Boids of Prey by Shawn Moore

[raw]
made by Shawn Moore for Ludum Dare 46 (COMPO)

boids of prey

🐣 Play now in your browser! 👻

Keep the flock alive! Unlock the dash and stun attacks to teach those ghosts some manners. Just don't miss and hit the chickens instead…

dash.gif

Tools used: * Code: JavaScript / Phaser engine * Art: Asesprite and Photoshop * Sound Effects: ChipTone * Music: Abundant Music

Ratings

Overall 421th 3.538⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 51th 4.038⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 568th 3.231⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Theme 334th 3.865⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 931th 2.673⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 313th 3.38⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 81th 3.82⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 292th 3.52⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 36🗳️ 23🗨️

Feedback

Arcus
19. Apr 2020 · 10:40 UTC
This seems to be quite cool! I think it's kinda funny how it is said what you have to do very eatly on, kinda to go 'Remeber, this is for Ludum Dare'. I found the player / NPC / chicken sprites a bit odd. Also, there was no music, but there was a slider for music - could be a bug. I like the particles for the dash boots, it has a nice feel to it. I think it would be good to say 'Run into the enemies to atack them', or something, so you know what to do.
Owl_Skip
19. Apr 2020 · 14:04 UTC
What a weird wet and wild game. I like how your camera Lerps into place like a madman, sort of like 70s cinema with those enormous crash zooms. God I hope those chickens are OK, I know I'm not.
cagibi
19. Apr 2020 · 15:50 UTC
That's a very interesting game, it would look great with some final art (and sounds/music… I only got the slider), or any kind of feedback on what's happening to the player or the NPCs.

The current animations feel very polished. Collisions with walls are a bit glitchy though.
🎤 Shawn Moore
20. Apr 2020 · 01:37 UTC
Oh my gosh you all played before it was done! haha. I didn't realize that was a thing that people did. If you could try it again it's at least fully fleshed out @arcus @owl-skip @cagibi
Ryan Ackermann
21. Apr 2020 · 05:51 UTC
This was a lot of fun! I really enjoying blasting into the chicks when I unlocked the dash! The "juice" in this game is very well done.
santriptasharma
21. Apr 2020 · 07:05 UTC
Amazing.
adsilcott
23. Apr 2020 · 00:25 UTC
Really fun! It's difficult but the controls felt nice and tight.
jondkoon
23. Apr 2020 · 00:27 UTC
Lot of nice touches in this one. I liked the music. I liked opening the chest with the boost and then the stunner. Nice job introducing the concepts one at a time.

My main feedback is that it was a little hard in an unrewarding way. I was frustrated that some of my chickens died as soon as the level started and there was really nothing I could have done. I think the game could have used a score or some other incentive or feeling of achievement for saving the chickens. From what I could tell you made it through the level if you saved at least one which seemed odd to me and wasn't clear either. Like I didn't fully understand what the win or lose conditions were until the 5th level or so. I

liked the transition on the level. Nice screenshake and noises when closing off the level. I liked the color palette change too right when the ghosts came in. Also when I finally lost I liked the zoomed in slow mo. Again some really nice touches. Just needs a little balancing.
Adam Konig
23. Apr 2020 · 00:32 UTC
I LOVE this kind of entry. SUPER basic sprite work but with great audio choices and visual effects and slow motion it was SUPER fun to play. Great work all around, great story, love the abilities you gain, it had a nice difficulty curve. This was an exceptionally clean and strong entry
🎤 Shawn Moore
23. Apr 2020 · 00:34 UTC
I really appreciate the constructive feedback @jondkoon! Yeah I think just showing how many chickens are currently alive in a HUD, and at the end of the level, would go a long way toward communicating and motivating the goal.
RyanMan56
23. Apr 2020 · 00:37 UTC
Really enjoyed this game, best one I've played so far! The humour was spot on, and there were a few really suspenseful slo-mo moments where I didn't know if I'd reach the chicken before the murder-ghost! How did you do the stun effect?
gamebuilder
23. Apr 2020 · 00:39 UTC
A very good game. I like the retro graphics and sound. I was hoping for a bit more variety (even a change in colors would help) but given the time constraints this is a solid entry. Well done, mates.
🎤 Shawn Moore
23. Apr 2020 · 00:47 UTC
Aww thanks for all the kind words everyone!

@ryanman56 the stun effect is a shader that basically just changes the position of pixels :)
MaggardJosh
23. Apr 2020 · 02:24 UTC
Loved the slo-mo effect when you were about to lose and the stun effect. Also thought the sprites were a bit odd, but they fit kinda... :smile: Very odd game, liked the ending a lot. Had a lot of fun, good entry!
Mikest
23. Apr 2020 · 02:43 UTC
one of the best games i've played thus far. really well put together and has a great game feel and balance. impressive work!
cheesepencil
23. Apr 2020 · 03:43 UTC
PHASER BROS

Great game. So much character. Simple, but brought to life with a ton of little touches of personality.
🎤 Shawn Moore
23. Apr 2020 · 04:17 UTC
PHASER BROS. I thought I was the only one!
Kevin Prehn
24. Apr 2020 · 01:16 UTC
This game had a lot of personality I loved it.
PROJECTaroid
24. Apr 2020 · 02:13 UTC
Nice game. It was a lot of fun to play and an interesting take on the jam theme. Cool presentation.
stephan steinbach
24. Apr 2020 · 05:31 UTC
Nice! The effects help get a lot of mileage out of the sprites, and I like that you fit a progression and levels that build on each other into it. good work!
Maytch
24. Apr 2020 · 07:53 UTC
Fun game! I like the introduction of the mechanics and the difficulty balance, and that stun has a cool effect.
Jelle Vermandere
24. Apr 2020 · 07:57 UTC
I like the opening and closing of the rooms, although I would have made it so the rooms would fit better on the screen, because sometimes when I cleared a level, I had to find where the new exit was. but that's just a minor thing.
JacksGamesSucks
24. Apr 2020 · 10:11 UTC
I like your game, simple but fun with nice idea. Mechanics works quite well. Good job!
ben657
24. Apr 2020 · 12:24 UTC
I really enjoyed it, something about the combination of simple but well-made gameplay and the cute graphics just had me grinning the whole time :grin:
Jimbly
25. Apr 2020 · 17:15 UTC
That flockin' skeleton trapped me!

Great game, really enjoyed it. I was confused when it slowed down and zoomed it, I thought I had lost, so just waited for the chicken to die, until one time it happened and the ghost just stood there until I walked over and bopped him on the head. Maybe having the chickens turn dark when they're actually dead would have helped to be more clear what was going on.

Great to play a JS game that doesn't have a 100mb Unity runtime to download... ^_^
ProdigalSon
26. Apr 2020 · 13:34 UTC
That escalated quickly. I nearly lost at the second encounter with only 1 chick left. I recommend adding the basic controls (movement) on your description since I literally went to WASD and Mouse first before remembering that "ARROW" keys also move. After that, the game tells me what else to press which is good. I like the slow-mo action. The battle music feels more like a triumphant entrance than an encounter :). I do like how the game saved my state so I was able to go back and continue where I left off
devharts
26. Apr 2020 · 15:39 UTC
Cool concept and very well fitting to the theme. It was interesting how no directions were given up front but you're kind of drawn into it by the skeleton farmer guy serving as a tutorial. I noticed it was possible to go backwards when I accidentally exited in the wrong direction and got the dash ability again, then was able to re-do the dash level (though I ended up saving a lot more of the chickens on the second try so it was all good, haha). I ended up getting stuck on the stun level and couldn't seem to beat it after several tries, though I really appreciated how you're allowed to try again on the specific level you failed on rather than being forced to start over from the beginning of the game. Great work overall! :)
marcmagus
10. May 2020 · 19:25 UTC
Thanks again for bringing your game by my stream to check out! If you'd like to watch again the highlight is at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/617113690

I really got a kick out of seeing how the boids algorithm felt for moving things in an action game.