En Passant by Paul Nadan

[raw]
made by Paul Nadan for LD 43 (COMPO)

A lone pawn takes on the opposition in this game of strategy and skill. En Passant is a puzzle-platformer featuring chess-inspired mechanics, challenging levels, and cheesy dialogue.

SplashScreen.png

Pawns.PNG

Bishop.PNG

Knights.PNG

Rooks.png

Ratings

Overall 149th 3.632⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 104th 3.65⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 12th 4.15⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 365th 3.1⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 301th 3.15⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 114th 3.316⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 198th 3.275⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 24🗳️ 1🗨️

Feedback

Jeremy Ryan
03. Dec 2018 · 06:02 UTC
The combat system was really interesting! It took a little getting used to, but the "chess platformer" mechanic was pretty well executed and developed.

The art style is pretty minimalistic, but visually consistent. You added a little extra character to each of the chess pieces that suited their attacks and their moves in real chess.

Nice entry!
Suchista
03. Dec 2018 · 12:17 UTC
oh man, I love it! great concept and mood, good art, everything works so nicely! I want more!
William Derksen
03. Dec 2018 · 17:47 UTC
Great game! Loved the mechanics of combat! The consistency of the mood was also really nice. I'm amazed you were able to get together this much content while still having time for art, animations, and a story! Good work
BoyzAndGirlz
03. Dec 2018 · 19:43 UTC
Really great concept, of course the event is short so the game isn't very long, but that concept offers huge possibilities!
Tosunami
03. Dec 2018 · 22:21 UTC
Loved the game, great concept! sad it is so short. could play for a little more.
SuperGamersGames
03. Dec 2018 · 22:35 UTC
I like how each of the enemies had chess powers. Though at the end when you ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ your color should ■■■■■■■■■■■■■.
GoldRanger
04. Dec 2018 · 07:36 UTC
Really cool idea! chess platformer,
It's really fun to play with but I think it's a little bit too hard!
but I think that's fine because you let us customize the level through the text file which is awesome

btw where is the sacrifice ? :joy:
Nick Rafalski
04. Dec 2018 · 17:11 UTC
I don't know if my game computer was running the game too fast or what, but I'm not sure how I was supposed to kill the 2 Rooks coming after me. I could kill the first one, but with 0 space between them, I didn't have time to jump and attack the second one. I edited the level file and put 1 space between them, and I could beat it that way.

Overall, I think this is an awesome concept. All the pieces' moves are translated very well and still recognizable.

The kings little quips after each death that seemed to be informed by the way you died (too slow, too fast) were a nice touch :)
🎤 Paul Nadan
05. Dec 2018 · 05:32 UTC
Thanks everyone for all the great feedback so far!

@supergamersgames Great idea, I definitely considered that! I was a bit worried it wouldn't fit the theme as well, but I can see arguments either way.

@goldranger Thanks, although I actually wasn't originally planning to allow level customization; I just couldn't get the text files to build with the rest of the jar file :joy:

@nick-rafalski It is definitely possible to beat the rooks, although not with that approach. Listen to the king's hint!
GoldRanger
05. Dec 2018 · 05:40 UTC
OK now I get it, the sacrifice is like losing the power to attack from 2 4 6 8 direction to get the ability to attack from 1 3 7 9.
Alright then, that fit the theme
BTW level customization is great, you should keep it and claim it's a feature of your game!
Frank Gevaerts
05. Dec 2018 · 20:24 UTC
A very nice idea! I couldn't get to the end because I'm rubbish at anything involving real-time reflexes, but I did enjoy the bits I saw quite a bit.
teo989
08. Dec 2018 · 23:14 UTC
Really nice game. Very original idea. And cool interpretation of chess figures into the game. Well done :)
Linky439
09. Dec 2018 · 15:40 UTC
Wow, great idea! Turning the chest game into a platformer is really nice. It does work well, even if some sections aren't really easy ^^

The graphics are good, I like the handling (even if the pawn moves a bit too fast for my liking ^^) and I like your take on the theme.

A really clever game! Congrats!
v1ru6
09. Dec 2018 · 21:15 UTC
Good misuse of chess moves into a side scrolling platformer! Nice thematic touch with the Chess sacrifice strategies.
I'm not particularly a fan of (or good at) platform games, so I was taken aback by the speed of enemy pawns. Some polishing of the difficulty curve could help the game be better.
rumor
10. Dec 2018 · 21:00 UTC
This is a really clever concept. I feel like the hitboxes could be a bit more forgiving and the game could use some checkpoints early on so I'm not replaying the same beginning stretch over and over, but yeah, super interesting overall and very fun. Nice work.
kleinzach
11. Dec 2018 · 01:27 UTC
The movement and game play concept was novel, but it felt more like an idea adapted for the jam rather then created out of it. Having the theme appear in the final moments of the game isn't so much an exploration of the theme but a concession to it. That said, I had fun playing it, and some of the puzzles were nicely designed.
smilewood
11. Dec 2018 · 05:03 UTC
I thought that this was an interesting concept. The idea of controlling a pawn in a platformer was awesome. I did find the combat almost impossible to get the hang of because of having to jump then hit space to attack, I instinctively wanted to either hit space to jump or to attach without jumping first (also, the other pawns were cheating and attacking me straight on without using angles. How rude.) I think that a bit more polish on the control and combat systems could make this an awesome and unique game. great job for one weekend!