Heart.ache//nascension by Alchemic

made by Alchemic for Ludum Dare 46 (JAM)

A bit of an idle game, just click the icons at the bottom to spawn your cells, and try to stay healthy for as long as possible.

Note: I didn't really have time to balance this, so you might lose very quickly! There is no win condition, and I didn't get around to implementing a highscore system.

Cells

Blue cells will expand your veins outwards, allowing you to breathe easier.

Green cells will add junctions to your veins, allowing you to have more branches.

White cells will attack and destroy viruses.

Viruses

Virus A will head straight for the heart, damaging it.

Virus B will attack your veins, cutting them off in an attempt to suffocate you.

Virus C will attack your cells, turning them against you.

RPS

When a white cell and a Virus C collide, they will play rock-paper-scissors to determine who wins.

Breathing

To survive, you must breathe! Only veins which have open air on at least one side will breathe.

Tech used

Custom engine built in C++ with Emscripten.

Graphics made with Pyxel Edit, Gimp, and Paint.NET.

Audio made with Bfxr and Bosca Ceoil.

Changelog

Apr 20 - Fixed bug that made Virus C not duplicate.

May 8 - Added post-jam version.

Youtube	https://alchemical.itch.io/heartache-nascension
Youtube	https://github.com/apples/ld46
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/heart-achenascension

Ratings

Overall	1590^th	3.333⭐	26🧑‍⚖️
Fun	1794^th	3.042⭐	26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	254^th	3.854⭐	26🧑‍⚖️
Theme	384^th	4.063⭐	26🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	1773^th	3.188⭐	26🧑‍⚖️
Audio	1362^th	2.825⭐	22🧑‍⚖️
Humor	1813^th	2.261⭐	25🧑‍⚖️
Mood	1622^th	3.152⭐	25🧑‍⚖️
Given		20🗳️	21🗨️

Feedback

MantarayTV Games

21. Apr 2020 · 06:00 UTC

It has good theme execution, it's pretty hard too. I love the pixel art and style! Also a bit of a weird comment, but I really enjoy the look of the Itch page :D

21. Apr 2020 · 07:58 UTC

I feel like I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing besides spamming the buttons randomly. And at some point there are so many viruses that even constantly spamming white cells doesn't seem to stop them.

kiririn51

22. Apr 2020 · 16:21 UTC

has potential to be addicting but doesn't have enough visual cues to tell what's going on. I'm sure once you figure out the mechanics it gets pretty engrossing. i honestly really liked it.

mmmcgill1232

23. Apr 2020 · 14:06 UTC

I agree with the other commenters that it's not very clear what I should be doing any given moment other than mashing buttons. It's a really interesting concept, I just wish it was tuned to require some strategy (or communicate it better if there is a strategy and I just missed it).

LogFlames

23. Apr 2020 · 19:22 UTC

This was a short and nice little game, the execution of the game felt complete and the game was simple enough for it not to need a tutorial. I liked the artstyle and the idea is great, both a really fun game and following the theme. I would love to play this with more things to do, could by a fun roguelike where you have to manage resources and maybe you could connect to the other organs for either a boss fight and then some benefits, like the lungs give more air, the liver cleaning the blood. Just an idea that I thing sounds fun to play. Am I right that it doesn't cost anything to produce the different cells? And I feel like the RPS is a good idea, but I feel like the game currently is to fast, I don't pay attention to specific viruses, rather I take in the scene and chose what to produce. Great entry, well done!

Ava Rae

23. Apr 2020 · 22:03 UTC

I actually quite like this one. I found it to be very difficult, but it's also... kinda dark, relevant in these dark times. I like the look of it, well done!

Tony Redmer

24. Apr 2020 · 21:20 UTC

It was really difficult to see what I was supposed to be doing. I do really love the mood and atmosphere, and the idea is unique!

Mikonow

24. Apr 2020 · 21:47 UTC

I try to figure it out a way to win, but i still don"t know what is it. I really want to have the thing ! But it didn"t stop me to try 10 times and enjoy it :)

loveapplegames

25. Apr 2020 · 18:18 UTC

Original and intriguing game. The board filled up with virus C very quickly though, and my white cells just stop working at that point. Is that a bug?

amarillion

01. May 2020 · 16:47 UTC

Nice idea, and the game has a nice retro vibe. I feel that it gets overwhelming too quickly, and there isn't a lot of choice in your actions except launching as many cells as possible.

I wonder if you couldn't make a turn-based game out of it where you really have to strategically plan your network and out-smart the viruses.

P.S. please leave likes for commenters - that way we help each other out getting ratings.

Poupi

02. May 2020 · 12:39 UTC

I don't understand a lot on what's happening here but I found it quite fascinating :)

moi93101

02. May 2020 · 16:09 UTC

It's interesting but, at some point I can't do anything ... :'(

henrycgs

09. May 2020 · 04:55 UTC

Oh wow.

This is really weird.

But it's also impressive, in its own way. This is a completely new concept so it's really hard to make something fun out of it... but you actually did! Specially the post-jam version, it is much better. The fact that you made this in pure C++ out of everything available is also really, really impressive. This game feels like a system. A really intriguing system!

I think I share the same feeling as most players here. It's a mix of awe and confusion. Nice entry!

🎤 Alchemic

09. May 2020 · 05:42 UTC

Thanks for all the comments, everyone! I appreciate all the good feedback!

If you want to play a more balanced version and haven't already, try the post-jam version! It is much more balanced and a bit easier to learn how to play.

🎤 Alchemic

09. May 2020 · 05:45 UTC

@logflames I actually did plan to have other organs that you had to connect to, which would have different functions and produce new types of cells. However, I completely over-scoped the design, and didn't get any of that implemented in the end ;_;

It costs 1 health to spawn a cell, but it doesn't really matter because the breathing mechanic is overpowered. I fixed this in the post-jam version by adding a separate currency called "mitosis", which is not tied to health, and is generated much more slowly.

The RPS definitely goes too fast, and it is unintentionally biased in favor of the viruses. The balance is fixed in the post-jam version, but it's still mostly just there for flavor. I just thought it would be cute to see the cells have some kind of "fight" lol.

🎤 Alchemic

09. May 2020 · 05:47 UTC

@loveapplegames Not a bug! Just bad balance, unfortunately. The C virus is very aggressive and multiplies rapidly if you have a lot of blue cells out.

This is mostly fixed in the post-jam version, but it is still very possible to get overwhelmed.

owl and jackalope

12. May 2020 · 03:17 UTC

Truly innovative idea! The expanding zone adding additional spawn point while also opening you up to greater health gains was a tricky, but very interesting balancing act. Things quickly escalate and the chaos can be difficult to follow with the tiny viruses. It wasn't always easy to decide which cell was most useful in a given situation. Because of the aggressiveness of some viruses it felt like depending on spawn conditions a strategy that had previously been somewhat successful would do me in the next time. Played the post jam version as well, huge improvements with the mitosis meter that limits actions which gave more visibility into what each thing was doing (viruses and cells). Plus the updated balance made the game feel like it had and ebb and flow. Great job. I think I'd really enjoy playing this game if you wanted to expand it further.