Balloon Balloon! by JetTheSimon

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

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Try to keep a balloon in the air with a friend for as long as possible in this fun physics-based arcade game!

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Featuring:

  • Two exciting levels!
  • An original pop-punk soundtrack!
  • Fast paced physics fun!
  • A cute art style
  • Local co-op. In fact, this is the only way to play! Perfect for quarantine.

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So grab a friend and have some good ol' fashioned balloon based fun!


CONTROLS:

PLAYER 1 - WASD + G TO JUMP

PLAYER 2 - ARROW KEYS + L TO JUMP

SPACE / P / ESC TO PAUSE

Ratings

Overall 366th 3.591⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Fun 419th 3.42⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 259th 3.633⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Theme 428th 3.767⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 117th 4.104⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Audio 87th 3.87⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Humor 122th 3.655⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Mood 285th 3.523⭐ 45🧑‍⚖️
Given 53🗳️ 63🗨️

Feedback

SpliceDev
20. Apr 2020 · 03:37 UTC
I like the art style. It kind of felt like the character was walking on ice, which made it difficult to move.
rjerez192
20. Apr 2020 · 03:37 UTC
Nice little game. At some point I ended up bouncing between the tree and the couch. It was hilarious, felt like a WWF fighter preparing for the finish combo, yet it didn't help me to get baloons. :(
JoskerDu
20. Apr 2020 · 03:37 UTC
Nice work. Love the concept and how much you were able to get done in 48!
Piko Monde
20. Apr 2020 · 03:42 UTC
Nice game! How did you create the music? it's a good game for multiplayer.. Nice work!
🎤 JetTheSimon
20. Apr 2020 · 03:46 UTC
@piko-monde Recorded in Logic and just used my interface to record some guitar and bass. Programmed drums/synth.
MoebiusMeow
20. Apr 2020 · 04:28 UTC
I like the songs, especially the one in the front yard. It would be even better if the songs continue to play when restart the level, since the characters are so hard to control that players have to restart often. It can be frustrating to keep replaying the first few second of the songs.

The art style fits well. The physics is fun. I like the car XD

Nice work!
MoebiusMeow
20. Apr 2020 · 04:28 UTC
(Well there was some problems with my network so it posted twice)
🎤 JetTheSimon
20. Apr 2020 · 04:46 UTC
@moebiusmeow Yes, I did make it a bit slippery to add a bit of a wacky challenge. I hope I didn't go too overboard though. If you get to 10 points then you activate gnome mode though haha. Something to look forward to :).

Thanks for the feedback! And I will try and make the songs more fluid in the future.
ubershmekel
20. Apr 2020 · 05:02 UTC
Loved the concept. So much potential! I only tested by myself for now. Bouncing the balloon felt a bit too random in its direction. The balloon often just fell right next to the hitter or just rebounded on the person that just hit it. I understand that's part of the challenge, but I guess it might have felt more interesting if the balloon flew even higher, even faster, and there was more "leg-work" needed. Just get the balloon flight a bit nicer and you have a real fun maker here.
🎤 JetTheSimon
20. Apr 2020 · 05:33 UTC
@ubershmekel I agree the balloon physics need a bit of work :). I think it works for a jam game though.

If you jump the balloon will go a bit higher if you time right. Adds another dimension.

Thank you for your feedback and kind words :)
watswat5
20. Apr 2020 · 06:13 UTC
The art style is great! Gives me a Nintendo vibe, like a mario party game. Maybe have objects you can throw at the balloon?
🎤 JetTheSimon
20. Apr 2020 · 06:17 UTC
@watswat5 Oh! Great idea! Did not think of that. Something to think about :).
lectvs
20. Apr 2020 · 06:28 UTC
The controls felt floaty and imprecise, but I liked the concept! Was fun to play even by myself :)
TomekS
20. Apr 2020 · 06:54 UTC
Good art style, and love the shader work. Very strong compo entry. Cannot dislike the sounds as well :D
James Shipp
20. Apr 2020 · 06:55 UTC
Had to play solo but I remember doing this with my brother when we were little.
🎤 JetTheSimon
20. Apr 2020 · 07:01 UTC
@james-shipp That is great to hear! My goal was to make it feel nostalgic in a sense.
Retti01
20. Apr 2020 · 07:19 UTC
Art is great. Controls are littlebit hard.
juako
20. Apr 2020 · 07:28 UTC
Like the concept, but they run like they are using cocain ;)
Decappoolla
20. Apr 2020 · 07:34 UTC
OMG this is so much fun. I guess everyone has their memories about this.

Nice graphic. Nice audio !! strong party vibe.

Gotta admit the control is a little bit hard though, they were either not moving or moving too fast.
Maybe the jumping could be more obvious? I only saw they stretch their bodies.

I'm writing these while my balloon is stuck on the shelf hahahahahaha
🎤 JetTheSimon
20. Apr 2020 · 07:55 UTC
@juako Maybe they are ;)

@decappoolla Happy to hear! With all these comments it does make me want to tighten the controls a little bit! Though in development it felt great to me, I guess that always happens when youre testing your own game lol.

Makes sense with the jumping, and thats awesome to hear about the shelf lol.

Thanks for playing guys <3
Bakob
20. Apr 2020 · 08:33 UTC
The controlls are hard to get right, but other than that the game is great
IronyGames
20. Apr 2020 · 08:41 UTC
You captured something me and my sis did as children. We thought we were mad inventors. Guess it's common!

Making a 2 player game in 48h is ambitious, but you really balance the difficulty by bonking the players of off each other, haha.

As feedback, I'd remove the balloon outline. I imagine you put it there to make it stand out, but since we're following the shadow anyway, I find it actually distracts you.
plantleaf
20. Apr 2020 · 08:45 UTC
Very fun to play around with bumping into objects in the level. The only question I have is how you link this game to the theme "keep it alive"?. I really loved the music and the aesthetics were very good.
Inka McAtee
20. Apr 2020 · 09:27 UTC
Super Sweet Work, I love Co-Op Games like this a lot <3
Melonking
20. Apr 2020 · 11:12 UTC
This was very hard to play on my own.. but I can see it being fun if done properly, maybe an instant restart after loss? The music is nice but some sounds are a bit harsh.
🎤 JetTheSimon
20. Apr 2020 · 12:26 UTC
@plantleaf The inspiration was like "keeping a streak alive" and also in my mind when I played it as a child I often imagined that we were "keeping the balloon alive". Glad you enjoyed!

@bakob @inka-mcatee Thanks!

@melonking I am impressed you played on your own!

@ironygames Thank you so much. I don't agree personally with the outline as I found it a lot harder when I removed it, but I do see where you are coming from :). Thanks for playing.
Ramo
20. Apr 2020 · 14:19 UTC
It's quite hard to grab a friend nowadays but I guess it would have been a lot of fun because it was already quite enjoyable on my own! I'm not a big fan of the sounds but the overall art is really nice and cute, it does set a fun mood!
tomdeal
20. Apr 2020 · 21:49 UTC
Really difficult to control, unfortunately. Otherwise I had a ton of fun with it, very polished and great graphics! Maybe a bit too much polish on the floor ;-)
Dani Desa
20. Apr 2020 · 21:54 UTC
I played alone as well, it was twice as difficult that playing with someone. :) Graphics is cool, I like bouncing around. the balloon flies a little bit too slow. I think it is a solid entry with some work and polish you can have a really nice coop game.
Camilo Quintero
21. Apr 2020 · 01:32 UTC
Nice idea! Maybe for my preference the movement of the characters is a bit floaty, a little more precision would be nice, and a bit more speed on the baloons, and maybe that the baloons change color when a player hits them, to give visual feedback about who needs to hit. Awesome game overall! congrats :D
🎤 JetTheSimon
21. Apr 2020 · 01:39 UTC
@camilo-quintero the outline of the person who needs to hit will change to balloon colour.
Robert Li
21. Apr 2020 · 02:18 UTC
Great art style and mood you created. But I can hardly locate the character correctly under the balloon, and the movement is slippery.
Shaolin Dave
21. Apr 2020 · 03:50 UTC
The controls were chaotic and slippery. I might've enjoyed it a bit more if it was under control, but on the other hand trying to hit the ballon but instead destroying the TV did make me chuckle. Music was nice too.

I played by myself, one hand for each player, it seems almost like that's the way this game should be played.
Tom Kun
21. Apr 2020 · 04:54 UTC
Well Polished Game! The only issue I have is the control of the characters. The art and music are very nice!
SanicSpeedGames
21. Apr 2020 · 09:34 UTC
I love the soundeffects xD
joleon
21. Apr 2020 · 10:22 UTC
What a beautiful game to have made from scratch in such a short time :heart:
Really good execution. My favorite is the graphics (I wish I knew how to make a game look like that), and sound effects and music are charming, and the physics and way the characters break things around the house are charming as well. Bonus points for having more than one level. More bonus points for making it a local multiplayer game, there are way too few of those these days.
However, being alone inside and all, didn't really have anyone to play with, but it was possible to play alone after practicing contorting my hands to weird positions. It's my only suggestion, maybe with very little effort you could make the controls more playable for a single player? For example WASD+LCTRL and IJKL+SPACE.
Cheers! :purple_heart:
mlkvr
21. Apr 2020 · 13:48 UTC
Wow that was fun! but i think controls are physics driven that could be why chracters feel hard to control
Bonyok77
21. Apr 2020 · 14:27 UTC
Pretty interesting take on the theme, and I think it will be better if the balloon pops out when it touches the floor.
🎤 JetTheSimon
21. Apr 2020 · 20:32 UTC
@mlkvr they are yeah. Was my first real unity project so i didnt know how to do otherwise. I now know how to do better!

I think it semi fits the gameplay though.

Thanks :)
SlimmerBurger
22. Apr 2020 · 18:36 UTC
I loved how loose the controls were, it made the game so hectic and added to the fun. Also I liked the background music when you're playing. Overall a really fun game.
Teto
22. Apr 2020 · 23:39 UTC
Really great game! Loved the idea and interpretation of the theme which really brought me back to childhood memories with my brothers! Great graphics and sound and super impressive overall with just yourself working on it. We agree with the previous comments about the movement being extremely difficult to contol. It was incredibly slidey which makes me think that maybe the movement is frame rate dependent which is a something a lot of people do so maybe it didn't feel as slippy on your machine? Amazing game though with a high level of polish and slipping everywhere did make it very entertaining even though we couldn't get past 7 hits! Well done and I reckon you should continue to develop it post jam!
🎤 JetTheSimon
23. Apr 2020 · 03:03 UTC
@slimmerburger @teto thank you guys so much :)
japes
25. Apr 2020 · 21:25 UTC
music and graphics are amazing, and great/cute take on the theme :)

unfortunately I think the controls a bit fiddly! Understand that for a "silly physics" game you want it to be a bit wobbly, but I think maybe it could be a little bit easier on the player. Maybe make the top speed a bit lower and have a bit more friction.

Great entry though, very impressive for 48 hours' work.