Can't save them all! by lilou_cormic

[raw]
made by lilou_cormic for LD 43 (COMPO)

100 people are trying to get to safety, they won't all make it. You will have to sacrifice the few to save the many.

Cover.png

Move groups of people (yellow circles) one space at the time to get to safety (orange star). Avoid the kamikaze attackers (red circles). If two groups go on the same space, the will join as a new group.

Controls: Mouse (Left-click) - Click to select group - Click highlighted tile to move selected group

LD first-timer. Made in Unity 2018.3.0b12. Used cgMusic v1 for music and Bfxr 1.4.1 for sound effects.

Ratings

Overall 189th 3.561⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Fun 108th 3.636⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 104th 3.606⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 49th 4.136⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 486th 2.076⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 276th 2.894⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 30🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

BenBurgh
03. Dec 2018 · 00:07 UTC
I saved 76! Neat puzzle, although I think it would help if we knew which ways the attackers would move before each turn
0x0
04. Dec 2018 · 12:52 UTC
Really cool! I saved 70 :D
Not a fan of the graphics but it's the only thing I can say, the mechanics work great and it's well balanced.
Good job!
🎤 lilou_cormic
04. Dec 2018 · 14:35 UTC
@benburgh Great score! Thanks! Didn't think of that but would indeed remove the luck factor and streghten the puzzleness.

@0x0 Thanks! Decided to make sure the game worked well before working on the visuals. However I didn't have time (or skill) to get back to it in the end.
kypello
04. Dec 2018 · 23:01 UTC
This is a really unique game. It's pretty challenging at has a lot of strategy involved. I think this would be cool if there were more boards with different hazards and stuff. Great job!
🎤 lilou_cormic
05. Dec 2018 · 02:34 UTC
@kypello Thanks! I was thinking about that too.
Zombie Virals
05. Dec 2018 · 03:02 UTC
Very nicely done!

![cantsavethemall.PNG](///raw/28c/21/z/1ef92.png)
🎤 lilou_cormic
05. Dec 2018 · 03:10 UTC
@zombie-virals Thanks again! I'll check out yours soon.
Rebecca Kremer
06. Dec 2018 · 16:12 UTC
I got 71 ^o^ I really liked the mechanics and how you know you only have 100 people in total so it's very important to sacrifice small amounts of people regularly to destroy the kamikaze guys and be patient. Enjoyed the elevator music too hehe. Could have used a small infusion of mood to make the game a little more tense but overall very good ^_^
Vlad11
06. Dec 2018 · 16:34 UTC
A great idea for the game, I think that enlarging the board would be good :D
Groggi
06. Dec 2018 · 20:24 UTC
I liked the little game! Its very simple and fun and has an interesting concept! :)
Smeax
07. Dec 2018 · 00:57 UTC
Wow, great game! A few nice graphics would push it a little bit more but since it's a jam I had a blast! Saved 85 :smile:

![Game.jpg](///raw/10b/3/z/1f54b.jpg)
🎤 lilou_cormic
07. Dec 2018 · 02:14 UTC
@rebecca-kremer Thanks! I agree about the mood, that's why I opted out of that rating category.

@vlad11 Thanks! I might do a post-jam version with different boards, changing size and adding obstacles.

@smeax Thanks! Graphics where last on my list, had to *sacrifice* those.
tabitha
07. Dec 2018 · 03:04 UTC
I wasn't sure if I was going to like the game at first but it very quickly became very satisfying to run away from the red circles and get to the star. Winning at the end felt great and it made me wanna play again. Nice concept!
🎤 lilou_cormic
07. Dec 2018 · 03:27 UTC
@groggi and @tabitha Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed.
Shane Hayes
07. Dec 2018 · 04:23 UTC
![Screenshot from 2018-12-06 23-10-02.png](///raw/c79/81/z/1f577.png)
🎤 lilou_cormic
07. Dec 2018 · 04:33 UTC
@shane-hayes Thanks! Apparently you CAN save them all!
Mertios
07. Dec 2018 · 04:50 UTC
@lilou-cormic @shane-hayes If my understanding of the AI is correct, they don't have any randomness, right? If this is true, that creates a big problem for the game. If a perfect run like this one @shane-hayes completed can be easily replicated, that makes a serious issue for your game. A good idea might be randomizing the size of the map, the starting and ending points, or perhaps aspects of the AI. Great game besides that, had a blast playing it! You should totally polish this one up make a full release of it.
NisePandaKun
07. Dec 2018 · 04:56 UTC
Idk if I'm playing it right but i lost 2 at the beginning and for the rest of the game, followed the same path from start to finish. I guess the enemies could have better AI. good concept though!

![Capture2.JPG](///raw/202/81/z/1f578.jpg)
Cincerteri
07. Dec 2018 · 05:01 UTC
Very cool game. There was a surprising strategical depth that was not immediately obvious. I definitely enjoyed running from the red dots. :)
t1a2z
07. Dec 2018 · 07:39 UTC
Cool game! Graphics are pretty simple and the music is somewhat repetitive, but the gameplay is simply awesome! It is simple to understand, but deep and interesting! Great work!
Shane Hayes
07. Dec 2018 · 08:36 UTC
@lilou-cormic @mertios I used the AI to my advantage and it is easy to replicate, but I had fun figuring out how to do it so maybe I shouldn't spoil that completely just yet. I will say that map size or random starting and end points would not stop what I did from working. A more random AI may do the trick, but might not make it impossible.
Steel_Dev
07. Dec 2018 · 16:41 UTC
I think I did well :D Great job on this- and congrats on your first LD entry! I hope you had fun! :D I liked this game. I enjoyed it :D Great job mate ^-^

![firefox_2018-12-07_11-40-48.png](///raw/5a4/2/z/1f60d.png)
niterich
07. Dec 2018 · 16:45 UTC
There's a very solid foundation for a great puzzle game here, but the AI would definitely need to be improved (which I suppose is to be expected from a game made in less than 48 hours). The AI just didn't quite have that spark of imagination that a human player would have, which made it easy to figure out a path that could save all the people all the time. Maybe think about a two player mode to find out what the best strategies are for both sides, then program the AI to react to them?

Also, I found that the score didn't always add up to 100. I'm guessing that's just a bug?
royur
07. Dec 2018 · 18:08 UTC
got 70 saved. Cool game, but yeah the AI is predictable at the end.
digitaldude555
07. Dec 2018 · 20:13 UTC
Saved 64 was the highest I got I think. Good use of the theme and first game I tested that I thought innovated instead of making something familiar, sound effects are good too. I guess the graphics are a bit plain only nitpick I have.
MrLeePerry
07. Dec 2018 · 22:44 UTC
Neat stuff, interesting mechanics! Definitely a great use of theme and well executed :)
jihem
11. Dec 2018 · 21:53 UTC
Interesting game with a strategy to build. Sadly, it's less fun if you have found the best way to save people. It is in my top 5. You may add levels with obstacles... or different type of mouvements for the enemies.
Technicaly it's perfect and reach the all the goals. Hurray !!!
🎤 lilou_cormic
11. Dec 2018 · 23:55 UTC
@mertios @shane-hayes @nisepandakun Thanks! I will spoil it. AI is very basic. Enemies spawn at a random corner. The closest to the player will move towards the player. I have noticed that if an enemy spawns in the upper-right corner while the current enemy is in that era, the new on it will basically stay there. If both enemies are at the same distance, the first that spawned will move. AI should definitively be tweaked but I think it was good enough for the jam.

@cincerteri @t1a2z Thanks for playing!

@steel-dev Thanks! I did indeed have fun.

@niterich Thanks! Two player mode could be a thing. I only noticed the score not adding up from the screenshots of players a couple of days in. Oops!

@royur Thanks! AI does need some tweaking.

@digitaldude555 @mrleeperry @jihem Thanks a lot! I do plan on having different board layouts. I may add different types of enemies as well.
Matank
12. Dec 2018 · 16:34 UTC
Really fun game, and cool concept! As others have said, the AI has some issues. Here's a gif example:

![ezgif-5-6db62b9f2df7.gif](///raw/6bb/81/z/1f9e0.gif)

you can see the kamikaze attacker on the right stays still although it could destroy my people every time.

But even with the current AI, I had a lot of fun with the game, and I really liked how the sacrifice theme was realized here. In my best game, I managed to save 88 people.
Omiya Games
13. Dec 2018 · 03:39 UTC
The easy-to-outmaneuver AI, along with its predictability, is simultaneously charming and problematic. For example, in my second playthrough, I was able to save 96 individuals. I thought the game concept was fine, and honestly one of the better implementation of the theme. As a game trying to create some challenge from the player, though, I believe the AI is a big deal-breaker.
arron-fowler
14. Dec 2018 · 12:32 UTC
For all of its simplicity I really enjoyed it. I love a good board game and this would be a good game to make in a physical way. I could imagine playing this on a chess board for real. Good work
🎤 lilou_cormic
15. Dec 2018 · 02:01 UTC
@matank Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to make a gif. AI will be the first thing to be improved.

@omiya-games Thanks! It was much harder at first but you needed to play multiple times to get the hang of it. As this is a game jam I wanted it to be more accessible for different types of users in their first playthrough.

@arron-fowler Thanks! I actually plan to use chess pieces. Players would start as a pawn and then could upgrade to a "stronger" piece when the number is high enough. Working on the idea.
arron-fowler
15. Dec 2018 · 09:42 UTC
@lilou-cormic or maybe a little cup that you could put tiny little gems in. It would be nice to pour one into another and get a sence of them building up.
Jesper K
16. Dec 2018 · 00:17 UTC
Simple game, controls felt decent. However to increase the fun factor it needs more levels and a few obstacles :-)
Also, after learning the AI it became pretty easy. The AI could use some tactical improvements, like the AI didn't move the other circle sometimes even though it would have been better.

Overall it was pretty good and fits the theme :-)
Jupiter_Hadley
17. Dec 2018 · 17:26 UTC
Neat game! I included it in my compilation video series of games from the Ludum Dare, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/kK0cQutPhIg
Keppu
18. Dec 2018 · 12:40 UTC
Nice and relaxing small puzzle game. Music is nice medieval tone. I actually went and googled cgmusic, which you used to make the music. The program seems pretty interesting. Sound effects could be more relaxing as well.

The game could use some graphical theme. From the music I can already imagine it having medieval theme. Red being rogue knights or robbers and player pieces wandering nomads or peasant trying to get to better lands.

++ for the options. That is rare thing to see in jam games(including my own games :D)
phi
28. Dec 2018 · 22:11 UTC
That's awesome! So simple you understand it without instructions, and yet intriguing to think about. I'm not an avid chess player, but I really enjoyed this little game with a clear objective in sight! The AI seems pretty OK, I figured it was most successful to join as many yellow things together as possible and then just let the brown things chase me. I managed to get out of a couple of situations that would have been basically check-mate. After one round, I saved 64.

Graphics is very basic, but does the job, music is interesting, not too distracting. All in all, great work! :D Thanks for making this, and see you next time! :)
rosypenguin
31. Dec 2018 · 17:08 UTC
Such a simple concept but great execution. There was a surprising amount of strategy involved, I lost a lot so many people the first time, but the second time was able to strategically sacrifice smaller groups of people. I wish the art was a little more aesthetically pleasing, I almost skipped this game.