Energy Harvest by LDJam user 315574

[raw]
made by LDJam user 315574 for Ludum Dare 52 (JAM)

EnergyHarvest.png Use both hands (WASD and arrow keys) to get the balls to the finish. Harvest energon cubes along the way so you don't need to stop and charge.

Ratings

Given 11🗳️ 5🗨️

Feedback

kodingnights
08. Jan 2023 · 22:57 UTC
Fun and challenging but I would love to be able to control the camera.
LDJam user 267095
09. Jan 2023 · 04:16 UTC
I like the controlling two different balls, fun concept.
🎤 LDJam user 315574
09. Jan 2023 · 05:37 UTC
@kodingnights I agree something with the camera needs to be tweaked. It was really tricky, keeping two things in view and making it feel ok at different distances/zooms. I think maybe some level design to keep the balls closer together or something would have helped. Thanks for the feedback.
Fluburbio
09. Jan 2023 · 07:44 UTC
The controls are slightly easier than I thought they would be, great game!
ty_
09. Jan 2023 · 07:55 UTC
hey, this was pretty fun! i found myself being able to control the balls quite intuitively, and using both hands gave it the extra challenge and twist :) good effort on the camera — the auto-zoom feels impressive, as someone who only makes 3d games, haha. i wonder whether it would've been easier to see what's going on if it were a top-down camera angle? i think specifically in level 2 it got a bit difficult. but it was pretty fun! good job.
euske
09. Jan 2023 · 12:20 UTC
My time was 3:25. It was fun, but I hoped that the view was a bit wider. Good job!
🎤 LDJam user 315574
09. Jan 2023 · 20:01 UTC
@euske @ty Thanks for the feedback, you're right I think a top down view like level 1 uses might have been an improvement. It's when balls get far apart left and right that the wide angle camera goes off. Maybe an orthographic view or something would help?
Lex
09. Jan 2023 · 21:50 UTC
Fun concept, I think I would make it different so that the energon cubes were colored so only the sphere with the same color can catch it, and make collecting them obligatory to finish the level. Oh, and probably work on improving the camera too.
Fromage
10. Jan 2023 · 00:26 UTC
The camera was the true enemy here.

But I love the idea for the control scheme!
upcharlie
10. Jan 2023 · 01:44 UTC
I got 2:49!
I think I got a coin shape change easter egg for the bronze ball haha!
I really liked the effect for the balls when moving zoomed in - weirdly satisfying effect used.
Great stuff!
robobarbie
10. Jan 2023 · 02:19 UTC
i am so bad at this game, what a mind break. i love it
Torban
10. Jan 2023 · 02:27 UTC
Really cool concept and hurt my brain at times trying to control both. Great work!
TurtleFlyte
10. Jan 2023 · 03:06 UTC
I like the concept! Although the camera was annoying it was good overall.
Roberto Romao
10. Jan 2023 · 03:22 UTC
Nice idea! It would be nicer to have maybe in game instructions for each ball maybe on the flor on the beginning of the level. Great entry :D
Hulya
10. Jan 2023 · 10:43 UTC
I like 'move two players together' concept. It is fun. Just, I had hard time with the camera angles and zoom.
Popman_yes
10. Jan 2023 · 18:16 UTC
Interesting game but I would have liked to have more control of the camera. Using both the ASDW and arrow keys for movement is pretty unique.
T C
10. Jan 2023 · 20:07 UTC
Nice game! I really liked the aspect of letting go to not waste energy and letting momentum carry you to where you needed to go. Also I really appreciated the levels where the two were different sizes/shapes/speeds. Made for interesting levels.
🎤 LDJam user 315574
11. Jan 2023 · 00:24 UTC
@upcharlie Wow 2:49 is the fastest I've heard of great work. Thanks for playing.
LDJam user 251967
11. Jan 2023 · 15:34 UTC
Great game!
sdelay
12. Jan 2023 · 08:37 UTC
It's good you handled the theme that way, it changes a lot from all crops-related games!
Love the simplicity of the rules "go there in no time", and yet the difficulty of the game itself.
When the two balls get close (at level 2), the camera is close also , and it prevents me to see where the next cube is. But I understand that having a camera following 2 moving objects is a challenge.
Good game!
JeanKB
12. Jan 2023 · 16:41 UTC
Fun game with very simple and clear mechanics.
Antti Haavikko
12. Jan 2023 · 17:05 UTC
Neat idea. My first though was "cool, Marble Madness with two balls at the same time". Didn't do too hot on my first run...

![Screenshot 2023-01-12 at 18.45.41.png](///raw/1e4/3/z/56432.png)

The second one was better but need to do some math to get the time for it as your total time calculation doesn't reset on "play again" it seems. And not that I count it, I guess knowing the levels and how to reserve the energy didn't help at all.

![Screenshot 2023-01-12 at 18.49.21.png](///raw/1e4/3/z/56433.png)

The charging mechanic was quite un-fun. Forcing player to wait is never a good idea. Just doing a time penalty would have done the exact same thing without being annoying. And by using momentum and tapping you lose time that way too so I'm not sure if that's a really good idea either.

Felt like there wasn't enough force in the movement. Moving felt sluggish. Having more control over the movement would have definitely made it more fun. And the sluggishness and huge mass made the tactic of using one ball to bump the other pointless too. Just couldn't really do it. Pretty sad since it would have most likely introduced some interesting strategies.

Obviously needing the mouse to proceed between levels wasn't the best choice. Could have just made and keypress do the same thing and that way the player wouldn't need to move their hand to the mouse. A minor details but would have made playing (especially replaying) feel so much smoother.

The camera work wasn't great either. You basically had to know the levels already to actually be able to play well. The flat shading on the ground made it near impossible to see the height differences. The wobbling effect after charging was done was cool but looked awkward when moving.

Went for another run, at least this time I improved a bit.

![Screenshot 2023-01-12 at 18.57.24.png](///raw/1e4/3/z/56437.png)

Anyways, good job! 👍
🎤 LDJam user 315574
12. Jan 2023 · 23:34 UTC
@antti-haavikko Thank you for the amazing feedback. Everything you say is so true! It's super helpful to have these things pointed out so I can improve or focus on them next time. Thanks again.
Harmofish
13. Jan 2023 · 09:03 UTC
The concept of controlling two balls at the same time is brilliant, as is the level design, and the concept of energy collection is very close to the theme. I hope it gets better in the future!
SmelJey
13. Jan 2023 · 17:25 UTC
Concept is interesting! The game is quite challenging and it is a bit boring to wait for a ball to charge. It is a bit off the theme in my opinion, but overall it's great
Sarah
27. Jan 2023 · 04:02 UTC
I like being able to control both balls at once, but it made the camera do some weird things when they got close together! Which made it a bit hard to see, but otherwise, it's fairly fun! Well done!