MiniCave by aare

made by aare for LD26 (COMPO)

I always wanted to make platformer, so here it is :)
You play as a blue triangle with the goal to survive for as long as you can. This pettit triangle comes with three different weapons attachet that vary in speed and damage. Landing on a different corner of the triangle activates different weapon.
That's the theory, in practice it's quite random and buggy - I had some unexpected problems with inkscape, parsing SVG and stuff so there wasn't enough time left to fix it.

To shoot press S, to jump space and move using arrows. Jumping mechanic is also buggy (man, platformers are HARD!) and sometimes you would need to move around a bit before be able to jump. Sorry about that.

Web	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51856406/LD/LD26/index.html
Source	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51856406/LD/LD26/source.rar
Timelapse	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Q9eTxS1Q0
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-26/?action=preview&uid=15039

Ratings

Coolness	62%	3
Overall	3.15	576

Audio	2.41	730
Fun	2.93	610
Graphics	3.16	464
Humor	1.98	747
Innovation	3.41	336
Mood	2.59	852
Theme	3.62	475

Feedback

acronaut

29. Apr 2013 · 03:51 UTC

It took me a while to realize that each side of the triangular ship fires different weapon. somehow the square-chunks weapon only seem to paralyze the stubborn yellow boxes.
I thought from the impression it was going to be a 'lunar-lander' game based from the screens, instead it's a tricky platformer with bastardized yellow boxes. keep it up!

Hayawi

29. Apr 2013 · 04:55 UTC

Really nice game, very solid looking and fun. My one complaint is that there is no objective other than to score points. Maybe if there was a waypoint of some sort

Harsay

29. Apr 2013 · 13:34 UTC

Nice game but it gets boring after few minutes.

hgouveia

29. Apr 2013 · 23:16 UTC

Love it, but difficult, i kept alive only few seconds

Split82

29. Apr 2013 · 23:16 UTC

Graphics are beautiful. Controls a little bit hard.

TheMightyComp

29. Apr 2013 · 23:18 UTC

I like the concept, and the graphics are crisp and well done (as well as the physics - platformer style, but not too floaty). My only complaint is that it does get boring after a short time.

PurpleMoustache

29. Apr 2013 · 23:19 UTC

Pretty clever! I have a lot of fun with it!

ataxkt

29. Apr 2013 · 23:19 UTC

Interesting one! I like the simple survival mechanic, glad theres no objectives! Sorry @Hayawi! Lacks replay value though.

Hyaku

29. Apr 2013 · 23:20 UTC

LOL Was fun. I think that with less enemies at the beginning would be a lot better.

sparkleswirl

29. Apr 2013 · 23:20 UTC

Very nicely done. I love how you completely change the way the game feels just by making the player character a triangle. Only complaint is that enemy respawns were instant, meaning that killing enemies (which is hard!) is not actually that rewarding in terms of survival.

swizzcheez

30. Apr 2013 · 00:20 UTC

Smooth and playable.

bernhard

30. Apr 2013 · 00:29 UTC

Slick presentation, love the physics-y approach to it. Wish it could be restarted even more quick as I kept dying hehe. 1380 was my highscore.

geepit

30. Apr 2013 · 00:34 UTC

Really nice, graphics are cool.

Alec Von Arx

30. Apr 2013 · 02:49 UTC

Actually pretty decent considering your first platformer! Cool ideas and not that buggy from my play experience... Pretty fun! Would've liked to have more structure though like levels of increasing difficulty, but then again, it is Ludum Dare.

PsenFilip

30. Apr 2013 · 04:02 UTC

At first glance I was intrigued by the player mechanics. Only after a couple mins I was able to move around in a decent way. It was cool.
I bet implementing a game with this kind of chaotic control scheme/mechanic is not an easy task!

Crazi456

30. Apr 2013 · 06:45 UTC

Fits theme well, was fairly difficult

SaintHeiser

30. Apr 2013 · 08:43 UTC

Simple and addictive =)
Jumping is glitchy. Also I can't understand how weapon changed =(

jolle

30. Apr 2013 · 15:58 UTC

Would liked to have some goal instead of just shooting thing for score. Also, a bit more control would have been nice.

GamingYourWay

30. Apr 2013 · 17:16 UTC

Loved the control mode, even though it made the game tricky ( Slight contradiction there I know ) but it's a great core mechanic.
Nice work mate.

xdegtyarev

01. May 2013 · 00:12 UTC

Fun game! Figuring out how to not die in the first few seconds was hard. Nice graphics.

UltimateWalrus

01. May 2013 · 00:59 UTC

Nice one! It's a funny/cool concept. My only suggestion is regarding the balancing. I think the most powerful weapon should kill enemies in one shot. It's a little dissatisfying to just sit there kinda chipping away at the enemy's health even when using a weapon that appears powerful.

Zemmi

01. May 2013 · 01:10 UTC

Cool controls, I really liked how weapon switching worked Would have been cool to see a wider variety of weapon types, like a laser or spread shot. My high score is 1140.

naufr4g0

01. May 2013 · 01:21 UTC

I Really like this game!
I love the weapon-change mechanic and the physics.
Very hard game, but gives great gratification on kills! :)
It needs an high-score!

Kyle Bolton

01. May 2013 · 01:24 UTC

I really liked the way weapon switching works, though I wish I had more control over it somehow. Sometimes it was a little difficult to keep up with which side would fire which weapon type.

Good job!

Pat Hemphill

01. May 2013 · 01:40 UTC

At one point I was able to cling to a wall by pressing in that direction which allowed me to hang out as a turret and shoot at all the squares with relative safety. I'm not sure if that is a bug or a feature. Fun game overall.

HybridMind

01. May 2013 · 02:21 UTC

Well, that's one of the weirdest platformers I've ever played. :) It is kind of cool being a triangle that can't move except by jumping and translating. I wish it was easier to defend yourself though or know which spot the weapons would pop out of. I'd almost like it better if whatever weapon was active popped out on the side you were moving towards w/ the keys. Or maybe all three sides. I died SO MUCH. Still fun and it made me laugh a lot.

kidevil

01. May 2013 · 02:33 UTC

Cool concept, but the random firing thing made it difficult to shoot anything. Maybe have it so the arrow keys change which gun is active?

TiDitto

01. May 2013 · 03:14 UTC

"machine gun" is very very annoying, very cool though. Im guessing that the ability to stick to walls is a glitch? useful glitches are the best, good job!

AaronYip

01. May 2013 · 03:26 UTC

Very cool game, digging the triangle mechanic--brilliant concept, and very polished and innovative implementation for your first platformer. (:

Nsmurf

01. May 2013 · 04:15 UTC

Nice!

Uhfgood

01. May 2013 · 05:16 UTC

That was neat, a bit tricky to gain control (meaning how long it took me to sync up my hand-eye coordination) -- Well done. Assuming it doesn't have levels you should make them so that I can get to a door instead of just sitting around shooting. I didn't have any motivation to move around.

messiano

01. May 2013 · 05:20 UTC

I like how it looks and feels, but I get killed way too soon everytime I try to play it.

Tyro

01. May 2013 · 05:52 UTC

The graphics are simple but pretty and the gameplay is decent. Great job!

Skoggy

01. May 2013 · 08:20 UTC

Cool concept, very hard to control.

Eternal_Rest

01. May 2013 · 08:24 UTC

Not bad. Found a spot where i could sit and shoot indefinitely and just keep ranking up points tho. Bit Hectic until then.

Anickyan

01. May 2013 · 08:45 UTC

Really awesome game, took a while to get used to controlling it. You should add some form of progression, though.

This game has great potential, you should keep working on it!

Ismei

01. May 2013 · 08:58 UTC

I liked the idea of this game. I died the first few times, but having a score made me want to keep going back and try to beat it. I liked how each side did something different, although it did make me fling myself about a bit to see if another side would be more effective.

Thijsku

01. May 2013 · 09:19 UTC

It has nice and simple graphics and the concept is good. I do find the controls kind of hard and the replay value isn't that high for me.

Anyway: good job ;)

vapgames

01. May 2013 · 10:56 UTC

Cool concept!

Metamist

01. May 2013 · 12:52 UTC

Very unique game, and also very difficult. Good job!

JaydenB

01. May 2013 · 12:59 UTC

Could have used some 8-bit background music to suit those sprites. And, I found it difficult to turn the triangle around when the side changed, and died many times because of this. Other than them, it was pretty solid and loved the idea and graphical representation of it!

bytegrove

01. May 2013 · 14:09 UTC

Cool idea having the behaviour change based on angle, really cool! The difficulty was a little to high for me though, and having to wait while the score screen faded away became frustrating as I died a lot. :P But the concept is really nice, thumbs up!

blasphemous rumours entertainment studios

01. May 2013 · 14:21 UTC

Fun concept with the three different weapons, too bad on the bugs though. Really nice style considering the theme. Missing music...

rxi

01. May 2013 · 14:28 UTC

Really interesting concept, and though there wasn't much of it I did enjoy it. This is something I'd really like to see explored further into a full game. Nice work.

Cryovat

01. May 2013 · 14:58 UTC

The way the weapon switching worked felt a bit arbitrary, but apart from that I liked it. It could get pretty nuts. :D

Zccc

01. May 2013 · 16:12 UTC

Very nice, looks very solid and I like the idea! It just needs more concrete goals to keep our attention.

ryuurei

01. May 2013 · 16:47 UTC

Controlling the triangle was fun to learn to do, and the squares seemed fairly smart. The different weapons were a nice touch, but the game really lacked in audio.

loxo

01. May 2013 · 17:53 UTC

I like the core concept of this game and the graphics. Would be nice to have some levels with different goals and different enemies, to use the different weapons with.

Wiering

01. May 2013 · 19:00 UTC

Nice that you can stay in the air against a wall and fire from there. Too bad the enemies keep coming back, I'd prefer to clear a level and go to the next.

bluescrn

01. May 2013 · 19:03 UTC

Certainly an interesting idea, a triangular player with a weapon per edge, but it was a bit too unpredictable, and I never felt in control. Nice experiment though, and a nice minimal style to it

jim3wg

01. May 2013 · 19:03 UTC

Realy like the innability to have "precise" control !! Nice

d_durham

01. May 2013 · 19:17 UTC

I like the idea of the different weapons on each side, but I found the controls a bit tricky. The graphics are really nice, well done.

Xion

01. May 2013 · 20:13 UTC

It's a bit too hard, and I felt like an actual destination would have been a much better motivator than a high score. I like the way the weapon switching works though, and the graphics are very nice and clean.

cableplays

01. May 2013 · 20:28 UTC

Really Cool idea except it was hard to figure out how to switch which way the player was shooting!

orangepascal

01. May 2013 · 21:23 UTC

high challenge level, but fun :)

BradleySmith

01. May 2013 · 22:27 UTC

This is really fun and quite a neat idea, awesome work!

whitetigle

02. May 2013 · 08:54 UTC

Nicely made. Good graphics. Fits the theme but it's difficult and a little bit repetitive :)

ddionisio

03. May 2013 · 02:43 UTC

Interesting take on the shooting mechanic, though it got a little too chaotic. Hard to strategize. I manage to get a handle of the controls and am able to stay longer. Pretty cool overall! Graphics is spot on with theme and doesn't feel cheap.