LudumData

Polymorphic Menagerie by Soron

[raw]
made by Soron for LD35 (COMPO)
What a wonderful menagerie of critters! You can give them legs with the diamond berries, or turn them into platforms with the hourglass berries.

Super berries, which are green instead of red, can grow new bushes.
Combine a super berry that you're holding with a berry you're touching, and you can then plant it to make that type of berry bush.

What kind of critters will you make? See what fun combinations exist!
Just keep them well fed - when they get too hungry, well...

See in-game help text for controls.
Web (HTML5) https://soron.itch.io/polymorphic-menagerie
Source https://github.com/ethankaminski/ludumdare-35
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=46840

Ratings

Coolness 57% 3
Overall 3.26 428
Fun 2.84 663
Graphics 2.52 734
Humor 2.37 403
Innovation 3.61 180
Mood 2.79 556
Theme 3.77 195

Feedback

ruchirbapat
18. Apr 2016 路 12:15 UTC
good game, it was quite intersting tbh
brainstorm
18. Apr 2016 路 12:18 UTC
I love to care critters! Great twist on puppet games!
Tharky
18. Apr 2016 路 12:22 UTC
Nice mechanics, but I couldn't figure out what berry does what :P Played till I got so big and then left the map to see if there was anything else. Like a proud father :P Game was good though, well done man.
TLansdale
18. Apr 2016 路 12:23 UTC
Fun idea - just wish there were a few more combinations! Great job.
馃帳 Soron
18. Apr 2016 路 12:25 UTC
TLansdale - you and me both! I wanted to get flying and burrowing forms into the game, but ran out of time.
CasualCat
18. Apr 2016 路 12:26 UTC
It was interesting at first, but it kinda lost it's point after a while. But good job nonetheless. Maybe add something that can hurt you. Give the player an incentive to continue playing and grow, as that's what seemed to be the objective.
MartinFernandez
18. Apr 2016 路 12:34 UTC
Nice game, iteresting mechanics.
Retallicka
19. Apr 2016 路 21:59 UTC
Got a bit addicted :)
JHemmings
19. Apr 2016 路 23:08 UTC
Interesting idea, I liked how the critters grew after some time.
Rise and Shine Games
20. Apr 2016 路 02:37 UTC
That was interesting... it took me a minute to figure out how to pick up berries
Somelife Games
21. Apr 2016 路 05:45 UTC
Very, very cool concept. Found myself playing this far longer than I expected but just couldn't stop somehow.

Nice one! :)
grayhaze
21. Apr 2016 路 20:26 UTC
I found myself playing this for quite a long time. It's really relaxing growing your garden and seeing what weird and wonderful creatures you can breed. I especially liked the idea of turning creatures into platforms which grew higher as they ate. With some soft, tranquil music, and a few more things to keep the player busy, I could see this being a major time sink. Well done! :)
Green Soda
22. Apr 2016 路 08:18 UTC
this game is interestingly cute and very fun concept
apalade
22. Apr 2016 路 11:19 UTC
Nice concept!
馃帳 Soron
22. Apr 2016 路 11:44 UTC
I think I'll make a full-sized sequel/post-jam version for this. People seem to like the core gameplay, I really liked it myself (and would love to do more with the game), and I've got some good ideas for how to handle a jam -> experiment -> full release path in this case.

I'll try to get some details and/or a post mortem posted over the weekend.

I'm glad you all enjoyed it :). I certainly had a lot of fun with it!
Ithildin
23. Apr 2016 路 01:38 UTC
Interesting idea, it reminded me a bit of Starseed pilgrim for some reason.

I had to read throuh the instructions twice, to be honest. At first I wasn't too sure of what I was doing. Then it clicks and it becomes a very original game. Nice work!
TheMeorch
23. Apr 2016 路 20:15 UTC
This was fun and relaxing to explore the possibilities, and I really like the wiggly animations. Nice work!
Javabot
25. Apr 2016 路 23:30 UTC
please turn this into a full game.
SHLFStudios
27. Apr 2016 路 20:46 UTC
interesting, but not really sure whats going on. i feel like the critters were dying of quicker then i could assess how to change them
Pietro Ferrantelli
29. Apr 2016 路 11:36 UTC
Interesting compo entry with well executed mechanics. It was both really engaging and relaxing to play through. Graphics were simple but the wiggly animations adds a lot to gamefeel. Enjoyed it a lot.
Aaranos
29. Apr 2016 路 22:45 UTC
The concept is good but it doesn't really have a lot. The controls are a little weird.
gelisam
06. May 2016 路 04:27 UTC
Is there a goal to this game? I can plant more things and turn into other shapes, but that gets old pretty quickly if there isn't something which can be accomplished using those new shapes.