Alone With Your Thoughts by 3ndo

[raw]
made by 3ndo for LD22 (COMPO)
OVERVIEW:

The original idea behind this game was that you'd be able to roam around an environment, collecting objects from which you'd gain their letters. You'd then be able to use these as a means to further interact with the environment (opening doors, story elements, etc). Unfortunately, that was slightly out-of-scope, so the concept has been reduced to this platformer.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Collect the letters in the red chests and use them against enemies by which correspond to the 'keyword' above them. Enemies are as strong as the length of their keyword, though you can use the same (if you find several) letters multiple times.

CONTROLS:

UP/LEFT/RIGHT - Move & Jump.
SPACE - Interact.
A-Z - Use letters. (Enemies must be on-screen).

NOTES:

- There's not much visual feedback, sorry.
- I was meaning to implement Scrabble-like scores for each letter, but whilst writing this I realised I'd forgotten.

Ratings

Coolness 26% 483
Overall 2.14 572
Audio 1.00 594
Fun 1.64 611
Graphics 1.79 627
Humor 1.33 545
Innovation 2.79 217
Mood 1.45 624
Theme 1.40 691

Feedback

Wompus
19. Dec 2011 路 03:01 UTC
Fun game, it has a good feeling to it. But I couldn't find out how to use the letters against the enemies. I tried jumping on them or pressing space when nearby, but nothing seemed to work :(
namrog84
19. Dec 2011 路 03:52 UTC
The jumping was a little spastic at times and I couldnt figure out how to use letters on enemies, I just avoided them for most of the time. Is there an end?
Andrew
19. Dec 2011 路 14:25 UTC
I keep hitting my had on platforms right above making jumps rather difficult
馃帳 3ndo
19. Dec 2011 路 14:58 UTC
Thanks guys. I've updated the instructions with a controls section.
kato9
20. Dec 2011 路 19:13 UTC
This is a pretty cool concept for a game. With a bit of polish it could be really solid. As you've mentioned some more visual feedback would help. The platforming is a bit wonky as well. One simple fix would be to have the jump key work on key release rather than press. It seems like it's impossible to get to the highest platforms on the level?
Zemmi
21. Dec 2011 路 06:16 UTC
I like your original concept, too bad the scope was so big :P I think if you highlighted the letters the player had in enemy's trigger word rather than having to check the alphabet at the top of the screen it would have been a lot clearer what had to be done. Oh and Scrabble scoring sounds cool, but maybe that's the Scrabble fan in me talking.
summaky
25. Dec 2011 路 15:46 UTC
Although the original concept sounds good, this implementation doesn't make it justice. The platforms are located in such a way that every time I try to jump I hit my head, making it harder that it should, in my opinion. Also, I tried to use the letters on the enemies, but there was no visible effect. It is also rather difficult to see the theme in this game.
Josh @ Dreamland
26. Dec 2011 路 14:58 UTC
The concept is somewhat innovative. As you said, there wasn't enough visual feedback, and as has been said, the jumps and collisions are kind of frustrating. I am wondering if I've missed a wallkick or double jump mechanism, because it's easy to get stuck and screw yourself.

Points for fun, and points for innovation. Quite unique, just annoying in the collisions department.
tcstyle
07. Jan 2012 路 09:17 UTC
A pity that it's not finished. Looks good so far.