Keepalive.exe by PTSnoop

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

KeepAliveExe1.png

If Space Invaders were a hacking game about ping-pong balls, it would be this game.

Arrow keys or WASD to move around. If you're near a ping-pong ball, press Space to shoot it.

Your aim is to stay connected to all the computers for long enough to hack into the network. When a ping-pong ball hits a computer, it "pings" the computer and keeps the connection alive. If computers stay disconnected for too long, they will alert the authorities and you will lose the game.

The log text to the right will fill up over time. The level is complete when it reaches the bottom of the screen. There are seven levels, each with a new type of device. Good luck!

Ratings

Overall 206th 3.786⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 393th 3.452⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 161th 3.81⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 205th 4⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 468th 3.524⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 188th 3.619⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Humor 272th 3.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 244th 3.575⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 14🗳️ 16🗨️

Feedback

Xentiie
21. Apr 2020 · 12:20 UTC
This is for sure one of the coolest game I have seen in this jam. You really should rate other poeple games to get some visibility !!
Solweak
25. Apr 2020 · 07:20 UTC
I found it hard to beat ! The movement are not very intuitive for me. Overall it's fun, the graphics and sound design are neat. Well done !
Monish Vyas
25. Apr 2020 · 07:23 UTC
Fantastic game. I found controlling a bit difficult but overall awesome game. Innovative and maybe most unique adaptation of the theme.
ankou
25. Apr 2020 · 07:31 UTC
This is a really cool game! It feels really clean, and the idea is pretty creative. The controls sometimes felt a *little* bit wonky, but it was still pretty fun!
Daniel Cox
25. Apr 2020 · 07:33 UTC
Solid concept and thinking outside the box with the theme. If the controls were easier to work with it'd be 5s all around.
Local Minimum
25. Apr 2020 · 07:48 UTC
Fun idea for the theme! It was a bit on the hard side for me. In part because there was no visual queue for when one could shoot the ping-pongs and the control scheme didn't really feel natural. Twin-stick controls would probably feel more normal. I would also have liked the computers to give me a little grace period or simply decay slower because it felt a bit unfair that I never got to shoot enough ping-pongs on level one before at least one was offline.

Cool game in general though!
GenTel
25. Apr 2020 · 08:07 UTC
Very exciting game. I like the minimalist graphics and computer humor. Good mix of different mechanics from the servers to the printers to the phones. All the mechanics and story/scenario kept in line with both the jam theme and the computer motif very well. One thing that was both good and bad was that the death countdown continued if any machines were disconnected - this made fixing one connection useless if another was also dead but it also made it more intense.

To improve I'd say the controls were a bit cumbersome. Maybe an option to back up or such would help, or maybe a putt button to shoot the ball less hard.

I replayed the game a good handful of times to make it through to the end screen - that last level is so intense.
Mental Inaction
02. May 2020 · 01:57 UTC
I really liked the idea for this! The concept was fun, and the graphics and audio fit the idea really well. My only issue was that I couldn't find a way to close the game without using alt+f4 or task manager.
NunoRibeiro
02. May 2020 · 22:57 UTC
As many have said, the controls don't feel quite right. This is a nice game however! The text on the right was a nice touch and it's really fun that each level has a different mechanic.
Francisco Lucas
02. May 2020 · 23:17 UTC
I liked the choice of theme and the visual style! The game is a little difficult, but pretty cool! The music was also good! Good job!
appix
03. May 2020 · 09:48 UTC
I think it's a good idea. But it's really hard to aim and move
xart2012
04. May 2020 · 02:58 UTC
realy good, i like it: ) played love on my debian 10.
Evergreen Games
04. May 2020 · 03:45 UTC
Stressful but super fun. The controls have a learning curve, but once you master them, they work really well. Adding a new gadget each round kept it fresh too.
epb9000
04. May 2020 · 03:47 UTC
Asteroid-style ship controls are so tricky (I have never been good at Asteroids), but this is great. Creative use of the theme. Also, I laughed about the printers not giving any warning that they're about to disconnect. Art mirroring real life in that case that one.
Joshua Stone
04. May 2020 · 19:02 UTC
Enjoyed playing! I definitely took a while to get good at steering the ship (never totally got the hang of it), but overall everything adds up for a solid gameplay experience. The mechanics work well together and fit the theme nicely.

Also, music was great! I'm assuming since it's a compo game that you made the music. Definitely had a good combination of lighter tones and aspects that reminded me a lot of that one theme from The Matrix. :grinning:
GameOverMexico
11. May 2020 · 13:13 UTC
It is a good challenge a little difficult at first but it becomes a challenge, good job!
![compus.jpg](///raw/aa6/03/z/33fc9.jpg)