Retroflect by pkenney

[raw]
made by pkenney for LD32 (COMPO)
Retroflect is a shoot-em-up where you can't shoot.

Since I think Jam games should be fun for any skill level, this game has no death. Instead it has transparently dynamic difficulty that changes with your performance.

The true scoring mechanism will reveal itself if you fill the difficulty meter.

But don't worry about that, just have some fun!

UPDATE: Windows build added for download

Ratings

Coolness 61% 3
Overall 3.31 429
Audio 2.76 517
Fun 3.40 270
Graphics 2.89 655
Humor 1.97 894
Innovation 3.51 277
Mood 2.58 825
Theme 3.71 257

Feedback

Malsanity
20. Apr 2015 · 09:55 UTC
Cool game, love the fact that you use the enemy's bullets as your own. Would love to go up and down, though...
resty
20. Apr 2015 · 13:11 UTC
It's really interesting to find others have similar idea:)
I love this kind of game, but feel difficult to deal with high speed bullets. Put it to a corner is the only way for me to get a full rank.
EwChap
20. Apr 2015 · 23:51 UTC
Satisfying when you get a good run going. Reflecting off walls to hit enemies is also highly productive. The difficulty going up and back down as you do better or worse is a good mechanic, allows for some sort of higher score multiplier if you go down the score attack route, making the game playable at any skill but skill based for the high scores.
S0lll0s
21. Apr 2015 · 02:19 UTC
Only seeing a black screen in Chrome (running Arch Linux) :/

description sounds interesting...
Photon
21. Apr 2015 · 02:23 UTC
Goodness, that can get crazy quick! Even so, at one point I just sat there and I still did fine; its a little haphazard in that regard. But hey, it does crazy shmup well and it has a nice retro vibe to it. Good job!
Xanderzoo
21. Apr 2015 · 02:26 UTC
Very fun. :)
alpha_rat
21. Apr 2015 · 13:37 UTC
Interesting take on the theme !
The gameplay feels dynamic and challenging, also, I like the fact that the difficulty and the level can decrease

I noticed that by letting the game run without moving or rotating for a while, the level scales by itself to the maximum one, which is a bit weird.

A score system and a leaderboard would be a great addition to it! And maybe also some hp/number of lives feature, as the game as it is now has no lose condition (from what I have seen)

Also, by the way, thank you for your useful feedback on my game ;)
lucidsheep
22. Apr 2015 · 01:47 UTC
very clever!
internetpaulicy
22. Apr 2015 · 02:29 UTC
I was able to spend 4s with the level1 thing at the top. But its really hard to maintain. Its a neat idea but I wish there was also a score but now that I figured out your scoring system I see why you don't. I found it best to not move a lot. It would be nice if the mouse would also rotate the reflector :)
richiebranson
22. Apr 2015 · 02:34 UTC
Love the deflection-based weaponry. I'm a big fan of shoot 'em ups! All it needs now is some cool chiptune music in the background!
SmilingCat
22. Apr 2015 · 02:36 UTC
Good use of the theme, this was a lot of fun to play. Great job!
iSamurai
22. Apr 2015 · 03:27 UTC
Good execution of idea. The shooting is solid. But a bit too fast for me.
Frenchie
23. Apr 2015 · 03:29 UTC
This was fun! It got a little frustrating to get my score reset because of some bullets coming from below. Also, would be nice if you were invulnerable for a second after getting hit. Felt cheap to get three levels taken off by one enemy's shots. Apart from that, well done! :)
Kitsubi
23. Apr 2015 · 04:58 UTC
I love the game and the way the bullets deflect your bounce shield. It gets a little repetitive after a while, but overall I had fun
The4thCircle
23. Apr 2015 · 14:29 UTC
Fun feel to the deflections, all got a bit hectic tough. Nice retro ambiance held it all together nicely.
ConflictiveLabs
24. Apr 2015 · 22:03 UTC
Very funny and innovative concept. Maybe too hard to aim
OrangeSpikyGames
24. Apr 2015 · 23:15 UTC
That was really fun and surprisingly well executed for the limited time. Great job.
murilo
25. Apr 2015 · 20:00 UTC
I really like this entry! The gameplay is fun and even though reflecting projectiles isn't anything new, the idea of having a whole ship and that kind of control is new for me! it's fun! Great job, man!
TetraQuad
27. Apr 2015 · 04:18 UTC
The idea was really cool and I liked it. I also enjoyed the scoring mechanic :D
Chris M
27. Apr 2015 · 15:03 UTC
TBH I wasn't expecting much going into this, but it really surprised me. The idea is great, you've done good work with the game feel (esp love the way the audio and animations reinforce the feeling of impact) and the difficultly system you use works well to moderate the pace.

As others have mentioned, the central control is too complex at the moment for the fast reactions the gameplay requires.
Xanjos
05. May 2015 · 00:44 UTC
Pretty cool and addictive concept although it seems pretty hard to reach level 10.