Bus by Caribou

[raw]
made by Caribou for LD30 (COMPO)
"Bus" focuses on how nearly impossible it is to meet any particular person after thousands of years of human history and how we don't appreciate it.

CONTROLS: WASD - move, Left mouse button - pick up and use items.

Thank you for all the comments! I didn't include checkpoints on purpose, to strengthen my point, but I already know how to really increase the replay value of the game and I'll be making a post-compo version.

Ratings

Coolness 85% 2
Overall 3.18 586
Audio 1.66 956
Fun 2.87 717
Graphics 3.40 369
Humor 3.08 179
Innovation 3.37 394
Mood 3.07 486
Theme 3.33 505

Feedback

PapaCheech
25. Aug 2014 · 02:52 UTC
Came to play a game about a bus... stayed because I got to stab a mammoth. HELLL YEAH! Good job!
badlydrawnrod
25. Aug 2014 · 09:01 UTC
Very enjoyable, but slightly frustrating having to start from the beginning each time. However, that does rather make your point...
Druid
25. Aug 2014 · 10:15 UTC
Wow. This is really interesting game!
Linus Lindberg
25. Aug 2014 · 10:49 UTC
Fantastic concept! :)
nonetheless
25. Aug 2014 · 10:51 UTC
It's always nice to stab a mammoth :) Checkpoints would be nice.
fcpfoof
25. Aug 2014 · 10:52 UTC
I don't understand much what's going on, it's so random but funny ;D
mrbungle
25. Aug 2014 · 10:54 UTC
Nice little series of vignettes, great interpretation of the theme. Had to play until completion! Like the graphics, shame there's no animation or sound.
DrCicero
25. Aug 2014 · 11:14 UTC
Gah! Too hard. The bus scene should be skippable with the mouse, so you dont have to watch it infitity times. And i think you should be allowed to take one hit in the plane... Cant got further than that. Maybe the end would explain, how these worlds are connected?

Would have been nice to write "WASD+left click" in the background of the first scene, so you know what to do.
AdventureIslands
25. Aug 2014 · 12:32 UTC
Checkpoints could have been nice, but otherwise this is pretty interesting take on the theme.
chriskdev
25. Aug 2014 · 12:42 UTC
I really liked the timeline thingy, good job and great concept! Replaying the whole game from the beginning if you died wasn't that much fun, but I liked it overall :)
MrCakehat
25. Aug 2014 · 13:07 UTC
Art style is pretty good!
Doubstract
25. Aug 2014 · 13:08 UTC
It's hilarious! Art style is amazing, gameplay is amazing, atmosphere is amazing, EVERYTHING is amazing!
LaFleur
25. Aug 2014 · 13:52 UTC
Definitely an original take on the theme! Good job!
headchant
25. Aug 2014 · 14:47 UTC
Very hard but I liked the idea. It is a bit frustrating that you have to start from the beginning if you die.
yodamaster
25. Aug 2014 · 15:12 UTC
Quite challenging. Interesting concept. Like it.
datacr4sh
25. Aug 2014 · 15:43 UTC
nice art, interesting use of story
pxlcoder
25. Aug 2014 · 15:57 UTC
Loved the graphics and the story!
43iscoding
25. Aug 2014 · 17:12 UTC
Seems like developer was on heavy drugs while making this game :D I really enjoyed it
Techblogogy
25. Aug 2014 · 18:22 UTC
This is quite unique game, with interesting approach at theme.
SnoutUp
25. Aug 2014 · 18:34 UTC
Stuck on plane level, would play more, but replaying everything from the start is a bit too much. Loved the idea, tho and art is great.
Jupiter_Hadley
25. Aug 2014 · 19:21 UTC
Really nice concept and graphics. I included it in part 5 of my Ludum Dare 30 compilation video series :) http://youtu.be/W46twhRFdK8
dickpoelen
25. Aug 2014 · 20:39 UTC
Like other said, you kinda wish for a checkpoint after a few tries. But that'd ruin the whole point I guess. Great little game(s)!
TravisChen
26. Aug 2014 · 01:36 UTC
This is a masterpiece. Amazing.
Otrora
26. Aug 2014 · 21:39 UTC
Some animations and you're done. Everything else work fine
mechabit
27. Aug 2014 · 11:55 UTC
Like the concept, really original, well done.
lorniebear
27. Aug 2014 · 14:42 UTC
I like it! Reminds me of Warioware. Was that your intention?
PaperBlurt
28. Aug 2014 · 09:08 UTC
This was truly a delight.
Very interesting concept!
MerlijnVH
28. Aug 2014 · 19:54 UTC
Very cool and original game, I liked it a lot. The penalty for failure was a bit high, having to start over again from the beginning, but a lot of fun nevertheless!
uvwar
29. Aug 2014 · 04:10 UTC
Wasn't entirely sure what was happening most of the time. I feel like some simple sound cues would clue in the player as to what was happening or what they were meant to do (wolf howling, mammoth trumpet, etc). Otherwise everything else is really nice!
Nuclear Napalm
29. Aug 2014 · 16:21 UTC
Very interesting concept. A bit frustrating, but still really fun.
KedumeBits
29. Aug 2014 · 16:43 UTC
I like the concept. It remind me to MacPixel. Good job.
ButtonMasherBros
02. Sep 2014 · 16:07 UTC
Hey! You are on today's episode of Ludum Dare to Believe! Check it out at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3kmJ2DDWPE
IamAcoconut
02. Sep 2014 · 17:09 UTC
Nice game. Very original. I think if you added some music, more minigames, and polished it up a bit more, it would be really great. Good game.
RobotFriend
02. Sep 2014 · 19:45 UTC
Nice mammoth!
mechabit
03. Sep 2014 · 01:51 UTC
I like how you convey the story without words simply by having the red-head girl or the brown haired guy disappear when one of their many ancestors failed to survive.

Reminds me of the scene in Watchmen when Dr. Manhattan discovers the value of human life as every single ancestor of a person had to have survived long enough to have children.
SteveSalmond
03. Sep 2014 · 10:22 UTC
One of the more inventive interpretations of the theme I've seen so far. I cracked up laughing in the mammoth and knight scenes, and cursed when that damned plane shot me down for the second time. Great job :)
bluemaroo3
05. Sep 2014 · 20:07 UTC
Another vote for checkpoints here. Really enjoyed the concept and love the graphics style. Just found it a little too difficult for myself.
Z.B.G.E.
08. Sep 2014 · 17:21 UTC
Clever use of the theme! The "MSPaint" art style worked surprisingly well too.

The game mechanics are a bit hard to grasp and unforgiving (no checkpoints) but they still serve the story well. I found the game a bit unbalanced too: after all these very short sequences, when the planes part came by, I thought I was doing something wrong since I couldn't get to shoot the enemy. I think now that I only had to survive a minute or so until the red plane made it to the right part of the screen, but I didn't manage to get past it. After a few attempts I had to give up.

Overall it's a great 48h entry :)
egor-idiot
15. Sep 2014 · 17:48 UTC
Crazy game %)
TaoPhoenix
23. Sep 2014 · 15:21 UTC
Hmm, I'm not seeing anyone posting spoilers yet. The plane is in fact the last level. (That seems to have been happening a bit in LD lately - fairly short games, but everyone gets stuck on the last level just when they are about to win.)

The way to beat the plane is to fly diagonally up or down and far right, then match the rhythm of exactly five shots and a space, so that in the interval you decoy the plane up or down not to get cornered, forcing the red plane out of position, then it can't catch up. After some 4-5 times of doing this, it starts to get close, so then just when it's done firing, you brake hard and get behind it. Then it can't hurt you, so stick your nose turret into its rear engine or whatever and press the mouse to blow it up.

Sorry, the ending doesn't explain anything, but not bad for a beginning developer. I'd prefer like here that there don't seem to be any/many bugs, rather than sometimes otherwise the dev burns a crucial 6 hours in the start and then gets jammed at the end.