PAROLEBALL by Virtually Competent
UPDATE 12/9/14: Since a lot of people were bummed about the lack of functional keyboard/mouse controls, I've updated the game to support them better! In the spirit of the game jam, I won't be making any further improvements to the build hosted here, but you can always check out the game on itch.io (http://virtually-competent.itch.io/paroleball) for post-Jam updates. Thanks for playing!
Xbox 360 controller recommended for maximum fun! (If the "Start" button isn't working, try pressing some other face buttons first)
I present to you, after less than 72 hours of work (which included very little playtesting/balancing): PAROLEBALL!
IN THE FUTURE, robots rule the world...but they also get arrested sometimes, too. In PAROLEBALL, you're fighting for a chance at freedom...or maybe just so the guards have something to do.
Who knows? Well, maybe you will if you can get a high score in PAROLEBALL! Be sure to click the camera that appears on game over to save a screenshot of your score!
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Gamepad Controls (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED):
* Start button - Spawn ball
* Right trigger - Launch ball
* Right/Left bumpers - Flippers
* Left trigger - Slow Mode (can be used for a total of 10 seconds per ball)
* Right stick - Shoot
* Left stick - Influence ball movement (more effective in Slow Mode)
Keyboard Controls:
* Spacebar - Spawn ball
* Shift - Launch ball
* Z/X - Flippers
* Hold C - Slow Mode (can be used for a total of 10 seconds per ball)
* Hold Left Click + Mouse Aim - Shoot
* Hold Right Click + Move Mouse - Influence ball movement (more effective in Slow Mode)
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Credits:
Programming by Eric Neuhaus (@donkeyspaceman on Twitter)
Art by Colin Greenhalgh (@CuddlyColin on Twitter)
Music by Reid Turner (@ReidRTurner on Twitter)
Created in Construct 2 (https://www.scirra.com/construct2)
Sound Effects created with Bfxr (http://www.bfxr.net/)
Find more of our games at virtually-competent.itch.io!
Follow us on Twitter (@virtuacomp)!
Xbox 360 controller recommended for maximum fun! (If the "Start" button isn't working, try pressing some other face buttons first)
I present to you, after less than 72 hours of work (which included very little playtesting/balancing): PAROLEBALL!
IN THE FUTURE, robots rule the world...but they also get arrested sometimes, too. In PAROLEBALL, you're fighting for a chance at freedom...or maybe just so the guards have something to do.
Who knows? Well, maybe you will if you can get a high score in PAROLEBALL! Be sure to click the camera that appears on game over to save a screenshot of your score!
---
Gamepad Controls (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED):
* Start button - Spawn ball
* Right trigger - Launch ball
* Right/Left bumpers - Flippers
* Left trigger - Slow Mode (can be used for a total of 10 seconds per ball)
* Right stick - Shoot
* Left stick - Influence ball movement (more effective in Slow Mode)
Keyboard Controls:
* Spacebar - Spawn ball
* Shift - Launch ball
* Z/X - Flippers
* Hold C - Slow Mode (can be used for a total of 10 seconds per ball)
* Hold Left Click + Mouse Aim - Shoot
* Hold Right Click + Move Mouse - Influence ball movement (more effective in Slow Mode)
---
Credits:
Programming by Eric Neuhaus (@donkeyspaceman on Twitter)
Art by Colin Greenhalgh (@CuddlyColin on Twitter)
Music by Reid Turner (@ReidRTurner on Twitter)
Created in Construct 2 (https://www.scirra.com/construct2)
Sound Effects created with Bfxr (http://www.bfxr.net/)
Find more of our games at virtually-competent.itch.io!
Follow us on Twitter (@virtuacomp)!
Ratings
| Coolness | 71% | 3 |
| Overall(Jam) | 3.60 | 207 |
| Audio(Jam) | 3.28 | 271 |
| Fun(Jam) | 3.50 | 182 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 3.88 | 199 |
| Humor(Jam) | 2.44 | 579 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 3.10 | 459 |
| Mood(Jam) | 3.16 | 411 |
| Theme(Jam) | 3.85 | 240 |
I've been learning to use the nape physics engine, and this really makes me want to try to make a pixeled pinball game.
Good Onya!
I found it weirdly tough to launch the ball--full(ish) power makes it just jiggle in place!
No gamepad here, so I couldn't really play properly, which is a shame.
DefectiveMelon: We added those flippers in pretty late (I was using flippers from a Sonic game as placeholders up until the last hour of the jam), so it's entirely possible that the collision boundaries are a little wonky.
6DownStudios: Glad we could inspire you! :D
Flying Jester: Interesting...I've never had any issues launching the ball. I wonder if it's getting stuck on something?
MurrayL: I tried to resist the urge to fine tune the physics too much (I probably could have spent the full 72 hours doing just that...), so I may fix the "floaty"-ness, but I also think it makes it a bit easier to aim at the robots. Of course, if you don't have a gamepad, you can't shoot anyway so I suppose it doesn't matter to you. :P
udo: The center lock-in point randomly activates one of 3-4 events, one of which causes a number of flying enemies to spawn and you have to destroy them all with your laser canon! That's probably the one you're getting stuck in. Unfortunately, you can't shoot on the keyboard...I plan on getting keyboard controls at least functional in the future, but the nature of the game is much better suited to a gamepad (and that will probably always be the case).
Great job!
Well done!
The Z-Key is in the middle of my keyboard :)
Basim: There's no high scoring saving features yet, but you can save a screenshot at the end of your runs by clicking the camera icon! I'll certainly be adding something to that effect in the post-Jam version I'm planning.
puppetmaster: Sorry! Can't please everyone, I suppose. I'll keep custom mapping in mind for the non-Jam version, though. :P
I'm on Linux, and I've tried both Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers.
Have you tried holding shift on the keyboard to launch?
I need to think about it some more, but I would like to work out a touch control scheme that would still feel pretty solid. The game looks great on a display that's the right orientation for it. :D
Great job !