White Rose by DissonEnt

[raw]
made by DissonEnt for LD34 (JAM)
In a world created by sound, play as a boy with synesthesia as he fights the ever growing darkness with music and his fists, painting the world in color with every damaging blow. Choose between 3 tracks and destroy the monsters before the song ends, or else they will overwhelm you. Turn up the beats and enjoy the visual experience.

White Rose is a beat-'em-up video game made by brothers Chris and Kenneth Ng of Dissonance Entertainment for the Ludum Dare 34 game jam. The game is best enjoyed with sound.

Controls:
Keyboard: Arrow keys to move/select, Z to attack/confirm, Enter to restart, Esc to quit (if not playing on the web browser)
Controller: Left joystick to move/select, A to attack/confirm, Start to restart, Back to quit (if not playing on the web browser)

Theme:
We went for the theme of "Growing", represented by the "growing darkness." Every time enemies hit you, they paint the world black, while you attempt to paint the world colorful. We initially wanted a point system to determine how much of the map was painted black for your score, but ran out of time.

Music:
MitiS - Endeavors
MitiS - Touch
Kygo - Stay (ft. May Noyes)
Madeon - Stay Awake (ft. Ellie Goulding)

Team:
Chris Ng - Coding
Kenneth Ng - Art

Ratings

Coolness 99% 2
Overall(Jam) 3.16 668
Fun(Jam) 2.92 701
Graphics(Jam) 4.20 129
Innovation(Jam) 2.97 631
Mood(Jam) 3.50 286
Theme(Jam) 2.42 1058

Feedback

keanerie
15. Dec 2015 · 07:19 UTC
love the visuals!
shiny
15. Dec 2015 · 07:31 UTC
Awesome graphics, game run extremely smoothly and felt good.
SSJMetroid
15. Dec 2015 · 07:37 UTC
Visuals = Very interesting. Gameplay is a little lacking though honestly. The background painting style reminds me of something my friends did: http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview&uid=15325
dustyroom
15. Dec 2015 · 08:03 UTC
Juicy and beautiful art. Maybe a few combos would add to the game even more.
Blake_Lead
15. Dec 2015 · 08:07 UTC
Great piece of art. You could make something valuable with this concept
timeshapers
15. Dec 2015 · 08:27 UTC
Absolutely beautiful game. Would love to see some more game mechanics explored with this aesthetic.
MadmenProductions
16. Dec 2015 · 03:17 UTC
Interesting game, Nothing to stop the player from spamming attack.
atrodo
16. Dec 2015 · 03:47 UTC
Very cool game, great visual entertainment.
Archonthewizard
16. Dec 2015 · 05:06 UTC
Visuals were great. I liked the mix of 3d and pixel art. Good song choice.
mappel6
16. Dec 2015 · 06:17 UTC
My god the graphics.

Too bad the rest of the game is kinda lacking, but it could definitely be something big in the long haul. All this has been said before, but some variation in the fighting--some stronger enemies, some combo finishers, something that just keeps the player from attacking over and over again which can perhaps be combined with the combo finishers--will go a long way.

I'm not sure if you were going for just Growing or both Two Button Controls and Growing, but I didn't see a lot of the theme outside of the "Stop the darkness from growing." I don't really see the arrow keys and one other button as Two Button Controls though.

Was kinda fun, but I don't think it would keep me occupied for a while in its current state. As for mood, I kinda was thinking of giving a 4, but it didn't quite feel there for me. I think that, for the kind of game you were going for, it's a little... light-hearted, maybe?

Suggestion: Add a rhythm element to the game, since the music is important. Maybe make it to where the player can only attack to the rhythm of the song they chose, and have a rhythm indicator near the top of the screen so they know when to attack?

All-in-all, I think this could go far. But let me return to that beginning statement.

My god the graphics.
lurils
16. Dec 2015 · 06:18 UTC
really like the style, it could be a fun rhythm game if hitting on the right rhythm made for a bigger area of attack or something.
thebrickanator
17. Dec 2015 · 07:39 UTC
The game looks really nice but variety in the game is definitely lacking :) just a few new attacks and enemies would make a great difference... Making the weapons/attack sync with the beat of the music would work amazingly in a game like this.
Weeping Rupee
17. Dec 2015 · 08:04 UTC
Pros: Absolutely beautiful (the prettiest game I've seen yet) and felt good to punch ghosts.
Cons: Too short / not alot to it (I want to see more!)
tobia88
17. Dec 2015 · 08:14 UTC
I very like this pixel style picture ,game is also very fun .But i think the two buttons is not good understanding.
Leon Möhring
17. Dec 2015 · 08:26 UTC
nice background with the different layers and the glowy moon
Lullaby
17. Dec 2015 · 10:34 UTC
I like the use of the theme and this is really beautiful to watch, pretty great to battle in here, well done :D

Love the graphics of the ennemies!
Clavus
17. Dec 2015 · 21:59 UTC
Nice visuals, but not much game to back it up. And no sound effects either. Nonetheless it's a nice starting point if you're ever going to expand upon it.
alvarop
17. Dec 2015 · 22:10 UTC
I love the visuals in this game, I think you guys nailed it.
mattlevonian
18. Dec 2015 · 05:32 UTC
The juice was on-point: the particles, the feeling of landing a blow, the background and other visuals. All good. However, getting hit felt kind of crappy, and the enemies were very boring (I generally try to avoid making "direct seek" enemy behaviors in my games, because it is the least interesting type).
Skruffye
18. Dec 2015 · 06:26 UTC
The dynamic use of colour was very appealing and I like the background reason that you gave for the link between the colour and the music.
The fighting felt quite satisfying and worked well with the music.
My only real criticism is that the combat became bland after a little while and there wasn't much of a challenge.
Otherwise, good job, :)
jcmonkey
18. Dec 2015 · 06:28 UTC
this is a fun little game. once you guys add more stuff todo in the game this could be amazing.
thelasthour
18. Dec 2015 · 07:09 UTC
Super short but I looooved the art.
Evergreen Games
18. Dec 2015 · 07:38 UTC
Amazing visuals and mood. Gameplay needs to be improved a bit.
KZdev
19. Dec 2015 · 01:08 UTC
A little too easy to hold my attention for too long, very pretty visuals though, I like your style!
thecatspajamas
19. Dec 2015 · 08:27 UTC
Nice visuals and music, could use more interesting gameplay though.
Galvesmash
19. Dec 2015 · 14:14 UTC
I loved the idea of paint the world by killing enemies, the concept of game was great.
I think with more effects and improvements in game could turn this in something big. Great job!
Ayte
19. Dec 2015 · 16:14 UTC
loved the artstyle !
Tuism
19. Dec 2015 · 16:29 UTC
The graphics are great. The music is nice but I'm guessing not your own. The presentation is fantastic, movement is nice, the juice is nice, everything is great!

Except... No gameplay. Push buttons and that's it. The monsters don't present any threat after you understand you can punch more than once.

I really want to like this but it's just so... Just pretty! Just so pretty!
Ludic
19. Dec 2015 · 16:34 UTC
Nice art work
orion_black
19. Dec 2015 · 16:40 UTC
The background/splashing effect was quite nice.

As many have mentioned a more fleshed out combat system would have a great impact. I get the impression you weren't going for a extensive-moveset-combo-oriented-combat kind of thing. Still, you could make it so that each subsequent attack takes a bit more time to execute/land and maybe increases your attack travel distance by a very little bit. That mixed with the knockback enemies get(and maybe some hitstun) would create this situation were you have to attack more carefully. Just some ideas from the top of my head.
Taldius
19. Dec 2015 · 16:54 UTC
This game has a very unique art and lot of effect which is really good. However, the game is really simple and short.
Good job.
Nega Drive
19. Dec 2015 · 17:37 UTC
Nice style. Excellent music choices. It could have gone further with the synaesthesia theme though. Might have been cool to have visual effects that pulse to the music or something, or even match the timing of attacks to the songs. Perhaps make the colours more vivid as you make progress? I know there's limited time and these things are hard to implement in the time limit, but these are just some ideas for possible improvement later. There's potential for something awesome here.
nunesbarbosa
19. Dec 2015 · 17:53 UTC
Visual is great! Loved the paint style when the enemies die. Gameplay was a bit weak as the theme did not fit.
ssodelta
19. Dec 2015 · 19:51 UTC
Really a cool design !! Well done guys ;)
Jwatt
19. Dec 2015 · 20:18 UTC
Your choice of song affected... nothing, which is strange especially in a game like this. The entire gameplay seems like an afterthought, and nothing in the visuals really wants to complement it. Even the "enemies left" text is ashamed to be there and would rather sit this one out in the corner.

But hey, I guess it's at least neat to look at.
rjhelms
19. Dec 2015 · 20:21 UTC
Really good feel to this one, and an interesting visual style.
Gornova
19. Dec 2015 · 21:39 UTC
Sorry but a great concept, without gameplay. There is a good graphic style, nice music, good mood, but without gameplay as glue that keep together all, it's not so good for me :(
Pilly
19. Dec 2015 · 22:36 UTC
Cathartic. A fun, satisfying experience overall. I think music is one of the most important parts of a game, and the music and gameplay in your team's game went together perfectly. Memorable and well done.
MrJoshuaMcLean
19. Dec 2015 · 23:38 UTC
Looks and sounds pretty. Could use a bit more in the gameplay, like combos, multiple attacks, ranged attack, etc. and the enemies kind of crowd around you in an impossible fashion. But definitely a good start, and I like that your interpretation of the growing theme isn't just "something in the game grows because it can."
abuzreq
20. Dec 2015 · 10:05 UTC
I really loved the game and its visual arts ,and truly I don't mind rating on Audio because I don't understand this category as something you created but how well you used music in your game .
scorched
20. Dec 2015 · 19:12 UTC
Good idea with the music player!
The art style is awesome too!
Wish the gameplay was more diverse and there were more levels, like you see the enemies list - who are against you this level, choose the appropriate song, which gives you needed stats :-)
publicidadeba
23. Dec 2015 · 03:48 UTC
Awesome Visual and 5/5 for mood!
Mr MadCat
23. Dec 2015 · 13:54 UTC
Neat idea.
I was missing a bit of a challenge beacause I could just keep beating up the bad guys without ever getting hit.
But all in all a cool entry.
FireTwin
23. Dec 2015 · 15:48 UTC
Really stunning graphics, and of course nothing beats particle effects, wahey! Could almost make a painting with the splatter effects of the ghost killing. That might be a cool gameplay mechanic to explore.
Krafty
05. Jan 2016 · 01:46 UTC
Great game! It looks really good, although it would be nice to have a few more levels =P I liked it! :)
Jupiter_Hadley
30. Mar 2016 · 13:52 UTC
Lovely colors and music! I included it in my Ludum Dare 34 compilation video series, if you’d like to check it out :) https://youtu.be/S5oK4fsls3Q