Snail Guard by bredcrumb

[raw]
made by bredcrumb for Ludum Dare 46 (JAM)

You found a snail that turned out to be a rare magic snail so you have to keep it alive. Help him get to his house using snail bait and protect him using a random stick you found. Beware of bugs and birds.

Ratings

Overall 2134th 3.041⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1847th 3.01⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1400th 3.204⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1144th 3.698⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1779th 3.18⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Audio 1368th 2.813⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1081th 2.969⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Mood 2041th 2.851⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Given 53🗳️ 69🗨️

Feedback

BRTEK007
20. Apr 2020 · 18:01 UTC
Interesting mechanic...
Drachmor
20. Apr 2020 · 18:07 UTC
This was really cute! I had a little trouble clicking and holding onto the objects (and they would frequently get lost out-of-frame very quickly), but these mechanics were very interesting once I got the hang of them. I sort of formed a little snail-phalanx, jam in front, stick in front of that. Snail was adorable too. Cool stuff!
FPixel
20. Apr 2020 · 18:09 UTC
Strange control, but interestingy execution
ZeGGamer
20. Apr 2020 · 18:10 UTC
First off, the game said it was right mouse to pick stuff up bit it was left for me...

Otherwise, the game as fun but suffered from a small camera size. It was hard to see what was coming for me until I was already dead... It would have been helpful if I could see the enemies before they could see me so that I as the play could react and make a plan and keep the snail alive.

Good potential, just make the camera wider.
BadPiggy
20. Apr 2020 · 18:14 UTC
Loved the graphics and audio. The mechanic of the game was nice as well. It was a little hard to drag objects with the mouse. The stick would often get stuck near other objects. Still, it was a great game :)
Syrapt0r
20. Apr 2020 · 18:15 UTC
I liked the concept of tracking two things at all time. The items make sense and explain themselves.

However, sometimes the enemies come from angles where it's impossible to defend the snail in time. Other than that, it's a really nice game.
curleysam
20. Apr 2020 · 19:53 UTC
Cool idea! I like using the mouse to control physics objects. The snail was cute too and I didn't want him to get got by beetles!
Just a small thing, it said RMB but i seemed to have to use LMB 🤷‍♂️
Well done!!!
Baptiste Guerin
21. Apr 2020 · 09:39 UTC
The idea is sweet! I die a lot of time and I have some probleme to move th LB I don't know why!
🎤 bredcrumb
21. Apr 2020 · 09:43 UTC
Yeah, the RMB was the control at the start, then I changed it to LMB and forgot to change it on the starting screen :D
Andret0701
21. Apr 2020 · 11:18 UTC
HEHE I cracked the code! You can use the stick to push the other thing around. Got to the fire-place before i died. Cool idea!
Iker Díaz
21. Apr 2020 · 11:22 UTC
Really cute game! I think you should really improve the drag mechanic, because sometimes the game is too frenetic and the mouse is not hovering the item anymore and you stop draging it. Nice!
cninja_
21. Apr 2020 · 12:24 UTC
As everyone said - dragging objects is kinda ugh. Also you could show a little arrow in the corner of screen when bugs are coming to let player prepare (especially with this dragging mechanic). Enjoyed it anyway!
sydream
21. Apr 2020 · 12:29 UTC
Nice idea, brilliant pixel graphics and retro arcade sounds. I've played a bit but didn't seem to reach an end, so this looks more like an endless runner kind-of ? Anyway nice work and vibe to it.
MattKuroshi
21. Apr 2020 · 12:53 UTC
i had problems with dragging things but awesome game tho <3
Zyro_
21. Apr 2020 · 14:09 UTC
The dragging system is really good because it makes you go slower and act methodically similar to a snail. You cant use fast reactions to quickly drag the stick over to enemies, you need to keep the stick in good positions. This is taken further by the fact that you have to juggle the LD Jam and the stick. A few powerups or a shop could have introduced some more depth but overall a great jam game!!
Duke
21. Apr 2020 · 14:39 UTC
Whaaaat, I made it to something that looked like the finish and then it said "the snail is dead" :( there wasn't even an enemy around. Was there an invisible time limit?

Aside from that, I really did enjoy the game. It was fun to develop a good strategy to handle the jar und the stick at the same time. Fast movements of the mouse did however interfere with the grabbing ability. I often lost the grabbed item on fast swings. When an item was lying directly on the snail, it was even harder to pick it up. I guess that the snail snatched the click events.

Art and music were fitting the mood and humour of the game very well. good job!
🎤 bredcrumb
21. Apr 2020 · 15:12 UTC
Thanks to everyone for the amazing feedback! I'm currently working on fixing some stuff in the game and adding content!
Especially dragging items, the feel that @zyro described was what I was going for but I see that it doesn't really work, so I'll change it.
I'm glad that the music was well received, that was my first time making a soundtrack :D
LudumDareDevil
21. Apr 2020 · 16:26 UTC
The controls were a little strange and didn't work most of the time. But other than that I really liked it!
Rodi
21. Apr 2020 · 16:29 UTC
Hello ! The controls are a bit weird but overall i liked it a lot !
Would love to see more a more polished version !
Well done !

and btw feel free to test my game as well :p
-banzi
21. Apr 2020 · 19:05 UTC
The stick/jam gets lost if you move the mouse too quickly. Especially when there is a bird approaching its too fast for me.

Other than that the game is really funny and I like the pixely vibes as well as the touches like "Watch out" in front of a hole. Great job!
Xenith
21. Apr 2020 · 19:49 UTC
cool concept, not sold on the controls but was fun nonetheless
noirdrive
21. Apr 2020 · 21:41 UTC
Different controls, it really makes you a snail in a cool way. Music and graphics share the same humour. Funny game overall, thank you!
DiW527
22. Apr 2020 · 11:24 UTC
funny mechanics, sometimes you need to urgently move an object, but it is lost and remains in place. the game requires the slowness of a snail, but at the same time throws up dangers.

the music is suitable for the mood of the game. nice.
LouieJams
22. Apr 2020 · 11:37 UTC
So first of all, good entry for a solo dev! The art is nice and the text was displayed nicely. Just a few things i would suggest; in the control, it says to use the RMB, but its actually the LMB that you use to drag the things. I found it very diffcult to juggle dragging both of the things at once, the enmies were way too fast to guard against. I found that you could push the jam with the stick while holding it, this made it way easier, although im not sure if this is an intentional mechanic?

I understand that with the player being a snail, you made of wanted to mak it feel slow and diffcult to reflect a snails life, but i think changing the balance abit with the speed/difficulty would make it more fun. Ironally, what is the snail was super fast? Great job!
melomel
22. Apr 2020 · 19:53 UTC
I kept dropping the stick when I needed it the most. You got all the game elements included, I like the snail animation. What is magic about the snail?
rkhadder
22. Apr 2020 · 20:13 UTC
Wanted to echo a lot of the other opinions

Its a cute game with retro graphics and sound
The dragging was pretty tough to get us to though
PythooonUser
22. Apr 2020 · 20:20 UTC
Nice idea. It was fun needing to think about dragging the stick along. It was something not easy tracking it with the mouse.
Lorwon
26. Apr 2020 · 16:34 UTC
Nice little game, it would be nice if the snail was in the middle of the screen. It can be very frustrating when a foe come from the left side of the screen .
Velucyraptor
28. Apr 2020 · 18:51 UTC
Nice idea but I really struggled with picking up the objects and moving them. Loved the music and feel of it, though.
nsadie
29. Apr 2020 · 18:44 UTC
Good idea, with some decent art, but like others mentioned the dragging controls definitely needs some fixing!