Double Army by abuzreq

[raw]
made by abuzreq for LD35 (JAM)
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play with the game a little then read the instructions for more clarity.
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Once upon the time,a Yellow Wizard lived peacefully in a cave.
One day two armies choose the plains where the cave is to have their battle.
You play as the wizard who tries to conclude the battle as soon as possible by killing one of two armies commanders.
use the changing shape spell to let the armies attack each other
you want ultimately to kill one of the commanders (They look like those in the main menu)
but they are heavy guarded and you can't attack .So you should employ one army's troops on the another until you kill one of the commanders.
don't change your shape nearby other soldiers
(see the yellow ring)

the more the soldiers that you lead kill the more closer you get to be promoted.
when promoted you get to have more followers under your command and you get a larger circle of influence (how far should you be from a soldier before he respond to your "follow me" command)
Attempting to issue a follow me command to those higher than you in rank will make you lose as they will discover you.
If you disguised as one army color , getting near the other army will result in their soldiers attacking you , you have a limited health so be careful.
On the other hand when you are close to your soldiers they get a boost and become more probable to kill than being killed
so be close to your soldiers but be careful of the enemy soldiers if your soldiers all died.
Hope you like the game , and sorry for the long introduction


Have fun .

Controls :

Use WASD to move

Press 1,2 ,or 3 to change shape

Press Z to command nearby soldier of your same color to follow me.

Press X to command the soldiers following you to halt.

Press C to command the soldiers following you to attack nearby enemies

Ratings

Coolness 54% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.23 560
Fun(Jam) 3.10 564
Innovation(Jam) 3.86 77
Mood(Jam) 3.04 590
Theme(Jam) 3.36 540

Feedback

bigmangames
19. Apr 2016 · 03:03 UTC
How do I attack? C isn't working.
bigmangames
19. Apr 2016 · 03:06 UTC
Oh wait I get it now
Marjie62
20. Apr 2016 · 06:51 UTC
Really interesting game! It took me a few minutes to grasp what was going on, and I'm still not sure I understand exactly when kills count and for which side, but it's a very unique concept and I think it works. I didn't end up getting super far in the game, since I died several times and got burnt out, but I think with a few tweaks and additions it could be a lot more engaging. For example, having a more compact map would help a lot, as I spent a lot of time just running back and forth. And having a way to heal also would be nice.

I was also really impressed with the graphics and the whole look and feel; very simple but elegant. And with simple and effective animations.
ruchirbapat
21. Apr 2016 · 08:39 UTC
good idea and the game is good!
play and rate my game here: ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=88260
omidprosper
21. Apr 2016 · 16:53 UTC
I Like Your Art Style. Great & Lovely
cudabear
21. Apr 2016 · 17:22 UTC
I really like this concept! It reminds me a ton of Dynasty warriors - ordering around creeps to do battle for you.

That said, what made Dynasty Warriors so great was the fact that creeps actively saught each other out to battle, and reinforcements always kept the battlefield active. Your game only makes it seem like you're merely there to escort troops from one side of the field to the other. Bring some over, let them kill some enemies, and repeat. There's not any real reason to shapeshift into the other side when you choose one side you want to win.

I think there's a ton of pontential in this game, but there needs to be a little bit more going on to provide a reason to swap sides (maybe creeps get suspicious the more you order them around?) and make the battle feel a bit more involved (maybe you can attack, too?)

My other complaints revolve around most of the feedback being provided via the tiny text at the bottom of the screen. Some unique animations for things like getting caught, changing shape, ect, would have paid off greatly!

Other than these suggestions, I really thought this was a unique and innovative entry. I had a good time playing it and with some iteration I think you can have a truly awesome game!
Ithildin
21. Apr 2016 · 17:33 UTC
Great concept!! This is a very original and clever take on the theme. The setting also has some funny touches (I read your post on the blog roll :D), which helped with getting engaged to the game.

Execution is also well done with some minor issues. The actual area of detection wasn't clear, so I had to walk quite far away from units to be able to shape shift. As a suggestion (I didn't get to notice if this is actually implemented or not) I was expecting to score better by taking out enemy higher ups in order to rank faster. Otherwise it ends up being a bit cumbersome to go back and forth with small groups and units (also, there's a lot of empty space, making the action phase slower).

Probably balancing the numbers a bit could help a lot and you might not need to touch anything else. The good thing is you already have a very solid and promising idea. Great job!!
mountainstorm
21. Apr 2016 · 17:46 UTC
Awesome, great graphics and a fun idea. Note sure it was 'shapeshift' in a literal form but still a really good idea and well executed
Japes
03. May 2016 · 21:56 UTC
Great idea, don't really have much to add besides agreeing with what others have said:

1. bit confusing at first, some feedback as to what's going on other than the text at the bottom would be nice,

2. gets a bit tedious ferrying your troops over (Although I did figure out that things go a lot faster if you get a big crowd of the enemy to follow you over to YOUR side :) )

3. leveling up faster for killing higher-level enemies would make sense. feels a bit like cheating when I kill a bunch of low-ranking enemies with my squad of strong guys.

Great game really enjoyed it! Maybe I'll even come back to it and try to kill the commander :)
Tselmek
04. May 2016 · 11:40 UTC
Pretty interesting concept, the control scheme is a tad bit junky and the game was sadly playing very slow.
puppetmaster
07. May 2016 · 21:36 UTC
A very unique concept! The art style is cool!
I'm missing the battle sound! :-)
Keep up the great work!
RyanNielson
07. May 2016 · 23:46 UTC
Interesting concept, but it's a bit hard to understand at first and the controls could use some work.
AnaGF
08. May 2016 · 22:49 UTC
Really interesting idea. At first is a bit hard to understand, but I think it has a lot of potential.
Xanjos
09. May 2016 · 21:51 UTC
Could do with some sound effects but I do like how smart the soldiers' AI can sometimes be especially if you make the mistake of changing in front of them.
StrayCat
09. May 2016 · 22:28 UTC
Very fun!

The best strategy is to make all enemies rage after you and run back to to your own soldiers. I liked the sense of constant danger.