LudumData

Elementrees by Mathieu Semin

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

Top-down Tower defense Shooter. Protect the elemental trees and use their powers to vanquish the evil lord.

We are a team of students from France and made this game under 72h for the 46th edition of the Ludum Dare Game Jam ! This was our first ludum dare and our first game jam !

This game is all about managing the environment with elements ! You control Ice, Fire, Earth and Thunder to fight malicious enemies in Elementrees.

If you enter an area, your damage is higher, for instance you can throw devastating fireballs in the fire area.

Switch between elements to optimize your damage to make it alive.

Use the orbs you earned by fighting monsters to keep your trees alive to maintain the elemental balance.

Finally, unlock powerful spells to master the arts of elemental magic.

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WEB VERSION NOW AVAILABLE

WE NOW HAVE A VERSION WITHOUT BUGS, CHECK IT OUT ON ITCH.IO, IT FIXES SOME HUGE BUGS

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Our Team : - Mathieu SEMIN (@mathieu-semin) : Game Designer - Programmer - Lukas MAYER (@lukas-mayer) : Game Designer - UI Artist - Environment Artist - Character Designer - Théo WEBER (@millverion) : VFX Artist - Valentin CARLUT (@shion-off) : Illustrator - Morgane VERNADAT (@morgane) : Character Designer - UI Artist - Ulysse JACQUIN (@uly) : Sound designer

Controls : - WASD to Move - Left click for basic Attack/Interaction - Right click for first ability - Q for second Ability - F for ultimate ability - Mouse Wheel to swap between elements

Engine is Gamemaker Studio 2

Art was made on Aseprite

Music was made using an Axe FX III and Ableton

Screenshots! Peaceful.png TitleScreen.png Gameplay.png skill Screen.png BossScreen.png Ultimate screen.png Earth Ulti.png Shoter Combat Gameplay.gif

Youtube https://mathieu-semin.itch.io/elementrees
Youtube https://mathieu-semin.itch.io/elementrees
Youtube https://mathieu-semin.itch.io/elementrees
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/elementrees

Ratings

Overall 1062th 3.562⭐ 75🧑‍⚖️
Fun 995th 3.431⭐ 74🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1282th 3.257⭐ 74🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1174th 3.685⭐ 75🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 646th 4.007⭐ 75🧑‍⚖️
Audio 929th 3.314⭐ 72🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1476th 3.254⭐ 69🧑‍⚖️
Given 64🗳️ 71🗨️

Feedback

Zesix
23. Apr 2020 · 00:07 UTC
I love the graphical style and this type of gameplay is right up my alley. I think it was too bright sometimes (maybe use some darker hues somewhere?) and even put on my sunglasses once, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, amazing entry though, well done!
Benjouille
23. Apr 2020 · 00:15 UTC
What an impressive work, it's rare to see such a ambitous and polished game on a gamejam you nailed it. Just a few feedback, the font for text is kinda hard to read. Also there are some blocking parts of the environment that are not easily visible. But it still a great game good job to the team.
Lukas Mayer
23. Apr 2020 · 00:25 UTC
@benjouille Thank you! For the font we literally made the rules 15 minutes before the deadline and we had to resize it hahaha, I totally agree for the environment.
Lukas Mayer
23. Apr 2020 · 00:25 UTC
@zesix Thank you man.
mungobulge
23. Apr 2020 · 00:26 UTC
Good work but its too complex for me. The artwork is awesome tho
Starlet
23. Apr 2020 · 00:26 UTC
Very impressive!! I am in love with the pixel art, looks so polished and.. well.. just amazing!!!
Great job guys!
Fire_phantom7
23. Apr 2020 · 00:34 UTC
Great graphics and audio, but the game wasn't very well balanced and I seemed to get stuck a lot just walking around because of small ledges.
ownedstuff
23. Apr 2020 · 00:37 UTC
Very fun to play! super interesting concept. One of my only gripes is that the mouse disapears under the trees and the enemies and often lost it and couldnt shoot straight anymore. Music was very very good but did not fit the game style very well and as someone said above the font is a bit hard to read but all of those are some very fixeable issue. All in all splendid game!
defectivemelon
23. Apr 2020 · 00:42 UTC
Great work on this! I can tell you guys had a lot of ambition with this and it paid off massively. It was very cool to see all the different skills I could use. Something I would've liked to have is some kind of indication when a tree off-screen was being attacked. Cool project!
mharring
23. Apr 2020 · 01:47 UTC
Great mechanics - I like how the elements boost your relevant abilities. Unfortunately the audio in your "bug free" version doesn't work, but I can hear the music in the original version. The music and art is great. The text is a little hard to read and the enemies are hard to see when behind the trees.
Abyss
23. Apr 2020 · 06:47 UTC
The pixel art here is fantastic and I'm a fan of the four elements theme! I think there is definitely room for a story surrounding the trees and the player's role in protecting them. And maybe it's just me, but I didn't realize the bottom-right section was lightning until I read the description. Regardless, this was still a great game and I think you guys did a great job!
Lorwon
23. Apr 2020 · 12:43 UTC
I love the pixel art and the gameplay ! Just a lack of sound design. Vous êtes français donc je vous le dit en français bravo les gars ;)
sheepycrunch
23. Apr 2020 · 12:59 UTC
Gameplay is very intensive! Love the graphic but lack of sound design. It'll be better if there is an objective or a tutorial. Great job!
fazz
23. Apr 2020 · 13:06 UTC
The graphics are great. Were they drawn by hand with a graphics tablet? And love the music as well, really gets you into it.
FinnThePirate
23. Apr 2020 · 13:13 UTC
good concept for the theme. spell upgrades different attacks really great work for the jam. I like the pixel art but I think needs coloring and shading work, it looks more like a crayon painting at the moment
🎤 Mathieu Semin
23. Apr 2020 · 13:17 UTC
@fazz You guessed it right ! All art was drawn by hand using a graphics tablet and aseprite.
Thanks for the feedback !
🎤 Mathieu Semin
23. Apr 2020 · 13:19 UTC
@sheepycrunch We were trying to achieve an intense gameplay style, glad it translated well haha. Sound effects were recorded but we did not have enough time to implement it. Thanks for your feedback, we will think about it for a post-jam version of the game !
🎤 Mathieu Semin
23. Apr 2020 · 13:20 UTC
@lorwon Haha merci beaucoup !
Wakobu
23. Apr 2020 · 13:31 UTC
Bravo !
Super jeu, excellents graphismes (tout est de vous ?) !
C'est un peu trop dur par contre de tout protéger en même temps mais je suis vraiment bluffé par le style du jeu
Achiru
23. Apr 2020 · 13:50 UTC
Great game, great graphics, super boulot ! A bit hard to protect everything and controls a bit strange for the abilities maybe ? Didn't quite get the appeal of the different skill trees, but still super good !
🎤 Mathieu Semin
23. Apr 2020 · 13:50 UTC
@wakobu Oui tout est de nous ! Les graphistes ont travaillé de manière acharnée haha

Merci beaucoup pour le feedback c'est noté pour l'équilibrage
🎤 Mathieu Semin
23. Apr 2020 · 14:07 UTC
@achiru Merci beaucoup c'est noté ! We'd also like to change the control scheme for a future version haha
Jajo
23. Apr 2020 · 14:09 UTC
Music is the strongest suit of the game in my opinion, but the art and concept are excellent too. Combat feels off a little, but it hardly ruins the game.
🎤 Mathieu Semin
23. Apr 2020 · 14:21 UTC
@jajo Thanks for the feedback man !
Draelent
23. Apr 2020 · 17:22 UTC
Bravo pour ce jeu, la difficulté est au rendez-vous et le skill tree est bien fait ! ça mériterait un peu de transparence sur les arbres du bas pour voir les ennemis dessous notamment mais graphiquement c'est agréable, et avec une bonne bande son métal comme ca ça envoie du lourd ! Nice game overall !
DetkaKorben
24. Apr 2020 · 08:39 UTC
I like game visuals. The gameplay concept is pretty interesting. But sound... I think it doesnt suit the game at all. Composer is pretty good at guitar, but i think you should better focus on the sfx part of the game instead of endless gutar solos.
🎤 Mathieu Semin
24. Apr 2020 · 10:05 UTC
@detkakorben thanks for the feedback ! We actually had all sfx recorded or created with bfxr but we did not have enough time to implement them hahaha.
I agree for the guitar solos. Between waves, they should be lowered in the mix
Juan Ignacio Ranedo
24. Apr 2020 · 14:07 UTC
beautiful graphics, a cute and very funny design, very good work and congratulations on your game
Lesslwo
24. Apr 2020 · 16:07 UTC
Nice game with a cool graphics style. Kept getting stuck on small things and one time got blocked by monsters and killed fast, so that wasn't very fun. But when that didn't happen - it was fun, so good job!
Eran Haas
24. Apr 2020 · 17:38 UTC
Really impressive amount of content and polish!

Love the are style.

I would have liked some sort of indicator when one of your trees was under attack.
Hornicar
24. Apr 2020 · 17:42 UTC
Awesome pixel art, solid gameplay and epic music. What can you ask more ?
I just wich i could see threw the trees where the ennemies are cause it can be hard to shoot them when they are behind. Also the "earth world" was hard to move around because of the obstacles that were not very easy to see.
All in all very good game !
🎤 Mathieu Semin
24. Apr 2020 · 17:52 UTC
@eran-haas Thanks for feedback ! The indicators are planned for a post-jam version of the game

@hornicar Thanks ! Feedback noted, we will think about what you've said when working of the new version of the game design document
Patsui
24. Apr 2020 · 19:40 UTC
I liked the dynamic music and the art is alright. I think the concept is a little too big for a jam game and I found myself running from tree to tree trying to keep em all alive. Maybe one tree would have been enough so you could just polish the game more :) Could use some sfx as well! It seemed to have a lot of content so good job!
DevVex
24. Apr 2020 · 19:59 UTC
Game was super hard and intense really fast lol!

I liked that there was an upgrade system. Audio, graphics, AI were all impressive. I think animations would have helped out more? A lot of the times when I left clicked nothing was happening but enemies were getting hurt? Also it looks like enemies are stuck on the trees or glitched, but they are obviously attacking them if you read the instructions.
Emperor Eagle
25. Apr 2020 · 02:43 UTC
Cool game with great graphics! I enjoyed the 4 elements and how the map was laid out symmetrically (I didn't realise there were 4 trees until I explored a bit though). I think each individual enemy could be slowed a bit and have less health so you can play for longer. Also, some more obvious feedback to the player when you attack/shoot (sometimes hard to tell at close range), but the enemy feedback upon being hit is good with that white damage indicator. I had fun and really enjoyed this game and its stunning visuals! Great job!
LungTakumi
25. Apr 2020 · 03:17 UTC
Interesting idea! Fun gameplay. One suggestion that you may improve the enemy AI, they look a little bit stupid for just chasing me. Also, the pixel words is difficult to see.
Junebug
25. Apr 2020 · 03:27 UTC
Great job! You can tell you put a lot of care and time into this. It's impressive the amount of content you were able to create within the confines of the jam. My favourite bit was how the music changed from zone to zone seamlessly, it was really well done. The boss at the end was hard! Some of his attacks like the laser were pretty easy to dodge, but others combined with the smaller enemies were trickier. Overall, well done!
grandtheftmarmot
25. Apr 2020 · 03:29 UTC
The graphics on this were fantastic. A lot of game mechanics systems for the beginning of any game. If you did develop this beyond the jam, it might be nice to start with fewer elements and work your way up to this after a few levels. Great job.
khaoz-fang
25. Apr 2020 · 03:42 UTC
The graphics and the music was really cool.I like the visual effect of the skills, I think you can use key shortcuts instead of mouse wheel to switch between elements though. The mouse wheel feels not so efficient and is really awful to use on web.
SpiRiTs
25. Apr 2020 · 03:53 UTC
Nice game!, I don't know if I am the only one who experienced it, but over time the game had too much lag and unplayable. I really enjoyed the game overall, great job.
jordantanner
25. Apr 2020 · 04:06 UTC
Great game, guys, I especially loved the graphics. Had a little trouble figuring out how to take care of the trees but the combat aspect was really enjoyable. Just a random question, do you use AZERTY keyboards? Nice entry!
marbles
25. Apr 2020 · 04:28 UTC
Great pixel art. I like the design of the environment. I think the music fits the game but there is no sound effect feedback when attacking and hitting monsters. There is also no sound when trees are getting attacked so you won't know until you go to that tree.
🎤 Mathieu Semin
25. Apr 2020 · 08:53 UTC
@marbles @spirits @emperor-eagle @khaoz-fang @grandtheftmarmot @lungtakumi @junebug Thank you for the feedback !

@jordantanner 1 person in the team uses the QWERTY layout but everyone else uses AZERTY keyboards. Thanks for the feedback !
Pandanym
25. Apr 2020 · 13:18 UTC
C'est top ce que vous avez fait ! Surtout pour ce qui a l'air d'être une première ludum. Y'a beaucoup de contenu, pas mal de variété et on rentre direct dans l'action. Bravo à vous tous ! Juste par curiosité, vous êtes de quelle école ?
🎤 Mathieu Semin
25. Apr 2020 · 14:48 UTC
@pandanym Merci beaucoup ! On vient de différentes écoles : Télécom Saint Étienne, le Lycée Marie Curie option animation et le lycée de la Communication option audio-visuelle. Notre équipe est assez hétérogène haha
Tom Robson
25. Apr 2020 · 15:34 UTC
Was a fun little game! I really like the overall idea behind it, having to defend 4 points it a lot more interesting than jut running around endlessly, so good job there! The environmental art is brilliant as well, the flaming tree down in the bottom left was a sight to see!

I feel like more could have been done to polish everything up though, a lot of the game just felt flat to me, the combat especially. It's not so bad in the first wave, because it's slow enough to be able to see the enemy flash, but even in the second wave, that's something that blends in more than feedback should. You could easily fix this with a little bit of camera shake when the player kills an enemy, and a sound effect for hitting them. Apply that to the player and things should feel a lot better to play!

Speaking of sound, what was there was great, but the game definitely needs more! But, I can't judge too harshly, it's a jam game, and given the time constraints, what's there is good! I especially love the music, great job to whoever did that!

Overall, it's a good game with plenty of potential. Polish it up post-jam and I'd love to play it again.
🎤 Mathieu Semin
25. Apr 2020 · 15:42 UTC
@tom-robson thanks for this awesome detailed feedback ! We have planned to polish the game post-jam, sfx and juice are our main priority
Gamer Fates
25. Apr 2020 · 15:48 UTC
DAMNNNNN, how did you manage to do this in 2-3 days? Love everything about this. My type of genre! Haha, would love to see this game worked on post-LD!
🎤 Mathieu Semin
25. Apr 2020 · 16:02 UTC
@gamer-fates Thanks ! We did not really counted our hours of sleep over the weekend haha
Historymaker118
25. Apr 2020 · 17:45 UTC
First thing I noticed was how bad the font choice is. I had a very hard time reading the instructions which did not leave a good first impression. The art style felt very 'messy' and made it difficult to differentiate the interactable sprites and backgrounds. I had very little idea what I was supposed to be doing at first and it took a while to realise I could interact with the white thing in the middle to start the first wave. The main attack feels very weak and could do with some sort of knockback effect as far too often I found myself surrounded on all sides and unable to do enough damage to clear a path away to avoid damage which felt very cheap and unfair.

The music doesn't quite match the rest of the game aesthetic and I wished I could turn it off after just a few minutes. The other sound effects were drowned out by the music so they did little to help. I wasn't sure what the aim of the game was. No matter how much I upgraded the trees they didn't seem to do anything to the enemies, and my attacks felt the same in the fifth round as the first.

For a team of six people working on this game I would have expected a lot more from this, had this been a solo game, or simply a two person team, I would be a lot more forgiving of this game's many flaws.

The game does run smoothly though, and the controls for moving and shooting worked well enough to keep me playing this longer than I initially thought I would.
Mulberg
25. Apr 2020 · 23:23 UTC
I like the premise of the game, but I'd agree with some reviewers, that despite the idea being interesting, the implementation need some improvement.
The biggest issue of the game is readability. So I'd drop half of the features from the game in exchange to improve fonts, make pixelart some consistent and clean.
emmyoop
26. Apr 2020 · 15:40 UTC
Overall an impressive amount of people that worked on it but I was surprised it wasn't as polished as i'd expect. The music was a bit jarring going from area to area. I didn't really understand the upgrade system as it wasn't clear since each element seemed to have the same kinds of upgrades. It got pretty difficult right away (but maybe i'm just not good at these kinds of games)

I would have probably done better had the controls been fully keyboard based and you just fired the direction you were facing instead of using the mouse position. Also the font choice was off the mark but it seems like you guys did that last minute - it made alot of the aspects of the game hard to understand / read.

I think if you can follow up on all the critiques people are giving you you will turn out a game next time that would be really really awesome.
marcusnystrand
27. Apr 2020 · 19:46 UTC
Pretty fun but holy sh*t third wave was hard hehe :)

Anyway cool aesthetics and nice gameplay!! If you have more time maybe you should add sound effects?

Overall, well done!!
Le Don
27. Apr 2020 · 20:40 UTC
Overall I liked the game. But even though I could finish it and defeat the boss, I had the feeling that I didn't really "get" the game and the upgrade system and that I was missing something. All trees seem to have the same upgrades, I didn't understand what some upgrades were suppose to do and I didn't know why it looked like I was only using fire attacks, when I upgraded all trees. You are throwing a lot to the player right at the beginning and it might be better, if you ease up a little.
Roka Josh
01. May 2020 · 20:24 UTC
Really nice entry, had quite a lot of fun although the upgrade system was a bit confusing at first. Overall though great job!
Jaye
01. May 2020 · 20:29 UTC
I love the graphics. Though the bgm is it out of place. But overall great job! :smile_cat:
ThomasLebel
02. May 2020 · 01:24 UTC
J'ai adoré le pixel art, le concept est bien cool aussi (vive les 4 éléments ^^)
Un peu triste de voir que les bâtons qu'on monte avec amour disparaissent au final
Probe31
02. May 2020 · 05:27 UTC
I love pixel art of this game and the music. But i feel sometimes strange collisions.
Trexxak
02. May 2020 · 08:55 UTC
Dig the artstyle and metal soundtrack a lot! The concept too is really cool (or hot/ thunderous/ something-with-earth) and expandable I feel :D

That being said, I feel the great amount of customization from the get go is a bit overwhelming. Super submission, thank you for all the work!
Euler Moises
02. May 2020 · 16:36 UTC
I really like tower defenses. I think you used the theme in an interesting way. Pixel art is very beautiful, but sometimes the excess of color in the same space is a bit confusing. I also liked the music. It was very well recorded. A tip regarding music: try different songs for the "non-wave" moment and the "wave" moment. By playing the same song for the two moments you do not create different sensations for the two different moments.

Congratulations for the game!
akitl
11. May 2020 · 08:31 UTC
good ! but hard !