Annulus by Zarkonnen

[raw]
made by Zarkonnen for LD 38 (COMPO)

annulustitle.png

A small, circular world. Can you guide your tribe? Inspired by A Dark Room, Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss, and the works of Iain M. Banks.

  • itch.io with Windows/Mac/Linux downloads

Supports keyboard/mouse/controller.

To move: WASD or click on the target tile or left stick.

To select choices: Numbers 1-4 or controller buttons.

Bugfix Version Info: This version fixes some issues with events happening constantly or not frequently enough. No new content or mechanics have been added, so this is basically the Compo version minus some annoyances. I will probably also do a proper post-compo version with more significant improvements and additions to the story.

Ratings

Overall 142th 3.656⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 274th 3.152⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 52th 3.848⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 24th 4.242⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 207th 3.515⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 123th 3.419⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Humor 326th 2.296⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Mood 70th 3.758⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 30🗳️ 33🗨️

Feedback

Samurai Spark
01. May 2017 · 12:48 UTC
Awesome idea @zarkonnen!

Thats a really clever take on the theme! :smile: The graphics and soundtrack are lovely and fit perfect to the game. The camerashots are great but it's a bit annoying that the camera zooms every time I click on something. Also I had some problems with the selection of items but that does not destroy the experience at in anyway :grin: Love that you can climb on the top of the loop :)


Very well made entry!
Fanu
01. May 2017 · 12:59 UTC
Very well executed, fits the theme well and it's immersive. You took time to develop a the story and that's super. I'd like to know all the possible outcomes, if more than one!
testlab
01. May 2017 · 13:16 UTC
I like the story progression. I don't know if i reached the end because there was a sudden restart of the game at one point.

What could be improved:
- Controls relative to camera (for keyboard & gamepad)
- Camera rotation (confusing cause of all the rotations)

Other than that, i think you've got a cool game going!
sgadrat
01. May 2017 · 13:22 UTC
Being the chief of this little tribe feeling is translated just right: taking decisions in a mystical atmosphere of an unknown world.

Until I accidentally broke the game. Holding the cattle's direction and the hunt choice button (with an xbox controller,) I was able to gather more than 30K food ... The babies came and was unable to even move as there was always a "new baby" event.
tompudding
01. May 2017 · 13:32 UTC
Wow seriously impressive, looks polished, great idea, great music. It was very hard to control with the arrow keys as in the different quadrants I found it hard to predict where they'd take me, but the mouse sorted me out
drmargarido
01. May 2017 · 13:53 UTC
Really cool game, reached the end killing everything with my lasers :smile: .
Only the movement feel a bit awkward, after rotating I was always making the wrong movement by accident.
Mutfak Studios
01. May 2017 · 17:14 UTC
I think It's a good example on "Small World" theme. But after some point, I think the game has bugged and kept people to populate every turn. So I couldn't move any longer. But I still think the game fits on the theme very well.

Good entry!
🎤 Zarkonnen
01. May 2017 · 17:40 UTC
@mutfak-studios Babysplosion! Oh dear, I know exactly why this is happening. Will do a post-compo bugfix release soon.
Izunah
01. May 2017 · 18:48 UTC
Hey, awesome game, had a lot of fun exploring it. I really enjoyed the art style of the game, as well as the music. Like @mutfak-studios I ran into the populate every turn and not being allowed to do anything else. It did happen on the first time that event popped up so it must just get stuck in that loop. I would like to explore the world a bit more and read the rest of the 'monuments', so I will keep my eyes out for a post-compo bugfix.

Also, the camera zoom does get slightly annoying on repeated movements, but not really a deal breaker; and I do like the emphasis it provides when viewing new structures.
Khorm
01. May 2017 · 19:51 UTC
Love the take on the theme and the cylindrical world, the controls felt wierd when upside down and I got stuck in some loop a few times that kept popping the same event over and over (like other commenters). Overall could be something quite nice if polished a bit. One of the games I would definetly like a post-compo version of.
🎤 Zarkonnen
01. May 2017 · 20:00 UTC
@khorm @izunah @mutfak-studios - There is now a very gently improved bugfix version that should stop the endless event bug. I will most likely also do a more improved version once judging is over, with more story elements, better controls, and better camera behaviour. :grinning:
AJ Weeks
01. May 2017 · 20:24 UTC
I've never played a game that takes place on the inside of a ring before! One thing that got a bit annoying was the controls, I think they could've adapted to the rotation of the camera better, or maybe the camera should've rotated with the player. Nice game though!
Dink_Dunk
01. May 2017 · 20:47 UTC
What a great entry! camera got a little wonky at times and I AHEM, managed to bork your food counter by holding 1 and W at the same time beside some deer things... Otherwise, great!
palemachine
01. May 2017 · 21:14 UTC
Great entry. Solid take on the theme, enjoyable writing (what can I say, I'm a sucker for sci-fi) and probably the most unusually shaped tile-based map I've ever seen. :grin: Nice music, gives off a very strong sense of urgency.
Also at some point when you move further along the ring the keyboard controls get sorta confusing, but that's what you get for not playing with a mouse!
croze
02. May 2017 · 06:22 UTC
I was able to get pretty much infinite food from Xanthelopes, and the controls shifting occasionally was a little funky. I beat the game and couldn't fully figure out the point of Hope or Might, maybe that's because I had thousnads of food right away though. Maybe add a combat tile post-mortem? Pretty game and cool concept, was kind of Civ-esque
Iron Leonem
02. May 2017 · 06:37 UTC
Fascinating game, and well designed. I really enjoyed the aesthetics and music of the game, and your premise was fun to explore. I will say the controls got a little confusing at times, especially with how the camera moved. Over all I had a great time with this project. Thank you for sharing!
impbox
02. May 2017 · 06:45 UTC
Nice and atmospheric game, the controls got weird when you started going around, i think keep them them same the whole time would be better. I finished it. Enjoyed playing it.
davidthelazar
02. May 2017 · 13:33 UTC
I really liked discovering upgrades and seeing what things did. And it's always fun to make numbers get bigger. Unfortunately, I eventually had to quit because the controls got too frustrating. It's too bad, I wanted to see what all my knowledge was going to get me!
binaryferret
02. May 2017 · 18:42 UTC
The main screen was beautiful. I loved the atmospheric feel that the game oozed.

Graphics were simple but effective. The story was awesome. One thing I really liked is as you gained knowledge
buildings that once did not make sense, suddenly provided different outcomes. This helped provide a feeling that
there was a lot of lore going on that these simple folk didn't know. It left a lot of unanswered questions that I'd love to explore in more detail if you expand upon the game.

My only constructive criticism is the controls could do with a bit of work. (Was using keyboard at first but then moved onto mouse when things got weird)

Fantastic writing, and a solid experience. Thanks! :D
sambrosia
03. May 2017 · 02:15 UTC
Very cool.

The rotating controls were a bit of an annoyance but certainly excusable.

I enjoyed this a lot. It has a very neat feel about it. Well done!
superpokeunicorn
03. May 2017 · 03:20 UTC
This is a very neat concept for a game. I really like the visual aesthetic, although things got a bit disorienting when going around the top. Also, I appreciate the controller support, but controller button prompts would have been nice too. It was pretty fun just exploring the world and discovering new things. I wouldn't say it was a particularly difficult game, since I could just repeatedly hunt the same animal until I had a practically infinite supply of food, but it was certainly a relaxing experience. Good job!
joemid
03. May 2017 · 04:23 UTC
I was a little judge-y at first,(because of the controls) but then I started making choices! Good hook! Next thing you know, I'm searching for a conclusion! Great job! Lost two to the raptors, had a babe, picked some berries, had some feasts, shot lasers and took them apart, found other ones- and then I don't know what the text said, because I must've clicked and it was gone- but I won. I really felt like I won. Very satisfying game. And the music moved me through it all! Great jobber!
drestuff
03. May 2017 · 12:18 UTC
I enjoyed the science fiction mood of this game. As others have previously mentioned the camera & controls could have been improved upon but other than that it was still interesting to roam about this circular world. I played the bug fixed build but was still able to reproduce the "hold button to get infinite amounts of food"-bug however there were no babies to hold me down!
🎤 Zarkonnen
03. May 2017 · 13:33 UTC
Yeah, the infinite food problem would have required rather larger-scale engineering that I felt would fall outside the scope of a quick post-compo bugfix. Basically, the animal herd doesn't track its population. The engine actually supports this, but I didn't have time to script it.
Baby Dino Herd
06. May 2017 · 17:25 UTC
What an excellent take on the theme, and a great job on creating a story that really brings the player on a journey, while needing no tutorializing.
Mordokay
13. May 2017 · 14:51 UTC
Loved almost everything about this game. The camera ended up weird and I would prefer the camera rotating with the player but besides that a very good job and great entry!
Sun-Wukong
14. May 2017 · 12:01 UTC
Interesting idea but controls were so much confusing!
Fiery Squirrel
20. May 2017 · 08:05 UTC
Very interesting concept, the way you move in the game is also nice. I like the graphics and sounds, are simple but good. About comments that could help improve the game, I have two: the controllers with the keyboard are really confusing, I think they need to be fixed somehow; if you extend the game or add new stuff, more feedback when things happen in the world would be nice, for example, adding particles, moving objects a little bit, simple but stuff that add a lot to the game. Good job!
automatonvx
20. May 2017 · 09:27 UTC
Not much to add to what everyone has already said, interesting game, enjoyed the exploration and adventure element, controls if not using a mouse are pretty awkward and while the circular world concept is cool, the way the current camera works feels uncomfortable. Sadly didn't see any ending, went round the world and thought I had explored everything until it seemed I was just repeating myself but guess i must have missed something somewhere. Graphics did the job, music was pretty good and helped the atmosphere. Overall, Nice entry.