Rectomancer by mike.cullingham
Update (2016-04-24): Based on feedback, I added "cheat codes" to skip by the hard levels. "Enter"/"Return" to go to the next level. "Backspace" to go to the previous level. No other changes to the game. It's otherwise as submitted, warts, bugs, and all.
All graphics, sounds, and code by @mike_cullingham. Tools used are: GIMP, bfxr, & GameMaker Studio.
The Rectomancer has the ability to swap the dimensions of blocks (height becomes width, width becomes height). Collect 3 stars on each level.
Keyboard + Mouse controls:
A/D = Move Left/Right
W = Jump
Mouse = aim
Mouse Left Button = shoot
Gamepad controls (tested with XBox360 controller):
Left Analog Stick = Move Left/Right
Left Trigger/Shoulder = Jump
Right Analog Stick = aim
Right Trigger/Shoulder = shoot
All graphics, sounds, and code by @mike_cullingham. Tools used are: GIMP, bfxr, & GameMaker Studio.
The Rectomancer has the ability to swap the dimensions of blocks (height becomes width, width becomes height). Collect 3 stars on each level.
Keyboard + Mouse controls:
A/D = Move Left/Right
W = Jump
Mouse = aim
Mouse Left Button = shoot
Gamepad controls (tested with XBox360 controller):
Left Analog Stick = Move Left/Right
Left Trigger/Shoulder = Jump
Right Analog Stick = aim
Right Trigger/Shoulder = shoot
Ratings
| Coolness | 76% | 2 |
| Overall(Jam) | 3.53 | 276 |
| Audio(Jam) | 2.57 | 614 |
| Fun(Jam) | 3.74 | 108 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 3.03 | 732 |
| Humor(Jam) | 3.16 | 227 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 3.69 | 135 |
| Mood(Jam) | 3.00 | 611 |
| Theme(Jam) | 3.89 | 146 |
Would be nice to have him pointing where you're aming while standing still.
I found the jumping a little floaty and the collision sometimes seemed a little off from what I expected but overall i really liked this.
Great job!
I got stuck on the level where they stack 3 blocks :( I'm also bad at puzzles.
The physics are kind of hilariously great. good work!
I was definitely surprised when I slammed my self into a wall, rendering myself into a ball of viscera and blood, haha, definitely elicited a chuckle. Nice!
Great job Mike! ^_^
PS I got stuck on the level after the vertical jumping level with 3 blocks
The puzzle game principle is also very nice, you were able to renew the interest of each puzzle with new features at each level.
@RodneyWeis: Thanks!
@broknecho: Yeah, I know of at least 2 major flaws in my physics, not even taking into account the floatiness. But thanks for that feedback.
@bablawn: New "cheat code" can skip by that level. Sorry... I admit it's a really challenging/finicky one.
@HylianEvil: Would be curious about which controls didn't work (keyboard/mouse or gamepad). Also always keen to hear suggestions.
@Solifuge: Thanks. Exactly what I was going for.
@Ellian: Thanks. Physics are awesome to mess with.
@caelanrp: Thanks for that feedback. Was it gamepad or keyboard+mouse that you found frustrating?
@BrainSlugs83: I think exploding gibs have a place in my future games as well. They were fun to code and play with.
@Weeping Rupee: Thanks.
@Pickens Inc.: I thought of that a few seconds after coming up with this title, but at the end of the day decided to just stick with it because I didn't like the alternatives. Glad you enjoyed it.
@Tchaikovsky Lins: Thanks!
@Chaserbrown: Thanks. And yeah, the physics aren't perfect. Had to do my own calculations since everything overlaps all the time and that breaks normal GameMaker collision detection.
@saucygames: Thanks. I've updated the exe with some "cheat codes" since that particular level is pretty hard.
@Mathieu Muller: yep, the mage is handdrawn in GIMP using the windows surface pen. Great tool.
My only complaint would be that it could've used better graphics and audio, but that obviously wasn't the focus.
Good work!
Most of the shape transformation were really smooth and really well done, the speed shifting gives you is a super cool idea. However, sometimes it has a weird behaviour, which is sad because apart from that it was perfect : once it finishes transforming into a horizontal rectangle, if you touch it you're slung horizontally (sometimes it kills you...) I also think that the area of effect of the slinging in general (even when it's correctly happening) is a little too big.
They are some displaying problems when the rectangles shape-shift, but that's minor.
The graphics where really well done, especially the wizard, but not only. Maybe make some tiles instead of the blackness, and it would be awesome.
The controls were very responsive (cool !) but the jump was a little too slow... Once you're in the air you stay their too long (I think). Maybe you could increase the gravity a little and give the wizard a higher jumping power ? It would make the game a little more dynamic, and the player will stop feeling like his controlling a real grand-pa.
I criticized a lot but this game was actually very fun to play. Very good level design I think : you made a lot of different puzzles with a simple (but well executed) mechanics.
Congratulations for this game, I hope you'll continue working on it!
@SpringCabal: You're right about the graphics and music not being the focus. I wanted to spend more time on music this LD (because it's easily the area where I feel weakest), but lost too much time to getting the basic mechanics at least playable (not totally bug free but playable).
@Steven Miller: Thanks for playing!
@local minimum: Totally agree on the wizard jumping mechanics. That's something I regret not playing with just a little bit more.
@Jupiter_Hadley: Thank for the Let's Play video. So appreciated.
@Swynfel: Thanks for all that feedback. I completely agree with the weird behaviour on transformation (due to trying to resolve overlaps in a single frame rather than allow multiple frames to overlap). The display problems were a kick myself moment, because it was just a problem with my tweening function going negative when it should've had a lower bound. Completely agree with all the other comments about graphics & controls. Thanks again for the feedback. It's much appreciated. Don't know yet whether I'll continue, but if I do I have a ton of ideas.