ESC: The Game, the Experience by Spaceoff

[raw]
made by Spaceoff for LD27 (COMPO)
This game is called ESC, because it's a mediocre, generic, rushed platformer and that's the key you'll want to reach for after playing it :)

Game mechanics should quickly become obvious.. I think.
You die after 10 seconds, and the shining beacons of light restore your time and act as checkpoints. Why? Well, because I was low on ideas, short on time and tired.


I really wanted to make a platformer puzzle game for this theme, but too much time was lost, forcing me to make this a generic platformer- and a rushed one at that. Ah well...

Notes:
-Made in GM Studio (hopefully the last time I will EVER be using it for LD).
-Sounds thrown together in SFXR
-Spriting done in ASEPRITE
-This entire post consists of me being salty over not using my time well during this LD.
-The game uses only 8 colors... because why the hell not.

Ratings

Coolness 52% 3
Overall 3.38 264
Audio 2.39 640
Fun 3.39 207
Graphics 3.82 115
Humor 2.25 539
Innovation 2.25 1018
Mood 3.00 351
Theme 3.65 161

Feedback

mrspeaker
26. Aug 2013 · 10:36 UTC
Hey, that's damn nice! Awesome graphics too. Funny how the timer reallly starts to stress you out... I'm glad the core mechanics were simple, otherwise it would go from exciting to petrifying ;)
Soundboy
26. Aug 2013 · 10:36 UTC
It's a bummer you didn't get everything you wanted done, but the game's a lot of fun for what it is! Great sprites too!
ShellfishGames
26. Aug 2013 · 10:38 UTC
Nice graphics (although a background would be nice) and, well, it works. :D The controls seem a little unresponsive at times, but other than that there's really nothing wrong with it. It may be generic and the ending is indeed a little lame, but it's still a nice game. I've seen a lot worse.
Ludipe
26. Aug 2013 · 10:40 UTC
Hey, it's pretty good, even if it's generic. The art is nice and it's highly polished and that's great.

If I were you I'd give more space to the player, sometimes it's hard or frustrating because you keep hitting the wall too often.

Just curious, why the "Made in GM Studio (hopefully the last time I will EVER be using it for LD" thing?
Jimanzium
26. Aug 2013 · 10:42 UTC
Great super-shit ending :P Nice graphics, and fun smooth gameplay
🎤 Spaceoff
26. Aug 2013 · 10:45 UTC
@Ludipe - because the asset compiler glitched the fuck out with texture placement, countless times. There's a reason I only released a Web version.
Hypnohustla
26. Aug 2013 · 10:45 UTC
This is pretty neat. Simple platforming. Pure and simple :)
Diamonde
26. Aug 2013 · 10:46 UTC
I think the game overall is very solid and enjoyable. Too bad it is so short.
The graphics style is beautiful, and the mechanics are simple to understand and makes a fun game.
Diogo Muller
26. Aug 2013 · 11:53 UTC
Very cool game, really liked what you did with the graphics. The clock kinda made me nervous at the end, haha.
Temich
26. Aug 2013 · 18:03 UTC
Good game and such a nice graphics! But i can't reach 4th checkpoint
Szedouu
26. Aug 2013 · 18:29 UTC
Nice use platformer elements with time(10 seconds), arts remind me of old Prince of Persia. Done very well!
voltorben
26. Aug 2013 · 18:34 UTC
Cool graphics!

Stop complaining about not getting done, and just be happy for what you made :) Makes people negative before playing the game, which i personally don't think is a good idea.

Gameplay was fun, and fairly unique! The game mechanisms worked really well, and even though not that long (which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you want people to play it trough before playing) a had a great time playing it.

The controls were really oldschool. Stiff and a little annoying - exactly how it should be in those type of games :D
voltorben
26. Aug 2013 · 18:36 UTC
i meant: "and even though not that long (which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you want people to play it trough before RATING) I had a great time playing it. "
sorry for the type-o's :)
bombjack
26. Aug 2013 · 21:43 UTC
Very fun platformer :)
goyal
28. Aug 2013 · 02:45 UTC
Great. It reminds me of old prince of persia classic.

There was one thing I spotted, if you mistakenly push the block in the wrong direction and it fell down the ledge there is no way to recover it and you have to start from the last checkpoint. I found it too harsh for such a small mistake.
udo
28. Aug 2013 · 09:56 UTC
Very fun jump&run, nice concept and execution, especially considering it's a compo entry. I just wish the screen area was a little bigger, but other than this: very good job!
Darien
29. Aug 2013 · 11:57 UTC
I gotta be honest with you: I kind of liked it. Reminded me a bit of the old favourite Montezuma's Revenge on the C64.
BlackBulletIV
29. Aug 2013 · 23:15 UTC
I love the graphics, and the platforming is pretty solid too. I got stuck pretty soon into though.
fullmontis
31. Aug 2013 · 15:04 UTC
Nice game! Very hard too! Only thing I dislike are the sound, a little too invasive. Graphically it is great, very old school, and gameplay is great! I'd work on a complete version adding the stuff you wanted.
🎤 Spaceoff
31. Aug 2013 · 17:48 UTC
Thanks everyone for the reassurance and feedback :D

Also: fullmontis, after LD is over I tend to not want to do anything with the game I've just made for at least a few weeks, if ever. I consider it a done game once I've pressed submit.
Purplescape
31. Aug 2013 · 20:18 UTC
Nice pixel graphics and platforming. It's hard but not impossible. I like the dark atmosphere too
matthias_zarzecki
02. Sep 2013 · 06:52 UTC
Solid platformer!
Sense
02. Sep 2013 · 13:29 UTC
Like the graphics, the mood, but jump mechanics is very stressful.
markusfisch
03. Sep 2013 · 20:24 UTC
Nice platformer! Especially the graphics. Reminds me a bit of the original Prince of Persia.
savethejets1
11. Sep 2013 · 04:49 UTC
Cool game!
Too bad you didn't get a chance to finish the ending.
Bernhard
11. Sep 2013 · 13:31 UTC
Simple but very well done. All smooth and good jump feeling and everything, cool!
Christina Nordlander
11. Sep 2013 · 19:23 UTC
You're not giving yourself enough credit. It doesn't really push the envelope for platformers, but it looks very good and gave me a challenging few minutes. The environment has a lot of atmosphere, and the main character reminds me of Trilby from Ben Croshaw's games. The clock being reset when you touch the light is a nice touch (though it feels weird that "orange" is a lower danger level than "yellow").

The only things I didn't like was that jumps could be difficult, and I wasn't too fond of the jump or death sound effects (didn't mind the walking one).

The only thing that actually felt rushed was


SPOILER

the ending. But that's a minor nitpick, since the rest of the game was so good.