how you use it by ThaProfesional

[raw]
made by ThaProfesional for Ludum Dare 54 (COMPO)

in-game controls:

  • wasd to move
  • left and right arrows to turn
  • r to restart level
  • n (or enter) for next level
  • m to mute

splash-menu controls:

  • n for the story and n to continue the story
  • enter to start

everything by me

except the font which is Sigmar by Vernon Adams -> https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Sigmar

Ratings

Overall 136th 3.696⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Fun 90th 3.821⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 96th 3.768⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Theme 107th 3.964⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 145th 3.661⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Audio 206th 3.089⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Humor 35th 3.696⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Mood 169th 3.357⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Given 35🗳️ 37🗨️

Feedback

quasilyte
02. Oct 2023 · 22:25 UTC
lol xD
The moment I read "how you use it", I realized the full title. :D

The gameplay is a blast.
The sounds is fitting too.
I'm planning to finish this game and maybe record me playing it till the end!
I'll post another comment if I end up publishing the video.

I have a feeling that this game can enter the top-10. :D
Marcus Otterstrom
02. Oct 2023 · 22:38 UTC
Lol, pretty funny game! I liked the sounds. I got some swords and sandals vibes from the intro :) I think the one level where you have one guy from every direction was pretty difficult, and it took me a few minutes to get past it. Also, I think it would be good if the swords from the enemies disappeared when they died, I got stuck a few times by corpses.

Anyways, nice job!
🎤 ThaProfesional
03. Oct 2023 · 11:47 UTC
@quasilyte thanks so much for playing it and the nice words - I'm really glad you enjoyed it :) If you post a play-through I'll definitely check it out - I get so lost play-testing my own games I'm always interested to see how other people go with them.
🎤 ThaProfesional
03. Oct 2023 · 12:01 UTC
@marcus-otterstrom thanks for playing and the feedback :) I have nearly too much fun recording foley so thanks for digging the way it fit into the game.

The swords sticking around was a stylistic decision mostly 'cause I was short on time. I was planning on adding a few other enemy types - maybe an archer and one with a mace (who would spin the player more but not drop obstacles after death) as well as some different terrain to get in the way. If I got them in could have relied on the dropped swords way less.
LDJam user 378283
03. Oct 2023 · 12:38 UTC
very fun game
xinux
03. Oct 2023 · 12:43 UTC
Nice drawings, very fitting audio, simple and well executed gameplay!

My favourite part was when two of the enemies accidentally killed each other.
Martin Bousquet
03. Oct 2023 · 12:45 UTC
Pretty fun, was not expecting a d*** measuring contest ;)
airwaffle
03. Oct 2023 · 12:47 UTC
Cool! Fun levels with a good increasing difficulty!
🎤 ThaProfesional
03. Oct 2023 · 12:55 UTC
@bayunyoubi thanks and thanks for playing :)
🎤 ThaProfesional
03. Oct 2023 · 12:56 UTC
@xinux thanks so much :D Yeah I was really happy with myself when I set them up to be able to stab each other.
🎤 ThaProfesional
03. Oct 2023 · 13:01 UTC
@martin-bousquet unfortunately or fortunately it's just where my mind went. Thanks and thanks for playing :)
🎤 ThaProfesional
03. Oct 2023 · 13:04 UTC
@airwaffle thanks for playing and thank you - I tend to get stuck on that part of game design (making levels and balancing difficulty) so it means a lot :)
LDJam user 237413
04. Oct 2023 · 11:15 UTC
Nice game
I like how limited space isnt always about small, but being too big can be limiting.
I guess some people are just that unlucky...
Nice interpretation and cool idea executed well.
Good one
Arti Dev
04. Oct 2023 · 11:22 UTC
Great game!
moi93101
04. Oct 2023 · 11:25 UTC
What a game! I really enjoyed it from start to finish!

The mechanics are really clean, I like it and I think it would be a great base for a local party game!

I like the fact that enemies can kill each other, I didn't notice it until the last level, but it made me laugh :laughing:

Contrary to other comments, I like the fact that there are swords on the ground, it forces the player to move around
Erkberg
04. Oct 2023 · 11:44 UTC
Pretty fun and funny game! I already laughed at the beginning, the story panels are a super nice touch!
The gameplay is quite entertaining too, but I imagine it could be even better if there was just a bit more space to maneuver around (gotta adhere to the theme though!)
Really enjoyed playing this one all the way to the end, good job!
WiredOverload
04. Oct 2023 · 11:54 UTC
This was a fun small game! The length of the sword and the fact enemies stay on the floor make it a bit of a puzzle game which I really enjoyed, although it's not very hard to brute force a win regardless of where you are. My main complaints would be the overall difficulty and length, when I saw the enemy with the large sword I was excited and it felt like the game was really starting but was left wanting more after that was the end. Overall the main mechanic was pretty innovative and fun which made the whole game innovative and fun, nice work!
chusmimax
05. Oct 2023 · 02:33 UTC
This game really has a energy that takes me back to flash games played in the school computer 15 years ago. (And that is a good thing)
🎤 ThaProfesional
05. Oct 2023 · 10:24 UTC
@haydads hahaha thanks and thanks for playing :)
🎤 ThaProfesional
05. Oct 2023 · 10:24 UTC
@arti-dev thanks and thanks for playing :)
🎤 ThaProfesional
05. Oct 2023 · 10:26 UTC
@loiclegrosfrere thank you and thanks for playing :)

I'm a big fan of local multiplayer games maybe I should try turn it into one..

When jamming I always wonder if features are worth the time I throw at it - in the case of enemies killing each other I feel like it definitely was.
🎤 ThaProfesional
05. Oct 2023 · 10:29 UTC
@erkberg thanks and thanks for playing :)
🎤 ThaProfesional
05. Oct 2023 · 10:36 UTC
@wiredoverload that's fair. I ran out of time to tweak the large-sword-enemy AI / code to beef 'em up as well as time to add in the other enemy types I was planning - which would have fueled more levels and hopefully added some more variability / difficulty.

Thanks for the feedback and thanks for playing :)
🎤 ThaProfesional
05. Oct 2023 · 10:38 UTC
@chusmimax haha thanks :) Not the first time someone's compared my games to flash..
FiveCyclops
05. Oct 2023 · 18:10 UTC
Very fun game ! Good ideas, well made and funny title ! I found it constraining that sword on corpse are blocking you, it made my sword bug, otherwise it works great ! good job !
Mastoast
07. Oct 2023 · 16:05 UTC
nice game ! the graphics are really cool, and the concept is effective.
Also great addition to use these medieval sounding like tambourine and flute
smiley405
07. Oct 2023 · 20:38 UTC
I can really see the potential in this game. Loved the game mechanics. with the few additions of animations and power-ups it can be a game changer. enjoyed playing it. I recommend it to play this game. :trophy:
🎤 ThaProfesional
10. Oct 2023 · 12:34 UTC
@fivecyclops thanks and thanks for playing :) Yeah I got a bit stuck setting up player collision as well as sword collision so a lot of the sword collision / reaction code was hastily hacked in :D
🎤 ThaProfesional
10. Oct 2023 · 12:35 UTC
@mastoast thanks :D Luckily (or unluckily) they're the instruments I happen to have lying around..
🎤 ThaProfesional
10. Oct 2023 · 12:37 UTC
@smiley405 thanks so much :) I had big plans for extra stuff to add in including power ups, but ran out of time.

After I finished I started to think of the extra animation work I could have done to add some more feeling.. I'll try get it in next time.
StormSword
10. Oct 2023 · 14:48 UTC
It was so fun :D I love the idea of "being stuck by your own sword"
But the collision with dead enemy is always active, so I got soft lock between 2 enemies and too close to the wall to go backward
But its really fun !
ijzm
10. Oct 2023 · 17:19 UTC
Fun and silly game! I liked the concept, but I feel like the controls could be improved a little bit. Maybe using the mouse to move the sword around could be more natural? It really annoyed me that the collisions stayed when the enemy died, my sword kept getting stuck between 2 enemies and glitched.

Overall pretty fun!
Harksa
10. Oct 2023 · 19:30 UTC
Well that was a quite good game. I really enjoyed it ! The only downside is how short it is !
I liked the tam tam :drum:

Keep up the good work :smile:
🎤 ThaProfesional
11. Oct 2023 · 09:57 UTC
@stormsword thanks :) Yeah I used the dead enemies to keep boxing in the player.. but their swords fall semi-randomly. I'm thinking maybe I should have made them fall a bit further away..
🎤 ThaProfesional
11. Oct 2023 · 09:59 UTC
@ijzm thanks for playing and thanks :) Mouse movement's a great idea. Probably should have added it in as an option. I wasn't a huge fan of the controls I implemented (like, the buttons I picked), but after play testing for ages I kind of got used to it.
🎤 ThaProfesional
11. Oct 2023 · 10:00 UTC
@harksa thanks for playing and thanks for the nice words :)
Francisco Lucas
11. Oct 2023 · 20:01 UTC
Congrats, it looks super creative! Loved the idea! I did something kinda similar in my game too!

![imagem_2023-10-11_170039368.png](///raw/cc6/32/z/602ef.png)
ddolgov
12. Oct 2023 · 00:42 UTC
What a lovely game! I replayed some levels several times just for fun.
When I saw another huge sword at the last level, it made me smile and get ready for a big battle (but it turned out to be easier than expected). It would be cool if the last enemy was quicker, or, for example, was armored. Level 4 was hardest for me.
Sometimes I stuck between wall and dead enemies swords, but it's not crucial.
I really love the art and colors, it brought me back to the times of flash games.
Intro is so cool, no need the possibility to skip, it SHOULD be shown! :smile:
Great work!
🎤 ThaProfesional
12. Oct 2023 · 10:29 UTC
@francisco-lucas thanks and thanks for playing :)
🎤 ThaProfesional
12. Oct 2023 · 10:32 UTC
@ddolgov thanks and thanks for playing :D

Yeah I wish I had more time to beef up the end "boss" - I was thinking to make them spin the player more but making them quicker's a great idea. Unfortunately (well, fortunately) I barely scraped them into the game last minute as a Frankenstein of the players sprites with the normal enemies code.
Shigor
14. Oct 2023 · 11:24 UTC
The only thing I'd change is that corpses still have collisions, otherwise great little game :D sort of top down 2d Gorn.
The Enigma
15. Oct 2023 · 22:00 UTC
That was a really neat physics based fighting game, I love the idea of having a giant sword and it worked really well. I wasn't a huge fan of the level where you are surrounded as I felt getting out of the initial danger felt a bit too much luck based, but there was a nice ramp in difficulty and the different levels were each interesting in their own way. My only other complaint would be the victory noise replaying constantly (I had this on the last level), but obviously its a game jam and there will be things overlooked. Overall, good job!
OddballDave
17. Oct 2023 · 15:36 UTC
You know what? I liked this a lot. Great use of the theme. I loved the little story before hand. Gameplay works splendidly. Can't really fault anything about it. Played until I won. Good stuff :8ball:
LCStark
19. Oct 2023 · 16:47 UTC
Fun little game! It's pretty quick to get into, controls are intuitive and work smoothly.

The graphics are great, and the little comic intro story is perfect. Kinda wish there was a similar comic at the end of the game, but I'm assuming it wasn't really feasible within the time limit of the compo.

As for the fallen enemies and their swords still having collisions - I too think this should probably go, as quite often it caused me to get stuck just through some random luck of enemy dying in just the right location. Though it led to a few funny cases. For example once I got stuck between a pillar and a dead enemy, the remaining enemies charged at me, the first one bounced off my sword and killed the other two before throwing himself at my blade. :P

Another solution would be to leave the sword collisions, but give the player a way to get out of that situation. Like maybe adding a key to "lift" your sword up, so you can't swing it at your enemies, but can at least get out of being stuck.

I went through the game several times, it was very fun! I guess I've proven I've got both the size and the skills to use it. :) Well done!

![hyui.png](///raw/3cc/31/z/6073e.png)