SatisfAction - The Ultimate Marble Machine by MarkAis
Satisf-Action
You have found yourself in a mesmerizing marble machine, with the primary task of maintaining satisfaction amidst an increasingly chaotic marble mix-up. Your tool? A large, robust claw. Your strategy? A blend of quick reflexes, strategic placement, and tower-defense inspired mechanics.
Don't drop the ball!
The marble machine is dotted with various containers, each assigned to a different color of marble. Your primary goal is to ensure satisfaction by directing each marble into its corresponding container. Should any marble land in the wrong container or tumble off the machine, satisfaction levels will decline. Use your trusty claw to avert any marble mishaps and keep satisfaction at its peak.
~Mystery black marble~
Black marbles break the rules. They lack a designated path and instead offer a unique opportunity. Toss these mysterious marbles into the special container up top to unlock powerful defensive tools - the Paint Cannons!
You're not alone!
Strategically deploy your Paint Cannons to recolor marbles on the move. But beware! A misplaced Cannon could result in a colorful catastrophe, threatening your satisfaction levels.
Controls
Navigating this marble mayhem is a breeze: - WASD - Move the claw around - Space - Grab stuff with the claw - Tab - Switch between being close to the ground and a bird's-eye view for better strategizing
Thanks :)
I made this game solo - programming & modelling all the assets from scratch, except for the audio. I know only 0.1% of you might recognize it but I originally came up with the claw idea from this penguin mini-game in an old Madagascar game (yeah that exists). After developing the claw mechanic I remembered a really satisfying 3D "breakfast contraption" render made by Peter France from Corridor Digital, and that's how the marble factory came to be :D
Leaderboard
| Name | Highscore | |---------------------|-----------| | rickylee | 34780??????? | | Ategon| 18550 | | jitspoe | 7460 | | DJTequila | 2665| | potkirland | 2305 | | RookRules | 1570 | | 0XVOIDX0 | 1490 |
(post in comments and I'll add you)
| Windows | https://markasais.itch.io/satisfaction-the-ultimate-marble-machine |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/satisfaction-the-ultimate-marble-machine |
Ratings
| Overall | 110th | 4.116⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 44th | 4.209⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 100th | 4.012⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 634th | 3.884⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 148th | 4.36⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 591th | 3.068⭐ | 39🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 298th | 3.845⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 34🗳️ | 93🗨️ |
Some feedback, I had some issues getting used to the view for picking up the marbles. I was hoping that toggling would put me in a birds-eye view but it was the same angle but higher. Very minor issue though as you soon get the hang of it regardless.
Well done on a great submission.
I'll have to think about moving it somewhere else.
The design of the level is very well made, with enough points of crossing where marbles stalked. The UI is not so well made, apart from it blocking the view, it is hard to read and understand how you are doing in the game. I think It would be interesting to explore the meter starting from the middle and leaning in the direction of the most missed marbles. Overall Great Work.
I don't have anything meaningful to say except that I really really enjoyed it.
I agree with others about the birds eye view that it would help, but then you won't have any reason to return to the 3D view which is much prettier. I think it's better to leave just one perspective, but reduce shakiness of claw and always display with a shadow on top of which point it is situated.
Some suggestions on how you might want to improve on this:
- Music is lacking, and I think the game would benefit from a Soundtrack that matched the current Satisfaction (relaxing when it's high, fast and stressful when low).
- What about more canon types canon upgrades? Shooting frequency, or multicoloured ones that switch colour after attacking? Hook upgrades is another thing that comes to mind (i.e. targeting indicator, speed, size)
- Extending the scope: different marble machines, more than two colours, moving parts (i.e. rotating wheels, etc...)
In the end, this is a great achievement, especially for a solo project. Well done!
Okay, back to trying to break your Highscore!
The visual style of the game is very neat and the claw is a fun, but sometimes infuriating mechanism (as a claw should be).
I've improved on some of the most frequent issues and **release a new IMPROVED version!** While also keeping the original jam version available.
@b4ux1t3 Thanks glad you enjoyed it!
@nozomu57 I got a lot of great feedback about the camera angle and the shadow not being visible. I was able to make the regular view higher and also more down turned so you can see the shadow in the middle of the screen. I think this is a great improvement!
Also I reduced the initial difficulty by a lot so more people could enjoy the wonders of marbles :smile: While having the difficulty exponentially increase later on in the game for sweaty gamers like me :)
@klausklapper Haha thank you so much. Lots of great suggestions! I'm really considering making a full version of the game after the jam, I've really enjoyed the development and it seems others like it too :D
@archaeognathus Glad you liked it. I agree the claw can be hard to hit sometimes. I've increased the hitboxes so it's easier too aim. It's satisfaction we're looking for not frustrating claw gameplay Haha :D
@welsharess @norah Thanks for playing!! :)
Also after watching a couple of people play it (Huge thanks to @rincs and @spacespytv), I noticed other common issues, so I added better feedback when you do something wrong, I added range indicators for towers, and made the Satisfaction meter less ambiguous.
Great game very intuitive and very innovative! take the tower defense and make it new!! I loved it. loved the visuals loved the gameplay! The level can be improved to allow for more rooms for towers. right now I felt like there is a ceiling on how much score can we get!
Edit: Also really loved the momentum aspect and how you could fling marbles around.
update: it overflowed and then ended haha :smile:
Maybe the camera it's a bit dizzy, but I like the idea and the game design.
Congratulations!
My main complaint was that the point where the claw picks up a marble is underneath the Satisfaction meter on the screen because of the camera angle, but it looks like you've already fixed that in the post jam version!
Then you can grab them with the claw and position them anywhere around the map to help you out :smile: