LudumData

Fruit Flyer by Retrific

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

Control a drone, collect fruits, upgrade, collect more fruit.

The year is 2069. AI didn't make it. But drones did. Now drones are used to collect the fruits of genetically enhanced super trees that grow really tall and grow all kinds of fruits at the same time. This job ain't easy, but at least it's also not paid well. There do be some fruits to collect tho...

Instructions: 1. You play with WASD or Arrow Keys + Space + Shift 2. The drone physics take some time to get used to. The drone has stabilization but it's easy to oversteer. I recommend "tapping" the direction keys for precise controls. (Upgrades to improve drone handling didn't make it into the game sorry) 3. Fly up and rightwards to find fruits on trees. Pick them up with space. 4. Bring the fruit to the basket next to the upgrade stations. 5. Be careful not to break the drone. A new drone is expensive. Restart the game with Ctrl+R. 6. Use cash to purchase upgrades, repair and recharge.

Unfortunately I did not manage to reach the stage where I get to work on audio, balancing or late game polish. So yea, a lot of fruit in the late game isn't reachable and the balancing is probably way off. I am disappointed in myself. But I think the game concept is still one of my best with a lot of potential and possibilities. Maybe that was also the problem...too many possiblities. Not enough time. I need to stop thinking I have to make a full game with a bunch of mechanics. I should instead focus on a single mechanic and get that right. Well well

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Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/fruit-flyer

Ratings

Overall 667th 3.053⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 590th 3⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 296th 3.4⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 515th 3.475⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 556th 3.275⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 428th 2.889⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 718th 2.789⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 8🗨️

Feedback

Derek Glennon
Oct 07th · 02:18 UTC
A bit hard to control, but was fun once I got the hang of it
Steven Garberg
Oct 07th · 02:34 UTC
TIL I'm not cut out to be a drone pilot
GuyInGrey
Oct 07th · 02:39 UTC
Very similar to flying a real drone, the controls are sensitive. Never played a drone flight game before, unique concept!
Theothervc
Oct 07th · 02:41 UTC
Fun Game, But Also Very Hard! I Could Barely Get A Fruit Without Tipping.
Taximan981
Oct 07th · 02:43 UTC
I've flown a drone once and I crashed instantly,therefore this game is 10/10 very realistic
Lynnn
Oct 08th · 23:43 UTC
contorls are hard to manipulate but maybe it's 90% due to me absolutely sucking at keyboard controls lol, very realistic tho. We've all played with toy drones we know how hard it is to control these evil little machines.Will recommend playing with friend bc it will be hilarious to fail as pilots together, I wish there's a 2 person mode. Thanks for the game!
Blazerker
Oct 10th · 05:02 UTC
Overall, a pretty good game! Great idea on the drone - a bit hard to control, but eventually got the hang of it. It could do with some sound, unless it wasn't working on my computer.
PatUwU
Oct 12th · 15:10 UTC
VERY hard to control but it was fun and challenging. Interesting idea, good art. Good Job!
MrV
Oct 14th · 16:12 UTC
one death - 7 minutes of gameplay, I think it's a bit unbalanced
UMC049
Oct 20th · 19:06 UTC
Controlling drones to collect fruits and sell them for profit, and using the money to upgrade drones to collect higher-value fruits is a pretty nice concept. The drone controls in the game are a bit difficult to get used to; sometimes even a slight press can make the whole drone flip forward or backward or crash around. However, it is relatively manageable when driving at low speeds.

But I personally feel that the in-game economic system is not very friendly to players. Early on, fruit prices are generally too low, and when collecting fruit, even if my claw is already above the basket, there is still a high chance of damaging the fruit, further reducing the value of fruit that is already not very valuable. Drone repair costs are too high, and just a light collision can reduce durability by 20 points or more. Similarly, when spending money to upgrade, you often encounter upgrades that are of little use, and each time the upgrade is applied, the cost for the next upgrade increases. When wind appears above the trees, the driving difficulty increases further. Playing under these high-risk conditions really feels tough, especially since the rewards are relatively low.

In the end, it’s still a good game. But it would be much better if the repair costs and death penalties were slightly reduced (the death penalty is a full $100! When I die once, I almost have to restart the game immediately).
Myst
Oct 23rd · 06:40 UTC
I loved this one, the drone was very hard to control, but that combined with the stock explosion every time I accidentally veered straight to the ground made for a very fun and comedic experience for me. The money system is rather unbalanced though, I imagine most of this would have been fixed with the drone upgrades, but the penalty for crashing a drone is still brutal when you’re still learning how to fly the thing. Finally, there is a limit to how much fruit the baskets can hold before they stop letting you sell them. This is pretty inconsequential in this version of the game, but it could become an issue if you decide to implement drone upgrades later on. Overall, I had a great time, would recommend.
Fupi
Oct 24th · 01:10 UTC
I actually found it pretty fun to control the drone! I think the default camera zoom is way too close and would have rather you hold shift to zoom instead of the other way around, but that's fine. You just need to be careful and slow, and you can collect as many fruits as you want. Although I think you tried to do too many ideas at once and they didn't really work together. Losing 100 moneys after dying is WAY too brutal, especially since the player is expected to die a bunch of times before they get a hold of the mechanics. At that point, you're better off just closing the game and starting again. I think controlling the drone is difficult and fun enough that this game could have easily been a simple game jam-friendly score attack game, where you try to collect as many fruits as you can before your drone blows up, and maybe the higher you fly the more valuable they get. Having to manage your power, and brokenness, and debt, makes the game feels like a longer term commitment, not as fun as just flying around collecting fruit and blowing up. Also, I don't understand why, but every time I put a fruit in the basket and it hits another fruit/the bottom of the basket, a negative number appears. What does that one mean? Am I not supposed to drop them there? I still get money regardless. Anyway, the art is beautiful and the controls are fun! Def just scope out something smaller next time.
EagleZ
Oct 24th · 16:15 UTC
I found that tapping the movement keys makes it more stable! Cool concept
Jim jagers
Oct 24th · 20:30 UTC
very fun!