LudumData

Unstable Concoction by itsatony

[raw]
made by itsatony for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

Description

This Concoction is quite unstable! Juliet, our protagonist, is an apprentice in the tower of Abrak, a grand-master alchemist. He's the annoying sort of boss though.. constantly comes up with new recipies for potions. His latest one is really unstable, when it's not moving. And well .. you, Juliet, are tasked with bringing it from the tower-cellar up to the top where Master Abrak is impatiently waiting for you...

RUN, JULIET, RUN .. bring that concoction up the tower!

Concoction is a platformer with a wonderful flask throw+catch mechanic.. just don't stand still!

Controls

Mouse / Keyboard

  • W D / Left Right arrow keys - movement
  • Space - jump
  • Left mouse button - Hold to aim, release to throw the concoction into the air
  • Right mouse button - Hold to pull the concoction towards Juliet and catch it

Gamepad

  • Left stick - movement
  • Button south - jump
  • Right trigger / shoulder button - Hold to prepare throwing, release to throw the concoction into the air
  • Right stick - aim
  • Left trigger / shoulder button - Hold to pull the concoction towards Juliet and catch it

concoction_juliette.png

Post-submission Changelog

  • Fixed level loading script not working after the tutorial
  • Fixed tile import settings causing Juliet getting stuck on the ground
Link https://heremeus.itch.io/concotion
Link https://heremeus.itch.io/concotion
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/concoction

Ratings

Overall 739th 3.529⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Fun 651th 3.515⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 293th 3.735⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Theme 293th 4⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 888th 3.456⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Audio 566th 3.412⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Humor 676th 3.047⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 976th 3.197⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 30🗳️ 45🗨️

Feedback

archfan7411
05. Oct 2021 · 00:01 UTC
Good twist on the platformer concept, and it fits the theme well.
Great job!
Doug Graham
05. Oct 2021 · 00:02 UTC
At first I didn't know what was going on, but I had to make it full screen to be able to see the entire level on the web version. Challenging, but approachable. I liked it.
Don Fouts
05. Oct 2021 · 00:04 UTC
Love the character and the weight mechanic to the potion. Once I got the hang of the controls it felt cool to quick chuck the potion into the air, jump, and catch it in a smooth motion. It's too bad you only had 72 hours as I would love to see the environment fleshed out like the character. Occasionally I would get stuck running on the ground, but other than that this was a really solid entry. Nice work!
LDJam user 270875
05. Oct 2021 · 00:16 UTC
Liked it a lot but it didn't seem to register when I got to the portal at the end of the second level. Happened a couple of times and I couldn't see anything that I should do differently.
The throw and catch mechanic was clever. I liked it a lot.
nymnymn
05. Oct 2021 · 00:16 UTC
I had a blast playing this once I figured out the controls. It took me a while to get to the end of level two, but when I did the portal was broken.
bklolo
05. Oct 2021 · 00:21 UTC
Played a few times and was like man I wish the camera was better. Then I went into full screen and enjoyed the game! Love the throw mechanic -- good job!
EdevJogos
05. Oct 2021 · 00:22 UTC
Great game, loved the concept of the main character, she looks great and the voice fits really well. I've found two bugs one is that when i click resume to go to the next level it triggers the throw action too so i start the level dying, and the other one is that quite often i would get stuck on the ground where i hold to run but the character will just stay in the running animation without moving. Just two minor bugs though, overall the game is quite fun to play, i've ejoyed my time with it.
Jake Levine
05. Oct 2021 · 00:24 UTC
It's pretty challenging but I think it's a great idea. Throwing around the potion is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.

(As one other commenter noted, in the web view you need to go full screen, might be something to tweak)
subcreation
05. Oct 2021 · 00:59 UTC
Really nice! I like the art and the voice acting! The controls are a little fiddly, and there are some bugs to work out (the portal at the end of the tutorial didn't progress the game, so I couldn't play on), but the character animation is amazing (what's in her bag??) and the main mechanic is a really clever play on the theme! The level designer is not "stupid" at all :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Heremeus
05. Oct 2021 · 06:24 UTC
@malcolm @nymnymn @subcreation thanks for reporting that issue! Some tired gamedev (totally not me) broke the script five minutes before the submission period. We've decided to upload a bugfix as this should be covered by the jam rules. If you'd like to see the final (third) level, feel free to give it another go :v:

The fixed build also fixed the camera settings in the Web build a bit. Fullscreen is still recommended but it should be somewhat playable without it at least.
nymnymn
05. Oct 2021 · 06:48 UTC
@heremeus Nice I just beat it. Level 3 felt a little bit lacking compared to level two, but I was much more familiar with the mechanics this time around, so that could probably be why.
ruruie
05. Oct 2021 · 13:37 UTC
I uh... couldn't make it out of the tutorial area due to my incompetence at catching. There were definitely some issues where I could catch the flask near stair and it would be in her hands and she'd then effectively smash it into the terrain or moments where I thought I could catch but wouldn't and one instance where I threw and Juilet's controls disabled. However, it looks and sounds cute!
Préda
05. Oct 2021 · 18:32 UTC
You got some nice voice acting and also I like the mechanics!
subcreation
05. Oct 2021 · 19:24 UTC
@heremeus I just played it again and was able to finish! Really charming game, the character design really adds to the frantic tone of the game. I like it!
Not_AS_Artistic
06. Oct 2021 · 07:29 UTC
"Last Minute Edition" and yet you bring some full-time editions (such as my game) to shame.
I really liked the throw/catch mechanic, it's simple, unique but has potential for speedrunning type of mastery with how you throw and catch the potion.
One little nitpick I have is that clicking the 'Resume' button seems to throw the potion right at the start of the level... Not really annoyed, I kind of burst out laughing when I thought of Juliet making it through a level just to throw it on the ground going 'Nope, I'm out! I'm done!'
Graphics and sounds could use a little polish, but hey, I don't really care too much for polish in a jam game. Great work!
Heremeus
06. Oct 2021 · 21:07 UTC
@not-as-artistic glad you liked it! We added the subtitle when we changed all the visuals except for Juliet one and a half hours before submission. The previous tileset turned out too ambitious given the time constraint and ended up looking kinda "meh". We were thinking of fixing the resume button bug post-submission but I found it quite humorous too. Especially seeing peoples reactions when they finally beat the first level just to throw the potion away at the start of the second.
gimbalock
07. Oct 2021 · 18:26 UTC
This was great! Platformer with working mechanics, nice animations, good sfx and music. All round great game. I had one problem, that Juliet wouldget stuck in a run animation without moving forward. Love the concept art of Juliet!
LDJam user 250824
07. Oct 2021 · 18:37 UTC
I can clearly see the potential behind this fresh mechanic. It requires the player to build a relatively simple skill, and it feels very good to nail the throw. I've been trying to perfect it to the point where I can throw the bottle and then catch it without slowing down — I think perfect throws like that should be rewarded somehow, at least visually. Also, music was spot-on. I enjoyed this a lot, thanks!
zSharpFire
07. Oct 2021 · 18:43 UTC
The potion-throw mechanic was fun, SFXs are decent and graphics are fitting ( maybe the title screen is a bit static but that's not that big of an issue ) It's kinda weird how the potion accelerates when you try to drag it but you can get the hang of it.

Good job, Keep it up!
Heremeus
07. Oct 2021 · 19:58 UTC
We just published a bugfix that fixes Juliet getting stuck running on the spot. Turns out we forgot to update the tile import settings in Unity :see_no_evil:
Yorsh
07. Oct 2021 · 22:39 UTC
The potion throwing is a cool mechanic. It took me a bit of time to get the hand of it, I believe it would have felt more natural for me to press the button once at approximately the right time rather than hold it. Once I got it right it's really cool to play with tho. Also the sprites of the characters are cool, and voice acting is nice. good job :)
Trexxak
08. Oct 2021 · 00:32 UTC
I laughed a lot at the voice lines :D
Other than that I liked the core-mechanic a lot! Great work!
afells
08. Oct 2021 · 10:03 UTC
Very unique and smart core mechanic good job. :)
TTU_HASAN
08. Oct 2021 · 10:07 UTC
nicely done
aquata
08. Oct 2021 · 11:13 UTC
Great art and very interesting idea of gameplay! But it was pretty challenging for me so I became impatient and didn't make it to the end. I need to meditate more I guess :) Anyways, this is a great game and fantastic work you've done! Good luck!
FloGames
08. Oct 2021 · 21:14 UTC
Fun little dexterity game. It took me some getting used to the throwing and catching mechanic (running controls felt a bit too loose so I would speed up too much) but after I while I got the hang of it and it felt pretty good. The voiceover could be a bit toned down, otherwise neat job!
KekkoDude
09. Oct 2021 · 16:15 UTC
Kudos to me for making it, and kudos to you for **Making** it!

A great experience and a fun take on the theme, it's really well implemented! A lot of what i want to say is already pointed out so i will just say thanks for a fun little game, and keep at it, great job
LDJam user 271014
10. Oct 2021 · 02:23 UTC
Easy to play, hard to master - I think this sums up the mechanic you've got here! There's definitely a learning curve to tossing and catching the potion, but once you start to get the hang of it it's a lot of fun. I think the one thing I would change about the controls would be not slowing down the character while aiming. Having to slow down to aim felt like it killed my momentum a bit. I started trying to click quickly to not get slowed down, but it reduced my accuracy a lot and I ended up dropping the potion on accident a bit. That's entirely my fault though for wanting to go fast though :) The sound effects and music fit the prompt well, and the character sprites are very well done. Nicely done!
LDJam user 267116
20. Oct 2021 · 09:35 UTC
Really cool idea and well executed! Love the character design. Nice job!