Blood of Beasts by Jimbly
Distill the essence of beasts into valuable crystals in this game of resource balancing
Links * HTML5(WebGL): dashingstrike.com/LudumDare/LD49 * Post-Compo Version: here (only difference is a "Continue Game" option on the main menu) * Source Code: Jimbly/LD49-blood-of-beasts
Controls: Keyboard or mouse/touch
The primary gameplay loop is this: given a set of resources (different colored "essences"), place all of them in your limited storage ("vials"), possibly discarding partial progress, trying to fill up vials (a full vial immediately turns into a valuable crystal).
Screenshots:
Post-compo fixes / changes * Fixed cursor position resetting while selling essences * Added automatic saving of game state and a "Continue Game" option if using the post-compo link above
Development Notes
This Ludum Dare was situated right as I was taking an international plane flight, so I knew I would not have much time, so I decided to do something "simple" using the terminal emulator in my engine. But, nothing's ever simple. I planned on having a little more time for polish, but the long flight did not have any outlets, so I had to make the most of my time before taking off and a single battery charge ^_^.
Tools Used * Custom Engine: GLOV.js * Mtn Dew * Font: Perfect DOS VGA 437 * The Draw (1992) * Moebius
| HTML5 (WebGL) | http://www.dashingstrike.com/LudumDare/LD49/?D=COMPO |
| Link | https://github.com/Jimbly/LD49-blood-of-beasts |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/blood-of-beasts |
Ratings
| Overall | 77th | 3.923⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 115th | 3.75⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 117th | 3.788⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 270th | 3.577⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 114th | 3.885⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 239th | 2.84⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 167th | 3.481⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 26🗳️ | 17🗨️ |
The game is surprisingly fun. I only found it weird how I can't leave resources behind? I always have to drain my vials and put in the remaining new blood. Or maybe I'm missing some input somewhere?
You provided a nice relaxing mood and it was really enjoyable with a morning coffee.
Also good job for making this in a single battery charge.
I just wish it had a bit more RPG mechanics, like if possessed essences had impact on battle performances.
It was really easy to learn and understand what was going on and it was nice to have a clear goal, from the start.
It did get a little repetitive afer a while and it would be nice to be able to leave behinf essence that you dont need, so you dont have to sacrifice essence so often, just to go back to town.
This is my favorite game I've played so far! Took me well over an hour to finally finish the game. The esthetics took me back in time to when computers where slow and graphics was mostly about imagination.
@denatus Congrats! I'm really happy you enjoyed it enough to play all the way to the end, I think you're the first one to finish it.
Excellent aesthetic and font choice aside, this is a really well-designed game. I spent at least half an hour playing without even realising it.
I made it!
The core concept is really nice. While it is a little intricated, it is also easy to grasp. I like it. The CTR distortion also creates a nice nostalgic vibe.
My only complain is the absence of sound. A chiptune like song would really improve the atmosphere of the game.
Excellent job on this entry!
Fun resource management gameplay with a nice tutorial to ease the player into the mechanics.
Great job!
@zimny11 Heh, all of the explosions do between 1 and 99 damage, which was is really rough when you're not expecting it, I should have made those a little more forgiving (in theory you could be at 99 health and have a 1% chance of explosion and get a game over, although you'd have to be pretty unlucky -_-).
@coryru Glad you enjoyed it, and glad it works on your phone! A lot of the vibe and mobile usability is just part of the terminal emulator in my engine, but it's pretty important for this kind of game, and I know whenever I post a link on any other site most people visit it on a phone, so it better just work =).
Only thing I'm having any issue with is trading upgrades at the refiner for crystals, couldnt trade for the L1 > L2 vial for L2 Greelac, had less than 5k coins and tried, just got the msg, "You can't afford this". Havent tried the other trades, still gathering for them
...10 minutes after posting this ^^
### RNG GOT ME GOOD HUH.... :laughing:
> "it seems to work in an isolated test, are you sure you’ve got a L2 Greelac and not 2 L1 Greelac or something?"
Kind of a cheat, but, if you use the post-compo link, and "Continue Game", it'll continue from right before where you died ^_^.
Now that's a name I haven't heard for a while...
I like the risk vs reward here, in the end I underestimated the risk and got killed while having 39k in my account (so close!)
fits the theme perfectly, enjoyed my essence collecting adventure a lot
after some time i turned off the modem just to move trough the menus faster but at the beginning it was a perfect mood setter
would love some lo-fi audio cues for each scene/event! i imagine the various crystal and beasts sounds
it annoyed me a bit that after i filled or drained the vial it auto-jumped to the first one in the menu, often after draining i wanted to fill the same vial and i had to move again trough the list, just a minor inconvenience
very nice entry! :muscle:
@aerloth Glad you enjoyed it, and you were so close! Losing location on the vial menu sounds like a bit of a bug, I think I was always just using the 1-5 hotkeys for selecting vials, so didn't notice that one, good catch ^_^.
@lmb Glad you enjoyed it. I did spend a while in the past trying to find the perfect nostalgia modem brands to use for that menu, but it's hard to say what actually resonates with different people, glad that one did =).
@coolestdoggie Thanks for playing and glad you enjoyed it!
Hotkeys are probably the way to go but my brain refused to accept them and I got into a nice rhythm with arrows and enter key
> I did spend a while in the past trying to find the perfect nostalgia modem brands to use for that menu, but it’s hard to say what actually resonates with different people
These little obscure references are not the kind of thing you can optimize much to reach larger audiences. Players should be able to play the game without getting these references, and you are probably better off not relying on these references for an enjoyable experience. But you create magic moments for those few who get the references.
Well, at least that's my perception. Again, nice job!
The way it works got me thinking though, wished i was able to choose whether to spend crystals or coins for the upgrades haha. Tiiiny detail i know, but i was hording crystals and wanted to just spend the coins i had gathered but since i had a the required crystal i was forced to do the trade.