Dank Brew of the High Mage by John Luke Lusty

[raw]
made by John Luke Lusty for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

Summary

You are the high mage. A dragon has been found in a local cave that serves as a sanctuary to a critically endangered species of bats. For this, the dragon must be destroyed. You brew your dankest of brews - an explosively unstable concoction of black pepper, cilantro, and nitroglycerine. It's so dank you can't even hold it in your hands, so you summon a table to hold the potion. Go destroy the dragon, but don't drop the potion!

Controls

Use LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW to move left and right. Use Q and E to tilt the table. Hit SPACEBAR or click Play to begin.

Credits

Dankity Dank Games Inc., Incorporated - Joseph Mortensen: Programming and Sound Assets - Jacqueline Loerincs: Graphical Assets - John Luke Lusty: Programming and Sound Assets

Ratings

Overall 626th 3.617⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Fun 838th 3.344⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 459th 3.585⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Theme 134th 4.228⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 399th 3.979⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Audio 657th 3.277⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Humor 165th 3.911⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Mood 373th 3.756⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Given 55🗳️ 71🗨️

Feedback

🎤 John Luke Lusty
20. Sep 2021 · 22:39 UTC
Just first comment for setting up the submission page for ludum dare.
UCSBDad
04. Oct 2021 · 20:07 UTC
Really awesome game, funny and absolutely beautiful to look at.
elq
04. Oct 2021 · 22:40 UTC
Damn the game was hard, but the idea itself was interesting. Maybe some kind of highscore system would have worked for the game.
The Yak
04. Oct 2021 · 22:55 UTC
Funny Game
Lynnaira
04. Oct 2021 · 22:55 UTC
very cool art and animations, but maybe a bit difficult for me haha. good job though!
Fluffy_Kaeloky
05. Oct 2021 · 01:45 UTC
**f*ck**

It's a fun little game ! A bit tough to grasp the mechanics at first, I think I tried at least 6 or 7 times to dodge only the first blast, but then I managed to complete it.

The pixel art for the dragon is on point.

Congratulations on making it to the LD49 ! :)
Kybre
05. Oct 2021 · 01:52 UTC
Nice graphics! The premise was also pretty funny! Good job!
Jel2217
05. Oct 2021 · 01:56 UTC
Challenging game, but a cool concept and very funny
Shess
05. Oct 2021 · 01:57 UTC
Unstable concoction! Ahaha, that was our first thought as well.
Awesome execution, and you have a good sense of humor, too!
Jungle
05. Oct 2021 · 01:59 UTC
Very clever mechanics!! I've struggled a little at the beginning but I nailed some tries later. Contrats, very funny and adictive
Kwiper
05. Oct 2021 · 02:05 UTC
This is a really difficult game, tough to grasp but after a bit of practice I managed to get into it. The comedic timing of the deaths is on point, though it does get repetitive, so some variety would've definitely added to the humor. The graphics are top notch, that dragon looks incredible. What would make the game flow better is if instead of being sent straight back to the start menu, failure just restarted the level. Definitely saves a lot of time not having to move to my mouse to click start again. I also found the audio a bit grating, so some better sound mixing would definitely help.
Kimberly
05. Oct 2021 · 03:37 UTC
Pretty fun! The art looks awesome. Controls felt a bit awkward at the start, but it wasn't unfair or anything. Wasn't really sure if I was getting further or not with each attempt
PolymathLD
05. Oct 2021 · 03:42 UTC
This is one of my favorites yet. So damn funny--laughed my butt off--simple yet challenging, and fantastic art (especially the death animations). Kudos.
cottontshirtz
05. Oct 2021 · 03:56 UTC
Good humor and great pixel art!
Only thing I can comment on is that the 'zzzhow!' SFX is a bit loud
SkallyWags
05. Oct 2021 · 04:43 UTC
The art really caught my eye, and the audio implementation is great too, although the failure sound is a bit loud as others have pointed out.
The gameplay is interesting and challenging, but could have used a smoother ramp up in difficulty or more onboarding for new players. Overall, great idea and great job.
m0dsat
05. Oct 2021 · 07:02 UTC
Fun little game. Kind of brutal, but I managed to complete if after like 20 attempts. The mechanic itself worked nicely and was easy enough to learn within a few minutes but challenging enough to make we want to try. Thanks for the game! :smile:
Substain
05. Oct 2021 · 07:14 UTC
short, but actually pretty polished. i had to use two hands, which might have been easier if the weren't as close together. I also liked the endings. Nice!
Spidd
05. Oct 2021 · 08:06 UTC
It was really clever game. Simple but addictive mechanic. I had to turn off the sound after like 100th death, because that shattered sound was hurting me. But do not take it as negative, I really like everything else :)
Lucy Lu
05. Oct 2021 · 08:41 UTC
I'm so bad :laughing:

A nice and sweet experience. I had fun :heart:
Sirkovitch
05. Oct 2021 · 15:31 UTC
The concept is so fun !
The game is challenging but I had a blast trying to beat it !
fae.pdf
05. Oct 2021 · 15:36 UTC
Very nice game! Challenging though, and pretty punishing.

I had to try many times before I managed to git gud, but I had to give up because it kept giving me seemingly random game overs (blue screen without getting hit by a flame?) after the 4th flame, so I couldn't finish it.

It's really fun though, once you figure out the (to me) very unintuitive control scheme! But it felt especially weird that there seemed to be no friction between the ball and the table, and so you really have to treat the character and the ball as two "separate" entities you have to keep on top one another. Once I understood that, it became much simpler.

The dragon's randomness also made it hard (not in a good way) to predict its movements, because there wasn't much in the way of clear telegraphing. So that made the experience a bit frustrating; but these are my main grips. I really like the tongue in cheek writing though, and the visual atmosphere! Love that dragon. Great job and cool little game!
YouK
05. Oct 2021 · 15:39 UTC
Very fun and pertinent game. I saw the game over scene so many times that later I turned off the sound, but sound effects itself is quite well!
LarrySeinfeld
06. Oct 2021 · 00:58 UTC
Haha, that was a funny concept and a unique control scheme that fit the theme perfectly. It was definitely challenging (many high mages died at my expense, but for a worthy cause, no doubt!). It's one of those games that you could play while watching tv and try and master. Good job!
kalevrk
06. Oct 2021 · 03:51 UTC
The dragon art is great (I definitely didn't like walking towards it), and the overall atmosphere is nice. I also like the mechanic of having to handle balancing the table and moving the player at the same time. I did feel like the table was a little too slippery and made it very challenging from the start. I died...a lot haha. As some other reviewers mentioned it would be nice to be dropped back into the start of the gameplay instead of the main menu given how often people are dying. Nice work overall!
OllieOA
06. Oct 2021 · 11:25 UTC
Good looking game with some very satisfying aesthetic. The sound design was great for this one! Great work.
Tygrak
06. Oct 2021 · 21:02 UTC
Incredible! Simple concept, but very well made. The game looks extremely good, no joke. All the animations are beautiful. It is also probably the hardest game I beat so far this LD, and I like a challenging game. The mechanics are simple, but deviously difficult. I think it took me about twenty minutes to get it, but after I got it I went and did it the second time immediately after, which feels great!
Diego Escalante
07. Oct 2021 · 03:25 UTC
Dank brew and a high mage huh?

It took me quite a few tries, but for once I managed to not disintegrate myself. This game has big mood and big humor, visuals were lovely and the balancing challenge was neato. That glass shattering sound effect sounded so authentic! ;)
Timmith
07. Oct 2021 · 04:04 UTC
The retro graphics (especially the detailed dragon and death animation) had me hooked to complete the humbling challenge that was this game. Once I figured out the best control scheme (arrow keys to move with Q and E to tip) and after a small test of skill/patience, I felt such satisfaction from witnessing the tables turn and seeing the dragon defeated. Sweet submission!
🎤 John Luke Lusty
07. Oct 2021 · 15:13 UTC
@diego-escalante Hilarious story about the glass shattering sound effect - the other programmer's kid was fast asleep at the time we needed to record this sound so we ended up grabbing a few bottles and actually breaking them with a rock in my car. The explosion sound effect was made by throwing Unity.exe into Audacity's "raw import" mode and finding some interesting bits.
Kiwi663
07. Oct 2021 · 16:43 UTC
Nice graphic very stylish :)
LDJam user 270783
07. Oct 2021 · 17:26 UTC
Very funny idea (and cool story!) and it's quite a unique game. And the game has beautiful pixel art, especially the dragon and the way the character disintegrates :D
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to slay the dragon, but I'll try again. Might need a bigger table to succeed :)
Soul Grinder
08. Oct 2021 · 16:50 UTC
I like this, quite tricky to play but made well. Will come back to play this one, added it to my list. I liked the dragon art and the death animations, good fun skill game.
ElFapo
08. Oct 2021 · 17:30 UTC
Cool game with great visuals and audio and a very original idea! Extremely hard to control in the beginning, but once I got the hang of it, it was quite fun. I think the collision bodies should be a little more precise. The orb falls off the table too quickly and the dragon's fire hit me even when I was 'meters' away. But anyway, great job!
Echo GameWorks
10. Oct 2021 · 18:11 UTC
Great mood, visuals, and take on the theme. Impossibly difficult but still super fun. Awesome work!
Soulo
15. Oct 2021 · 18:44 UTC
Beautiful graphics, good idea, but too difficult