MEGACHONKER by Senover Games
Not polished at all, just a quick shot because I had a cute little idea that came from the CHONK chart meme. :wink:
Every 10 seconds your ship gets a new expansion that makes its hitbox larger, until it becomes the MEGACHONKER!
Only your main ship (the middle ship part) can collect and use the speedup items. The rest of your ship is getting in your way more and more.
Try to score as much points as you can before you die.
Movement: WASD Keys, Fire Laser: SPACE Key
You can't spam your laser too much because the fire rate is limited, so aiming is key to survival.
(decided against powering up your laser when your ship gets bigger because the game became too easy)
Many thanks to Kenney for making his Ship Mixer Tool and for being a blessing for the gamedev community!
Known Issues: - Energy bar is kinda random (does what it wants). - Collecting speedup items isn't working as smooth as intended. - No sounds, no music, no special fx (yet).
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/megachonker |
Ratings
| Given | 53🗳️ | 31🗨️ |
More interestingly, I would argue that the bigger ships in this game make it more fun even though they don't make you more powerful. In particular, I think the bigger hitboxes are where this game becomes more fun, as the challenge level is higher but it is also a novel kind of challenge--most space shooters aren't about navigating with a really big hitbox (in fact, they are often about navigating with a very tiny hitbox!) I think this is very much in line with the title--"MEGACHONKER" very much sounds like something where bigger = more fun.
One thing that I think feels pretty good is when you slide right under an enemy ship before it hits you and fire right at that moment. It is just satisfying in some way, as everything lines up nicely.
And, of course, the more general strategy in this game is about choosing--do I want to try to destroy that enemy ship, or avoid it? And so when you make a choice to destroy the ship, and you're right on the cusp of taking damage, it is just kind of a fun little risk that pays off.
So yeah, great twist on the space shooter genre, that incorporates the Ludum Dare theme nicely to boot.
The choice whether to try to shoot or avoid the enemies made it interesting.
I like how ridiculous your ship gets, though I would have preferred a more gradual buildup. It was always over too fast.
I think it could have been a bit smaller to have more space to react and also some more different enemies with different speeds. (mabe even attacking ones)
However a very funny and nicely done game!