ROOSTER EXPRESS by Fran Segura

So... You say you want to work with us, huh? Well, I hope you are prepared to work hard and fulfill your role in our big company.
They don't call me the Delivery King for nothing! But enough with presentations,
WELCOME TO...

ABOUT THE GAME
ROOSTER EXPRESS is a game about a warehouse clerk alone with an increasing number of packages to organize. As the stressed little Panda, you'll have to classify hundreds of packages under the watchful eye of your boss. Be careful, as your space is limited and the flow of packages (and other items) keeps increasing every second.

CONTROLS [Mouse+Keyboard / Controller]
- WASD / Left joystick: Move
- Left Click / A : Pick up an object / Throw object (keep the button pressed for increased force)
- Right Click / B : Examine an object (hover the mouse / right joystick to rotate and mouse wheel / triggers to zoom and move)

THE TEAM
Code
- Jaime Muela https://twitter.com/jaimuepe
- Álex López https://twitter.com/ALop23_
Art
- Hermes Escriva https://twitter.com/hermeses
- Fran Segura https://twitter.com/fvsegura
Sound
"March of the Spoons" and "The Show Must Be Go" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
| Windows | https://jaimuepe.itch.io/rooster-express |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/rooster-express |
Ratings
| Overall | 38th | 4.12⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 55th | 3.94⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 166th | 3.7⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 373th | 3.76⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 33th | 4.5⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 37th | 4.063⭐ | 26🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 35th | 4.136⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 7🗳️ | 10🗨️ |
One thing i would change - not dropping a package after clicking left click to get out of 'inspect mode'. I kept dropping packages because of that.
It gets pretty chaotic pretty fast, and I love it.
A really great entry overall, solid contender to win I think.
My only feedback is that it gets really overwhelming. It has the stress of something like Overcooked, but without the satisfaction of becoming efficient enough to actually win. I'd really enjoy being able to actually complete a level in this game. Like some of the people above, I also kept accidentally dropping packages.
One of the best LD games I've played.
@swiftpotato Why do you say the controls are unresponsive? Did you play with a xbox controller or kb+m? Any suggestions are welcome :)
@squidcor I get what you say. You can actually win though - after the countdown the boss will spawn a bunch of boxes but those are not your problem because your turn is over. But yeah it can be a it confusing. Thanks for the feedback!
@jessefreeman Yes, Overcooked was an obvious inspiration :P The game is a bit rough around the edges (quite literally sometimes - the stickers get really stretched in some weird angles). We also thought about a local multiplayer, either coop or versus, maybe we'll do it someday :). Thanks!
You've nailed the presentation, with polished graphics and some catchy sound and music. The take on the theme was clear, and I think it works great.
As for gameplay, I found it a bit rough in some aspects. The most frustrating bit to me was probably the inspect mode being somewhat dependent on the player position on the scene (?). I had to move around, drop the package and pick it again to see if it was reset and I could see the labels (or rotate it) properly.
Also, because of the physics it was hard sometimes to drop items, as they would fall or get stuck and you would have to keep picking it again (this happened a lot when burning round-ish items).
The package spawn rate felt a bit too much in terms of balancing, but since the "win" condition is -I guess- to keep the boss relatively happy before the timer runs out, it adds up to the overall tension of the level, which is a good thing.
I'm sure these things can be improved or fixed and everything else already works, so keep at it! You've got a really cool and promising game! Congrats!! :D
- When I get to a conveyor belt I sometimes turn around, which makes me drop the package on the floor. And sometimes the packages slide off the belts. I think it'd be a lot better if you simply teleported the package on top of the nearest belt within a close distance, and then disabled the physics of the boxes.
- Why do you have a time limit? I think this game would have been better off with an endless waves type of game, but I guess that's more of a subjective opinion.
- The game is way too difficult. I know it's supposed to feel stressful, but you should also make the player feel successful. The boxes spawn in way too fast.
- I think you're being unfair with the player with the way you change between districts and delivery types. Several times I dropped off a package to a district, only to see that gate changing to a type of delivery. In my opinion the boxes should be accepted when they land on the belt, but that might also just be my personal opinion.
Some particularly positive things to note:
- The mechanism of turning the boxes to find districts or courier details is a great touch, and I love how you have different labels and some even saying a district but it's crossed out and you have to find another district label.
- The security camera orienting towards the player is a creative little touch.
- For some reason I laughed a lot when someone dropped a burger with the mail :D
Again, great game. I may sound a bit harsh in this review, but that's just because you're 4 people and because you're just a few poor design decisions away from one of the best Ludum Dare entries I've played. I'll give you higher ratings than this review might imply. I'll be looking forward to seeing your future Ludum Dare entries :)
Great entry!
Great choice of music btw!