Helly Belly by lootgrounds

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

HellyBelly<em>gif1</em>v3.gif

A classic arcade style gamey with a twist. Stay away from everything. Except roundy smiley thingsies, they're goooood.

--- HOW TO PLAY ---

  1. You start inside the circle and it is constantly shrinking
  2. Don't touch the edge of the circle - it will kill you
  3. If you move - you shoot
  4. The edge of the circle will expand where the bullet hit it
  5. There're enemies as well
  6. You can only shoot enemies while powerup is active
  7. Touch an enemy and you die, obviously

WRAPUP: don't run into edge and enemies, pick up powerups, survive for as long as you can

--- CONTROLS ---

  • WASD - move (alt. UP/DOWN/L/R)
  • Z - start
  • 0-1 - change color theme

PS. WEB version is a smidge buggy, music might stop playing after restart, browser page might through an error if you switch tabs - though it is fully playable

PPS. Scores are not saved, sorrry

PPPS. No pause as well, really soooorrrry

960x720 5.png

Ratings

Overall 32th 4.286⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Fun 20th 4.277⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 35th 4.236⭐ 57🧑‍⚖️
Theme 74th 4.286⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 208th 4.259⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Audio 109th 4.066⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Humor 705th 2.913⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Mood 238th 3.939⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 30🗨️

Feedback

Lenan
04. Apr 2022 · 21:56 UTC
Very fun game, graphics were simple but very nice to look at, felt very satisfying to shoot down everything during the power up. Very unique concept and the music is also very good.
CharlesSchar
04. Apr 2022 · 22:33 UTC
Nice job! This is a quality submission and very fun to play. I like the physics of the incoming 'jelly' and it feels very satisfying to grab a powerup and reset it to its initial position.
Daniel Robledo
06. Apr 2022 · 11:49 UTC
Easily my favorite game yet. This is such a simple yet well thought and polished concept for the theme.
I really love the art style (nice touch with the color schemes), the music, the SFX... everything falls in place to give such an enjoyable expierence.
Really great game :D
Rawb
06. Apr 2022 · 11:55 UTC
Really awesome game and a clever idea. I loved the look and the color scheme options was a nice touch
Ben Newington
06. Apr 2022 · 11:58 UTC
This is my favourite game in the jam so far ! A really unique idea that's very fun to play. It felt so polished as well, I love all the themes and the music. Well done :D
BigTVZ
06. Apr 2022 · 12:07 UTC
Love it! Easy to play and quite addictive. great job on the music and different colors. feels like it would be even better on mobile. i could see myself wasting time on the toilet alot with this. great job!
U-Tsang Clan
06. Apr 2022 · 12:07 UTC
Nice game, it was fun and looked nice. The difficulty curve is a little weird though. For me "hardcore" felt like a good difficulty where it's challenging but possible. "Easy" through "very hard" felt too easy like there was no risk and I was just waiting to get to the fun part, and "insane" felt too punishing, but I'm sure if I had some practice I would feel differently. I would have liked if some of the lower difficulties were combined, so you can get to the challenging bits easier, because they are fun when you do get there.
ffffchai
06. Apr 2022 · 12:12 UTC
It's the best!!!! I really really love this game. I agree with you, they are amazingly goooood! Gameplay, animation, audio, mood, all the best for every design in this game.
YukimiItsuka
06. Apr 2022 · 12:12 UTC
Fantastic. Unbelievably interesting game. Simple mechanics but very very fun. Best game ever since LD50. Perfect.

![4.png](///raw/62d/32/z/4d104.png)
LDJam user 5143
06. Apr 2022 · 12:13 UTC
ely amazing! I like how you make a movement and main mechanic with shooting. Idea to make "walls" interactive with bullets is perfect. I feel that every shot what I made is positive for me. Balance is well and progression feels good.

The visual is minimal but nice for this concept. I like it all! It is a great job and Overall 5 stars in my opinion.
blubluuu
06. Apr 2022 · 12:14 UTC
wow!I love it!The color scheme and art design are very attractive and I really enjoy playing this game.What a pity that I can't live long enough to see the interface with the little monster TT
Anaxie Studio
06. Apr 2022 · 12:21 UTC
The color themes are a nice touch! I really like the game overall, it's addictive and fun to play. The graphics are neat and the difficulty curve feels good too. I really like the effect when grabbing a powerup. I got to 210.41 before I accidentally killed myself, whoops! The whole experience felt pretty polished. Nice job!
Mopifish
06. Apr 2022 · 16:27 UTC
LOVED The concept and interpretation of the theme! It was so interesting and such a great take!
I really enjoyed the risk of rain style difficulty meter too.

It may have just been me, but I felt the auto-spinning made the game too automatic. If i had full control over the direction I shoot (or maybe I shoot in the direction im moving/vice versa) I think it would make gameplay a lot more interesting as I have to intentionally shoot the walls and strategize!

but thats just a thought, really good entry :)
nardandas
06. Apr 2022 · 16:34 UTC
What a pretty game! I really love the simple design, and the themes are great! I love how smooth everything is as well, I'd love to poke into your source for the way you render the circle! Everything just looked great! Super fun gameplay as well. I *almost* wanted more control over the shooting, but I dunno. When it got hard it felt very right. I got 232, but I may have to come back for the record!
recursor
06. Apr 2022 · 16:34 UTC
This is a very unique game mechanic, and it was executed quite well with simple controls that are easy to pick up. I'd call this a successful entry with a lot of retro character. Nice job.
malero
06. Apr 2022 · 16:44 UTC
So simple and it's really fun! Very nice work! 5/5
Fer Gueler
06. Apr 2022 · 16:55 UTC
Amazing game, great work! The design is so impressive, simple and so much fun! I love it visually too. Such an enjoyable experience overall.
DustyA29
06. Apr 2022 · 16:56 UTC
I got 255. The game forces player to move constantly since it only shoots when moving and walls are getting closed. as the time goes, that makes the game difficult dramatically in a good way i guess. well caluated core system.
Kaminos
06. Apr 2022 · 17:02 UTC
Cool game! So simple but so entertaining.. it kept on edge trying to dodge everything. I think i've never seen anything like it before. Awesome idea and execution. Great job :)

btw i saw 250K score above.. how is this possible? i've played like 10 times and i managed to reack 120K or so
TRASEVOL_DOG
06. Apr 2022 · 17:06 UTC
Really neat little game! Loved that shooting was tied to moving, really enjoyed the Pac-Man-type power-up that lets you eliminate dangers for a short period of time. Simple but very solid gameplay loop and the graphics are tidy and work very well! Great job!
exopunk
06. Apr 2022 · 18:24 UTC
Such an awesome game! Got to ultra nightmare, I wonder how many difficulties are there, loved the concept such a clever mechanic, very well done, I had an amazing time!
LDJam user 139668
06. Apr 2022 · 18:28 UTC
This game is insane! I really liked it and it made me remember good times I was playing Super Hexagon! And this difficulty indicator like in Risk of Rain. Whaaa. Super-super cool. Thank you for such cool and beautiful game!
LDJam user 250824
06. Apr 2022 · 20:53 UTC
Spent much more time than I expected in this game, it's so simple and beautiful. Mesmerizing graphical style? and I really love the tune. It's playing in my head right now!
almost
06. Apr 2022 · 22:20 UTC
Neat game. The gameplay is simple but the shrinking area looks cool and it gets pretty tense each time just before you get the smiley face. I felt pretty strong right after getting the smiley face, suddenly I get plenty of space and I can shoot down all those annoying enemies.

I died on nightmare difficulty because I went for the smiley face just as an enemy crossed in front of it and I hit the enemy first - pretty close.

I kind of wanted to shoot in the direction that I move in order to have more control over what part of the wall I am hitting, but I realize that might actually make the game harder overall.
nethead
07. Apr 2022 · 00:46 UTC
Clever mechanics and a really beautiful aesthetic. Being able to push the walls back by shooting was a really really cool detail, even if I felt like it ended up not being suuuuper relevant mechanically since you spend the whole game shooting regardless of the walls advancing on you.
alec
07. Apr 2022 · 03:40 UTC
Love the minimal colors and how you distilled the twin stick shooter down to a single stick haha. I could easily see this on phones. Easily one of the best games I played here so far!
Dustyroom
07. Apr 2022 · 10:24 UTC
Nice and fun game! I've got an error on the WebGL version upon the [Esc] press for the restart:
https://pastebin.com/mj1FA90Z
Linnet5
08. Apr 2022 · 11:46 UTC
This is really really nice and polished! Super unique take on the bullet hell formula.
The different themes are a nice touch. Definitely nailed the presentation!
Stefan Laimer
08. Apr 2022 · 12:12 UTC
This game is really cool and the music is amazing! Thanks to me not reading the text first, I didn't realize the smiley faces were powerups, so I also avoided them in my first try, which made the game very hard, really fast xD But afterwards I played it correctly and got a pretty good score :) It would be really awesome if this game had some kind of online leaderboard though.

![Unbenannt.PNG](///raw/b24/22/z/4d86c.png)
korfi
08. Apr 2022 · 19:18 UTC
This was surprisingly fun! I like the mechanics of having to move around while shooting to widen your playfield. It's got a great balance of hard but fair. The music and artstyle worked well together. Overall a really good entry! :D
elysiagriffin
09. Apr 2022 · 11:33 UTC
Thanks for submitting your game for me to play on my stream!

If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1450143040?t=2h02m16s

Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady

https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
Tulio
09. Apr 2022 · 14:54 UTC
Please, make a full version of this game!
TOminerTV
09. Apr 2022 · 15:16 UTC
Really good idear! Nice graphics, i like it!
0x746564
09. Apr 2022 · 15:25 UTC
I liked the twist of not being able to control the rotation of the ship directly. The mechanic of only being able to dodge until you've collected the power-up was fun as well.

I think the difficulty curve ramp up was good.

I also enjoyed being able to pick my color theme.
ZoomieRoomie
09. Apr 2022 · 16:10 UTC
Really great game.
Fantastically presented with its 2Bit-ish, dithering neon look. Honestly adds a lot to the games feel and elevates the otherwise simple yet unique idea.
Saved that lospec website immediatetly. A valuable resource.

Noticed one minor bug:
- Music crashes when you (accidentally) click outside the play area in web player

A few thoughts if you consider expanding on the core concept:
- "ship" upgrades or different kinds of ships for a little long term motivation e.g.
- shotgun spread on bullets
- laser beam that overheats and has to cool down
- shooting in opposite directions with smaller bullets at the same time
- (more) enemy types that maybe fit the theme of being in a stomach a little better

Regardless, great job.

Also: any chance you could upload a linux version so I can play this on my steam deck? :D

![Capture.PNG](///raw/7ae/c/z/4da8d.png)
eggsscrambled
09. Apr 2022 · 20:29 UTC
Absolutely love the procedural animation!
S_Onoe
09. Apr 2022 · 20:42 UTC
Neat designs and great execution. I like the color switches. If I were to design it, I would make the color automatically switch whenever I pick something up to add some dynamic. The physics of the frame closing in was also cool. Great job.
dodormeur
09. Apr 2022 · 21:08 UTC
Really cool game ! The gameplay is simple while being deep, thanks to the idea of auto shooting and rotating, allowing the player to concentrate on movement, while forcing him to move, which is a really nice thing ! Also like the change of style once you get into nightmare mode, also the scrolling text indicating the difficulty is a nice touch
ruruie
10. Apr 2022 · 00:13 UTC
Absolutely beautiful. Also I've never seen anything like this. Top.
Honest Dan
10. Apr 2022 · 08:37 UTC
A great game! I think it maybe ramped up a bit too slow. It felt good to play, don't get me wrong, but it put me off trying again as I knew I'd need to get through the "easier bit" for 4 minutes before it got the challenging bit. I liked the aesthetic and the mood created by the art and audio. I didn't give a rating for audio as you mentioned on stream that you had made the soundtrack for a previous jam.

A great example of how small scope and a game without too high an asset budget can still be great executed!
Andreia
11. Apr 2022 · 03:42 UTC
Loved the art and colors. The mechanic is clever and fun. Feels really good to play.
mhorth
11. Apr 2022 · 21:37 UTC
I can stop trying to figure out how you made this. Real-time mesh generation? Sprite shape? Tell me your secrets!!
🎤 lootgrounds
14. Apr 2022 · 07:27 UTC
@mhorth you're right, it's unity and sprite shape with real-time edge collision. It's wonky, but immensely helpful for jam stuff.
ShawD
24. Sep 2022 · 05:07 UTC
I profoundly like your dedicated abilities as the post you distributed has some incredible data which is very valuable for me.