Automata by WhatNameGames
EDIT: The feedback we have recieved so far has been incredible, we have decided that Automata will aim to become a full commerical game, with the basic idea being to release the game later on this year in a sort of "Episode 1" state. The game will contain a large number of big levels with various secrets, puzzles, challenges and more with extra features, as well as features carried over from the LD version, but refined and polished.
There are many problems that have been identified, some having been remedied, but just not on the LD build, these include:
Checkpoints missing
Platforming not being responsive enough
The pickup system is clunky
Not enough sounds
Needs a cohesive tutorial system
and more that we feel will improve the game greatly.
Some issues related to movement have already been fixed and the system feels more responsive, but needs to be tested further, a lot of level assets have been remade as well to increase the visuals and make them more cohesive in general.
We'll be posting updates and information when we feel we are ready on our twitter page http://twitter.com/@WhatNameGames18, so feel free to follow us to stay up to date.
We're confident we can build it out into the First Episode state within a reasonable amount of time of perhaps 4-6 months, as further design questions need answering, as well as creating a large number of assets that I myself (the designer) will feel confident in using for a shipped title.
We believe the game has a lot of potential, and plenty of room for expansion and refinement, and we hope that anyone who enjoyed the LD version will look forward to a full, refined, feature complete game, that we will hopefully be able to continually expand with more traps, levels and environments.
All feedback is still much appreciated, and I'd love to hear any ideas/reccomendations for features not included above that you feel would improve the game in its final state.
A once young scientist poured his youth into creating sentient robots with nothing but love and devotion, his precious iron children have now been deemed obsolete thus set for destruction. The now aged scientist has decided to prevent this, despite the costs, and he has awoken the robots once more, telling them to escape and live on.
Help Chjunk, Slim and Tiny escape their cruel fates in a Sci-Fi platformer puzzle game, using each of their features to prove that, despite being old, they can help each other overcome the obstacles before them.
Created for Ludum Dare 46 by:
http://twitter.com/@LewishGameDev
Programming Game Set Up Testing
http://twitter.com/@DangoGameDev
Art Game Design Level Design
| Youtube | https://whatnamegames.itch.io/automata |
| Youtube | https://whatnamegames.itch.io/automata |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/automata |
Ratings
| Overall | 465th | 3.83⭐ | 49🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 773th | 3.543⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1005th | 3.394⭐ | 49🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 1610th | 3.478⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 382th | 4.214⭐ | 51🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 922th | 3.322⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 1246th | 2.821⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 1050th | 3.478⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 46🗳️ | 67🗨️ |
I really liked the idea of controlling multiple robots and the level design was nice!
The biggest downfall for me was the lack of checkpoints per room. I kept dying at the acid jump part over and over and after a few running back through the previous 3 rooms I just called it quits because it was a bit frustrating. I feel like a checkpoint right in that room would be great and make dying less painful.
@terristen - Thanks for the feedback, yeah I think a shadow would have been helpful in hindsight.
@boxedmeatrevolution - Thanks for playing, yeah as developers we played it enough to have the jumping parts down so we did find it difficult to balance, we'll have to find someone out of the loop to help test it in the future.
@low-mana - Thanks : ), we did discuss checkpoints during development but struggled to think of a smooth way to implement it for what was original four controlable robots, but we have identified a solution and when/if we build this into a proper game we will be implementing things such as that.
@foursay - Thanks so much, that means a lot. I (the designer etc) tried my best to design the levels and puzzles with a lot of focus on natural teaching moments, but all I can do now is hope I managed to convey it well, so this eases my mind and pleases me greatly. Thanks a lot. I'll get around to giving everyone's games tomorrow, as I want to put time into playing others games, and at least make sure to do so for all who have taken the time to play ours especially.
@lesslwo - Thanks for playing and for the feedback, checkpoints will definitely be added in a full version in the form of special checkpoint rooms every x puzzles for example. Thanks for playing!
I found the platforming to be quite janky at times, its mostly due to the slow initial movement followed by the fast acceleration (its especially bad for the tiny robot). I also found myself getting stuck on the raised platforms and vents and would have to jump to be able to move again.
Apart from those two things I liked the staticy background for the intro/outro text and the simple story adds a quite a lot to the game! This is a real solid entry, great work guys! :smile:
love the simple but affective colors, i feel like i can stare at it forever lol. somehow it warms my heart, when i entered the room and saw slim waving to me. the mood was expressed in a seamless way.
@andre-fremaux - Thanks a lot for the kind words and feedback : ), honestly, the movement tweaks flew a little under our radard after getting used to it from testing, but we're going to ensure it's a lot smoother for a future release, alongside many other changes.
@marcusnystrand - Thank you! The portal comparisons are nice to hear as I did take some inspirations from it, obviously : )
@inkedsplat - Really appreciate you playing and providing feedback, doors are being made double width and the pickup system is being revampd for the eventual full release, all your feedback is really appreciated.
@morandigame - Thank you, there is now a mac version, so feel free to play : D
@thevruniverse - Thanks a bunch : )
@leon-oost - It's great to hear you enjoyed it, checkpoints are definitely going to be added to the final product : )
@sztrovacsek - Those are some wonderful words of encouragement, thanks a bunch.
@megahana - No problem, now I know hoe easy it is, I will do it going forwards. We're pleased you enjoyed it so much!
Thanks so much for adding a Mac version! Worked great by the way.
It's hard to imagine making a game like that in a weekend!!!
I'm glad to hear that you're thinking of making a full version. If you're compiling a mailing list, I'd like to be notified when it's done.
The only negatives is that the platforming was a bit floaty and frustrating when falling into the acid. A checkpoint would have been welcome!
@nsadie - Thanks a bunch, yep, platforming is being redone and a checkpoint system is being built for the full game.
@legavroche - Thanks for the kind words! I intend to make the robots even better for their final game models : )
@perpetuummobile - That means a lot, definitely be having a full set of sounds for the real game and all other critiques are being addressed.
@jk5000 - Thanks : )
@brachistosauro - Thanks, a lot will be changed for the final version to make it much smoother and give the game more content and polish.
@cadstor - Thanks a lot.
- Firstly, checkpoint system, of course :D
- it's a little complicated to control orientation of picked object
- Is size of door puzzle or not (through which you need to bring "companion cube")? If puzzle, must have control for orientation of picked object. If not, then make sense to make it larger (or make it pazzle :p)
- Make different view for buttons which have different behavior. I saw two types - you need to press one time and you need to stay on button. It's not so important, but it make game more readable for player
P.s. You twitter link doesn't work
Like others mentioned the platforming felt frustrating I almost quit after unlocking slim because I couldn't get to the other side of acid pool for quite a while. And grabbing objects felt really awkward, they seemed to just rotate randomly on pick up sometimes and I took way too much effort to orient them properly. And also in the first puzzle I managed to clip through the ceiling a bit using the block.
Full version sounds exciting, good luck!
@karenin-dmitry - Thanks for the extensive feedback and pointing out the twitter issue, I fixed it : ), the issues mentioned are fixed/are being fixed in the full game.
@lamossus - Thanks : ), we're making syre to fix such issues like you mentioned.
@thx4nothing - Cechkpoints will be a feature of the full game, thanks for playing!
The 3d assets are really great, it's quite impressive for a jam!
The physics is a little frustrating and unfortunatly I had motion sickness due to the camera FOV. But otherwise there are some really nice puzzles!
Cool game!
- First, being able to rotate the grabbed objects would be a huge quality of life change! There were several instances where I was stuck against a wall or unable to squeeze the first block through the doorway because the object simply rotated whatever direction it felt like. Also, I got knocked through a wall at one point with this problem.
- First 2.0, simply because of gameplay experience, I was able to surmise that interacting with the objects was E, might want to put a UI indication somewhere that explicitly states this without having to rely on player experience levels or to browse through the controls in the menu.
- Second, my two cents about the platforming problem is that the landing needs to be stickier. I think the biggest difficulty spike for those two sections was landing right on the edge of the platforms and simply sliding off the edge. If you prefer to keep the slide feel, it may be better to make the acid pool a Damage Over Time effect rather than an instant death.
Overall a great job! The puzzles were engaging for a 3-day game, and it was interesting to interact with each of the robot's various gameplay mechanics. And typing this I have a third suggestion! Explicit descriptions of how each robot behaves in the puzzles may be helpful for people who don't play a lot of games. Just a quick thing about the first one being heavier than the rest, slim being able to jump, etc.
Finally, yes I know that you're all working on the project currently, but I must review the project available to us here. :)