Dodge The Box. by Xeinix

[raw]
made by Xeinix for LD 39 (COMPO)

Change Log: Aug 1, 2017 12:00: Fixed issue with game being too large.

This is my first game jam and Ludum dare ever! It was very interesting being challenged to make a game in < 48 hours. Especially when you throw away almost all of your work halfway through day two!

Avoid the boxes and collect batteries to keep your jetpack working! Hit a box, or run out of energy, and you fall to your death. (Oh no!)Screenshot (73).png - Screenshot (70).png

Ratings

Overall 563th 2.829⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Fun 471th 2.853⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 608th 2.324⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Theme 523th 3.059⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 441th 2.909⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 483th 2.061⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Humor 343th 2.233⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Mood 512th 2.516⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Given 24🗳️ 25🗨️

Feedback

MajamiLTU
31. Jul 2017 · 16:07 UTC
Nice simple little game, I would suggest adding some music.
colozz
31. Jul 2017 · 16:08 UTC
Pretty simple game, but great. The graphics are pretty, keep it up!
internetpaulicy
31. Jul 2017 · 16:15 UTC
I like the decision to present the user with obstacles that they have to avoid. The game tries to kill you so that the game ends quickly. I also like the the feeling of getting locked in a row so that I know that I am where I want to be. It could use a bit more sound feed back even when the user fails. For example: if the clouds don't do anything maybe they could fire some sort of particle system or something to make it more fun to hit them. In my best run I got to row 14.
🎤 Xeinix
31. Jul 2017 · 16:15 UTC
@majamiltu I was actually planning on doing that but ran out of time before I was able to. Thanks for the comment though!

@colozz Thank you for your comments. This was my first time really doing any pixel art so I'm glad that you liked it!
🎤 Xeinix
31. Jul 2017 · 16:19 UTC
@internetpaulicy Thank you! The locking in a row was kind of a second thought. At first it was just a free flow but then after a recommendation on stream I changed it. Nice run too!
jusw85
31. Jul 2017 · 17:29 UTC
A short and neat game, I quite liked it. I couldn't figure out what happens if batteries don't spawn though, I picked up all batteries but still died at wave 8.
🎤 Xeinix
31. Jul 2017 · 17:51 UTC
@jusw85 Yeah. I can see that being a problem. I have the batteries spawning randomly with a 50% chance of spawning every 5ish seconds.
EX3D0
31. Jul 2017 · 18:56 UTC
Pretty fun game!

The graphics are pretty nice in my opinion so I'd like to congratulate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bix44C1EzY you on that.

The lack of music is a bit unfortunate but it's understandable if you didn't have time. The sound effects that do exist are pretty good however I wish there was a sound effect that plays when you pass a row.

I also think there should be some way to see your current charge level (if there is then I'm just blind I guess), and batteries should have an increased spawn chance because both times I failed because batteries hadn't spawned for a while.
krishnasism
31. Jul 2017 · 19:02 UTC
I find it funny when the box lands on the characters face and it makes that sound :P

Sweet game! Add some music if you can :) The individual row gameplay is cool and I like it.
Good luck. This is a nice game :D Congratulations

10/10 will play again
Sprouts
31. Jul 2017 · 19:05 UTC
Cool game. DO the clouds drain battery? Played it a few times without figuring it out.
jmholland96
31. Jul 2017 · 19:32 UTC
Love the retro style and the instantly accessible gameplay.
🎤 Xeinix
31. Jul 2017 · 19:37 UTC
@ex3do Thank you very much for the kind feedback! On the bottom of the screen there should be a green bar to indicate power. Dependant on your resolution it might not be shown because of unity's snapping settings.

@krishnasim Thanks! I might do some music later a a postMortem sort of thing.

@sprouts No the clouds should not drain batter as they are there for pure background use.

@jmholland96 Thank you!
jchaplin
31. Jul 2017 · 19:44 UTC
Nice job!
ITR
31. Jul 2017 · 20:22 UTC
Got 169 points, though at a certain point it seems like it didn't get harder.

Some energy bars spawned in impossible to get locations, and sometimes they spawn too far apart to survive (though when crates appear quicker, there seems to be more of them appearing, making this not much of an issue)

Would be nice if there was some more variation, just dodging the crates gets a little dull after a while.
🎤 Xeinix
31. Jul 2017 · 21:32 UTC
@jchaplin Thank you!

@itr At a certain point, you are right it does not get any harder. That's a problem I don't think I can really fix because of the way the mechanics work. In terms of variation, do you have anything you would recommend?
FloBar
31. Jul 2017 · 21:57 UTC
Neat little game. The visuals could be better though.
Jamie McClenaghan
31. Jul 2017 · 22:34 UTC
Nice game you got there.
loyance
31. Jul 2017 · 22:44 UTC
Nice little game with neat graphics
Some music would definitely make it better

(Also, the game window height was too large for my screen, so I couldn't see the remaining energy)
RobotsAndMuffins
01. Aug 2017 · 00:02 UTC
Love its graphics and its simplicity! Good job!
Ramou
01. Aug 2017 · 16:25 UTC
too simple, but it's work :)
Thygrrr
03. Aug 2017 · 16:12 UTC
A simple dodger game with some tricky "reverse tetris" situations. (you are the line piece)

Likes:
- great splash screen sequence, need to remember that for future entries.
- the game is actually quite challenging after a while
- it has a subtle humour to it that I like. but maybe I just hit my head a little too hard...

Try to do differently:
- there's very little feedback or "juice" in terms of movement and collisions
- there could be more going on on the screen at most times and it would only add to the game
- I died the first two games before seeing any batteries. :(

Overall:
- good things come in small packages, this is a decent entry. I wonder what happens when you reach 50 rows, though.
PBG
05. Aug 2017 · 20:10 UTC
I agree with @thygrrr - this is a small detail, but your splash screens were great! Really very sharp.

I found the game itself to be a good idea, but a bit basic. Still fun!
morphine
06. Aug 2017 · 15:08 UTC
Not bad at all! I can see that my main gripe has already been presented - the random aspect of the energy bars results in sometimes playing perfectly and still dying.
nratcliff
06. Aug 2017 · 20:04 UTC
Nice splash sequence!! I really like the core of the game. Sometimes batteries were in impossible locations, which was a bit annoying, but not a huge deal, as there were more than enough to keep me well juiced. The biggest thing this entry lacks is visual feedback. It'd be great to have a nice smooth tween when the player moves between columns, as well as some particles when batteries are collected.

Great work overall! Congrats on your first jam! :)
Drachmor
20. Aug 2017 · 04:32 UTC
Oh man, once you get above 40 levels, it becomes really intense! I'm a sucker for these reflex, twitch-skill, arcade-y games, and I really enjoyed what you produced here! While the audio/visuals were fairly nice, the gameplay (conceptually simple as it was) is where this entry really did well. This would make a great mobile game that I could really see myself sinking time into. My only criticism is regarding the battery pickups that spawn in the game - it wasn't made very clear to me why I should bother seeking them out, as I faced no consequences by merely letting them pass me. Maybe I was missing some "power meter" type thing (because the window extended beyond my screen slightly). Anyway, all things considered, you did a great job in such a limited time frame!

Edit: After intentionally avoiding collecting batteries, I died and saw the message that explained the importance of collecting batteries. Still, I think it would be nice if the player was provided some sort of visual feedback regarding their power level.