BOILERMEN by diabolical-sloth

[raw]
made by diabolical-sloth for Ludum Dare 56 (COMPO)

cover.png

Can you see the teensy, tiny sprites in the boiler room?

These are the elusive BOILERMEN.

They carry our coal and keep the furnaces running hot.

Join them in their work and help them keep things running smoothly.

Watch for falling rocks though! Coal is heavy, even when thrown by a well-meaning colleague.

Controls: WASD - Move Space - Pickup/Throw

All Programming, Design, Art, and Audio by Owen Lyons

(Minor font/performance issue in the web version, if you're having issues download the .exe)

Tools: Engine: Godot 4.2.2 Art: Aseprite Music: Mixcraft 9 SFX: ChipTone

available in web browser or as a .exe

Ratings

Overall 35th 4.076⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Fun 58th 3.867⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 55th 3.878⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Theme 3th 4.478⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 17th 4.37⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Audio 24th 4.056⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Humor 41th 3.81⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Mood 21th 4.185⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Given 27🗳️ 43🗨️

Feedback

dooskington
06. Oct 2024 · 23:35 UTC
Very cute game. I assume it was inspired by Spirited Away :)
I found the controls to be a bit annoying and controlling multiple characters with the same inputs was frustrating. But it was satisfying once I got a bit better at it. Great job
Ember44
06. Oct 2024 · 23:39 UTC
Really polished art & music, and the gameplay is super innovative--I did not expect to be controlling a bunch of different creatures at once! That said, I did find it a little difficult to move around with all of them, especially once more coal started falling to block my path.
Wispeh
06. Oct 2024 · 23:45 UTC
A very lovely take on a classic bit of ghibli. The team swarm mecahnics are lovely and well-implemented, the challenge ramps up nicely. The challenge does seem to come from bunching up your lil guys together. The audioisual design is really lovely. I love the expressiveness of the sprites and how they cycle bvetween them. Dead nice!
Guadalupe Murgo
06. Oct 2024 · 23:57 UTC
Nice game, i really like it :)
William Corrin
07. Oct 2024 · 00:43 UTC
I would like to echo @ember44 's sentiment - this is really cool, polished art, great music and sfx, the camera shake is awesome! The gameplay is actually funnily enough similar to the idea I had for mine :laughing: but yeah moving around while some have boulders and others don't is pretty tricky.

Really awesome entry!
Claudeliu
07. Oct 2024 · 00:59 UTC
Absolute cinema! SO CUTE
Atahan
07. Oct 2024 · 02:31 UTC
Amazing! so simple yet elegant an polished. I got 27!
CodeRaurus
07. Oct 2024 · 06:33 UTC
Loving the whimsy atmosphere the music creates. Graphics are great and I like how you got in the little juicy details like heat emanating from the furnace and camera shake.

The group movement is a nice idea. At first I thought others would come to me when trying to pick up bigger coals. Are some sprites stronger than others?
Sviborg
07. Oct 2024 · 10:51 UTC
![Screenshot_5.jpg](///raw/2f4/d1/z/661d0.jpg) very funny guys)))
Derly
07. Oct 2024 · 11:07 UTC
very cool game with cool graphics. my record is 22
OldToadPower
07. Oct 2024 · 11:32 UTC
Wow, great idea, very fan game!
DogeSquad
07. Oct 2024 · 12:09 UTC
Yea, the download was worth it. It was so fun to play. It reminded me a bit of my entry (with the "one control, many creatures" thingy). And the sprites are animated sooo gorgeously. Amazing that you did this in 48 hours :D.
NickHellquist
07. Oct 2024 · 13:08 UTC
That was a fun game :D The mechanic broke my brain a few times, and I threw stones on my little guys but it was hella fun :D
LDJam user 265796
07. Oct 2024 · 13:12 UTC
Brilliant stuff, made me actually laugh out loud. Well done!
Nazariglez
07. Oct 2024 · 13:18 UTC
Hahaha I loved the art, the music, and the gameplay, it's seems simple at first but then you see how complex it is. Great job!
greenkingwashere
07. Oct 2024 · 13:50 UTC
Loved how many ways you could kill your critters
EpiFai
07. Oct 2024 · 13:52 UTC
It's cool that all creatures differ in appearance and strength. This is a nice detail. However, at some point the game turns into chaos. I scored 103 before I got lost)
imai_Time
07. Oct 2024 · 14:15 UTC
It often recalls the blackest from the cartoon gone with the ghosts, The game is cool (ദ്ദി˙ᗜ˙), though I don't really understand how to control everyone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Mibi88
07. Oct 2024 · 14:28 UTC
This game is amazing! The game is very entertaining, the graphics are excellent, same for the audio.
lantto
07. Oct 2024 · 14:30 UTC
I love this! Very interesting mechanics that creates a lot of unexpected situations. Graphics and sounds are top notch as well.
OldDog
07. Oct 2024 · 14:32 UTC
this game is so cute and funny,love thie little creatures throw animation!!!! wish for more content to play,or more stuff to throw will become more interesring
JEMH2K
07. Oct 2024 · 14:57 UTC
I fucking cried laughing when i watched a huge rock just crush my little creature. He had a big smile on his face loving life among his depressed comrades. And then he got demolished. Amazing game. The ghibli inspirations shine through to make something truly unique. Awesome!
badbons
07. Oct 2024 · 15:32 UTC
Love it! Very good gameplay and art :D
franklyn01
07. Oct 2024 · 16:31 UTC
Got hooked immediately. The chaos towards the end was so satisfying to watch :D Also very impressed by the audio, one of the best I've seen so far!
Zz1p
07. Oct 2024 · 16:59 UTC
Mega simple, but very intuitive and intuitive game. I really liked the graphics and sound, everything is at the highest level!
SdCorpse
07. Oct 2024 · 20:11 UTC
graphics and sound are very cool!
LDJam user 0
07. Oct 2024 · 22:47 UTC
such cute game
AdamG
07. Oct 2024 · 22:52 UTC
Beautiful visuals!
stormburpee
07. Oct 2024 · 23:53 UTC
This was a very beautiful and cute game.

I normally hate spiders - but this was good to play - the art style and the animations of the lil' guys picking up the rocks was amazing. I love this. Got a bit chaotic when there were a bunch of them on, and found it hard to try and manage them picking up the rocks, whilst others were throwing, but that's part of the fun and the challenge.

This was great man! Keep it up!
Dywanix
08. Oct 2024 · 00:13 UTC
Really fun concept but I was upset when someone was hitted by stone :(
rio85
08. Oct 2024 · 01:32 UTC
nice graphics!
Lakea
08. Oct 2024 · 11:43 UTC
Well done on a great entry, got trickytrying to control more than 1 at a time, really enjoyed it.
cascadee
08. Oct 2024 · 15:37 UTC
A unique and distinctive combination of mechanics. It is worth appreciating the attention to detail, each boilerman has his own mood and facial expression. I would play this while I'm going somewhere by bus or subway, if I develop it a little and make it on my phone.
Kirass
08. Oct 2024 · 17:36 UTC
I really liked this game! It's awesome!
Cisco
08. Oct 2024 · 18:15 UTC
Great game! 39 my max score. Love the simply concept that expands on gameplay. Really really good!
dhim
08. Oct 2024 · 22:12 UTC
What an amazing mechanism! Having synchronous input that has different effects! You want the perfect choreography that never happens; it ends up being hell! Excellent, had a ton of fun. I'm not sure what the bar was about. Was I trying to fill it up or prevent it from filling up, I could not tell in the excitement!

Cool music, and ambiance!
Chuckiee
09. Oct 2024 · 06:47 UTC
Great graphics and music :100: Also very nice gameplay! I wish I could also pass stones vertically, so I could clump them up and strategize for high score! I though I could pass the stone to the guys in front, I was very sad when they get crushed :cry: Overall very good entry!
LDJam user 352490
09. Oct 2024 · 11:23 UTC
The Spirited Away vibes were lovely! And the mechanics were fun and chaotic. At one point I tried grouping them together in the left corner to prevent them from stepping into the boiler, but by the end I was mostly picking up and throwing rocks as fast as I could and to pass them to closer boilermen.

I couldn't quite tell at first what the bar at the bottom of the screen meant, or if I wanted it higher or lower. If that's supposed to represent overheating, maybe it could change color as it gets warmer / cooler?

My high score:

![Screenshot_20241009_060731.png](///raw/ae0/65/z/68406.png)
stmate03
11. Oct 2024 · 12:48 UTC
A fun little endless game where spirits violate osha regulation by throwing heavy coal at each other or step into the fire, fun stuff and has a nice difficulty curve! well done!
bradur
22. Oct 2024 · 11:07 UTC
It's a little fiddly to control so many creatures at once. But what beautiful creatures! I love the face they make when they set about to lift a stone. I also thought of soot sprites when the theme was announced but decided against it. It's fun to see people actually pay homage to Spirited Away :).