Potion Wolf by Bitzawolf
This is my entry for Ludum Dare 44! Skate around the forest as a wolf, fulfilling potions to earn points!
How to Play
- Controller movement or W, A, S, D
- The potion you need to make is displayed in the top left.
- Each potion is made up of 1, 2, or 3 ingredients.
- There are 3 different types of ingredients.
- Each ingredient has a color and symbol associated with it.
- Run to the cauldron of the associated color to add that ingredient to your bottle.
- Your bottle's contents are displayed in the bottom-left corner.
- Ingredients may be added to a bottle in any order.
- If you add more than 3 ingredients, the potion becomes toxic.
- Run to a black sphere near the center of the play area to dump out your bottle.
- To add multiple ingredients of the same kind, leave the cauldron and then return to it.
- The potion order's text changes from a red color to green to indicate it is ready to be delivered.
- Run to the bottom of the play area to a white sphere to deliver the potion.
- You are awarded points and a new potion recipe is given.
- Complete as many orders as you can in 1 minute!
How does this fit the theme?
Originally, I wanted to build a narrative around the idea that your are making transformation potions! Each potion would transform a person, critter, or animal into some other critter, animal, or a different looking person. The idea being that in some ways we should view our own lives as a currency only so much as that we only have so long to live. Wouldn't it be best to live it most happily, as we most want to be seen and as who we are?
I really dislike the idea of selling or trading your life for commodities or even survival/living, so I didn't want to do anything with that concept. Instead opted for a much more affirmative idea!
Find me
On twitter! @Bitzawolf
| Source Code | https://bitzawolf.com/downloads/ldj44/LD44Source.zip |
| Windows | https://bitzawolf.com/downloads/ldj44/Winders.zip |
| macOS | https://bitzawolf.com/downloads/ldj44/Mac.app.zip |
| Other (platform) | https://bitzawolf.itch.io/potion-wolf |
| Other (web) | http://twitter.com/bitzawolf |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/44/potion-wolf |
Ratings
| Given | 24🗳️ | 28🗨️ |
The core mechanic was pretty solid, however, I wish that there was a little bit more room to roam. I frequently found myself running into trees in the tight corridors. One thing that I think would go a really long way is some sort of "great success" sound/visual when you complete a potion.
On the whole, a really fantastic entry. Great job!
Too bad the gameplay is a lil too simple.
Maybe some sort of a potion brewing mechanic could have gone a long way.
And as you stated your self, the potions transforming other critters, tho that would probably take a while to implement.
Also found my self getting stuck on rocks quite a bit.
@corbak - Thank you for the kind words! Yes, that is a UI bug, sorry about that.
@lanik2000 - Oh gosh, thank you! I agree, would love to expand on this idea further. Thanks for playing!
-m
The game plays really fluidly which is very nice. Very well done!
The character design is cute though!
If you're familiar with the game 'Overcooked', this game gives me a bit of a vibe for that game in terms of potential. Running around collecting ingredients and then serving them up to order makes for a fun game mechanic. I think the potion making process could have used a few additional steps to increase the complexity of the game. The hard time limit of 1 minute is a bit restrictive too in terms of going for a hi-score, as Evan M pointed out. It felt like it was over before I got started.
That said, I think this game has a lot of potential. Potions that can be used to streamline the potion making process would be interesting. Maybe in addition to potions to be completed and sold, some potions are consumed for bonuses! How about a potion that you can splash to make a portal between two locations for a duration? Speed boost brews? Slow down time (increase game length) with a brew? I could see this game easily being expanded upon!
The wizard hat wearing roller-skate wolf was enough of a hook for me. 10/10 character design. I wonder, I suppose there wasn't much time to animate the wolf, is that why he's on skates? If so, that's a happy accident for the time constraints, haha. I think the skates are rather endearing.
Seems like a solid foundation for a "made to order" style game. Good job!