Caravana by Josh.Galecki

[raw]
made by Josh.Galecki for Ludum Dare 45 (COMPO)

Explore a vast desert while defending your caravan from attack. Trade exotic goods with colorful characters in fantastical cities*

*That's the elevator pitch at least. I only got the combat basics in for the compo, but I might keep going with the prototype after the jam is over. I'm especially interested in hearing feedback about the combat system.

I've kept on working on the game since the competition ended. It's closer to but not quite at a demo of what I want the game to be like. More story, more combat options (combos, dodging, rolls), and better enemy balance. Camels still don't count for nothin'. The updated version can be found in the "Post-compo" zip and the original in the "LD 45" zip.

Screenshot4.png Screenshot2.png Screenshot3.png

Controls (azerty-friendly!)

Up: W or Z

Down: S

Left: A or Q

Right: D

Jump: Space

Attack: Return or left mouse button

Pause: F

Quit: Esc

Ratings

Overall 380th 3.119⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 426th 2.714⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 439th 2.548⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 391th 2.929⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 190th 3.476⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 24th 3.976⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Humor 169th 2.868⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 117th 3.575⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 28🗳️ 10🗨️

Feedback

Pavel Ivanov
07. Oct 2019 · 03:17 UTC
Wow, nice pixel art!
Jonno
18. Oct 2019 · 15:27 UTC
Combat in this game is pretty frustrating but I can see where you're aiming at with this. The engine is sound, though you should be aware that any buttons being pressed during the end of combat skips a lot of the dialogue when it goes onto the next scene. I look forward to seeing what you will do with this in the future, as I think it definitely has potential.
Mateusz Wojtkowski
18. Oct 2019 · 18:18 UTC
Great music, and i liked the story, but i find encounters bit too difficult.
jandourek
19. Oct 2019 · 11:41 UTC
This was incredible! I really liked the story, characters and especially the music. It would be pretty nice if the story was told more visually rather than just through text. As for the combat system. It was a bit difficult at first, but once you get the timing right it gets much easier. I also appreciate the enemies dropping health and a way to skip dialog if you lose. You could also make it more interesting by having the player protect the camel and having a consequence if you don't. There's also potential for trading the purple gems for better weapons. Overall this is a great game!
Solah
20. Oct 2019 · 14:15 UTC
Pretty interesting game, the graphics and music are really good. Sadly, the combat system makes it difficult to not take damage all the time, there is a too long time between each attack and we really lack of some dodge movement or guard.

Good work!
hiroboto
20. Oct 2019 · 15:03 UTC
The story is incredible and the music is amazing! Nice job!
ThePirateNun
20. Oct 2019 · 17:28 UTC
I thought this was a super cool entry! I loved the style between the visuals and the music, and the dialogue was really well written. I think the combat system worked well and is scalable, but at least at this stage, I think the enemies may have been a little bit difficult. Also, I thought it was really nice touch to make the faded go for your camel sometimes (maybe it could be cool if the camel had more use?). Overall, this was a really cool entry, and I can't wait to see it further developed.
CaptAndrey
20. Oct 2019 · 19:40 UTC
easy to start but very hard to finish). Music matched setting perfectly. Good job!)
Lumos
20. Oct 2019 · 19:49 UTC
Graphics are on point, and I enjoyed the audio track. Nice to see Soliel, the goddess of healing, make an appearance. I can imagine this takes place in the Malazan world, at some point long, long ago. Even though I don't think that planet had two suns...

You'll excuse me if I don't extol the virtues of the story. It wasn't amazing because there was pretty much no story whatsoever, just the smallest kernel of one. What's on offer is _promising,_ don't get me wrong, but there's not enough of it to qualify. I want longer dialogues and choices. :P

Combat: attacks are too slow and too weak, which, combined with the high number of enemies in the second fight, as well as the lack of any "retreating" move, mandates exploitation. You can swing whilst walking away from enemies, then instantly turn to deal damage, then turn again. This minimises the damage you receive in response. Consider making the enemies immobile during their attack animations -- this should remedy the issue at least somewhat.
dob
20. Oct 2019 · 22:10 UTC
Very cool story and mood. The combat I couldn't figure out very well, other than to flee from the guys, then try a quick turn. Adding a jump helped a little, or maybe I just got better at the timing. But it was a really neat story idea, and I liked the dialogue between Saul and Soleil. I wish there were a little more to it, but I enjoyed it.
karlipoppins
22. Oct 2019 · 06:50 UTC
Loved the storyline and music, really set a nice mood. Awesome pixel art during the combat phase as well. The main drawback on my end wasn't so much the combat but that I skipped like 10 dialogues at the end of every combat having one of the direction key pressed. (fat finger!) Really cool entry, I wish you had the time to finish it!
Cydouzo
22. Oct 2019 · 09:34 UTC
The combat is way too hard with not so many options. I stopped playing after the second combat.
A shame cause I wanted to know the rest of the story :<