People by commando

[raw]
made by commando for LD22 (COMPO)
This was my first Ludum Dare, and I must say I'm somewhat surprised that I got anything done given how busy this weekend has been.

In between studying for a philosophy test, practicing for a physics quiz, going to driving school, and going to an interview, I really only had around 8 hours to work on it. It will only last you 5 minutes, but I can guarantee that what you read in it will last you for a very long time. It only has one gameplay element (figure out the password), and the rest is a loose story. This was my first LD, and I realized how little I knew about programming, especially seeing what others have made.

I would appreciate any advice on more efficient or better programming methods (perhaps a generous soul would look at my poor, aching source code and tell me what I should have done instead?). Does anyone know a good way to map in java OTHER than defining rectangles where you can/can't go. Better question: can someone tell me that way? I'm sure I did a very poor job of it.

In perspective, though, I'm happy with it! I learned a lot about game programming, and I'm hoping to do much better next time. Thanks for giving it a look! I hope you try it and enjoy what little it has to offer. Have a nice day!

Controls:
Use arrow keys to navigate the menu, space to select/interact. Mouse is only used when entering the code in the first room.

Ratings

Coolness 75% 2
Overall 2.31 511
Audio 1.06 590
Community 2.27 436
Fun 1.86 544
Graphics 1.62 654
Humor 1.40 524
Innovation 2.21 427
Mood 2.93 161
Theme 3.41 117

Feedback

CplMustard
19. Dec 2011 路 06:46 UTC
Good use of the theme, very basic though, and not much to it, also couldn't help but notice that you can run on top of tables, seems to me you should collide with them.
馃帳 commando
19. Dec 2011 路 13:52 UTC
Ah yes, about the tables - didn't have the time to work that bit out, and my collision method was very primitive as I don't really know the ideal way to do it.
Robotic
19. Dec 2011 路 22:37 UTC
I found the password fun to find, and enjoyed reading the messages you find, but the picture of the outside world ruined it for me. In my opinion, it would have been better not to show the outside, instead of this drawing. But even if it was short, I found it kinda well written, and it gave me a little feeling when I realised what the password was.
Outlier
20. Dec 2011 路 02:47 UTC
I completely agree with that comment. ^ Every single word.
Outlier
20. Dec 2011 路 02:52 UTC
I also agree that the table should have been collidable. But all in all, I think it was pretty awesome storywise.
John Conrad
21. Dec 2011 路 03:32 UTC
Honestly for a first time entry with limited programming experience this is pretty great. It is short but the narrative is interesting and it makes you think a bit.

Also I liked the final shot. :P
Per
21. Dec 2011 路 13:35 UTC
Ahh, I feel so stupid now. I can't figure out the first password. I thought it was "death" but that doesn't seem to compute...
Anyway, I think that you really get the theme and the mood right.
馃帳 commando
21. Dec 2011 路 14:40 UTC
If you want to find out the password you can just check out the source code by the way.
Stargoat
05. Jan 2012 路 22:39 UTC
the puzzle was nice, good use of the theme.
Kelly Thomas
07. Jan 2012 路 00:21 UTC
I would have preferred an explicit enter button for the password.

I find it very frustrating when playing a puzzle game and I don't even receive confirmation that an attempt is being recognised by the game
DalsGames
08. Jan 2012 路 10:28 UTC
I liked the game alot! I found the story very interesting and the "twist" at the end was great!
馃帳 commando
08. Jan 2012 路 16:10 UTC
Thanks for all the comments people! They're very encouraging and I'll be sure to keep the advice in mind the next Ludum Dare.
Jeremias
08. Jan 2012 路 16:32 UTC
Hi!

- Setup a list of rectangles where the player can't move instead of rectangles where he can move.
- Use the intersect()-method to check, if the player wants to move in a collision-rectangle.
- If he wants to move, set a temporary variable with the wanted position, check if there is no collision and then set the
player's real position to that (you did this right ^^)
- Every trial of moving you can check the player-rectangle against all collision rectangles: this method is okay and for
a 48 hour game there is no need to implement intelligent collision checking until the simplest way has a bad performance
or doesn't feel right.
- Now, you can add collision boxes for the table and other things.
- If you want to implement the interaction, you can setup a second rectangle for these objects which is bigger than
the collision rectangle. If the player intersects with it, there is a interaction possible with space-key (you did this
with a contains()-method, what is okay too).

Efficient collision checking is an interesting research field :) there are a lot of methods to do these checks in a efficient way.
If you want to go on for the next ludum dare, try to implement a line intersection check so you can let the player colliding with
a polygon.

And really important: Try to use the simplest way instead of wasting time for heavyweight collision checking algorithms.
wgemigh
08. Jan 2012 路 17:04 UTC
An interesting concept that works pretty well. I'll second the call for an explicit 'Enter' key on the passcode. Overall, a great first attempt!
馃帳 commando
08. Jan 2012 路 18:23 UTC
Wow, thanks Jeremias! I'll definitely implement that from now on, and I'll look into polygon collisions. Interestingly, I recall having done those in an asteroids game a while back, but I've completely forgotten them! Also, I usually do the "can't move" instead of "can move," but for some reason (brain glitched out for a second?) I did the reverse this time. Again, thanks for taking the time to help me!
Dan C
08. Jan 2012 路 22:58 UTC
For something so simple this very effectively achieves what you set out to do. Kudos.
gebirgsbaerbel
08. Jan 2012 路 23:08 UTC
Pretty sad mood. Weird how so many games here suggest suicide as a solution. It makes me really sad.
馃帳 commando
08. Jan 2012 路 23:12 UTC
Thanks Dan!

Gebirgsbaerbel: I understand what you're saying, but notice how the game "narrator" explicitly notes that his method of escape - suicide - should not be chosen. He is implying that it represents a weakness, that a human should never resort to such measures, and that our hero in this case should certainly not do so.
BlennosoftGames
09. Jan 2012 路 02:16 UTC
Fits the theme very well, and although it was short it used the time well. Nice job, and I look forward to seeing what you bring to the next competition.