This is actually really cool game
I like art style very much and gameplay, but it was confusing to use two separate tools for sludge and for water
But for sure if they turn on rating I will get back to it

@bjakubowski Thank you! Glad you liked it a bit! Yup, using two tools was a deliberate choice to make it more challenging but I think they could have been made more distinct to make it clearer! Hopefully you can rate now :smile:

OH yea! In my head I hear METAL music :)

@liam just played the game, first things first i am a fan of the 8-bit artstyle so i really liked the graphics and it complemented really well with the 8-bit audio and music. The different tools for different things was quite confusing and hope you fix the score haha. Overall it was a good game :)

I really liked this one ^^
It's a little bit unclear what some of the resources are at the start but that's a minor issue. Well done =D

That was more challenging that I anticipated! It has a little layer of strategy where picking the resource and not giving it to Vizbig immediately so you can score some fruit, but then you're racing against the clock to get back to in time before the timer runs out. Nice job!

I played this for two rounds. It was a lot of fun. Got hectic in the end. Great entry!

it was hard to tell the bucket and the tank apart! Overall quite fun though.

This is a fun concept! I like how you feel pretty desperate to feed the Vizbig, it is clear that the plant is the center of the game. It is hard to juggle between feeding it and getting the fruit to your house. Certainly in the end when the time to get resources is shorter than how fast you can walk back and forth to the source of the resource, but I have the feeling that was a design decision 🤔

Thanks for the kind comments everyone. Definitely will make the bucket/tank graphics clearer if I do a post jam version (which I will I think, just to teach myself a bit more). @lamasaurus it was definitely a design decision, lots of adjusting the timings / growth / fruit spawn / game length towards the end to make it as short and sweet as poss but a little challenging with a victory that you could try to improve on.

I really nice and challenging game! I like the art too, very GameBoy like. I do feel like there is a bit too little time towards the end, but it also adds to the challenge. A really solid entry overall!

Nice work!

BJakubowski has said everything I'd suggest already

Nice game! Simple premise executed well and I liked that new strategies became apparent as you played even with the simple premise... all to no avail, but perhaps that's the point? :)

Good game with a nice colour pallette :) It gets stressful fast but that's the joys of it! Also Vizbig's a great name for a plant!

This was an overall enjoyable entry, thanks for sharing it!

Things I liked:

* I liked how each resource had a different tool (or lack of tool).
* I was surprised by the shortness of the timer toward the end of the game, it seemed to ramp up quickly and suddenly I couldn't get fruit any more, but it gave a nice sense of urgency at the end.
* The gameboy-esque art and sound styles were enjoyable as well.

Things that could improve:

* The sound effects seemed a bit loud relative to the music, making them sound a tad harsh.
* The gameplay is a little simplistic and as the player I found myself lacking much agency. Vizbig is a cruel master, and I never had much of a choice in what I should be doing. It might be interesting to rework some mechanics to give the player a little more option about what to do.

Thanks for all the reviews and feedback everyone, it's much appreciated!

@bentglasstube That is some really good feedback, I'm very grateful :smile:

It was a deliberate decision to have the timer get that quick to give a sense of peril and increased difficulty. I adjusted the game a lot to try and figure a sweet spot between difficult. Glad you liked it.

Definitely agree with the sound levels. I should have just adjusted those the moment I put them in.

I kept the mechanics simple in the end but had some ideas about mechanics during brainstorming which I dropped due to the time constraints, let me know what you think:
- Different levels of water, sludge and bones for Vzibig, so you can decide which one needs topping up based on how low it is getting.
- Vizbig's demands are based on these but failing to meet the timer for one potentially doesn't damage him, he might just lash out at the player (so you would have health too) or he spawns a trap/thrower plant.
- Carrying toxic sludge slowly reduces your health
- Scoring fruit would heal you.
- Fruit%LS

Edit: Triple post :crying_cat_face:

Edit: Triple post :cry:

The ol LD site is really struggling with my last comment. Here's the end of it:

- Scoring fruit would heal you.
- Fruit would decay and disappear after a while, maybe spawn a bit more to compensate.
- At the start he demands the easier water and bones more, as he gets bigger he demands more sludge.
- As Vizbig gets bigger, his roots grow and he spawns spike traps and sludge throwers who fire projectiles at the survivor.
- Dash mechanic for the survivor

More cosmetic gameplay changes:
- I really wanted to have dialogue above Vizbig talking at the player. I’m glad I decided to work on the sound instead as I feel it improved things loads having audio but it would have added a lot of character
- Animations for throwing things into Vizbig and then he throws the bucket/tank back out randomly
- Animations, especially for the player’s survivor and Vizbig, would have improved everything! :laughing:

Ha! There have been a lot of these pet raising simulator style games this time around, but the setting for this one was really funny. Would have liked ASDW to work as well as the arrow keys.

I liked your title screen!

I like the colour-scheme, but I really couldn't stand the music.

I tried to keep up by first serving the far-away bones, but such tactics don't really work for the other resources. Then when the timer grew very close and the tasks where supposed to be handled too quickly I just let a few tasks go and stood by with some bones -- unfortunately at that point it was already in the 'more sludge' stage.

I've really enjoyed playing the game. Everything is kept simple and after few minutes you know what you have to do. The part when the time was 1/3 to end was the most fun and balanced for me. Great job!

@scott-steffes Thank you. Adding ASDW / a settings to adjust keys screen was on my todo list at the end :cry: but we all know how it goes sometimes. Definitely will practice getting that stuff into my game jams more.

@blobo Thanks! Would have liked to add a few plant tendrils and toxix bits to the graphic. Maybe in v2!

@remco Thank you :smile: Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the music either, this game jam has inspired me to finally learn how to use my computer to lay down some decent tracks for games!

@borys Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! Really had a lot of fun this compo and the community here has been a bit part of that too!

what is this evil plant that wants the bones of my fellow citizens?

Font is too noisy for pixel art. But overall, not bad for compo!