Aliens and such by Waynetron

[raw]
made by Waynetron for LD27 (COMPO)
Missile Command meets Tetris.
The game has two alternating phases. The puzzle phase and the alien blasting phase. Each lasts 10 seconds at a time.

** Puzzle phase **
Join 4 or more of the same coloured squares to increase your alien blasting potential (any direction, as long as they touch).

Pink: Shield
Yellow: Blast radius
Green: Missile speed
Black: Nothing

** Alien blasting phase **
The key thing to know here is that a direct hit will not hurt an alien. Your missiles will fire to wherever you click (only 3 can be active at a time) and detonate when reaching their target. Any aliens caught in the shockwave of the explosion will be killed.

Protip:
The white aliens will always drop a block

Post Compo version includes some bug fixes and a skip button on the puzzle phase.

Ratings

Coolness 56% 3
Overall 3.43 224
Audio 2.26 701
Fun 3.20 336
Graphics 3.71 145
Humor 1.79 829
Innovation 3.66 132
Mood 2.44 789
Theme 2.97 730

Feedback

YopSolo
25. Aug 2013 · 17:51 UTC
wow great game concept !
warning, You don't have embed your Font
flyingbear
27. Aug 2013 · 00:49 UTC
I really liked how the 2 gameplay styles complemented each other. Well done!
SaintHeiser
27. Aug 2013 · 07:18 UTC
Like the concept!
But 10 seconds in customizer is awful for me. It's interesting for some people but I don't like it. I don't like timer in puzzles at all =(
Good job anyway!
Zap
28. Aug 2013 · 12:27 UTC
Oh! I really like this!
The art is nice and clean, and the concept is great. I actually spent quite a bit of time playing :3

It took me ages to realise that where you click is where the bullet explodes, and that the bullets passing through an enemy does nothing. I found this really unusual and difficult at first, but felt I was getting better the more I played - which was really satisfying.

The thing I'm not so keen on is the timer during the puzzle. When you do have pieces it doesn't seem enough time, and when you don't it's annoying having to wait.
The game also got stuck for me on level 9 with 2 seconds left - enemies kept falling without damaging the shield, and the timer was stuck.

Bonus points for the name :)
DesignerNap
28. Aug 2013 · 18:15 UTC
Clean art style, nice approach to the design and fun gameplay! good work :)
mrspeaker
28. Aug 2013 · 19:30 UTC
Arghh! I don't get it! What is the "customizer" bit? Why is it changing?!
iterative deepening
28. Aug 2013 · 19:49 UTC
Clever concept and nice graphics. This is really fun to play your game, and pretty addictive too! Great job.
🎤 Waynetron
29. Aug 2013 · 11:26 UTC
Ok, I've updated the description with more detail to hopefully help though who are a little confused.
I've also added a Post Comp version with some bug fixes and a skip button on the puzzle phase (Can be frustrating waiting 10 seconds if you don't find any new blocks).
🎤 Waynetron
29. Aug 2013 · 11:29 UTC
By the way I don't think it's possible to beat level 15. If anyone does, I'd love to know.
awppy
29. Aug 2013 · 13:08 UTC
Very easy to understand, pick up, and go without even remembering to read your introduction. Very clever game design. It was really fun!
mboaj
29. Aug 2013 · 13:09 UTC
Nice crossover :)
Laelien
29. Aug 2013 · 13:22 UTC
Sweet, sweet little game ! A game over screen would have been nice.
onzephyr
29. Aug 2013 · 13:43 UTC
Nice mashup between two different gameplay types. I also enjoyed the visuals. nicely done.
futuristteletex
29. Aug 2013 · 13:54 UTC
Nice game, neat graphics, interesting mechanics!
Empyrealhell
01. Sep 2013 · 07:31 UTC
Reminiscent of puzzle quest, the two different gameplay modes worked together better than I would have expected.
headchant
01. Sep 2013 · 08:12 UTC
It's quite hard (and probably not meant to play with trackpad) but the concept is great! You should keep working on it!
Zerkruemler
01. Sep 2013 · 08:22 UTC
Really cool idea, works nice except that some aliens seem to be immune to the missles, they go right though them.
Almax27
01. Sep 2013 · 09:30 UTC
Nice concept, although the hit box of alien is a bit picky :D
AnnaGavaldaKedavra
11. Sep 2013 · 10:07 UTC
Nice game, fun to play. Lvl 15 was just impossible. 10 sec to put the squares seems not enough and it's impossble to change pieces but it's still fun.
Jacob123
13. Sep 2013 · 10:18 UTC
Awesome man! Although I couldn't figure out how to rotate the blocks.
Lokarunith
13. Sep 2013 · 22:11 UTC
Loved the concept and found the game amazigly fun but we really need more time in the puzzle phase, in 10 seconds there is just no time to think.