LudumData

The Company Store by 3LSTMsInATrenchcoat

[raw]
made by 3LSTMsInATrenchcoat for Ludum Dare 48 (COMPO)

You load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt...

gameplay_screenshot.png

A strategic match 3 game about the life of a coal miner. Collect coal to fill your weekly quota and earn your wages, but be careful not to break too much equipment - you'll have to pay for it yourself. Of course, the company store will let you purchase equipment on credit, but you can't afford to keep going deeper and deeper in debt forever. How many weeks can you work before the interest becomes too much to handle and you end up in debtors' prison?

debt_screenshot.png

My second Ludum Dare game, second project using Godot, and first time doing the Compo.

Suggested Listening

There's no in-game sound (sorry), but you're encouraged to listen to your preferred version of Sixteen Tons on repeat as you play.

Fixes Post-Jam

  • A major graphical bug when entering/exiting full-screen mode on itch.io has been fixed.
  • No other changes have been made.
Link https://github.com/averyhiebert/LD48
Link https://averyhiebert.itch.io/the-company-store
(Resizable version, better for mobile) https://averyhiebert.github.io/LD48/
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/the-company-store

Ratings

Overall 470th 3.429⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Fun 504th 3.243⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 484th 3.143⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Theme 361th 3.721⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 339th 3.6⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Humor 265th 2.946⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Mood 519th 3.125⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Given 36🗳️ 29🗨️

Feedback

welby
26. Apr 2021 · 04:08 UTC
it's the kind of game that would benefit a lot from sound or effects. But i like the mechanic of trying to get coal without any of the other things.
AdamsMcCall
26. Apr 2021 · 04:11 UTC
I loved it. The gameplay is simple but the theme made everything. I wanted to continue playing just to listen to sixteen tons once more.
Peace Of Cake Games
26. Apr 2021 · 04:18 UTC
Never before has a game made me realize how truly stupid I am..... I'm amazed I lasted 5 weeks when basically every time I matched coal I ended up making a five-in-a-row of shovels or pickaxes.

Overall a good game! I love how you're doomed to lose and there's no way to win.

(Also, you might want to opt out of Audio since your game has none)
LDJam user 236545
26. Apr 2021 · 04:54 UTC
Clever twist on the match-3 formula. I enjoyed the clean minimalist art. It really felt rough when I had to match tools to get more tiles. Despite my best efforts, I went deeper and deeper into debt. Good job!
feralpoodles
26. Apr 2021 · 06:21 UTC
Really love the strategic twist of managing the tools, makes it a really unique match-3! Also found it funny that getting big combos with lots of big accidental matches, which is normally so helpful, is super devastating lol. Great art too, gives it a nice aesthetic! There does seem to be a bug in the web player, when you go into full screen and then come back out, the level is pushed to the side, but webGL is pretty finicky haha. Great job!! :)
🎤 3LSTMsInATrenchcoat
26. Apr 2021 · 06:28 UTC
@feralpoodles Thanks for the bug report. I had some trouble with positioning the tiles which I hackily solved by listening for a viewport-resized event that I guess doesn't trigger when coming out of fullscreen. Unfortunately, I didn't really have a chance to catch this before the deadline since I only uploaded to Itch later on.
GoodGamesJames
26. Apr 2021 · 07:32 UTC
Love the pixel art and palette. The white rocks are the only thing worth adjusting (maybe its the way it uses the border as part of the art, or maybe inverting the colors would help).

I had fun playing and the effects from the different matches held it up. It took awhile for me to understand the match-requirements (3 in a straight line) since I'd see 3 or 4 of the same touching.

Cool to see you communicate an idea so clearly with gameplay. The receipt at the end of each stage is heart-breaking!
The1
26. Apr 2021 · 10:05 UTC
The gameplay is simple, hard and brilliant at the same time! Good job!
Dynamix
26. Apr 2021 · 11:04 UTC
Nice take on a classic genre. The game is very appealing visually but some sound effects would have greatly improved the game feel.
I like the fact that you have to avoid breaking things, it is not that common in that type of game.

Great job!
LDJam user 235146
26. Apr 2021 · 15:41 UTC
Beautiful art, but the gameplay is quite frustrating. Sometimes the only moves are bad and there is no way to plan for the random refills
azagaya
26. Apr 2021 · 17:47 UTC
I liked this game sooo much. Clever interpretation of the theme, clever twist on a very well known genre. Art is really cool due to a good palette choice. Perhaps some FX missing, and of course, it needs sound for a post jam version. But it liked this a lot!
ryzy27
26. Apr 2021 · 18:58 UTC
I wasn't sure if matching picks and shovels was good, but after completing the level I know. I starved to death :D

Art looks very nice, I love the color palette. Although some more distinction between each item would help when solving puzzles.
LDJam user 236416
26. Apr 2021 · 19:02 UTC
The only match-3 game which may punish you for matching 3 items.
txanevk
26. Apr 2021 · 19:36 UTC
Slow paced game, a little music would be nice. Good GUI and intuitive controls. Well executed and clean.
Amirdu
26. Apr 2021 · 23:08 UTC
Charming depressing and well balanced, lovely.
Vimlark
26. Apr 2021 · 23:20 UTC
Great idea. It's an interesting take to play match 3 and not try to match all the things.
youthfulIdealism
26. Apr 2021 · 23:50 UTC
Nicely implemented game. Consistent artstyle. I liked the narrative about debt.
nexust
27. Apr 2021 · 01:44 UTC
I'm not a fan of match-three games, I have to admit, but you drew me in with your minimalist visuals and interesting progression. I do wish there were some sounds; perhaps for a post-jam version?
Simpathey
28. Apr 2021 · 15:42 UTC
This was fun! I was so bad though I kept on getting deeper and deeper in debt haha. Those darn taxes. One suggestion I have is to make it so the art for some of the blocks are a little more distinguished. I had a blast playing :)
joh
29. Apr 2021 · 01:26 UTC
Hey! interesting! I found this hard, perhaps because I tried to avoid damage too much. Are we supposed to avoid those, seems impossible and getting deep in dept would fit the theme xD No sound is a bit of a bummer though, but understandable!
🎤 3LSTMsInATrenchcoat
29. Apr 2021 · 04:21 UTC
@joh You're supposed to *try* to avoid damage, but yeah, it is kinda impossible the way I balanced it, in order to fit the theme. Maybe not the greatest design decision in the long run.
AdamCYounis
30. Apr 2021 · 07:25 UTC
Hey there! I liked the concept behind this one. I think you did a great job of taking a familiar genre and spinning it for the theme. The graphics and presentation suited the mood you were going for, though of course I would have appreciated a little bit of music or sound (I'm sure with a bit more time there'd be sound in there). I thought the progression could have been a little lighter in the first few rounds to hook the player in. It was really tough to make good choices in the game from the get-go, which hurt my engagement a bit. With a few tweaks, I could see this gain a lot as a game. Thanks for sharing!
brian-mayberry
30. Apr 2021 · 18:32 UTC
Not gonna lie, this song jumped into my head when I saw the final theme selection too! Unlike myself, you had the imagination to use it, and you used it super well! The game is too hard as is, I think having sounds and a bit of juice added would resolve that. I definitely went deeper and deeper in debt haha. Great game!
Hugimugi7
30. Apr 2021 · 20:58 UTC
Interesting idea for some tiles to be affecting the game negatively. It was quite unsatisfying though because your debt gets bigger even though you did pretty well. But this might be something you intended to do.