Unstabled by Pennycook
I like to use Ludum Dare to learn new things, and so long before the theme was announced I committed to a JRPG-style battle system. Oops. :grin:
Keyboard Controls
- Select: Arrow Keys
- Confirm: Enter
- Cancel: Escape
Walkthrough
Please don't look at the below unless you really get stuck. But if you do, and want to see the ending...
!> What the enemy says at the beginning of each turn signals what move they will make next.
!> "Take this!" -> Attack
!> "You think you'll win? Get off your high horse." -> Attack
!> "Come and get me!" -> Defend
!> "Hoof, hoof..." -> Defend
!> "Time to stop horsing around..." -> Special
!> "Saddle up, Gainsborough!" -> Special
!> "Hyaaaah!" -> Attack
!> "You fight well... For a horse." -> Attack
!> "..." -> Defend
!> "Hyaaaaaaaaaah!" -> Special
!> "Taste my blade, foal creature!" -> Special
Known Bugs
- HTML5
- ~~If the game freezes when starting a battle, start over and skip all the dialogue.~~
- ~~Battles cannot end in a draw.~~
Bug Fixes
- HTML5
- Fixed freezes during dialogue.
- Fixed ability to recognize a draw as a game over.
Tools
- Godot
- Aseprite
Attribution
This information is also in the in-game credits, but I’d like to draw extra attention to:
- Art by Jason Perry (http://timefantasy.net/)
- Music by Eric Matyas (http://soundimage.org/)
| Link | https://pennycook.itch.io/unstabled |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/unstabled-2 |
Ratings
| Overall | 1123th | 3.225⭐ | 22🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 975th | 3.214⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1314th | 2.7⭐ | 22🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 812th | 3.476⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 79th | 4.119⭐ | 23🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 805th | 3.368⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 10🗳️ | 24🗨️ |
But if you spam click spacebar from the start it manages to show action menu. After that it seems to work, but if mouse leaves game screen it sometimes loses focus and became unresponsive (though it starts to work again after random presses and mouse moves).
Also, if battle ends in a draw (both HP bars reach 0) game won't progress any further and won't restart/show gameover.
@qthree: Thanks for the bug reports! I think I've fixed both of those issues, now.
This is my first Godot game with such a heavy UI component, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more asynchrony/signal/yield bugs lurking in there... and I never even thought to test what would happen if a battle ends in a draw. :sweat_smile:
The J-RPG vibes is a great idea.
Kinda wish the combat wasn't just pure RNG though
I actually started sketching out a much more complicated battle system based on the concept of balance/stability, but knew immediately that I'd have no time to implement it. I think it might be a good idea, though, so watch this space...
@sprunth: Thanks! I'm slowly learning that humour and dialogue are the things that typically score me points, so trying to lean more heavily into genres that provide more opportunities for text. Glad you enjoyed it.
It should be possible to learn the correct actions for the farmhand... I'll add some spoiler text at the beginning for people who want to see the ending but get stuck.
@marc-jones: You're right about the telegraphing. The intent was that you wouldn't have to *completely* guess, and there is some logic behind the mappings. If possible, would you mind saying a bit more about any dialogue-attack combinations that were particularly confusing?
I enjoyed the Rock-Paper-Scissors mechanic, and figuring out that their dialogue actually indicated what kind of action they were going to take made it fun to map out. The music and the graphics were extremely well-done, also! For anyone that is having trouble getting past the Knight, here's a hint. If he says "...", you should use your Special.