Limited Parking Space by Johnsensei

[raw]
made by Johnsensei for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

You have a dinner date downtown and have to find a parking space. Fight the traffic jams and other drivers so that you get one of the limited spaces available and make it to your dinner date on time.

Arrow key controls:

↑ Forward ↓ Reverse ← Turn Left → Turn Right

Team

John Gale - Lead Designer/Programmer -

Dan Burns - Music, SFX, Graphic Design

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Ratings

Overall 696th 3.438⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Fun 631th 3.357⭐ 65🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 840th 3.008⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Theme 280th 4.063⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Audio 514th 3.254⭐ 65🧑‍⚖️
Humor 289th 3.451⭐ 63🧑‍⚖️
Mood 823th 3.197⭐ 63🧑‍⚖️
Given 102🗳️ 156🗨️

Feedback

John Saba
02. Oct 2023 · 23:18 UTC
Gosh people are such bad drivers, just like IRL!!! I almost punched through my monitor. This was lots of stressfun. +1 for the cute honking sounds and music and the nice details like parking direction, and distance strategies.
Victor Long
03. Oct 2023 · 00:47 UTC
I'm already bad at parallel parking in real life! Great job!
InitialPosition
03. Oct 2023 · 00:49 UTC
I swear my car was driving into oncoming traffic and every street corner ON PURPOSE :D

Great little game, loved how hectic everything felt by design, how you wanted to get a parking space close to the restaurant and how stressful the entire thing felt. Truly a good representation of real life.

My earliest arrival was at 5:30 :D
Steve Dragon
03. Oct 2023 · 00:52 UTC
I feel like this is one of those games that is greater than the sum of its parts. The core loop is not necessarily fun, but it is strangely real. You are in a crowded parking lot, you are looking for space, you are navigating between cars. As a concept, the barebones seems like a starting point for something bigger.

The mechanics themselves are not smooth, but they are playable. Some more testing and fixing would have helped with the current clunkiness.

I would say you need more in this to make it a more game-like experience. Maybe more story behind why we are parking, maybe easter eggs, just something to break the monotony or to exemplify it. There is definitely potential here.
aevek
03. Oct 2023 · 00:53 UTC
Car was a little weird to control, but this is a 'fun' interpretation of one of my least favorite things in real life so great job I think?
Carlos Murillo
03. Oct 2023 · 01:01 UTC
This is a neat little game, I really like how chaotic it can get. I liked the little details, like the honking noises.
LDJam user 352490
03. Oct 2023 · 01:17 UTC
I haven't parallel parked since I took a driver's test, so can't say I relate... but definitely captures something hectic about driving in traffic.
walaber
03. Oct 2023 · 05:07 UTC
fun idea, very difficult to control! accelerating and braking were near-instant, but the turning was super slow in comparison. a little tuning on the car controls would have improved this a lot!
Daniel Davis Music
03. Oct 2023 · 07:54 UTC
Enjoyable! In a way, it was hilariously realistic to city driving. In other ways, it was a classic driving video game. Aka, I suck at it, and am constantly crashing.

I enjoyed the music track and the victory stinger, but I felt that the acceleration sounds were quite overbearing. They fit well with the 8 bit palette, but I didn't care for them. The crashing sounds were more forgivable for me because they were intermittent. Creative soundscape for menu.
Game Dev With Michael
03. Oct 2023 · 11:31 UTC
Overall this is a cool little game.

Not sure if I'm sold on the tank controls on the car, but given the overhead view that may have been the best option.

The sound effects and music were a nice touch and definitely made this feel more like a game.

Would appreciate the ability to use WASD as well as the arrow keys.
Fernando Tonon de Rossi
03. Oct 2023 · 12:30 UTC
Very nice concept! My kids loved the game! haha
LDJam user 306251
03. Oct 2023 · 13:33 UTC
This is a great use of the theme and makes me feel like a total smartass because my real-life parking strategy of just parking far away works perfectly in this game. If this game gets expanded on after the jam I think having a scoring mechanic that awards a bonus for being early and distance walked subtracts from your score. This needs to be incorporated into dating sim games.
Nat1Wizard
03. Oct 2023 · 15:04 UTC
Fun little game that fits the theme quite well! Definitely took a minute to get used to the controls, and I think it would have a nice high skill ceiling, which would make it a fun little speed running game. Great job overall!
Adam Gallina
03. Oct 2023 · 18:22 UTC
I really liked the sounds effects between the honking and crash noises, they blended together really well. It would have been nice if there was some kind of detriment to colliding with other cars, but a lot of fun to speed around like a maniac
Mehul
04. Oct 2023 · 04:45 UTC
Oh my god this simulated the frustrations of trying to find a parking spot so well! I second the idea of this gameplay being packaged into a dating sim cause that would be hilarious!
morgie
04. Oct 2023 · 06:11 UTC
Oh god. It took me so long to get a hang of the controls. And then I started causing traffic jams and likely hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of vehicular damage in record breaking time. And then I could not for the life of me find a parking spot? Where am I? DTLA? And then I parked in the wrong direction which, last time I checked, who cares. Anyways fun and frustrating little game! I wish there was a stat to show how many care you hit on the way there. Music was cute and matches the humorous vibe of the game.
🎤 Johnsensei
04. Oct 2023 · 23:00 UTC
I just tried playing our game with a controller and it played surprisingly well. The analog stick was preferable to the keyboard arrow keys.
Robert Li
05. Oct 2023 · 04:27 UTC
The struggle is sooooo real! Looking for a street parking spot! with incoming traffic! with traffic after you! The experience I had playing your game is so close to my real life experience with find parking spot! Spot On! Good job!
JuanRod707
05. Oct 2023 · 04:56 UTC
super fun game! Would love to see actual traffic behaviors such as parked cars going into traffic and traffic cars parking and stealing your spot.
Soul Grinder
05. Oct 2023 · 06:07 UTC
Great idea for the theme and on point for the nightmare parking in busy car parks, I've seen this in real life so many times lol. Good work was fun to play!
Spica
05. Oct 2023 · 06:15 UTC
I found it funny I could drive backwards just fine without any speed penalty :smile: Interesting and challenging concept (like really challenging, the car is too fast for this road). Good theme fit for the Jam
Ryrumeli
05. Oct 2023 · 06:18 UTC
This game feels wildly prophetic, hope the streets aren't crazy like this one day. For sure I will be weary of flag-themed cars. Seriously though, the game was fun to play, the polish was great and the other drivers actually felt like living agents. And whoever I am dating, if she takes a glance at the traffic she will forgive a 5 minues tardiness!
crylica
05. Oct 2023 · 06:44 UTC
Haha, I really like the premise, and how there's a counter on how long it takes to walk to the restaurant. Funny commentary on suburbia and car centric cities. The collision was a bit finicky with the other cars, but it's funny imagining all the insurance claims afterwards. Great job
Flying Butter Studio
05. Oct 2023 · 07:31 UTC
To faaaaast! That could be my last word before every single crash... :sweat_smile:

Nicely done, working perfectly for me :smile:
Music is so good with the mood of the game !

Congrats ! :smile:
RenD
05. Oct 2023 · 19:09 UTC
I suck at parallel parking as much as in real life :smile: The physics seems odd at first but then it's pretty fun to roam the street and try to park. If I had one suggestion, I would have put the rotation's pivot anchor more to the front to mimic a real car more.
Adam Konig
06. Oct 2023 · 03:17 UTC
Super fun! Controls were quick and easy to pick up and goals of the game were very clear and easy to follow. Just wish there was more juice for all the things (car crashes, dust trails, etc.) but otherwise mechanically very very solid entry!
robobarbie
06. Oct 2023 · 03:19 UTC
MY POOR DATE.... BABYGIRL I AM SO SORRY........
tucan
06. Oct 2023 · 05:07 UTC
Hahaha this felt too much like real life! At one point we thought about making a game about getting a parking spot too! The mechanics are good, it take a little bit to get used to the movement, once you get used to it other cars start crashing with you! Fun game!
dob
06. Oct 2023 · 05:48 UTC
I drove for a long time and never found the open spot. Wasn't sure if it was supposed to be near the restaurant or not. Driving was fun and the game looked cool, although I found the controls a little hard to use sometimes, and the other cars didn't obey traffic laws (probably a feature, not a bug). Fun, with crisp neat graphics. Nice work!
AgrMayank
06. Oct 2023 · 06:49 UTC
A real life example of "Limited Space" and a cause for frustration of many of us! I'd have loved if the game was a bit longer but the random replay-ability is great as well. :smiley_cat:
CaptainDreamcast
06. Oct 2023 · 16:25 UTC
Very fun take on the theme, I think everyone with a car can relate to this! Was very fun weighing the time left vs the distance to the restaurant, that gave you a lot of decision space, I enjoyed the design of that. The music was cool and funky, I liked that a lot as well. Fantastic game you made here, great job!
LaserPanzerWal
06. Oct 2023 · 18:20 UTC
Interesting idea. I just wish the car controls were different. The car didnt behave in any way as you would expect it, and that left me stuck at pretty much every obstacle forever. Besides that cool concept.
Linke
06. Oct 2023 · 20:27 UTC
This is different from other parking games, it really replicates the experience of rushing to a dinner date while suffering from parking. The theme is well communciated by the gameplay though audio could be more tailored for better vibes.
On the other hand, the control can be tuned better, an easy way to do this is simply lower the speed.
a random thought, I'd love to see the moment where I found a spot but someone else is trying to park in.
Great job! This is an interesting and intuitive one.
CiaranW
06. Oct 2023 · 21:55 UTC
I think this may be many people's idea of a nightmare, not a game :sweat_smile: - but I enjoyed it, nicely fleshed out minigame! The sound, music, graphics and general vibe went very well together for an arcadey feel. Pretty cool traffic logic too (although frustrating to be stuck in it!) I find top down driving like this very difficult, especially on a keyboard, but the game had a 'fun' enough feel that it wasn't too frustrating imo. I would love if this could be expanded a bit, like by spaces becoming available and getting filled on the fly, and maybe watching the final walk, so you get a real sense of seeing how badly you did! Nice entry!
NicolasJL9
07. Oct 2023 · 03:16 UTC
Nice!
Ascenial
07. Oct 2023 · 04:24 UTC
interesting idea i feel like the movement felt a little weird but had fun playing it!
SLEEPYMENACE
07. Oct 2023 · 11:54 UTC
Cute little game. I found the music and sound effects a little bit loud and not very distinct from each other, so they kind of blended together into a big mass of sound. The graphics are nice and simple, and the objective straight forward, though. I'd call this a nice little game.

I would've loved to see it get more chaotic, though. More aggressive drivers, more parking lots available but they constantly get stolen and you have to fight people over them, ongoing car chases, gang shootouts, people carrying mirrors and huge stacks of eggs across the street.
0x746564
07. Oct 2023 · 13:51 UTC
I love the concept. I think you could really do something with this post-jam.

Music and sound effects fit well, but were way too loud (seems to be a common issue with Unity games).

The controls could use some work (you accelerate too fast and turning seemed unnatural), but that sort of added to the challenge.
lucydango
07. Oct 2023 · 14:49 UTC
I like it! Short, simple, sweet, easy to immediately understand. It's easy to get sandwiched between two cars and stuck which sucks, though. I agree with other commenters that there's a lot of after-jam potential here!
nyxkn
07. Oct 2023 · 15:38 UTC
Rather cute game! But the controls while reversing should be inverted! Anyway, I think the game really captures the stressfulness of the situations very well. It's well presented, with nice art and music. A good concept too. Maybe the driving itself can be improved to feel a bit more smooth and easier to control. Pretty good game overall!
Kerdelos
07. Oct 2023 · 18:09 UTC
Managed to arrive early at the restaurant at my third try !

The game made me perfectly feel like I was stuck in traffic while having to park ahah

The control of the car was a bit hard to grasp though. I don't have anything particularly interesting to suggest but I think it would be a most interesting area of improvement for the game.

Good job :)
AldenWitt
08. Oct 2023 · 15:10 UTC
Wow you did 2 games Dan? Impressive. Love the lil 8-bit beat. Honestly the opening menu music might be my fav.

Creative take on the theme! Graphics are fun and it's an easy to grasp the concept.
Lot you could do with this post-jam - I think the biggest one would be to have other cars parking and leaving to increase the randomization. Pedestrians, etc would be fun.

Great work!
Neowedge
09. Oct 2023 · 08:10 UTC
I love the concept, but control is a little awkward :(. I enjoyed playing it anyway, congrats!
LDJam user 301711
11. Oct 2023 · 01:12 UTC
Controls were a bit finicky to get down, but overall a great submission. Nice work!
LeReveur
11. Oct 2023 · 15:34 UTC
It took me ~5:30mn, including wrong direction parking at first, at 11mn walking distance, which allowed me to get to the dinner a little less than a quarter before deadline. And I must admit this is way better than nine tenth of my experience in reality…
Simple idea, well executed - maybe the turning command are a little too fast, but this is a detail - so: good job guys!
rsaamar
11. Oct 2023 · 20:57 UTC
Love that you went this route (pun intended) with the theme of limited space. I wish the camera rotated with the car, or the controls were relative to the world not the car, but at the same time the current controls and camera do lend a hectic feel to parking that is inherently more realistic! My favorite part was actually seeing other cars crash and push me around, and I think you could lean into that more if you want to expand the game, to lend a more humorous angle.