Don't Clog the Arteries by Jakob37

[raw]
made by Jakob37 for LD34 (JAM)
Themes: Two button controls and Growing!

You play as a cell, trapped in its host. It is time for revenge. It is time to clog the host's Heart.
But, first you must avoid getting caught on the way. Don't clog the arteries.

Avoid bacteria and red blood cells on your way to the Heart. If you collide with them, they become absorbed and you grow,
and you get closer to getting stuck to early. You can emit some of your mass though, preventing them from reaching you.

Controls
- Space to navigate up/down
- Control button to emit mass to shrink and slow down enemies

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Game design: Jakob Willforss & Daniel Alm Grundström
Coding: Jakob Willforss & Daniel Alm Grundström
Sound: Jakob Willforss
Art & Level design: Daniel Alm Grundström

Made by LinkPact Games (www.LinkPact.com) for Ludum Dare 34.

Source code and assets: https://bitbucket.org/Jakob37/ld34

Weapons of choice:
- Coding in TypeScript, in IntelliJ
- Coding libraries: PIXI.js, howler.js, our work-in-progress TypeScript-game-library
- Music in FL Studio 12 (electric guitar, EVM bassline VST and drum samples)
- Sound effects in BFXR
- Pixel art in GIMP
- Level design in Tiled

Ratings

Coolness 71% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.38 455
Audio(Jam) 3.21 407
Fun(Jam) 3.14 532
Graphics(Jam) 3.05 717
Humor(Jam) 2.80 422
Innovation(Jam) 3.50 254
Mood(Jam) 3.10 614
Theme(Jam) 4.05 191

Feedback

WolvesOfOdin
14. Dec 2015 · 19:26 UTC
One of the best games I've played from Ludum Dare 34 so far. Nice work!
Dooskington
14. Dec 2015 · 19:29 UTC
Cool game concept. The controls took a little bit of getting used to, however.
freddyw9
14. Dec 2015 · 20:16 UTC
I love the concept, tough to get the controls but I like that too.
nonetheless
14. Dec 2015 · 20:53 UTC
Couldn't beat it, but love the idea. Don't clog the artery, go for the heart :D
LastResortGames
16. Dec 2015 · 01:43 UTC
Great job! Ithe last level took a little too long since the white blood cells were simply unavoidable when you got too big. But otherwise very solid idea.
x92rwzb
16. Dec 2015 · 19:41 UTC
Nice game. Enjoyed this even though blood disgusts me.
loxo
16. Dec 2015 · 20:22 UTC
I like the game mechanics and atmosphere generated by the fitting music. But I have to say I don't like the goal of the game.
sP0CkEr2
17. Dec 2015 · 01:00 UTC
this was a interesting idea and very good use of the theme - nice job
The Vall
17. Dec 2015 · 21:53 UTC
Nice use of the themes. The controls made for some pretty unique gameplay.
local minimum
18. Dec 2015 · 14:36 UTC
Really tricky controls to get the hang of even if they were simple. I liked the game though. Fun and all. The heart section kind of needs tuning though as when you grow bigger it is actually impossible to avoid the white blood cells most of the time. Music really great.
🎤 Jakob37
19. Dec 2015 · 07:21 UTC
Thanks for the comments everyone! It is really appreciated.

We agree with your comments LastResortGames and local minimum about the size of the heart in the end - It could probably be balanced in a more interesting way. It would also be interesting to think about the controls, to decide if they are challenging in an interesting way or in an annoying way.
Blobo
19. Dec 2015 · 19:22 UTC
Pretty cool game! i found it hard to clog the heart when lots of white blood cells appear in a row.
Dmitrix
19. Dec 2015 · 20:01 UTC
Honestly when I saw the thumbnail as "Don't clog the..." I thought this would be a toilet humor game. It's interesting though. Controls that invert direction every time is something I was originally going to try.
BroCade
19. Dec 2015 · 20:07 UTC
Nice idea, good mechanics to, could realy use an onscreen indication when you can "shoot" again
jofra
19. Dec 2015 · 20:27 UTC
very original concept ideia!
the controls are hard to use though :S
gj
🎤 Jakob37
19. Dec 2015 · 20:40 UTC
@BroCade - Thanks for your comment! The cell should be tinted green when you are ready to shoot. Does the tinting not work for you?
Gyfis
20. Dec 2015 · 14:30 UTC
Nice concept - the controls were refreshing. The only thing I didn't like was the 'hit' sound - very annoying for me.
Hot Box Games
20. Dec 2015 · 14:34 UTC
Really solid entry, good music and graphics and the controls were unique to!
I had fun good job!
scorched
22. Dec 2015 · 16:37 UTC
Wow, this is a great idea and controls! Liked the twist in the end! ;-)
Solifuge
28. Dec 2015 · 22:56 UTC
Took me a bit to understand the shooting mechanic, but that was a failure to read on my part. I liked how you combined shooting with recovery, and used a single button movement scheme. Very nice!

I can't say how, but I feel like the game's fail-state (getting too big) ought to be redesigned somehow; colliding and getting bigger made future collisions more likely, thus making it less and less easy to dodge, and making skillful play impossible; your run is as good as done once you're over 1/2 size, unless you're lucky with timing. Same goes for the finale; once you're too big to dodge, it becomes a waiting game, where you hope to be lucky enough to get no white blood cells for long enough to win. That said, it's a tough line to walk, between randomness that makes the game more exciting, and randomness that takes away meaningful choices (skillful play/dodging/etc) from players, or makes them wait on the game to flip a coin to let them lose or win.

I had a good time with this one, and thought it was a clever use of both themes, with a nice presentation! Thanks for putting this together.
Muel
29. Dec 2015 · 00:09 UTC
The music gives the "special agent mission" feel to the game.
The cell is infiltrating, using ability and strenght to kill the heart.

Just one thing I didn't like was the controls. Each space tap change directions. So, there's times you must go a little on the wrong way to go in the right. It's kinda confusing.

Nice job overall =)
Zanzlanz
03. Jan 2016 · 19:53 UTC
Nice game!! The gameplay and story really fit together perfectly.