Suzy v Dark Lord by Jonapulse

[raw]
made by Jonapulse for LD31 (COMPO)
Suzy v Dark Lord

Apprentice Suzy goes on an irresponsible adventure, using runes that make portals!

The game is beatable, though there was no time for polish so it might not make very much sense. A few important points:
- there are 5 runes you can find in the game. You pick them up with SPACE and throw them, and they will make a portal to a new area. You find new runes in those areas. - New runes won't make portals until you pick them up and throw them. If two portals overlap, the overlapping area will create a double-portal. You overlap portals to find new runes, moving farther and farther until you find a scary guy and beat him using your brain*.
- when you encounter monsters, they can be defeated if they end up walking out of there area into the right area. Hint: the skeleton you first see will die if it leaves the forest and enters the sunny library. The monster you find after that will not die in the forest or the library.

Thanks to Ludum Dare and the tools I used (Unity, inkscape, sfxr for sound, http://www.fakemusicgenerator.com/ for music.)

*You can beat him by getting all 5 runes to overlap and having him walk in that area. You'll know you've won when you get another letter from your boss.

Ratings

Coolness 45% 1550
Overall 3.33 409
Audio 3.31 208
Fun 2.85 784
Graphics 3.41 345
Humor 3.05 236
Innovation 4.07 59
Mood 2.88 611
Theme 3.81 297

Feedback

馃帳 Jonapulse
08. Dec 2014 路 02:19 UTC
WALKTHROUGH - just in case it's not making sense

lvl 1 - the library: pick up the rune and throw it in the bottom middle of the stage. You'll reveal the forest level, a skeleton, and another rune.

lvl 2 - stay roughly where you are (moving a bit if the skeleton gets stuck on a tree.) Let the skeleton walk towards you until it enters the library stage area--it will die. Go and grab the new rune (if you can't tell which one is new, grab them both. Once they've been revealed they'll stay at the top level even if you pick up and close your first portal)

Level 3 - if you throw those two runes so that they're near each other, they'll overlap and you'll see the ice level. There is a monster in the middle of the stage that you'll want to avoid triggering (if you do trigger it, it's slow, so you're not totally screwed.)
The next rune is in the top right of the stage behind the ice pillars. If you're being chased by the ice monster, grab that rune and throw it near the others - the 4th level is hot and kills the ice monster.

Lvl 4 - grab the runes and throw them all in the middle left of the stage (where you'll find the new rune). There are three monsters surround it, but they're stationary. They will die in any level besides this one, so if you just pick up a rune near them you can kill them.

lvl 5 - if you throw all the runes in the middle the final boss will come out and chase you. There is a 5th rune near the top middle, but off to the left. If you throw them all together it will open a portal to the moon . If the boss walks on it he'll get sucked in and you'll win. If you walk on it you'll be fine... because I didn't implement death there.
馃帳 Jonapulse
08. Dec 2014 路 02:27 UTC
Oh... and sometimes when you kill the ice golem it just stays there dancing. But it's dead, I promise. If you want an inside-story-world explanation, YOU BEFRIENDED IT!
Nuclear Napalm
08. Dec 2014 路 06:59 UTC
Lovely story. And interesting idea to use Euler diagram to open new locations.
johnbrynte
08. Dec 2014 路 20:05 UTC
Great concept! I would have loved to see a bit more polished controls and game mechanics, hopefully there'll be a continuation?
andysolace
08. Dec 2014 路 20:13 UTC
Definately a strong entry :D Was good fun!

I kept getting a bit stuck on the scenery, and there doesn't appear to be a "reset" option after death? Those two things were a little frustrating, but I think I've rated this higher than virtually every game I've played so far, so well done for that :D
Red Sigma
08. Dec 2014 路 20:17 UTC
I liked the idea with the overlapping portals to different dimensions. Pretty clever! I could never figure out how to kill the Ice Golem, if you even can that is...
frenzyasii
09. Dec 2014 路 01:47 UTC
very cool concept! :)
Javabot
09. Dec 2014 路 02:11 UTC
I liked how the monsters looked, but the game play was a bit too annoying to be fun.
Integershift
09. Dec 2014 路 02:15 UTC
Bugs are quite easily found but I forgive due to the fact this was made in 48 hours otherwise pretty solid entry lot's content as well
raincole
09. Dec 2014 路 02:18 UTC
Very innovative! It gets laggy every time I throw the coin(rune?), but doesn't really hurt the gameplay.
Grindstorm
09. Dec 2014 路 02:19 UTC
Interesting approach to the theme, I liked the overlapping mechanic, but the game isn't that fun :/
karlipoppins
09. Dec 2014 路 02:20 UTC
Probably one of the best music of this LD. Fits perfectly to the game. Love the intro/tutorial. The Ice golem bug was a bit annoying. Liked the concept a lot :)
rjhunter
09. Dec 2014 路 02:28 UTC
Clever idea, cute graphics. Interesting use of the theme!

It wasn't until I read the walkthrough that I understood where the second rune had come from (I didn't spot it initially because there was a spooky skeleton coming at me!). I'd have liked the runes marked separately (or maybe have new ones "shine" until you pick them up).

I'd like to see this idea fleshed out in a post-competition game.
Wampus
09. Dec 2014 路 05:32 UTC
Good innovation, fun to try to solve, good music and looks pretty for a LD compo game. Had to use the walkthrough in the end. :)
KaCoomb
09. Dec 2014 路 05:53 UTC
I enjoyed the music. IFirst time, I got ganged up on by two baddies and died right away. Second time, I'm immortal. killed a skeleton and think I broke the game. Woot!
Reyn
09. Dec 2014 路 07:51 UTC
Hi. Nice idea to bring the worlds into the screen, 5/5 for the theme. I, like others, think you can do something great with the venn/euler diagram mechanic. Biggest issue I would say for me was collision, not always knowing if I could move around an object, which could probably be fixed with shadows or making the game 3D. Could possibly also work as a more strategic puzzley game. Was fun thanks!
mrexcessive
09. Dec 2014 路 18:18 UTC
Hi there. Nice idea with the overlapping different ways of seeing world, like that. Also like the up-tempo happy music. Found three worlds before dying. Good job!
Moee
10. Dec 2014 路 09:15 UTC
Your game is really interesting, good job dude!
Murchurl
10. Dec 2014 路 12:02 UTC
Interesting concept!
thopis
11. Dec 2014 路 08:34 UTC
Nice!cool mechanics!
Elemental Zeal Games Studios
12. Dec 2014 路 19:16 UTC
A pretty neat idea, well done!
alyphen
14. Dec 2014 路 15:13 UTC
A really cool mechanic. It took a while to "get it", but once I did, it was quite fun throwing the runes around and getting them to overlap. There were a few weird graphical glitches where the top flashed and stuff, but generally very good. The music was a little repetitive, but otherwise good.
A Flat Miner Studios
18. Dec 2014 路 05:00 UTC
Neat bit of thinking required there. Haven't seen anything like this before. Nice work!