LudumData

The Little Ship That Could by gama-11

[raw]
made by gama-11 for Ludum Dare 46 (COMPO)

title.gif

Mouse and headphones recommended.

A game about a little damaged space ship that can barely move. However, it can still dodge-roll its way out of trouble just fine - that is, if the pilot is skilled enough.

gameplay.gif

If you're struggling to make it past the first few waves, make sure you're utilizing the "lock" mechanic - it lets you park the ship in a safe spot for a bit while moving the mouse to a suitable dodge roll target.

How far can you make it? Share your highscores!

It's been quite a while since I participated in Ludum Dare (last one was LD 26), or made a game at all for that matter. This turned out better than expected!

This game may or may not be a symptom of playing too much Exit the Gungeon recently.

Tools used:

The code is an unholy mess, so exercise caution when looking at it.

Youtube https://github.com/Gama11/LudumDare46
Youtube https://gama11.github.io/LudumDare46/
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/the-little-ship-that-could

Ratings

Overall 614th 3.348⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 614th 3.174⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 496th 3.326⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 814th 3.304⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 617th 3.295⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 241th 3.5⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 614th 3.095⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 30🗳️ 19🗨️

Feedback

gamepopper
20. Apr 2020 · 10:07 UTC
This game was so challenging it took me 18 deaths just to get a score! The main challenge is actually making sure you land where you're going to be, instead of where you aim.

I don't recall seeing any instructions or controls, so it was by complete guessing that **Left-Click = Teleport** and *Right Click = Lock**. Personally I would have made lock the default.

Otherwise, it's fun in the infuriatingly challenging kind of way!

![Capture.PNG](///raw/c4a/z/2d3b5.png)
🎤 gama-11
20. Apr 2020 · 10:13 UTC
@gamepopper Nice score!

You should have seen this at the start of the game? Maybe clicked too soon so it was dismissed right away?

![ttpXPqI.png](///raw/5f6/e2/z/2d3cd.png)

It doesn't show on subsequent tries if you've beaten at least one wave, but it will show again if you reload the tab.
nikor
20. Apr 2020 · 21:15 UTC
I probably have to hand in my gamer card becourse i found this _really_ hard. It is a nice challenge though.
🎤 gama-11
20. Apr 2020 · 21:16 UTC
@nikor That's kind of what I was aiming for. Practice makes perfect. ;)
FlyingKiwi
21. Apr 2020 · 10:03 UTC
Fantastic level of challenge, unique too takes me back to asteroids era of arcade! Loved it!
TheWinrawr
21. Apr 2020 · 22:05 UTC
Pretty challenging game! I would've added in a few extra lives though, because one life is really punishing. I also would've made the green bullets a little bigger and brighter, they can be pretty hard to see in the black background. The gameplay and dodge mechanic itself is solid though. Fun game overall!
Linx
21. Apr 2020 · 22:05 UTC
That's interesting. Really polished game, with good sounds, good graphics, but the difficulty level is WAY too high. I know, "git gut" and such, but you could have escaled the game from an easier difficulty level to get to know the game and get used to the controls, it would have felt much better even if the difficulty skyrocketed later. Good job though, I had a few tries at it :)
jefvel
22. Apr 2020 · 09:24 UTC
A very challenging game! Took a couple tries before I got the hang of the teleport mechanics. One thing that could make it a bit more forgiving is make the teleportation faster, to not have to think about predicting where it will land. For me planning where to go next is already a challenge. Also sometimes right clicking didn't seem to lock my ship in place.

Also, I think a simpler way to control it would be to lock the ship when you press LMB, and when you release it will teleport. So tap+drag will roll, and tapping will move, that way it could also work on touch screens
01010111
23. Apr 2020 · 14:43 UTC
This is harder than submitting a PR to haxeflixel

The music was great, added a lot of tension to the game that was already pretty tense!

10 deaths, 0 score, level 1.1 :joy:
Majadroid
25. Apr 2020 · 11:39 UTC
The game was way to hard for me. But the music and "sound design" is fantastic. It supoorts a realy intense mood.
Aik
25. Apr 2020 · 13:40 UTC
The learning curve is steep. I didn't realise it was teleporting for a while and thought you were meant to be sliding through the gaps. My highscore is 144 :)
Laura del Pino
02. May 2020 · 08:49 UTC
I agree with @majadroid the game it's hard with the graphics and audio side are pretty cool. Congratulations for your entry.
LooksLikeSomething
02. May 2020 · 09:48 UTC
This game is SO HARD ! Music and graphics are nice, but I would have loved to see what's past the level 1.1 haha

I might give it a second try later
LCStark
09. May 2020 · 14:28 UTC
A very difficult game! The controls take some getting use to, but once you do it's really satisfying when you pull off those dodge-rolls. The graphics look simple but clean, and that's most important for a bullet hell. Sound and music are both very good. I've enjoyed playing it, I'll probably go practice some more. ;)
yy404
09. May 2020 · 15:30 UTC
Cool game! SO excited when I got score for the first time!

May it could be slower as an easy mode?

By the way, love that "broken heart" effect.

![Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 4.22.09 PM.png](///raw/847/c2/z/33e53.png)

![Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 4.23.07 PM.png](///raw/847/c2/z/33e54.png)