Stingy Seating by stevenjmiller

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

Note: the web version has been updated as of October 9th to prevent unintended solutions in levels 11 and 15. The original jam version is still available on Windows.

Transport all of the students to school

You can only carry two at a time, so it might take a few trips

busembed1.png

WASD / Arrow Keys to move

Z / Backspace to undo

R to Reset

Escape to return to the menu

M to mute

Tab to toggle windowed / fullscreen

busembed2.png

Ratings

Overall 113th 3.795⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Fun 170th 3.527⭐ 57🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 73th 3.866⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Theme 15th 4.455⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 164th 3.554⭐ 58🧑‍⚖️
Audio 195th 3.135⭐ 54🧑‍⚖️
Humor 151th 2.848⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Mood 260th 3.01⭐ 54🧑‍⚖️
Given 45🗳️ 63🗨️

Feedback

Endurion
02. Oct 2023 · 12:17 UTC
Pretty tough game :)
I gave up in stage 8. I get 3 of them into school, but the last one keeps evading.

I'll rate once it's working. Edit: aaaand it's rated.
Flashlight13
02. Oct 2023 · 14:53 UTC
Super smart puzzle, but a bit too hardcore for me! Controls feel a bit odd sometimes but I got used to it pretty quickly

Well done :thumbsup:
Jiri Hysek
02. Oct 2023 · 17:47 UTC
Hardcore puzzle! I like how simple it is, easy to understand but hard to figure out a solution. Another cool puzzle game, anyway!
tjm
02. Oct 2023 · 18:43 UTC
Your games are always just a bit above my level, but I can still appreciate the thoughtful design that goes into them! :sweat_smile: The L-shape of the bus and pickup has a lot of interesting knock-on effects, I can see how you were able to get some pretty complex behaviour out of it (and of course the other mechanics increase the problem space in even more interesting ways).

Overall pretty great! I always like to see a fresh puzzle mechanic, and the visuals and feedback are all clean and immediately readable. The puzzles, while very challenging, build well and I felt the instructional levels were clear in teaching me the mechanics I needed to know. No notes from me! :thumbsup:
Bumble
02. Oct 2023 · 18:55 UTC
This game feels like I am doing puzzles by using the T-Spin mechanic from Tetris and it is definitely exactly as challenging as that premise sounds :D

I really like how the levels build on top of each other to learn the mechanics one-by-one almost accidentally!
dob
02. Oct 2023 · 20:21 UTC
Very clever mechanics that embrace the theme well. Simple art and sound that are perfect for this kind of game. I could have used a teeny bit more on-boarding or instructions, but I was able to figure out what I was doing after a while. Interface is clear. Nice work!
Wbertrand
02. Oct 2023 · 23:24 UTC
Super game, the levels were thought through really well and the polish level was really high for a jam game. The exact turning mechanics/rules of the bus did take a bit of getting used to, but after a level or two I had it figured out and really enjoyed solving the puzzles.
yndajas
03. Oct 2023 · 01:07 UTC
Great game! Took me a while to figure out you could bump people - a tutorial might help, although it's nice to just stumble across the mechanic! The other thing I was a little unsure about was the limits of manoeuvrability - but I think it's another one you can just work out by playing. One issue is that fullscreen toggle doesn't work on the web, so I can't exit the game without using the browser back button or closing the tab

Overall though, great puzzle with a good level of challenge. Great UI, great level design, nice sound effects, and perfect use of theme. Also impressed that your progress is saved across browser page refreshes. Level select is another nice feature. Great work!
Quackqack
03. Oct 2023 · 10:20 UTC
This was a tricky one, but once you get the hang of it it's great fun. Awesome submission.
WeeFairyFabi
03. Oct 2023 · 15:30 UTC
This one really was super tricky but it fit the theme perfectly and I had a great time trying to figure out the correct order. Amazing work!
ValentinWB
03. Oct 2023 · 23:59 UTC
Arrrgh i get stuck at level 10, but it's a really good puzzle game, nice and simple !
LandoSystems
04. Oct 2023 · 06:57 UTC
Really fun game! Simple cute art, great puzzle mechanics and clever puzzle design, attention to detail in the implementation, very good work overall!
jk5000
04. Oct 2023 · 11:43 UTC
The idea is fun, and like the game visuals. I don't know why but the controls feels a bit random, and especially when you try to drive the bus in revers. But overall a pretty fun little jam game.
georgus
04. Oct 2023 · 12:35 UTC
Buses don't walk like that :)
MatthewDrake
04. Oct 2023 · 14:04 UTC
Had a little trouble figuring these puzzles, but I liked what I did manage to play of it! Nicely done.
Linus Lindberg
04. Oct 2023 · 18:48 UTC
Great puzzle design, although a tutorial would've been nice! It took some time to figure out the mechanics.
TasakaSama
04. Oct 2023 · 20:18 UTC
stuck at stage 4, but we feel the theme and it is very well done, well done to you
LDJam user 237945
04. Oct 2023 · 20:32 UTC
Very nice - it's a start of a vert addictive mobile game!
zimny11
04. Oct 2023 · 20:35 UTC
Really cool puzzle game! I like it a lot :D And so many levels! It was not obvious at first that I can push them, so many a level where it is forced first move to show the mechanic would be nice? Great job with the game!
Blazejmg917
04. Oct 2023 · 22:03 UTC
This is a very well done puzzle game. A simple set of mechanics that allow for very complex and difficult puzzles to be created! I respect the commitment to a "just try and figure it out yourself" philosophy with this game, but some of the mechanics could have been useful to directly tell the player from the start, like with bumping the people. I do also think this game is a perfect fit for the theme, so great job!
minibobbo
05. Oct 2023 · 03:41 UTC
Cool puzzles and nice concept. It took a little bit to learn how the mechanics worked and things were introduced at a good pace. I appreciated how early on you forced a pickup that made the little guys walk forward in the queue and then you built that into the next level as the puzzle solution. Great way to introduce the concepts and show but not tell.

A cool background music loop would have been nice, but the sound worked well. Nice job!
LDJam user 296412
05. Oct 2023 · 07:43 UTC
Very hard! are we convinced it is possible to pass level 9? :sweat_smile:
the art is also nice.
Aviv Levy
05. Oct 2023 · 09:45 UTC
Loved the art and the concept of the game and it's well executed, just a bit too difficult for me. I also found that driving the bus and trying to change its orientation took some trial and error, but it's obviously a part of how the puzzles are built. Great use of the theme too!
LDJam user 280624
05. Oct 2023 · 18:51 UTC
Minimalistic and definitely challenging game. I like it!
BrokenBridge
05. Oct 2023 · 21:35 UTC
I like these puzzle games with simple rules, but which are hard to come up with a solution. Got stuck a bit in level 8, but I will sure come back and try to solve it. Very cool game!
LDJam user 376294
05. Oct 2023 · 22:41 UTC
This is one of my favorite at the moment! great job. this is really basic/clean easy enough to understand!
LDJam user 261037
05. Oct 2023 · 23:04 UTC
Silly question -- how do you get the kids off the bus upon arriving at school?
🎤 stevenjmiller
06. Oct 2023 · 00:31 UTC
@kobato-games You just have to line the door up with it (the blue/red square indicates where the door is facing, so you can just make it overlap with the school).
fusionnist
06. Oct 2023 · 00:43 UTC
Just two levels to go! I really like this, what a nice idea! Hoping I get a spark soon :D
LDJam user 261037
06. Oct 2023 · 03:03 UTC
@stevenjmiller Thanks. I got through the first level, but now I'm stuck on level 2 because the only place I can find to drop off the kids is on the road at the back, but once you go down it, you can't turn back :(
🎤 stevenjmiller
06. Oct 2023 · 04:29 UTC
@kobato-games I just recorded the first half of the game if you'd like to follow along, it probably doesn't do a very good job of conveying what each puzzle is about, but might be nice if you just want to see more of the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUYZ0CaiH2A
I wait for a few seconds after each level in case you'd like to pause and give the next puzzle a try before seeing the solution.
LDJam user 261037
06. Oct 2023 · 15:49 UTC
@stevenjmiller Thanks for the video. Level two's solution makes so much sense, I just couldn't think of it XD. I'll go check out the other levels.
Hakro
06. Oct 2023 · 19:42 UTC
Awesome game. The puzzles are sometimes a bit hard, but make sense once you understand the possibilities.

Well done, one of my favorites.

GG
loveapplegames
06. Oct 2023 · 22:00 UTC
Great game, very clever puzzles! It may have helped to introduce the player more gently to the puzzles with a few easy levels in the beginning.
tetrapteryx
07. Oct 2023 · 01:40 UTC
This is a great concept! I'm impressed that you managed to make so many well thought out levels
JamesW
07. Oct 2023 · 11:34 UTC
Super hardcore puzzles. Racked my brain. It's a great take on the theme and well executed. The orientation of the bus was anti-intuition but it's just a part composing the difficulty. I loved the simplicity of the rules. With such simplicity, the game was full of challenges, it's an art. The game is also well-polished. Congrats on this entry!
suvi
07. Oct 2023 · 22:19 UTC
Well done, this is an impressive set of levels and mechanics for a game jam! I was able to complete 13 levels and am looking forward to figuring out the last two levels at some point later. My only critique is that the puzzles are likely too hard (and ramp up too quickly) for someone who has never played a sokoban game with asymetric movement. I had lots of fun with falling into the the traps and trying to work around them. I actually laughed when I figured out level 9!
LDJam user 261037
08. Oct 2023 · 19:42 UTC
This is a clever puzzle game. Struggling a bit with the learning curve, though that's part of the challenge.
OgelGames
09. Oct 2023 · 08:18 UTC
Wow, this game is so simple, yet so hard! The game looks and plays great, and the few puzzles I managed to complete were really well made.
Jimbly
09. Oct 2023 · 23:46 UTC
Pretty neat game! My interest started waning around level 11. Before that it was clear which tools I needed to use (picking up, then pushing), and on that level it wasn't clear which to use, and suddenly it's brain over load =). I'll probably have to go back and try to finish it up later though. I like that the mechanics are simple, and just trying things randomly doesn't seem to work, but a little thinking backwards from the goal usually quickly pays off, seems rare and fine to have all of those things together. I would have liked a little music or ambient sounds or something to set the mood a bit better, but other than that, this was pretty great!
LDJam user 206001
12. Oct 2023 · 05:06 UTC
@stevenjmiller@stevenjmiller You helped me, I couldn't pick up the passengers. But this game is too difficult for me, without the video I can't pass anything, I feel incapable lol
knexator
12. Oct 2023 · 15:33 UTC
Excellent puzzle design, as always
Rongo Matane
13. Oct 2023 · 07:11 UTC
I have a really big problem dealing with the inconsistency of being able to make a turn going forward, but then not being able to take the exact turn going backwards. Like in level 2 you can easily go up and turn around, but then going backwards is impossible, although it clearly should be possible for a bus (or any car), as you can reverse identically. It's very tricky for me to abandon the common logic.
Otherwise i do enjoy the idea and the design :)
LDJam user 374472
13. Oct 2023 · 21:16 UTC
Tough! I got to level 4 and then watched stevenjmiller's video :)
Huge congrats for managing to make a puzzle game during the jam, well within the theme, and a challenging, consistent one at that! And the graphics were good. Very good job
(And not being able to go backwards didn't bother me, I know I'm in a puzzle game :p)
TPace
14. Oct 2023 · 23:33 UTC
Lovely puzzles, congrats!
David Mason
16. Oct 2023 · 21:31 UTC
Nice idea, good scope
Vitaslayer
17. Oct 2023 · 06:59 UTC
A good game with interesting puzzles, but the controls were occasionally confusing.
digital bacon
17. Oct 2023 · 10:10 UTC
Tricky little puzzle game. Nice graphics, but controls were confusing. Good work.