Rhythm Escape by Apples_mmmmmmmm

[raw]
made by Apples_mmmmmmmm for LD 41 (COMPO)

Rhythm game mixed with a stealth/escape game. Get the key and get out, all while avoiding guards and making sure to play all the notes.

Screenshot.png

Glitch Log -

Update(8:30pm 4/22/2018 MDT) - Fixed part of an issue where UI was not scaling correctly.

Update(1:57am 4/23/207 MDT) - Removed a guard to prevent key from being impossible to obtain under certain circumstances.

Update(11:52pm 4/24/2018 MDT) - Changed UI scaling to accommodate a wider variety of aspect ratios with less clipping and improper scaling. Issues still exist within actual game scene due to the differences in scaling between the grid and canvas elements.

Ratings

Overall 495th 3.152⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Fun 487th 3.03⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 185th 3.662⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Theme 264th 3.765⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 628th 2.455⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 473th 2.328⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Humor 502th 2.121⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Mood 553th 2.578⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Given 38🗳️ 28🗨️

Feedback

max whitehead
23. Apr 2018 · 02:55 UTC
Very interesting concept. Little disappointed there wasn't any music. Had fun playing, the AI weren't very aggressive, I mostly died by just getting impatient. Lots of fun.
max whitehead
23. Apr 2018 · 02:55 UTC
Very interesting concept. Little disappointed there wasn't any music. Had fun playing, the AI weren't very aggressive, I mostly died by just getting impatient. Lots of fun.
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 03:00 UTC
@max-whitehead

Thanks for playing!
I would've liked to improve on the music aspect of it, allowing the user to actually play through songs but I wanted to make sure I created everything myself and sadly I don't really know anything about music theory or software.
Serious07
23. Apr 2018 · 03:15 UTC
Control of the game is not very easy, the stylus separate music and step-character control.
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 03:24 UTC
@Serious07 Thanks for the feedback. I agree that it is awkward compared to the way that games are normally played.
Due to the nature of combining those genres though, I thought it was important that they were tied together. Since you can't hide like most stealth games, I think the user needs to be more considerate of their movements. This is forced on the user by making sure they cant just run through the level.
vilix64
23. Apr 2018 · 06:05 UTC
It would be easier if you uploaded a zipped folder of your game instead of link to the project's github page. Solid game, though. :slight_smile:
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 06:11 UTC
@vilix64 Thanks for the comment!

I linked to two repos, one which you can download just the binary folder as a zip, and the other with full source code.

I assume you mean uploading a zip to some other site like a google drive or something, but I'm not sure I see the difference between clicking [download->download zip] on github and clicking a similar button on any other site. If I'm misinterpreting your statement please let me know.
notb
23. Apr 2018 · 06:34 UTC
it’s very unique! i think it could be harder
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 06:52 UTC
@notb That's certainly true. The ease of the game has a lot to do with me not having the time to implement better pathing or ai for the guards. (And for trying too long to implement more complicated ai while I was too tired haha)
Apple Dash
23. Apr 2018 · 06:54 UTC
Interesting concept. I think, it would work better if player and enemy movements were tied together, like in a proper rogue-like.
TimeLoad
23. Apr 2018 · 08:06 UTC
Interesting game, was really hard and I couldn't even make it past the first level!! Although the graphics aren't the best, that's not what matters. The game was very well implemented :)
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 08:41 UTC
@TimeLoad Thanks for the feedback!
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 08:42 UTC
@Apple Dash Thanks for the feedback!
Call_me_Nutty
23. Apr 2018 · 09:42 UTC
Wow! Out of all the games I've played so far, this by FAR is the most innovative and fits the theme best. Stealth and Music? Awesome!

The game was great fun, very addicting and a perfect challenge. While the AI could at least follow you for a little bit (seemed like they had pre-determined paths) it still felt pretty tense when one was near me, making me error prone.

At first I didn't really understand the controls (I thought you had to follow the beat of the music and the guitar thing on the right was just cosmetic. But once I figured it out, I beat the game on the first try, just as a quick statistic for you.

The Art was nice. This is one of those games where programmer art looks pretty decent. The audio loop was nice and made sense for this type of a game.

Otherwise, you have a great concept here. I mean, I found it difficult trying to come up with criticism concerning Gameplay to be honest. At this point you can just keep adding more levels and content and then you would have a real gem I feel. Really well done!
Connor McGrory
23. Apr 2018 · 17:47 UTC
You sir hands down have the best theme-related game I've played so play! I died pretty early on and it took me about 4 or 5 tries to win (that guard near the first key is a pesky one!).

I agree with some of the other comments in that the player movement and guard movement should be synced, but then again, I liked the feel it gave knowing that I couldn't control when the guard would move. I think some background music behind the four notes would have made this game. Overall well done!
igorimagine
23. Apr 2018 · 18:31 UTC
Very interesting concept. Maybe linking the executable from gdrive or dropbox would be better than github.
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 21:40 UTC
@Call_me_Nutty Thanks for the thorough feedback! The guards are 'supposed' to walk in a random possible direction from their current location in the grid, but I think there is even a slight bug in this method currently and the seem to definitely favor certain paths that tend to be pretty closed off. I wanted to make a more complicated system for them but was struggling with it due to the lack of time and sleep so I ended up implementing the less thoughtful system.

@Connor McGrory Thanks for the feedback!
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 21:43 UTC
@igorimagine Thanks for the reply! I replied to Vilix64 who said something similar, however I linked to both repos, one which only have the build data and if you use that then it only takes two clicks to download the zip for it. I'm not sure why that's worse than using google drive or dropbox. If you could clarify on why you think that is I'd be happy to hear it.
mao
23. Apr 2018 · 23:47 UTC
(oops this comment was meant for a different game)
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
23. Apr 2018 · 23:55 UTC
@mao Lol, let me know if you have any input!
mao
23. Apr 2018 · 23:58 UTC
Okay, here's my actual commentary:

I like the idea of having to concentrate on the notes on order to move! It would be cool to see some other expansions on that mechanic. I wouldn't exactly call it a rhythm game, though. There's a metronome, but it doesn't seem to do anything?
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
24. Apr 2018 · 01:45 UTC
@mao Thanks for the feedback!

If you don't move, notes will generate every loop of the background track, which is timed to 3 seconds. I could have increased the rate at which notes are generated and have them generate regardless of if the player moves while also keeping notes from being generated when the player moves. Allowing them to generate from the sound and player during the same cycle would probably be too many notes coming, and you could easily end up with a scenario where if you move right before the loop and then the loop triggers there would be too small of a time frame to hit the second advancement of notes.

There are definitely quite a few variations that would be interesting to play with.
superpokeunicorn
24. Apr 2018 · 04:02 UTC
I really like the concept for this game. I enjoyed how having to keep up with the notes made me slow down and take my time instead of just gunning it as fast as possible. It added a certain level of tension to the movement. I also like how the notes had a very stealthy, quiet vibe to them. Overall, this is a very solid entry. Nice work!
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
24. Apr 2018 · 04:15 UTC
@superpokeunicorn Thanks for the comment! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
pinkemma
24. Apr 2018 · 15:56 UTC
Great concept. It would have been nice to have the note track closer to the middle maybe? I felt the hardest thing was to keep track of there I and guards were along with what notes to play. Decent execution though!
Talops
24. Apr 2018 · 17:39 UTC
Theme and concept implementation are simply stellar. Here's the points that could have seen improvements:
- Music :'(
- More pressure on the player (focusing more on the rythmic aspect of your concept, like rhythm giving movement points when successfully followed to allow the player to move)
- The color palette (especially the ui)

I'd love to see this concept taken further, your game has great potential! 5's for theme and innovation!
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
24. Apr 2018 · 20:55 UTC
@pinkemma @Talops Thanks for the feedback! I'll certainly take them into consideration.
shaw
25. Apr 2018 · 01:55 UTC
I'm a really big fan of this concept, the idea of stealth and rhythm to me is great. Despite the lack of music the notes / ticking actually gave it a surprising amount of tension for me, I can see with more time that this could be a really excellent game. Ps. Had a small issue where the UI for the controls in the help menu were off screen (3440x1440 fullscreen mode)
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
25. Apr 2018 · 02:56 UTC
@shaw Thanks for the feedback! Thanks for letting me know about the scaling problem with wider aspect ratios. It seems to affect quite a few things.
Jimbly
25. Apr 2018 · 16:43 UTC
Those colors in the menu *really* hurt my eyes, that's definitely combining two incompatible somethings.

Was strange to not have to worry about the musical rhythm, or, rather, to set my own rhythm, but I think I liked that. Having the notes being played being a bit more musical would have really helped the feel, I think.

Neat experience though, I managed to survive after two real attempts (ignoring the other two attempts where I was just figuring out mechanics and walked straight into a guard ;)
Jimbly
25. Apr 2018 · 16:45 UTC
Also, though I think linking to GitHub is cleaner than some of the Google Docs links I see, you should probably just link directly to the zip: https://github.com/JackWesleyNelson/LudumDare41Build/archive/master.zip
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
25. Apr 2018 · 23:16 UTC
@Jimbly Thanks for the feedback!

Good point. I changed the link.
gimbalock
26. Apr 2018 · 12:23 UTC
Great idea and well executed. But it is really difficult. I would have loved an easier level to get used to the controls, because they actually work really well! Great game, but the menu colors hurt my eyes a lot.
MaxKlimenok
26. Apr 2018 · 14:22 UTC
Nice project.

IMO the game is very challenging. I have to be very careful while moving, although it is great to have metronome sound on the background, it helps to synchronize right and left hands.

Your have my respect for being COMPO!
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
27. Apr 2018 · 02:02 UTC
@gimbalock @MaxKlimenok Thanks for the feedback as well as the kind words!
candlesan
28. Apr 2018 · 04:01 UTC
Took me about 30 tries but I finally beat the game.

I like the concept of a rhythm + stealth. The general objective of getting a key and getting out.I'd love to see if you have time to work on it more a better connection between the rhythm game and the movement game. Right now they feel like a physical challenge without tying directly into the theme of the game.
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
28. Apr 2018 · 05:55 UTC
@candlesan Thanks for the feedback!
jk5000
28. Apr 2018 · 09:57 UTC
The idea for the game was interesting, but sadly the game was also super difficult to play. I hoped for a bit better music in a rhythm game, but that is okay. You have clearly used the game jam theme, and you have shown us that those two game genres is pretty much incompatible.
nizlow
28. Apr 2018 · 10:21 UTC
Interesting concept and integration of theme. I kinda wished the system was created so I could play while moving. Right now it looks like you move, you press 1-2-3-4, you move, ... which gets kind of tedious. Something down the line like pressing one button and have him keep moving this direction would be interesting to see.
Anyways, the idea itself is pretty good IMO so good job on that part. Also didn't encounter any major bugs so also good work on that.
Keep it up :)
🎤 Apples_mmmmmmmm
28. Apr 2018 · 23:44 UTC
@jk5000 @nizlow Thanks for the feedback!