Ninja Bear by Hunter Towe

[raw]
made by Hunter Towe for LD 42 (COMPO)

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To play the game, extract the folder from the .zip file and open Ninja_Bear.exe. Alternatively, you can play the web build.

Controls:

Arrow keys to move, X to jump.

Story:

While wandering through his mortal enemy's den, Ninja Bear has been caught in a trap-- a giant spiked wall is closing in on him! Run from the wall while avoiding obstacles and help the Ninja Bear escape! Or more specifically, run while avoiding bear traps, spikes, and blue flame-shooting flamethrowers! Actually, I'm not really sure what they are-- they shoot out lots of fire, but they don't really look like flamethrowers to me. Regardless, you should avoid them at all costs!

Important Notes:

  • There are three levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, and Hard. Easy gives infinity lives, Normal gives four, and Hard gives just one.

  • Checkpoints are spread throughout the game. There's no indicator of when one has been reached, but just remember that they are there and you don't have to worry about doing flawless.

If you come across a bug or anything that seems out of place, please let me know so I can try to fix it!

Credits:

Art, Music and Programming: Hunter Towe

Font: Forced Square by DrawPerfect

BeepBox was used to make all of the music

Bfxr and LabChirp were used to make all of the sound effects

This game was made with Unity

Updates:

v0.1.2 Release Notes: - Fixed wall being able to out speed the player - Improved collision with obstacles - Got rid of spacing between tiles - Eliminated a lot of the jittery movement (there's still some, but it's not nearly as bad as before) - Players can now toggle fullscreen mode

v0.1.3 Release Notes: - Improved collision with the fire obstacles

v0.1.4 Release Notes: - Significantly improved collision with the fire obstacles - Probably fixed bug where fire particles sometimes wouldn't spawn - Fixed bug where fire obstacles would take two lives instead of one - Added an extra checkpoint in the final area


Ratings

Overall 580th 2.978⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 479th 3.022⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 706th 2.174⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 607th 2.957⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 466th 2.978⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Audio 496th 2.452⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 20🗨️

Feedback

almightytuna
15. Aug 2018 · 03:14 UTC
This is a very neat little platformer. I really like the interpretation of the theme. My only issues are that the jump is a little floaty, and the hitbox on the blue flamethrower things does not quite line up with the visuals, leading to some frustrating deaths. Good job though :)
jeke
15. Aug 2018 · 03:19 UTC
Echoing what @almightytuna said about the hitbox on the blue flames. Pretty good cohesive feel overall. Good job.
🎤 Hunter Towe
15. Aug 2018 · 04:12 UTC
@almightytuna Thank you! I was afraid the blue-flamed obstacles might've been a little frustrating, but I was starting to run low on time and had to keep designing the level. Perhaps I can release a patch to improve the collision.
NDHR Productions
16. Aug 2018 · 04:16 UTC
That was great. Personally, I loved the death particles most (as dark as that might be)
CaptainDreamcast
16. Aug 2018 · 04:20 UTC
Really cool platformer! I love how the music gets more intense the farther you go! Yeah, the only bug I noticed was the life counter sometimes jumping from 3 to 1 after the first death. But that's a minor issue, it's really amazing what you made of the short time given in the compo! Great job!
🎤 Hunter Towe
16. Aug 2018 · 04:39 UTC
@ndhr-productions Thank you! There's nothing wrong with you liking the death particles the most. Is it dark? Perhaps a little, but I think it's something we all love!
🎤 Hunter Towe
16. Aug 2018 · 04:43 UTC
@captaindreamcast Thank you very much! It's strange that I never came across that bug while testing, but I'll definitely try to fix it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
winnie33
16. Aug 2018 · 12:56 UTC
Nice game, glad there were checkpoints haha! I love how the main character is a ninja bear for no reason in particular :).

A small issue I had though, is the part with the moving flamethrower. The flame particles didn't appear for me, so I kept dying over and over because I didn't know when it was firing. This was on the web version. Also, the non-moving flamethrowers had some weird hitboxes as well but others already mentioned that.

So, good idea and execution of the concept, I like it!
🎤 Hunter Towe
16. Aug 2018 · 13:14 UTC
@winnie33 Thank you! I'm not really sure why I made him a ninja bear. It just sort of felt right, you know?

I'll definitely be trying to fix those issues. I always appreciate having these things brought to my attention, so thank you!
Albin
16. Aug 2018 · 13:32 UTC
This is probably the LD42 game I've spent the most time playing so far. Good job! The game is really fun and the level design is good. I also like that you can choose difficulty level. The only negative thing I could find was that the hitboxes of the flamethrowers felt a little unfair at certain times, but overall it didn't bring down the enjoyment of the game really much. By the way the graphics for Ninja Bear is cute. Again good job on the whole game.
shp
16. Aug 2018 · 13:37 UTC
Kinda surprised I haven't seen more games like this yet! I was thinking of a similar idea when I saw the theme. Nice game, although could use a bit more polish next time!
🎤 Hunter Towe
16. Aug 2018 · 13:56 UTC
@albin I'm glad you like the game! I knew when I was play testing that the dang flamethrowers would be the downfall of my game. I'll definitely try to adjust the collision (again) soon, though. Oh, and stop it you! The graphics weren't even that good... :blush: But seriously, thanks!
🎤 Hunter Towe
16. Aug 2018 · 14:04 UTC
@shp Yeah, it could use a bit of polishing. It was the result of starting to run out of time, and not having much time to begin with, haha. Thank you, though! Also, what was your idea? Did it involve a really random character like my game did?
shp
16. Aug 2018 · 14:14 UTC
@hunter-towe oh I meant just the side scrolling runner with the wall always pushing closer, but I ended up making something different myself :p
bobo_oh
16. Aug 2018 · 16:29 UTC
nice game ! i'm happy there was checkpoints :p
Purrfexionator
16. Aug 2018 · 17:53 UTC
A very neat and fun experience! I always love a good fast-paced platformer, and this one was like an endless runner with a concept adjusted to fit the theme of the jam! I played through the whole thing and loved it! The ckeckpoints weren't perfect, a lot of the time they were either too forgiving or not forgiving enough. I feel like the red area could have used a checkpoint or two. Also, hitboxes for certain obstacles, such as the flamethrower type things which kind of reminded me of poisonous gas leaking out of a pipe, seemed a little unfair sometimes. I should know- My game suffers from the same problem! The graphics were pretty good and the gameplay was smooth. The music wasn't bad, but it was definitely odd, at first I thought my computer broke or something. The sound effects definitely worked great, Bfxr is a great way to make them, I used it too! Overall, great job! Keep up the good work!
Raccoon_JS
16. Aug 2018 · 21:19 UTC
Nice game.
🎤 Hunter Towe
17. Aug 2018 · 01:50 UTC
@bobo-oh and @raccoon-js Thank you!

@purrfexionator I appreciate all this feedback-- it's truly invaluable! I'll definitely keep the checkpoint thing in mind, and I'm still trying to adjust the collision with the blue-flamed obstacles because I know it's been a problem for a lot of people. I agree on the music, it is a bit strange, but it's actually a lot better than what I normally make, so I'm grateful for that much; however, it's definitely something I'd like to improve next time. Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked my game!
GhostGoatsGames
17. Aug 2018 · 03:16 UTC
Really like the death effect, makes dying not be so bad. Fun game, I feel like i've played tons of this style of game this LD, and this was one of the better executed ones.
🎤 Hunter Towe
17. Aug 2018 · 03:47 UTC
@ghostgoatsgames Yeah, I didn't know how quickly some players might get tired of dying, so I wanted to make the death sequence as pleasant as I could. Thank you!
jharler
17. Aug 2018 · 18:51 UTC
I'm so glad there were checkpoints in this game! It would have been infuriating otherwise, so good choice there. Nothing groundbreaking as far as the mechanics go, but they fit the theme, so nice choice. Overall, well done!
🎤 Hunter Towe
17. Aug 2018 · 20:03 UTC
@jharler Yeah, I knew very early on while designing the level that checkpoints were going to be needed. Thank you!
cppchriscpp
18. Aug 2018 · 04:32 UTC
Seems like you've already had a lot of very detailed comments, so I'm afraid I'm kinda stuck leaving the "nice game!" comment. Had quite a bit of fun with this - I'm usually not a huge fan of the super-tough-endless-runner style but this one kept me going for a while. The checkpoints definitely helped; when I first died I was dreading going all the way back!

Anyway like I said, not much to add, but thanks for a fun entry!
🎤 Hunter Towe
18. Aug 2018 · 10:08 UTC
@cppchriscpp Hey, thanks for playing it! I'm glad it was an enjoyable experience!
2bam
18. Aug 2018 · 19:16 UTC
The controls are very responsive and you achieved a good difficulty curve and damaging things are very clear to spot. Sometimes the bear shakes/jitters a bit.
🎤 Hunter Towe
18. Aug 2018 · 23:16 UTC
@2bam Thanks! The jittery movement is something that's been bugging me for a while now, so hopefully soon I can eliminate it for good.