LudumData

A Familiar Task by Codeman1010

[raw]
made by Codeman1010 for Ludum Dare 58 (JAM)

Familiar Task banner (1).png

In A Familiar Task, take on the roll of a witch's familiar cat as you help her to prepare her spells. Traverse four different maps to collect the ingredients needed and bring them back home. But beware, danger awaits beyond the door of your cozy hut. Take too long, and the beasts may catch you!

cave mushroom.gif

Once you have your list of items, you can start on your adventure. But, specific ingredients are found in specific environments. Change where the magical door leads by swiping at the cat toy near the door.

Then, run through items to collect them! Keep an eye on your list to get everything you need. However, each environment has a monstrous toad hoping to turn you into a tasty snack!

toad-still.png

Link https://dragontheorygames.itch.io/ld58-a-familiar-task
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/ld-58

Ratings

Overall 652th 3.111⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Fun 637th 2.889⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 670th 2.694⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Theme 436th 3.611⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 435th 3.556⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 360th 3.083⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 465th 3.444⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Given 20🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

Derek Glennon
Oct 07th · 03:46 UTC
I don't think there is a way to play your game currently? The download on your itch page seems to be a web build?
🎤 Codeman1010
Oct 07th · 04:45 UTC
Thank you so much for letting us know, we all kind of crashed after the jam. But it should be resolved now.
Jcourt
Oct 07th · 05:56 UTC
I'm not 100% sure whether I got the intended experience here - the game is displayed at a pretty small size on the page, and when I opened the settings menu, I wasn't able to actually close it without reloading the page. It seemed like some thing might have been cut off.

That being said, I did really like a couple of little touches, like the dramatic music when the frog gets close to you, and the magic door.
breadstick
Oct 07th · 05:57 UTC
not to be yet another bearer of bad news, but while the web build seems to be properly set up and hosting, it plays in such a small window that makes it almost impossible to enjoy the game (as well as cutting off major portions of the frame... some of the loading logo is cut off). There also doesn't seem to be a full-screen button to expand the window beyond the 640x360px window it seems to be playing in
SergS Workshop
Oct 07th · 06:36 UTC
Nice atmosphere. I really enjoyed the cat’s point of view — it made for an interesting experience, especially in the opening location. The exploration is fun and the ambiance fits perfectly.
zexurge
Oct 07th · 14:26 UTC
do wish the resolution could be higher, but digging the art style!
debugman18
Oct 08th · 03:02 UTC
Cute art and sound effects. Got eaten by a toad.
Smiling
Oct 08th · 03:19 UTC
It's a very interesting atmosphere, but it seems that the picture doesn't show everything.
penumbrah
Oct 08th · 03:34 UTC
Finished the first collection list! The toad is rather slow which I am going to interpret this as me being quite fast instead which I'll take as a compliment! Other than that I liked the cat POV and the different environments.
Maakole
Oct 08th · 03:40 UTC
Love the graphics, sound, and atmosphere. But gameplay-wise there's a few design decisions I'd reconsider. First, I think E and Shift could share their functions, each one only does a single thing and neither function is easily readable right away without looking at the game info. Readability in general is another thing that could really help: there's a distinct lack of vfx juice cause atm the game has no feedback when picking up objects, completing a checklist, or taking damage.
LDJam user 384191
Oct 09th · 04:34 UTC
I agree with @maakole about having more feedback when picking up items and completing the list. I also find the "toad music" a bit too intense, especially compared to the eerie atmosphere of the different biomes, but that might be a matter of taste. That being said, the atmosphere is very coherent, and the cute art style fits the theme very well. Nice!
Gaverion
Oct 11th · 00:31 UTC
It was hard to know when an item was picked up and I got stuck with the frog being right at the door so I couldn't get out. I was glad the cat could purr!
Yorsh
Oct 12th · 23:17 UTC
Cool mood and music. Toad is scary so that's nice. Lighting is lacking tho, it's very hard to tell what's going on sometime cause everything is brown.
Elfb0y
Oct 17th · 00:13 UTC
This was such a charming and cozy entry! I really liked the idea of playing as a witch’s familiar cat — it fits the Collector theme perfectly. The environments felt magical, and the music helped set the mood really well. The toad chasing mechanic added just enough tension to keep things exciting without breaking the calm atmosphere. I do wish the game window was a bit larger and that there was clearer feedback when collecting items, but overall, it was a lovely and creative experience. Great job to the whole team!
LooksLikeSomething
Oct 18th · 17:08 UTC
A nice game with a cool atmosphere. I liked it. The idea is very unique.

There is just one thing that bothered me : I felt dizzy while playing and had to quit after a few minutes. I am amoung that small percentage of player that NEED a target reticle (just a simple dot in the middle of the screen prevent it) to avoid the dizzyness, especially when playing fullscreen.
Arwen Sylveck
Oct 20th · 04:57 UTC
Playing from a cat's perspective was cool, if super disorienting. Seemed like there was some platforming to get to candles? But they didn't seem to do much. Being so small in the environment was spooky; I ended up getting lost frequently. I wish there was some kind of reward/acknowledgement that the player completed the list before moving on to the next one. Great job to the team for getting a lot of pieces together and working quite well!