Super Egyptian UFO Cat Pyramid Overlord 2000 BC by rjhelms

[raw]
made by rjhelms for LD36 (COMPO)
The ancient technology of the Pyramids has been a mystery - until now!

You are the ancient alient cat overlord of Ancient Egypt. From your UFO, rain signs and wonders down upon the people as you fly over the banks of the Nile.

The more people you entrance with the wonders of your otherworldly power, the larger the pyramids they build in your honour will be.

But seriously, this game is a top-down shooter retro-style shooter with infinite procedurally-generated levels and a dubious take on the Ludum Dare 36 theme. Try to get as far as possible, and share your high scores.

My personal best at the moment is 98480. (8/29/16 1:48PM)

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Controls:

Keyboard:
- Left/right or A/D to move
- Ctrl or Space to fire

Joystick/gamepad:

- Left/right to move
- Buttons 0 through 3 to fire

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Mac and Linux builds forthcoming!

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UPDATE: 8/29/2016 2:25PM Eastern

I found a bug where, if you played again from the game over screen, some of the difficulty settings weren't getting reset. This was a very small fix so I've uploaded a new version.

I've also found a case where level generation can get stuck (on the "Get Ready" screen) in rare cases. I'm not sure how often this happens, so let me know if it happens to you.

Feedback

quentinus60
29. Aug 2016 · 06:51 UTC
score : 56 230 with 8 pyramid
I like the design of the game. It's really hard to dodge all the spear but I like your game :) Good job!
manabreak
29. Aug 2016 · 06:57 UTC
I immediately recognized your entry from the preview screenshot - I loved your LD34 entry, and I just HAD to try this one out as well...

... and it was awesome! I'm a huge C64 fan and just love the commitment you put into your entries to make them really C64-esque. Great job!
peterthehe
29. Aug 2016 · 08:23 UTC
Really great. Reminds me of gun nac. Then again everything 8-bit that involves anything vaguely spacey does :P Very good work.
cabbage_
29. Aug 2016 · 11:17 UTC
Gameplay is difficult but fun and addictive. Graphics are awesome! My current high score is 57,870, but I'm sure I'll try to beat that later ;)
DiegoCTorguet
29. Aug 2016 · 12:05 UTC
What if Ludum Dare was done in the 80s?
I think this retro style is as cheerful as refreshing.
PetterBergmar
29. Aug 2016 · 20:58 UTC
So awesome! I l got to level 11. It scrolls very fast and I rarely get to actually transform any attackers.. But anyway hilarious idea and great execution. Thanks for the gamepad support
DifferentName
29. Aug 2016 · 21:11 UTC
I like how this hits the ancient technology theme in multiple ways, including ancient 80's games on CRT screens. It's tough to avoid those spears!
MrBrenan
29. Aug 2016 · 22:55 UTC
"And this is why Egyptian made pyramid"

Realy great, I love distributing love to bad people.

The TV effect is cool, great job :)
Amine Tcherak
30. Aug 2016 · 11:40 UTC
Very Nice i love your Game Good Works )=
blinry
30. Aug 2016 · 12:06 UTC
So cuuute *_* I like the concept of spreading love and harmony! Thanks for making this game! Very polished graphics and music, and awesome retro feeling! I would have liked to move up and down! The pyramid building sequences were so well-done!
Amine Tcherak
30. Aug 2016 · 16:52 UTC
very nice game great work!!
Lon
30. Aug 2016 · 20:40 UTC
Right away I noticed and enjoyed the kinda tube tv/monitor effect. I like how you visualize the player's score with a pyramid at the end of a level! Fun play with the theme too!
🎤 rjhelms
31. Aug 2016 · 06:45 UTC
Thanks so much for the wonderful positive feedback folks!

@quentinus60: I agree that the spear dudes aren't balanced as well as they could be - during development they were too easy to avoid, so I buffed them but in retrospect I overdid it.

@manabreak: It makes me really happy to be recognized for the style of my games! It's as much a conceit towards doing art and sound quickly as anything else, but it does have a lot of charm, eh?

@PetterBergmar: yeah, after level 11 or so the balance is definitely skewed towards "impossible". I had some idea for more content in the late game but didn't get it implemented, so figured things should end before they got boring. Level 11 is really good, I think - that's about as far as I can get consistently.

@blinry: I agree about moving up and down. It wasn't part of my original design, and by the time I realized it should be in there I didn't have time to add it. :/
Dietrich Epp
31. Aug 2016 · 07:35 UTC
OH YES! This is awesome! I built so many pyramids and scored so many points! The difficulty curve is great, forgiving at first but difficult in time. The retro aesthetic is pretty charming rather than just kitsch.
colozz
31. Aug 2016 · 08:58 UTC
I saw your entry about pyramid height depending on your score, I'm glad to have tested it!
Your game is great :)
qikcik
31. Aug 2016 · 11:25 UTC
nice game. good music and graphics (i like pixel art :D ) , my max score is 34000 :D
mato26
31. Aug 2016 · 11:33 UTC
I really like it, graphics, music and the whole atmosphere fits nicely together :) Good job!
Mr. Chelnoque
31. Aug 2016 · 11:34 UTC
Lovely cutscene after the level. As for me, controls are a bit too slippery, but fine (and maybe it would be too easy otherwise). Was satisfying to get my pyramid as big as I can.
Why there are people only on the one side of Nile?
stefvanschie
31. Aug 2016 · 11:34 UTC
The sounds were good, and the levels have a good difficulty curve. I didn't like the graphics however. I feel like they could be a bit better.
brunurd
31. Aug 2016 · 11:55 UTC
it's fun! the final stage animation is long, but looks making part of reassemble the old games, by the way, nice work with the retro thing
yotam180
31. Aug 2016 · 12:01 UTC
Cutest game of today! I have played like 5 levels. It's pretty easy tho.

The art style is so cute! I like the background music, too.
Great compo entry!
urielgamedev
31. Aug 2016 · 13:31 UTC
Amazing game ! The pixel art is really cute, and I love the retro style of the screen and the music.
Good job :)
Avon
31. Aug 2016 · 14:57 UTC
Fun game, cute graphics, cool music. The dancing animation is really funny. I got to lvl 12.
thiagofr
31. Aug 2016 · 16:11 UTC
Graphics are awesome and very coherent. My only suggestion would be to change the music when levels increase their speed. Anyway, a creative, well made and fun game to play. Congratulations!
csanyk
31. Aug 2016 · 23:09 UTC
This is pretty weird, but I totally get it. Great stuff. Especially the retro C=64 graphical look. Well done!
Jupiter_Hadley
01. Sep 2016 · 19:04 UTC
Lovely, strange, retro game! I included it in my compilation video series of Ludum Dare 36 games, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/vrExnx4_kXk
Jwatt
02. Sep 2016 · 13:17 UTC
It's got style, very C64. Appreciate the modern touches like shaders too.

The gameplay is a bit spammy though, considering the low reaction time (which is further diminished past level 5).
TheMonsterFromTheDeep
11. Sep 2016 · 05:35 UTC
My first score was 33310, which I guess is not completely awful. It's a really fun game - reminds me of space invaders and the like.

It was interesting how the strategy started out as shooting first and avoiding later, and then transitioned (at least for me) into avoiding first and shooting later.

The concept as a whole is so absurd that I just love it. :)

The graphics are great and fit in perfectly with the game concept. The music generated a nice atmosphere and did not get repetitive.

This game is basically probably the best get-the-highest-score game I've played as of yet.
Lon
19. Sep 2016 · 06:12 UTC
Returned to this game again, got higher (playable) frame rates on my weak PC by using a more modest resolution.

An enjoyable play. Balancing the risk/reward of aggressively 'blessing/winning/converting' the Egyptians and avoiding the spears and arrows by flying over the Nile river. Again, I enjoy seeing the pyramids reflect one's score. Thanks for the fun game!