Botken: Assault and Battery by Toone

[raw]
made by Toone for LD 39 (JAM)

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Overview

A 1v1 fighting game built around the theme “Running out of power”. Players battle it out as 2 RC Bots, running on unfortunately tiny batteries. To win Botken, you must push your opponent off the edge of the arena and get them plugged. No HP, no timers: Botken is about dominating the arena, managing your power and showing the world what a tin-can can do!

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How To Play

The Bots always move forward automatically, and each has 4 inputs (Player 1 on the left uses WASD, and Player 2 on the right uses the Arrow Keys):

  • W / Up - for a High Attack
  • S / Down - for a Low Attack
  • D / Left - for a Dash Attack
  • A / Right - for a Backdash

Watch your opponent and react with the right move to inch them closer to the plug, or go full aggro and smash them into it.

Gameplay Subtleties

Bot Power Knockback

The power you have in store determines how far you are going to fly off when hit by an attack. The less power in store, the further the distance you’re knocked back! Note that performing attacks costs a bit of energy, but getting hit costs more.

When running completely out of energy, the Bot enters recovery mode, regenerating its power over the course of a few seconds. It cannot act while doing so; it is our version of a “Stun”. Pro-tip: Hitting an opponent in recovery mode will stop the recovery at the amount it is at the moment they get hit.

Combo Counter

The higher the current combo, the more Power is drained when landing a hit on the opponent.

The combo counter increases for every hit a player lands without getting hit in return, and drops to 0 whenever the other player starts his own combo streak.

Hit fast, hit hard, hit often!

https://hu9o.itch.io/botken

Ratings

Overall 199th 3.703⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Fun 142th 3.672⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 412th 3.062⭐ 67🧑‍⚖️
Theme 588th 3.231⭐ 67🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 66th 4.415⭐ 67🧑‍⚖️
Humor 265th 2.797⭐ 61🧑‍⚖️
Mood 322th 3.413⭐ 65🧑‍⚖️
Given 61🗳️ 45🗨️

Feedback

blksocks
01. Aug 2017 · 05:49 UTC
Great use of color, reminds me of old Jimmy Neutron cartoons, in a good way I grew up on those.
Jack Folkner
01. Aug 2017 · 06:03 UTC
I think it's an interesting idea to create a fighter with minimalistic controls. Landing the combos feels pretty good despite their simple nature and I can see how that could be improved. The visuals are kinda fun and feel like a callback to early 2000's CGI. It looks like a game that a kid would have on in the background in any show or cartoon, doesn't detract from it at all. Also happy to see another fan of Ghosts I-IV and the choice of those two tracks were definitely fitting. Overall, a good premise with plenty of room to expand on.
Didactylos
01. Aug 2017 · 06:03 UTC
Truly beautiful modelling, and the multi-player style works well. Obviously, the game needs more variety, but it has potential.
PjchardtTheSecond
01. Aug 2017 · 07:51 UTC
Very polished presentation. Nice graphics, audio and move set. Tried to play online but no one showed up :( Will try to play the game later with some friends to experience the gameplay.
Nek
01. Aug 2017 · 07:54 UTC
Apart from a few bugs,though i played the online version so its ok the game was really fun,the best i played so far,cheers!
Alier Qiu
01. Aug 2017 · 07:57 UTC
I enjoyed the Graphics very much, the special effects and movements are interesting .
Gao Ming
01. Aug 2017 · 08:00 UTC
Very fun. The graphics are beautiful. Great work!
ALeal_Dev
01. Aug 2017 · 11:25 UTC
Very nice entry! Great visuals, smooth and simple fighting gameplay and it also fit great in the jam theme. The only negative point i've found is that the music maybe is a bit too loud.

Very good job! Congratulations!
karreg
01. Aug 2017 · 11:43 UTC
Great graphics ! The game feelings are good !
Rapter
01. Aug 2017 · 13:51 UTC
Nice , thanks for this game!
andrewbwm
01. Aug 2017 · 16:35 UTC
Great work on the robot models, they look amazing. Nice fast paced romp, a bit basic, but a very good start.
foxroxracer
01. Aug 2017 · 19:03 UTC
Althrough I was fighting against myself, the game looks and feels really good. Responsive, fast controls and very nice graphics! Love the focus on front and the unfocused background. Great job!
foxroxracer
01. Aug 2017 · 19:04 UTC
Althrough I was fighting against myself, the game looks and feels really good. Responsive, fast controls and very nice graphics! Love the focus on front and the unfocused background. Great job!
Johngun
01. Aug 2017 · 20:10 UTC
Had a couple of pretty intense fights, well definitely be returning to this game again later. Nice graphics, suited the mood very well. Missed the possibility to block once in a while, you really need to read your opponent well right now. Great job!
sundr0
01. Aug 2017 · 20:18 UTC
Nice game! Good art and animations! The gameplay is simple but really fun and can be pretty addictive! (I think, I could only test with myself, since it wouldn't work online :D)
bombjack
01. Aug 2017 · 20:20 UTC
very well executed game. The music is nice; the art is sleek and the gameplay is lot of fun
Sir Daniev
01. Aug 2017 · 20:53 UTC
Kudos for trying to make a fighting game during a Ludum Dare.
The art design on your game was awesome, and combined with a fluid gameplay. :)
I only wish there would be a downloadable version to keep it to play offline.
moonlightbomber
02. Aug 2017 · 01:19 UTC
This has great potential as a full-fledged fighting game.
dorkandy
02. Aug 2017 · 10:19 UTC
The models and animations are truly impressive, very nice work
ohmaigawd
02. Aug 2017 · 10:42 UTC
Very polished! I like the graphics and animations :)
rightangel
02. Aug 2017 · 11:00 UTC
Very nice game. It's fun!
The art is amazing and the overall atmosphere is great.
Ynk
02. Aug 2017 · 11:43 UTC
A fighting game in a Ludum Dare, I never thought I could see this one day! I'll try to make one sometimes. Nice concept, I really enjoyed the game :) Some more polish could be great though!
FailedStarfish
02. Aug 2017 · 12:24 UTC
Really fun game and nice use of the theme. Nice graphics and animations, I did find the music a bit loud and off putting. Good work!
Rahtainka
02. Aug 2017 · 12:41 UTC
Nice little game. I like the graphics and the animations. The music is a little bit loud. I wish to have a move to block an attack. The gameplay is polished and feels good. Well done!
Devastus
02. Aug 2017 · 14:46 UTC
Smooth visuals, I definitely like the presentation. Reminded me of "One Must Fall 2097", although every fighting game with robots caged into an arena does that to me. A nice take on the theme, it's a shame there's no single player possibility currently though as I was unable to find an opponent online.

There's great potential in this one, great job!
gnerkus
02. Aug 2017 · 14:56 UTC
No option select? This is a game for filthy casuals!

+++ Gorgeious graphics and special effects. I also liked the colour palettes for the fighters.
++ That announcer! Not the best announcer but remarkable for a Ludum Dare game.
+++ The game had combos. I'm biased towards combos.
+++ The music fit the mood of the game to a T. Or an I. Or S. Whatever would clear those four lines.

-- I found nothing wrong with the game.

I would play more of this if it wasn't for those other meddling entries. Thanks for the great game.
Shaolin Dave
02. Aug 2017 · 15:26 UTC
Rock em Sock em Energizer Bunnies!

I was going to say it was too easy because I won immediately by button mashing, then realized I was playing a 2p game with 1p :-P. You should update this with some enemy AI for single-player.

The graphics. The gameplay is a little simplistic but it works. Good use of the theme.
JoshBurleson
02. Aug 2017 · 15:26 UTC
Fun little game but was super laggy for me personally. Those graphics and animations are top tier. 5/5 overall for me.
xdegtyarev
02. Aug 2017 · 15:38 UTC
Topnotch work on graphics and animation, also liked a simple fighting mechanic. Well done.
Narudgi
02. Aug 2017 · 15:39 UTC
Very funny, gud art, gud little sound, and THAT ANNOUNCER, good job dev team I love it :D
zorsy
02. Aug 2017 · 15:39 UTC
Good job! I think it's a great concept with a lot of potential for chaos, i even had fun playing it by myself.... "awkward" but Nonetheless i'd just work on some of the audio clipping and finding a way to prioritise moves so that players can predict and counter attacks more like a rock paper scissors? Either way i loved it!
PixelFormedStudios
02. Aug 2017 · 16:42 UTC
Extremely polished with amazing graphics! Had a blast even playing it on my own!
Rongo Matane
02. Aug 2017 · 17:10 UTC
I like it, very polished with great music and really nice graphics! Hit feedback and controls are also very good. Really cool stuff, the combo system also works very well which i did not expect. It really did go into an intense tactical battle instead of button mashing. The only thing i found a bit irritating is the end of the fight, which is very aprupt. I'd also like a hotkey for starting the next match.

Also, thank you so much for your review on https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/hamster-habits. You were the first one that had a beatiful retrospective with similar thoughts i had when making the game. That was very rewarding.
TheMonax
02. Aug 2017 · 17:31 UTC
I like this game i played with my brother and it was very fun :)
Knorz
02. Aug 2017 · 20:50 UTC
The graphics blew me away! Very very fun!!

Please play, rate and comment our game aswell:
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/disaster-on-nebula-one
rEaX
03. Aug 2017 · 08:02 UTC
Very high quality game. Great animations etc. Would have been nice with single player AI to test it more thouroghly.
austinspafford
03. Aug 2017 · 09:08 UTC
Nice graphics and general aesthetics. Unfortunately I didn't have another person to play it locally, but it looks like promising reverse tug-of-war. :)
Mr.Houdini
03. Aug 2017 · 16:59 UTC
Wow, nice pvp game :D Strategic yet simple! It reminded me to Arms, but well a jam entry. I'm waiting for a friend to test the online version. Great work, good luck!
BroRawr
03. Aug 2017 · 17:40 UTC
The bots reminds me of one of the fighter bots in Big Hero 6 (a little bit at least)
![bot.PNG](///raw/a13/z/8887.png)

Fun game and cool concept, artistically really impressive! I like the details put into this. (for instance the blurred background and bokeh effect).

This is a really solid game concept and take on the theme!

Kudos and great job guys!
MichaelTWG
04. Aug 2017 · 06:56 UTC
Superb graphics, maybe the best I've seen in this jam. And well polished animations and moves.
Great Job!
coomzy
06. Aug 2017 · 15:11 UTC
Nice game, unfortunately with no second player, no-one playing online and no AI, I couldn't play the game in a 'true' environment. IDK if you made the online version during LD (if you did fair play), however I think time spent on some AI (even if it's pretty shitty) would have gone a long way, I test the online against myself and it had some pretty big desync issues, and for that to happen locally would probably be worse over the net. Sorry if that seemed too negative, it's still a really nice looking game, and you've got good audio and although I couldn't play against an actual opponent it seemed pretty responsive controls etc. It's hard to say if the combat would be too shallow without playing it properly, but I think it would be fun. Good job
diptoman
07. Aug 2017 · 07:05 UTC
You don't see a fighting game in LD every day! Good stuff overall - graphics are super polished, gameplay is (from my assumption) pretty fun - playing against yourself (left and right hands) does kind of give both of them an advantage. :P Any shitty AI would have done wonders for the entry really, but great work overall!
PeachTreeOath
08. Aug 2017 · 03:01 UTC
Probably the first fighting game I've seen for LD, and I'm a huge FG player (plus I loved Divekick). Unfortunately looks like I reviewed this too late and can't try online against anyone else, but from what I can tell:

Good RPS system between the 3 different attacks. Mindgames, ho!
Can't quite tell the usefulness of backdash. It theoretically seems quick enough to whiff punish the low and dash attack from max range, but I'd love to see how the devs utilized this since it's scary to back yourself closer to your plug.
Good pacing of the game. Gives you enough time to think about what the opponent will do next and how to counter.

I definitely can tell the game will be fun once I can find another person to play with, nice work.
MianaGames
13. Aug 2017 · 18:05 UTC
Very funny game. amazing graphics. Great work!
Jupiter_Hadley
02. Dec 2017 · 14:43 UTC
Lovely graphics, fun game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 39 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwlGq7uM8W4