LudumData

Sky Burns Red by nardandas

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

Bg.png

Welcome to the world's only rhythm-balancing game! You're the world's best post-rock band, Sky Burns Red, and you're having the most thematic concert - at a ran-down old platform in the woods. Just perfect... aside from the way it kinda falls over when you have a lot of people on it. Never matter, you can just keep it standing up yourself!

Play TWO songs, one with three different difficulties, as you try to keep the platform up.

Use the left and right arrow keys, A and D, or left and right bumpers, to hit the notes and push the platform up. Collect powerups by hitting the correct direction! The wrench fixes the platform, and the happy face makes the crowd happier! If the crowd gets angry, they'll destroy the platform!

Controls:

Hit Note - Either Left or Right

Left - A, Left Arrow, Left D-Pad, or Left Bumper

Right - D, Right Arrow, Right D-Pad, or Right Bumper

Left and Right also move the platform behind. Keep it balanced!

There's also a beatmap editor mode. You can only use the threeish pieces of music included with the game, but you can indeed beatmap them yourself!

Editor Controls:

Up - Up Arrow, W

Down - Down Arrow, D

Add Note - Space

Add Left Powerup 1 - U

Add Left Powerup 2 - I

Add Right Powerup 1 - O

Add Right Powerup 2 - P

Music by https://soundcloud.com/irkluesing

HTML5 (web) https://nardandas.itch.io/sky-burns-red
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/sky-burns-red

Ratings

Overall 192th 3.96⭐ 64🧑‍⚖️
Fun 262th 3.863⭐ 64🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 55th 4.161⭐ 64🧑‍⚖️
Theme 137th 4.226⭐ 64🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 460th 3.905⭐ 65🧑‍⚖️
Audio 23th 4.323⭐ 64🧑‍⚖️
Humor 513th 3.319⭐ 60🧑‍⚖️
Mood 272th 3.867⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Given 83🗳️ 113🗨️

Feedback

Spike Studio
05. Oct 2021 · 03:59 UTC
Well polished game! The visuals were nice, as well as the songs included, great entry!
Camden Cecrle
05. Oct 2021 · 04:07 UTC
Super cool idea! The first time I played I didn't realize what was going on but after reading the description I had a very fun time!
Pious
05. Oct 2021 · 04:12 UTC
Very nice! Very well polished. Confused a little at first since I went straight for the game but honestly really nice art and very interesting concept. The editor in particular was super impressive
LDJam user 258863
05. Oct 2021 · 04:12 UTC
Overall a great game! I wish I had some feedback, but really all it needs is more time! The music was great, them chanting your name at the end was great, the panic I felt as it was near collapse was real, and you conveyed a fun concept in a very simple manner. Wonderful work!
jaspior
05. Oct 2021 · 04:13 UTC
Nice turning in rhythm games, the ideia of the in-game editor was a nice ideia too!
I liked the fact that if you try to mesh some button to avoid collapsing the plataform, it wont work so the player really have to hit the right side with the right note.
Great game!
tykenn
05. Oct 2021 · 04:14 UTC
Sweet, fun twist on the genre. Challenging, but not too challenging.
OllieOA
05. Oct 2021 · 04:29 UTC
I gotta be honest, I don't really get it. I think the UI might be a little bit too clunky, and there are a few too many controls for a gamejam.

With that said, I can definitely see that there is a lot of effort in the UI, and the sounds that I could wrangle were well produced!
Tattomoosa
05. Oct 2021 · 04:29 UTC
This is really cool -- very impressed you made a whole editor! I think a really easy/simple/short intro song would be a really good addition. The music is extremely good!

It would also be nice if the description specified that both arrow keys trigger a note. I wasn't sure at first, and I was playing in wireless headphones at first so I had some false starts thinking things weren't triggering. That's obviously mostly my fault but I also think if the description specified that I would have figured out the issue a little faster
Parker Nalch
05. Oct 2021 · 04:31 UTC
Yoooo this game was so fun! The music's quality helped me push through the initial pains of getting used to the timing and the mechanic. I don't know if you actually put this in, but it felt like there were a bunch of near-deaths where a single correct hit brought me back into somewhat comfortable territory. Great game, awesome job!
Wang TianLiang
05. Oct 2021 · 04:32 UTC
It is funny ,but I'm not good at music game.
GreenXenith
05. Oct 2021 · 04:41 UTC
Super interesting concept. It took me a few plays to actually realize I was supposed to be watching the platform, though. The moving score is a bit difficult to follow, im not sure if thats because its low-res or something else. The music was good, though I wish there was some more upbeat options :)
DoctorTurbo
05. Oct 2021 · 04:47 UTC
Very nice spin on the guitar-hero type game. Fits the theme really well and it's a nice challenge to have to switch focus from the foreground to the background to keep going. I found it pretty fun, it just needs more meme songs and banger tunes.
TomorrowToday
05. Oct 2021 · 18:14 UTC
Very interesting, even if it is a little awkward. Think it would have been more intuitive if the beat markers shifted left or right or had an arrow on them depending on the direction things need to move. Also the song doesn't have a strong beat at the start, so hitting on the beat for the first few bars is awkward. Otherwise a nice amount of polish and thought went into this and it's a nice twist on rhythm games. Great work!
Robert Li
06. Oct 2021 · 07:01 UTC
INTERESTING AND INTEST. I'm bad at rhythm games but it's fun to see these people fall!
pixelstuff
06. Oct 2021 · 12:33 UTC
Really fun and interesting game even if I don't understand the concept of the icons ^^'
I always enjoyed a good music game.
ruofusun
06. Oct 2021 · 17:27 UTC
super smart!
Moirai
06. Oct 2021 · 17:28 UTC
Having to stare at the platform while checking when to press the keys was harder for me than i was expecting :sweat_smile:
Great design, well polished and fun! good job!
🎤 nardandas
06. Oct 2021 · 18:47 UTC
@tattomoosa I realized I didn't communicate that all that well. I agree about the short intro song! I spent the last hour making Wither, but I think it would've been better to make something a little... easier. Thanks for playing!

@parker-nalch I really appreciate hearing about the near death moments! Tons of hours in this jam went in to tuning the balancing system, so hearing that it's giving players those barely-make-it-through things is really really nice. Thanks!

@greenxenith Yeah, I didn't put the time into the score's presentation that I really should've. I think it could've been done better. I agree about the more upbeat songs as well, I put wither in at the end, but more of that would've been fun!

@tomorrowtoday I realized the issue with the beat at the start, but I didn't put effort into fixing it. I really should've had a count in. I dunno about the beat markers shifting. I really wanted to force the player to have to watch the platform. I think I could've meshed the two a bit more though. I just don't wanna make the platform something you can ignore, y'know?

Thanks all for playing, so much!
AnnaBella T
06. Oct 2021 · 20:25 UTC
this is absolutely an excellent game, the mechanics are easy to understand, and simple to use, yet are enjoyable and allow for multiple things. great job.
Maxathon
06. Oct 2021 · 21:35 UTC
This is an interesting idea. I think the balancing is well-tuned, and feels forgiving in a way that leads to me barely staying upright (which is great). The balancing was more fun and interesting than the rhythm game portion, and I found myself wishing there was more focus on that — more physics sim, in other words.
CyManSAP
07. Oct 2021 · 02:09 UTC
This is my favorite so far. It took me a bit to figure out what was going on (it didn't help that there seemed to be some bug where i didn't see the playable levels, so i got taken to the editor). Keeping track of both the rhythm and balance of the stage was fun, and the game is very polished, everything looks and feels good. Great job to the team on this one!
crotonyl_alcohol
07. Oct 2021 · 07:18 UTC
Really a nice game! It's fantastic to see a music game here, and you've done so well! Took me a while to figure out the rule, but I really like it!
rubr
07. Oct 2021 · 10:55 UTC
Well, this is certainly an unique take on the theme!

Took me a little bit to figure out what was happening, as I wasn't paying attention to the "background" first. It's also a little weird how a rhythm game starts with the volume sliders turned down.

But, otherwise, I really liked the art, and the music, and the gameplay felt fair! Good job!
2CCs
07. Oct 2021 · 10:58 UTC
This is an incredibly interesting game. It did take me a bit to figure out how to play the game right, but once I did, I was actually hooked for a bit. Definitely a 5 for innovation!
Dizzydon
07. Oct 2021 · 17:17 UTC
Very nice, and a very cool concept
syudzius
07. Oct 2021 · 17:33 UTC
Very stylish game! The concept is interesting, and I really liked the music. Great job!
pabulum
07. Oct 2021 · 21:56 UTC
I could'nt beat the easiest level. But then I am god awful at rythm games so maybe thats just me. :laughing: It's a super cool idea though. And well executed. A bit of seperation between the stage and the beats might have been a nice but i thought the creaking sfx was a neat touch.
TeddyIncDev
08. Oct 2021 · 02:13 UTC
Level of polish is insane, good vibes along with the songs.
Amazing you did a rythm game on a jam
ToxicComputer
08. Oct 2021 · 02:26 UTC
These visuals were great! Also this concept is really innovative and I feel like this could be expanded to a full game. Good job! However, I do feel that this game could really benefit from a proper tutorial, as the concept at first is a bit confusing to grasp.
LDJam user 257438
08. Oct 2021 · 05:22 UTC
Good game and I love the art style!!!
Dumrum
08. Oct 2021 · 05:32 UTC
Very very clever take on the theme! Great atmosphere, insanely polished and overall really fun to play. Wow! :open_mouth:
Iori Branford
08. Oct 2021 · 05:41 UTC
One of the best uses of the theme. An interesting challenge to watch the platform and the notes together and balance your button presses. I would have liked to try a downloadable Windows build, and see if that helps sync the audio and beats better.
Wakobu
08. Oct 2021 · 11:02 UTC
The game is impressive ! I took time to figure out the gameplay but woaw ! Good job ! You even added a level editor !
Quite Good
08. Oct 2021 · 21:23 UTC
Easily one of the most unique gameplay mechanics I've seen this jam, and one of the best takes on the theme! At first playing this really broke my brain trying to process everything that was happening, it really made my brain unstable :dizzy_face: but it was intense and a lot of fun!

The visuals are very clean, and if you made the music for this I am very impressed. The level editor is a clean cherry on top. Only thing is it kind of hurt my eyes to play, I'm not sure what you would change for that but that was just my experience. Really cool game, excited to see what you come up with next jam!
ChuChuGeralt
08. Oct 2021 · 21:38 UTC
THE SKY BURNS RED! THE SKY BURNS RED!
Actually, this is the best game I´ve played so far. Awesome music, awesome twist on the theme, awesome innovative mechanics.
Kudos! Friggin´ love it.
Sibi
08. Oct 2021 · 21:38 UTC
Wow that was quite the experience. Would have never thought that you can twist a rhythm game this way. It really felt like a live performance where I had to improvise, fix my mistakes and react to the audience. It's so different to other rhythm games were you just try to imitate the song as best as possible. Here I felt like I could give it my own spin and was at the edge of my seat waiting for those beats. Truly an awesome game even for someone like me who is really bad at the traditional rhythm games.

THE SKY BURNS RED *chant* THE SKY BURNS RED
afells
08. Oct 2021 · 22:33 UTC
Making a rhythm game for a game jab is a bold move and it was executed perfectly. the imbalance was a great mechanic great job:)
n00begon
09. Oct 2021 · 03:05 UTC
Really interesting mechanic and a great take on the rhythm genre where you also have to keep an eye on the background. I think if you toned down the 'wrong note' sound slightly it would help when you are learning.
KeichiTS
09. Oct 2021 · 04:52 UTC
Very good theme usage, musics and art! It's very original =). Congrats.
Alexthehuman2
09. Oct 2021 · 18:01 UTC
Really well polished, very fun, very addicting rhythm games, everything fits well together, the animated 2d platform was absolutely wonderful to see, for I haven't seen much of that before, maybe I would've if I played more indie games but alas, kinda my bad on that. But yea, wonderful sound track, amazing beat designs, beautiful beat editor, and honestly, if there's a community on it, I feel like this would be an industry standard game! Well done, great job!
pickens-inc
09. Oct 2021 · 19:38 UTC
Really solid entry! I love creative rhythm games and the simple input system allowed me to be able to better acclimatise myself to the constant monitoring of the stage balance as a mechanic! Which never felt unfairly tricky as you saw I was even able to beat the last level so hurray!

As mentioned on stream I would have liked to have more audio feedback on getting a successful beat to add to the satisfaction and meaning I don't have to be on the lookout for the UI tags all the time. It also would have been nice to have a better idea as to the state of repair of the stage and the happiness of the crowd as you can never really have a good look at the stage in the moment/.

I'm really impressed that you managed to get an editor in there and I hope people more talented than me make some cool levels for it! Well done!
spacecadet
09. Oct 2021 · 19:44 UTC
Simple yet engaging gameplay mixed with awesome music. What else can you hope for from an awesome jam game? Also the visuals add up nicely making it one of the most interesting games of the jam. Good job!
kuggenhoffen
10. Oct 2021 · 17:28 UTC
Very nice! Took me about 10 attempts to realize that I was controlling the platform while playing the notes... :D

Really fun and very well executed game, the platform control mechanic is also very rewarding along with just hitting the beat.

Good job!
ZacharyPinkham
12. Oct 2021 · 01:35 UTC
Really love the concept, the music was solid and the presentation was really good overall--VERY ambitious to include the beatmaps, but very much appreciated! I will say, it was a bit difficult to keep track of the state of the platform while playing, it was just a little too much to handle visually with the way things were laid out in their current state. Still, a lot of fun, awesome job!
kalevrk
14. Oct 2021 · 14:16 UTC
This is a fun take on the beat rhythm game, and I didn't find it too difficult to balance hitting the notes and keeping an eye on the platform. I liked the visual style and the little actions the people would do either when falling off the platform or celebrating.