Super Minimalistic Nuclear Space Potatoes ! by Hatscat

[raw]
made by Hatscat for LD26 (JAM)
Pheewww! What a challenge for us to make a third person space shoot (which is most a flight simulator gameplay) for the first time, for a ludum dare!
We learned a lot about quarternion physics and maths :p

Everything is not pollished, and the final result is far from our first expectations (we wished to include a true highscores leaderboard for example... maybe in a post entry), but we're pretty proud of us :)

Which tools we used :
- Game engine : Unity 3.5,
- Scripting language : C#,
- 3D art : Voxatron game + Blender (only to convert .obj into .fbx, as Unity don't read .mtl files),
- 2D art : Paint.NET,
- Sounds : usfxr (C# library),
- Music : GarageBand.

So, what will you find in this game?
- minimalistic goal,
- minimalistic obstacle,
- minimalistic story,
-minimalistic arts,
- and minimalistic potatoes!

Enjoy :D

Controls : Mouse only! But you can use your keyboard if you prefer, with arrows/WASD and ctrl/space keys (beware it's harder!).

Edit : in the "Extended release" we will include your ideas and suggestions (and ours ^^), balance the difficulty and polish this game progressively. It's not to improve our rating, only the original entry have to be rate, but we belive in the potential of this game and wish to include new elements, like explorations goals, etc. Stay tuned ;)

Ratings

Coolness 65% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.44 156
Audio(Jam) 3.23 182
Fun(Jam) 3.05 215
Graphics(Jam) 3.71 140
Humor(Jam) 2.96 102
Innovation(Jam) 2.68 360
Mood(Jam) 3.74 53
Theme(Jam) 3.28 264

Feedback

kingsman142
29. Apr 2013 路 23:30 UTC
It says I need to install unity web player, but I have the latest version. You probably should have included more links, such as downloads for different operating systems.
Paul Sinnett
29. Apr 2013 路 23:36 UTC
I love the lighting and the block-like constructions. Nicely done.
psychopsam
30. Apr 2013 路 04:20 UTC
You think like me (check out Nano) - can't play as it keeps asking me to install Unity Web Player which I already have.
馃帳 Hatscat
30. Apr 2013 路 09:39 UTC
Thanks for your bug repport!
Understood, I updated the webplayer link (and move it in other folder) and included more donwload links. :)
But beware, I didn't made a quit button, it will be for the extended entry...

"Block-like constructions" are made with the Voxatron game (editor mode), in voxels, then exported in .obj ^^
psychopsam
30. Apr 2013 路 10:34 UTC
Great game but it was too hard to get anywhere. I think the problem is the ship moves too fast to shoot enough asteroids so getting potatoes becomes a suicide mission. Perhaps reduces the speed a little. music is perfect as are the graphics and flight engine despite the speed issue. Well done.
馃帳 Hatscat
30. Apr 2013 路 11:02 UTC
Thank you for your feedback psychopsam! I take into consideration for the post release.
It's quick to set up, but balanced the game is hard while developping, this kind of issue become so natural ^^
delanghe
30. Apr 2013 路 11:57 UTC
A very good game,it's a good job.
rustybroomhandle
30. Apr 2013 路 15:50 UTC
I thought this game was fun even though its not polished as stated above. I wish the y-axis was inverted (up is down and down is up) but other then that it was fun!
馃帳 Hatscat
30. Apr 2013 路 17:19 UTC
@rustybroomhandle : Right, I never play like that but I understand your need, it's noted for the post entry ;)
Haversack
30. Apr 2013 路 17:29 UTC
Love the graphics. Wish the controls were more like freespace though, cause then it would basically be Asteroids in 3D and done well! Would love to see this taken further!
Saturnyn
30. Apr 2013 路 17:31 UTC
Great work, really inspiring !
Cake&Code
30. Apr 2013 路 17:37 UTC
I am loving the Voxatron-esque graphics. You're right that the game is minimal, but who doesn't enjoy flying through space and shooting lasers?

Great work!
Jhelle
30. Apr 2013 路 17:39 UTC
Loved the voxel graphics. But the spaceship itself was too slow for me to find it very enjoying.
馃帳 Hatscat
30. Apr 2013 路 18:32 UTC
@Cake&Code : yeah, that's what I think too ^^
@Haversack : you wish that I break the camera margins? hmm.. why not, I can try it to see if it can be fun.

Thank you all for your comments!
GreenPixelDev
01. May 2013 路 15:33 UTC
Nice job! The camera placement and shading invoked an awesome feeling of actually flying through space! I'm glad you kept the camera close to the ship :D The controls were a bit weird though as they felt unresponsive when trying to aim but I understand that the ship's turning speed is part of the game :D
Tokken18
01. May 2013 路 15:35 UTC
So much awesome. The addition of potatoes is an instant win. But not only that, SPACE POTATOES! Awesome sauce. handles well and works well mechanically. I noticed the voxatron visuals which was pretty neat! I wish there was a way to slow down to turn around so you could collect stuff a little easier but other than that, well done!
psychomonster
01. May 2013 路 18:31 UTC
right right cool boxy spaceships. like it... but it is really hard to play... controlls a little to slow... Could be a local problem with my computer... But I like the Game ...
stromchin
02. May 2013 路 05:59 UTC
How did you export the objects from voxatron? All I get is .vob.png objects, which blender doesn't recognize. Could it be that yours is an older version?, I'm currently using 0.2.5
stromchin
02. May 2013 路 06:07 UTC
Nevermind, I found it. Just use "export" command in the console
馃帳 Hatscat
02. May 2013 路 09:27 UTC
@stromchin : yeah, here are the export commands :

export filename.obj // also saves a .mtl file. can be loaded in almost any 3d modelling program.
export filename%d.png // a set of 2d slices are saved as png files (filename0.png, filename1.png..)
export filename.txt // raw data is saved in a simple text format (see vox.txt)
juaxix
02. May 2013 路 10:04 UTC
Looks like there is a whole universe inside a window :|
I love the square trail and the music, nice touch of humor, good job
mungoman1
02. May 2013 路 22:45 UTC
Pretty interesting concept!
MinionStudios
03. May 2013 路 15:35 UTC
Wow, great game! I was impressed by the quality of the controls and the simple and effective cube graphics!
davidpeter
04. May 2013 路 14:12 UTC
Nice game! The controls were a miss for me - CTRL for shooting means that on my Mac laptop, pressing the arrow keys will change my workspace. I wish it was Space instead or something. I have a trackpad so I'd prefer not to use it for shooting games like this!
馃帳 Hatscat
06. May 2013 路 15:25 UTC
@davidpeter : You are brave to play it with the keyboard ^^
It's true that I didn't specify it but we intended this game to be played with the mouse only.
For you, I added the "space" key to shoot now (in the "extended release").
Floko
07. May 2013 路 13:35 UTC
Quite interesting idea. I would like to see upgrades for the ship in the extended versions =]

keep up working guys!

ps: I really liked how your shots light up the obstacles ahead, sometimes even before you could normally see them. That was an awesome touch!
Geoege
07. May 2013 路 14:24 UTC
Pretty great game, really love graphics.
GameNacho
08. May 2013 路 04:23 UTC
What a cool shooter! I love the graphics!
ronsho
14. May 2013 路 17:17 UTC
This is pretty solid (only played the first version). I feel a bit too constrained to the center of the screen, and actually pretty easy to go without shooting anything or hitting anything. Maybe steers a little too slowly.
Beldarak
20. May 2013 路 14:59 UTC
I played the two versions. Great game. I really loved it. I think some RPG elements could be awesome: using the potatoes to buy and improve stuff like the field of attraction of potatoes (sometimes I'm super close to them but it didn't pick them up, quite frustrating), shoot power, etc
馃帳 Hatscat
22. May 2013 路 06:55 UTC
@Floko & @Beldarak : Yes, it didn't suit the theme, but now that the competition is finished, I think this is the coolest way to continue making this game.
Thank you for your ideas, you are awesome :D