Magical Monster Ballz by Derek Rumpler

[raw]
made by Derek Rumpler for LD33 (JAM)
Magical Monster Ballz is a game made for Ludum Dare 33. You are the victim of a wizard who has given you magical powers which can be used against you. He has forced you to participate in his tournament. Your goal is to survive as long as you can. What's the best time you can obtain?

A PC with a keyboard is required to play.

Note: The logo introduction, music, and code was made prior to the jam by myself and others; I'm just including it to "brand" my work.

Bug Fix Update (9/1/2015): I fixed issues with jumping, turning (the origin is in the center of the player sprite), other origin issues (put origin in the center of monster sprites), and centered the arena more. I also included the old build for the sake of judging.

I did not add anything to the game. For example, while I would add a warning to the appearance of the sawblade if this was a published game, I have opted out of adding this warning because I don't want to seem like I'm adding features to the game for the jam.

Bug Fix Update (9/3/2015): I fixed a bug whereby the player could shoot a monster and the saw wouldn't respawn. Initially the idle timer would reset to zero and the saw would only spawn when it hit five. Now I make it so that the saw spawns when the idle timer is a multiple of five. Please tell me if you find anymore bugs! I'd like to make it so the saw goes through enemies but I'm struggling with that for now.

When judging my entry: If you play the old version, please try out the new version and keep my changes in mind. Tell me if this drastically improves the player experience and if not, please tell me what I can do to continue to improve my game.

I've removed the link to the GameJolt version since I don't want to maintain more than one version of the game online since I'll likely port it to consoles later.

Also, I had to rely on a backup (I mysteriously lost my original files) so if there is anything that people notice missing between the old and new version then please tell me!

Ratings

Coolness 57% 3
Overall(Jam) 2.32 1087
Audio(Jam) 2.03 666
Fun(Jam) 2.06 1073
Graphics(Jam) 2.65 857
Humor(Jam) 2.08 863
Innovation(Jam) 2.57 850
Mood(Jam) 2.08 1036
Theme(Jam) 1.97 1087

Feedback

pavel_insight
24. Aug 2015 · 13:48 UTC
What a hardcore! :)
MechaTofuPirate
25. Aug 2015 · 21:57 UTC
Super tough :)
AAGH Games
25. Aug 2015 · 21:58 UTC
pretty fun, hard but fun
disperse
26. Aug 2015 · 14:51 UTC
There is a moment delay between pressing the spacebar and jumping that make avoiding the shooting blade very difficult (impossible?). Let me know if I'm missing something.
DerekRumpler
26. Aug 2015 · 16:53 UTC
You're not supposed to shoot the blade. I never thought that people would try. :-) The purpose of the blade is to force you to jump so that people don't stand idly. But I'll definitely reconsider adding that in a future update if people think it is a good idea. Thank you for the feedback!
PIXEL^3
31. Aug 2015 · 20:47 UTC
enemies and other hazards should have some kind of warning before they pop out of nowhere, and jumping should really be bound to key-press, not key-release.
DerekRumpler
31. Aug 2015 · 20:48 UTC
Hi Dispere, I get it now! I'll try to remedy it in the final release.

I also noticed that turns are awkward on account of the origin being on the top left. I'll probably put it in the center.
DerekRumpler
31. Aug 2015 · 20:49 UTC
Thanks Pixel! I must've missed that I used key release instead of key press. Thanks for the feedback!
tweedle
31. Aug 2015 · 20:49 UTC
Tough game, but fun! I'm a fan of the retro graphics and audio.
paquinn
31. Aug 2015 · 21:17 UTC
I can hardly ever make it over that spinning thing but that makes it fun to keep trying.
UncleChris
31. Aug 2015 · 21:31 UTC
Super tough - I think after about 10 times of playing top is 3 sec. I like the idea, and think it is innovative, with great graphics.
BlackQuiltro
31. Aug 2015 · 23:54 UTC
Very hard game. The idea could be fun but the controls were not very intuitive for me. Liked the retro sounds and graphics!
superfreak
01. Sep 2015 · 07:37 UTC
Nostalgic feel to a difficult but catchily fun game. Great entry (though felt it could use a little balancing to make it less frustrating at the start!)
DerekRumpler
01. Sep 2015 · 07:55 UTC
Thanks for the feedback!

@Superfreak: What would you suggest I balance? I think I need to add a warning to the saw; anything else?
Mathieu Muller
01. Sep 2015 · 08:13 UTC
OMG such hard! Wow! :D

You should really make it easier, just at the start, in this current state it's very frustrating. And I love hard games in general.
Almax27
01. Sep 2015 · 12:09 UTC
Spawning enemies when you jump is novel and it works really well, the player moving when you turn is really annoying though :P
Taldius
01. Sep 2015 · 13:25 UTC
Good little game, but it's very hard and the jump feel weird.
🎤 Derek Rumpler
01. Sep 2015 · 17:27 UTC
I just made bug fixes and added a link to the old version.
🎤 Derek Rumpler
01. Sep 2015 · 17:29 UTC
Also, I had to rely on a backup (I mysteriously lost my original files) so if there is anything that people notice missing between the old and new version then please tell me!
r8berto
01. Sep 2015 · 20:25 UTC
Really interesting mechanics. I found it really inspiring.
crucknuk
01. Sep 2015 · 22:05 UTC
Very hard.
I tried as much as i could but it is really difficult to avoid enemies and also your bullet.
I tried but i think i am not too good at it :P
I guess there is some challenge.
Loved the quircky sound of the jump, make me forget how much i was losing :P
Crawler Studios
02. Sep 2015 · 04:12 UTC
Really difficult but really fun. Something about that jump sound effect, it's really nice to listen to for some reason. Nice job!
🎤 Derek Rumpler
03. Sep 2015 · 05:07 UTC
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm glad to hear people loved the jumping sound effect.

I fixed a bug whereby the player could shoot a monster and the saw wouldn't respawn. Initially the idle timer would reset to zero and would the saw would only spawn when it hit five. Now I make it so that the saw spawns when it is a multiple of five. Please tell me if you find anymore bugs! I'd like to make it so the saw goes through enemies but I'm struggling with that.
cyrixd
04. Sep 2015 · 08:32 UTC
Cool idea for an old school survival game! I liked the decision to make the 'shot' a bouncy ball with its own physics, added more things to dodge.
I did discover by standing in the far left corner you can effectively survive indefinitely by jumping to dodge the razor blade and shooting the solitary enemy that gets spawned. Lasted two minutes before I decided there was nothing to break the cycle.
Not sure why I am the monster though, given that I'm the victim of a wizard...
🎤 Derek Rumpler
05. Sep 2015 · 05:00 UTC
Thanks Cyrix. I caught that bug, too! I'm going to patch it out, but I've had some computer problems. When I release the final version, I'm also thinking of making it so none of the enemies fall out. Instead of spawning outside the level (which is a band-aid owing to lack of time) I want them all to spawn within.
liquidmedia
05. Sep 2015 · 05:18 UTC
spawned and dead in one frame every time.
Matthew Rayfield
14. Sep 2015 · 23:45 UTC
really hard! but a good one if you want something challenging!