T-Minus by michaelaranda

[raw]
made by michaelaranda for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

starting screen.png A flingy space adventure that sends you deeper and deeper into space!

Controls

Click, drag, and release your mouse to launch your ship into the unknown depths of space.

Credits

Juliestrator — Art and Programming https://www.twitch.tv/juliestrator

Steve S. McStevenson IX — Programming

Michael Aranda — Music, Sounds, and Programming https://www.twitch.tv/michaelaranda

Special thanks to Rene Aranda and SoonRaccoon for contributing ideas to the development process!

Ratings

Overall 250th 3.947⭐ 87🧑‍⚖️
Fun 321th 3.782⭐ 87🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 604th 3.482⭐ 87🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1346th 3.282⭐ 87🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 122th 4.429⭐ 87🧑‍⚖️
Audio 123th 4.106⭐ 87🧑‍⚖️
Humor 688th 2.957⭐ 71🧑‍⚖️
Mood 522th 3.789⭐ 85🧑‍⚖️
Given 46🗳️ 53🗨️

Feedback

tagbon
27. Apr 2021 · 02:00 UTC
This is a fun little game. I understand its the very first game for the dev who was streaming her work for 3 days (Juliestrator) - so that's amazing! Congrats on publishing.
ThatmanRobin
27. Apr 2021 · 02:15 UTC
Absolutely fantastic! Loved the concept, fun to play, and also quite difficult. Can't wait to see where it goes!
renearanda
27. Apr 2021 · 02:17 UTC
Such a satisfying game to play and very soothing. The graphics, music and mechanics are all incredible, feel professional, immersive, encapsulate the theme and work well together. A few bugs aside, I really enjoyed it and was really proud of myself when I beat it! Hoping to see some expansion on it. Thanks for the game! ![I did it!.jpg](///raw/056/83/z/400a2.jpg)
Chrispy977
27. Apr 2021 · 02:19 UTC
Pretty fun, super difficult. Overall though I enjoyed my experience and could see it developing into something even more awesome!
BillySkins
27. Apr 2021 · 02:25 UTC
Came here from Juliestrator's stream. Really impressed with you guys! The art style and music create a nice atmosphere and the difficulty was just right. Left me wanting to play more levels after I'd finished. Well done!
svyatozar
27. Apr 2021 · 02:35 UTC
Very impressive for the first game! Keep up the good work!
JM Studio
27. Apr 2021 · 08:51 UTC
Very beautiful game, graphics, audio and everything ! Congratulations !
It's too bad that you had to rush the level design (I was on the live^^), only 3 and a lack of direction to find the black hole
but in général, it's a very good entry !
BiOniKMonSTeR
27. Apr 2021 · 13:03 UTC
The game looks great, I took a lot of time landed on a plant just looking at planets, congrats on the art! Although I have found 4 ways you can improve your game :
- The Power mechanic needs to be more intuitive, I've spent 5 minutes to figure out that if I drag up, the power increases and if I drag down the power decreases.
- The rotation of the ship make it a nightmare to calculate where you're going to land. lower the rotation ratio, at least at the begining of the game to help the player understanding the gameplay.
- The Gas has no real use in a short game like this (game jam game). In a "normal" game, such mechanic would appear around level 5 to 10. You need to be sure that the player knows the game core mechanic before giving him more.
- Level Design is SOOOOO IMPORTANT! Your levels are nice, but it lacks a "tutorial" level and then some progression in difficulty to bring more challenge. For example, I'd set your first level as a lvl 3 or 4. That means that when I start playing there must be one challenge, learn how to thrust. Then, you add a bit of difficulty to make the player developp his accuracy, then his efficiency etc... just go step by step :).

Overall I think the one true thing missing is Level Design, apart from that, I think the mood is awesome, the grahics are cute and sweet and the audio is neat! Keep up the good work guys!
Rujum
27. Apr 2021 · 14:19 UTC
ty for the Game!
BruhDylann
27. Apr 2021 · 14:35 UTC
Super fun game! Good job to the Developer! Brilliant music and art which really add to the whole experience!
wowa
27. Apr 2021 · 17:09 UTC
Well this was nice. The last level was very challenging but fun to play! Great entry! Great work!
GoldenEvolution
27. Apr 2021 · 17:14 UTC
The concept is super cool but the rotation should be capped just a little bit since it's incredibly hard to move around to the point it gets slightly frustrating. A little tutorial on top of the rotation capping would make this game perfect, as the rest is awesome!
SuperFishBoy
27. Apr 2021 · 17:29 UTC
Love the idea, the visuals and the sound effects. Maybe too difficult to control when its flying.

Great Work! :v:
Attala
27. Apr 2021 · 17:45 UTC
Foolowed Julies stream this weekend as I was making my own game. Nice to try the game now. I really like the gameplay and the graphics are fantastic. The game is very polished. Only thing I missed was a quit button :) Good job!
Okamit
27. Apr 2021 · 17:59 UTC
A bit difficult early on, but very neat. Loved the how it kind of was a crazy take on golf.
Great atmosphere as well, and big bonus points for the tardis!

Great work!
Soyeahimjames
27. Apr 2021 · 18:22 UTC
The art and music is awesome! The games simple premise is really well executed, its tricky but in a really fun way! I can see myself coming back to play this one more!
AssertFailure
27. Apr 2021 · 18:36 UTC
Very amusing game, although quite difficult. Thrust power adjustment seems a bit wonky, especially if you are rotating on a planet. I'd prefer that the thrust power depended on how long you hold the mouse button instead of the position of mouse. The art and the music are great and reminded me of Outer Wilds. Great job :)
beahives
27. Apr 2021 · 19:07 UTC
This game is so much fun!! It's such an inventive little idea and everything comes together perfectly, from the pretty visuals to the incredible music, everything works so well. The only issue I ran into was the fact that dying causes your rocket to freeze upon respawning until you restart, not letting you move at all. other than that though this game is an absolute blast, great work to everyone involved!!
Potti
27. Apr 2021 · 19:11 UTC
Ah some nice physics, and really cute planets, nice work on the art there!

Also the last level is a bit annoying, I would have liked the restart button to work immediately (or I am just to impatient). And there is that one Tardis that kept getting in my way. And it did feel rewarding to finish.

Nice work.
Whysguy52
27. Apr 2021 · 19:14 UTC
Holy hardness batman! very fun though.
JoeDev
27. Apr 2021 · 19:15 UTC
A fun twist on a classic kind of golf game! Very cute and pretty visuals, and fun gravity mechanics. The last level took me a lot longer than I would like to admit :sweat_smile: The music was very relaxing and calm, and gave the game a chill atmosphere :thumbsup: Good job!
WhiteCubeGames
27. Apr 2021 · 20:02 UTC
Nice game! I like it! Good luck!
MaximeGammaitoni
27. Apr 2021 · 20:08 UTC
excellent game ! one of my fav nice job !
Pink Spaceman
27. Apr 2021 · 20:44 UTC
excellent game, i love the art and soundtrack, the gameplay is fun and atractive, made play a lot of times haha
DoctorTM
27. Apr 2021 · 20:47 UTC
Fun game! it's really nice, would be a cute mobile game as well!
LitmusZest
27. Apr 2021 · 21:15 UTC
Great game! Controls were simple and nice, love the graphics, lots of fun! Nice work!
freamdev
27. Apr 2021 · 21:35 UTC
Lovely little game the art really sells the whole thing. Had a little problem with navigating, I think I was trying to go in too large bursts. Deffinetly didn't spent 5 minutes trying to catch the Tardis just to realize it does nothing :frowning2:
Milestone Games
27. Apr 2021 · 22:51 UTC
What an amazing game! Like others wrote, the graphics and smooth controls were my favorite parts! Hope you continue developing this!
teshimoto
27. Apr 2021 · 23:11 UTC
I like it, it's like mini-golf in space!
However I've managed to fly through asteroids on second level and got an infinite interstellar experience, is it supposed to be in that way?
Geo3D
27. Apr 2021 · 23:34 UTC
Great little game! Simple to play yet can be challenging.
I was a little confused at first on how to play and what the two bars are for, one being the fuel and the other being the amount of thrust to be used.
Great graphics, cute as well and the music sets the atmosphere amazingly well.
I would like to play more levels.
nyanpierre
28. Apr 2021 · 02:51 UTC
Interesting idea ! The art work pretty well, gg
ChrisCo
28. Apr 2021 · 09:33 UTC
We had the same idea for the development of the theme :) I like it! The rotation of the ship makes the game not so trivial to finish. Add the link of this Ludum Dare page in your itch page, I found this game on a wishlist on itch.
GetSky
28. Apr 2021 · 11:20 UTC
Very cool! Separate respect for the Tardis - I do love it. ♥♥♥
Saussol
29. Apr 2021 · 10:24 UTC
I love this game !!
Doot
29. Apr 2021 · 10:48 UTC
Very cute little game!

I love the art, it is cute and clear. The audio is nice and all the sound design helps a lot while playing the game. The physic is fun to play with, even if at first I didn't understand you could adjust the thrust level, and doing so with position on the screen didn't feel very intuitive.

I like how the game is short and each level is different.

Thanks for the game I liked it 💕
joselor
29. Apr 2021 · 13:18 UTC
The art of this game is really lovely. But what really stroke me was this innovative concept of using the rocket boost with the help of gravity to go to the objective ( this happens for example in the last level ). The concept of the black hole for going deeper and deeper is also a good idea. The only problem i have with this game is that it is too short, if there were more levels, it would be great, but it ended so quickly...
Overall, it's a really cute and fun game !
Cyrille
29. Apr 2021 · 13:22 UTC
I love the mood of this game, the song and graphics are awesome ! Control are a bit difficult but the game is really funny GG !
daquxxn
29. Apr 2021 · 17:14 UTC
Nice game! The graphics are really cool and the audio too. It was really fun but kinda hard to control! Really cool game anyway! Good job!
MtWhateverest
29. Apr 2021 · 21:20 UTC
Nice game, it was fun to play. Using the planets gravity to get the rocket to the right place makes for a good mechanic. The audio fits well and the graphics are simple but look great. Nice job :)
remram44
30. Apr 2021 · 02:25 UTC
A golf game but in space! Very fun, I enjoyed the cute graphics and the floating Tardis. It's a bit frustrating when you are floating away but rotating too slowly or the wrong direction. The music was nice and spacey too, matched the setting perfectly. Thanks for the game!
idan9000
30. Apr 2021 · 13:15 UTC
Very creative game! even without a tutorial the visual cues in game were enough to clue me in to what I was meant to do immediately. Music is a bop, level design is solid, and the art is great. Good job!
LDJam user 250825
30. Apr 2021 · 16:35 UTC
Lovely game, the art style is super nice! I especially like the 3D planets and the flag on the black hole is a good visual cue that it's the goal :D
MrPouletBZH
30. Apr 2021 · 17:17 UTC
Great entry, the concept of the game is absolutely dope and all the mecanics that it brings with it. The art direction which feel very unique, and the sound design accompanies it extremely well (special mention to the voice comms in the background). I'd say that the difficulty curve is a bit harsh (but I guess it was necessary to show what the concept of the game could offer). Good job to the three of you, a more advance version of the game would definitely be a great mobiile / tablet game!
LDJam user 183028
30. Apr 2021 · 20:26 UTC
Great visuals, love the gravity mechanics, and while I never wanted to golf with a rocket-ship in the past, apparently it was a lifelong goal of mine to do so.
Bauke Regnerus
01. May 2021 · 11:18 UTC
Fun little "physics" game. The graphics are so lovely! Moving the mouse up and down to determine the force was unintuitive, and the level design is a bit inconsistent. But great entry, well done!
SilkyPantsDan
01. May 2021 · 11:43 UTC
Mini-golf with Spaceships! - what's not to love!
Great concept here - well, really great all round! I hope there is more of this to come!
warxen
01. May 2021 · 13:36 UTC
Nice looking game & mechanics. Steep difficulty curve for me (does get easier when playing more).

I like the clean art style of the game. The graphical effect of the planets also looked great.
Music & effects are also very good. Music in combination with the art really gave the game a good mood in my opinion.

I feel like the biggest addition the game could have is a way to look around in the level. So you can plan your approach, where to boost and such.

Game difficulty ramps up quite quickly in the second level.
I did manage to beat it eventually. I found the third level to be easier then the second one.
A game over state when being out of fuel & on a planet would be a good addition I think.

I feel like you can convey the boost in speed a bit by punching the scale of the ship.
So it does not feel like a thruster that is continuous, but instead as a punchy boost to the ship.
Although the sound does help sell that it is a single boost.

Regarding the Itch.io page, you can set a Ludum Dare link in the publish settings, so you get a small
banner on the top of the itch page for the game.

Good work!
fargred
01. May 2021 · 13:40 UTC
A fun planet-hopping experience! The graphics (including all the little references you can discover), sound design and the music especially are awesome. I actually left the song playing in the background even after finishing the game. Gameplay is also satisfying when you make it. The biggest hurdle seems to be that the ship starts in a pretty fast rotation. That way, in levels that don't put you on a planet right away I found myself mostly randomly zooming and tumbling through space just hoping to get into a more stable position. Overall though, a very fun experience!
Sentmoraap
01. May 2021 · 14:18 UTC
Pretty good graphics and audio! This shows good level design potential. I did not understand immediatly how to change the power. The main downside is the number of levels. (bonus points for the TARDIS)
Ithildin
01. May 2021 · 16:01 UTC
Amazing art and sound design, I love the music track especially.

It would be nice to look at a preview of the full map before starting to get an initial idea as to how to plan: ship mechanics already make the gameplay challenging enough, so in larger levels we can live without the initial trial and error till you find the level goal. Also, adjusting the power while the ship is rotating at normal speed makes it very tricky to predict where you may end up moving towards. Perhaps while you're dragging the power up and down the game speed could go slower? Hard to tell.

In any case, you've done a great job. Congrats!!
b0n5a1
01. May 2021 · 16:23 UTC
Lovely graphics with cool details, good music and nice gameplay. I crashed several times on last level, and then finally passed it in one shot :smiley:.
tomlbarden
01. May 2021 · 16:26 UTC
This is a perfect game jam game! A small, polished experience. Everything about the audio and visuals was amazing; the little rocket is beyond cute. It took me a few tries to work it all out, but once it clicked I had such a great time doing it. I only wish there were more levels!

I agree with @ithildin about having a bit of a zoom out feature so we could preview the route we need to take. I'd also love to see a little UI indicator for which direction you need to move the mouse to change the power level, but 72 hours isn't much time so I can understand why it's missing.

Fantastic job!
Saltysa
01. May 2021 · 20:39 UTC
The game was so pretty and kinda reminded me of Outer wild which is one of my favorite game. I liked trying to navigate from planets to planets, but a lot of the time my ship ended up spinning super fast on itself which made it hard to navigate. The difficulty often spikes and I didnt pass the third level, no matter how many times I tried but I still really enjoyed the game
korfi
03. May 2021 · 12:00 UTC
Great game and good looking visuals! I really liked it, great take on the theme. I only wish it was a little bit longer!
Hexa3
03. May 2021 · 16:19 UTC
Lovely game! Liked the color palette. Nice graphic and gameplay.
cpv
04. May 2021 · 06:39 UTC
Very nice game! Really liked the small easter eggs from some movies :) Looks like a game worth working on it and making a full one. Just add some tweaks maybe: a zoom out/a map so you could see where you should go next, some explanation how the thrust works (after a few tries I got the idea), maybe the option to adjust the rotation of the rocket (or not, gives some challenge). Overall, very good audio and visuals.


I got to the end, so I'm waiting for some levels :D
PROJECTaroid
05. May 2021 · 19:35 UTC
So much fun! The game looks, sounds, and plays great. I had a lot of fun playing it. The game has a really cool feel to it. Nice work!
joe40001
18. May 2021 · 09:09 UTC
Nice game, it was a little unforgiving and also a little short, but overall I liked it. Really good art and feel, also a clever idea. With a little tweaking I could see it grow into something much bigger. I liked the idea of interplanetary golf that it felt like you were going for. Ultimately the things like fuel and certain planets didn't come up too much, as the best strategy felt like a straight shot to the end. Still overall I really liked it. Good job!