Sacrificial Love by Lazertrax

My first Ever Ludum Dare Game! I hope you enjoy playing it!
Story
You’re stranded with your little baby in a world filled with zombies, luckily zombies only come at night. How long can you survive? can you beat the highest scores?
Instructions
Don’t lose your stamina. You can replenish it by sleeping in your little brown bed.
Don’t let the baby’s cries get too high. Walk up to the baby's crib and comfort it.
Zombies come during Night time only, so make sure to make the most use of Day time to comfort baby and gain stamina.
Kill Zombies, get points and once you have enough there is a strange orange machine on top of the house, when its light turns green make sure to check it out.

Full Controls
WASD to move
SPACE to Jump
LMB to Fire
E to Interact
HOLD E to comfort baby when you're next to it

| Windows | https://lazertrax.itch.io/sacrificial-love |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/sacrificial-love |
Ratings
| Overall | 163th | 3.859⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 81th | 3.913⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 312th | 3.424⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 488th | 3.511⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 325th | 3.891⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 289th | 3.313⭐ | 42🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 239th | 3.663⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 48🗳️ | 44🗨️ |
@yellowzombie Thank you, I believe it gets more interesting the more you manage to stay alive, especially if you utilize that machine on the rooftop :D
I've mastered the game! I am the champion! :D
In the beginning I didnt expect it will be soo hard, when my baby cry xD But it was, simulation of real life I suppose. But game is funny, good job! :D
@kirke Yes, it gets more difficult if you don't sleep and/or neglect your baby, thank you so much and congratulations for getting the highest score! (for now :wink:)
@sanyingli Hey! Thank you for your interest, it really means so much to me. I've a few games small games and one big project that I'm still working on and have not published yet. Here is my twitter (http://twitter.com/iLazertrax) I'll make sure to keep you updated :smile:
@digitaldude555 I think I kinda screwed up by calling it "sacrifice points" as this is not the main sacrifice mechanic meant for the game. The real sacrifice is giving up your rest time to defend and take care of the helpless baby (hence the name of the game). Thanks for the awesome comment!
It seems to lack some balancing though. First two days were hard (died first try), but once I got the machinegun, I just stood next to the stair with both doors open and unleashed fire on both sides, no zombie could come close even though my baby was constantly at 100%.
I commited suicide on day 7 to stop the game but could probably have gone way further with this tactic.
Well done overall !
I love it, it's pretty cool! :smiley: :v:
It's also a nice touch that headshots insta-kill, so it is very rewarding to have discovered that strategy, as it adds a small learning curve to the game aside from mindless shooting. It would be better if the shooting would continue if I held the mouse button down, as spamming left clicks isn't a very attractive way to use the mouse for such a game :)
I also appreciate the tiny detail in the background animations of the transitions from day to night and vice versa. It feels very smooth and the graphics overall are very consistent and pleasing to look at.
Personally, I don't think the game fit with the theme as it feels more like it was a shop and that I am spending points and being branded as sacrificing. Sacrificing implies the idea that I will be put at a disadvantage when I sacrifice the points. But as I see it, there is more incentive to spend the points on upgrades than it would be to keep them as keeping them only affects the high score I believe but does not offer any in-game benefits for saving them. In this aspect, the points feel more like expendable currency.
Some ideas if you wish to adhere to the theme more might be that you could voluntarily sacrifice the baby (omg), or parts of your house/important furniture like the bed to temporarily stop the zombies, but would have an adverse consequence later on. For example you can throw the bed out the window to instantly kill all the zombies gathered at the left door in a dire situation, but now without the bed you have to sleep on the floor which recovers stamina slower. Of course, that's just an idea if you wish to adhere more to the theme. Especially with the challenge of the game, that could be a possible incentive for players to make those sacrifices.
But of course those are just my thoughts. This is a great game so keep it up! :)
If you'd like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/346056936?t=05h49m06s
Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D
💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady
https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin