The Darkness Evolve!! by juaxix

[raw]
made by juaxix for LD24 (COMPO)
Wicked char you control (up-down-left-right)

conquer the planets using dark matter ...
evolution involves a whole planet, we pretend to know that there is another race of dark beings who use dark matter to turn the planet into an ocean of dark energy...
You are a dark superior race who needs dark matter to live and that turn the whole planet to it kind and use the energy from the planet to travel to another...

EHAH EHAH EHAH!!




** Release notes **

- There are only 2 planets, hope you like it ;)

Try post compo multiplayer version!

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 2.34 665
Audio 2.07 480
Fun 1.86 705
Graphics 2.83 407
Humor 1.74 502
Innovation 2.50 521
Mood 2.53 425
Theme 2.30 592

Feedback

jamezogamer101
26. Aug 2012 路 05:55 UTC
good potential fix camera looks like it will be fun
馃帳 juaxix
26. Aug 2012 路 11:19 UTC
Camera fixed, now i have to fix a gimbal lock in the movement... lol!
sclark39
27. Aug 2012 路 01:05 UTC
Quaternions are the solution for gimbal lock: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternion

Haha this gets hard to control pretty fast. Nice work though. Pretty impressive for only 48 hours!
馃帳 juaxix
27. Aug 2012 路 07:29 UTC
The engine has no quaternions, i have to hardcode all the matrices way! lol
http://www.stonetrip.com/developer/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=26542
SteelRaven7
27. Aug 2012 路 09:41 UTC
I couldn't really play it because of the camera and the sound. It's a pity, because it seems like a cool idea.
eyehawk
27. Aug 2012 路 09:44 UTC
Cool looking game - I love the whole concept of going from world to world - I agree with the other comments though. The camera angles are awkward and the controls seem to be a bit hard to use. If you could improve those it would be awesome :)
aschearer
27. Aug 2012 路 09:50 UTC
Moving around was incredibly frustrating. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but I found the arrow keys rarely did what I expected. Other than that, I though the art style was neat and the sound appropriate. Moving around and collecting blocks, though, was not exactly fun, so I would concentrate on how to boost the gameplay.
馃帳 juaxix
27. Aug 2012 路 12:45 UTC
Thanks for the comments, i'm working with quaternions right now and have post in the engine forum asking for help with this rotation around a planet.
It is true the game itself is so simple, i spent a lot of time with math calculations
Clocwise
27. Aug 2012 路 12:59 UTC
Looked pretty cool, the controls made it nearly impossible. Reading the comments it's pretty impressive that you did all the calculations and stuff for it yourself, so awesome job.
wumpus
27. Aug 2012 路 13:14 UTC
I liked the atmosphere but really struggled with the controls and camera.
Vordux
27. Aug 2012 路 14:14 UTC
Cool use of the technologies that you've used to implement the game.

Some issues with the camera lead to a disorientating experience however during the game.
GBGames
27. Aug 2012 路 14:17 UTC
The controls were unintuitive. I felt that there was no challenge other than fighting the controls. Nothing prevented me from collecting dark matter, so evolution seemed to be a matter of not quitting.
馃帳 juaxix
27. Aug 2012 路 14:56 UTC
hahah, thats a point of view @GBGames
I know all the stuff with the controls, i'm working hard to fix it, thanks for your commenting and support! :)
People like the camera in Mario Galaxy, i dont know, maybe it tooks days to make a similar one...
headchant
27. Aug 2012 路 15:03 UTC
Almost shat my pants when I hit the first rock...that sound effect...
Dakota
27. Aug 2012 路 15:03 UTC
As mentioned above the camera is very confusing.

Apart from that it was ok.
vidarn
27. Aug 2012 路 15:26 UTC
Going in with an open mind I really enjoyed this in a trippy kind of way. As others have noted the sounds were a bit loud though, scared me good.
馃帳 juaxix
27. Aug 2012 路 15:33 UTC
Ok, I'm going to set low volume for the fx, i was using headphones during the night xD
@vidarn : that's so cool hahaha
Thanks all
馃帳 juaxix
27. Aug 2012 路 15:40 UTC
@headchant hahahhaa! you make me laught for a few minutes XDD
turnip
27. Aug 2012 路 16:42 UTC
Lol epic!
quill18
27. Aug 2012 路 16:43 UTC
I'm not sure what this has to do with evolution. Sure, you fill an "evolution" bar, but it could just as easily be a "dark matter gas tank".
馃帳 juaxix
27. Aug 2012 路 16:51 UTC
@quill18 you are a dark superior raze who needs dark matter to live and that turn the whole planet to it kind and use the energy from the planet to travel to another... that's the evolution, there is a lot of evolution forms...if you know what i mean ;))
ripatti
27. Aug 2012 路 17:04 UTC
so crazy camera and control
Pixelulsar
27. Aug 2012 路 19:37 UTC
Camera isn't that good and the loud sounds hurt my ears. Your guys looks cool though.
Frozen Fractal
27. Aug 2012 路 20:38 UTC
Controls are utterly confusing and there is not much of a gameplay to it, yet I loved playing this! The graphics are fantastic, in particular the textures, the animation of the character, and the ever-changing lighting. The wonky camera and strange point of view, and creepy sound effects all contribute to a really weird experience. Five out of five for graphics, audio and mood.
Maxium
28. Aug 2012 路 07:06 UTC
Interesting idea, but I just couldn't get into it after the audio was so distorted.
馃帳 juaxix
28. Aug 2012 路 07:54 UTC
Hey people, thanks for playing, i updated the game with new gimbal lock algorithm finally fixed and changed the camera lookat function too :)
Sorry about the sounds, i'm working with them now
馃帳 juaxix
28. Aug 2012 路 07:58 UTC
I'm uploading the new version in a few minutes
馃帳 juaxix
28. Aug 2012 路 08:27 UTC
OK, i have uploaded the new version ,fixed the camera, movement and sounds, also updated the source ;)
enjoy!
SiENcE
28. Aug 2012 路 12:19 UTC
Hey mate, nice concept. You need to push it forward in a post compo version. Try to add a second character for a second player and add simple combat struggeling for ressources.
Rob
28. Aug 2012 路 12:35 UTC
Despite some buggy camera issues its a great concept
TheBallCollective
28. Aug 2012 路 13:04 UTC
Great walking animation. That was honestly my favorite thing about the game. Wish there was more than 2 planets and a further away view angle. I wanted to see more of the planet and the environment. Great job!
Jeremias
28. Aug 2012 路 13:38 UTC
If you want to make a post-compo-version, I would start improving the gameplay: A way to lose the game, because without losing there is no competition and therefore no fun in making decisions (this excludes sandbox games where player made their own conditions and competition)
Thurig
28. Aug 2012 路 13:46 UTC
Nice entry!
hypp
28. Aug 2012 路 16:51 UTC
Cool! I like the feeling of this!
馃帳 juaxix
28. Aug 2012 路 17:16 UTC
Due to your petitions, i'm preparing a multiplayer version of this as a post-compo-version :)
Thanks all for commenting
Amoaeba Junior
28. Aug 2012 路 17:45 UTC
I liked the mood
bobiniki
28. Aug 2012 路 19:43 UTC
Nice idea, but it is unfinished. The only thing you do is walk around the planets and collect cubes. But still nice work for 48h
gbear605
28. Aug 2012 路 19:53 UTC
Good potential, not much there.
馃帳 juaxix
28. Aug 2012 路 20:12 UTC
@bobiniki : i got a problem with the maths, i'm making a post-comp version ;)

@gbear605 this is game is pretty much like yours, but in 3d, i dont have your magic but hey, i really enjoy making this game :)
marudziik
28. Aug 2012 路 20:22 UTC
I don't know about multiplayer, but in the post-compo version you definitely could expand the original idea. For example, I'd prefer left & right to turn the character, not strafe left or right - other than that, only 2 planets? I wish there were more, and that there were some more gameplay elements.
Although doesn't seem very much connected to the theme, I think it's quite a decent entry.
darkshadow
28. Aug 2012 路 20:32 UTC
Worked smoothly for me, completed the two levels. The difficulty was more down to finding the dark boxes in shadows rather than the camera issues some other people have had. I only had one camera problem at the start of the second level which fixed itself as I moved.
mr_Hk_
28. Aug 2012 路 20:36 UTC
Tricky camera spoils the experience =[
pereubu
28. Aug 2012 路 20:42 UTC
the mood of this game is great :D
ahm99
28. Aug 2012 路 21:11 UTC
was a little too short and all I had to was walk. I think the game just needs some more time to evolve :) I look forward to seeing what you do next time.
benderbinary
29. Aug 2012 路 05:13 UTC
Is game finished after second evolution (nothing happens)?
lazybraingames
29. Aug 2012 路 06:00 UTC
This is a fun little trip! Of course I'd like to see more, this kind of entry is tough to judge since I know most the issues it has are just due to lack of time. Still though, its good ;)
Zener
29. Aug 2012 路 11:51 UTC
Nice 3D game, it's a pity it's too short. Good job
Barry Abrams
29. Aug 2012 路 12:32 UTC
I had a camera issue when i got to the second planet. After moving around a bit, the camera went back to the character.
Grouflon
29. Aug 2012 路 14:54 UTC
So weird !
Sergey Mohov
29. Aug 2012 路 18:41 UTC
Pretty neat, but I have one suggestion: move this game to Unity, it will be much easier to complete it there. Really. Otherwise, yeah, keep going :-)
馃帳 juaxix
29. Aug 2012 路 21:58 UTC
@marudziik maybe you are right, the evolution of a race is hard but if you enjoyed it , enought for me :)

@mr_Hk_ any idea to improve the camera? thks for commenting, your game rocks

@pereubu ;-) there's more to come! stay tuned!

@Grouflon : ahahaha, so i am XD

@Barry Abrams : that's the smooth factor working when you change the target that the camera is following giving a single moment...

@Zener thanks, I'm working in the next version :)

@Sergey Mohov : Would love to do that, but i already bought Shiva3D license and I cant spend so much money in the Unity license due it is so expensive...

Guys, I'm making the multiplayer right now, will submit some screenshots soon here , you are awesome! you make me feel better about making games :)
Sergey Mohov
30. Aug 2012 路 01:01 UTC
@juaxix Dude, Unity is free...
馃帳 juaxix
30. Aug 2012 路 06:30 UTC
If I want to make the same game in Flash I would need the Pro version and the android/iphone/flash pro also for my games so it turned from free to more than 6k and that only for me not my team and only for last version, i dont even think in unity unless i were given free licenses for pro ( already has basic for android and iphone and it sucks), i made a game in unity , search for bomber farm 3d ...
schnerble
30. Aug 2012 路 12:43 UTC
The graphics are pretty nice, and the animated box man is cool. The camera is a real hindrance, though - especially when you can't see any boxes on screen - and it could benefit from having a few more things to do :)
馃帳 juaxix
30. Aug 2012 路 14:32 UTC
@schnerble how could i improve the camera?
Ragzouken
30. Aug 2012 路 15:00 UTC
Interesting idea, but the camera location is an odd choice - you are behind the avatar, but he is always on the horizon, so you can't actually see anything in front of him. I would suggest moving the camera to look over his head or shoulder or something, or have him face the other way.
馃帳 juaxix
30. Aug 2012 路 17:16 UTC
@Ragzouken face the other way? in XYZ please? :)
DaveDobson
31. Aug 2012 路 05:03 UTC
Very cool-looking, especially the robot walking animation. Stylish and neato. There wasn't much to the game, although it was fun to walk around, and the camera controls were a little weird as others said, but it's neat to see 3D functioning well in a browser like that. Looks like a fun start to what could be a cool game.
infernet89
31. Aug 2012 路 10:27 UTC
I don't know why, it stucks at "..initializing..", on firefox and chrome on windows xp 32 bit.
馃帳 juaxix
31. Aug 2012 路 13:06 UTC
You have to wait a little bit @infernet89 ,but if you come back in a few days you will be able to taste the multiplayer version
DevWouter
31. Aug 2012 路 15:43 UTC
Didn't feel like a game. Heads... I'm mean hats of for the graphics.
馃帳 juaxix
31. Aug 2012 路 20:16 UTC
Thanks @DevWouter...

Hey guys, here you are i'm glad to show you the progress
http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/wp-content/compo2/163678/10960-shot4.jpg
_AM_
01. Sep 2012 路 05:47 UTC
Pretty interesting graphics. I didn't really see how it was relevant to evolution, though.
馃帳 juaxix
01. Sep 2012 路 09:36 UTC
@_AM_ because evolution involves a whole planet, we pretend to know that there is another race of dark beings who use dark matter to turn the planet into an ocean of dark energy
timtipgames
01. Sep 2012 路 16:14 UTC
I think you accomplished something that is not a trivial task: You make the player feel like he really is some godlike giant thing in control of worlds. At least the atmosphere and the sparse lighting made me feel like it :) The game-play itself is a bit short and not very surprising. I always was unsure if the camera control was intended or a bug. But the atmosphere is really nice.
zatyka
01. Sep 2012 路 20:48 UTC
I wish there were a bit more to this game (though it's still impressive for 48 hours. I think I can see what you were going for, and it has plenty of potential. The camera was a little buggy on the 2nd world... at least for me.
馃帳 juaxix
02. Sep 2012 路 00:03 UTC
@timtipgames thanks, it comes to my imagination ,so cool you can feel that! :)
I'm getting ready the multiplayer version, it will be on shiva plugin browser and native for windows, hope you will see it

@zatyka the camera is based on current framerate, i'm changing this factor for the post-compo version
thanks all people for all your love
rodrigomotta
02. Sep 2012 路 01:24 UTC
I think this game a little weird, but, i like it. I like the concept, the use of the theme. I think you must work in this concept to make a big game.
馃帳 juaxix
02. Sep 2012 路 02:12 UTC
@rodrigomotta i'm glad you liked it, check the multiplayer too! :)
Jedi
02. Sep 2012 路 11:34 UTC
Nice start, especially with the graphics! I found the camera to be a little wonky. Other than navigating the world from a limited point of view, there isn't much challenge!
馃帳 juaxix
02. Sep 2012 路 13:56 UTC
@Jedi have you try the multiplayer? i'm working on the matches server on a google app engine hosting, to let people connect from this web
mohammad
02. Sep 2012 路 16:40 UTC
for once it isn't unity.
this may just win.
馃帳 juaxix
02. Sep 2012 路 18:43 UTC
@mohammad thanks
馃帳 juaxix
03. Sep 2012 路 12:58 UTC
Now there is a post-compo-version (Windows right now) with Google App Engine hosting the matches you people create, you are in touch now! ,and can chat inside the game ;)
Cyros
03. Sep 2012 路 18:25 UTC
Nice graphics :) Really takes me back to before 3d games came out.
fanatiko
03. Sep 2012 路 19:42 UTC
I don't know if it's because I play in a 720p screen, but I feel the camera is very near the character. I was able to beat both worlds, but if some world required to gather a higher percent of the cubes I would have struggled for a while. Also some kind of indication of the position of the remaining cubes would have been nice.

As a minor art tweak, Maybe if the character is "pure black" the background should be a lighter shade of black. Even better if you use some kind of star background, because it's quite hard to see depending on the camera angle.
馃帳 juaxix
04. Sep 2012 路 09:15 UTC
@fanatiko the camera is one of a headeache, i'm studying the best solutions and I think I have found the solution, I need to change some parameters in the follow sequence for each frame and it will be nice :)
The 3D viewport is the same, so the resolution does not matter, the shiva 3d engine scales the viewport and the hud automatically to the current resolution ,so you dont have to worry about that. In fact, this is a common hell in Unity 3D.
I know the gameplay without enemies or another feature is not quite fun, but there is not so much unfun components in this scene, so, try the multiplayer version where the player is blue, enemies are red and the camera...well, thats another story :D
thanks for commenting
nseward
04. Sep 2012 路 17:04 UTC
A very nice start. All my comments would be on the things you are already working on fixing.
Dan C
05. Sep 2012 路 05:01 UTC
What's there is quite nicely put together. Good use of sound.

The camera angle is... stylish, but a bit *too* extreme :)

The universe feels a bit dead, even before I convert it all to dark matter. Could do with a little texture animation or something.
infernet89
05. Sep 2012 路 10:37 UTC
I had to update java web plugin, but finally i played that. I really liked the walking animation of the stickman, but the gameplay not so much..
馃帳 juaxix
05. Sep 2012 路 20:11 UTC
@nseward : thanks
@Dan C : what kind of animation? oO
@infernet89 : gameplay is simple? try mplayer
schnerble
08. Sep 2012 路 19:01 UTC
Juaxix: I'd suggest moving the camera up and back a bit - whatever it takes to help the player see more of what's nearby so they know which way to go to find things.
airdeck
11. Sep 2012 路 03:58 UTC
I like the mood for this game, but like previous comments mentioned I think the camera could still use a little work - maybe pull it back when the user starts to walk and/or have it rotate around or follow the character when they turn left or right.
DWallin
14. Sep 2012 路 01:25 UTC
Mixed feelings about this one. I want to like it but the issues with the camera and the utter lack of gameplay prevent me from doing so.
馃帳 juaxix
14. Sep 2012 路 18:57 UTC
I understand your complains about the camera, but it's something that may not be consider as a bug... imho