Raining Stars by orion_black
Raining Stars is an shmup were you try to collect stars(collecting 3 pairs of the same color gives you an upgrade) while dodging the bullets from the xhaa.
You can only move horizontally, with left and right(clearly I picked "Two button controls"). The main idea that I tried to explore was using the stars as a mean to provide an incentive for riskier playing and, at the same time, a way to juggle your "resources"(hp, firepower and time). In its current incarnation it doesn't quite work, but I still think there's some merit to the idea.
I only had time for one enemy that works as a boss, I couldn't finish its art :(. That is probably at the core of why the game doesn't work as expected, I believe a couple of popcorn-ish enemies will give some space for the resource-juggling to take place. Comments on all the speculated above are welcomed. Have fun!!
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Controls
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Left arrow - Move Left(normal speed)
Right arrow - Move Right(normal speed)
Z/Opposing arrow - Slow Speed(see first hotfix)
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Hotfixes
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-In the spirit of "Two button controls", originally you could only move LEFT/RIGHT at a not-so-slow speed. If while moving you also press the opposing direction you then move at roughly half your speed(useful when you want to avoid a bullet, while catching a star and avoiding a different one). In general I like this kind of "contextualizations" where the same button can give you different results. I think, when done right, it can be really intuitive and elegant. Now, in this case I've been told it's a bit tricky execution-wise and I doubt many people will take the time to get use to it(I kind of did while working on the game :P), so I added an extra input(Z) to make more transparent how it works.
-Boss appears after 8 seconds instead of right away. Which gives you some preparation time, but also reduces the time you have fight it.
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Credits
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Code, design and art orion_black
Music visager
--------------------
Acknowledgments
--------------------
I used the following libraries and software to create this game:
OpenFL
HaxeFlixel
Paint.NET
SFXR
You can only move horizontally, with left and right(clearly I picked "Two button controls"). The main idea that I tried to explore was using the stars as a mean to provide an incentive for riskier playing and, at the same time, a way to juggle your "resources"(hp, firepower and time). In its current incarnation it doesn't quite work, but I still think there's some merit to the idea.
I only had time for one enemy that works as a boss, I couldn't finish its art :(. That is probably at the core of why the game doesn't work as expected, I believe a couple of popcorn-ish enemies will give some space for the resource-juggling to take place. Comments on all the speculated above are welcomed. Have fun!!
--------------------
Controls
--------------------
Left arrow - Move Left(normal speed)
Right arrow - Move Right(normal speed)
Z/Opposing arrow - Slow Speed(see first hotfix)
--------------------
Hotfixes
--------------------
-In the spirit of "Two button controls", originally you could only move LEFT/RIGHT at a not-so-slow speed. If while moving you also press the opposing direction you then move at roughly half your speed(useful when you want to avoid a bullet, while catching a star and avoiding a different one). In general I like this kind of "contextualizations" where the same button can give you different results. I think, when done right, it can be really intuitive and elegant. Now, in this case I've been told it's a bit tricky execution-wise and I doubt many people will take the time to get use to it(I kind of did while working on the game :P), so I added an extra input(Z) to make more transparent how it works.
-Boss appears after 8 seconds instead of right away. Which gives you some preparation time, but also reduces the time you have fight it.
--------------------
Credits
--------------------
Code, design and art orion_black
Music visager
--------------------
Acknowledgments
--------------------
I used the following libraries and software to create this game:
OpenFL
HaxeFlixel
Paint.NET
SFXR
| Windows | http://orion-black.itch.io/raining-stars |
| Original URL | https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-34/?action=preview&uid=1990 |
Ratings
| Coolness | 35% | 1888 |
| Overall(Jam) | 3.37 | 466 |
| Audio(Jam) | 3.53 | 229 |
| Fun(Jam) | 3.06 | 593 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 3.72 | 360 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 2.67 | 814 |
| Theme(Jam) | 3.78 | 418 |
I did notice you used haxeflixel, i tried it a while ago, how much better has it become?
I also didn't find the slowing down time mechanic all that useful, I could move between the bullets without really using it.
Often games smooth the motion by making pressing a direction accelerate you in that direction, rather than just immediately moving at constant speed (for example, this happens in Mario games), which is actually easier to use rather than choosing between moving at a fast or slow speed, and would make the controls much simpler. Than maybe you could make pressing both buttons do something else
The game looks and sounds nice very good though!