Abacus Fighter by deadpixelsociety

[raw]
made by deadpixelsociety for LD36 (COMPO)
Run:

If you have Java installed you should be able to just double click the 'abacusfigher.jar' file to run it
directly. Otherwise, try the command 'java -jar abacusfighter.jar'. If it won't run hit me up on Twitter or
the compo page.

Objective:

The goal of the game is to calculate the given number at the top of the screen before your opponent does.
You accomplish this by adding beads to your side of the abacus. Each bead adds ONE UNIT OF VALUE for that row.

The row values are:

1.............. |-@@@@@@@@@@-|
10............. |-@@@@@@@@@@-|
100............ |-@@@@@@@@@@-|
1000........... |-@@@@@@@@@@-|
10000.......... |-@@@@@@@@@@-|
100000......... |-@@@@@@@@@@-|

e.g., 3 beads from the first row are worth 3 points. 3 beads from the 2nd row are worth 30 points.

Controls:

Player One:

MOVE UP - W
MOVE DOWN - S
ADD BEAD - A
REMOVE BEAD - D
FORCE BEAD - DOUBLE D
SHAKE ABACUS - SPACE

Player Two:

MOVE UP - UP
MOVE DOWN - DOWN
ADD BEAD - RIGHT
REMOVE BEAD - LEFT
FORCE BEAD - DOUBLE LEFT
SHAKE ABACUS - SPACE

N - Mute sound
M - Mute music
F11 - Toggle fullscreen
ESC - Exit

Gameplay:

Move your arrow up and down along the rows. Use your 'add bead' key to add a bead to your side from the available
beads. If there are no more available beads you will instead steal one from your opponent. There are only 10 beads
and some numbers will require more than your even share!

Use your 'remove bead' key to remove a bead you previously added or that was forced onto you. Double tap that same
key to force a bead onto your opponent. This will throw their number off and buy you valuable time!

Press the 'shake abacus' key to shake the abacus violently! This will randomize the positions of all beads on the
abacus. Some will be on your side, some on your opponenets, and some sitting in the middle. Use this to buy yourself
time if you're about to lose. Only 2 shakes per game can be used, and they are shared between you and your opponent.

Feedback

BoltKey
28. Aug 2016 路 22:19 UTC
Damn, I wish it was not the middle of the night so I could play with my cousins.

I love the idea and take on theme. But, although I haven't really played it, it seems to me almost impossible to match the number when the other player is trying to do the same all the time. Maybe if there was a time limit after which the one who is closer wins?
馃帳 deadpixelsociety
28. Aug 2016 路 22:29 UTC
Hey, thanks! I hope you get a chance to play it and can tell me what you think.

It's not too bad I think. It can take a little bit of time to look at the target number and the board and figure out what moves you need to make still. So the intention was for a bit of skill and planning to help you get ahead there. Hopefully it plays like that, too!
LoneSpelunker
29. Aug 2016 路 01:37 UTC
Wow, this is a really clever two-player design. This would be a good activity for kids learning the concept of place value.
ryte2byte
29. Aug 2016 路 20:44 UTC
This is a very cool concept! The Mrs. & I are gonna give it a shot later. Wish me luck, she's a math teacher :o
KevKevOnFire
30. Aug 2016 路 03:12 UTC
Really liked the concept, wish I had a second to try it out properly
blinry
30. Aug 2016 路 15:40 UTC
Unique idea for a fighting game! It involves a lot of looking back and forth - maybe the spatial layout could be improved in that regard. It was easy getting into, but on the second round, no one of us was able to win :-P Good Audio! Simple, but effective graphics! Good job, thanks for making this game!
kokiriandco
30. Aug 2016 路 15:46 UTC
Nice concept!! 2 vs 2 is very unseen in this LD, could it be interesting a online for the game?
MacDocBros
30. Aug 2016 路 17:23 UTC
Nice game!
csanyk
01. Sep 2016 路 04:56 UTC
I don't run java, but this looks really cool. Great concept and I love the graphics. Make a web-based version, I'd love to try this.
qzqxq
01. Sep 2016 路 19:09 UTC
Nice, this looks incredibly polished and I really like the simple graphics style and music. The game idea is very creative, but I think there are some gameplay issues, namely if you want to prevent your opponent from winning you could continually mash left or right on any given row. Obviously this is not a fun strategy, but I could imagine a scenario in which both players are trying to mess each other up, causing the game to go on forever.

Of course, I haven't actually played it with a second player yet so I might be completely wrong; I'll get a friend sometime and test it out. Good job!
馃帳 deadpixelsociety
01. Sep 2016 路 21:44 UTC
@qzqxq, I agree with you there. Some gameplay holes exist for sure. Luckily it's local multi only so if your friend is doing that you can give them a right smack. :) Thanks for the feedback!
Jupiter_Hadley
12. Sep 2016 路 17:41 UTC
Nice graphics, interesting game. I included it in my compilation video series of Ludum Dare 36, if you鈥檇 like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/09-iIm0Xcrg