Bowlding by ecmjohnson

[raw]
made by ecmjohnson for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

Build your own bowling ball and unleash it on those evil pins!

building_small.png

Create with structural modules: - plate - spike

Inflict maximum pain with offensive modules: - flail

running_small.png

Fly your creation using the spacebar with: - jetpack - jet engine

Thrash around with the mouse buttons using additional fuel.

Demolish pins across 4 uniquely challenging levels.

real<em>gameplay</em>small.png

Made without use of the theme. Consider the main menu a nod to the theme.

menu.png

Ratings

Overall 790th 2.917⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Fun 684th 2.972⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 280th 3.5⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 732th 2.806⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Audio 508th 2.861⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 233th 3.361⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Given 8🗳️ 16🗨️

Feedback

Delunado
07. Apr 2025 · 20:29 UTC
Had a good time playing! The 4 jetpacks build is the best lol.

Also, the right click sensitivity is too high. I would love a zoom camera too for better planning. Besides that, it's a fun game, easy to play but you can get creative and spend a good time playing haha
LDJam user 282870
07. Apr 2025 · 21:13 UTC
Well, had to use Task Manager to get out of game. Pro tip, no matter where anyone is in the game they should be able to hit escape and exit.

Not sure the functionality for the game but for a game jam that needs to be clear right from the start.
🎤 ecmjohnson
08. Apr 2025 · 01:00 UTC
@delunado Thanks for playing and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@beebster-games I'm sorry that the tutorial question mark was not more prevalent. I figured that Alt+F4 would always be possible, but escape might be more intuitive and I'll make sure to include that in the future.
Rachenite
10. Apr 2025 · 00:25 UTC
This game was interesting. At first I had no idea what to do but then I realized it was kind of a puzzle to figure out what to do and it was fun to try to solve all the levels.
eXTeeGi
10. Apr 2025 · 00:31 UTC
Really fun concept! I found I had the most success using a single jet engine lol.
HelloImBenjamin
10. Apr 2025 · 07:26 UTC
It’s simple to pick up but has lots of complexity if you want to get strategic. Really fun and well done!
Hit3c
11. Apr 2025 · 00:17 UTC
This was an interesting concept. I clearly suck at it. I wanted the spikes to work so bad
🎤 ecmjohnson
11. Apr 2025 · 00:28 UTC
@rachenite I did try to make the levels each their own puzzle where each part could be valuable, but I spent the most time on the flail and it's never useful lol

@exteegi I agree; the single jet engine build is op. That's what I was using for testing, with a spike on the nose and plates for wings for aesthetics

@helloimbenjamin Thanks for playing!
🎤 ecmjohnson
11. Apr 2025 · 00:31 UTC
@hit3c I appreciate your attempt to impale some pins!
Jormundly
11. Apr 2025 · 00:44 UTC
I love the idea of the game, it would just be nice if some of the controls were better explained.
apt_prose7
11. Apr 2025 · 01:45 UTC
ummmmmmmmmmm
coyotethursday
11. Apr 2025 · 07:57 UTC
I love all the funny attachments you can attach to the bowling ball, jet engine + flail may not have been an effective combo strategically but it was absolutely hilarious. I felt like I got to be the bowling ball from those janky bowling alley animations.
Alem26
11. Apr 2025 · 14:24 UTC
Very...interesting game for sure. The first level was ironically by far the hardest and it's pretty damn hard to predict where the ball will go. I really like the idea tho and would like to see something like that as a flushed out full game some day.
🎤 ecmjohnson
11. Apr 2025 · 23:42 UTC
@jormundly Thanks! I find it hard to prioritize adding a tutorial to a jam game since I always want to add more content or polish

@coyotethursday I was very much thinking of the unhinged bowling alley animations when making this

@alem26 I appreciate you playing this weird experiment!
LDJam user 408073
12. Apr 2025 · 02:52 UTC
love the concept, and had a lot of fun playing it! i feel like the ball weight and physics could be tuned a little better, but other than that it was awesome! great job!
MrAntoineSt
12. Apr 2025 · 03:36 UTC
a fun concept, a little broken, but overall it's cool !
Steven Garberg
12. Apr 2025 · 03:36 UTC
Hilarious! Reminds me of another silly bowling game I played as a kid. The music and graphics are a vibe.
eloc
12. Apr 2025 · 03:44 UTC
Awesome graphics, loved the music.
OlenIkimid
12. Apr 2025 · 16:39 UTC
Love the tunes and the general idea - it's always fun to see this little physics sim jams.

Some little QoL features could go a long way:
1. have a green transparent preview over the bowling ball when placing modules so it's easier to know where you're placing them so you don't have to click the "oops" button as much :sweat_smile:.

2. I agree with some of the other comments that the right click rotation sensitivity could be turned down quite a bit.

3.Finally, I wish the build was saved when clicking "retry" so one could adjust the components a little and try again, rather than having to redo the whole thing that would make it a lot quicker to prototype different ideas. Typically I was only adding 3-4 parts before I ran out space, but getting them into the same spot as before so I could make adjustments was a bit tricky without this feature.

Overall, nice idea! I had fun testing it :)
LDJam user 376320
12. Apr 2025 · 19:57 UTC
I suck at this game, but had some fun playing with jet engines and flails hahaha Reminded me of Besiege
🎤 ecmjohnson
13. Apr 2025 · 13:28 UTC
@noodlehoof Thanks for playing! I always struggle with the long process of tuning for feel; needs such a strong vision of what the final product should look like

@mrantoinest I appreciate the feedback :)

@steven-garberg Glad to hear the music and graphics create a vibe!

@eloc Thanks! Music was by [Pocket Moon Games](https://pocketmoon.games) and their game [Wormhole](https://pocketmoon.games/games/wormhole) has more of that!

@olenikimid I really appreciate the details! Definitely features I would had liked to do, but were a bit too much for me in the time. Initially I was thinking of saving the layout of modules for quick reloading, but I prefer just keeping the last layout when retrying. I was actually surprised how quickly the undo feature came together, so maybe I'm overestimating the complexity of implementing those features... Thanks for the detailed feedback! <3

@willianfhs I'm glad you enjoyed the flail! That was my fav module to implement, but I found it unfortunately underpowered compared with the madness I envisioned it bringing