Battin' Bats by DigiGee
Bat bats and collect vending machine upgrades and see how far you can get in this speed based mini rougelite!
Controls: WSAD - skate forward/ turn left & right LeftMouse - Swing Bat / exit vending machine menu Space - Jump / Purchase from vending machine Esc - Unlock mouse Tab - Lock mouse


| HTML5 (web) | https://digigee.itch.io/battinbats |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/44/battin-bats |
Ratings
| Given | 9🗳️ | 10🗨️ |
So close to being great!
Still a nice fun idea if you overlook these flaws.
Going fast and trying to hit the bats while jumping almost always leads to me being hit by their projectiles. Bats that are close to a ledge are a pain to hit because of the danger of falling down and losing precious hp.
In the end i just stood still and tried to shoot the projectlies back, because that worked best. Couldn't get past level 1 until i was too frustrated with the controls.
I think with a more fluid and responsive control schema, this could be really interesting. Jumping around, hitting the bats. The map layout could be a bit better the emphasize this kind of gameplay. I got stuck in the bouldes really fast and some of the bats were a little too high to hit.
Nonetheless, a solid game!
Only thing I miss is more aerial control, if you're making a later version of the game I'd probably give the option to change direction when jumping to give more control and tighter direction changes, and probably allow to make tighter turns on the ground.
The game got probably three times as fun when I realized that you could hit the enemy's projectile against them, which in retrospect feels obvious considering the main character's weapon. I'd probably make the projectiles look more like balls to communicate better the idea that you can hit them.
I think that you have a really nice mechanic here to play with for a larger game.
It would have been a good idea to have a kind of "tutorial level" where you can't fall off (fence) and have no boulders to get the hang of things, before going all the way.
Since you can't roll backward, turning when standing still should be faster, to avoid being bombarded when you get stuck. Also sometimes bats spawn in boulders (or boulders spawn on bats?)
Didn't really see much need for the powerups, but it's a clever way to include the theme.
I had a hard time at first with the controls, but once I got it, it was really fun, and it got easier once I bought some power-up. The music is a good choice, it's stressful and make you feel under the pressure, just a bit repetitive. I love the graphic art, it's cute and clean, even that little chromatic aberration effect on the ground. (Also the ''wind sound'' make me remember of the one in Mario64, and the bats to the heartless in kingdom heart, that's pretty cool haha) Can't say anything negative about this game, once again, good job!