LudumData

SpaceRunner by jackou

[raw]
made by jackou for LD 42 (COMPO)

Welcome to Space Runner

spacerunnerCover.PNG

This is my first ever game jam entry, I am so excited I actually got something finished.

Intro to the game

You have been sent on a mission to gather resources in space. With the aim to get back to earth as quickly as possible you are literally trying to run out of space and reach your rocket. You can however only travel small distances from planet to planet until eventually being able to reach the earth. Movement up in space is different than on earth so you were smart enough to bring a jetpack! Be careful though: Manage your fuel charges and use the jetpack with care. There are obstacles that you otherwise may not overcome. Aim for as many resources as you can get, those make up your primary score and are needed to complete a level.

Controls

With the theme in mind I went for a "space" focussed control system. All you need to play the game is the spacebar * Hit [SPACE] to jump and * Hit [SPACE] to use jetpack while in air * A pause menu can be brought up hitting [ESCAPE]

SpaceRunnerMars.gif

Play SpaceRunner

Right now you can play the game in Browser or download for Windows and Mac.

I'll be working on the game further to improve it with all the feedback I've gotten. You can follow me on Twitter or itch.io if you're interested.

Edit:

added Windows Zip Download.

Edit 1

unfortunately found a bug that wont let you finish the game. I'll reupload soon!

Edit 2

bug fixed. windows download should be updating shortly. Web is updated.

Edit 3

updated links to itch.io page

HTML5 (web) https://jackousgames.itch.io/space-runner
Windows https://jackousgames.itch.io/space-runner
macOS https://jackousgames.itch.io/space-runner
Source code https://www.github.com/jackousgames/ld42
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/spacerunner-1

Ratings

Overall 264th 3.529⭐ 71🧑‍⚖️
Fun 206th 3.529⭐ 72🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 535th 2.829⭐ 72🧑‍⚖️
Theme 532th 3.171⭐ 72🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 134th 3.821⭐ 72🧑‍⚖️
Audio 162th 3.382⭐ 70🧑‍⚖️
Humor 283th 2.583⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Mood 148th 3.433⭐ 69🧑‍⚖️
Given 63🗳️ 67🗨️

Feedback

Divy
13. Aug 2018 · 00:17 UTC
I love it!
Guilhermoni
13. Aug 2018 · 01:00 UTC
Nice, we had the same concept in mind, yet two completly different games. Well done btw.
Qazikol
13. Aug 2018 · 01:01 UTC
Love how the limited jetpack uses add a resource management spin to it!
haley
13. Aug 2018 · 01:11 UTC
It'll be cooler if I can jump between walls bro!
itsjustjord
13. Aug 2018 · 01:17 UTC
I really enjoyed it! :D
🎤 jackou
13. Aug 2018 · 01:18 UTC
@haley you mean some kind of vertical walljumps?
haley
13. Aug 2018 · 01:19 UTC
@jackou yes!
Ad31
13. Aug 2018 · 03:28 UTC
Simple controls but the level design is made for practically no room for errors, you have to learn when to jump. Also the plant or shards are way too big(high) for a jump you don't control. Also in the second level the alien made me unable to win some try.![Capture d’écran de 2018-08-13 05-19-55.png](///raw/c67/9/z/17240.png)
dk5000p
13. Aug 2018 · 03:43 UTC
The WebGL version is not loading for me, downloaded and playing the game. I like the interpretation of the theme and graphics. The controls are simple but determining what I am trying to do/pickup was a little confusing.
tulipekoni
13. Aug 2018 · 06:20 UTC
nice entry. I think the controls are a bit unresponsive and the map design is too unforgiving. as @ad31 said you gotta learn the map to finish it. audiowise I really enjoyed it. the music fits in very well. Good job!
super8bitrafa
13. Aug 2018 · 07:41 UTC
Great fun! A bit challenging and the floaty jump can be frustrating. The pixel art looks great and I liked the variety of obstacles.
🎤 jackou
13. Aug 2018 · 10:58 UTC
@dk5000p I don't know why the web version didn't load for you. Tried it on some browsers on mac and windows, so far I had no problems. Thnks for downloading and testing :) Yeah, I tried to fit in as many informations as I could, but I simply ran out of time at the end.

@ad31 @tulipekoni I can feel the level design issue. Since there is pretty much only one control I felt like designing a level where you really have to learn it - I think the first level is a little easier, so everyone at least can advance through that. I also tried to open up multiple ways for the player to finish the second level, that's why you can find more jetpack chargers in there. But yeah, especially the second one can be unforgiving when you are just learning the controls. This would be a kind of mid / late game level if this game was published. (Sadly I had no more time to add some "learning curve" levels)

@ad31 I can't seem to reproduce the alien bug at the second level. Could you explain what you mean with "shards are to big / high"? Thank you for testing!
Eric Kulbiej
13. Aug 2018 · 13:15 UTC
Nice game, enjoyed it very much. Keep it up!
MissAlpha
13. Aug 2018 · 14:54 UTC
simple controls but interesting spin on the theme, a good game overall
blobo
13. Aug 2018 · 15:51 UTC
Very tough, but fun and rewarding once you get it! Well done.
Derek Volker
13. Aug 2018 · 16:24 UTC
We had similar ideas! But you did a better job! The graphics and sounds are very pleasing and the difficulty is on point. Also, the movement and collision seems nice as well. Good job!
🎤 jackou
13. Aug 2018 · 17:33 UTC
@blobo @derek-volker @eric-kulbiej @missalpha thank you for your feedback! Pleased that I managed to put something together that is actually enjoyable :)
Agecaf
13. Aug 2018 · 18:19 UTC
Pretty impressive, I love the title screen, the pixel art and the music. The music and floatiness gives it a nice feeling of being in space.

However, I feel like the gameplay and the mood clash with each other; the level design is that of an unforgiving platformer (which would benefit a lot more from an upbeat mood, fast levels/respawns, solid controls instead of floaty), while the mood (music + floatiness) would fit much better a more zen and easy infinite runner (there is no problem with easy games! If the mood is good enough--like yours--they can be really fun!).

I feel like this is a very complete game for 48 hours, with each independent part of pretty good quality, that just don't fit in together as nice as they could.

I'm still very impressed by the title screen though; it's a beautiful pixel representation of Earth.
🎤 jackou
13. Aug 2018 · 23:25 UTC
@agecaf wow thank you for your detailed feedback! I had a blast making the game and it's nice to see it being appreciated. I had this ultimately planned as an endless runner but since time was pretty short decided to instead get some levels done because I was more experienced with that workflow. I actually do agree that those parts probably could feel a little disjointed.
Good to know that "easy" games aren't "bad". I mean, I think I already knew that, because I do enjoy slower paced games myself, but probably got stuck within the platformer like, more difficult leveldesign anyways. Again: I really appreciate your feedback, thank you!
Ad31
14. Aug 2018 · 00:41 UTC
@jackou For the second level the alien problem is not a bug but an error of design but sometime the alien's attack/placement make you unable to escape it or make you use your jet-pack you know you would need latter.

By shards are to big / high I meant it's very frustrating to have jump at probably the good time but the shards get you because it's too short to have the good platform and avoid the shards. (Also maybe the hitbox of shards is a little too uncompromising making you unable to make "close but pass action)

Sorry to be confusing I'm not that good at explaining.
🎤 jackou
14. Aug 2018 · 00:57 UTC
@Ad31 no worries, I am thankful for every feedback!! Thanks for elaborating. I think I get what you are saying and will consider that in future level designs. Of course I ran out of time at the end which is why I could not spend more time on testing the levels further, why some situations may feel a little too difficult / unbalanced.
Ad31
14. Aug 2018 · 01:18 UTC
@jackou The ludum dare is like an exam, you know or you don't the time you try to remember or create will make you lose a lot of precious time.
Steffanie
14. Aug 2018 · 01:25 UTC
Thanks for a great play! When to jump was a little finicky to learn, but it definitely made it challenging. I thought the audio was an interesting choice considering how stressful the game is and how ambient the sounds are.
Ranjan
14. Aug 2018 · 01:35 UTC
I enjoyed the game a lot. My only feedback would be that sometimes the aliens attacks are placed so that you can't really dodge them (as I think others have mentioned). I actually liked how the calm music contrasted with the difficulty of the platforming. Great job!
reuno
14. Aug 2018 · 02:40 UTC
Surprisingly relaxing game! You did a great job on the level design there, felt great to play.
Marsepstein
14. Aug 2018 · 04:22 UTC
Nice! Clear take on the theme, nice graphics, interesting sounds, and IMO, a really good level of difficulty/duration. The win animation was very satisfying, but the lose screen made me laugh most of all. Very well done!
Noa Calice
14. Aug 2018 · 06:09 UTC
A big well done :) !! Contrary to many other LD games I've played this one has nice and simple controls, making it quick to understand but still very challenging ! The pixel art is very well done and the music is top notch, it gave this whole creation a real atmosphere and tense vibe ! Keep it up :) !!
Nessa
14. Aug 2018 · 08:58 UTC
Wow, really nice game! I love the graphics and gameplay. Great design overall. Good job!
mgsx
14. Aug 2018 · 11:23 UTC
Excellent work ! beautiful graphics, easy to understand. Difficulty balance is good, i managed to finish it but i had to try several times.

Music and sound design are very pleasent and fit well with the game.

I like the SPACE key idea :D
Supernapie
14. Aug 2018 · 11:27 UTC
Cool game! The only weird thing is that you sometimes have to start jumping earlier to get over some obstacles.
🎤 jackou
14. Aug 2018 · 11:31 UTC
@steffanie @ranjan Thank you for playing! I actually intended to create a soundatmosphere as you would imagine it in space. While coding I listened to some NASA recordings for reference.. :D If it was any near like that floaty relaxing ambience that I wanted to create I am really pleased you noticed that!

@reuno @marsepstein @mgsx Thanks again for the feedback! Interesting how different the level design can be received. Some before mentioned that it somehow contrasts the spacey feel of the game. While I can understand why it may feel like that, I am really happy you enjoyed where I went with it!

@noa-calice Wow thanks for your feedback! Means a whole lot to me :) Really glad you enjoyed my entry. The simple controls where my main focus while developing the idea. I figured that it needed to be easy to understand and pick up, so the player could focus on all the other little details I tried to put in.

@nessa Thank you for the feedback! So nice to see all the different entries and some of the stories behind them!

@supernapie If I understand correctly what you mean, that was actually a design choice. Since it is only the jump / jetpack mechanic you need to learn as a player I wanted to focus a little on the correct timing to complete the levels. THank you for playing!
Nick Rafalski
14. Aug 2018 · 13:45 UTC
Wow this is a super polished platformer for 48 hours. The art/audio is great, and the mechanics are very cohesive. I really loved the feeling of timing a jump just perfect so I didn't have to waste a jetpack charge. The limited number of jetpack charges made me feel like I was living on the edge at all times (in a good way!).

Very nice!
🎤 jackou
14. Aug 2018 · 14:34 UTC
@nick-rafalski thank you for the nice feedback! It's really much appreciated.
Supernapie
14. Aug 2018 · 15:31 UTC
@jackou in that case i will correct 'The only weird thing' to 'An original idea' ;) I was writing a little fast on my lunchbreak :s
Zykroma
14. Aug 2018 · 16:08 UTC
Really nice game ! You can be proud of it :P It reminds me geometry dash, you have to learn quite exactly when you need to jump.
Also a little feature I would appreciate : Being able to restart by pressing the space-bar :)
🎤 jackou
14. Aug 2018 · 16:13 UTC
@zykroma funny, but I actually thought about that myself while playing the game today again to check back on it. I think I want to work a little more on this project anyways and probably will implement this feature. It would certainly add to the simplistic controls. Thank you for the feedback.
Fenderbate
14. Aug 2018 · 17:39 UTC
Really nice game but incredeble hard. The second level took me 13 tries :smiley: I can't imagine how hard the 3rd level would be...

But I still enjoey it a lot :smile:
🎤 jackou
14. Aug 2018 · 17:52 UTC
@fenderbate Thank you for the feedback! Yes, I think I mentioned it somewhere above, if I were to actually release a game with those mechanics the 2nd level would probably be something for the midgame. Glad you enjoyed it!
gmaker
14. Aug 2018 · 21:29 UTC
A second level was really difficult, but eventually I did it! Awesome sounds absolutely fit my mood. Would be cool to hear guy's hard breathing as well. The best mood game so far I've played

![q2.PNG](///raw/fe3/z/197cd.png)
🎤 jackou
14. Aug 2018 · 21:47 UTC
@gmaker Nice you got it done! Thanks for the kind words.
TontonPizza
14. Aug 2018 · 23:34 UTC
Good idea, well done. a little bit to hars with the uncontrolled jump, the randomness of the alien that sometines prevent you to survive.

also this jump => can't see the spikes before the last moment

good score for the mood/audio for me

![crap.png](///raw/cbd/71/z/1994a.png)
🎤 jackou
14. Aug 2018 · 23:49 UTC
@tontonpizza Thank you for the feedback. I do agree the alien needs some more tweaking, especially when you just respawn it can sometimes really mess with you ;D Basically I ran out of time to optimize it further. I am however thinking about working further on this project and will definitely look into the enemy idea in general.
The last jump there can probably be pretty frustrating. I intended it to be difficult, but the camera is moving a little slow maybe.
spudboy
15. Aug 2018 · 00:23 UTC
Pretty good game! The first level at least is in this "sweetspot" where it's hard enough to collect everything that it feels satisfying but no so hard that I want to quit. The second level seemed a little bit more overwhelming with the branching paths, as I don't know which path will have what, but it's stil lfun to play. Nice job!
Fritz
15. Aug 2018 · 00:55 UTC
Good approach to the theme, I loved the mechanic and the control felt smooth. Had a lot of fun playing, just wished it had more levels!
Andy D
15. Aug 2018 · 07:33 UTC
Great game! Left me wanting more. I like the feel of the floaty jumps and the jetpack mechanic works well. I think the collision detection could be tweaked a bit - I was killed by spikes when jumping near them even when I didn't touch them, so I assume the hit boxes are a bit bigger than the sprites. Nice work!
🎤 jackou
15. Aug 2018 · 12:31 UTC
@spudboy Thank you for that feedback! I tried designing the 2nd level so that you can take any path that is presented to you and will be able to finish the level, however, I am seeing how it may be overwhelming as a 2nd level.

@fritz @andy-d Yea I wish I could have put one or two more levels, unfortunately I ran out of time. I am working on this game further, since I quite like the relaxing gameplay and will add some content to it :)

@andy-d Yes I think it's actually the hitbox of the player that sometimes can irritate a little. I took care of the spikes, but with the jump animation the hitbox of the character is sometimes a little of.

**Thanks to all the ratings I have received so far. This is really helping me out!**
If anyone is really interested on an improved version of the game - I will work on this project further - give me a follow on [twitter](https://twitter.com/jackousgames) / [itch](https://jackousgames.itch.io/) or just on LD, I will post about it most certainly.
tetra
15. Aug 2018 · 18:34 UTC
Lovely style graphically, and well made audio. My one gripe was that you can't seem to finish the first level unless you retain a jump. I think you should be able to, but maybe having a jump left will give you a bonus. The collision boxes also seemed a bit too large, especially when dealing with spikes. Other than that, fun to play, and I'll be replaying it.I'd like to see a fleshed out version.

gameplay at 30:00 - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/297624571
Aterlamia
15. Aug 2018 · 19:58 UTC
Good game, i failed few times the first level before knew when to jump and when to use the jetpack. I love the stars in the background fits the style of the game very well.
iBalls
15. Aug 2018 · 19:58 UTC
really hard to go throw the end, but 5/5 for the overall love it !
🎤 jackou
15. Aug 2018 · 21:59 UTC
@tetra Thank you for playtesting. Actually really helpful to see the gameplay! I have been featured on another stream aswell today and that really helps understanding what is easy to understand / what's not - and what may be a little poor designed.
I will let you know once there is a new version available.

@aterlamia @iballs Thank you guys for palying the game! The feedback is really valuable.
MeschDog17
16. Aug 2018 · 04:45 UTC
Really cool game, kinda difficult though.
JamesOliverMusic
16. Aug 2018 · 18:02 UTC
Nice graphics! certainly challenging, but the levels are short enough to encourage a replay, even after dying several times! I liked the concept. I thought the music was a little too slow for such a frantic fast paced game. It fits the menu very well, but it would've been nice to see variation when the gameplay starts. Theres also a really heavy rumbling when the level kicks in that is detracting. I'm testing it in my studio and had to turn my subs off as they were booming so much! SFX were great, same issue with the rocket though. Only minor things though, well done with the game! Good luck to you all.
🎤 jackou
17. Aug 2018 · 00:16 UTC
@jamesolivermusic Thank you for the feedback! Yea, well I was not expecting someone to test it on studio speakers :D The rumbling was intended, but I could imagine it is way too loud if listened to with a subwoofer. I'll see if I can turn it down a little, I created this effect to mimic the feel of space.
Will look into the theme for the levels - originally I intended to have the music increase in tempo with the players movespeed, but there was not enough time for such details. (Rocket btw is I think the same sound but intentionally distorted to sound death xD)
gil4
29. Aug 2018 · 20:40 UTC
Cool game! Could easily see this ported to mobile. I specifically liked level design, or to be more precise the overall difficulty curve. Jam games are often lacking in game design department, but it didn't feel that way here, which is awesome. Well done!
Bonyok77
02. Sep 2018 · 00:44 UTC
i like the pixel art style, simple game, fun, but it's...i don't know...maybe too hard for me
Fernando Tonon de Rossi
02. Sep 2018 · 16:10 UTC
It's a nice jumping game, really enjoyed it!
Don't know if it would b encountered on further stages, but maybe some falling rocks or movable platforms would be interesting...
Jupiter_Hadley
12. Sep 2018 · 12:15 UTC
Neat runner! I included it in my compilation video series of the Ludum Dare 42 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/VePoszPJyYA