Infestus by Handle

made by Handle for LD 40 (COMPO)

Created from scratch in 48 hours for my first Ludum Dare!

Update: I've made some changes based on feedback so far. You can now complete the game! You move faster, enemies move faster (and there are more of them), the weight mechanic is less cumbersome, and restart functions correctly.

The original compo version is labeled accordingly.

Controls:

WASD to move.
Shift to dash.
Space to toggle larva call.
Escape for menu.
E to drop distraction cells.
Partial controller support (no menu interaction).

Gather biomass from the green tanks and deliver it to your spawning pool to create larva. Deliver those larva in turn to grates around the map to infest the research facility. Once infestation is complete, you can escape into the world!

...except you can't in the original upload, because colliders are not triggers.

Ohh man. What have I done?

The theme was the last one I expected to win. I had lots of ideas for most the the themes, but uh... this one came out of left field for me.

I decided to try to incorporate the theme in as many facets of the design as I could. It is worse to have more minions following you because it's harder to sneak around. It's worse to be burdened with an abundance of MacGuffin, because your movement is inhibited. It's worse to allow enemies to bunch up, because, well, they are you enemies. They want to eat you and all that.

I am not thrilled with the finished product. You can play it through, so that's good. I probably won't revisit this particular project (LD spaghetti all over the place), but I have learned A TON about pixel art and the associated concerns. I would really like to move forward with another, more tolerably-paced pixel art project.

Anyway, I hope there's some fun to be had with Infestus. I had fun making it. Thanks for checking it out.

Windows	https://handle.itch.io/infestus
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/infestus

Ratings

Overall	407^th	3.256⭐	43🧑‍⚖️
Fun	515^th	2.905⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	366^th	3.085⭐	43🧑‍⚖️
Theme	368^th	3.393⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	252^th	3.512⭐	44🧑‍⚖️
Audio	387^th	2.756⭐	41🧑‍⚖️
Mood	250^th	3.256⭐	43🧑‍⚖️
Given		52🗳️	37🗨️

Feedback

eerongal

04. Dec 2017 · 03:57 UTC

I get an error attempting to play your game. "The code execution cannot proceed because unityplayer.dll was not found"

baknik

04. Dec 2017 · 04:00 UTC

I get the same error as eerongal. I do want to say that I'm glad you took this experience to learn and improve; that's what Ludum Dare is all about!

🎤 Handle

04. Dec 2017 · 04:07 UTC

@eerongal @baknik Ugh, I forgot you have to package the .dll in the zip file now. Fixed. Check it out again if you get a chance.

Arthur Amorim

04. Dec 2017 · 04:23 UTC

Really great art work, amazing job with this game, the sounds and everything, it's just fantastic. Great Job!

Ham and Swiss

04. Dec 2017 · 04:36 UTC

Good job with the pixel art, especially if you say you're learning. I especially liked the bubbling pool.

evandowning

04. Dec 2017 · 04:37 UTC

I played it -- I filled up the infection bar thing but wasn't sure what to do after that -- I found one hallway I couldn't move through, wondering if that was the exit!

🎤 Handle

04. Dec 2017 · 04:58 UTC

@evandowning That is indeed the end. Looks like it was a collider and not a trigger... I was scrambling there at the end :P I fixed it, but in the interest of the jam I'll leave it as is for now. As consolation, I shall replicate the end screen here: "Victory!" Thanks for checking it out.

S-ed

04. Dec 2017 · 05:03 UTC

Interesting game. I think art would look much better if sprites resolution were lowered by 2-8 times.

I've tried to make my own army, but the frame rate dropped drastically after 4-5 containers.
Also my larva started to infest walls.

![true_infestation.gif](///raw/ca2/z/b2bc.gif)

baknik

04. Dec 2017 · 05:27 UTC

I really enjoyed this one! Great art and polish. I liked how everything has a limited supply, encouraging you to explore more of the map!

almost

04. Dec 2017 · 05:35 UTC

Leading the larva around was cool, but collecting goo makes you move so slowly that it's kind of painful to play. I'm not sure that I understand the computer things.

meskaline

04. Dec 2017 · 10:10 UTC

Super super! Was difficult to understand but then I got into it. GJ!

randomphantom

04. Dec 2017 · 11:34 UTC

Great mood, the pixel art was pretty good, although you probably want to scale up the pixels for your sanity as it is insanely detailed at the moment. The gameplay moved a little too slow for my taste (even without collecting the ooze) and given the large expanses of space available which wasn't very visually different from each other, it felt a little repetitive after awhile. I guess the ending was to open the door, as I managed to do so anyway although I get stuck in the corridor.

Lawrence

04. Dec 2017 · 15:56 UTC

I liked the way you control minions. It's simple, but surprisingly a lot of fun. Atmosphere is great as well. I felt like in a spaceship more than in a lab though. :smile:

Slow movement when carrying full body of biomass feels a bit tedious, however. That's a game mechanic, I understand, but at the same time I feel like there's no need to get less than full body of biomass when the only drawback is that it will take you longer to get to the pit.

Great job!

Mirroar

04. Dec 2017 · 19:10 UTC

Simple, nice idea. I liked it :smiley:

mess110

04. Dec 2017 · 19:15 UTC

I managed to full infest the room but not sure if anything was supposed to happen. Please tell me.... I muuust knoow...

Addictive gameplay. The slowing part was annoying, but I understand why it is there.

JackIsaacs

04. Dec 2017 · 19:19 UTC

Cool game! Didn't get a chance to use the distracting things though!

Killnaprimer

04. Dec 2017 · 19:41 UTC

It looks sick (in a good way) when character fills itself with green slime. Personally, I would add more enemies on level, so when you move slowly you would feel more vulnurable then.. just slow. Regardless, exploring the station was fun! Great job.

Colisan

04. Dec 2017 · 19:56 UTC

Cool game. I went through the end door, and nothing happened, I get blocked by an invisible wall... Is this normal ? =(

The graphics were pretty even (excepted for the ennemy sprite with x2 pixels). Way too slow movement speed though... =x

Global ambiance was on point =)

🎤 Handle

05. Dec 2017 · 00:16 UTC

@mess110 yeah... the ending is broken in the compo version. I have an updated version with a number of fixes if you want to see the incredible ending (it's not).
@Colisan, @Killnaprime, @mess110, @lawrence, I have changed the movement speed and weight mechanic for the updated version on itch.

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone!

6smith

05. Dec 2017 · 04:25 UTC

fun! really irritating when the grubs get caught on walls though.

aeveis

05. Dec 2017 · 09:20 UTC

Interesting concept! Liked how you had to spawn larva and move them around to the vents. Biggest thing for me was I would have liked more spawners and the map felt like it could have have much smaller, especially since I do slow down after getting slime (so more about avoidance in a small space since you can't run away once they see if you are heavier anyway). I also think instead of decreasing transparency in the slime tubes it would visually read better if the slime's level just went down. Sometimes the enemies would get stuck facing each other too (which is bad when they are blocking an entry way). Overall though it's a good start, I would think about how to best polish the design with how it supports themes of the game (size of the map, ways you can use larva, any benefits to the player when you infest the lab more, etc). Keep up the good work!

terakorp

05. Dec 2017 · 10:59 UTC

You've done a nice job with this concept, I really like how you're forcing the player to explore and encouraging them to take risks. I think it needs a smaller map with a more maze like structure and it looks like you scaled up some of the sprites so the pixel sizes are a bit inconsistent. Other than that I think you're onto something! :)

orcdraco

05. Dec 2017 · 15:59 UTC

Great concept and awesome graphics! The gameplay is fun as well. The sound also build up the mood. Good job! :thumbsup:

Crock

06. Dec 2017 · 17:32 UTC

Very nice project, congratz :)

TwinGhosts

06. Dec 2017 · 22:36 UTC

Cool man, i love exploration and a decent try at making the theme fit your game :) good job nice graphics and visual appeal aswell

Honest Dan

07. Dec 2017 · 13:47 UTC

Enjoyed playing this on stream, wish I was able to give it a bit more time to see the depth you've included in the game. Some interesting mechanics and a nice take on the strategy stealth game.

Kutase

07. Dec 2017 · 20:00 UTC

Interesting mechanics. Not bad graphics.

BlakeMcDeezy

07. Dec 2017 · 20:07 UTC

That was cool! I loved the concept, and had fun with it too! Really creative!
When I was loaded up with goo, I would have liked to have move faster - or have more enemies - because sometimes it felt like you'd go a long time without action.
Cool sprites! Loved the goo!

tschery

08. Dec 2017 · 23:25 UTC

Solid gameplay nice mechanic, but the gameplay is a bit slow

SVR_Audio

09. Dec 2017 · 21:48 UTC

This is a compo entry ?wow great jobs, the art is the best thing, some pretty cool and advanced effects, the game overal is very fun, good game mechanics, great job !

The Dankasaur

13. Dec 2017 · 03:46 UTC

That was a pretty great game. The graphics were great and the concept was unique. There wasn't a lot of sound though, just some light music I think would have been good. But other than that, I'll have to play it more in the future.