Signal Overload by ursagames

[raw]
made by ursagames for Ludum Dare 59 (COMPO)

A simple arcade high score game. Try to survive as long as you can, prioritize pickups, and use the signals to avoid the incoming danger.

Controls:

Left click, set movement path

Right click, clear path / activate ability

Ratings

Overall 159th 3.407⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 115th 3.463⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 133th 3.444⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 249th 2.815⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 232th 3.019⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Humor 201th 1.923⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 258th 2.611⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Given 17🗳️ 30🗨️

Feedback

lectvs
Apr 20th · 05:16 UTC
Was a lot of fun once I got the hang of it! Trying to keep the patterns in my head while also scouting the right upgrades was quite the challenge! 2x stars is definitely the best powerup, and I'd argue the game might be even more fun when you don't have any abilities :thinking:

Great job, would love to hear some audio if you have time for a postjam version :smile:
LDJam user 428640
Apr 20th · 06:09 UTC
Tap the spot , hide the area , with a bit of input delay . I guess that input delay is the whole point of the Signal theme.. Adding some audio would definitely improve the experience . The graph signal mechanic is understandable in concept, but becomes kind of unrecognizable once the score reaches around 20,000. Overall, the game is basically functional. Well done!
SMOLBIGBY
Apr 20th · 20:03 UTC
Nice game! I think it would be even better if it explained what the power-ups do. Also, audio would be appreciated.
gamesplusjames
Apr 21st · 23:55 UTC
This was a really fun one. It definitely got more stressful as I got further especially with the fullscreen areas in different sequences but it was fun managing the power ups to help too. Great job as always!
Hoeleboele
Apr 22nd · 05:27 UTC
Only missing the audio. SO much potential to be very addictive
svalski
Apr 22nd · 11:20 UTC
fun gameplay, with sound its could be much better
VenomousMouse
Apr 22nd · 11:22 UTC
Super fun! I agree with comments above, even a bit of music would be great. But in general, nice idea!
Helagos
Apr 22nd · 13:27 UTC
It reminds me when i play FF14, the placement and enemies attacks use the same mechanics of "zones" to avoid.
It's fun ! Great job !
TotallyNIANCHU
Apr 22nd · 17:42 UTC
Fun game! I was Addicted!
🎤 ursagames
Apr 23rd · 01:31 UTC
Glad people are enjoying it! I found myself playing it on my phone since it plays surprisingly well off of itch.io - it's making me think I should maybe try building it out more and exporting it to mobile as well.

Agreed on the lack of audio. I had tried to make some music but I was feeling like it would have made the game worse than actually improve it so opted out of audio. I usually get some SFX in, but I ended up busy Saturday so my time was too limited that I ended up cutting a lot of my other ideas and didn't have any bandwidth for sfx.

@helagos That's actually where I got the idea from! I couldn't think of an idea on Friday night and was playing some FFXIV and the idea of the game came to me while getting ready for bed :D
N.O.X
Apr 23rd · 05:59 UTC
I thought the idea was simple but really innovative in terms of gameplay, something that’s hard to come by but works really well! Congrats :)
baknik
Apr 23rd · 13:51 UTC
Well done on finishing a complete game loop. It was tough but fair. I couldn't tell what my health was?
Crowelian
Apr 23rd · 16:18 UTC
Nice work getting this submitted! The path-setting controls are a unique touch. It feels like a solid foundation for a mobile game.
cogcomp
Apr 23rd · 20:07 UTC
Finally a cool and easy to understand game that still fits the theme. Well done! I agree with some of the others that some of the icons could need some explanation. Some catchy audio and this game would have had med hooked for ages. Well done!
UkuleleFury
Apr 23rd · 23:07 UTC
Oh, interesting! Yeah, like others said, sound would help it feel more fun pretty easily. I like all your upgrades, and the controls were fun to use. The periodic damage pattern mechanic was well-executed and just challenging enough I think. I think I was seeing a bug where my health value wasn't always updating correctly (and maybe my score value too?). That was definitely a bit confusing on my first playthrough!
LDJam user 384191
Apr 24th · 11:36 UTC
The movement system is really original. Some of the upgrades weren't really clear to me at first glance. I believe having more feedback would help. Great concept!
CaptainSpoof
Apr 24th · 11:49 UTC
i came here from the rescue page filter for rescuing and grant you 20 votes 🫡🫡
Shernik
Apr 25th · 14:07 UTC
There is no health indicator and it is not always clear how some abilities work.
Cardboard Box
Apr 25th · 14:23 UTC
Simple but effective. Could do with some audio and VFX
Disvent
Apr 27th · 09:40 UTC
I really liked the movement mechanics – it would be interesting to use it somewhere :)
Harmadillo
Apr 30th · 18:03 UTC
Fun game. The attack patterns are easy to read and I think I understood most of the pickups. I'm not sure if I like the movement scheme or not but it is interesting.
Agent p
May 09th · 04:17 UTC
Incredible fun! I can't believe I missed this for most of the jam! The decisions and split second choices with the upgrade variety and pattern variety is top notch! Plus the movement gimik is pretty cool and inventive! Although, the x2 power-up seemed confusing on how it activated. Overall great game though!