Combine Competition by CuteSquirrel
Molly McCabe has a combine harvester so agile it can turn on the spot. But for it, she had exchanged her soul and thereby any sympathy for the living. That together with no interest in improving her skills, and a severe lack of respect for good old property, might be enough for you to beat her in the yearly Combine Competition!
Control with arrow keys. Harvest as much grain a possible, and avoid hitting cows and fence. Most points after 40 seconds, are appointed as honorary member in the harvest guild, with bragging right until next harvest.
This is my first game jam, my first game made with Phaser, and one of my first "completed" games, besides a few pong and snake clones in native javascript. It have been a really good learning experience. So many setbacks, and so much time spent reading through the Phaser documentation. Especially the insanely basic AI movement took a long time, as I insisted on figuring out how to use the tools given in the framework, instead of writing something myself (although I actually started on exactly that, as I was starting to give up).
Graphics haven't been a focus point (suprise...), as I even with 90%+ time focused on programming, was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it, so I'm really looking forward to hopefully make something prettier next time.
Credits: The two animated effects are from OpenGameArt.org https://opengameart.org/users/para - Blood splat visual effect https://opengameart.org/users/knoblepersona - Wood destruction visual effect
The two sound effects are likewise from that site: https://opengameart.org/users/willleamon - Hit flesh sound effect https://opengameart.org/users/qubodup - Destroy wood sound effect
The short music theme, is made by me. Same with the really basic images. I've coded everything from scratch.
Software used: Phaser 3 (Game Engine) Visual Studio Code (Editor) Krita (Drawing) Reason Studios (Music)
Really looking forward to the next jam. I'm so happy with my result, even though it's not anything good. But the feeling of having something "done", is amazing.
| Game | http://tc.mikjaer.com/LudumDare52 |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/52/combine-competition |
Ratings
| Overall | 702th | 2.986⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 524th | 3.171⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 683th | 2.794⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 307th | 3.843⭐ | 37🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 672th | 2.779⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 410th | 2.97⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 327th | 3.106⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 643th | 3.015⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 25🗳️ | 54🗨️ |
Super nice entry! Simple, yet hard to master mechanics, quick round time so it's fun to try again.
For a first jam entry and first game with a fresh engine, it's a v e r y good result!!!
Don't worry about the GFX too much, it is aesthetically pleasing and instantly understandable / readable - that's a lot already.
It would be extra fun with a friend if it had 2-player couch vs mode (disable the AI and e.g. WASD for the second harvester controls)! Maybe something for a small post-jam update?
In my mind, I also imagined the harvester drifting. That would be glorious as well.
Handling on the combine is nice, feels weighty and "correct". Core mechanic is really satisfying, shades of Powerwashing Simulator and Farming Simulator.
I've played 2 games now about harvest wheat and avoiding cows, but yours is the only one so far where the cows make a satisfying *splat* noise if you fail to avoid them lol
Enjoyed the game. Quick and easy to play. Great job!
