It Came From The Sewer by Catman

[raw]
made by Catman for LD29 (COMPO)
They are close, and nowhere is safe! They are the rat-mole-aliens!
There is some good news too, however: the aliens are on your side!
Kill all the girls with your underground army!
There are around 15 levels, and then you unlock the 'random' mode. :)

HOW TO PLAY:
Click on the spawners to spawn rat-aliens.
Click on the tubes to rotate them.
You have a limited amount of alien-power, so play wisely! When that runs out, you lose!

!!!!!!!!!!!!-----HINTS-----!!!!!!!!!!:
- Aliens change direction when they find their way blocked (they go straight until they cannot anymore). They'll then choose another direction at random, but not the one they came from. Keep that in mind!

- Aliens cannot bear earth's oxygen, and they'll die after a while.

- Girls take a fixed amount of hits to die (you can use more aliens to kill them faster).

- Girls will be scared and run away if they see an alien, use that to your advantage!

- Never, NEVER let an alien enter a spawner from above. That is a recipe for disaster.

NOTES FOR THE FUTURE:
I've been thinking about how to improve the design an, so here are some ideas:
- counterattacking girls (with flooding, or bombs, or who knows)!
- dynamic change of the tubes at times (they get closed off, some of them rotate automatically, etc...)!
- different alien types
- halfway goals, such as 'stuff' to collect!
- the more time the aliens spend in the sewer, the stronger they get!

Feel free to contribute! :)

CREDITS:
Made from scratch by Michele Pirovano with Unity 3D, Gimp, LMMS, Audacity, BFXR.

Fluid Soundfonts (used to compose the music): Copyright (c) 2000-2002, 2008 Frank Wen

Ratings

Coolness 76% 2
Overall 3.77 110
Audio 3.62 110
Fun 3.49 210
Graphics 4.04 93
Humor 3.73 62
Innovation 3.63 193
Mood 3.27 319
Theme 3.86 105

Feedback

jrap
28. Apr 2014 路 05:59 UTC
This is really neat! It could use some balancing to make it more challenging and stop players spamming aliens, but this is a really solid game with a really solid mechanic! nice one.
馃帳 Catman
28. Apr 2014 路 08:41 UTC
Thank you! Yeah, I agree on the balancing bit. I was torn between improving the design straight away to avoid the spamming, and the joy of seeing so many aliens being spammed. The latter won, at the time. ;)
PriorBlue
28. Apr 2014 路 11:45 UTC
Fancy pixel art and funny game mechanics. Top!
oatsbarley
28. Apr 2014 路 13:50 UTC
The art and music fit so well with each other, and with the theme of the game. Nice job!
martinysa0311
28. Apr 2014 路 16:24 UTC
Good Art.
Gins
28. Apr 2014 路 20:22 UTC
While it's a great idea that I had a lot of fun with, it comes down to finding the right path and then spamming the aliens as fast as possible until you win.
Loads of potential in this game though, really good work!
The graphics and especially the music are amazing, too :)
Luis Anton
28. Apr 2014 路 21:54 UTC
Great game! It was not always clear to me which direction rats would follow, but I had fun eating people nevertheless :)
TijmenTio
28. Apr 2014 路 23:26 UTC
Visuals were cool. The pathfinding seemed inconsistent, so I couldn't really anticipate what path to create for the rats..
I also really liked the music, it was nice ^^
GeorgeBroussard
29. Apr 2014 路 05:36 UTC
Great game. Seriously great. Loved the music, art and play mechanics. Really fun puzzle game. Polish and work on some more and release somewhere. It's worthy.
dsoft20
29. Apr 2014 路 07:16 UTC
Very nice game, good pixel art and catchy music :D
With a little polish it could be a hit in the app stores :D
AmmoreChicks
29. Apr 2014 路 11:48 UTC
Ah, ah, ah! Wonderful!
馃帳 Catman
29. Apr 2014 路 19:25 UTC
Thanks to all of you!! I've added a few ideas in the description section to solve the spamming design issue, while still leaving the joy of sending dozens of aliens up to greet the sun. :D
runvs
29. Apr 2014 路 20:27 UTC
Hi there,

great game with some solid mechanic. I miss some kind of juice and polish but that could be added in a post compo version?
_adamturnbull
29. Apr 2014 路 21:50 UTC
Awesome game, love the art and music.
DaanVanYperen
30. Apr 2014 路 17:45 UTC
Been looking forward to this game! The puzzle aspect didn't really shine through, but I really like the art and the music.
Warzone Gaming
30. Apr 2014 路 20:49 UTC
Haha, great game. Needs more levels or something, because its too easy right now. Great start to a game.
Shivur
30. Apr 2014 路 20:57 UTC
Pretty original.
Menesetsu
30. Apr 2014 路 20:58 UTC
Wonderful game! I think it might be a great game for kongregate or newgrounds audience.
eowindil
30. Apr 2014 路 20:58 UTC
Took me some time to get the gameplay, but very good compo !
clearlyspam23
30. Apr 2014 路 20:59 UTC
Pretty fun, at first it was a little confusing, but what you got the hang of it it became quite a game
metkis
30. Apr 2014 路 20:59 UTC
I enjoyed the graphics, music, and sound. The gameplay is fun, but I couldn't stand losing immediately when pressing the release button the last time. Wish all rats had time to die off first.
pixelpig
30. Apr 2014 路 21:02 UTC
Fantastic game! so polished
馃帳 Catman
30. Apr 2014 路 21:04 UTC
Thanks again to everyone for the feedback!

@Warzone Gaming: Will surely add more levels, after I refine the mechanics. I have a lot of ideas for extensions too, like special blocks, new aliens and so on... this was a more rough proof of concept. :)

@metkis: you are right, that is a good idea, as otherwise you are obliged to just click it and lose. I'll surely do that!
Balint197
30. Apr 2014 路 21:07 UTC
The pathfinding at first was hard to understand, but it is a really good idea! The rat-mole-alien spamming is an issue though(cool name :D) Cool game!
garygreen
30. Apr 2014 路 21:10 UTC
Cute, frustrating, disturbing and fun.
Robber
30. Apr 2014 路 21:13 UTC
yeah this is great, right amount a twisted hilariousness..
already some good puzzly elements when the girls walk away from the toilets and stuff, could be improved a little with the pipe design/option, but already so much fun to play..
garygreen
30. Apr 2014 路 21:14 UTC
Cute, frustrating, disturbing and fun.
馃帳 Catman
30. Apr 2014 路 21:31 UTC
Glad you liked the 'disturbance'. ;)

Yeah, I maybe threw too many unrefined mechanics in it, I just thought about making it cruel and fun, next step is to make them more synergetic!
BoneDaddy
30. Apr 2014 路 23:29 UTC
The graphics are absolutely delicious and they work really well with the sounds. This makes for a great mood. The little girls are absolutely hilarious and adorable, I love the way they laugh when idling. The game is unfair though and sometimes I didn't understand why what I was doing wasn't working (aliens would go down a weird tube, or I wouldn't know how many "hits" a girl would take before she was eaten). Pretty cool stuff though
rujo
01. May 2014 路 01:05 UTC
amazing pixel art and very original take on the theme
馃帳 Catman
01. May 2014 路 08:02 UTC
@BoneDaddy: I see how you could think the aliens' movement is unfair, I'll add more information on it. The hits on the girl are always the same amount, tho. Thank you for the feedback!
Thorig
01. May 2014 路 08:25 UTC
Fun little game, great entry!
iSamurai
01. May 2014 路 10:06 UTC
Interesting! Nice art and music, innovative gameplay. Though the rotation of the floors is a bit confusing.
bwpdsigns
01. May 2014 路 13:28 UTC
Great game! Nice music and graphics.
alvarop
01. May 2014 路 16:57 UTC
I liked games in which I can be an asshole. Thank you for letting me be one.
gnerkus
02. May 2014 路 08:05 UTC
I feel ashamed. This is one of the best games I've played.
Linus Lindberg
02. May 2014 路 16:34 UTC
Wow, looks and plays really well! For an LD it's seriously impressive! I'd love to see a post-compo version! :)
GFM
02. May 2014 路 17:05 UTC
Great polish!! And the music was so cool!!
It took me a while to understand how the aliens behave but, after that, the game was really fun. I thought, at first, that they could change direction at any intersection... I'll have to read the description more carefully next time. =X

Great job. :)
StoneMasters
02. May 2014 路 17:06 UTC
It came from the desert! So this is the sequal then? :) ..from the Sewers! Nice puzzely game. WD for a 48h game.
howieV (binarygirl)
02. May 2014 路 17:32 UTC
really good man.. nice'n'polished :)
rorycooke
02. May 2014 路 17:41 UTC
this is really nice, I love that graphics - so cute 555555555
bebopbraunbaer
02. May 2014 路 19:16 UTC
fun! thx for making it (- : very good art and nice sound. Looking forward to your next game. Good work!
xdegtyarev
02. May 2014 路 19:30 UTC
haha, very funny! cute visuals! ;)
ArcturusDeluxe
03. May 2014 路 00:18 UTC
Pretty slick presentation, great pixel art and sound. Interesting concept for a puzzle game too. Not to be 'that guy', but it felt a bit weird that I was only killing girls. Why can't I kill some guys too? I support equal opportunity mole-rat-alien devouring!
dalbinblue
03. May 2014 路 03:57 UTC
Really cool game. Feels almost like an inverted pipe dream game. There was as lot of good strategy in the game, though there were a few levels where spawning aliens could complete it, most required a lot of thought and careful bating of girls to get them in the right position. Also very funny, though the highly public toilets is a little disturbing.
Dreii
03. May 2014 路 06:01 UTC
This is an awesome entry, Looks like its ready for so much more :)
馃帳 Catman
03. May 2014 路 07:06 UTC
Thanks to everyone!!

@ArcturusDeluxe: this is explained in the postmortem :)

Long story short: I had a shrieking niece around while working.

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2014/05/02/it-came-from-the-sewer-the-post-mortem/
loxo
03. May 2014 路 13:32 UTC
Overall a great fun to play game, I like especially the graphics and the interesting concept. Different types of girls would be nice, so that you need different strategies to get them. Maybe combined with different types of aliens or you can change an alien by directing it through different kinds of tunnels.
Izitmee
03. May 2014 路 15:44 UTC
Beautiful game with beautiful art. I'm so frustrated I didn't participate and thus I can't vote for it :P
wdebowicz
03. May 2014 路 16:30 UTC
Very good game! quite addictive.
Make A Game
03. May 2014 路 17:38 UTC
Great game, I just wish the way the aliens turn when reaching a wall wasn't so random.
Garris
03. May 2014 路 21:54 UTC
This made the little sociopath in my so happy. Solid pipe puzzler with charming graphics and fitting sound. Good job.
mboaj
03. May 2014 路 23:46 UTC
Really great and sick :) in a good way though.
GarethIW
04. May 2014 路 08:24 UTC
I had to play this as a fan of ICFTD. I'm not sure which is scarier - rats or ants! Fun game.
Jupiter_Hadley
08. May 2014 路 03:30 UTC
Love the graphics and the game! I included it in part 14 of my Ludum Dare compilation video series, if you'd like to check it out :) http://youtu.be/-VvtqXfr-Xs
ActionRemix
08. May 2014 路 05:00 UTC
Wow at this - sick the aliens on the little girls.

You Win font is incredible.
PapyGaragos
08. May 2014 路 11:14 UTC
The difficulty curve is not great, but that is the only thing I didn't like in this entry. Fantastic job
Ithildin
08. May 2014 路 13:48 UTC
Nice! I love how the puzzle element from the pipes blends in with the resource management part of spawning the aliens. It's also ver fitting. Great work!
conormn
13. May 2014 路 06:48 UTC
WOW! Really love the idea and execution. Killer job!!!