Ant of the Road by SpeedyRagout

[raw]
made by SpeedyRagout for Ludum Dare 56 (JAM)

Ant of the Road is a casual puzzle game.

Help the ants return to their queen by building a sugary path and collecting sweets for your hive.

Click on the hive to start spreading sugar. Move the mouse and the ants will follow, but don't let them get the sugar cube. As they get closer, the music will change. Undergo obsticales by placing a tunnel with right click. If you get stuck, press "R" to restart the level.

First Level: Level1preview.png

icon.png

Ratings

Overall 674th 3.421⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 844th 3⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 553th 3.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 364th 3.895⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 812th 3.15⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 488th 3.222⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 833th 2.417⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 971th 2.816⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 15🗳️ 3🗨️

Feedback

RhysT
08. Oct 2024 · 16:49 UTC
The ants seem to die regularly for no obvious reason, sometimes the instant they leave the hole. Could really use some better instructions on the controls. The ants' movement is very good.
Kirass
08. Oct 2024 · 17:27 UTC
Cool game! I liked it.
sheaksadi
09. Oct 2024 · 13:59 UTC
daam pretty cool. was intresting playing this with a trackpad though. good luck
Calcopod
09. Oct 2024 · 14:00 UTC
Don't know if it is just me, but the web version didn't seem to work? It just wouldn't load, not sure why.

The windows version, did however, and I quite enjoyed the game. Despite some initial confusion about the controls and how to properly do something, when I got the hang of it it was quite enjoyable!

I also enjoyed the art direction, even if it was a bit (maybe too much) chaotic.

A solid entry.
ZedGame
10. Oct 2024 · 22:45 UTC
Wasn't immediatelly obvious what to do (I could really use a tutorial on how the "landmarks" work), but once I figured out what was happening, I loved every minute of it! I've never seen such a gameplay concept before. Watching the ants go after you've figured out the path is really satisfying and the tunnel digging mechanic adds a lot of depth. I'd love to play more of this!
ThatSommeS
14. Oct 2024 · 20:04 UTC
Sadly the web version didn't work for me
Renier
15. Oct 2024 · 16:38 UTC
Fun game really liked the art! I would maybe make the ants start a bit faster once you start laying down sugar to add a sense of haste to the levels :D well done!
ditam
15. Oct 2024 · 17:23 UTC
I also couldn't start the embedded version. The last few lines of the console logs say this:
```
[libil2cpp] ERROR: Could not open Il2CppData/Metadata/global-metadata.dat
AntOfTheRoadWebVersion.framework.js.br:9 RuntimeInitializeOnLoadManagerInitializer: Failed reading 'RuntimeInitializeOnLoads.json'
AntOfTheRoadWebVersion.framework.js.br:9 RuntimeInitializeOnLoadManagerInitializer: Failed reading 'ScriptingAssemblies.json'
AntOfTheRoadWebVersion.framework.js.br:9 [Physics::Module] Initialized SinglethreadedJobDispatcher.
AntOfTheRoadWebVersion.framework.js.br:9 No GlobalGameManagers file was found at , quitting player!
AntOfTheRoadWebVersion.framework.js.br:9 Failed to initialize player
```
Levi
16. Oct 2024 · 22:27 UTC
Hmmm. I din't quite get this one as my ants kept dying. I was careful not to let my mouse touch them. And I tried to make them collect different foods and touch different items to see if they needed food to survive. Still, my first thought was how good the ant-simulation was. Its very cool to see them mass-transit and follow the trails I drew. And so I resorted to making interesting drawings on the screen and having them follow :)
leckert
18. Oct 2024 · 04:03 UTC
I really liked how the music changes, and the satisfaction of watching the ants stream out along the path I created! It was a little unclear that crossing over the sugar path with itself leads to the ants dying, though. Overall, it was super enjoyable playing through the levels, would be cool to see this idea expanded on!
LeBossMax2
20. Oct 2024 · 14:30 UTC
I like the concept but I think there is a few flaws in the realization.
I think it needs a tutorial because at the start it is not clear what the goal is and what makes you lose.
Also (at least in the web version) your ants can go over walls, I'm not sure if it's a bug or not, but it makes it quite easy to finish all levels without using any tunnel.
One thing I really like is the music that changes over time
cassowary
25. Oct 2024 · 03:53 UTC
I like the "laying a trail" mechanic, and it's cool to watch the ants go, but I feel like I'm not sure what is going on beyond that. My ants keep dying for some reason and I'm not totally sure what the goal is, I guess...
LDJam user 303058
25. Oct 2024 · 21:48 UTC
Really creative idea! Laying a path for the ants while being careful where your mouse is is a neat mechanic, and the music was very fitting. I did have some problems with the mouse lock though, sometimes it wouldn't lock correctly and the sugar would jitter or the mouse would leave the game window, sometimes causing the sugar to snap back to the nest and kill the ants.
igorekkedziorek
25. Oct 2024 · 23:06 UTC
Cool game
falubaz
26. Oct 2024 · 08:07 UTC
Impressive, very nice