Looper Hell by Dubgron

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

Quick and easy to learn, but hard to master, arcade game.

Slow time to your advantage.
ld47_slomo.gif

And try not to spend it all at once.
ld47<em>slomo</em>meter.gif

When you get hit, you become untouchable for a second.
ld47_immortality.gif

But watch out, you have only three lives.
ld47_damage.gif

Controls:
Space - switch loops
E - switch direction
Q - slow motion

Tools:
Our in-house engine - Aporia Blitz
Graphics - Gimp
Font - Bank Gothic Light BT

Credits:
dubgron - programming
CinnamonAdrvil - design/graphics

EDIT (13.10.2020): We've successfully ported our engine to HTML5! So now you can play Looping Hell in your browser!

Ratings

Overall 824th 3.479⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Fun 494th 3.604⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 180th 3.938⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 109th 4.25⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1194th 3.104⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1216th 1.889⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1513th 2.227⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 27🗳️ 2🗨️

Feedback

FundaysWithFox
06. Oct 2020 · 23:19 UTC
It gives me an error message every time I try to open it
Cwazywierdo
06. Oct 2020 · 23:26 UTC
This was a very cool idea. The game looks clean, and plays well once you get used to the controls. Solid entry.

edit: I would definitely work on the thumbnail, it doesn't look appealing at all.
jdbuenol
06. Oct 2020 · 23:29 UTC
Cool and neat concept! I survived 68 seconds in my last attempt. I wished it had some kind of music and maybe a crazy mode with three loops instead of only two.
Jamster
06. Oct 2020 · 23:31 UTC
The gameplay felt good, felt nice to get in a rhythm and avoid getting hit. Super cool that you've used your own engine, definitely get points for innovation
sacredbacon
06. Oct 2020 · 23:50 UTC
Couldn't get the game to display, after 'loading game scene' it displays SLOW MOTION at the top of the screen and gives me a 'you survived x seconds' message. I like the engine, and the game gif looks nice.
🎤 Dubgron
07. Oct 2020 · 13:40 UTC
@fundayswithfox What does the message say?
Adiwan
07. Oct 2020 · 14:25 UTC
I really like the foundation of your game idea.
The way it's handled now can be easily exploited and making the game very easy.
Just by moving up towards the screen edge and only by switching directions I could avoid the bullets easily. Right now I don't know how to improve it. Introducing more threat sources (not only the one at the bottom) or limiting the player's ability to change direction, as you did with the slowdown. It's a hard balancing act.
It somehow evokes memories how I played with my compasses (the circle drawing thing) in geometry classes.
Catomag
09. Oct 2020 · 00:34 UTC
Really cool movement mechanic that tied in well with the theme. The game ran smoothly with good responsive controls and fluid animations which is a really good testament to your engine. Great entry!
NesiAwesomeness
09. Oct 2020 · 22:18 UTC
I don't know why but It's not working for me
SpawnCampGames
09. Oct 2020 · 22:21 UTC
Cool little mini-game. I was gonna say would be cool if you make it where if you leave the screen boundaries you restart but Idk if I should be saying that cause I suck. I could only get 50-60, each time. :D Good job tho.
Balance686
09. Oct 2020 · 22:24 UTC
This is dope! Excellent use of the theme. It's very fun and challenging. The graphics are clean and the movement mechanic is awesome. I like @jdbuenol 's idea of a crazy mode with 3 loops. Great submission!
🎤 Dubgron
09. Oct 2020 · 22:54 UTC
@nesiawesomeness Any error message popped out?
marcmagus
10. Oct 2020 · 16:30 UTC
Solid arcade-style game. Controls are straightforward but interesting to play around with, leading to a compelling "one more try" experience.
Franciszek Pyrć
10. Oct 2020 · 18:28 UTC
Nice circles. Very round. A square is a circle, because a light in a shape of a square emits a circle
Verbante
13. Oct 2020 · 12:41 UTC
If you press space too frequently, it seems lke you are walking in a very cute way, so that was my method of playing :3 The difficulty is quite easy, also changing direction wasn't that necessary imo and could have been left out
gamepopper
13. Oct 2020 · 12:48 UTC
Wow this one really plays with your head, a brilliant dodge'em up where you control two circles.
CosmicPickle
13. Oct 2020 · 12:48 UTC
This was really fun. I eventually managed to survive more than a minute. It uses the theme perfectly to bring a new meaning to the words bullet hell. Controls feel good. I needed one playthrough though to realize what exactly I needed to protect, though. Was it the dots in the middle of the circles or the whole circles. I didn't even notice the grey filled circle for some reason. But maybe it is just me, because once I saw it it was obvious. Anyway - a really good game. I enjoyed it a lot.
WilloXs
13. Oct 2020 · 12:54 UTC
Thats a cool idea for a minigame. I never used the slowdown effect though and change direction wasn't super important to me too. I feel like the switching between the circles allows for enough action to expand on.

For example use that mechanic to fly through a little level maybe shoot a bullet everytime you switch. It really is a neat little mechanic.

"-":

Any backgroundmusic and sounds would have been nice but i too struggle with audio a lot. The difficulty ramps up extremely after the bullets start to bounce and i die shortly after everytime. The keybinding is a bit clunky. I feel like q and e are weired key to press. I propose the time slowdown to be on shift (sprint is on shift in many shooters) and change direction on any wasd key.

"+":

The general concept is great. I really like the little things like the mechanic to not leave the room by not allowing to switch if the circle is outside or that the circles are oscillating.
Wakobu
13. Oct 2020 · 16:41 UTC
Congrats for this game !
Very original and smooth to play !
JHax
13. Oct 2020 · 18:31 UTC
It's a very good game, but I am not very good at it.

Cool novel way of doing a bullet hell. Nicely done!
Valkija
13. Oct 2020 · 22:41 UTC
What an interesting idea! smooth and fun to play, though I was rubbish at it too. Really innovative!