Micanthul by alexhall

[raw]
made by alexhall for Ludum Dare 48 (COMPO)

Automated RPG combat, stories delving into the jungle - conquistadors' insanity in Mesoamerica!

BannerMicanthul_low.jpg

Ratings

Overall 96th 3.975⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 357th 3.475⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 228th 3.625⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 57th 4.25⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 55th 4.25⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 18th 4.175⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 397th 2.583⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 38th 4.15⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

Kevin S
26. Apr 2021 · 13:47 UTC
What a great game! I love the theme, story, and graphics. It's amazing the content you were able to generate in 48 hours. Good job!

I think there should be some kind of risk / reward to camping. Maybe there is but I didn't see it.

Obviously 48 hours isn't much time to make a game but I think you have a great idea here.

Great work!
LittleGamer
26. Apr 2021 · 14:09 UTC
Really nice graphics and sound ! The atmosphere of the game is simply excellent. Gameplay wise, it seems complex at first glance, and it actually is strange to understand. I don't see what does hunger, and never had any problem with sanity or morale.

After a while I stopped receiving random messages while progressing and I believe I got stuck in a loop or something. The game softlocked too after a fight.

It can become extremely easy if Juan gets good enough. He was level 13 in my game at the moment it softlocked, and was wiping out ennemies even before the fight started.

It's too bad the narrative seems broke, because the game is really enjoyable ! Very nice work !
🎤 alexhall
26. Apr 2021 · 17:30 UTC
@kevin-s @littlegamer Thank you for your encouraging words! Participating and actually submitting this time, was a thrill! There are problems and softlocks because of progression maths flaws that prevents some narrative content to appear. I'll do a polished version apart from the LD contest. Couldn't get the balance right in time :D
Jungle
26. Apr 2021 · 19:52 UTC
Impressive work for one person in just 48h. I really like this kind of game (autobattle/crawler). As an historian, I wish the roles were flipped (you play as the natives, killing the invaders - they are not 'conquerors'). Character leveling up is very nice, giving player will to continue and earn more experience. I think this project could be a kickstart for a full Steam game, I would buy it. :)
🎤 alexhall
26. Apr 2021 · 21:43 UTC
@jungle Thank you very much for your kind words. I do want to work on an improved version. As for your preference for controlling the other side, this is a fair preference :) However, I hope to be redeemed in your eyes :) as I actually want to depict the foolishness and vanity of the invaders' "quest" through a different balancing curve. They're not really supposed to "win" in the end, and certainly not supposed to snowball like they tend to do right now.
Jungle
26. Apr 2021 · 22:18 UTC
@alexhall I want to follow this improved version. Any social network to let me stay tuned?
🎤 alexhall
26. Apr 2021 · 22:54 UTC
@jungle Cool, yes I will post updates on itch https://tiltaghe.itch.io/
jj2oo2
26. Apr 2021 · 23:08 UTC
Loved the art animation sound andd music all coming together for fantastic atmosphere. I enjoyed the auto combat experience, sat back and watched the show. Arturo last man standing . Well worth sorting out the story and end game and perhaps some more player impact on how it goes? After the story diddn't play out I ddid wander if the retreat was the intended ending - which would have been nice player agency. Nonetheless, great job i hope you give it a bit more time
C4Scar
26. Apr 2021 · 23:35 UTC
I liked how crisp the art was and the combat was really cool too. It felt a little repetative and endless but I'm assuming with more time there would be more content.
LDJam user 240168
27. Apr 2021 · 18:14 UTC
A very promising game! Nice concept, graphics & theme interpretation. Would love to see more actual gameplay (more that just 3 buttons, that is) - battle tactics, maybe move your party on an actual map, etc. Anyways, good job!
wooliii
28. Apr 2021 · 03:02 UTC
This is so good ! Definitely one of my favorites from this jam. The art, the mood, the music, the narrative, they all were so well developed and immersive. The game play was pretty average, but I don't think that matters honestly. If this was fleshed out with a real narrative I would play the heck out of it. This has a very Darkest Dungeons vibe, so maybe look to that for inspo on how gameplay can support the larger narrative structure which is the real meat of the game.

5/5 !
StrangerYann
28. Apr 2021 · 14:05 UTC
![aztecs_01.png](///raw/269/8/z/413bc.png)

Very cool, fam! Really enjoyed it! Really puts you on the edge right from the get-go. The level design and balancing works really well in early-game! Eventually your team grows OP tho ^^# [fc attached screenshot] with some character being really crazy tanks - I kept my priest at the back for a while cuz it wouldn't level up so I'd try to put him in the frontline - but when he got to 12hp I kicked him back and left it there just so hje wouldn't die - tried to rest like 5 nights in a row, got attacked - and just now I tried resting and the game crashed

But damn that kept me hooked, son!
Very cool, great job, thanks for the experience, I really loved playing your game - GG pal :-D

So I really like your game and I'm streaming Ludum Dare 48 games on saturday with my friend Teauorent on his Twitch channel - https://www.twitch.tv/teauorent - Saturday May 1st 4PM CET
First of all - that cool with you? This may redirect some traffic to your page for more people to try your LD48 game :smile:
If you'd like, please e-mails us anecdotes and sneak peeks of your creative process (photos, screenshots, beta/WIP asset renders, mood boards, concept Art, etc.) so we can present them alongside and illustrate your LD48 adventure to our audience :slight_smile:
Here's our e-mail to send all that good stuff to --> TeamChooChoo.GameJams@gmail.com [we will confirm receiving your e-mail(s) upon reception]
The show will be in french but I'm bilingual so you can totally submit in english, we'll take care of the rest :slight_smile:

Have a great day, I hope to hear from you soon - thanks for that great moment I spent testing your little nugget of a game, and see you in the chat on saturday I hope :heart: :smile:
🎤 alexhall
29. Apr 2021 · 16:27 UTC
@strangeryann Thank you friend! Yes sure I'm totally cool with the coverage if you want to try out the game or talk about it on your channel :) I'll drop an email if I find something worthwhile sharing :)
ScalphaMission
29. Apr 2021 · 18:29 UTC
lot of content for a short amount of time. great job!
xmatos
29. Apr 2021 · 18:36 UTC
I loved the atmosphere, the presentation. Really dark and gloomy, as it should be.
There was however a lack of interactivity with game, didn't feel like I was playing it.
Good job, good luck
saintchristopher777
30. Apr 2021 · 00:23 UTC
Oh man, this is really good! I think you and I must share a lot of interests, given that you liked my Jung stuff too. I'm a history nerd and did my thesis on Native American stuff, so this is totally my jam!

Art and sound are great, and I love the "combat simulator" idea. Would love more info on exactly what attacks they do, what the stats do, etc, so moving the party members into different formations felt more strategic. Implementing more story would obviously be great too.

I did run into a couple bugs. The first was that after reviving Don Luis from "death" by camping his sprite still presented as dead/wounded.

The second was more game breaking - the main UI went blank making progression impossible (and Juan was becoming a beast, at level 14). Screenshot below.

Anyway, love the game! Would love to see a fleshed out version someday!

![Capitan.png](///raw/6f6/b3/z/41b3b.png)
jk5000
30. Apr 2021 · 07:37 UTC
This is overall a pretty good compo game. I love the story, the idea, visuals and the music. The idea with the fighting is good, but the way it's now, it's way too easy and I do not have to do much. But anyway well done.
Lorwon
30. Apr 2021 · 09:50 UTC
Wow for a compo game that's amazing ! I love the story :) The game remembers me a lot curious expedition :D It can be a bit repetitive (I think that the first encounters are too easy) but it's a very goo entry overall good job !
Harmadillo
30. Apr 2021 · 20:20 UTC
Great atmosphere and story. Took me a long time to realize I could reorder the party.
🎤 alexhall
01. May 2021 · 14:27 UTC
@harmadillo Thank you. Indeed I think a mechanic explanation is lacking. I thought showing the character sheet was inviting enough that we will want to select another character to see his stats and therefore notice the drag'and'drop possibility on his portrait. But no :)
Franklins Ghost
14. May 2021 · 12:49 UTC
Really enjoyed playing this, thought the atmosphere you were able to create was well done. Liked that the characters were able to level up but I did have the issue with one of my characters being killed and then still having hps in later fights after I camped.
The art in this was great and thought it worked really well with the font and borders.