LudumData

Alchemy Courier by Paroxysmal

[raw]
made by Paroxysmal for Ludum Dare 49 (COMPO)

Welcome to Alchemy Courier. Your job is to take courier potions across the realm. These days something seems different and the potions are becoming increasingly unstable along with the routes to deliver them.

Deliver the potions before they explode and taking you with them. Jumping, landing and trauma will cause the stability meter to drop. When it hits 0 the potion will explode and it will be game over.

Controls (keyboard) Arrow keys: Move Courier. A: Talk to Quest Giver S: Accept Quest Z: Jump X: Use a stabilizer...increasing the meter.

A gamepad can be configured and used. Pressing Esc and select gamepad options from the menu.

Built with TIC-80, Aseprite, and Affinity Designer.

Note of Linux: There may be Linux dependencies, most likely you’ll need libsndio 6.1. On Arch you can install ‘libsndio-61-compat’ from the AUR, on other distros there’s probably an equivalent package.

tutorial.png

screen3.gif

screen5.gif

Link https://morokiane.itch.io/alchemy-courier
Link https://morokiane.itch.io/alchemy-courier
Link https://morokiane.itch.io/alchemy-courier
Link https://github.com/Morokiane/LD49/tree/main/Linux
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/alchemy-courier

Ratings

Overall 327th 3.365⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Fun 358th 3.135⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 393th 3⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 165th 3.88⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 105th 3.904⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 277th 3.104⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Humor 280th 2.667⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 383th 2.932⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 21🗳️ 23🗨️

Feedback

Cratthew
04. Oct 2021 · 01:00 UTC
The game's a little buggy. I fell out of the second level back into the first one somehow? And using potions after having died just softlocks the game. The controls are also a little awkward. That said, the graphics and theme of the game are really great!
Butterkatt
04. Oct 2021 · 01:01 UTC
This was pretty fun! I like how there's a sorta puzzle element to it, having to choose carefully when to jump. The graphics are pretty nice too, it's always cool to me how much people are able to convey with limited color palettes like this.
SlimmerBurger
04. Oct 2021 · 01:01 UTC
Really cool idea, I wish it was a bit longer though
Grizwhirl
04. Oct 2021 · 01:04 UTC
Some of the hitboxes are a little inaccurate. Gives me strong Gargoyle's Quest vibes for some reason. Loads of fun
syg
04. Oct 2021 · 01:10 UTC
Very good! It's simple but not easy, fits the theme nicely, intuitive controls.

A few remarks:
- There is a hitbox bug that has me stuck in-between platforms when jumping into one.
- It's a bit unclear what's causing "damage" or un-stability. Or maybe it's just me not being used to platformers.

Good job!

syg
🎤 Paroxysmal
04. Oct 2021 · 01:13 UTC
@syg Basically you have the potion in your backpack, by jumping and landing you are jiggling that potion causing it to become unstable. Thanks for the feedback. Glad you enjoyed it.
theviraldragon
04. Oct 2021 · 07:23 UTC
There are some bugs but a nice concept
hi-im-alex
04. Oct 2021 · 10:58 UTC
I think the aesthetic has nailed that old feel, with the sounds and artwork. It's a fun little game! :D
LDJam user 261036
04. Oct 2021 · 12:52 UTC
interesting take on the theme and concept. controls feel a bit awkward though and the platforms' hitbox is weird and prone to getting you stuck; other people already mentioned that but i mention it again because it did take away a lot of the fun
Barrier
04. Oct 2021 · 15:38 UTC
It's basically a limit on how much you can jump&fall, interesting. The hitbox is giving me some trouble otherwise nice retro look and feel.
MikoziQ
04. Oct 2021 · 16:20 UTC
Yes! I managed to **SPOILER** , heheheh.

Pros:

- Pixel art is my jam
- And it has cool little fluid animations!
- Good sound-ques
- I liked the story!
- Good use of space in level design
- Good use of stability level, so even with few tries you can still deliver the potions without restrting a level. I actually did not need to at all!
- Simple, yet satisfying mechanic
- Pleasant to eye color palette

Cons:

- Wish there was maybe a tiny bit of pixel'y music, but I get that it's 'meant' for old hardware
- Wish there was more obstacles or moving enemies

Great entry, good job!
rzfmzn
04. Oct 2021 · 16:48 UTC
Liked the game, the gameboy look and feel drag me waaaay back :)
I have a hard time on platformers, so I went up to the 3rd or 4th stage only :/
But great job :D
madjackmcmad
04. Oct 2021 · 16:52 UTC
Works great with gamepad! I have doomed all of mankind. Platforming felt solid, a couple of confusing jumps but otherwise solid effort with shiny theme polish.
Mordrick
04. Oct 2021 · 17:04 UTC
Yay! I'm the 20th vote ^^

I love those Gameboy like games and all I missed here was a bit of background music (with https://www.beepbox.co/ for example). The theme was okay and the platformer itself was well done. At one point I stuck under the collider of a platform, but that was really only once.

In every other aspect a solid little game.

Well done!
Mogaiskii
04. Oct 2021 · 17:20 UTC
Cool and well-polished game!
Trexxak
04. Oct 2021 · 21:51 UTC
I love the gameboy aesthetics :3

Other than that, the game feels very much like it has accomplished its goal. There were some bugs still (Standing mid-air beyond platforms). All in all a competent entry!
LDJam user 178331
04. Oct 2021 · 23:31 UTC
How cute! Love the gameboy aesthetic and sound effects. A bit buggy, but nothing that renders the game entirely unplayable. It's a shame this couldn't be longer, I feel like there's a lot more you could explore with this kind of platforming gimmick.
pdotjpg
05. Oct 2021 · 17:00 UTC
I like the look and sound of this very much (tho music would have made it even better of course), and limiting the player's jumps and falls in a platformer is a cool idea. Would be nice if the stability decreased relative to fall height/speed: soft and well-gauged landing could only cause a bit of instability, large falls would cause a lot.

I found the game pretty difficult, which is not helped by the hitbox glitchiness mentioned above, so it was frustrating that there were no checkpoints.
Mathiouza
08. Oct 2021 · 03:53 UTC
Really pretty! I loved the aesthetic!

The game is cool, and the gameplay mechanic simple but well executed. I just wished there was checkpoints.

Lovely game! Great work! :clap:
kumber
12. Oct 2021 · 11:58 UTC
Oh, how I liked the graphics. It's a cool and fun concept, keep up the good work!