Small Atomic World War by Kroute
This is my second Ludum Dare and also my second game ever. First time I make a 3D game, and first time I have to program a (very) basic IA. I learnt so much in that process that my brain might explode in the next few hours !
That was extremely painful AND fun at the same time ! But I'm quite proud of the result. It might run a little slow on low-end computers as I absolutely didn't have the time to profile and optimize my code. Also, the IA is basic and the game would probably be much funnier with a multiplayer mode.
I hope you enjoy it !
Small Atomic World War is a top-down shooter in which you play an atom trying to get bigger.
War rages among the atoms.
They have discovered the means of producing gamma rays of such intensity that it can tear apart protons and neutrons from their nucleus. They are now able to transmute themselves into other atoms.
Each Proton collected allows your atom to level up.
Neutrons can be transformed into useful powerups (by clicking the red neutron button on the top-right of the screen) :
Reach level 109 to become the biggest atom ever discovered.
But beware: bigger atoms lose particles far more easily and are less maneuverable than smaller ones.
Controls: Mouse + WASD. Zoom/Unzoom with mouse wheel
Links (released on time for the jam):
- Browser: For better performance, you should prefer the standalone versions but you can play directly on Itch.io
- Windows
- Linux
- Mac
Post-Jam Updates :
I made a downloadable updated version of the game. The update adresses some of the major issues raised in the comments :
- Controls are now much easier since there is no inertia anymore.
- All atoms, yours included, automatically attract particles that are (very) nearby. So you don’t have to roll around too long to collect particles. The “quantum gravitation” update increases the attraction range (a lot).
- Autofire is now always active so you don’t destroy your hand during a game. The “gamma stream” update now increases the rate of fire (a lot).
- All the bonuses (except “transmutation” which is really powerful) are now much cheaper to buy.
- All the objects (atoms and particles) now stick to the ground, so there is no problem of perspective anymore.
- You can now shoot any atom, even if you’re a big one harassed by a small one. (which happens quite often).
- I added some sort of health bar in order to see more clearly when your shots touch an enemy atom and vice-versa.
Overall I feel like (but I’d really like to have your opinion on this point) this update enhances the game experience a lot and balances the difficulty. It’s now much easier to win the game. Maybe is it even too easy ?
P.S.: If you have not tried the original version play directly on itch.io.
P.P.S. : I had no time to make a new gif so the one above represents the old version and is just here as an illustration.
Links (post-jam):
Ratings
| Overall | 512th | 3.143⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 286th | 3.343⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 509th | 2.886⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 328th | 3.543⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 605th | 2.8⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 528th | 2.194⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 558th | 2.903⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 59🗳️ | 44🗨️ |
It's funny, I found your game after you commented on mine, and it seems we had a similar idea! I think the interactions in your game are more sophisticated go (especially in terms of the AI).
Great job with the music and sound too.
The inertia is a bit too high in my opinion - it makes collecting protons/neutrons difficult. But after some time I almost got used to it.
I managed to become Argon, then got into fight and came out as Sulphur... For me it is quite difficult to focus on both shooting and particle collecting and bullet dodging. Staying near a group of atoms fighting each other and collecting the scraps worked for me quite well. :wink:
Why did I not read the LD-Page sooner? I had around 44 neutrons and never used a single bonus.
I had quite the journey with the title. At first it felt super frantic and hectic, after a short while I was just collecting whatever the other molecules dropped during their all out war, while later I almost felt a little lonely walzing through the level as a big ball, basically fleeing before any of those small and greedy atoms.
I had a little trouble of seeing my shots because of the underlying shadow and the difference of height (does this depend on the ballsize too?). Also jumping and general maneuverability really had quite the learning curve associated with it. However in the end I had quite the pleasent time, while my girlfriend sat next to me fact-checking the names with her periodic table. :D
Your choice of music was excellent too!
cheers~
For this being your second game, it’s great. Keep on making games and you’ll be a great developer. Have an awesome day!
*(I'll be back again on Sunday when the judging starts)*
// Rasmus (one half of [LiquidBrain](https://ldjam.com/users/liquidbrain/))
I found that getting in the battles and shooting other atoms pretty useless, as the other atoms would grab the protons for a distance while you had to go over them, so any that I lost would go straight to the AI and any that I shoot off would go to another AI, ended up just rolling between each battle picking up the protons to level up.
Another problem i feel is that the droped protons and neurons disappear too fast and also glitch disappear, like they disappear when falling from a height and sometimes when you collect them with the collection skill, it will fling them and they will disappear too.
So in short, beginning fun, mid to end not so much.
That said i really liked the whole atom idea.
I like that there is a final level I have to reach, although I only managed to get to level 52. I thought the controls were a bit hard but I got used to them in the end.
I didn't like the way the particles bounced in the air, and since it's a top down view, it makes it hard to tell if they are grounded. As my atom grew, I noticed the rays were passing over the other atoms. Since all the other atoms I came across were smaller I had no way of dealing damage to them but they could hit me. I think keeping everything grounded and having the rays fire from the same height would greatly improve this game.
Apart from that it was very fun. Well done!
Cheers
Nice take on an endless shooter.
One other issue - due to the plain background, it's difficult to realise that you are moving sometimes (until the small mountain range is on screen). This made it much harder to hit my targets because I didn't realise we were both moving in the same direction.
However, despite these little issues - this is a great idea and, with a little polish, could be great!
Edit: Made it to the end by running away a lot and picking up atoms here and there without trying to interfere.
However, it was really hard to control my atom (it actually got esier aroud level 8 or 10). The atom was going so fast, and I couldn't turn properly... Also, I'm not quite sure of the 3d, since it's a top down game... It only got confusing for me when the molecule was up in the air...
I still really like the concept, the graphics and the feel of the game. Your choice of music really did made the game fun and action-paced. We actually chose that exact same track in a previous Ludum Dare, so I thought it was a funny coincidence. So in short: well thought game!
Ps. Thanks for the comment on our game! We're very sorry our game crashed... We didn't catch that bug when we playtested the game. Hopefully you still got to enjoyed the game before!
It's an interesting game, I'm just not good enough to play it.
Visually it's simple, but that works for the concept. Not sure I really like white as a background, that may have aided my decision to stop. The fonts become difficult to read as you zoom out too.
An interesting take on the concept, a little more polish and it'll be pretty good!
Cheers
Overall awesome concept and game.