LD48 Deep Lab Droid by digital bacon
Control a recovery droid as you go deeper and deeper into an underground research facility looking for parts to a secret weapon, while fending off hostile droids.
* UPDATE *
So there were... "issues" with the web builds (i.e., they wouldn't run) so I've taken them off, leaving only the Windows downloadable. This seems to work for everyone, though.
Also, I forgot to include credits for the assets I grabbed from opengameart.org (mostly the audio, which is why I'm not being rated for that category):
Some Free Resources I ended up needing:
Weapon sounds: "Q009's weapon sounds", Q009 https://opengameart.org/content/q009s-weapon-sounds Specifically: glauncher.ogg glauncher2.ogg glauncher3.ogg explosion.ogg
Music: "Space Boss Battle Theme", Matthew Pablo https://opengameart.org/content/space-boss-battle-theme
"VictoryBig", Dizzy Crow https://opengameart.org/content/8-bit-sound-fx
Explosion graphic: "Explosion", Sogomn https://opengameart.org/content/explosion-3
Ratings
| Overall | 1735th | 2.87⭐ | 52🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 1604th | 2.82⭐ | 52🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1732th | 2.5⭐ | 52🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 1302th | 3.33⭐ | 52🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 1361th | 3.224⭐ | 51🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 1148th | 2.381⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 1589th | 2.854⭐ | 50🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 57🗳️ | 84🗨️ |
I'm going to try the Windows version.
The instructions were very clear. I wasn't confused at all.
This is a good demo.
@theawesomeshaz Thanks for the comments, I had plans for much larger levels (and more than just one!), but my time management went out the window on this one. Coupled with a migraine on the last day, a severe-bout of impostor syndrome which almost led to me giving up before the halfway mark, plus children and I'm amazed I got as much done as I did.
@silas-reinagel Thanks! Games that don't have instructions annoy me somewhat, so I always try to put an instructions page in. I don't trust myself to make game with intuitive controls! And I think General Critter might become a recurring villain in my games :grin:
I do intend to keep up with developing this. I'm not happy with the art design for starters, I really wanted a more cartoony look; plus there's obviously more levels, enemies, powerups, collectibles to implement -- all the stuff in the design doc :laughing:
Graphics are really pretty, the audio and music are nice, my only complaint is the delay when aiming your weapon which may be a little too long!
Very good job anyway!
For the mechanics, I would have loved for the cannon to be more snappy to my mouse. I understand the goal of having the cannon lag behind the mouse movement, but maybe reduce the amount of lag since its more annoying versus a mechanic.
Overall solid demo.
I was trying to keep the gun aiming in a 180 degree arc above the player -- do people think this was good, or would 360 degree aiming have been better?

What I rate positively is the music. Otherwise good work, just keep going. I look forward to seeing you in half a year.
@mira For getting stuck in the walls/floors, I think I need some adjustment is needed to the colliders. As for the music, not mine unfortunately, but taken from opengameart.org (Space Boss Battle Theme”, Matthew Pablo https://opengameart.org/content/space-boss-battle-theme).
@crispybun Yes, you're not the first to comment on the slowness of the gun rotation! :laughing: I lowered it to help me debug something, and forgot to reset it back up again. Not sure what's happening with the cannon pointing the wrong way, it *should* always be pointing at the mouse cursor. I agree that the combat isn't interesting. I had planned for more interesting enemies, powerups for the weapons, other weapons. @phil-lesnar made the comment above about seeing farther to be able to use the gun more effectively, and I think that'll make for more interesting gameplay (you'd have more opportunity to plan what to do).
I am planning on continuing to develop the game, and I'll be taking all these comments on board when I do so :smiley:
(Obviously) we are a fan of robot protagonists and the science fiction setting was cool overall! As for the brevity of the game, we echo the other comments in that regard. Would have appreciated more content. :)
First thought @lrvstudios: "wait, were you playing *my* game?" I wouldn't call it amazing, the graphics are programmer art and the music was uplifted from opengameart.org :laughing: but the comments are appreciated! :hearts:
And @spyturtle, content is coming, it just may take me a while since it's only me :laughing: and I'll need to update the instructions to include "aim with the gun". Also need to adjust the targeting reticle, because its a little on the small side. And I love robots too, not least because they're easier (for me) to draw! :robot:
The game has some nice artwork, everything fits together. The idea is interesting shooting has a good feel to it with that soundeffect. I was missing some kind of health indication. Also the SFX was a little loud. I couldn't figure out how to use the lift first since there are no ingame instructions or an obviouse set of controlls. So using the arrow key is not a good choice in my oppinion since I allready use mouse and WASD, I have to switch with my hand to the keyboard.
The end screen felt god to me with the short music soundeffect and an explanation.
Overall not bad for an unfinished game, good job:)
It's clear that you ran out of time, but the premise is good and deserves to be developed further I'd say!
@m1nd0frafa: A proper HUD was always planned for, but -- guess what -- I ran out of time :rolling_eyes: I thought I'd turned the volume on the effects and the music down (I'm not a great fan of loud noises), but I may have missed it -- sorry! You don't need to use the arrow keys to go up and down the lifts; W and S work as well.
@pat-cleaver: yes, I wanted something to break up the monotony of the grey walls and had fun making the posters. Ongoing development is planned!
Jokes aside, this is fine work for a demo! Although there should probably be at least one weapon piece to find, so you can demonstrate to the player what will be the objectives like in the full game.
The music loop seems a bit repetitive, although I like the additive effect it has.
I also liked your intro text. It gives a lot of context and meaning to the game. Which definitely added to the enjoyment of it. Time well spend.
I am looking forward to what you'll do next. Be proud of the thing you were able to achieve and keep it up!
@fabula-rasa: Like a lot of things, you were supposed to be able to find pieces of the weapon (as well as all sorts of power-ups) as you progressed, but I ran out of time. All will be implemented as the game progresses.
@thesyntheticbrain: I'm glad people like the tilting, took a while to get that feeling right (funnily enough, a couple of days after the jam ended, I watched an old Brackeys video where they mention doing something like tilting to give a feeling of movement :laughing: ). My original vision for the game didn't have levels stacked like they are; rather, there would've been larger open spaces with more room for the player and enemies to move around, as well as giving everyone the ability to move vertically. In fact, my QA department (otherwise known as "the kids") have insisted that the game needs this :laughing:
But there were a couple of awkward little things about the controls I noticed (some may be bugs):
- When you aim completely right and then move right, the weapon swings around below the robot to the left side
- The bullet is not shot exactly through the crosshair
- When you hit a wall and try to keep moving, the robot sinks to the ground and stays there, even after moving away from the wall again
- I don't see how the 180-degree controls are useful, because the enemies are always on the left or right side of the robot -- this just makes it feel very sluggish, also because the angular velocity of the gun is slower the closer to the target angle it is
But these are just minor things. The level design with the different levels joined by elevators is really fun and works well with the theme!
Congrats! I hope you manage to keep working on this and extend the content! :)
The 180-degree shooting was put in because originally, there were going to be ceiling-mounted turrets and flying enemies; I never got around to fixing the angle of the gun to point only in the direction the robot is facing.
I've put up an v1.0.1 version which has taken some of the suggestions above into account, including that the camera is too zoomed in. I've pulled it out slightly, so you can see more of the level. If you were playing this version, do you think it needs zooming out more? (Maybe I should just implement a zoom control so the player can control the :video_camera: themselves... :thinking:) Glad you liked the posters, I probably spent waaay too much time on them :laughing:
Next time you will do more than this. Theme is followed perfectly by the way.
@phoenix-gi, @alprog: yes, the shortness of the game is one of the bits I hate the most, but I'm planning to continue working on it and extending it (and it's not my first game jam -- this is the third time I've done LD).
@gamescodedogs: there is a bugging in the aiming code, something on my buglist. And I like the music too, it's a pity I didn't write it :laughing: Credits for the music and a link to opengameart.org are above.
really fun
- nice controls
- good artwork
- soundtrack s l a p s
Con:
- very little content
Yeah, what can I say. I didn't encounter anything game breaking and if this had more content I would play this.