Tentacle Boy by thegunmaster

[raw]
made by thegunmaster for LD35 (JAM)
A game in which you must control the arms of a boy in order to get back home.
Your goal is to get the box out of the lab and drop it infront of the cave.
This will open up the cave so that you can pass.

the controls are: wasd-q ijkl-o and space
wasd and ijkl:
control the arms as expected
q and o:
fully retract the arms
space:
switch the hand that can crab stuff (indicated by the particles)

I used libgdx and the basics for another game i was working on. That game only required simple collision handeling, so i made it myself. For that reason this game has fairly poor collision detection.

I had some nice music in this game too, but unfortunately this for some reason doesn't play after the file is compled.

credits:
music by selulance:
https://selulance.bandcamp.com/
https://youtube.com/user/selulance
code by me:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8mMfKO6VC-dpCNmbDSRolA
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGunMasterDigital
graphics by Erica Leertouwer

update:
I have made a few slight changes 2 days after the contest;
-the music was included but didn't work before due to a bug
-the level was too short before so I altered it a bit
-fixed random crashes due to memory leaks

Ratings

Coolness 59% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.35 431
Audio(Jam) 3.26 335
Fun(Jam) 3.21 474
Graphics(Jam) 3.10 678
Humor(Jam) 3.23 207
Innovation(Jam) 4.03 47
Mood(Jam) 3.48 260
Theme(Jam) 3.79 193

Feedback

sand6r
19. Apr 2016 · 12:10 UTC
WOW, what a nice game, amazing graphics and shitstuff
remmy
20. Apr 2016 · 23:59 UTC
This was amazing! :)
I needed a while to figure the controls out but when you finally get it, it works quite well.
At the first try i fell into the pit, at the second i got the Nitro and even made it back, but when i dropped it on top of the cave (not before it) it only blew a tiny opening into the stones. http://remics.net/screen/210416015533.png
This was a bit frustrating and i did not have the motivation to do everything again, but i guess the game would have ended there anyway :P
Anyway, i really loved it, i think i played your game for the longest time so far this LD.
remmy
21. Apr 2016 · 00:04 UTC
Oh, i forgot to say that it would have been nice to somehow distinguish the two tentacles, i fell down a lot by mixing them up and having to guess which one i need to retract/bend now.
nihilaleph
21. Apr 2016 · 17:21 UTC
Wow very nice concept! Art and music are very nice too! But I guess it's too hard for me to control T_T Can't get through the reverse climbing part...

Anyway great entry!
fafastudio
21. Apr 2016 · 21:44 UTC
Absolutely great, even if i couldn't pass the first 5 meters <3
DcrDro
21. Apr 2016 · 21:56 UTC
very interesting idea! :) and very hard to play :)
Fanatrick
22. Apr 2016 · 19:14 UTC
Bit too hard to grasp, nice application of the theme.
Odyssey
25. Apr 2016 · 11:15 UTC
Loved the art and the concept
RockhopperGames
25. Apr 2016 · 15:17 UTC
Good use of theme, cute tentacle boy, and lovely background music. The movement drove me mad, though. Gripping seemed to do very little, since it was so easy to knock yourself free, and so easy to let go by pushing the wrong button. I do love the idea though!

Perhaps you might want to check out another game I saw that uses similar mechanics, though it took a much different track with it. Maybe it might help with more ideas? http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=56711
johnbrynte
28. Apr 2016 · 23:10 UTC
It almost felt like walking! Except you control each leg with the hand on the opposite side of your body, moving each leg independently up/down front/back by pressing unlabeled buttons, and at the same time being amazed by the peculiar things that your legs can do.

I would probably have liked this amazing game more if the poor boy have had no legs, since there is no valid explanation as to why he does not just use them to walk. Sincerely, I hope that you continue to develop this idea. Especially the control scheme <3
geekguy100
01. May 2016 · 21:54 UTC
Looks like it has potential. The controls are a bit hard, but it reminds me of QWOP. Also, awesome graphics!
jofra
02. May 2016 · 01:16 UTC
Great ambient music! A little hard, but the concept was very cool! Reminded me of the game octopus dad.
ciaodavinci
02. May 2016 · 01:35 UTC
Really cool mechanic although I did find it hard to use. Great interpretation of the theme!