Mag Gunner by Phil Strahl

made by Phil Strahl for LD32 (COMPO)

The Unconventional Weapon would be a Magnet Gun! And when I decided to name the game MagGunner, it sounded a little like MacGuyver which instantly flooded my mind with 80s nostalgia. Hence it was really fun making the music and visuals in a retro-futurist 80s sci-fi theme.

The collisions are a bit glitchy but I've tested it extensively and the 7 levels I came up with are playable until the end. i did my best to have the levels progressing in difficulty so that you learn the mechanic of the MagGun (thanks, Portal!)

The game is WINDOWS standalone .exe, because I can't afford the HTML5 plugin for GameMaker, but the download is only a quick 5.4 MB anyway.

I hope you like it!

Controls:
W A D

Shooting magnets:
↓ ↑ (up, down)

Quit:
Esc

Screenshot:
F12

EDIT: For those of you who are having troubles figuring it out, or just want to see all the levels, here's a video walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxWa7uXCQtE

Windows	http://www.pixelprophecy.com/games/maggunner/downloads/MagGunnerLD32Compo.exe
Source	http://www.pixelprophecy.com/games/maggunner/downloads/MagGunnerLD32Compo.gmz
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-32/?action=preview&uid=47131

Ratings

Coolness	69%	3
Overall	3.93	55

Audio	3.93	43
Fun	3.38	282
Graphics	4.06	86
Innovation	4.09	40
Mood	3.74	78
Theme	3.84	178

Feedback

ilikescifi

20. Apr 2015 · 09:42 UTC

Ohhhhh yes!

drakekin

20. Apr 2015 · 17:29 UTC

Music got a bit repetitive, blocks often glitched through walls and the controls for aiming were a bit clunky (mouse aim would have made it much easier). That said, a really neat idea and actually a lot of fun.

Pietdagamer

20. Apr 2015 · 19:20 UTC

Very interesting mechanics.

nuprahtor

20. Apr 2015 · 19:22 UTC

That's really a clever idea with the magnets, and I like the 80s graphic style.
The controls are a bit wonky, though (well, it's a machine after all)

thaaks

20. Apr 2015 · 19:24 UTC

Music, sounds and graphics fit nicely together. I didn't get the game at all but it was graphically pleasing and fun to watch the blocks move or attract each other.
But what am I supposed to do in this game? Who is to destroy? The red robot? And how? Getting blocks collide with him? Puzzled but entertained ;-)

siryakko

20. Apr 2015 · 19:24 UTC

Nice mechanics, but controls are a bit tricky. Nice graphics :)

Ancient_Pixel

20. Apr 2015 · 19:25 UTC

Nice one, unfortunately a little buggy but much fun to play!

Clavus

20. Apr 2015 · 19:30 UTC

Great presentation, love the 80s vibe. Gameplay concept works pretty well! Collisions were very glitchy though. An aim assist (like a laser) would've been nice too.

CodeNMore

20. Apr 2015 · 21:06 UTC

Now this just looks awesome, and it was fun and interesting! Liked the music too!

TobiasNL

20. Apr 2015 · 21:57 UTC

Very good concept, yet buggy. Liked the style as well, your logo is cool

Ithildin

20. Apr 2015 · 22:01 UTC

Loved the music and found the mechanics really promising.
There were a few bugs with the collisions against the walls, though.

Nice work either way! :)

Bastienre4

20. Apr 2015 · 22:01 UTC

Interesting mechanics. Had few issues with collisions.

dix

20. Apr 2015 · 22:15 UTC

Nice game! :D beautiful retro style, lovely music, and challenging mechanics. Good job!

jacklify85

20. Apr 2015 · 22:17 UTC

Very cool! I liked the magnet gun a lot. Nice music and nice graphics. Interesting concept as well.

Finn

20. Apr 2015 · 22:22 UTC

Great colour, aesthetics and idea, very awkward to control.

Ourson

20. Apr 2015 · 23:26 UTC

Great gameplay mechanic!
Good retro vibes with the art and music.
(Sometimes, weird wall collisions would push me outside of the map though.)

MiniBobbo

21. Apr 2015 · 02:39 UTC

Nice overall feel! As you mentioned, collisions were glitchy but that wasn't noticeable once you got going. I was worried that the enemies were going to start shooting at me, which would have made this extremely difficult!

SinclairStrange

21. Apr 2015 · 02:58 UTC

MAN. THE 80'S VIBE. IT'S SO GOOD. *cough*
Anyway, I really enjoyed this, even though sometimes those blocks got a little glitchy (going through walls, doing weird stuff when colliding with each other) it was so much fun! The music, the gameplay, the mood, everything was extremely well done. I hope you expand on this because it was seriously a lot of fun!

Awesome work dude!

🎤 Phil Strahl

21. Apr 2015 · 02:58 UTC

@MiniBoo: Thanks! Yeah, I had them move and shoot but that would have made the game way too taxing when the magnets-mechanic itself requires some new, unfamiliar way of problem solving. And doing this while being persecuted and shot at is not "a fun challenge", it is frustration with the LJN seal of approval.

SinclairStrange

21. Apr 2015 · 02:58 UTC

Garris

21. Apr 2015 · 05:34 UTC

Graphics were well done, and the concept and puzzles were solid. Also it's nice to see a ludum dare game with an end. It makes the whole thing feel more packaged. High scores are a nice touch.

PaperBlurt

21. Apr 2015 · 06:22 UTC

The logo! The colors! The gameplay! As long as the one thing you do in a game is fun, then just keep playing it (a family creed I live by).

carrymove

21. Apr 2015 · 13:13 UTC

I like the idea, sound design, music and graphics. I think enemies could be smarter. But good entry, overall ;-)

TheScopelessOne

21. Apr 2015 · 14:09 UTC

It's a realy cool game and concept. The controls of the car was a bit slow and clunky thou and it was possible to get the boxes outside of the screen.

CarlsonAndPeeters

21. Apr 2015 · 14:50 UTC

Great stuff! The core mechanic is incredibly impressive. I might have liked controlling aiming with the mouse more, but still, really good work

🎤 Phil Strahl

21. Apr 2015 · 15:14 UTC

Thanks for all your feedback so far!! Yes, the implementation of the mechanics is glitchy at times thanks to me not really being a skilled enough coder, but mouse-aim/aim assist is definitely something I will look into!

HotBoxGames

21. Apr 2015 · 20:08 UTC

Those graphics are great! :D

Nice mechanic, really not bad at all for a 48 hour job, good work!

Headmade

21. Apr 2015 · 20:24 UTC

Thy game is very nice :)
Super slick intro screen nice clean graphics, fitting music and a clever concept. Well done.

My only gripe is that the collision detection is a bit wonky. Blocks clip through walls and collide weirdly. Maybe implementing a proper physics engine would help in that regard?

Kalkatos

21. Apr 2015 · 23:31 UTC

Great graphics! The mechanic looks fine enough. I just had some frustration problems dying when half of the enemies were killed and the level was reset, but that's probably just me not being skilled enough.. Haha! Keep up the good work!

sentendo

22. Apr 2015 · 04:26 UTC

interesting mechanics, but quite hard to understand

Daiwen

22. Apr 2015 · 19:15 UTC

Great game! I was wondering if there was a specific reason not to allow backward motion, it creqted some frustration in contrast to a nicely done game.

lochmann-apps

22. Apr 2015 · 19:47 UTC

Was pretty into it! Nice work! Keep it going!

🎤 Phil Strahl

22. Apr 2015 · 20:19 UTC

@Daiwen: The reason is because my shitty implementation relied on negative values in speed (every time something collides, it would reverse its speed until it didn't anymore), so no collisions would register (at least not properly) when moving backwards. I am fully aware that this sucks, but I see it as a prototype/proof-of-concept anyways. If enough people find it interesting, I will start from scratch with a proper design document and the Box2D physics engine. Right now, everything is held together by a lot of chewing gum, duct-tape and good intentions ;)

sP0CkEr2

23. Apr 2015 · 05:44 UTC

great game - nice retro look and music

Saker Games

23. Apr 2015 · 05:53 UTC

What a cool idea! And the music is nice too. Well done!

petercraft

24. Apr 2015 · 10:20 UTC

Coooooooooool!!!! :D

syncxzoz

25. Apr 2015 · 14:51 UTC

Great games.... like the simple music and light effect..