Howdy Boy Harvest by Ismael Rodriguez

[raw]
made by Ismael Rodriguez for Ludum Dare 52 (JAM)

Howdy Boy Harvest (LD52) 2023-01-09 15-41-07-402.gif

What To Do: Try to level up your flowers and collect as many purple coins as you can. Try to grow your garden as large as possible. There is no way to win or lose. If you lose all your crops and run out of money you'll have nothing to do but kill bugs.

Play with WASD to move, JK to Jump and Attack, E to Open inventory, (Click Icon to use). Alt-4 to exit.

JAM NOTES: 72 hours is not enough time lol. I'm proud to have a working submission, considering I was bug fixing basic things up to the deadline. There are so many more ideas I had, but couldn't get to.

The idea was to try and combine a high-speed arcade game with a farming-sim, since most farming games are slow-burns.

I wanted things like power ups, more enemy types, deployable traps, deeper progression, actual objectives, etc, but yeah there's only so much time. People hated on the Harvest theme, and yeah it's really "on the nose" as far as what people are going to be able to do with the theme, I'm excited to see who knocked it out the park or came at it with a good twist.

BUT I personally learned a lot from the theme because I'd probably never try to make a farming sim on my own. It was a great opportunity to try something a little different. Hopefully yall enjoy what I was able to slap together, thanks for playing!

Ratings

Overall 189th 3.825⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 140th 3.85⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 147th 3.725⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 104th 4.2⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 207th 4.05⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 89th 3.9⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 416th 2.867⭐ 17🧑‍⚖️
Mood 157th 3.875⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 21🗳️ 17🗨️

Feedback

neowhoru
09. Jan 2023 · 20:28 UTC
I really love your gams @ismael-rodriguez - since Below the Ocean :).

This one has great art style, very matching music.
The only think i miss is some kind "what to do".

I had no plants which grows, some enemies i defeated but is there a loose condition ?
If you can add some instruction that would be nice ( and i would play it again so just comment here :)).
🎤 Ismael Rodriguez
09. Jan 2023 · 21:11 UTC
@neowhoru Thanks for such quick feedback! You posted before I was able to add any notes or screenshots lol, but yeah take a look at my notes for some details regarding what to do.

I'm glad you like the style and music. I really rushed the audio in the last few hours so I'm glad it's decent.

Thanks again!
LDJam user 317480
09. Jan 2023 · 22:29 UTC
A lovely little game!
I love the super smooth animations of the main character and the gameplay feels really satisfying.
Too bad there is not win/loose conditions yet. Has a lot of potential!

Good job!
superpokeunicorn
09. Jan 2023 · 23:19 UTC
Really chill game! It was pretty relaxing just to get into the groove of planting seeds and killing spiders. The music really helps set up that vibe. I also like how the attack doubles as a harvesting tool; it makes it tricky to defend the base once spiders get into it, since you don't want to harvest the partially grown crops. I will say it does get a bit repetitive after a while. I do wish there was some sort of win condition so I could end there. I got a few of the purple orbs and basically took that as my call to wrap things up. Regardless, a very fun and relaxing game. Nice work!
🎤 Ismael Rodriguez
10. Jan 2023 · 01:00 UTC
@scriptmage @superpokeunicorn Thanks for your feedback!
torcado
10. Jan 2023 · 02:16 UTC
this is really neat! of course it does feel unfinished, but what's there is really nice. the art and animations especially, gosh i love how this looks (along with most your games, of course). music and sounds are also really nice. it's very satisfying to play! i wouldve loved more things to buy :)
really nice work in any case!
Yorsh
10. Jan 2023 · 03:33 UTC
Lovely game, it's fun and relaxing to play! I like the idea, and it's very well made, audio, graphics and controls. I never needed to care about water tho, always had plenty somehow.
🎤 Ismael Rodriguez
10. Jan 2023 · 18:42 UTC
@torcado Thanks for your feedback, I wan't to add a bit more for post jam just to play with it, we'll see if I have time :)

@yorsh Thanks, glad it was fun and relaxing! I didn't have much time to balance things like resource economy or anything like that, we're actually lucky it works at all lol.

Thanks again!
xk_the_name
10. Jan 2023 · 20:38 UTC
Ahh, shame there is no end condition. What a lovely game. I really like the way you build the onboarding in your submissions! Great job.
Nodra
12. Jan 2023 · 19:30 UTC
Smashing bugs for days. Love the presentation, sound and style. Game-play wise an end state or progression goal would have been nice.
TweekStudios
21. Jan 2023 · 21:41 UTC
This looks great! I love the NES-style sprites and colour palette! It's vibrant, fast-paced and fun to boot!
Beeb GameCodeCompany
22. Jan 2023 · 01:20 UTC
I saw you post this on the main page feed a few times during the start and was interested AND then it popped up in the 4 suggested games. I was excited to try this, I'm sad it isn't more fleshed out because it obviously would've had more features. I hope to see a fuller version of this game later, it has a certain polish to it and played/felt great. If you ever are looking for a team mate or anything let me know, I like the quality and vibe of your works and wouldn't mind trying to team up.
Mickxe
22. Jan 2023 · 11:38 UTC
I had fun playing this, it feels pretty well-polished for an LD game. :D
eeperdeheap
22. Jan 2023 · 16:41 UTC
Really funny game. Cool graphics and well polished indeed. Too bad about the win/lose condition.
williwiderstand
23. Jan 2023 · 03:31 UTC
Yes. 72 hours is not a lot, lol. Despite that you managed to create a really neat, aesthetically coherent little game. Actually pretty polished for Jam standards. A more fleshed out Post-Jam version would be great. :)
🎤 Ismael Rodriguez
23. Jan 2023 · 05:44 UTC
@beeb-gamecodecompany @mickxe @eeperdeheap @williwiderstand

THANKS YALL! Happy to report I've been working hard on a post jam version with objectives, skill trees, and a storyline. :smile_cat:
koboldskeep
23. Jan 2023 · 15:04 UTC
Excellent! The bugs-versus-growing loop is really good. I was shocked that the bugs actually can help you harvest your crops under circumstances. Would love to see a full version with upgrades to spend the higher-tier resources on.
Cole and Jordan Studios
23. Jan 2023 · 19:50 UTC
Holy heck I like this. It's a simple concept and you quickly run out of things to do, but the art, aesthetics, music an audio design are really excellent and really make the game enjoyable. I easily found myself zoning out while kicking the snot out of bugs. An excellent submission!
animatrix1490
24. Jan 2023 · 01:37 UTC
koboldskeep recommended I play this game and it's good. VERY solid bones. Would love to see it fleshed out more!