LudumData

WindBuilder by Per

[raw]
made by Per for LD27 (JAM)
Navigate through the wind with your rocket ship.

After 10 seconds, you can place a new module on your ship and decide the key for it. You only got 10 seconds for that so hurry up! :).
Continue until you find all checkpoints or run out of modules :(

Controls: Arrow keys

Build help:
* Select a green square to place the module
* Select the key to use for it

Known problems:
* Can not get key input in IE11

First time without falling back to flash for audio, which seems to work fine nowadays :)

Abundant music and Reason was used to generate the music.

I used GWT for all the code and used the html5 canvas 2d context, which was pretty fun! Java is certainly more fun than Javascript :)

I planned to have a lot of modules like weapons etc. but I spent to much time writing my own gui, which was really stupid :)
Web http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/104012548/ld27/index.html
Timelapse http://youtu.be/XG2HCEf4KRo
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-27/?action=preview&uid=6781

Ratings

Coolness 55% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.16 269
Audio(Jam) 3.19 175
Fun(Jam) 2.97 277
Graphics(Jam) 2.84 411
Humor(Jam) 2.11 371
Innovation(Jam) 3.97 14
Mood(Jam) 2.68 370
Theme(Jam) 3.00 319

Feedback

mikegbrown
27. Aug 2013 · 12:28 UTC
I really like the core concept of building up this little rigidbody ship, but the having to add to it every 10 seconds was interrupting. I was enjoying getting a feeling for the ship but right as I started to learn a little I was interrupted again.

Really cool though.
Sense
27. Aug 2013 · 13:23 UTC
I like the concept and the tank grid-3d graphic, but controls are really annoying at first plays.
nathanhoffer
28. Aug 2013 · 03:52 UTC
Controls are challenging, but it kind of seems like the point :)
Angrycrow
28. Aug 2013 · 04:12 UTC
It was quite difficult to get the hang of my controls. For a while I've been wanting to make a game where the player sets the controls as they go. This is a great implementation. I'd love to see a tutorial element to this game so that I can get used to the building and moving phases. RATE MY GAME!!! http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-27/?action=preview&uid=5288
lurkingshadow
28. Aug 2013 · 04:15 UTC
Controls made the game alot more interesting, cool idea.
Zelen3d
28. Aug 2013 · 19:40 UTC
You should maybe make the moving cells more visible. They were too dark.
team_cow
28. Aug 2013 · 19:42 UTC
At first I did not understand how to build the ship (by clicking the button to bind it to, not pressing it), but once that was solved, the building was on! Got a bit stressful at times, but had great fun trying to navigate my haphazardly built ship. Great work!
Meep
29. Aug 2013 · 09:50 UTC
Nice idea. The controls were difficult to get used to, and I don't think they were very intuitive (at first). Like others've said, having to attach something every 10 seconds seemed to take away from it/interrupt the experience. Maybe if the game was faster paced the 10 seconds would suffice. Great work, regardless. :)
nixeldev
29. Aug 2013 · 19:02 UTC
I like it, the build mechanic on the ship makes it real interesting :)
Gremlin
29. Aug 2013 · 19:41 UTC
I think this is a really cool idea for an arcade game. The balance is a little wonky--it's hard to tell what helps or hurts maneuverability--making the game challenging. That doesn't hurt the game much, since its about that challenge, but it does mean the game doesn't have room to be about anything else.

The adding screen doesn't give you a lot of time, I think I'd prefer it if the game paused until you chose. Also, I'd like to be able to put multiple modules on a single key, and it didn't seem like that was possible, though I might have missed something.
dekart
30. Aug 2013 · 16:25 UTC
Cool concept and mechanics. The game is pretty challenging. I like it.
Jellycakes
03. Sep 2013 · 18:57 UTC
Really nice concept! I found it interesting that you weren't limited by time but rather the timer pushed you forward. It was a little irritating that you were limited to one piece every 10 seconds but I think it was still well executed. Nice job!
Surrealix
04. Sep 2013 · 08:28 UTC
I like building this type of build-your-ship game, but I'm not sure whether adding a piece every 10 seconds was a help or a hinderance. Perhaps my shipbuilding skills are lacking, but the bigger the ship got the more unweildy it was, even (or especially) with more boosters.

I had fun wobbling around the levels at any rate :).
matthias_zarzecki
05. Sep 2013 · 09:15 UTC
Love the ship flailing and wobbling around :)
Darien
12. Sep 2013 · 10:11 UTC
Graphics and sound are top-notch, but I found the controls frustrating.
manuq
13. Sep 2013 · 01:09 UTC
This has potential! Have you played Galaxy Trucker board game? For a while I was thinking what kind of mechanic could have a port to videogame. That is, without replicating a board game. I would love to see this evolve to a complete game with all the features you mention :)
Solifuge
14. Sep 2013 · 21:41 UTC
Very cool! I like the highly customizable movement and controls; I almost finished a shift+arrow strafing system before time ran out. Might be neat to see in a space combat game!
porglezomp
14. Sep 2013 · 22:11 UTC
Very innovative!