PokEscape: Magicrap's Stealthy Journey for Survival & Gyrodeuce by Tuism

[raw]
made by Tuism for LD33 (COMPO)
You are the (Poke)Monster!

As a newly hatched Magicrap, floundering about, minding your own business, working damn hard just not to starve to death and scraping up just enough money for your family to get by, it's absolutely insult to injury when some capped kids stomps into your personal space, and starts throwing these bloody things at you.

Looks like you gotta keep your wits about you to outsmart these abominable kids! Who the hell do they think they are??

-------------------------------------

You're a growing monster baby. You need to eat to survive. You also need to hide from the damn humans to survive. Your cover also happens to be your food. Uh-oh!

-------------------------------------

*So* many features that I wanted to include but didn't make it in. But despite that it's all actually pretty fun! What I did manage to squeeze in:
> Rad stealth system where you have to eat your cover to stay alive.
> 5 Levels.
> You can 3 star each level by completing them "perfectly".
> Audio! (Making time for sound is among the best decisions you can make for a jam game)
> Not nearly as many bugs as I thought there'd be!
> A beginning and an end! (of sorts)

This is possibly my most complete LD yet, I'm super proud of the outcome, even though I know it's not exactly where I wanted it to be (yet).

Thanks for taking the time, you're the awesomest :)

Controls (self explanatory but just in case):
WASD to move, Enter as your action (to eat)

Ratings

Coolness 82% 2
Overall 3.75 104
Audio 3.12 284
Fun 3.63 120
Graphics 3.83 151
Humor 3.38 182
Innovation 3.65 115
Mood 3.17 343
Theme 3.44 437

Feedback

krasus
24. Aug 2015 路 04:42 UTC
That was really fun, although I feel that it doesn't really suit the theme of 'you're the monster,' unless it's 'you're the poke-monster!'

Also if you mash enter and race to the exit it's pretty easy to win :)
Great job none the less, very enjoyable!
馃帳 Tuism
24. Aug 2015 路 07:03 UTC
Thanks! Yes indeed it's "you're (poke) monster!" - it's the first line of the description! :D

You're right you can just speedrun it, but the real challenge is to get the three coins while doing that. I was wondering if I should lock the exit in some other way, but didn't get that far. Level design is hard!

Thanks for playing! :D
Crowbeak
24. Aug 2015 路 08:42 UTC
Well done. Very easy to panic. xD Having the bust out of pokeball and eat grass mechanics on the same button makes it more interesting than it would be otherwise.
馃帳 Tuism
24. Aug 2015 路 09:23 UTC
I was on the fence about the button selection for busting out - wriggling left/right was the first choice, but then you'd run out of cover. Same key as eating makes it interesting, but I'm not sure if it's better, but I also don't want it to be yet another button...

The idea here is pretty bare-bones, the original thought was that you get to evolve and play with different abilities like dashing, and/or different types of food that grant you boosts, and different trainers, some will go into long grass, some with wider view, some with better balls, etc.

But of course, overscoped :P

Thanks for playing! :D
sydan
24. Aug 2015 路 12:06 UTC
This game is quite fun, but also gets hard quite quickly. I would suggest making 'eating' automatic as I just found myself spamming ENTER. Love the art style and the take on the theme was hilarious!
inurashii
24. Aug 2015 路 12:12 UTC
Very clever idea! I was impressed by the polished look of the levels, and the clean animations. The controls were responsive and felt good, and the gameplay was intuitive but challenging. The audio did grate a little bit, but all in all a very fun play :)
sydream
24. Aug 2015 路 12:38 UTC
Really funny and stable game. Polished graphic and audio, enjoyed playing it
Mr. Jif
24. Aug 2015 路 15:09 UTC
Loved the double mechanic of having to eat grass/hide in grass. Really good game design. Could of course use some tweaks here or there but this was fantastic for a compo entry!
xgeovanni
24. Aug 2015 路 16:19 UTC
Linux link is broken. Redirects to "Oops! That page can鈥檛 be found."
Kaev
24. Aug 2015 路 16:20 UTC
I love this game. Hiding as a magicarp in some grass or else the trainers will catch you. Great idea!
(A pokemon like soundtrack would fit really well!)
Askbackwards
24. Aug 2015 路 16:20 UTC
Cool game! Having multiple mechanics that allow the player to have an easy run or a challenging run depending on if they want the coins or not. Love it!
MrDave
24. Aug 2015 路 16:23 UTC
Loved the game,

Found the concept very funny, especially the ending screen.

While it was simple it was really sharp and well executed. I like this entry.
felipeberquo
24. Aug 2015 路 17:14 UTC
The graphics and the sound are great! Really enjoyed it
Congratulations bro!
ToloaGames
24. Aug 2015 路 17:17 UTC
This was fun! Now I have to take a Magicrap.
someone9999
24. Aug 2015 路 17:18 UTC
A really interesting take on the 'gotta catch them all' mentality. Really nice art style, and some great humor. The last 2 levels are very difficult to 3 star :p.

Overall, a ton of fun to play!
馃帳 Tuism
24. Aug 2015 路 17:19 UTC
Linux version fixed! Sorry about that!
kaitokidi
24. Aug 2015 路 17:23 UTC
GG loved it!
Nice graphics and fun gameplay, please add more levels! : D
fonts not_comicsans would be apreciated xd
xgeovanni
24. Aug 2015 路 17:57 UTC
Nice game. Thanks for fixing the issue with the Linux link.
OxyOxspring
24. Aug 2015 路 18:19 UTC
This game is ridiculously well polished for a compo entry! I really enjoyed it!
rudra
24. Aug 2015 路 18:35 UTC
Pretty fun game :) Liked the amount of polishness in the game and the graphics are great :)
recursor
24. Aug 2015 路 18:42 UTC
This is a really neat idea and quite well executed I might add. Both the graphics and audio have nice polish to them.
KingGames
24. Aug 2015 路 18:43 UTC
Good Game :)
OldPeculier
24. Aug 2015 路 19:05 UTC
Wow! Definitely a cut above the average. Interesting gameplay mechanic鈥擨'm the hungriest creature I've ever played. Good thing I'm vegetarian. Hilarious grumbly tummy "hunger" noise. I didn't quite get the "hiding" mechanic though鈥攔eally just seemed more like dodging, since the poke masters always saw me no matter what I did (it seemed).
mrjorts
24. Aug 2015 路 19:17 UTC
This is an awesome game! Stealthing around and dodging pokeballs feels very satisfying. The achievements for each level are a nice added challenge.
RHY3756547
24. Aug 2015 路 19:42 UTC
Hilarious idea, love the graphics. "Gyrodeuce" is pretty impressive. Unfortunately a little easy to win if you run all the way to the end and mash enter, but if you play it the right way it's great!
afisicos
24. Aug 2015 路 19:45 UTC
Nice game, i enjoy playing it. Gotcha escape em all.
馃帳 Tuism
24. Aug 2015 路 20:36 UTC
Thanks everyone for your awesome input! :D

Comic Sans was a conscious decision :P I thought - if I'm gonna make a joke game, I might as well go all-in with the jokes :P

The difficulty is a really tough one to balance, I know I didn't want to trap the player in a level if they can't get past something, but at the same time, I didn't want it to be easy. So I eventually settled on this - where it's easy to get through, unless you want that extra challenge (I do!).

I can tell you this - This was nowhere near as well designed as it can/should be. The compo is REALLY hard to do some really good level design in... Heck ALL level design is damn hard, and is definitely something I need to practice and learn in massive quantities.
Birke
24. Aug 2015 路 20:52 UTC
The presentation was good but I found it quite difficult to figure out how to best deal with the trainers. Seemed like running fast was the best option but then you also had to look out for keeping your food level up which often conflicted
Somfin
24. Aug 2015 路 22:31 UTC
Extremely polished, nice clean rule set, easy on the eyes. Good work.
Ardy
25. Aug 2015 路 05:55 UTC
Really nice game. A shame that you didn't get to implement other of your ideas. I think you should lock the gate so you have to collect at least one coin to open it and the rest for the stars. That would add some challenge/incentive.

(I found a little bug. If you happen to get out of the pokeball while the trainer jumps in you, you both get stuck and all you can do is starve to death!)
Shaw
25. Aug 2015 路 06:32 UTC
Lot's of fun, cute graphics, great take on the theme, good level design. Laughed at magicrap too. Good Job.
DruhinM
25. Aug 2015 路 06:55 UTC
Nice game
Thorig
25. Aug 2015 路 07:41 UTC
This is a great puzzle game. My son must play this game, he loves Pokemon. This entry is really good! It is simple and plays well.
Patacorow
25. Aug 2015 路 08:34 UTC
Haha! I love how you've executed the Pokemon perspective!
the graphics are neat

next time that I'll play Pokemon, I'll think twice before throwing a Pokeball on a magikarp
dickpoelen
25. Aug 2015 路 08:37 UTC
Great entry. Could be expanded to a full game easily! (maybe with some tweaks to avoid lawsuits)
Ellian
25. Aug 2015 路 13:02 UTC
This is adorable. The art style is great, it's super cute, and the gameplay is challenging.
Kinda wish hunger was based on movement/action rather than time, but I guess it made it easier to balance, since it's a game jam and all.

Awesome work!
馃帳 Tuism
25. Aug 2015 路 13:15 UTC
@Ellian you're right! I actually wanted to make the game turn-based to start with, and make it an almost roguelikey sort of super thinky stealth game, but I quickly realised... That would be so damn hard to build, balance, and everything, so I settled on this quite quickly.

The next version? Who knows? :)
bytegrove
25. Aug 2015 路 15:01 UTC
Haha, fun interpretation of the theme! I like all the little clever ways in which you manage to avoid copyright infringement, hehe! The game got pretty hard, pretty fast, but it was fun, I think you could develop this further for sure. Nice work!
DragonXVI
25. Aug 2015 路 18:31 UTC
Near mechanic of eating your own cover. A few bugs in it though (The coin counter never reset so you could skip fetching coins and still get 3 stars, which made it trivial). Nice presentation too
Jupiter_Hadley
25. Aug 2015 路 20:33 UTC
Super fun, awesome game. I included it in part 4 of my Ludum Dare 33 Compilation video series, if you would like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/NqmWO8MUX6c
Jishenaz
25. Aug 2015 路 22:22 UTC
Excellent game with nice polish. The mechanics were great and there was a good amount of challenge.

Now anyone playing this game will understand how annoying it must be for animals to be captured on-the-spot by random weirdos. XD
CorgiCommander
26. Aug 2015 路 01:08 UTC
This was great. The background music really helps in making this feel very parody-like. Great job! When's this going on mobile?
Mark Venturelli
26. Aug 2015 路 01:57 UTC
Haha wonderful idea =)
shawn42
26. Aug 2015 路 02:51 UTC
Super fun and cute. Very unique mechanic; I like.
Rocketship
26. Aug 2015 路 07:00 UTC
This was a lot of fun, sad that it ended so soon! Liked the clarity in the graphics, was easy to see what was happening at all times. Escaping from the poke balls (or whatever they are called here) was quite easy but I thank you for it, otherwise I would've never completed this one :D

Overall a very polished game, nice work!
djfariel
26. Aug 2015 路 09:18 UTC
1st Thought:
"Wow, this looks really well done"

Pros:
Art.
Gameplay was very well balanced, and the controls felt good.
I liked the rad stealth system.

Cons:
The feeling of being the monster just wasn't there.
The music didn't quite fit the feel, it was just kind of there.

Overall:
Very well done, I legitimately enjoyed playing this. Great Job.
馃帳 Tuism
26. Aug 2015 路 09:58 UTC
Yeah the music was pretty much something I could find from a generator. I initially wanted a nice relaxing pokemon-esque track, tried to write one myself, first with Bosca Ceoil, than with Garage Band, then I just realised I ain't gonna be able to make it on my nub of musical talent :P So I went procedural hunting. I also wanted the music to pick up into pokemon combat music when you get spotted........ But alas.

The feeling of being a monster was the feeling of being a (Poke)monster, as far as my interpretation goes :P

Thanks for the input :D
jtpup0
26. Aug 2015 路 11:29 UTC
Amazing as always!
cbear_wallis
26. Aug 2015 路 12:20 UTC
I thought this was really interesting. All of your mechanics work together really well. Having to resist being caught was a really good idea to counter the speed and rate that the trainers were throwing. The only thing that I really think could have improved was more polish on the art. The shadows were really dark and I think the colors could have been tighter and less saturated(not trying to down you just scratching my head trying to think of anything because this is a really good entry). I think it was a really good idea given the theme and the execution is expertly done :).
Zccc
26. Aug 2015 路 14:46 UTC
Very funny take on the theme ahah. I found it too difficult to avoid the pokeballs but I completed the 3 levels, even without most of the stars! Good job!
careless
26. Aug 2015 路 16:12 UTC
The graphics were nice and clear and fun, sounds perfect for this type of game.

Really simple and enjoyable idea, I liked that you were being hunted like a Pokemon.

This is the sort of game which you could put on a mobile and keep added new levels and challenges too.

Great entry!
Miltage
26. Aug 2015 路 17:19 UTC
Great entry Mr. Tu! The concept was simple and executed well. The choice of art style fits the game well, and allowed you to pull off simple animations that still felt good and gave the game a polished feel. The difficulty ramping throughout the levels was perfect.

Not sure why the pokeballs were diamonds though. Circles aren't that hard to draw man! #TuuGood
馃帳 Tuism
26. Aug 2015 路 23:47 UTC
Spot on on the simplistic graphics - They started out as being placeholders, then I totally remembered my previous experiences, and made sure I made "good enough" placeholders just in case, and sure enough :P They really really helped though!

I made the pokeboxes... boxes, because I didn't want to tread on trademarks :P
Unept
27. Aug 2015 路 04:06 UTC
Nice job. I've minimal knowledge of Pokemon, but enough to see the twist. Nicely done. Great graphics and solid controls.
Piotrek
27. Aug 2015 路 18:09 UTC
Graphics and animations looks nice.
Idea for enemies was very funny too.
Nice game!
馃帳 Tuism
27. Aug 2015 路 20:12 UTC
Bookmarked: Indiegames.com had PokEscape in their roundup of LD33 games :D

http://indiegames.com/2015/08/ludum_dare_33_voting_open_with.html
Evergreen Games
28. Aug 2015 路 06:24 UTC
Very interesting mechanic. The levels needed a little more depth. Quite polished.
JoeProgram
28. Aug 2015 路 14:45 UTC
Loved this game! The concept is clever, eating your own hiding spots is great, and the difficult scales just right. Without a doubt, my favorite part was escaping the pokeball mechanic - after having thrown so many pokeballs in my day, it's hilarious to be on the other side. Great job!
guoboism
28. Aug 2015 路 22:40 UTC
Really nice game. Taking perspective from a Pokemon monster? Really lovely graphics.
dregamr
29. Aug 2015 路 09:15 UTC
Hey!! Simple but really fun!!
I really like the pokeSQUARE. XD
It's a reallt good game and funny, congratulations!
Slothmachine
29. Aug 2015 路 17:01 UTC
Hehe. Such a lovely graphics. Really fun idea!
Ramiel
29. Aug 2015 路 17:38 UTC
Just awesome. Feels very polished. Not much to say here.
One little thing though. In the last level I collected one coin, yet I got the stars for collecting all three coins.
block97
29. Aug 2015 路 21:06 UTC
I like the game. It wasn't too hard if you just mashed enter, but it was still a pretty enjoyable game.
Sparrow
29. Aug 2015 路 21:07 UTC
Cool game, interesting gameplay! :)
theholychicken
30. Aug 2015 路 00:56 UTC
Ahaha that poop joke :3
I knew I'll get to play as a wild pokemon this when the theme came out.
Getting out of pokeballs was great fun! Awesome job!
OnionBlaze
30. Aug 2015 路 07:12 UTC
Nice game mechanic, loved the idea hahah. Good job with this! :)
Ithildin
30. Aug 2015 路 11:23 UTC
Really good concept, and solid implementation. I liked the simple, clean graphics, they added a nice touch.

Well done!
Pomb
30. Aug 2015 路 14:48 UTC
Nice work Tuism! Damn tricky getting the balance between surviving and having enough grass to hide in!
Ulydev
30. Aug 2015 路 19:10 UTC
Moving to the beat was really fun! Great entry overall!
commanderstitch
30. Aug 2015 路 22:58 UTC
this was cool. I liked the simple setup, nice methods of running around. I felt like i kinda did the same kind of thing, but yours was much more puzzly, felt more like pokemon(not mine of course)(mine was alien), and the dynamics of the game felt nice an tight. The choice of magiccarp was what kinda confused me since there are more "monsterly" pokemon in the bunch. :D
sikosis
31. Aug 2015 路 06:14 UTC
Nice graphics and controls, though I thought it was a rogue-like turn based game first and quickly realised I was wrong. You should definitely keep at it. Good job.
Larzan
31. Aug 2015 路 07:22 UTC
Wow, great job very complete, interesting idea that you have to eat your cover, great gfx and point system, well done!
馃帳 Tuism
31. Aug 2015 路 08:02 UTC
Haha, the choice of Magicrap was really just that its the most uselessly floundering pokemon of the bunch, and I wanted to convey the feeling of helpless pokemon more than anything else :) So yeah, my take on this wasn't the usual rawr-eat-everything-scary monster, but just the word monster in pokemon :)

I really do want to develop this in a roguelike, turn-based direction, though it would really be something else, due to the projectile dodging that's happening now.

Thanks for your kind words everyone :D
derr
31. Aug 2015 路 13:42 UTC
I always teased my spouse how it's mean of the trainers to catch Pokemon and put them in little balls. Maybe this game will elicit some empathy! :D Great job! Fun little game.
Fonserbc
01. Sep 2015 路 10:35 UTC
Man, those 3 stars are hard!
Druid
04. Sep 2015 路 13:01 UTC
Wow! Flawless entry! Balanced gameplay, neat graphics! Well.. Music was little unfitting. I expected something more action... But except this, solid entry!
Franklin's Ghost
04. Sep 2015 路 13:46 UTC
This was so much fun, just wish there was more levels cause I really enjoyed playing. The art was great and worked well with the story. Hopefully you keep going with this and release another version with more levels and the hunger mechanic adjusted to moves which I can understand you not doing with the short time you had.
Pusty
04. Sep 2015 路 20:24 UTC
Haha I love it! :D
Drauthius
04. Sep 2015 路 20:30 UTC
Cute game, nice concept.
Twinters
04. Sep 2015 路 20:57 UTC
I was looking forward to playing this when I saw one of your posts about it during the 48 hours, but never found it again until now. Lovely game. I really love the artstyle. The mechanics are intuitive and the levels were quite hard. Well done!
freaknarf
05. Sep 2015 路 07:31 UTC
Nice game, easy to "speedrun", but quickly hard to complete "perfectly"... Maybe locking exit until the first star of something like this could make it more leveled at first sight!
Simple but smooth visual, good tune, a bit short one after a while :) Magicrap reminded me Kirby's "Kine"
freaknarf
05. Sep 2015 路 08:17 UTC
Awww sorry, what i just wrote on the tune, another game was launched in the background and i was not hearing your tune :] I just realized it and came back to your game to listen to the music...
My apologies, this is not short and repetitive as I wrote, that's a good piano tune :)
bombjack
07. Sep 2015 路 10:58 UTC
good concept. I die too fast ;p. the art is simple but nice.
LMT
07. Sep 2015 路 20:34 UTC
That was a pretty cool entry. The graphics are really cute and the gameplay is pretty original also.
radmars
07. Sep 2015 路 20:54 UTC
Great. Way to go!
SoloDuoTeam
07. Sep 2015 路 21:25 UTC
Magikarp finally has it s revenge!!! BEST THEME FOR THE GAMES I RATED!
Dizzyman572
07. Sep 2015 路 21:35 UTC
Really cool game, I loved the turn around with you being the pokemon! Now I'm wondering about ethical nature of capturing pokemon. I mean, c'mon, you're literally making this pokemon your slave! I think there needs to be a Pokemon Rights movement in that universe.
jcourt
07. Sep 2015 路 23:01 UTC
I liked the idea having to hide in the grass and eat it to stay alive. It's a little too easy though, because you can just run right through eating all the grass you come in and dodging the pokeballs.
hexagore
08. Sep 2015 路 09:46 UTC
Weirdly this game seems to be greater than the sum of its parts if you know what I mean. I've never played Pokemon so I'm going to assume the music is some sort of reference to music in that sort of game but it drove me bonkers by the end :) The art was beautiful and suited the game well.

The game itself, sure, you can just run for it but I played it to get as many coins as I could (ended up with 11). The mechanic of hunger + edible cover = very interesting indeed. Definitely turned it into an actual challenge to play properly. The decision to let you try escaping from the balls was a very good one, too.

Thanks for making it :)
馃帳 Tuism
08. Sep 2015 路 10:26 UTC
Thank you! :D

I tried to go for something very pokemon-ish, started composing in Garage Band, then realised I still have no musical talent to speak of, just like last time I checked... So I found some procedurally generation and went with that. It was... Better than nothing :P

The balance between the two polarising goals of the game could definitely have been handled better - I wanted to not present an impossible task for people who give up quickly, nor did I want it to be a cakewalk. The optional challenges I thought was awesome and would give people something if they wanted it - which is what many did, and that's awesome :D

I should have made perhaps one coin mandatory before moving on, or something more interesting than just "get to point B". Further development will tell, possibly :)
Dianouille
08. Sep 2015 路 12:20 UTC
Haha the use of the theme made me laugh ! And the graphism are pretty nice, good job ! Maybe propose controls with the arrow keys can be a good idea, for tose of us who use a azerty keyboard ^^
LukeZaz
11. Sep 2015 路 05:23 UTC
Fun game. A bit disappointed that I didn't get a different ending if I got all the coins, but still very entertaining!
馃帳 Tuism
11. Sep 2015 路 07:11 UTC
Omg guy, did you get all the coins?? :D Yeah I absolutely ran out of time to actually put in different endings, or even hook in the coin counter properly... :/ really wanted to though!!!
Omiya Games
13. Sep 2015 路 02:03 UTC
Had a lot of fun playing this :). Thought the life decreasing rate was pretty punishing. That said, ignoring those stars sure made the game a lot easier to play. Liked the fact that you had to feed off of your own hiding places. Plus, those trainers being respectful and not crossing the grass patches was nice.

Incidentally, I seemed to have encountered a bug where despite not collecting all coins on the map, it still gave me a star for it.
Ludipe
14. Sep 2015 路 17:19 UTC
This made me laugh really hard. Nice take on the theme, plus I thought the core mechanics were cool. Good work!
NidzaKornjaca
14. Sep 2015 路 20:31 UTC
Really cool idea, cute gfx and audio, though I feel the level difficulty ramps up pretty quickly. Not too sure how it fits the theme in general though.