Metamorph by Brothers Arcade

[raw]
made by Brothers Arcade for Ludum Dare 47 (JAM)

You are an alien bug trapped in a constant loop of metamorphosis. Find your way to the exist to beat the game. Each stage of metamorphosis gives you access to different parts of the map. Can you figure out what which stage will help you where?

Disclaimer: The game created for LD47 by two people across two different timezones. This was the first time we worked together with that much time and space between us. Still need to work out a few communication kinks.

Instructions:

A - Move Left

D - Move Right

Space - Jump when in the Bug stage or Flap when in the Moth Stage

Ratings

Overall 1056th 3.333⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1182th 3⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 576th 3.526⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 783th 3.643⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 493th 3.525⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 777th 2.735⭐ 19🧑‍⚖️
Given 29🗳️ 0🗨️

Feedback

Apandso
06. Oct 2020 · 12:45 UTC
Cute visuals! And nice music!
As for gameplay: I managed to get to the end using only moth form. Also in the second form the sliding effect was pretty annoying.
Good job!
LuksusDyr
06. Oct 2020 · 12:59 UTC
It was really buggy for me (no pun intended) but the idea is really really good. Maybe if there was some sort of indication of when it would change to the next state? Really great take on the theme.
Dodidouda
06. Oct 2020 · 13:07 UTC
Very cute game! My game crashed at some point. I like the idea of constant metamorphosis, but you can "cheat" and only wait for the moth form to get to the end. But really cool game and pretty graphics!!
Savvy Community
06. Oct 2020 · 13:12 UTC
That's one really good idea, i really loved the visuals and atmosphere, sometimes I was just a bit frustrated to be stuck in one shape and just wait for the moth (because it was the most practical eheh), maybe that's something you can work on for the future (if you want to develop the game). Overall, regarding the time given, CONGRATS!!

vv
Nitero
07. Oct 2020 · 19:28 UTC
Great idea, but I think it needs a lot more polish.
For example I managed to get stuck in the ground after a big jump, or buffer many jump inputs on a wall to fly super high
SpaceStrawberriesStudio
07. Oct 2020 · 19:29 UTC
cute graphics funny gameplay nice audio 9/10
Lenophie
07. Oct 2020 · 19:31 UTC
Love the concept! It's cute and easy to figure out. I had some minor bugs (visual glitches and parts of the level where I got stuck in the scenery) but it was still a nice experience. The game would have benefited from giving the player some feedback when the bug is about to move to its next stage, particularly when reverting from a moth to a larvae mid-flight :p Nice job!
FireSlash
07. Oct 2020 · 19:31 UTC
The art's adorable.

Not being able to control the metamorphasis made the game a bit confusing, both in that I had no idea what was triggering the change, and because the level can be quickly solved with just the moth, making the early parts feel like a waste of time.

I think level design could solve this with some extra obstacles, like webs that the moth can't traverse but the worm can, or the middle stage can break, etc.

A lot of these issues are likely just symptoms of the team issues you ran into. Overall I can see what you were trying to accomplish here, and it's a neat idea with lots of potential; and what you have shows a lot of promise.

Nice job!
SophieMae0
07. Oct 2020 · 19:32 UTC
These graphics and mood are to die for, this is really impressive for 2 people across 2 different time zones. I am not sure what the benefit of the first 2 stages were because once you are a moth you can just fly up to the top, but with more time you could totally design a map that really requires all 3 forms. Great job :)
sefan
07. Oct 2020 · 19:33 UTC
Really cute game. The music and graphics are lovely. The metamorphosis is cool, but i think you would need to a pickup or something to start the metamorphosis. Because the moth form is the most useful form right now.
Meloquem
07. Oct 2020 · 19:42 UTC
Really love the visuals, the SFX and the initial concept. The idea of having a cycle of different forms to solve puzzles is great.

However, it feels like you didn't have the time to really implement that concept. The way the game is right now, all I had to do was stand still for a while until I could fly towards the final door. Maybe adding a timer to force the player to always keep moving and ponder the right path to choose would be a good idea. Having a meter displaying how much time you have until the next transformation could really help too. And most of all, maybe you could think of a way to offer hazards for the moth across the map. Right now, it is simply OP. Maybe there could be a cave where moths can't fly but the bug can easily wander through. This would encourage players to think of different strategies to reach the final door.

The game is also pretty glitchy on my Mac, but that can be my personal experience. Overall, considering the time you've had, congratulations! Looking forward to seeing more of this :)
Ismael Rodriguez
12. Oct 2020 · 22:40 UTC
Cute little game. Great idea showing the exit-door, that was super important to making this enjoyable, rather than wondering aimlessly.

As others have said the Moth mode is OP, it should only be able to flap it's wings like X amount of times before de-evolving. Really cool idea though. When I noticed the larva could crawl through tunnels but not jump, my idea-mind opened up about a metroidvania-like traversal opportunity (larva being a morph ball). I think the problem is the transformations are based on time, where they could have been based on a certain power up, or just controlled by the player. That way certain areas could require the larva, biped, or moth, or a combination of them, and the player wouldn't be waiting around for the next moth transformation.

I guess you wanted the theme represented, which I understand. There's a lot of potential with this concept outside the jam-theme! Good job!
blobo
14. Oct 2020 · 04:27 UTC
Moth mode is definitely a bit broken. But I absolutely love the artwork put into this game! Marvelous job all around!
Jvdwijk
16. Oct 2020 · 09:43 UTC
Loved the graphics, I got a weird bug as moth where it stopped flying and just wanted to go down (I think it wanted to turn back to being a bug maybe?). Nicely designd map, nice game!
BinaryPrinciple
16. Oct 2020 · 19:53 UTC
Nice graphics and gameloop, I would have like a visual timer or maybe the character to flash to let me know I'm about to change stages.
Matootsy
25. Oct 2020 · 19:32 UTC
I wanted to give you a good rate on the art. It is not you that made the graphics? Because it is a cute pixel art. I really like the idea of metamorphose and it fit well the theme. I like the different control at the different steps (the jump of the 2eme phase is perhaps a bit slippery). The game is too easy and sometimes we just have to wait the next transformation to progress. I really like the idea. Perhaps another way to manage the time would help. Or things in the environment that push you to the next step? Good entry anyway! Congrat!