Ball Keeper by JCMonkey

[raw]
made by JCMonkey for Ludum Dare 46 (COMPO)

ballkeeper


* :partly_sunny: Ball Keeper *


Done in the compo 48hr format


:wrench: * Tools *

  • * Engine: * Godot
  • * Art: * Aseprite
  • * Audio: * Audacity
  • * Music: * Sonic Pi

:floppy_disk: * Game *

Welcome Ball Keeper!!

Your task is to escort this ball around the arena, safely...

Use our custom Blocks to help guide our little friend.

WASD to move

Follow the Ball unit around and make sure its safe.

You can do this by placing Block units down with LEFT CLICK.

You can only have 15 Block units active at one time, so place carefully.


Ratings

Overall 213th 3.774⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Fun 224th 3.675⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 174th 3.775⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Theme 388th 3.813⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 227th 3.863⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Audio 111th 3.808⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Humor 611th 2.545⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Mood 234th 3.59⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Given 91🗳️ 8🗨️

Feedback

dooskington
20. Apr 2020 · 02:44 UTC
Cool idea! And very nicely polished.
Paroxysmal
20. Apr 2020 · 02:46 UTC
Nice game. Good graphics and very fluid gameplay and controls.
PrincessChooChoo
20. Apr 2020 · 02:49 UTC
MacOS version isn't working for me, sorry.
jbasinger
20. Apr 2020 · 02:51 UTC
I don't know how you guys do it making art with like 3-4 colors. Great job, great ambiance!
meelo
20. Apr 2020 · 02:52 UTC
The Mac version doesn't seem to open (on OS 10.15) - it gives me an non-descript error message if I try to open it from the file browser, and outputs "LSOpenURLsWithRole() failed with error -10810" if I try to open it from the terminal. Something might be wrong with the package?
sacredbacon
20. Apr 2020 · 02:52 UTC
Brilliant game play, incredible mechanics. Well done!
ivn
20. Apr 2020 · 02:54 UTC
Very good! Thx for the Linux build.
Is it possible to go full-screen? I would like to use full-screen in such atmospheric game.

[Screenshot from 2020-04-20 05-52-14.png](///raw/9d7/c2/z/2cf7e.png)
🎤 JCMonkey
20. Apr 2020 · 02:54 UTC
sorry @meelo and @princesschoochoo i dont have a mac to test, but usually it just works.
PatrickJR
20. Apr 2020 · 02:56 UTC
I really like the feel of this game. It's calm and relaxing. The music fits in well. It's quiet, and even though it's the same tune over and over, it's not annoying. The sound effects fit in marvelously. The gameplay is perfect. The simplicity of your sprites makes everything look really nice.

Well done!
🎤 JCMonkey
20. Apr 2020 · 03:00 UTC
@ivn yes it should automatically go full screen, but if it doesnt there should be a button in the upper right to maximize
madbookstudios
20. Apr 2020 · 03:43 UTC
Music and ambience is wonderful. The ball pinging sound effect is hilarious. Really unique idea for a game and executed well!
Thor Lucas
20. Apr 2020 · 04:04 UTC
Ooof! That was fun! I liked the ambience a lot. The ball ping sound effect was funny but doesnt really fit in with the ambience. also I lost my shit when the turret started attacking my ball. My precious little ball. Very fun man! good job!
ViniFlores
20. Apr 2020 · 04:05 UTC
Nice puzzle game with a need that decisions have to be made quickly, great job so far man :)
Symnel
20. Apr 2020 · 04:06 UTC
Very smooth, challenging and fun. Awesome game.
Sode
20. Apr 2020 · 05:32 UTC
Nice game could you ad a true fullscreen mode not just the fullscreen windowd as the white bar kind of braks the immersion when you get high up on the map
🎤 JCMonkey
20. Apr 2020 · 05:34 UTC
@sode fair point, ill look into adding that
CuriouslyCory
20. Apr 2020 · 05:38 UTC
What a really fun concept! I've never played anything like it, and yet it didn't take me long to get the hang of it. The BGM was low key great, and the little announcements had a great quality to them. All in all a fun game :)
Phibian
20. Apr 2020 · 05:39 UTC
Loved it! Great concept and well executed!
BilbyCoder
20. Apr 2020 · 07:06 UTC
Very cool game. Enjoyed it when I realised that the blocks were placed where the mouse was, not where the cursor was. Would definitely play an expanded version of this.
Retti01
20. Apr 2020 · 07:07 UTC
Nicely challenging but still fun.
adjo
20. Apr 2020 · 07:17 UTC
This was fun to play, looks great and music is really nice.

Maybe the controls could be slightly adjusted, I kept trying to place a block with the keyboard as that's how I was moving!
mudlee
20. Apr 2020 · 07:17 UTC
The OSX version is not working :(
🎤 JCMonkey
20. Apr 2020 · 07:37 UTC
yeah @mudlee sorry bout that, i cant test it atm cause i dont have a mac, and i dont know if im allowed to take it off or not.
mudlee
20. Apr 2020 · 07:39 UTC
Keep it up there. Looks like it works on older OSX. I see other games struggling with this OSX problem, but for some it works.
🎤 JCMonkey
20. Apr 2020 · 07:40 UTC
@bilbycoder im thinking about it, i wanted to try and make a progression system in this game, but that was way over scoped, so maybe i may try that in a post release. like instead of the timer counting up, have a mode where the timer counts down, and you need to survive and collect coins, to spend on things in a item store, to help out in further progression
PrincessChooChoo
20. Apr 2020 · 11:42 UTC
@jcmonkey I worked out a fix for another game's MacOS `.app` and tried it here and it worked.
I had to enter the `.app` folder and do `chmod +x` on the binary.
After that I get the normal objection to running unverified code, which can be bypassed in the MacOS Security Settings.
PrincessChooChoo
20. Apr 2020 · 11:48 UTC
Ah I worked out the issue is with MacOS's default unzipper not preserving permissions properly for me. Could be my issue not yours, sorry. :sweat:
PrincessChooChoo
20. Apr 2020 · 12:55 UTC
Interesting idea. I feel like it might be better if the level fit on a single screen so you could see everything easily. As it is, it's a bit awkward, and hard to know how close you are to hazards/walls.
WZQXRYS
20. Apr 2020 · 17:09 UTC
FANTASTIC! This game is rocking! easy to pick up hard to master. Great job!
blotosaur
20. Apr 2020 · 22:26 UTC
Wish there was a way to know exactly how the block will be placed. Other than that, great game!
Kirbloid
21. Apr 2020 · 01:14 UTC
I clicked on it thinking it was a snake game, and then found myself playing it almost 5 times in a row with its really unique concept and gameplay, and a unique take on the theme! Great job, this was such a polished entry and a lot of fun to play.
NEKORUMA
21. Apr 2020 · 02:19 UTC
great game!! good job!!
Foursay
21. Apr 2020 · 05:16 UTC
Fantastic game! likes the trace of ball
Week of the agents
21. Apr 2020 · 12:09 UTC
Game has few flaws - too many pikes, hard to understand where an exit. Garaphics are neat.
🎤 JCMonkey
21. Apr 2020 · 19:39 UTC
@week-of-the-agents there really isnt an out in this version of the game. its just a high score game. maybe if i had another day and submited for the jam i could have added more levels, but alas the time boss came creaping in :D
Almighty Games
22. Apr 2020 · 02:07 UTC
I enjoyed playing this enough, that'll I'll come back and play it again after the jam is over. The color scheme is easy on the eyes. The graphics, are also very pleasing and kept simple and less distracting. The game play is about my pace, which I really appreciate. And you went through the trouble of making audio/music sliders to adjust the volume (BIG THANKS!) Good stuff! Keep it up!
AdamCYounis
22. Apr 2020 · 06:45 UTC
Interesting concept behind the game, though it's pretty abstract and, as a result, difficult to feel invested in the ball's safety. I would have loved to be able to place circular colliders down instead of just walls, as then it would have been a lot easier to angle the ball's trajectory around the map. I also got pretty confused by the square reticle that didn't reflect where the squares were going? I'm not sure if i missed something there. I thought the colour scheme was pleasant and found the voice lines kind of amusing, and they did add to the atmosphere somewhat. Thanks for sharing.
SpiRiTs
24. Apr 2020 · 16:43 UTC
Very Nice Game! Graphics and sounds are amazing. My only concern with the game is the square icon used for the movement, I always expected placing solid blocks at the Icon which got me confused and missed the ball many times. Overall, awesome game! great job
🎤 JCMonkey
25. Apr 2020 · 01:26 UTC
@spirits yeah thanks for playing, and yes that was a huge complaint that i got. the meaning of the reticle in the center was to imitate a camera viewport, and its dual perpouse was there for the ball pointer thing. yeah i forgot to put a thing in the how to play indicating that the block spawns at mouse position.
marcmagus
26. Apr 2020 · 18:47 UTC
Thanks for bringing your game for me to play on stream! If you'd like to watch, the highlight can be found at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/603459355

I particularly enjoyed the idea of a sort of reverse-breakout. I hope this one gets continued development.
MasterPose
26. Apr 2020 · 19:29 UTC
The mood is very nice. It's a relaxing non relaxing game, love it
elysiagriffin
09. May 2020 · 18:45 UTC
Thanks for submitting your game for me to play on my livestream!

If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/615922637?t=3h50m36s

Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady

https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin