Project MONSTER by 0x0961h

[raw]
made by 0x0961h for LD33 (COMPO)
[TOP SECRET]

Welcome, pilot ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮!

You have been chosen from thousands of the best pilots from all over the galaxy. You are the best from the best. You will work with us on our top secret project. You are going to control the most intelligent, the most perfect piece of space equipment.

Our new invention will help humanity traverse the ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ or as we call it "The Negative Space". It is done by the device that uses series of optimization matrices to control the quantum flow of the Negative Space and use it for our advantage. Yes, it does look like a rocket, that's why we called it M.O.N.S.T.E.R. which stands for Matrix Optimized Negative Space Traversing Extragalactic Rocket.

Your mission is simple. You have to become the one with the "rocket".

You have to be a rocket.

In the end we want you to remember, that from now on there's no turning back. And we want you to understand, ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮​, you aren't a "pilot" anymore.

You are the rocket.

You are the MONSTER.

-----------------------------------------

> Total development time: ~26.5 hours.
> Chrome is strongly recommended for the web version.
> There could be some weird bugs (e.g. with sounds or music) in the web version, so if you're experiencing ones, try the desktop version.
> JRE required for desktop version (tested on 1.8.0_31).
> MacOS version was not tested, but since it's a Java game, it (theoretically) should launch.

Ratings

Coolness 52% 3
Overall 3.79 85
Audio 4.03 28
Fun 3.52 160
Graphics 3.86 140
Humor 2.92 375
Innovation 3.34 253
Mood 3.58 135
Theme 2.59 832

Feedback

tuben999
24. Aug 2015 · 08:05 UTC
Love the simple graphics and the music was great! :D
the goal "square" could have been a stronger color so you could easyier see it on the map.
Mr. Jif
24. Aug 2015 · 14:55 UTC
Loved the music and graphics. Also random level generation? Wow good work!
Tuism
24. Aug 2015 · 16:49 UTC
Very polished, has a bunch of awesome things - procedural generation was great, graphics and animation was great...

But as a whole the game isn't very fun. There's not really all that much to do and be challenged with. If you don't fancy a certain situation, just stay away from it.

The enemy/collectible relationship is also not 100% clear. I eventually knew what each were, but a stronger visual language differentiation between them would have been better.

For example the triangles were pointy, and so were the chaser enemies. The spinny things were dangerous, but round. Etc.
Arg410
24. Aug 2015 · 18:23 UTC
Love the random gen levels :)
baykush_figtree
24. Aug 2015 · 18:23 UTC
It feels like some deep stuff is going on behind the level generator. this games makes me feel dumb. I like it.
boardtobits
24. Aug 2015 · 18:24 UTC
Agreed on the exit square, didn't realize what it was at first. Otherwise a clean, clever game. Liked the color scheme a lot!
peterkirk
24. Aug 2015 · 18:49 UTC
First of all the music was great. The art style was great too.
The ability to draw all collectibles towards me made the game a bit too easy.
Overall it was really enjoyable.
hgcummings
24. Aug 2015 · 20:00 UTC
Good graphics and sound, and great overall mood. Fun to play and nicely challenging too. Nice try with the theme - I'm guessing you were hoping the voting would go a different way :)
AlgorithmicsAnonymous
24. Aug 2015 · 20:03 UTC
Epic. Enough said
Vaida
24. Aug 2015 · 20:19 UTC
This game is amazing! I have no idea how you managed to make a game so complex in such a short amount of time. Random level generation, specials, different ships... The art is simple but works well, same for the audio. The concept itself is interesting too. My favourite part: the interpretation of the theme. :p
Crowbeak
25. Aug 2015 · 07:50 UTC
I like the graphics, but a transition between levels would have been nice to give me a chance to take my finger off the button so I wouldn't accidentally run into something at the beginning of the next level before finding out it was there.
local minimum
25. Aug 2015 · 11:22 UTC
Very slick looking game. Well produced and I like the back story and theme abuse (if there's such a thing). It was quite challenging game, especially when encountering new enemies. Not knowing how they would behave. With that in mind I think it would help not punishing the player so hard as having to replay everything every time. Simplest solution is giving the player the ability to take three hits. Maybe actually changing the stats of the ship so it becomes more jittery or inefficient or something. Maybe because I liked my idea of getting pushed to the left by a negative flux (animations that now blow in game), I can't really let go of it. I think it would add to the game. Making you have to not pause too long in any place of the stage. As some others have commented, the target wasn't that readily visible and I think it didn't really follow the otherwise very consistent design. To work with the story and graphics is would suggest having the target as an unstable tile that flickers between the two colors used in the stage. And finally, at each stage load I think it would do good to have half a second where input doesn't fly the ship, because I often started flying before I had noticed the stage.

That was a long comment. But I think this was a very well made game. Having proc gen work that well and having found such a well worked expression in a weekend. Really great.
primaerfunktion
25. Aug 2015 · 11:43 UTC
This is a really fun entry. My favourite part was probably the joke in the tutorial. :D
ruerob
25. Aug 2015 · 13:50 UTC
I like the music of your game a lot! It's like hardcoded in my head now! I also like the graphical style. Would have been great if the ship would turn in the flight direction.
ghostlyguru
25. Aug 2015 · 22:38 UTC
Enjoyed it friend! Generation was fun & enjoyed the style!
shimage
25. Aug 2015 · 23:21 UTC
Very nice artwork and music. I like the simple game style. Great work!
01010111
27. Aug 2015 · 05:24 UTC
Your level generation creates some visually stunning stuff! I kept forgetting which objects were hazards and which ones were powerups, so I never lasted more than a few screens, but it's still pretty awesome! If the gameplay was a little more engaging, I think you'd have a hit on your hands :)
dickpoelen
27. Aug 2015 · 18:21 UTC
Yup. That's some good stuff you got there. Top notch all over.
Jupiter_Hadley
30. Aug 2015 · 20:54 UTC
Fun, chaotic game! I included it in part 11 of my Ludum Dare 33 Compilation video series, if you would like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/ypxK5QAWPFI
Franklin's Ghost
01. Sep 2015 · 12:56 UTC
Interesting take on the theme and liked the level generator aspect of the game just wish the exits stood out a bit more because it took me a bit to figure out.
WubAlliance
14. Sep 2015 · 21:22 UTC
Fun entry, VERY pretty. The aesthetic works very nicely, and overall makes the game feel very polished. Impressive amount of content for a compo entry. The audio feels complete and helps with the overall retro feel. Nice job!