Unstable Mines by AppoxGames

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

You are a robot tasked with clearing blocks using mines that you create every x seconds. The mines are stagnant initially but as soon as something collides with them they get triggered and a count down starts. When the count down reaches 0 they explode and damage everything around them. You can also find different types of mines hiding in the yellow blocks.

I have only used the default graphics you get with Unity (Square, Circle, Hexagon), used photoshop for the banner and icon.

I generated the music with Strofe and fine-tuned it with Adobe Audition.​ For SFX, I have used some base sounds from my previous games and remade them using Adobe Audition to match this game.

Let me know what you think and be honest :)

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Follow me on: https://twitter.com/appoxgames

Ratings

Overall 45th 4⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Fun 40th 4.049⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 85th 3.915⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Theme 111th 4.05⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 273th 3.427⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Audio 132th 3.55⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Humor 265th 2.735⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Mood 275th 3.211⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Given 54🗳️ 65🗨️

Feedback

Richard Jiang
04. Oct 2021 · 03:45 UTC
This is sooo fun!!! got 541 points. I really like the concepts!
Owl_Skip
04. Oct 2021 · 07:46 UTC
This is a really and addictive little game, nice work!
hotaloca
04. Oct 2021 · 07:55 UTC
A very nice game overall. Congrats. I really think the theme with the chain reaction brings the unstable concept to life well. Its cool that the bombs become aggressive after some time. Its good you can try dash away from problem areas. Maybe some different maps with different kind of strategies would have been a nice addition. The sound was nicely done too, graphics bit basic but at least clear.
candlesan
04. Oct 2021 · 07:56 UTC
Really cool. I like that the basic rules are simple but the emergent gameplay is very nuanced.
DraperDanMan
04. Oct 2021 · 08:13 UTC
Took me a little bit to understand what to do, but after accidently bumping into one of the mines I had dropped it skittled into almost everything on one side of the map making a huge chain reaction which was awesome!
Great use of the unity generated sprites. Very slick menus and animations. (love the mine that is synced with the music!)
The dash didn't seem to work for me, I would press shift expecting it to launch me forward and give me some invincibility frames.
Really amazing submission, keep it up!
Furfel
04. Oct 2021 · 08:20 UTC
Innovative and plenty of fun!
GoldenEvolution
04. Oct 2021 · 09:39 UTC
This was a lot of fun and the situation definitely becomes very chaotic and unstable. I found it fairly easy to understand the mechanics. Great job!
JaviCoder
04. Oct 2021 · 09:51 UTC
I love the mechanics of the game. An original idea and well put into practice. After a while, it gets crazy and super fun. Good job!
BridgeOnAStick
04. Oct 2021 · 09:57 UTC
Lots of fun! There is a lot of variation in the bombs, and they almost immediately show what they do (the nuclear bomb is probably gonna be a big explosion). This way you don't have to get hit before you know how to prevent getting hit, really clever!
🎤 AppoxGames
04. Oct 2021 · 10:01 UTC
@draperdanman You actually press SPACE for Dash :) Thank you for the nice feedback!
Spotted_Leaf
04. Oct 2021 · 10:07 UTC
Wow great job on making this in 48 hours, I liked it a lot! Keep at it!
LDJam user 2042
04. Oct 2021 · 10:37 UTC
High Score: 899

This game has unusual mechanics, so my first reaction was, "oh god, what's going on, I've just spent 48 hours in a mad rush to make a game, I want to sleep, I can't brain this".

But then I re-read the instructions, started again a couple of times, and then I started having fun.

The mechanics work together to create tension and interesting situations. You can't really stop and rest because you're always dropping mines, so you think, maybe I can go rest in a corner and not touch any of them, but then something else will touch one and they'll chain-explode, so you have to keep moving.

Also, you want things to explode, because it's how you score and also how you stop the world being full of walls, so the game makes you cause explosions yourself by nudging your own mines, but then they set off some other ones, and some homing ones spawn, and aargh oh god you're in danger again.

The game makes you think, too, because, like, aren't we always dropping mines in our own lives, and walking in to our own explosions? But we can't hide away and just do nothing.

This kind of game is what LD is all about. It's one thing to try and bash out a polished genre title like a platformer or shmup or etc., but being brave and experimenting with novel mechanics is really where it's at, IMHO.
🎤 AppoxGames
04. Oct 2021 · 10:41 UTC
@rogual I really appreciate it, thank you!
pcmaster
04. Oct 2021 · 12:11 UTC
This was smooooooth! The graphics are so simple that I'd just leave them almost like this for a final product. Big plus for the sounds and the music. A very great job, indeed! :)
Wuppos
04. Oct 2021 · 12:29 UTC
I think you really put your time in the right places with this game! The concept is super simple, but the polish and feel is incredible. Great job!
I think this is a very clever mechanic. It becomes a mix of a 'bullet hell-like' game where you have to avoid bombs, and a football game where you have to dash and shoot the bombs towards the bombs. It is really nice how the bombs are both a thing you need to get close to, but also things you need to avoid. Really cool!
The controls feel a bit strange at first for some reason. I am not sure why or what else I was expecting. This is not really a problem though, and after a playing a bit I got used to it :)
Great job! The game juice and feel are through the roof and make this game really enjoyable. I had a great time playing! :D
theviraldragon
04. Oct 2021 · 14:16 UTC
Unstable bomber man. Nice!!
Listonos
04. Oct 2021 · 15:03 UTC
Really fun, I had good times blowing myself up. The graphics are very clean so with all the explosions happening I could keep track of what's happening most of the time. I think I would ramp up the difficulty a little bit slower but that's my only feedback.
Barrier
04. Oct 2021 · 15:45 UTC
Fun with lots of exploding mines! :D
Liam
04. Oct 2021 · 16:15 UTC
Bloody love it. The simple graphics work really well, it's a fantastic concept and suits the theme so well. I think my only minor issue was with the "tank" controls, I think I'm not too bad with that style but it was challenging to steer in the heat of the moment (but hey, that's fun!). Maybe clicking to move or steering towards the mouse might make it feel better. Fantastic variation on the mines and just loved the way the difficulty ramped. Audio was super nice.
Masaru
04. Oct 2021 · 17:45 UTC
Bomberman on wheels ! This game is super fun, I'll put it on the side and replay it later, I want to get a good score !
Remco
04. Oct 2021 · 18:59 UTC
Almost all has been said already by others. I'll add my voice to the chorus when it comes to the concept ... lots of potential for this single player physics bomber-man! And the audio is subtle, but very nicely done.

About the only new thing I have to say (unless I accidentally skipped over it when reading other comments) is that perhaps it would be a good idea to have some sort of indication as to where the new boxes will land?
🎤 AppoxGames
04. Oct 2021 · 19:18 UTC
@remco That is a really good idea, some indicator before they spawn in. I might do that in a post update.
kalevrk
04. Oct 2021 · 20:15 UTC
I really like the mechanic! It started off simple, but then got a lot more chaotic and was a lot of fun. The art style is simple, but memorable and I like the background music and SFX. Nicely done!
Jackaljk
04. Oct 2021 · 21:24 UTC
It's fun once you understand how it works! I loved that some mines follow you, great touch! I think it was a bit too easy to get stuck behind blocks, but overall good job!
Morris
04. Oct 2021 · 21:27 UTC
Really good one. They way the chaos builds up is great:D

A good combination of different mechanics and constraints, well executed.
chainsawmcd
04. Oct 2021 · 22:56 UTC
This is a really unique concept - and it got really hard really fast! Nice work.
caudatecoder
05. Oct 2021 · 09:16 UTC
I love it!
It's predictable enough to be fair but chaotic enough to be fun and unexpected. Really good take on the theme as well.

It also looks and sounds very nice. A very fun and polished game overall! Great job!
A Jeannerod
05. Oct 2021 · 11:39 UTC
I really like it ! Easy to control, it indeed gets unstable very quickly, and keeping an eye on every danger becomes harder and harder. Nice concept !
Dining Philosopher
05. Oct 2021 · 18:15 UTC
Nice and polished with a clean, abstract look! I got to 675 points, all those bombs got confusing quickly!
Gus Goucher
05. Oct 2021 · 19:11 UTC
What a great, simple concept! Reminds me of the simplicity and fun of games like minesweeper and snake! Incredible work!
Ghoulean
05. Oct 2021 · 23:34 UTC
This game reminds me of Bomberman, trying not to blow myself up. It's great
Myles Doupe
06. Oct 2021 · 04:13 UTC
A tank that poops bombs. What's not to like?
DOMO
06. Oct 2021 · 08:53 UTC
Simple concept which provides complex gameplay - well done! Simple but clean graphics and audio only enhances the gameplay. I think some timed pickups would make it even more fun to play, but overall I really liked the game.
EvokeSoul
06. Oct 2021 · 14:41 UTC
Okay so this was incredibly fun to play so much so that I replayed it beat my other scores. I felt sometimes when I hit move right it wouldn't move and that I didn't use the dash that much. Sometimes it felt like bombs were chasing me but I found this quite funny. Really great job well done
🎤 AppoxGames
06. Oct 2021 · 16:42 UTC
@evokesoul Thank you! Some of the bombs that gets dropped from the blocks are robot mines and they actually chase you with their small moving legs! :)
BlueCalx
07. Oct 2021 · 13:00 UTC
Yoooo the game design is on point in your entry! The take on the theme is clever and well executed. For a 48H solo entry I don't have much more to say honestly, congratulations !! Having combo strings that gives score multipliers/visual feedbacks would have been the cherry on the cake.
afells
08. Oct 2021 · 19:55 UTC
Very creative concept my high score was 250. I really enjoyed strategically placing bombs and causing a chain reaction. I ran into a bug where there was two players not too big of a deal I just restarted the game. Great job:)
bloodycoin
08. Oct 2021 · 21:41 UTC
Great layered design. First tank bombs, then robot bombs and walls you have to hit multiple times to remove them. This hits me a bit in nostalgia corner: bomberman meets tanks meets minesweeper.
Wouldn't mind some random drops from destroyed blocks restore some health back or give a shield to tank.
Vivoubos
16. Oct 2021 · 21:02 UTC
Nice game!! I liked it ! We nice generation of point