LudumData

RSV Resourcer by Brandon Diaz

[raw]
made by Brandon Diaz for LD 38 (COMPO)

Screen Shot 2017-04-23 at 7.47.50 PM.png

Overview

Welcome aboard the RSV Resourcer, you have been randomly selected to volunteer for mandatory labor. Your task is to monitor the mental health of your peers while they rest comfortably in cryosleep. Spawning simulated constructs and entities, prevent the crew from slipping into a comatose state.

Be aware that an AI has been assigned to monitor and guide you through this process, as well as relay your performance back to central command. No pressure.

Links

RSV Resourcer runs in a browser! You can play it in any modern browser using the link below:

  • PLAY: HTML5 / Browser
  • SOURCE: https://github.com/BrandonDiaz/RSV-Resourcer

Known Issues

  • RAM is being counted incorrectly sometimes, causing you to gain memory instead of losing it.
  • On some windows setups, you'll get stuck on the first line of dialog, a fix will be in place before Friday, but I apologize to Windows users in the mean time.

What Went Right

  • Visual style and aesthetic, I really enjoyed the work I did on the UI in terms of style, and the direction I was heading in for the simulations.
  • Voiceover. It's just fun.

What Went Wrong

  • Gameplay, never reached the "whack a mole" type gameplay, and ended up halfway between that and a tamagotchi.
  • Lack of user Feedback, very confusing to know what's doing what and where/how. I want to add indicators on metrics to show if they're increasing or decreasing.
  • Lack of constructs/agents, time constraints led to a very shallow pool of entities.
  • Lack of a skip button for dialog, and options to control music/audio.

Technology

  • Written in TypeScript using the Ionic Framework on top of Apache Cordova.
  • Graphics done in Photoshop CC.
  • Music generated using http://tones.wolfram.com
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/rsv-resourcer

Ratings

Overall 204th 3.474⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 462th 2.579⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 121th 3.579⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 336th 3.211⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 112th 3.895⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 18th 4.1⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 40th 3.765⭐ 19🧑‍⚖️
Mood 133th 3.529⭐ 19🧑‍⚖️
Given 11🗳️ 8🗨️

Feedback

Jupiter_Hadley
27. Apr 2017 · 00:05 UTC
Very interesting game. I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation [video series](https://youtu.be/1N8pCHp9YZg), if you’d like to take a look :)
Phlip45
04. May 2017 · 03:33 UTC
Very cool. It felt like there was perhaps too few amount of resources for the 'whack-a-mole' feel, but I did like the 'Tamagotchi' nature of it. I also took a small peek under the hood. I'm not familiar with ionic but it was interesting that everything was made of divs and html elements rather than using html canvas or webGL.
frenchie
04. May 2017 · 03:35 UTC
Nice game! I really dug the art style and the audio (particularly your voiceover). The two combined to create a really nice atmosphere where I could feel soothed despite my complete incompetence at keeping people alive :P

Feedback: I had a really hard time not just keeping up with the people but also in trying to figure out what resources to place to help out my humans. It doesn't help that they all needed excitement and that you can only get that by spending CPU (looks like I could only do two at once? Was I supposed to be trying to rotate that CPU power between them?).

Bug: I stopped being able to place items in the world about halfway through, which meant I just had to sit back as I watched everyone die. I tried clicking the item and the world a bunch of times in a bunch of different combinations but couldn't get it to work. I could still switch between humans but not place anything. I think I was in the middle of trying to place something when a dialogue popped up and then I got stuck?
ryte2byte
04. May 2017 · 05:03 UTC
It is a very promising prototype. I get the general gist of it, but have had very little luck keeping it running for long. Firefox was just buggered altogether and not showing any of the moving holo-things. Chrome version nagged me about overclocking the CPU (wasn't even close) and then just stopped placing agents in any of the cryopods.

I really like where this is going, both from a game and style standpoint. I'll give it another go after a clean reboot later.
madmaw
04. May 2017 · 05:26 UTC
The RAM bug prevented this from being playable for me for a long time, since I just run out of RAM then can't place anything after that point. I loved the AI interactions, very, very funny. I'm not sure if there is a viable strategy or not, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Nice work!
HuvaaKoodia
04. May 2017 · 07:09 UTC
It is a great idea this, the graphics are neat and clean and the VO is funny. Reminds me of Startopia that last one. Unfortunately the bugs and lack of feedback totally deflate the whole experience.

For starters it doesn't work on Firefox, that is worth a mention in the description.

The RAM fills up, with no given reason. It could be interesting if a situation elsewhere required the AI to use up a part of its resources for a time, but no. This is merely a bug.

Another idea for the RAM issue is to make it into a *fake memory leak*. In other words, you'd need to reboot the processing unit and flush the RAM every once in a while due to *faulty programming*.

Building new units, when the RAM is full, gives no warning sound or effect. It would also be nice to see which constructs and agents, if any, each mental grid has on the cryopod screen.

Lastly there's the issue of progress. There doesn't seem to be a goal of any sort. When does my shift end again?

This needs work, but there sure is potential.
Dom Harris
04. May 2017 · 15:11 UTC
Quite fun once it got started, but IMO it took a little long to do so! I can see why it was necessary, though. Without the intro I'd have had no idea what I was doing ;) looks great, I like the voiceover, and the gameplay was quite satisfying in its own way.
those-30-ninjas
04. May 2017 · 20:43 UTC
You are right it does play like a complicated tamagachi. The tutorial was nice but I felt like I was still not understanding a lot still after it. The UI was pretty clean and readable. The premise is cool.
mhaton
07. May 2017 · 16:15 UTC
Ambitious! Always good to see a game with lofty goals in such a short period of time. Obviously you had a lot more ideas than you were able to get in with the time, but you should be proud of what you managed to accomplish :)

The computer generated voice over is a nice touch, and there are a lot of interesting ideas here, I hope you continue working on it now the compo's over and see what you can do with it!
mwcz
11. May 2017 · 01:02 UTC
Cool premise, with the added intensity of keeping human subjects alive. Wished, as others above, for perhaps a heads-up view, and real-time +/- usage of the resources. The AI is hilarious, and your graphics are SO cool. I do hope you keep working on this one - so much promise here.
ToonTeamJ
13. May 2017 · 19:32 UTC
It was pretty good, although not everything was very clear. I couldn't figure out how much RAM I had or how CPU was calculated, so I wasn't sure why everyone was dying and I still couldn't add any more objects.
2kah
16. May 2017 · 21:30 UTC
I really liked the AI, reminded me of Stanley Parable. The gameplay seemed fun but I think I ran into the RAM bug.
Kappa.B
16. May 2017 · 23:25 UTC
Well done for 48h it had a good amount of polish. I think it was a smart idea to use voice over. Im not sure if this was a bug or intentional but half way through I was unable to place any new items. The game play was simple but clean concept also a different take on a small.
srakowski
16. May 2017 · 23:30 UTC
This game is fantastically polished for a compo. I really enjoyed the voice over, concept, graphics, audio, mood, etc. A bit more time on the gameplay and you've got something solid here. Well done!
CheesyMoo
16. May 2017 · 23:37 UTC
This is a really interesting game!

The voice over is funny/creepy. The whole concept is creepy.

It looks very nice (the UI is well made), understandably the gameplay was not as balanced.

Very nice overall!

The music also reminds me of Starcraft, such a nice touch!

Congrats on the compo!
magns
16. May 2017 · 23:45 UTC
Very good looking, feeling, and polished. Loved the AI, both lines and voice!
anim_ace
16. May 2017 · 23:48 UTC
Man I'm not good at these sim/strategy kinda games but you did a good job nevertheless.
Jupiter_Hadley
26. Jul 2017 · 14:43 UTC
I also included your game in an article of my favorites here: http://fireside.gamejolt.com/post/jam-favorites-ludum-dare-38-vepwgamy