Household Helper by awerar

[raw]
made by awerar for LD 40 (JAM)

Story:

You are pretty much the most helpful and lovable person in the world. One day you get an idea: What if i opened a shop where people can send their things that they don't want to clean so i can do it? The first day everything was fine. A few people sent in their laundry. But the next day he started to realize that people sent more stuff in than he could clean, but was to nice to decline.

Instructions:

-Use arrow keys or wasd to move around

-Use your mouse to open the machines and boxes. (The boxes appear when the doorbell rings)

-Press the slots to transfer items from one inventory to another

-Click start when in a machine and when there is a item there to clean it

-The dishwasher runs automatically in the background

-The water bowl needs you to be there and press the right buttons. (You can not exit after you clicked start)

-You can use the bowl for both types of items but you can only use the dishwasher with dirty dishes.

-Put the clean items in the right box and click send.

-If you send back the wrong items you get a strike

-3 strikes and your out

-Each day lasts from 12:00 to 21:00

Pictures: Made in GameMaker Studio 2 2017-12-05 07<em>40</em>13.png Made in GameMaker Studio 2 2017-12-05 07<em>40</em>55.png Made in GameMaker Studio 2 2017-12-05 07<em>41</em>27.pngMade in GameMaker Studio 2 2017-12-05 07<em>44</em>21.png

Ratings

Overall 1067th 2.775⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1126th 2.3⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 893th 2.8⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 854th 3.05⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 975th 2.636⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 636th 2.639⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 680th 2.711⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1008th 2.553⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 20🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

ZAX
05. Dec 2017 · 10:09 UTC
simple platform , i like it
don't forget to check out my game too :)
Don Fouts
05. Dec 2017 · 17:29 UTC
The level layout was a little bit odd, I'm thinking you probably only needed 2 rooms as the house looked really empty. I really liked the washing mechanic, it was fun trying to press the correct buttons as fast as I could. It would have been neat if it took away from my progress if I got the button wrong.

I did get a fatal error when trying to send some items back (below).
___________________________________________
##################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event1
for object Box:

Variable Game.<unknown variable>(100031, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_Box_Step_1
##################################################################################
🎤 awerar
05. Dec 2017 · 18:22 UTC
@don-fouts: I was planing on you having to buy the other room but didn't have time and didn't feel like changing the layout. Thanks for the comment and the debug message though! (-:
Megalink
06. Dec 2017 · 12:40 UTC
Great game! Takes some time to learn how it works but once you do it's super fun. I liked how a sound plays to indicate when a new box would arrive - it was quite helpful. Awesome work!
🎤 awerar
06. Dec 2017 · 12:42 UTC
Thanks, @megalink!
rakart
06. Dec 2017 · 17:35 UTC
Good game !

I just feel like the progress bar going back to 0% is a bit unforgiving.
The only thing that really bothered me is that the game become a bit repetitive quite fast, if you continue working on it more automation/minigames could be pretty good :).

Congratulations on the entry !
Poorwill
06. Dec 2017 · 17:36 UTC
I got a bug where I went to the dishwasher with dirty dishes and watched the previous ones get clean,
I couldn't put the dirty ones in or take the clean ones out.

Solid idea though! If there were more minigames to juggle with, it could be a really awesome game.
🎤 awerar
06. Dec 2017 · 18:13 UTC
@poorwill and @rakart: My plan was that you would buy more machines with more minigames with the money you got. Unfortunately time and bad planning is a bitch so i had to scrap that idea. Thanks for the input though. I will make sure to play and rate your games as well
Sir Magic
06. Dec 2017 · 21:40 UTC
### What you did well:

The idea was good and I've certainly never seen any7thing like it before, the concept fit well with the theme.

### What you could improve on:

Try and export the game in a different way so that we don't have to install the game maker installer, it didn't feel right to be going through such a long process for this type of game. The graphics weren't incredible and could've done with a bit of work and a tutorial would've been nice because I couldn't figure out how to wash the laundry.

But overall, a neat little game with some unique concepts.
Jack Maxwell
06. Dec 2017 · 22:09 UTC
Very interesting and creative game, the theme connects very well and I love the art style.
🎤 awerar
06. Dec 2017 · 22:15 UTC
@sir-magic Yeah i should probably just add an .exe file. Thanks for the feedback!
sorlok
07. Dec 2017 · 00:57 UTC
It was definitely interesting; I had a little trouble figuring out exactly how the controls work (but eventually got it). I think some visual feedback on how long until the next "doorbell" would have helped. Good job overall~
BouDeSit
18. Dec 2017 · 12:06 UTC
it's really interesting but i got a bug when I want to send anything (with the .exe)


___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event1
for object Box:

Variable Game.<unknown variable>(100031, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_Box_Step_1
############################################################################################
HuvaaKoodia
20. Dec 2017 · 20:01 UTC
The graphics are adequate as are the sounds; the doorbell especially is a good pick. Fitting music would elevate the mood. The only technical issue with the visuals is the varying pixel size. You should keep that constant if at all possible.

The problem is that the interactivity is not enjoyable in any way. Using the dishwasher is nothing but waiting and using the bowl results in a quicktime event with 20 prompts you have to get right in a row, a single mistake takes you back to 0%
*The dirt magically reappeared!*

There are many titles about menial work such as cleaning, cooking, trading, running a factory, building bridges, etc, which still manage to be enjoyable. The key word is challenge. You need a system which is not trivial or annoyingly boring. A system which rewards success, but makes complete success a tough challenge.

Here are a few ideas:
- Washing an item should always work. Mistakes simply reduce the cleanliness/quality of the item, which results in less pay for the job.
- Something to do with money! For instance paying the rent or the water bill. Money pressure introduces time pressure too, which feeds into the first point about mistakes.
- Combos. Find a way to incorporate combos into the cleaning routine. The bigger the combo the faster you get or the more money you make. Players love trying to reach higher combos. (Recettear is a great example of this)
- More machines, more mechanics. You already had these in mind though.

Solid effort. Sadly effort alone is not enough.

Overall: *Bad (2.0)*
Fun: *Quicktime events! (1.0)*
Innovation: *Bad (2.0)*
Theme: *Average (3.0)*
Graphics: *Below average (2.5)*
Audio: *Below average (2.5)*
Humor: *Not feeling it (1.5)*
Mood: *Below average (2.5)*