A troll's life by Paul Sinnett

[raw]
made by Paul Sinnett for LD33 (COMPO)
In this game you get to experience the life (probably very short life) of a woodland troll collecting mushrooms.

I wanted to explore the idea that "monster" is a label we tend to apply to things we don't understand and therefore hate and fear. I wanted the player to experience going about their daily life in such an environment.

There is only movement. You cannot attack in this game. Use the WASD keys to move the troll to the bottom of the screen.

Avoid the lumberjacks throwing rocks. Each new screen grants you a mushroom, but each successive screen will contain more lumberjacks. Collect as many mushrooms as you can.

Written in Scratch.
The source code is accessible from the Scratch web site. (Click see inside.)
All sprites were created in Gimp.
Sound effects were created in BFXR.
Music was created in Otomata and edited in Audacity.

Ratings

Coolness 42% 1537
Overall 3.08 506
Audio 3.12 284
Fun 3.20 345
Graphics 2.80 617
Humor 2.57 527
Innovation 2.76 614
Mood 3.14 357
Theme 3.60 330

Feedback

AgentParsec
24. Aug 2015 路 02:15 UTC
Aw, why do all the Al Borland clones hate trolls so much?
馃帳 Paul Sinnett
25. Aug 2015 路 07:53 UTC
People fear the unusual I guess.
rotpar
25. Aug 2015 路 08:06 UTC
Interesting idea and nice game! I love it that you made it in scratch.
馃帳 Paul Sinnett
25. Aug 2015 路 12:23 UTC
Thanks. I like using Scratch for these kinds of things as it's easy to do, the source is open and accessible, and it's easy to embed the result into a web page.
anarbitrarymustache
25. Aug 2015 路 22:07 UTC
I really like the AI on the lumber jacks - the the rock trajectory wasn't too predictable. Though I wanted the player movement to be a little faster, it felt very much like a large lumbering woodland troll, and added to the difficulty. Great job. I like the way the lumber jacks collect around the fallen troll in the end.
ldds
25. Aug 2015 路 22:51 UTC
Aww I love this, but I wonder if you'll keep working on it. a monster that cannot attack is a neat concept
馃帳 Paul Sinnett
25. Aug 2015 路 23:07 UTC
I did think of maybe expanding the collection mechanic. Initially I was going to have a dance button but I ran out of time for animations.
tiff
25. Aug 2015 路 23:25 UTC
Hey Paul!

Fun little game! You've done a great job with the balance on this, it's just perfectly tuned. I really like the cute style of the lumberjacks and the troll too.
馃帳 Paul Sinnett
26. Aug 2015 路 08:09 UTC
Thanks. I got very lucky that the pacing worked out. The A.I. is aim at the troll and then +/- 30 degrees at random. Initially this is easy to avoid, but gets much harder as the number of lumberjacks increase.
Dianouille
27. Aug 2015 路 08:29 UTC
Nice little game :) Love the fact that we can't attack, well linked with the theme. I only have one subjective opinion : this green back does not honor your other graphics :/
OadT
29. Aug 2015 路 15:53 UTC
I like the story idea. Moving feels a bit slow, but I think the mechanic works best this way.
Nice entry :)
Nikteddy92
29. Aug 2015 路 15:56 UTC
Nice Idea. We usually see a troll as a scary angry mob, but now he only wants mushrooms... So many angry at nothing lumberjacks :C
Btw nice graphic, smooth gameplay that gets really challenging after a while and great concept.
Well done!
Biruts
02. Sep 2015 路 00:53 UTC
Very nice project guys, i really love it, please check our game too and if you liked it give us a vote. Look for Road to hell and enjoy.
IonProgramming
03. Sep 2015 路 01:30 UTC
I love your take on the theme. I felt very sad knowing the fate of the poor troll...
馃帳 Paul Sinnett
03. Sep 2015 路 22:37 UTC
I wrote up some more on the idea here: http://ludumdare.com/compo/2015/08/25/a-trolls-life/
Nurbs
03. Sep 2015 路 22:55 UTC
Brawny man throws manhole covers at shrek's mom until she falls over, and then they beat her with sticks
8/10
Potato & Taco
11. Sep 2015 路 01:41 UTC
I really liked it!
Rialgar
11. Sep 2015 路 20:01 UTC
these humans are very strong, throwing rocks all over the screen ;D
cptalbertwesker
12. Sep 2015 路 21:32 UTC
Managed to get six mushrooms then got ganged up on by lumberjacks! I had no chance :D

Lovely little game, poor troll :(
Catmoo
13. Sep 2015 路 16:36 UTC
Really enjoyed playing you game, I felt so bad for the Troll! I got to 6 mushrooms before the mean lumberjacks took out all my lives in that one level. Nice little entry and it's nice to see that people are using Scratch!