LudumData

Love Finds A Way by Dining Philosopher

[raw]
made by Dining Philosopher for Ludum Dare 50 (JAM)

It's not easy running a modern dating service. All these bachelors are constantly on the brink of meeting their special someone and terminating their subscription ($5/turn, conditions apply). Fortunately you have a few aces up your sleeve:

  • Icecream: who could resist making a small detour to enjoy a cold beverage!
  • Road Works: some of your working class connections are happy to lend a hand and close off some streets. Of course you cannot fully prevent your customers from reaching their sugar pumpkin since love must always find a way.
  • Balloons: the bachelors can't pass up the opportunity to buy their date a romantic balloon. Now sold by YOU at the low low price of $15 a pop.

love<em>finds</em>a_way.png

Link https://jellenauta.com/games/LudumDare/LD50/
Link https://github.com/jcnauta/LD50
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/50/love-finds-a-way

Ratings

Overall 969th 3.311⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Fun 975th 3.122⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 225th 3.77⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Theme 889th 3.486⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 798th 3.5⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Humor 411th 3.432⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1079th 3.095⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Given 31🗳️ 52🗨️

Feedback

Chocolat-Endive
05. Apr 2022 · 12:22 UTC
At first, I did'nt understand what to look for: I think the "characters" should be bigger so we can understand where they are, and that we place things on their path. The "puzzles" seems cool, I quite like the fact that the levels are tiling on themselves. The sound FX are fun, but it could be better with some music.

Overall, that's pretty fun, but yeah, some visual hints about what's happening could help. I'll try again tonight to see if I can have better scores.
firescape games
05. Apr 2022 · 12:23 UTC
This is a cool game! The concept is nice and the artwork looks good! Good job.
Miranda
05. Apr 2022 · 12:24 UTC
I liked the looks of the game and the concept. However, I didn't pass the first level :laughing:
MinThaMie
05. Apr 2022 · 12:25 UTC
I really love the theme and the art and sounds. I struggled a bit with the gameplay. It felt quite difficult to pass a level, so maybe a smaller level to begin with to get the hang of the interface a bit would get me more engaged. I did enjoy the concept a lot :)
EagleV
05. Apr 2022 · 12:32 UTC
I love this, a great little puzzle game. Some background music would be nice, but that's the only remark I can think of.
Dannyk1994
05. Apr 2022 · 12:32 UTC
Cool game with a nice concept! Was a bit confusing to understand but got there eventually :) Well done!
Wilko
05. Apr 2022 · 12:34 UTC
I think a little more explanation would be nice, it took me a while to understand what was going on instead of just pressing end turn. Once I understood the game it became fun to try and optimise my routes as much as possible and it's a really unique idea. Was the inevitable part the fact that they always find love in the end?
Heho
05. Apr 2022 · 12:44 UTC
What a creative and nice idea. One of the few positive interpretations of the inevitable i have seen so far and I love it!
GoogleFrog
05. Apr 2022 · 13:24 UTC
Great game. I was ready for a frantic blocking game but instead it's a nice slow puzzler. My favourite levels are 6 and 7. I think three characters is a nice middle ground.

The first two levels were a little confusing. The first one involves wraparound so it took me a few restart to correlate the disappearing lion with whatever happened on the left of the screen. The second level suddenly introduces four characters, which is a bit overhwelming. Overall a nice take on the theme though, and I like this form of puzzle.
LDJam user 240168
05. Apr 2022 · 13:32 UTC
A very unusual entry! Really great touch on the theme, fits perfectly. Cozy art style. Found the gameplay a bit overwhelming, 4 agents on the second level already is a bit harsh. Anyways, fun game idea, good job!
lantto
05. Apr 2022 · 16:29 UTC
Lovely graphics and the gameplay is unexpectedly deep and challenging. I had to do a lot of thinking planning out the routes and detours. Bonus point for those sound effects!
bodCodes
06. Apr 2022 · 14:19 UTC
Very nice. Pleasing visuals and lots of play possibilities especially for a jam game. Good to have a positive slant on the theme :smile:
GameDevAlexandr
06. Apr 2022 · 15:19 UTC
Interesting puzzle, looks pretty cute! great job!
dxk2294
07. Apr 2022 · 05:09 UTC
This is a great puzzle game. I love the art style! I had a bit of a trouble at first figuring out what was going on, but after a minute or so it started making sense. I think it would have been nice to gradually introduce more characters, going from 1 to 4 was pretty overwhelming. I also think some background music could go far.

Still, I really enjoyed my time, great job!
sacredyouma
07. Apr 2022 · 05:16 UTC
Great strategy game! I found it pretty funny to see that they prioritizes ice cream over love. You could add some background music to you game (felt like playing on a chess competition, just thinking and no entertainment). Other than that, great work!
Anaxie Studio
07. Apr 2022 · 08:19 UTC
Pretty mean to delay love, haha! I missed having a little bit of music, but the sound effects are charming, and I like the strategy element. As usual with leaderboards it's tempting to try to get the best scores. Unique idea and neat execution!
OtterFaeLure
07. Apr 2022 · 11:45 UTC
This is really cute! I found it incredibly confusing to start though. A bit of a tutorial/easing in before lvl 2 with 4 characters could really turn this into a fun challenge curve.
🎤 Dining Philosopher
07. Apr 2022 · 13:21 UTC
Thanks for the comments and feedback everyone! Glad you liked it, and valid points about the lack of music (I prefer to make everything ourselves and didn't have time in the end) and the difficulty curve. The levels are all randomly generated and we didn't pay enough attention to which levels to use in the last hours. For people who want to try and beat the "Special" level, here's a challenge:

![special_beaten_small.png](///raw/1d8/z/4d5bd.png)
mar3k
08. Apr 2022 · 12:31 UTC
Interesting game, I like the concept, but it would be nice to have more options. Nice game though.
YaMaisiukDranko
08. Apr 2022 · 13:48 UTC
Cool name. And theme. My rating 9/10
LDJam user 168929
08. Apr 2022 · 17:29 UTC
I like the concept here, cool idea for a puzzle game. I think it fits the theme really well too, setting yourself up as a subscription service serves that really well in a humorous way. Seconding what others have said about it taking a bit to figure out the game, and the game getting much more complex in the second level, but I think the concept and execution are otherwise both really good!
LDJam user 279610
09. Apr 2022 · 03:55 UTC
What an interesting and fun game! I love the mechanics you built and the idea of delaying bachelors from finding true love, hilarious! Full marks in humor for sure! The graphics, sound, and polish were all in a very good place. Personally I found the first level too difficult and the difficulty jump to level 2 was also a bit much but it was worth the effort to overcome that difficulty because it's a really rewarding play experience.
Krisztián
15. Apr 2022 · 17:37 UTC
Really cool concept and great implementation! Good job! :)
LDJam user 267116
20. Apr 2022 · 20:38 UTC
This is a really cool idea! The puzzle concepts are very straightforward and clear, but the game itself is a surprisingly mind-bending puzzle. The graphics are very cute and the interface is well designed. Nice job!