Totem Chess by ceosol

[raw]
made by ceosol for LD31 (JAM)
Added a post comp dungeon mode with four playable characters. Two of them have been boosted up so you can have some fun. It is still predominantly an idle game. The totem clash mode is still the LD comp version.

***
NOTE: Idle games are not for everybody. I completely understand that. You have very little control over what goes on in there. I know I will not score high because most people do not like idle games. If you rate fun based off of your involvement in the game, then of course you will rate this a 1. I find it enjoyable watching the fighting even if it is 4 AI players. :)
***

The elemental force of the world are in flux. You must take charge of your faction and summon the forces needed to conquer your greatest enemy. The world consists of four class, the magical, the natural forces, the physical realm and the spiritual realm. Magical and physical forces believe that the other should not exist in the realm. The battles between spiritual and natural forces are of legend. Each faction holds totems for summoning their forces and maintaining their grip on the realm. Your main enemy is on the opposite corner of the field. The spiritual and physical classes, as well as the magical and natural classes, are loose allies and are less likely to destroy each other's totems. But on the battlefield, they will still attack each other if confronted.


The game was made in less than 72 hours for Ludum Dare 31. It is predominantly an idle game, so don't expect tons of action on your part. The magical and physical (top left and bottom right, respectively) are easier to play. If you feel like just watching the fight, you can click unpause instead of choosing a class totem. At any time, you can then enter in to boost your chances of winning.

***There's already a game called Totem Clash, so I am up in the air about that name vs. Totem Chess :) ***

Ratings

Coolness 72% 3
Overall(Jam) 2.63 928
Audio(Jam) 2.56 544
Fun(Jam) 2.14 982
Graphics(Jam) 2.37 878
Humor(Jam) 1.78 807
Innovation(Jam) 2.79 667
Mood(Jam) 2.18 937
Theme(Jam) 3.33 694

Feedback

v01pe
08. Dec 2014 · 21:45 UTC
It felt like my influence was too little in this game… it didn't feel like there's much tactic that I can use - at least no obvious to learn… I basically created the strongest? character as often as possible and then waited, then spawned as much as possible again until the round ended…
At the end of a long hard match I still lost, because the other opponent killed an other CPU enemy first, which felt really unfair because I basically cleaned the whole board prior to that…
It would be nice to have influence which corner you're attacking to be able to play more tactical - dunno how though :) I liked that there are 4 parties playing at the same time - would also be possible to play with 4 friends on a tablet or so…
🎤 ceosol
08. Dec 2014 · 22:16 UTC
I totally agree. I would love to have it as multiplayer. I'll look into it for a post-comp version :)

Generally in idle games, you do not have much influence, but I wanted to try something I had never done before. :)

Thanks for the feedback!
daviosmash
09. Dec 2014 · 05:10 UTC
I had no sense of consistency, no matter what I did, it felt the same. I would have liked it to be a bit faster, I believe, so it was not as long to find out I sucked so I wanted to try again, knowing how to adjust (even if only slightly)
Slothmachine
09. Dec 2014 · 10:22 UTC
Interesting game. It was a little confusing at first but when I got the "live" element I started to get hang of it... But still little unsure what my goal is :D
sepharoth213
09. Dec 2014 · 14:08 UTC
It's a cool concept that should definitely be explored more, but the game felt like I wasn't doing much and was very unclear as to what was going on, while also moving very slow. Great job finishing though!
HotBoxGames
09. Dec 2014 · 14:29 UTC
The game seems to work well from a functionality point of view - can't say I noticed any bugs or issues, however I think it would be worth including more instructions on how the game works. I was unsure of exactly how to control my units (if at all possible).

Overall good effort and great job getting a game submitted to the jam :)
drludos
09. Dec 2014 · 16:33 UTC
A bit confusing at start, but interesting concept. Thanks for the description, it helps to understand how the game play. My snowmen army will rule the world! :)
🎤 ceosol
09. Dec 2014 · 16:45 UTC
@drludos: I had to throw snowmen in there lol

@The rest: Thanks much for the feedback, I will get to your games as soon as I can. Idle games are not for everybody. I completely understand that. You have very little control over what goes on in there. I know I will not score high because most people do not like idle games. If you rate fun based off of your involvement in the game, then of course you will rate this a 1. I find it enjoyable watching the fighting even if it is 4 AI players. :)
Alendro
09. Dec 2014 · 20:04 UTC
Nice game. Felt like i needed more guidance.
Saf
09. Dec 2014 · 20:17 UTC
A new play style! I think with a little more handholding and better feedback loops this game can be something cool. Your soundtrack is awesome btw :)
SpartanIceCream
09. Dec 2014 · 23:37 UTC
Nice
torcado194
10. Dec 2014 · 00:46 UTC
pretty interesting! for a lot of time i couldnt figure out was going on, or what influence i had on what i was doing, over if just another computer was playing. i was never able to do any home base damage, but it was fun anyway! i like the animations too. good job!
xWarZonex
10. Dec 2014 · 20:30 UTC
I didn't know what was going on... But it was still enjoyable. The game is impressive and looks pretty complex, goodjob completing it on time. I also liked the music, it fit the game well.
t4u
10. Dec 2014 · 22:33 UTC
Too complicated. i dont even feel like figuring out how to play.
Raiyumi
11. Dec 2014 · 18:59 UTC
I enjoyed playing it! It would be cool to have some sort of control over the units (even if not entirely) and have the game at a faster pace. But otherwise, great job!
🎤 ceosol
12. Dec 2014 · 21:55 UTC
Thanks for all of the plays and feedback. If you stop by the game, please drop a note and I'll check out your game too :)
6DownStudios
13. Dec 2014 · 02:47 UTC
Quite interesting, nice mix of units. Even if there's not a lot of interaction, I can definitely appreciate a complex simulation like this. Cool stuff!
ramyaanudeep
13. Dec 2014 · 06:02 UTC
i literally liked the game play and the simpicity.
Shimone
18. Dec 2014 · 11:42 UTC
I really liked the concept of this game and I hope you will explore it more because it has a lot of potential.
I would have liked to have a little more control over my units (for example, the corner they should attack first). I would be happy to see each unit stats (attack, defense, weaknesses, etc.).
Overall a good entry: keep it up!
f7f5
23. Dec 2014 · 17:39 UTC
I... need more sense of control over a game :)
🎤 ceosol
23. Dec 2014 · 17:50 UTC
@f7f5: noted :)

Idle games are definitely not for everybody.
danidre14
24. Dec 2014 · 03:05 UTC
Not bad! :D
maxmetallica
29. Dec 2014 · 19:45 UTC
nice work
freaknarf
29. Dec 2014 · 23:16 UTC
Cool ! a bit hard to understand what is exactly happening at start but the variety of ennemies and AI movement is interesting :] music was kinda nice too !