The Despicable Caverns of Deadly Doom by BumpkinRich

[raw]
made by BumpkinRich for LD26 (COMPO)
Here's The Despicable Caverns of Deadly Doom. A Scott Estima adventure!

Play with arrow keys / wasd - works best with a joypad though (tested with XBox contoller)

It's an ode to the games of my childhood and the hours of joy I got from my speccy.

The theme got me thinking about the simple game-play and how the world was expressed in a few blocks.

I think I got a bit carried away and probably added to much complexity with different game modes. But I've really enjoyed putting it together - and playing it. Hope you enjoy it too.

Oh - and it's got a high score table so you can show me how rubbish I am at my own game.

Here's a breakdown of the level names:

The First One
Up N Down
Temptation
The Wrath of the FSM
Enter The Zaps
Corner Plot
Ziggy
Arrow Head
Wind Around
Shall Shant
A Can of Cant
Potato Reference
Peanut Library
Hello Elton
Level Name Here

+ 2 bonus levels.

Ratings

Coolness 57% 3
Overall 3.38 352
Audio 3.53 119
Fun 3.75 61
Graphics 2.91 652
Humor 3.13 142
Innovation 2.69 881
Mood 3.00 455
Theme 3.06 984

Feedback

sparksgently
29. Apr 2013 · 06:37 UTC
The third room seemed to ramp up the difficulty considerably. I didn't see how I was going to get through the room without running out of fuel. So, that's as far as I went.
CagedRat
29. Apr 2013 · 06:41 UTC
I got really frustrated until I switched from keyboard to Xbox controller. Really smooth controls with a controller.
runonthespot
29. Apr 2013 · 19:39 UTC
Felt like an old BBC game. Quite a lot going on for the timeframe. Not bad,
psychomonster
29. Apr 2013 · 20:23 UTC
yep third room is hard :)
Covenant
29. Apr 2013 · 20:25 UTC
Very cool, blast from the past indeed... level 3 is indeed a bitch! :)
neight
29. Apr 2013 · 20:51 UTC
Decent entry. Lack of speed control gets frustrating, but fun overall.
Idovoodoo
30. Apr 2013 · 11:22 UTC
Fun game, well done! :)
🎤 BumpkinRich
30. Apr 2013 · 13:07 UTC
Thanks for playing, and the feedback.

Going to make a 'post dare' version that it a bit more forgiving so people can get past level 3 if they want to. I'll try and get a video of the whole game up too so you can see where it goes :)

I did most of the testing with keys but it's much easier with a joypad.

If only I had one of those android with a joypad thingies :)
Tater_hater
30. Apr 2013 · 20:05 UTC
I find this game to be pretty addicting. I do like the fuel aspect to the gameplay
tiffi
30. Apr 2013 · 20:06 UTC
+ for global highscores
Gravel
30. Apr 2013 · 20:06 UTC
It reminds me some old and lovely games on my ATARI ST, especially the sounds.
Well done!
nintendoeats
30. Apr 2013 · 20:12 UTC
I like a whole ton about this, but (like a few other games on here) the lives system ruins it. The thing is, the challenge doesn't come from the actual flying, it comes from planning out your route. Replaying a route that you've already proven to be optimal is just frustrating.

That also kind of invalidates the scoreboard, though if you didn't have lives I suppose that the board would also be irrelevant.

On an actual mechanical level, I think this game is pretty rad. It would be really nice if you finished up the controller support, because that is so much better.

I quite like the explosion when you die.
reheated
30. Apr 2013 · 20:37 UTC
This is so well done. Reminds me of the games I never had the skill to play but often watched my older brother play. Can you provide us with a list of level names?
Jesse111
30. Apr 2013 · 20:41 UTC
Great game with a classic feel! Level 3 is extremely unbalanced for difficulty, though! It took me 5+ tries, and even then I finished with maybe 1% fuel. Then the game resumes being considerably easier again!
reheated
30. Apr 2013 · 20:44 UTC
Also, I disagree with nintendoeats. Lives are fine and surely the right thing to do in this style of game. And for me, 90% of the challenge was flying (but I'm not very quick-fingered).
kyyninen
30. Apr 2013 · 20:48 UTC
I agree with nintendoeats about lives system. Otherwise good game and definitely keeping my eye out for post-compo version!
🎤 BumpkinRich
30. Apr 2013 · 20:55 UTC
@nintendoeats - Until a few hours to go I had a system of continuing but it was confusing when you beat your high score and came out. Looking back you could continue from the high score page which would allow you to see the whole game.

@reheated - I've edited the game description to add the level names.
patrickward
01. May 2013 · 00:27 UTC
Fun and addictive game. I like the game play, but it's a tad too fast for me. I think the lives are fine, but it would be nice to be able to repeat a level. Or, have power ups that give you more lives.
KHANanaphone
01. May 2013 · 00:45 UTC
Worked really well w/ controller
galman
01. May 2013 · 12:06 UTC
Nice game! It was a bit frustrating for me (3rd level!) but nice game in overall. Well done :)
AndyBumpkin
01. May 2013 · 12:16 UTC
Coolies!

Felt easier once I knew I could go diagonally and got my head around the fact I could simply switch left/right without having to go through up/down first.

Nice music too :D
🎤 BumpkinRich
01. May 2013 · 22:59 UTC
Just uploaded a post dare version which allows you to continue and eases level 3... slightly ;)
Rafael Sales
02. May 2013 · 19:53 UTC
Great mood. Sounds to me like one great Atari game :) Congratz!
recursor
05. May 2013 · 20:57 UTC
Hey. Where is the link to the your source code?
tankete
07. May 2013 · 04:19 UTC
Really liked the overall presentation, including multiple modes, high scores, mute option. The main mode got tough quickly. Great job!
🎤 BumpkinRich
07. May 2013 · 19:03 UTC
@recursor - thanks, was sat there all along but linkless. I've just added it.
Martin_Monosys
15. May 2013 · 19:12 UTC
Cool game, but i would have prefered controls like in the old snake game where you only have to use left/right to rotate all the way... :)