Build-a-Bandit by hissssssssss

[raw]
made by hissssssssss for LD25 (COMPO)
Adjust your villainous mustache, eyes and hat to defeat the sheriff in a shoot-out!

12/31/12 - Thanks for all the feedback, everyone!
I added the source file, made in Python with Pygame. It's messy, but feel free to take a look. Run it from the command line by typing "python main.py" if you're able to run python files.

I wrote a post-mortem here:
http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2012/12/30/build-a-bandit-post-mortem/

The money is just for high-score purposes, which get totalled up at the end of the game. Can you beat my highscore of $34270?

TIP: Each stereotypical villain attribute will affect your prowess in battle in some way. One extreme will rob you of the benefits of the other side of the scale, so depending on your opponent, balanced physical features might be better than comical extremes. Try different hat sizes to see the most obvious effect. For example, my favourite bandit has a very short hat, a very thick mustache, and moderately squinty eyes, but that's not very appropriate for the Sheriff of Goatsville, Speedy Jim. What combination would work better?

Ratings

Coolness 57% 3
Overall 2.80 465
Audio 1.96 503
Fun 2.46 545
Graphics 2.90 383
Humor 3.46 88
Innovation 3.24 192
Mood 2.60 471
Theme 3.70 151

Feedback

Scott McBee
17. Dec 2012 · 03:58 UTC
Any bandit without a towering hat and a twirlable mustache isn't a bandit I'd want to meet.
xgeovanni
17. Dec 2012 · 12:07 UTC
You made it in pygame, same as me! It would be a much better game were the combat interactive.
comrad_gremlin
17. Dec 2012 · 20:22 UTC
Loved the graphics, I wish the combat was a bit deeper though, it seems lacking. Great idea though. :) Bandit face customization well done.
zompi
17. Dec 2012 · 20:22 UTC
Quite pointless game because you have nothing to do during a duel.. Or I missed something. But the possibility of making a villain with massive mustache and piercing eyes - priceless ;)
angela
17. Dec 2012 · 22:43 UTC
I made it through 6 towns so I guess my mustache was adequately large :) I can tell you put a lot of work into the points/damage system, but maybe a fire button would have made it feel a little more interactive.
cardboard
17. Dec 2012 · 23:59 UTC
Fun game. I rather like games where you just sit back and see what happens. I like the graphics, especially the buildings in the back. Some dueling music might have been nice, but then again it doesn't need music. Great job!
🎤 hissssssssss
18. Dec 2012 · 02:40 UTC
@cardboard You hit the nail on the head, here. It's supposed to be a game where the tweaking of your stats is important, more RPG-puzzle than anything else. Set up your "solution" to the duel and then sit back see if you can make it through. The appearance isn't just for kicks: each physical attribute affects your stats in a very significant way.

However, given the time and my lack of experience, I wasn't able to make the differences in each stat pronounced enough, nor was I able to implement enough visual feedback to give people more of a clue what was going on during battle. That's why it feels like an action game that fell flat, rather than the puzzle it's supposed to be.

That's the nature of the 48 hour, though. "Supposed to." But I'm happy with the experience I got from this, and if I pick this one back up I know I can make it better.
Cake&Code
19. Dec 2012 · 08:59 UTC
I loved that customization screen! Though it was a bit tragic when my setting the hat to epic tallness didn't translate into the actual duel graphics. The mustache did though! Yay!

The dueling felt very detached. But I did enjoy watching the console output list the hit/miss status as well as the damage dealt on hit! Yay for debug output :D
Hume
21. Dec 2012 · 14:22 UTC
I DEMAND ADJUSTABLE SCAR LENGTH

I don't know how the characteristics affect your success in the duel. And can you spend money to upgrade your hat?

Curse you, Goatsville!
EdoMiyamoto
24. Dec 2012 · 15:18 UTC
It's original !
OU GDA
26. Dec 2012 · 03:38 UTC
Haha. Enjoyed being able to create the villain and sit back and watch as he destroyed sheriff after sheriff. Wish you could take the money you earned for upgrades on your next evil doer. Fun either way.
fishbrain
26. Dec 2012 · 09:18 UTC
Did the duel have any controls? Nice graphics, and customizing bandit is fun.
Neonlare
26. Dec 2012 · 16:07 UTC
Customizing is fun, definitely, but the combat was a little static. Would have loved some more interactivity.
ceronman
26. Dec 2012 · 16:37 UTC
I loved that I could customize the bandit. It would have been nice to have more control over the game. Nice concept!
goerp
30. Dec 2012 · 13:18 UTC
Ah, I couldn't beat Speedy Jim no matter how much I squinted and twirled my moustache!

That was fun. I've always had a weak spot for low-interactive games since Settlers II so, I like this.
Good game I think.
🎤 hissssssssss
31. Dec 2012 · 02:14 UTC
Thanks for all the comments everyone! I added the source and wrote up a Post Mortem.

@OU GDA: The money is just for high score purposes, though maybe a post-compo version might add a store for you to buy things. Your score is totalled after you beat Goatsville.

@goerp: Speedy Jim is incredibly fast, but weak. Your hat size is very important against him in particular: it's simply impossible to outspeed him, and he's got more health than you, so you need a way to take the multiple blows he dishes out. Experimenting with a different mustache can't hurt either, though the mustache comes down to a personal preference of how often you want to hit him for how hard.
ilo
31. Dec 2012 · 02:34 UTC
Love the way the sheriff's smile while dueling, he he he. :)

It was great to see a novel mechanic, with lots of potential humour too. As a puzzle game, it might be better if the duels didn't take as long... Perhaps you could customise the appearance of the sheriffs too to give the player a clue about how to counter them!
Joseph Miller
31. Dec 2012 · 03:38 UTC
The fights can take a long time and it's hard to stay engaged since you can't actually take any action during them. I really like the idea of modifying aesthetic characteristics to effect a fight though. I think it would be helpful if there were more clues about how the different characteristics affected the combat.
Pierrec
31. Dec 2012 · 14:30 UTC
Haha very cool idea! I didn't get how the moustache/hat/look affect the fights, but whatever, I had fun. Sometimes the fights are a bit too loong though, it gets boring to watch.