a game though because there is no clear goal at hand? or am I missing something.
Random Abductions
08. Dec 2014 · 11:38 UTC
Very interesting good looking game. The gameplay is bare, which is bit sad. But the art direction is very nice to look at. I love the paper cardboard style and the vibe is very well pronounced. The game also looks fairly polished.
Tuism
08. Dec 2014 · 12:45 UTC
So gorgeous! I really like the way the movement worked - it really looks like a dance! But it could be a little more sensitive to my input, it took a lot of getting used to the way it behaved, and often I still couldn't tell whether I was in control or not.

I also can't tell when the gam ended - did I hit something, or was it timed? Need more feedback on that.

Also the scoring, too.

Is the jumping good for anything besides looking pretty? If it is I couldn't tell.

Mechanically requires a bit more :) But so gorgeous!
nosfer
08. Dec 2014 · 12:52 UTC
Nice graphics, floaty controls but made me play for a while and run away from black swan :)
Domicuc
08. Dec 2014 · 13:23 UTC
Man .. wow .. you make me a little bit cry.. this game have some magic..
🎤 TravisChen
08. Dec 2014 · 18:17 UTC
Thanks all for the early feedback :D

We're making some gameplay / mechanic tweaks and should have the build updated before the deadline!
moomoomomoo
08. Dec 2014 · 20:06 UTC
wow. this game is beautiful!!! best entry by far!
Hellequin
08. Dec 2014 · 21:46 UTC
So nice!! I like the concept!!!!
OldPeculier
08. Dec 2014 · 21:49 UTC
Sweet. As in "Ah, sweet." Very nice look.
lionroot
08. Dec 2014 · 21:50 UTC
Very cool. Started to get bored around 3 mins in, but it felt very moody. I wonder if there was more action farther in. Great music.
Kroq9Gar
08. Dec 2014 · 21:52 UTC
Great game, well done! Sliding a bit too much for my liking, put apart from that it's fantastic. And congratulations btw :)
Drtizzle
08. Dec 2014 · 21:54 UTC
Superb graphics! It gets a bit boring after 3 minutes, but maybe thats just me ;)
hexagore
08. Dec 2014 · 21:54 UTC
This is just so astonishingly beautiful. It is glorious. Thank you for making this.
Aevek
08. Dec 2014 · 22:00 UTC
Absolutely loved it. When I started I immediately developed some complaints, but by halfway through I had completely forgotten what they were. Great gameplay, the slide-ey controls were perfect for this game, and the style and the visuals... Love it.
johnbrynte
08. Dec 2014 · 22:01 UTC
It would have been interesting to add more dance moves and combination to the controls and to play with more enemies or events that mirror the song as it progress. In the end I just sat and watched the stage grow prettier. Beautiful!
Jadernak
08. Dec 2014 · 22:01 UTC
The flow, the art and the music are simply amazing.
cxsquared
08. Dec 2014 · 22:18 UTC
Awesome idea and sweet looking graphics. I loved the art style and music and how well they fit together. One of the best ideas I've seen. Great work.
K.Chplr
08. Dec 2014 · 22:20 UTC
Imaginative, beautiful and fun. An ecstatic demonstration of the most graceful roundhouse kick there is.
andrewkennedy
08. Dec 2014 · 23:11 UTC
I loved the music and the artwork. I did a theater theme too, but you definitely pulled it off waaaay better than I did haha. Really nice play on light and shadow. When the music picked up and the villain came out, it made me like, way happier than it should have.

Congratulations to the soon to be newlyweds!
AmyDee
09. Dec 2014 · 00:41 UTC
The aesthetics are lovely, and it's refreshing to see something like ballet appear in a game. The play itself seemed a little thin (pardon my language) and felt like it dragged on for too long. I enjoyed the ramping up of activity toward the end, and the overall concept was great.
jstzwd
09. Dec 2014 · 01:13 UTC
Great Great Game!!! I love this! The paper style is so so attractive!! By the way, I suggest you use firefox or safari instead of Chrome for our game, thank you for your feedback!
hissssssssss
09. Dec 2014 · 01:50 UTC
The only complaint I have is that the degree to which my dancer bounced off of obstacles felt a bit extreme. Other than that, everything about this was incredibly lovely.

Congratulations. :)
waveformmodulations
09. Dec 2014 · 03:19 UTC
Liked the paper cutout style. The controls were very floaty, fun to see something that looks so different.
GameDevKlingon
09. Dec 2014 · 04:45 UTC
Amazing experience, thank you very much for this, it was a pleasure from the beginning to the end. Thank you :)
2Bit
09. Dec 2014 · 08:58 UTC
Beautiful and executed extremely well. Should not have entered the Audio vote section though.
MurderSantaTeam
09. Dec 2014 · 10:02 UTC
interesting :)
the music is made by you o_O ?
MrBenjaminBowman
09. Dec 2014 · 14:42 UTC
Once I figured out that jumping kills the black girls, I quickly clustered up and spammed space the whole game. Huh.
shanageek
09. Dec 2014 · 16:59 UTC
WOW, this is amazing game with beautiful graphics and music!! I loved it :)
chamberlainpi
09. Dec 2014 · 19:44 UTC
loved the style. played once, won the first time, and almost feel like it told a story (the way the follower dancers came out, and there was one black swan, and then she came back with her troops of black swans! ATTAAAACK!) floaty controls, but overall cool idea!
Gins
09. Dec 2014 · 21:37 UTC
Now this is one of the prettiest games I've seen this LD.
Experience games aren't really my cup of tea, but for what it was, I enjoyed it :)
The music fits really well.
Geckoo1337
09. Dec 2014 · 22:49 UTC
Poetry on classical music. I never thought taht was be possible to find this here. I like physics. Neat ++
Kep
09. Dec 2014 · 23:07 UTC
Wow, Mood++!
Very unique. Well done!
Elemental Zeal Games Studios
10. Dec 2014 · 02:56 UTC
Soothing gameplay, nice job!
ENDESGA
10. Dec 2014 · 02:57 UTC
Awesome game! I love it :D
Leaghorn
10. Dec 2014 · 03:54 UTC
wow. looks really nice. great graphics and lighting.
sharp911
10. Dec 2014 · 04:11 UTC
Interesting Concept. The music is good. The graphics ok. The controls are hard to get used to. Not bad :)
Pulsartronic
10. Dec 2014 · 11:08 UTC
Good work, original, i like the black and white theme
MrShoestore
10. Dec 2014 · 14:43 UTC
Lovely thing you have here. it's brilliant looking.
pjimmy
10. Dec 2014 · 22:46 UTC
masterpiece, encore :)
C63Industries
10. Dec 2014 · 22:54 UTC
I had a hard time figuring out what the goal of the game is. I could defeat the black dancers and collect the plants on the stage and this seemed to effect my score, but I just couldn't figure out how it was being effected and if I was even doing the right thing. Other than that issue, I think it was a really great concept.

Something that might be neat is the black dancers spawn out of the shadows of the other dancers.
Lynx
11. Dec 2014 · 03:53 UTC
WOW! Stunning and beautiful! I will say though, that the movements seem a bit fast at first when you're first starting out...maybe start slower and slowly ramp them up as the player would get more confident with the controls
Bogden
11. Dec 2014 · 06:18 UTC
Amazing use of music to set the mood, tone, and gameplay at various times throughout the game.
Threstle
11. Dec 2014 · 20:35 UTC
Perfect mood. It's a very elegant game! Movement feels weird to me, but that's ok. ;)
OFF
11. Dec 2014 · 20:36 UTC
The graphics are simple but amazing.
Actually the idea is great but the game side with point is not perfectly integrated at a certain point we are not sure of who we are, and even why the points are groing.
The fight between the black and white dancers is a great idea, but i think that if the game was stayed in a paper cut style (no rotation) it would have been a better game.
But still one of the best mood that i have seen for now.
Instant Noodles
11. Dec 2014 · 20:39 UTC
Great ! :)
AdventureIslands
11. Dec 2014 · 20:41 UTC
6106 points! This was really creative entry, good work you two! maybe the lead dancer could be different color so she would be easier to see along the crowd?
sputnik
11. Dec 2014 · 20:43 UTC
Superb visual.
Kuupu
11. Dec 2014 · 20:44 UTC
Simply beautiful

<3
Groydis
11. Dec 2014 · 20:47 UTC
Beautiful.
BoaHeck_ArtGent
11. Dec 2014 · 20:51 UTC
Wow. Just Wow. This is brilliant!
SolomaZ
11. Dec 2014 · 21:08 UTC
Beautiful concept and execution! I didn't feel too graceful however slamming into trees over and over again. XP. Felt more like iceskating. A lot of potential here though!
bobombe
11. Dec 2014 · 21:13 UTC
The graphics and light effects are amazing !Even if it became a little boring at the end :/
Victory Garden
11. Dec 2014 · 21:27 UTC
This is so pretty... and congratulations! I really loved the look and feel of the game at the end, when the busyness of it really looked like the choreography of that portion of Swan Lake. Getting to dance with the corps de ballet was fun :>

Thank you for the game!
ljdp
11. Dec 2014 · 21:33 UTC
Lovely game. Gorgeous style. Perhaps six minutes is too long?
Raxsus
11. Dec 2014 · 21:37 UTC
Very cool, nice music, and I can honestly say that I have never seen a game about ballet.
Night
11. Dec 2014 · 21:56 UTC
One of the most beautiful game I've EVER see. Congratulations!
MaxguN
11. Dec 2014 · 21:57 UTC
A great experience, just a bit repetitve for 5 minutes but really enjoyable and beautiful. Congrats !
BoxedMeatRevolution
11. Dec 2014 · 22:08 UTC
Very creative and very nice graphics :D I ended up just mashing jump while doing figure 8s :)
indie4fun
11. Dec 2014 · 22:52 UTC
Wow, really beatufiul art, I love the paper style. And the music... :')
puppetmaster
11. Dec 2014 · 23:52 UTC
Beautiful presentation!
mathmadlen
12. Dec 2014 · 00:59 UTC
One of my favourites! Beautiful, great interpretation of the theme!
It truly looks like a labour of love - in more ways then one .) /sorry, I'm a sucker for romance in game development/
Otrora Games
12. Dec 2014 · 01:42 UTC
Art style got me from the start. You two nailed the mood there, but maybe you could tweak a bit the movement. It will remain difficult but be more enjoyable if it were a bit smooth. Other than that, a solid entry.
Devark
12. Dec 2014 · 04:19 UTC
Very polished and interesting idea - good job!
Kate Kligman
12. Dec 2014 · 06:39 UTC
This is beautiful and a lot of fun. Congrats on your engagement!
Demy
12. Dec 2014 · 07:49 UTC
Awesome mood and great idea! Just wow.
Simon
12. Dec 2014 · 09:46 UTC
This is absolutely fabulous. I loved it :)
hypnoticbytes
12. Dec 2014 · 12:25 UTC
Loved it!!!! Great work!!!!
farwyler
12. Dec 2014 · 12:55 UTC
Wow! Great style!
Gluklichman
12. Dec 2014 · 15:31 UTC
Awesome game with awesome art.
intersectiongames
12. Dec 2014 · 21:03 UTC
Nice. I liked this one. Controls felt a little cumbersome and I kept getting hung up on the scenery, and I forgot that I could jump, so the black dancers pretty much overwhelmed me until the very end. Really good interactive experience.
Crosstales
12. Dec 2014 · 21:32 UTC
Gorgeous graphics and sound - one of the nicest titles I've seen so far!

Great job and happy weeding day :-)
LukuluK
13. Dec 2014 · 01:11 UTC
A very beautiful expressive game ! I'm just a bit effraid that the gameplay's meaning would be understood as xenophobic.
Managore
13. Dec 2014 · 02:09 UTC
This is lovely! The paper cut-out style fits the game ridiculously well, and the trees and audience sets the stage (no pun intended) perfectly. The spotlight works very well, both to highlight the player and to cast shadows and add depth to the game. My only issue, and it is a small one, is that towards the end of the game it becomes very hard to see what's going on. Overall, a beautiful experience!
TheMeorch
13. Dec 2014 · 03:14 UTC
This is ingenious. Using the spotlight to highlight the lead dancer is really smart, given the dance theme. A great, unique graphical style. Gret work!
ynots
13. Dec 2014 · 06:43 UTC
nice artwork..
Frozen Fractal
13. Dec 2014 · 12:34 UTC
This is so hauntingly beautiful, I almost regretted that I was expected to do something, instead of just watching and listening.

I can tell this is going to be a great marriage. Congratulations!

I can't believe nobody asked yet, and I hope it's not because everyone knows: what's the music?
benmcnelly
14. Dec 2014 · 07:41 UTC
Jammin, I played the whole thing! Well made!
aaronjbaptiste
14. Dec 2014 · 10:21 UTC
Very pretty, elegant and charming. Wasn't sure on the objective though.
Kuality Games
14. Dec 2014 · 13:44 UTC
I am truly impressed.. Wow, amazing job my friend. One of my (if not THE) favorites of this LD. 5 stars.
Kuality Games
14. Dec 2014 · 13:47 UTC
Wow, amazing artstyle. Liked it a lot!
AlbertoSM
14. Dec 2014 · 16:47 UTC
Really nice presentation, but it has some technical flaws, specially when dealing with a lot of stuff on-screen (dancers, particle systems and flowers), where the frame rate drops significantly. Plus the long lasting playthrough can get boring since nothing else happens during, other than having more dancers show up.
barryrowe
15. Dec 2014 · 03:42 UTC
Nailed it. This game looks, plays, and feels wonderful. The mood is perfect. The chosen music and the timing of the enemies is dead on. It's a nice take on a high score game. And the visuals are outstanding. Very good work.
ChuiGum
16. Dec 2014 · 02:04 UTC
Graphics and Mood 5 stars! You should have let us rate audio! I would've given you 5 stars! Awesome job, loved the music and presentation. Well done!
savethejets1
16. Dec 2014 · 02:23 UTC
Loved the paper theme, very beautiful. And the music too! :D Reminds me of Tengami. My friend says she would buy it if there was more.
SecondDimension
16. Dec 2014 · 13:49 UTC
The style and mood are fantastic, a great experience.
ButtonMasherBros
16. Dec 2014 · 16:56 UTC
Psssst - You are featured in today's Ludum Dare to Believe! Check it out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdf4FdafRVw
asobitech
16. Dec 2014 · 19:33 UTC
Beautiful, lovely idea.
MintArcade
16. Dec 2014 · 20:20 UTC
Amazingly beautiful. Fantastic game. Thank you.
LeReveur
16. Dec 2014 · 20:24 UTC
I'm speechless, too much emotions. This is not a game, this is a faerie dream.
JJEvil
16. Dec 2014 · 20:46 UTC
One of the best looking games of LD31. Controls are difficult, but you've created an excellent, beautiful experience.
Scam
16. Dec 2014 · 23:00 UTC
Not much a game here. This is more like a piece of beautiful art with some game elements. Still I liked it a lot.
yosh
16. Dec 2014 · 23:23 UTC
Really an excellent game. It took me some time to understand the fact that more white dancers = more flowers to collect.

This game was such a great experience, as the player, I was literally making the performance while still trying to score as much as possible.

Lastly, the game didn't even lag with all the characters and collectible and particles showing up at once... pretty impressive.
5 stars :)
tonypai
17. Dec 2014 · 01:47 UTC
Good looking graphics! And the idea and mechanic are both awesome! Great job! :D
KyleDAudio
17. Dec 2014 · 01:54 UTC
Obviously beautiful! I particularly loved how well the mood of the music fit in every situation during the gameplay. Well done!

Also, just to let you know, I always score entries very strictly and fairly and this is the first-ever LD game I've rated 5 stars for every category available. :) <3
LTyrosine
17. Dec 2014 · 02:19 UTC
Nice style, beautiful art! But somewhat limited gameplay. Movement/control could be more tuned with the rest of the game as most of time the dancer collide in the walls.

That aside, really impressive work.
el-pepi
17. Dec 2014 · 02:35 UTC
Nice graphics and music. But gets repetitive a little bit too fast for me.
Team Flashlight
17. Dec 2014 · 05:21 UTC
The concept is quite unique and your graphics is amazing! The game is so beautiful that it's a like enjoying an art work when playing the game. The control seems not very smooth but it can also be thought as a kind of style. Maybe you can have more hint or indirect control elements in the game telling the player what they should do? Or naive player may be confused on the objectives in the game.
dunin
17. Dec 2014 · 06:43 UTC
good mood.
Some more mecanics would be cool, six minutes is long...
JFern
17. Dec 2014 · 07:39 UTC
Wow, this was beautiful! I loved the graphics and atmosphere. Got stuck a few times on stage and it was hard to tell where I was sometimes, but definitely an interesting experience!
Yaroslav Kravtsov
17. Dec 2014 · 07:54 UTC
Gorgeous! Concept are awersome.
You need to set more time to cooldown for jump. I jumped like a mad and made bloody massacre at the end :o)
Krunoslav
17. Dec 2014 · 10:04 UTC
Very beautiful graphics and mood, i liked to play it.
Shimone
17. Dec 2014 · 11:58 UTC
One of my favorite jam entries so far!
Si1ver
17. Dec 2014 · 19:57 UTC
Fantastic style!
ArcturusDeluxe
18. Dec 2014 · 20:11 UTC
Very artsy! Fantastic graphics and sound, obviously. It would have been nice if you could have added some more gamey elements to it, but that's just my personal preference. It is what it is, and what it is is a rather nice interactive experience. Nice job!
zillix
19. Dec 2014 · 05:22 UTC
Beautiful. The spotlight and trail were well used to track the player, and seamlessly transferred to another character if mine was hit. I enjoyed the change of pacing with the flowers and enemies as the song went on, though 6 minutes still felt a little long. Fantastic work!
sebasRez
19. Dec 2014 · 16:19 UTC
This is a great game to be studied by game designers. At first the floaty controls of the ballerina made me question the direction but as she flowed across the screen it was a clear example of an excellent mix of game mechanics and theme. It was like looking at a game version of black swan which blew me away.
alyphen
20. Dec 2014 · 16:03 UTC
This is very pleasant visually, but unfortunately the gameplay doesn't quite stand up to the mark. It needs... something more, a goal to work towards or something, otherwise it just feels lacking.
metalchouchen
21. Dec 2014 · 02:35 UTC
It's really great ! Some strange mix between black swan and a death core gigs :D Bravo!
Vandash
21. Dec 2014 · 11:56 UTC
Great idea great execution :)
Florent
21. Dec 2014 · 15:18 UTC
Very nice visuals !
alpha_rat
22. Dec 2014 · 13:38 UTC
I really loved it, but I wasn't even paying to the score whatsoever
alpha_rat
22. Dec 2014 · 13:38 UTC
I really loved it, but I wasn't even paying attention to the score whatsoever
Wiering
24. Dec 2014 · 01:52 UTC
Is that Tchaikovsky?
NicePenguins
26. Dec 2014 · 16:29 UTC
I didn't play for the gameplay it was just beautiful to look and listen. Good artsy game :)
Erkberg
27. Dec 2014 · 23:32 UTC
Amazing job on the art and mood of the game. Gameplay is kind of not there and unfortunately it ran at very low fps on my laptop, still enjoyed this quite a bit. Good job overall!
camlang
29. Dec 2014 · 11:11 UTC
I love music, it's awesome! Super mood, great job!
pixelspirit
30. Dec 2014 · 01:50 UTC
very beautiful (and fun)! glad to know it was a romantic collaboration - suits a game like this. well done.
Jungle
02. Feb 2015 · 12:11 UTC
Very beautiful, but it is a bit boring.