Seeds Must Grow! by Neon Glass

[raw]
made by Neon Glass for Ludum Dare 52 (JAM)

Description

The Harvest Season is nigh, but humans are not very good at what they're trying to do. So it comes to you, The Field, to fix the error of their ways. Good for you you're able to move parts of yourself around, setting up the best environment for those in your care. As we all know, the Seeds Must Grow!

Instructions

  • Drag and drop the tiles to provide the best conditions for the appearing seeds.
  • Every seed has requirements listed to the right; it will grow if the requirements are filled enough.
  • You need to get 70% of the score to clear a level.

Controls

  • LMB (drag-and-drop): Move the tiles.
  • Esc/P: Pause.

Credits

Neon Glass Team: @dragonayzer @yerkwell

Friends: @LionRichard @Dragonburn @Zyak @EvilEbolai

Music by Aleks SHAGI

Ratings

Overall 564th 3.25⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 492th 3.225⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 158th 3.7⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 543th 3.475⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 562th 3.25⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 311th 3.325⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 552th 2.5⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 697th 2.895⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

HackTrout
10. Jan 2023 · 09:55 UTC
Nice puzzle game. I feel the levels could be a little longer so you could fully utilise the entire field.
MidoriMelody
11. Jan 2023 · 13:18 UTC
This is a oretty cool game. Once I got the hang of it I wasn't losing so fast anymore. I think a little more direction might be needed to tell the player what the different block do specifically would really help.
TooSalty0000
12. Jan 2023 · 10:50 UTC
It took some time to get used to the rules, but once I got the hang of it, it was fun! One thing that confused me was the sound made when a crop grows. I wished the sound effect was more positive. I thought I was failing until I saw the scores go up. Other than that, it was a nice game.
Likirus
12. Jan 2023 · 11:03 UTC
I really like this game. The mechanics are interesting and it's a good take on the theme. It took me a second to figure out what do and I kept losing, but after a while I got the hang of it and won the first 6 levels. However, the dragging and dropping is a bit unintuative. It cancels the dragging as soon as you move over an unmovable tile, which was probably my main source of confusion in the beginning. I would have prefered that it only evaluates the drag when you let go of the mouse button, and if you are over an obstructed tile then it cancels, otherwise the start and end tiles are swapped.
Steffo
12. Jan 2023 · 18:24 UTC
The seeds... they have grown! :evergreen_tree:

## Feedback

### Game

Things get **really hectic and challenging** in the later levels: I like it!

**Swapping tiles is a bit uncomfortable**, as it can mess up other plants you have already set up, or it can be cancelled by dragging a tile on a unmovable one.

I'm not super-convinced on the double-timer approach, **you can find the perfect place for a plant yet fail it anyways because you didn't leave there long enough**!
It makes sense as a mechanic, but it doesn't feel really fun...

I noticed a small bug: in the pause menu, **the Main Menu button doesn't seem to work**.

Larger levels can get the **bottom part cropped from the game window**.

Both **graphics and sounds are consistent** and adequate to the game's style!

Overall: **great job!**

### Distribution

Thanks for **providing a HTML5 build**!
Since I am playing on Linux, I appreciated it!
Accatosh
12. Jan 2023 · 20:30 UTC
A nice high paced game. The game is pretty straight forward which is good. My wish is to have different sounds for whether the crop failed or succeeded, because it was quite confusing.
XOREAXEAX
14. Jan 2023 · 19:37 UTC
Interesting concept! It is definetly a bit too fast in the beginning what makes it hard to understand what is going on especially because there are so many things to look at.
But overall a solid entry!
KreGames
15. Jan 2023 · 13:33 UTC
At first it was hard to understand what these seeds want. But after I figured out, it was fun top play. Great work, nice entry!
Sisyphean Games
15. Jan 2023 · 23:12 UTC
Ok really nice entry!

STUFF I LIKED:

The seeds look awesome and getting to watch them go through the different stages is super cool.

The variety of seeds with different requirements is well thought out!

The different soil tiles like rocks and water that make positioning all the seeds correctly adds a great big of complication to the game.

SOME FEEDBACK:

I didn't realized that when the plants disappear that it was a good thing, I thought I did something wrong. I think something as simple as a different, more positive, sound effect could remedy this.

Anyway, well done!
MinThaMie
16. Jan 2023 · 09:46 UTC
Loved the graphics and sounds, getting the hang of how it moved around the field and what it exactly meant to some getting used to. Loved the idea, and liked all the different seeds :)
Asieke
16. Jan 2023 · 23:58 UTC
Really fun game, could totally see this being played on mobile. Like others said, it takes a second to grasp how to play but once you get the basics it's pretty intuitive from there.

The next thing this game could use, imo, is better feedback/signaling of a plant's health. If a plant is dying, give it a withered look. And if it dies, a little puff of dust effect with a negative sound effect as it disappears would go a long way. And same for successfully harvesting a plant, a burst of golden light or something with a positive sound effect.
amarokczukay
18. Jan 2023 · 19:50 UTC
nice concept, love the fast-pace decision gameplay! nice mechanic, easy to understand, and not that easy to master.

the game lacks a bit of feedbacks (visual and/or audio) as some suggested. also, sometimes, we can't move tiles because they're surrounded by stone or water, and that blocks the way.
Blue Pin Studio
21. Jan 2023 · 09:42 UTC
This was very difficult! I lost many many many times haha

Perhaps easing up on the difficulty would've been nice, great entry tho!
arron-fowler
21. Jan 2023 · 15:44 UTC
Pretty solid. Once I got the hang of the game loop it was pretty fun and challenging. Lots going on here that was done well. Kudos