LudumData

Buzz the Fly Gardener by Flying Dog Fish

[raw]
made by Flying Dog Fish for Ludum Dare 46 (JAM)

Buzz the Fly Gardener is a game about a fly named Buzz aspiring to become a gardener. It's best explained by the comic-like instruction from the game itself. title.png

It was made entirely from scratch during the jam by the author and his musician friend. Tools used: - Unity - Visual Studio - Inkscape - Wacom Bamboo - Audacity - Bfxr

Special thanks go to my friend Aziraphal for making all the music.

Gameplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RgTr4zpju8

Fixes (30th April 2020): - easier to pick up droplets (bigger suck radius) - easier pushing of other flies (better shaped collider, lower mass of other flies) - easier pushing of droplets (much lower mass) - more consistent snail interaction (simpler collider)

Youtube http://flyingdogfish.com/content/ludum-dare-46
Youtube http://flyingdogfish.com/ld/46-orig/
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/buzz-the-fly-gardener

Ratings

Overall 899th 3.622⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Fun 749th 3.561⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 877th 3.451⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Theme 319th 4.11⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1458th 3.451⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Audio 391th 3.768⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Humor 581th 3.423⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Mood 915th 3.553⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Given 66🗳️ 59🗨️

Feedback

Barrier
21. Apr 2020 · 16:02 UTC
Aaaaaa! So much care went into that plant and then it got me! :(
Music and sounds are really good, art is also not bad. I only wish the plant had some care for his "parent" :D
Yohapii
21. Apr 2020 · 17:24 UTC
Who knew it could be so fun being a fly delivering water to a plant?? too bad I get rekt by a snail. :o Great game! nice audio too :)
Dave GameDevelopement
21. Apr 2020 · 17:35 UTC
Great game, really fun to play! Nice graphics and good game idea :D
xk_the_name
21. Apr 2020 · 17:56 UTC
I felt like a goddamn bee while playing this, my hand is numb. 5 stars.
Beelzeboss
23. Apr 2020 · 08:32 UTC
Cool idea, awesome game. I gad a surprising amount of fun. Music is nice. Good Job!
Prism
23. Apr 2020 · 19:19 UTC
That was a really quick game, easy to master!
RASHEED
24. Apr 2020 · 18:20 UTC
really good game and fun to play
keep it up and good luck!!
Cjblobby
24. Apr 2020 · 19:28 UTC
Really fun to play, and some good audio too.
dingotime
26. Apr 2020 · 02:32 UTC
Good game. I made it to the second level, but wasn't exactly sure what to do, so I lost. I wish it had restarted from the second level so I wouldn't have to play the entire first level again. In any case, good job!
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
26. Apr 2020 · 09:48 UTC
@dingotime Thanks. Good idea about starting at second stage. Anyway, on the second stage the plant has become carnivorous and you have to feed it the little flies by pushing them towards its mouth while avoiding the mouth yourself. Here's an explanation from the game itself: ![midTitle.png](///raw/610/e1/z/3349f.png)
Laaph
26. Apr 2020 · 11:11 UTC
Lovely game! My only complaint is that I got stuck under the flower pot before the snails came, and I eventually reloaded the webpage rather than wait for the plant to die.
n.feofentov
26. Apr 2020 · 14:08 UTC
Hi! I've played your game on the stream, so you can check it out: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/603233103
Good luck!
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
26. Apr 2020 · 17:44 UTC
@n-feofentov Thanks. It's great seeing someone else play my game. Unfortunately you didn't get to the second, harder stage, but you were very close and already guessed some of what was coming.
dingotime
26. Apr 2020 · 19:34 UTC
@flying-dog-fish Yeah, I was confused by the instructions because you are also a fly... so I thought the first graphic was telling me to go into the plant... and the second one was telling me to avoid the plant. Obviously that doesn't make sense - so I think I had to just figured out what they meant, but it was too late and I had died. Haha, always assume the player is even dumber than you previously thought possible, I guess!
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
27. Apr 2020 · 11:07 UTC
@prism Oh really? I can't even win myself. What's your secret? That second stage is really hard, maybe even too hard.
Daniel Michaeloudis
27. Apr 2020 · 19:27 UTC
Really fun game. The controls were a bit hard to work out at first though when I got used to it it got easier.
Jajo
28. Apr 2020 · 12:35 UTC
Art and music was really cute. If I were to give some advice, the whole grabbing water droplets with a fairly thin mouth was a bit messy but it didn't kill the experience.
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
28. Apr 2020 · 23:21 UTC
@jajo Thanks. Actually, I already increased the size of the area around the mouth that picks the droplets during development, but didn't want to increase it so much that it would become too easy. I think it's almost the right size now.
jaywoody
29. Apr 2020 · 15:48 UTC
This was a very cool game. I got to the second stage on my second try. I messed up the second stage myself since I had already pushed all the other flies to the top of the screen. It was very fun to play. The audio was top notch!

Nice job!
ditam
29. Apr 2020 · 20:46 UTC
Fun! The combination of the hitboxes and the push mechanic was a bit annoying, it is easy to "slip" to the other side of a fly or a snail, and when you instinctively try to correct the movement, you end up pushing them in the opposite direction.
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
29. Apr 2020 · 22:14 UTC
@ditam Thanks. Yeah, the flies are a bit hard to push and I think you're right and the shape of the collider is making that even harder, I'll have to experiment a bit tomorrow. By the way, it's easier to use water on snails than to push them.
Ikrad
30. Apr 2020 · 16:54 UTC
I think it's a bit too monotonic, but overall not a bad game.
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
30. Apr 2020 · 22:04 UTC
@jajo I made a small fix that should allow you to pick up water droplets more easily. If you try it, please refresh the page with the game first, just in case.
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
30. Apr 2020 · 22:06 UTC
@ditam Thanks to you I made a small fix that makes it easier to push flies around. If you try it, please refresh the page with the game first, just in case.
pjnovas
04. May 2020 · 22:58 UTC
haha nice entry, fun to play, music and audio goes good with it
Danilo Freire
05. May 2020 · 20:07 UTC
Hey, thats a nice entry! Very fun to play and the music is awesome! :D
marcusnystrand
05. May 2020 · 23:02 UTC
This game taught me the hard way that snails are bad for your garden
tgiant
06. May 2020 · 17:29 UTC
Very good game and very nice art. Sound was also very good.
Controls felt difficult to use, maybe mouse movement would have been better.
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
06. May 2020 · 21:57 UTC
@tgiant Thanks. I actually considered using the mouse but decided against it because I felt it would give the game a totally different character and make it rather easy. Then again, my mother could play it if it was mouse controlled, but that's not the target audience. :smile:
Guilherme Oliveira
09. May 2020 · 05:29 UTC
It was a fun game, I didn't notice the snails were going to destroy all my progress though :( and I didn't know what the other flies were there for, but I really enjoyed it and had a good time!
bkmld
09. May 2020 · 14:28 UTC
This was fun. Nice concept. May want to add a timer so that there is a score.
kschmidt
09. May 2020 · 17:46 UTC
Great take on the theme! A fun game, I wasn't sure what the point of all the other flies was for the first level, also maybe make the other flies look a little different than you do (beyond the size difference) Great job!
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
09. May 2020 · 21:09 UTC
@kschmidt @guilherme-oliveira Thanks. The other flies are there to annoy you a bit by getting in the way and stealing your water, so it feels more appropriate to take revenge on them in the second part. They are also there to remind you that you are just one of them, that's why they aren't really different from you apart from the size and hue differences. On the other hand, it would be easier to tell Buzz apart from the other flies if it was a bit different.
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
09. May 2020 · 21:12 UTC
@bkmld Thanks. Good idea about the timer. There could even be some statistics thrown in .. how many droplets you collected, how many you used on the plan, how much damage the snails and so on.
Mark A Pressler
12. May 2020 · 01:07 UTC
Really enjoyed this game! One of the few that made me want to keep playing it over and over to try to get a bigger flower. The controls felt pretty good, other than occasionally having some issues running into other units in weird ways. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be able to push back the snails without water, but it seemed a somewhat effective strategy. Cool game though! I like how fast it is, it feels like a very small investment to try again which is what keeps bringing me back!
🎤 Flying Dog Fish
12. May 2020 · 16:22 UTC
@mark-a-pressler Thanks, I glad you enjoyed it. The primary defense against snails is supposed to be touching them with water droplets, which seems better to me as they instantly go back all the way to the edge. The ability to push them wasn't planned and specifically programmed behaviour, but when I saw it was possible, I thought about preventing it, but decided the game was hard enough already so I left it in.