LudumData

Rune Caller by kristinamay

[raw]
made by kristinamay for Ludum Dare 55 (JAM)

Oh no!! All the animals on your home planet have been taken by an EVIL SUPERVILLAIN! To save them, you must use the power of runes.

What awaits you, the Rune Caller? Adventure! Puzzles! Extremely adorable hand-drawn creatures (which I have not put in a screenshot so as not to spoil them for you)! Very easy gameplay!

Screen Shot 2024-04-15 at 7.32.37 PM.png

Screen Shot 2024-04-15 at 7.32.49 PM.png

Arrange runesticks on your magical stone tablet to craft the runes required to summon the creatures: save all 13 animals from the clutches of the evil supervillain!

Screen Shot 2024-04-15 at 7.33.03 PM.png

Head on over to kristinamay.itch.io/rune-caller to give it a try, or use one of the handy dandy links on this very website!

Things I didn't get a chance to implement:

  • Allowing the player to rename their creatures
  • a "hard mode" with tougher to parse runes
  • More creatures!

This game was made using Procreate, Medley, Audacity, and Love2D. Although I'm submitting this for the jam and not the compo, I followed all the compo restrictions! I just had some poorly-timed travel this weekend.

Art, code, music all by kristinamay

Sound effects by kristinamay and Fletcher

Thanks to Matt, as always, for playtesting and bug-finding!

Link https://github.com/kristinalustig/ld55
Link https://kristinamay.itch.io/rune-caller
Link https://kristinamay.itch.io/rune-caller
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/55/rune-caller

Ratings

Overall 718th 3.45⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 820th 3.2⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 740th 3.2⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 759th 3.45⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 736th 3.5⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 520th 3.316⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 316th 3.5⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 753th 3.4⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 16🗳️ 23🗨️

Feedback

Nick Luciani
16. Apr 2024 · 06:40 UTC
Cute game! I liked the creatures with their noises and fun names/descriptions. The game was a bit easy, I could see it being more challenging if you didn't see the full picture of the rune or some pieces were filled in already or something.
6Knowledge
16. Apr 2024 · 07:32 UTC
The creature sounds were the best part of the game. The instant stop to the background music on interact was way funnier to me than it should've been.
minjutin
16. Apr 2024 · 07:32 UTC
I love the creatures, could see them being in the next Pokémon generation! My favorite was the one with sunglasses.
🎤 kristinamay
16. Apr 2024 · 10:23 UTC
@nick-luciani totally agree that it's too easy!! I wanted to implement a hard mode but just no time. Thanks for playing!

@6knowledge lolol thank you. I had way too much fun sitting there, looking at pictures of the creatures, and then making the weirdest sounds possible with my mouth.

@minjutin thank you!! Most of them were created while half asleep at like 1am, I am so glad you like them. That one's name in the code (before I actually named them) is "coolCarrot"
Kirass
16. Apr 2024 · 21:40 UTC
Interesting game! I like it!
Pigeoncode
17. Apr 2024 · 10:56 UTC
The creature info screens were cool, and the game played really smooth which is great work for a Jam game, the gameplay itself was a bit simplistic as it was just copy the lines, as you mentioned added some difficulty would or hinting at the pattern needed would have added a lot to the gameplay. But as is was a decent little chill experience.
derllie
17. Apr 2024 · 11:00 UTC
such a great game!
Smoky01
17. Apr 2024 · 11:02 UTC
The gameplay mechanics in this game are so intuitive! It's like the controls become an extension of your own instincts. Plus, the art style adds a unique flair that keeps you engaged throughout. Definitely a gem worth exploring!
LDJam user 355344
17. Apr 2024 · 11:05 UTC
For one person, this turned out to be a super cool result. Cute, simple, and fun
Poutine Studio
17. Apr 2024 · 11:11 UTC
Wow, a complete game with no bugs!!! The music can however become a bit annoying. I like the art style it fits very well with the game. The concept is cool and it's a fun little jam game. Great job!
Ben Yazi
17. Apr 2024 · 11:33 UTC
Very beautiful game. I like the art!

Interesting puzzle. It might be more challenging if you had to memorize the shape and then arrange it from memory.

Special respect for LOVE framework.

![2024-04-17_15-29.png](///raw/cf6/b2/z/640e2.png)
pres2300
17. Apr 2024 · 14:47 UTC
I loved the artwork! Everything is very adorable, and you did a great job of descriptions for some really unique creations. I like the summoning mechanic and think it fits really well with the theme. I like the idea of a hard mode (maybe a timer or something could add some extra challenge as well?). Overall, nice job!
Memnarch
17. Apr 2024 · 18:51 UTC
Cute visuals and nice sounds. My only grasp is, that once you have the hang of the dimension in the little preview vs the playing field, it becomes more of a repetitive work than a puzzle. Though I am not sure how I would improve on that myself.
TheCrittersCove
17. Apr 2024 · 22:47 UTC
Love the creature descriptions! Everything seems well polished and cohesive. Like many, I wished it was more difficult, but I had fun. Great job!
theheheo
18. Apr 2024 · 21:09 UTC
Cute game, loved the animals and their descriptions. Very unique and felt like the game had a lot of personality. Was very casual and relaxing experience. This type of game would benefit a lot from just having more feedback(sfx, animations, vfx) when clicking and hovering over objects. Overall great work!
Yxure
19. Apr 2024 · 14:47 UTC
Loved the animals designs and descriptions! It's a shame that the music restarts every time you start a puzzle because it gets a bit repetitive. I don't think it's a problem with the song because I've been able to listen to the whole track on some of them and it's quite good. God job!
citsua
24. Apr 2024 · 20:05 UTC
At first I was surprised there wasn't any challenge or thinking involved, but after some time I found it weirdly relaxing and I felt compelled to finish all the creatures. Cool work!
Utopia
28. Apr 2024 · 21:09 UTC
Cute game and it's fun to summon those creatures. Lovely art, and the puzzles are great.