AquariumHunter by Jcourt
You're a little crustacean in a fish tank. Eat the other (tiny) creatures so you don't starve.
Instructions:
-Click to move towards the mouse.
-Don't move for a few seconds to let your boost build up. You can use this to quickly catch prey that can outrun you.
-Don't starve.
The fish you eat reproduce every now and then. When they do, the child's stats are random, centered on their parent's stats. That means that, as you survive longer and longer, you'll tend to eat the slower, worse adapted prey, and the better adapted ones will tend to survive longer to make more children. Over time, this may get to the point that all surviving prey have adapted to become too hard for the player to catch.
That may not actually happen if the enemies reproduce too fast, so fast that nothing the player does can meaningfully affect their population, or too slow, so that the player eats every enemy so fast that they can never adapt, and the game has to backfill with basic starting fish from the hole at the top. Or maybe there's another issue I haven't considered.
This is really more of a little experiment or toy than a proper game, because I've been pretty busy, but hopefully it's at least a little amusing to mess around with?
| Alternate HTML5 (web) | https://jcourt325.itch.io/aquariumhunter |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/aquariumhunter |
Ratings
| Overall | 661th | 3.432⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 370th | 3.591⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 359th | 3.524⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 185th | 4.119⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 862th | 3.023⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 525th | 3.079⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 423th | 3.65⭐ | 22🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 24🗳️ | 26🗨️ |
Pros:
- Simple Controls
- Good Gameplay loop
- Select your own color (love it)
Cons:
- Very forgiving Survival
- LD version not working (Go to Itch link to play)
Chasing the fish/other crays was entertaining for a while. Having fish with stats/some amount of breeding is impressive for this short time.
Leaving the top of the tank open for me to escape was appreciated.
The overall gameplay worked well and I had fun with it.
Next time adding a timer counting up or score as you eat could be a way to gamify without too much work for the minimum product. SFX for lunging and something quiet for swimming could be good too. Or if fish don't hear me, maybe its a stealth game of maneuvering around fish to a blind spot.
The bouncy music is fun and cheerful, the gameplay that goes with it is relaxing, and the graphics are similar enough in style to be immersive, great job!
Good job with your game!
I tryed to eat all of them, but I figured out it is probably impoddible right?
New one are dropped through the hole
I really like how the boost meter encourages stealth. Having to be patient and strategic about stalking my prey made for an interesting challenge. The evolution mechanic is a cool way to add a bit more long term strategy, too.
I love how you've extended this idea with evolution. Using generational evolution to increase the challenge is brilliant.
Here are some ideas you might consider:
* It wasn't clear if the character got any stronger by consuming other creatures (like, more stamina). That would be another dimension to experiment with.
* What if the other fish could also eat me (taking an idea from another favorite: Spore)
You did a really good job. Graphics are nice as well. And the fish movement patterns feel also quite polished