LudumData

World Collector by TomBishopSPG

[raw]
made by TomBishopSPG for LD 38 (JAM)

worldcolletortitle.png

As of right now we plan on doing a post LD version of the game and would love any and all feedback!

Links: Windows Only

https://savepointgames.itch.io/world-collector

http://gamejolt.com/games/World-Collector/252023

Credits:

Programmer / Game Designer: Tom Bishop - Save Point Games - @TomBishopSPG on twitter

Artist / Animator: Juni Valentin - @Breakmanzero on twitter

Assistant Game Designer: Doug Geoffrey - Warp 9 Productions

Music Provided By: Ozzed - http://ozzed.net/​

SPOILER INSTRUCTIONS: So I wasn't sure whether to add this or not but a lot of people have told me they get stuck on level 2 and I designed it more so for people to at least get to level 4 or 5. I am not sure everyone can beat it because I wanted it to be hard but I feel bad the second ability isn't really explained in the game. Read on only if you don't care about spoiling a simple LD game... lol

Level 2: The ability is meant to represent deploying troops. Starting with level 2 the planets attempt to defend themselves. Imagine the red ! to be the planets tanks or army. Your army while far superior can only stay on the surface for a short period of time and takes a while to recharge. After deploying a beacon place a shuttle/troop/green ! in between the beacon and the approaching army. They should cancel each other out.

Level 3: Quick side note you can only shoot while moving. I have since decided this is awful and I am changing it but of course I can't go back and change the LD version of the game. You'll have to judge us as is :D

Level 4: The ice block should be much more self explanatory but I do want to point out the cooldown is pretty short. Use that to your advantage.

All Levels: For the purpose of ludum dare I think the controls work. I am currently demoing several different gamepad and keyboard controls schemes and trying to decide which is best. The problem is after playing the game for so long I am used to the controls and they feel good to me but I understand people will get frustrated and give up well before that so I think I will end of changing them in a post version of the game.

Any and all feedback appreciated, even negative, I really enjoyed working on this and want to make a full version so please be as honest as possible. Thanks! -Tom and Team.

Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/world-collector

Ratings

Overall 479th 3.2⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 435th 3.05⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 321th 3.25⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 173th 3.8⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 533th 3.05⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 400th 2.55⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 575th 2.85⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 34🗨️

Feedback

morrilet
01. May 2017 · 15:04 UTC
This was a really cool concept, and I really enjoyed the level design (they all felt so unique). The story was well portrayed, even with just an image. The art and music worked well together as well. I had a bit of difficulty navigating the menus, but aside from that everything was smooth. Nice work, this was an entry to be proud of.

If you're interested in playing another space themed game, check out my entry, rovR: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rovr

Cheers!
nilead
01. May 2017 · 15:07 UTC
Reminds me of an old hard science fiction short story I read a long time ago. Even a little of Rick & Morty.
AlexHoratio
01. May 2017 · 15:10 UTC
Not bad, but I'm a little confused as to how the game works. I understand I have to place the mines but I'm not sure why or what they do.

Maybe add a little instructional section to the description?
LeFayGames
01. May 2017 · 15:57 UTC
I guess this is a fun game in theory but I could not get used to the controlls, they seem a little unituitive to me. The first level was quite easy but I couldn't manage to beat the second one. Even after I realized the second weapon type I couldn't time my weapons right to get all three points without dying first. Maybe the player could have a little more health? And I guess it would really help to get the players attention to the second weapon once it becomes available.
🎤 TomBishopSPG
01. May 2017 · 16:16 UTC
Thanks everyone for your feedback. I will be checking out your games. I did add to the description for anyone having trouble. I really enjoyed making this game so I hope everyone enjoys playing it :D
BrothersT
01. May 2017 · 19:24 UTC
I thought this was a very cleverly constructed game. I liked how many new challenges were thrown at the player throughout the game but I maybe would have introduced them a bit more slowly. You get a lot of satisfaction once you figure out how to progress! I think I got to the 4th level but I wasn't having much luck defending both sides from the exclamation mark, while shooting asteroids, avoiding moons and dropping ice blocks in front of missiles missiles and timing everything to perfection :D But that's just because I can't multitask ;) Nice job guys!
Dink_Dunk
01. May 2017 · 19:28 UTC
It seems like it would be fun, but the controls really don't lend themselves to this. I couldn't get past the second level. I'd say you should start players off with even less obstacles and build them up.
Articulated9
01. May 2017 · 19:30 UTC
An original concept with unique mechanics! I think you're right to take another look at the control scheme - things felt a little unresponsive - some tutorialising would be handy in a later version. Overall though a sturdy, well-built entry with bags of character.
Hegemege
01. May 2017 · 19:36 UTC
Really liked the mood, the music and visuals resembled some old SNES game :)

It got a bit too difficult too fast, and I found myself just waiting and waiting to orbit to the correct spot so I could place the building, the wall and the ice thing. Big plus for making it work so well with the controller! It took me a minute to remember I had my controller plugged in because the keyboard didn't work, so maybe allow both control schemes at the same time, or better, advertise that controller is supported at the start!

The start didn't have any tutorial (or did it?) but I think that was just fine, I picked up the idea quite fast. Good work!
Epicsoft
02. May 2017 · 00:18 UTC
Great work, I really like the srory, it's a little creepy, but good, graphics were fine and overall expirience was good
abhimonk
02. May 2017 · 00:49 UTC
Good work. I liked the stacking mechanics with each level. Learning how to use the green exclamation point, and then having to learn how to use the ice block was a nice level of depth added to the game. I also love the chiptune style of music. I think it may have made sense to rotate the world instead of the player around the world with a game like this. Having to move precisely and whatnot is a little difficult when you go on the bottom of the world, and the controls suddenly feel like they're the opposite of what you'd expect. That said, this wasn't a huge detractor from the experience. Overall, I really liked the addition of each ability to the game.
Ilseroth
02. May 2017 · 00:53 UTC
I wish I had more constructive criticism... I tend to go on and on but all I can really think to say is that something about this just didn't do it for me; sorry >.<

Thanks for the game nonetheless <3
berkano
02. May 2017 · 11:48 UTC
Great game, it offered the right amount of challenge each level without getting too overwhelming, by about the 5th level it got too hard for me though! Agree with others that the controls were a bit hard to get used to, probably because there were so many up/down/left/rights to keep track of while the ship was rotating around the planets. Still it had a lot of depth and playability! Music was cool too. Great job!
Gurbx
02. May 2017 · 12:47 UTC
A nice enjoyable game, with a nice idea and implementation of the theme. The style was kind of retro and cool. Some quick tutorial level to teach you the controls would have been nice. I originally just started it without reading the description (my fault I know) and it took me a while to figure out what to do at level 2 and then I wondered what was wrong with shooting, as it wasn't very responsive. After I figured it out, I had a great time with it. Very challenging!

P.S. The game crashed once on startup and then once again later when it was running. Might just be something wrong with my computer, but I thought I'd let you know.
somethinboutgames
03. May 2017 · 15:35 UTC
Seems like a fun idea, but unfortunately the controls just were too frustrating for me, especially shooting while moving (I see in the description you have already thought about that). Also a tutorial level explaining for example the purple strips (Maybe I'm just dumb, but I didn't understand where I had to place the beacons for quite some time) and you should be good to go!
ToonTeamJ
07. May 2017 · 19:26 UTC
It's a good game, but a tutorial might be nice. The controls take some getting used to.
Querk
10. May 2017 · 07:57 UTC
Very innovative and hard game, nice graphics and music, but the controls are not that comfortable. Thanks for an hour of fun. Good game and good job (sorry for my bad english)
philomory
16. May 2017 · 04:28 UTC
I think it's an interesting and pretty unique set of mechanics. There are some problems with controls and difficulty, but it seems like you're already well aware of those. For me, I found it problematic that the action controls were mapped to traditionally directional buttons; I'd start off ok pressing left to shoot while moving left, but then when I wanted to shoot right I'd instinctively press right on the keyboard, which sends down your army instead.

All that said, I did did like the concept a lot and would love to see it polished more.
KappaIX
16. May 2017 · 19:21 UTC
A very interesting and original concept! I liked the core of the gameplay and i'm a sucker for chiptune soundtracks - found it a little tough to work out what I was doing wrong when trying to defend my drills/shrinkers, so a little more direction would be good.

Well done! Thanks for sharing!