The Thrill of the Loan by TJMcDonald

[raw]
made by TJMcDonald for Ludum Dare 45 (JAM)

This is our Ludum Dare 45 game, and our first game jam. The theme was "Start With Nothing."

0 - Title.PNG

This is a story of a noble man of the streets, who has been bested by the cruelest of fates - housefire. He has now lost everything he holds dear, and thus avails himself to the closest banking facilities to resecure his life.

1 - Fiddlesticks.PNG

The primary game loop is a persuasion bar, in order to trick the manager into giving you a greater loan amount. It's a simple timing game, and should be straightfoward - hit space or click the mouse to stop the bouncing slider in the green target area. Missing three times during this persuasion game will result in a game over. Your goal is to secure as much money as possible, but the game gets more difficult with each chance you take. Fail, and lose everything. Win big enough... and maybe something nice might happen!

3 - Persuasion.PNG

Controls: - Space/Click to advance or speed-up text. - Space/Click to stop the persuasion bar slider (try to hit the target!) - Up/Down or W/S to select an option when presented with a choice.

Tools: - Unity - Aseprite - Photoshop CC

External Assets: - Font used: https://fontstruct.com/fontstructions/show/1581047​ - Music generated with: https://pernyblom.github.io/abundant-music/index.html - Sound effects generated with: ​http://www.drpetter.se/project_sfxr.html​

Ratings

Overall 229th 3.797⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Fun 407th 3.459⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 539th 3.189⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Theme 174th 3.878⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 314th 3.892⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Humor 32th 4.135⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Mood 222th 3.794⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Given 33🗳️ 40🗨️

Feedback

Kenarf
07. Oct 2019 · 19:42 UTC
Really liked the hobo lore in the intro haha, if you want to check out my take on hobos, and how to fight them, you should definetely check out my game haha
Polyethyleneglykol
07. Oct 2019 · 19:44 UTC
Loved the art and the humor was great! :) Great job!
🎤 TJMcDonald
07. Oct 2019 · 19:45 UTC
@kenarf We certainly will! Thank you for checking it out.

@polyethyleneglykol thank you for your comments!
radgegames
07. Oct 2019 · 20:27 UTC
Love that top down 8 bit art, got a few laughs in this one
starvingindie
07. Oct 2019 · 20:27 UTC
Such a great little game. Humor, art and a narrative. This game has it all! I went big and then bigger...didn't turn out well for me unfortunately. I'd be curious to play again to see if there's multiple endings. Great job!
Cpokered
07. Oct 2019 · 20:30 UTC
Pretty fun. The humor was good!
🎤 TJMcDonald
07. Oct 2019 · 20:30 UTC
@starvingindie There might be as many as three kinds of endings ;)
Nobongo
07. Oct 2019 · 20:30 UTC
Very new and fun concept. I really wasn't sure where the game was going, and the lack of direction didn't hinder it at all.
It's nice that you can play with just space bar, and it's great that you can skip text when going back through to get different outcomes!
stamestratagem
07. Oct 2019 · 20:33 UTC
Great mechanics!
NachtWitch
07. Oct 2019 · 21:47 UTC
love the pixel art, the mechanics are great, why are there so many great games this time, why do I not have enough time to play the all?
Idontknow
07. Oct 2019 · 21:49 UTC
Fun! I'd spent more time looking for different endings than I should have, though...
Fragment Games
07. Oct 2019 · 21:51 UTC
A fun litle game you have made! Love the cute art style. Really well done! Original :-)
PenguinBoy
07. Oct 2019 · 21:57 UTC
Such an enjoyable and simple game. I found the "talking" noises to be a bit jarring after while, but the humor easily made up for it. Great job!
aDeCon
07. Oct 2019 · 23:48 UTC
A very good game, reminiscent of the old 8 bit games, and it is very nice. The game creates a dandy atmosphere and develops a reaction. Very good work :)
Sefirost
08. Oct 2019 · 00:32 UTC
Nice game, funny dialogs, simple but catchy game mechanic!
pinosaur
08. Oct 2019 · 03:36 UTC
Very charming art style, and very entertaining story. Great job!
BrokenMirrorMedia
08. Oct 2019 · 03:43 UTC
A very funny and quick game, enjoyed it!
Mashas
08. Oct 2019 · 11:00 UTC
WELL, FIDDLESTICKS. That was a cup of laughs! Lovely retro atmosphere, easy to understand gameplay. Greed got me the first time around but I did get to see two different endings. I also noticed you have to be careful when skipping dialogue so you don't mess up. Just like in real life. A game well done!
randdir
08. Oct 2019 · 15:54 UTC
Nice entry team. First I was interesting about the graphics that remind me my entry and then the humor handle me a lot. Keep it up really like it.
Scott Steffes
09. Oct 2019 · 00:50 UTC
Mechanics, writing, graphics - loved them all! Great font too. I have to say the dialog was very well done, both characters bounced off each other well. My only point of feedback would be that it would have been fun to choose your own response before the mini-game, even if the results of the responses didn't differ very much, just to add a little more interaction.
mrabnox
09. Oct 2019 · 00:56 UTC
It was great to play. I enjoyed the story telling element within this game. look forward to seeing more work from you
Joe Williamson
09. Oct 2019 · 00:59 UTC
Had to play for all the endings. xD
dummydojo
09. Oct 2019 · 01:03 UTC
Love the artwork! The feeling of the whole game is very nostalgic! Very simple game play keeps it flowing and easy to play. Great work!
Don Fouts
09. Oct 2019 · 23:40 UTC
Nice game! I couldn't stop trying to push my luck. I really liked the dialog and pacing of the game.
Iluvatar
12. Oct 2019 · 10:35 UTC
This was hell of a fun! Love the NES graphics reference. The gameplay was rather simple, but so much fun. Love the witty dialogs. One of the most charming games I've played in years in LD competition. Good job.
Captain Nakou
14. Oct 2019 · 00:27 UTC
Okay. I am calling it :

:trumpet: This is the greatest game of the LD. :trumpet:

:arrow_right: Great old school graphics

:arrow_right: Great old school tunes and sfx

:arrow_right: Great humor

:arrow_right: Cool and Simple gameplay

:arrow_right: Massive anti-capitalist undertones :arrow_left:

I LOVED it.

I lost tho. BUT I LOVED IT.
Thank you for this. You got all the 5 stars. My treat.
cybersoftuk
14. Oct 2019 · 06:47 UTC
Loved the art style, and the music too.
scsc
22. Oct 2019 · 21:57 UTC
Great art and the choice of, let's say, minimalistic design of the mechanics. It really felt like playing some larger game with a complete story. I could imagine it to transition into a different game. By the way, I feel like you have wasted some potential when it comes to a first impression - both the starting screen, and the bank, are hard to really conceptually grasp at a first glance. At first I thought it's some kind of a spaceship game, as the borders were round and there were some "windows", and the character was so pink it felt like a different object :) And when the box goes on fire - you no longer see that it was a box. If you research how the human sight works, your brain doesn't really remember a previous object in this kind of transition, even though it may feel intuitive that we "notice" the difference. I'd propose some animation, like shaking the box / a match falling on it, in order to improve the context. The same with the bank - I believed that I'm in the left-top corner :)
Jupiter_Hadley
31. Oct 2019 · 09:15 UTC
Funny game, great graphics. I included it in my Ludum Dare 45 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/oyFtoUSqXW8