First, if you haven’t tried out Toxic Towers and enjoy platforms check it out here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/toxic-towers

Thanks to everyone that has tried out, voted on, and left comments on the game. I really enjoyed reading all of them, and appreciated the feedback that was given. You guys are the best.

Toxic Towers is my third entry into LD and I was happy with the result. While it was a platformer, a genre that has been explored thoroughly by many people, I felt like I was able to put an original spin on it with the poison mechanic. I had fun designing around the fact each individual mistake was not very punishing but over time those mistakes would catch up to you if you couldn’t finish the levels in time. People seemed to have liked the mechanic and it fit the theme pretty well so I was happy with it.

Level Design: With a couple of exceptions, I felt the level design worked out well. Most people seemed to enjoy the somewhat maze-y feel that levels had, and I felt it gave me room to hid power-ups and give players an alternative path through the level. However, there were some drops that I didn’t make clear enough to the player that resulted in some “leaps of faith”. Additionally, there were some areas in which you could jump behind the health bar which resulted in some awkward platforming. In the future, I would like to go back to these areas and adjust them so they feel fairer to the player.

Difficulty: Most of the feedback I got said this game was on the difficult side. While the difficulty was not necessarily a bad thing, I feel like I should have made some parts a bit easier, so that more people would be able to enjoy more of the game. I feel like toning down the second act of the game would made it more accessible while still leaving a more challenging final act for those who are experienced with platformers.

Music: I felt like improved with the music compared to my last entry. I was able to get more tracks into the game which I was happy with since 95% of my last entry used 1 track. This is an area I still improve on but it filled the role it needed to.

Art: I have accepted that art is not my strong suit, but I still feel like I am slowly improving. I tried to keep things like the background and tile-set simple and it was ok for what it was. I was happy that I was able to include some animation, even though it was simple, for the player, enemies, and bosses.

Other things I would change: One common suggestion that I should have added was an item to reduce poison. I felt like this could have been used to help balance out some of the levels and reward the player for exploring some of the hidden spots on the stage. Additionally I felt that falling of the level was too punishing. One aspect I really liked about the game was that the punishments were small for each mistake and would build up over time. Falling off however, would often result in restarting the act due to how punishing they were in the second half of the act. Lastly I should have also included the arrow keys for movement instead of just WASD for people that prefer that.

Overall I had a great time doing the jam. I enjoyed the theme for this one and liked the game I ended up making. Shout outs to the people in the LD discord, it was cool hanging with you guys. I am excited to see what the next LD will bring. Bonus meme: lava lamps are the best.