Snøball by Thooom

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

S N Ø B A L L

Spring is coming and snow melts. Roll over more snow to grow, and shrink whenever you are not on snow. How far can you go before you melt?

Place down planks to cover caps and use the fan to get yourself to elevated positions.

G A M E P L A Y

Click the buttons at the bottom to enter "place object mode"

Click and hold where you want place the object

Drag to rotate the item, and then release to place it.

You can also right click a placed item to remove it.

Ratings

Overall 1406th 2.224⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1397th 2.103⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1149th 2.759⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1288th 2.875⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1253th 2.379⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Audio 915th 2.414⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Humor 981th 2.44⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1342th 2.24⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 16🗳️ 39🗨️

Feedback

Gravityflip
05. Apr 2022 · 09:01 UTC
Would love to play but I can't drag and drop the objects from the menu :( They just spawn at the location of the button
Kulu
05. Apr 2022 · 09:02 UTC
Very unique concept! The gameplay idea is also something new. I think the controls could have been more intuitive as sometimes the plank and fan buttons were not very responsive. Good job!
jazibobs
05. Apr 2022 · 09:23 UTC
I like the concept but the buttons to spawn objects weren't very responsive for me, I found it very difficult to place objects where I wanted. It might be an idea to give an area for the player to get used to the controls before the snowball falls almost immediately down through a hole in the map.
MrPouletBZH
05. Apr 2022 · 09:50 UTC
Really interesting concept, sadly as it was pointed out before it's a bit hard to play, and I was really lost at first. But I do really like the core idea, and with something more intuitive (and maybe a way to fast restart? I think that would be great!) it could work really well
PaulLyaudet
05. Apr 2022 · 12:55 UTC
Some struggle on the drag of the plank, made the most of my runs with only fans !
p0l4r
05. Apr 2022 · 13:12 UTC
It was fun, though it took me a while to understand how to spawn in things. I think fan-build is OP, got to 200-something with that.

Also the exit button crashes the game but doesn't exit it, because it's a web game, so you might want to skip having that next time.

Well done!
schadocalex
05. Apr 2022 · 13:13 UTC
The concept is quite good, but the controls are very hard. The plank is very hard to place and it slides too much. I think with a bit of extra work on the controls it could be more interesting!
LDJam user 284287
06. Apr 2022 · 03:32 UTC
Falling down the first hole/chaining fans to stay airborne in general seems to be a winning strategy as my snowball will last quite a bit longer compared to when I attempt to play conservatively with items. The game as a whole makes a good basis for a survival game in the same vein as pioneers like SkiFree, I think, though you're at the mercy of where patches of snow may appear in order to extend your run. A reset button would have been a nice addition to avoid long waiting times on bad runs, and I would have liked to see boards play a more active role in the game's strategy beyond patching up holes here and there.
shieldgenerator7
06. Apr 2022 · 06:11 UTC
no restart, no tutorials, i couldnt get past the first gap, and had to reload the page to try again. also no itchio build. this looks like a cool game, but theres too many obstacles for me to enjoy the game as it currently is
LDJam user 5143
06. Apr 2022 · 10:01 UTC
What said @redoplus, I felt to first hole and my score stay growing up around 1800 (I think I was melted). After that game was restarted.

Sometimes plank spawned in vertical alignment and it makes me hard, because snowman's head fallen in the hole.

I think you should make controls with pan and planks more easier. For example, you can add some variety of planks for more accuracy (0 degrees и 90 degrees).
LDJam user 234807
07. Apr 2022 · 18:50 UTC
love the idea - I suck a bit at playing it but very cool - music was good.
Zerox
08. Apr 2022 · 19:12 UTC
I enjoyed this game I think team can do big and best projects
mvasko2
10. Apr 2022 · 16:16 UTC
Others have already mentioned this - the controls were not intuitive for me, the buttons not responsive enough, and thus it was very hard to play. I also agree that it would be nice to have a less "busy" opening section, since it's almost certain that new players will fall down the first hole.

On the other hand, I think the concept is very unique and with a lot of potential. I also like the take on the theme and the music.

Fleshing out bugs and working out how to improve the controls would help this game a lot, I would love to see it like that.