Tiny Survival Tactics(Puzzle) by Sphinx



The game is Inspired by the Chinese version of Klotski called HuarongDao.
Credit: Lucas&Wendy
Post Jam Update:
Add the Undo Button;
Add Level Select Button & Level Number Name to each level;
Update the dragging and removing control.
| Link | https://wendyhu.itch.io/tiny-survival-tactics-ld-56 |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/tiny-survival-tacticspuzzle |
Ratings
| Overall | 265th | 3.838⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 242th | 3.75⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 227th | 3.691⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 598th | 3.618⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 510th | 3.721⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 529th | 3.076⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 407th | 3.676⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 38🗳️ | 44🗨️ |
It was a lot of fun, so the only real feedback I can give is UX-related (And I suspect it's something you've already got in mind, and just didn't have time to implement!) - Given how many steps are involved in each sequence, it would have been really helpful to have an undo button - There were so many instances where I wasn't paying attention (or lost track of which fish eats what) and lost a puzzle late in the sequence because of an unforced error in piece movement. Without the ability to undo mistakes, it felt really stressful to move a piece around the board, because I was constantly worried that there was an interaction I was overlooking that would cause me to re-solve the puzzle.
Overall though, I thought this was a lot of fun, and a very clever re-interpretation of those sliding car puzzles from back in the day!
Nice puzzle game! The clicking to exit felt inconsistent and I had to click a whole lot to get it to trigger sometimes so I think that could be easier. Overall was very tricky and fun!
It's a difficult game (at least for me), but it's a lot of fun! There's a lot of depth to the rules, with the critters blocking each other and having to move them in the right order. I think you did a great job introducing the complexities as the game progressed.
The art is great and I love the expression on the creatures when they attack. The crab is especially cute :blush:
This is the level I'm currently bashing my head against. I guess a small feedback is that I would love to be able to easily continue from here when I restart my computer, without having to replay all the puzzles up to this point. I understand the complexity of doing that, but it might be worth considering having a level select screen if you decide to do a post jam version.

Just like @vidarn I couldn't finish this level, it's a tough one. But it's engaging enough that I wanted to try!
I wish there was more audio feedback when moving around pieces, but for a jam it's well-rounded, fun and working well. Great job <3
Gameplay wise I wished there was an undo button as I was so frustrating on the more complex level. Even more so because my tired brain couldn't remember that, shrimps eat fish and fishes eat crabs so I made some stupid mistakes multiple times. And I'm quite surprised I could squeeze the 2x2 creatures through the top exit, but not the horizontal 2X1, is this a bug ? I did struggle to make the game understand the final move to the exit, I had to pretty much always do it multiple times before the game registered the move.
I did enjoy the soothing music and liked a lot the designs of the different animals !
All in all great job.
I gave up on puzzle 5 or 6. Don't get me wrong, I would have kept playing, but having to restart a puzzle because of a mis-click or a mistake is really rough. And I've got other games to rate. I think it is good practice to allow a one-step undo when you die. Now if I get myself into an unwinnable position, that's on me, I'll use a restart button. But I don't think the game would suffer from infinite undo either.
At the very start I didn't realize that they can move sideways. I think I was thinking of that cars game where they only go forward and backward. Having one of two levels where all you do is move one creature sideways is never a bad idea.
On web, at least, the clicking and dragging was really rough. I got unexpected movements when I just clicked and let go a few times. One led to a death when I was already in the clear. The 1x1 shrimp does not like leaving, I've gotta really slam him, lol.
I wanted the level to end when I only had one color left, but mostly because moving then was tedious. If the controls were cleaner I probably wouldn't have had that thought.
I'm giving a bit of criticism, but this is coming from a place of love. If you clean up the graphics a bit, fix the mouse controls, add one or two more mechanics that you sprinkle in later on, then bam! Put it on steam for $1.99, have occasional 50% off sales. I can't guarantee that it will sell, but it will deserve to be there.
Also, I need something better than color to keep track of who eats who. I don't have any good ideas, but we should brainstorm some up.
I think I echo that it would be nice to have it reset back one move or something along those lines or I could just get good I suppose :P
The puzzling was well done with good challenge and nice progression!
However, despite my obvious skill issue, I still had a lot of fun with this entry! I love how the little critters change sprites to indicate their effects on the other types of animals. :smile: Very nice job!
(PS: Thanks for NOT showing me what the "minimum possible" steps is to solve a puzzle. It made me feel a lot less stupid about my solutions.) :upside_down: