LudumData

BLoX by ThirteenWB

[raw]
made by ThirteenWB for LD26 (COMPO)
Issues:
There are some issues with the Java Web Applet on some systems.
There are no dependencies, however Java must be installed.

Overview:
BLoX, or "Blocks and a Lot of XOR" in full, is a tile-based game where you run around fighting the evil non-conforming coloured squares that have invaded your massive (read: infinite) dungeon.
Levels are procedurally generated as you descend and there is a levelling system that rewards you for your progress with more power and abilities (there are only two abilities to be gained, sorry).
The controls can be found on the tutorial section of the game. This can be visited at any point without loss of progress and the enemies there will even give you experience... but that's kind of boring.
Explore down the multicoloured levels and let me know if you enjoy it! It has been a fun two days, even if I do have an exam in ten hours :/

Edit: Removed the web version of the game as it just refuses to work as I want it to, sorry.

Runnable Jar File (All Operating Systems) http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~gds12/dare26/BLoX.jar
Compiled Tar with Source http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~gds12/dare26/compiled.tar
GitHub (Source) https://github.com/gds12/Ludum-Dare-26
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-26/?action=preview&uid=22557

Ratings

Coolness 60% 3
Overall 3.29 427
Audio 2.29 788
Fun 2.94 595
Graphics 2.97 601
Innovation 2.82 790
Mood 2.84 584
Theme 3.91 218

Feedback

dracomagna
28. Apr 2013 · 22:41 UTC
I played it a little, and I really liked how simple and addictive this game is ! It's like a pure hack'n slash pleasure.
Good job !
intrudergames
29. Apr 2013 · 08:14 UTC
I feel the same way as dracomagna is like the essence of the style. Great entry!
HunLyxxod
29. Apr 2013 · 08:27 UTC
I enjoyed this game. Simple and fun. Sadly, it became a little repetitive after 6-7 levels.
invaderJim
29. Apr 2013 · 15:53 UTC
Great job. Procedural generation is always a good exercise :D Had some issue with transitioning between levels in the applet, but desktop version is fine.
Morgawr
29. Apr 2013 · 15:59 UTC
This is seriously the best entry I have played so far. Putting this ahead before even Piet dancing (which is a great entry, go check that shit out, btw)

I'm serious, simple, minimal and right on the spot. Amazing.
Mythalore
29. Apr 2013 · 18:50 UTC
Cool idea but very difficult. Could probably do with a way of healing.
Andrei Barsan
29. Apr 2013 · 18:50 UTC
Nice little game, with an addicting feeling. The thing I would have liked to see is a HUD with your current stats such as lazer upgrade level and armor. I liked it! :D Nice and minimal.
🎤 ThirteenWB
29. Apr 2013 · 18:59 UTC
@Mythalore
Sorry I completely forgot to mention that in the tutorial. If you don't get attacked for a certain amount of time your health begins to recharge. :/

@Andrei
I was wondering whether or not to include one, I didn't really want to make the window too congested with stats but I could make it part of the pause menu in a later version.

Thanks for the comments everyone. :)
Drabiter
30. Apr 2013 · 02:50 UTC
Nice game. I would like to see better HUD, and permanent text about power like lazer because you can miss the notification while playing.
Hegemege
30. Apr 2013 · 21:38 UTC
I liked the colors a lot, increased the mood of the game! I found myself battling the first two areas and then rushing forward to see if there was some content, so I died pretty quickly there. I couldnt figure out what the abilities did, I saw the message that you got the lazor but it didnt function or I just didnt know how to use it :P

Really simple and enjoyable game, fits the theme really well!
Yoni
01. May 2013 · 21:44 UTC
Very nice game. Could use some music, though
Joror
01. May 2013 · 21:44 UTC
Mimimalistic dungeon crawler, indeed. ;)
S0larCode
01. May 2013 · 21:49 UTC
I'm pretty sure I ended at somewhere around -400 XP. Amazing game!
Tiago
01. May 2013 · 22:00 UTC
Nice simple game, just down to the basics of the gameplay and still enjoyable! good job!
nintendoeats
03. May 2013 · 01:01 UTC
I could never get the lazor ability to work.

What you have made here, in effect, is Call of Duty without the shooting. I don't know if that was your plan, but it's worked out that way. I leave it to you whether that is a good thing or not.

I quite liked the sound effect, and the levels had a good style to them.

It got difficult REALLY fast p_p
The Consul
04. May 2013 · 11:28 UTC
I have a hard time controlling my character. It often moves two steps insted of one, and it gets annoying. Great game though!
🎤 ThirteenWB
04. May 2013 · 16:51 UTC
@The Consul, I'm not sure why but that sometimes happens in the web version. Assuming you ARE trying the web version, I would highly recommend downloading the jar as it's much easier to play :)
evoker
06. May 2013 · 04:50 UTC
Awesome! A minimalistic take on the ARPG genre.
Tifu
09. May 2013 · 11:22 UTC
Good game. I like the graphics that are simple, but the walls still show some depth. Never encountered an unbeatable level and there did seem to be a little variety (at least, I seemed to encounter levels that were just corridors and were more maze-like, and then more open levels) The enemies do seem to scale pretty quickly, making combat fairly suicidal when you can just use the laser thing. The only thing I found frustrating was when you respawn or enter a new area, it's not always obvious where you are. I died a couple of times just looking for my dude on the screen to find it was already being mobbed :(
DST
09. May 2013 · 11:24 UTC
Good looking game. I think it's really neat to use proceadurally generated levels, just coming up with the idea takes a lot of effort, implementing it as well as you did takes even more. :)
🎤 ThirteenWB
09. May 2013 · 13:28 UTC
@Tifu: Yeah I understand what you are talking about, I was testing it and had the same problem but couldn't think of how to fix it since the player isn't always at the middle of the screen. :/

@DST: Thanks, luckily I didn't make any mistakes while coding that bit of it else I would've spent ages trying to fix it. :)
kibertoad
09. May 2013 · 21:46 UTC
This entry was quite addicting. There is something very satisfying about killing blocks by mashing on the arrow keys. It gets even more fun when you unlock the lazor! The only thing I'd like to see changed is the addition of a bar to track your xp. Good job!
bradleypollard
12. May 2013 · 12:10 UTC
@kibertoad The bar for XP is at the bottom, although it's really hard to see as it's a similar colour to the background :P