Alien Rockpool by DustyStylus

[raw]
made by DustyStylus for LD24 (COMPO)
*** WEB VERSION NOW AVAILABLE ***
(suggest you try this version first)

*** IF YOU SKIP THE TUTORIAL *** (aww, I spent some time on that... :d )
Controls are:-
Number keys 1-3 = Set tadpole group behaviour.
Click = Send Alpha tadpole to mouse location.

Basic jist of the game is that you have no shortage of numbers, but no defence or means of attack against 3 baddies washed into the same rockpool as you. :(

You'll have to be prepared to allow some to die so that new spawn may have the means to take on the baddies:-

1. A big fat Crab with a pointy thing.
2. A big fat Ray with lightning zaps.
3. A big fat Jellyfish with poison.

Each baddie ability is effective against the other baddies.

Poison has to be ingested. (i.e., more to be eaten, ohnoes!)
Lightning can be fired, but only in Attack mode.
Spikes are used in close range, but only in Attack mode.

Done in LWJGL so reasonably recent Java runtime (1.6+) needed.

Ratings

Coolness 91% 2
Overall 3.07 316
Audio 3.38 83
Fun 2.67 438
Graphics 3.46 176
Humor 2.42 255
Innovation 3.22 205
Mood 3.03 179
Theme 3.24 239

Feedback

馃帳 DustyStylus
27. Aug 2012 路 08:00 UTC
Had to delete the Youtube video, it was all corrupted. :(
馃帳 DustyStylus
27. Aug 2012 路 09:01 UTC
I haven't tested this on a Linux setup, but I imagine you just type:

java -jar AlienRockPool.jar

(same for Windows and OSX if you use the JAR version)
berkano
27. Aug 2012 路 13:57 UTC
Good fun, slick graphics and I loved the music!
馃帳 DustyStylus
27. Aug 2012 路 14:24 UTC
Thanks berkano! Aha, clicked your name and realised I'd just played yours! Really good, and you implemented the competition theme really well. Very ambitious as well.
Kortuga98
27. Aug 2012 路 17:06 UTC
Cool concept, funny tutorial. Nice graphics, too. Good job.
siondream
27. Aug 2012 路 17:51 UTC
Good graphics and fun mechanic, liked the flocking a lot!
Andrew
27. Aug 2012 路 20:23 UTC
I left it on attack and won. I'd have liked to see more player skill required but the concept is pretty good.
tigerj
27. Aug 2012 路 20:31 UTC
I think the tutorial should be mandatory, or at least show the 123 keys on the buttons. It tooke me a second to get that. Otherwise AWESOME fun game!
馃帳 DustyStylus
27. Aug 2012 路 20:43 UTC
Thanks guys!
Andrew: Haha, yep, I mentioned that on Post Mortem, alas I hit the deadline before fixing it. I could probably spend another 48hrs tweaking the hitpoints/values etc.!
tigerj: Thanks. Yep, I meant to put little numbers on the icons. A lot of people will just hit space and go straight in. D: (and to think I wrote all that lovely text...) :d
Kmad
27. Aug 2012 路 20:51 UTC
It's a nice concept, I like the fact that it is a bit more open and emergent. It runs very smoothly, looks good and sounds great (the audio is much better than most of the entries that I've played so far). It's just a bit too easy and there are a few technical issues here and there but those are understandable. I read your post mortem and I can relate - I had a similar problem - writing way too much code for basic functionality that should've been done before the competition.
Toby
27. Aug 2012 路 21:07 UTC
nice mood going on!
Vordux
27. Aug 2012 路 21:59 UTC
Your concept behind this it quite unique and interesting. It was an enjoyable experience.
iximeow
28. Aug 2012 路 03:10 UTC
I had fun, even though my playing was flipping between 1/2/3 and watching the different behaviors more than anything else. Things going offscreen was sort of a problem for me though, and finishing the first (only) level, I have no idea if there was anything afterward?
Cell
28. Aug 2012 路 13:21 UTC
This is awesome!
vilya
28. Aug 2012 路 13:21 UTC
I had a hard time figuring out what was going on (I *did* read the tutorial) and it didn't help that things kept moving offscreen. Despite that, this still feels like a good quality game & it's a really nice idea. Good work!
Zed
28. Aug 2012 路 13:48 UTC
The music certainly gave it a level of drama! Very cool.
darkshadow
28. Aug 2012 路 15:24 UTC
It took a while to work out how to kill the bosses, but once I had the zapping power (not sure how I got it) they were mobbed by the other tadpoles. The graphics and audio are better than most, and movement is fluid. The group behaviour is a nice touch. Only downside is that the bosses and the alpha tadpole can disappear off screen, at least make an arrow to say where off screen they are.
FrederickK
28. Aug 2012 路 19:00 UTC
It took me awhile to get it, but once I did, was enjoyable. :)
Good job!
AaronGordon
28. Aug 2012 路 21:02 UTC
Nice concepts, and i enjoyed the humor and art style. I found it a bit easy as i could just hold down shoot but overall nice work!
sampyxis
28. Aug 2012 路 21:03 UTC
Liked the way this one looked and played
Killerbug
28. Aug 2012 路 21:05 UTC
Nice graphics, matching music. Plays smooth. Well done :)
dvdking
28. Aug 2012 路 21:35 UTC
Unusual game, i really like graphics and music(especially music), And though i won the game, i still do not understand how to play. And yes, i forgot to read tutorial...
馃帳 DustyStylus
29. Aug 2012 路 14:12 UTC
Thanks guys. :) In line with the rules, I've fixed a bug which meant the lightning and spike tallies were reversed, the crab was giving the ray points and vice versa. I've updated the MacOSX versions and JAR. Please let me know if anything's broken!
Spotlightor Gao
30. Aug 2012 路 00:32 UTC
Great mood, I love the bgm.
mohammad
05. Sep 2012 路 23:18 UTC
Was ok...
Didn't make much sense...
Was fun?
Meh...
Music creeped me out though...