Owl'd Hurricrash by BarrensZeppelin

made by BarrensZeppelin for LD31 (COMPO)

You are an Owl. You are trapped between your nest and the sea in a massive hurricane.
Bring sweet l00t $$ to your nest while surviving the storm.

Tilt: A & D
Propel: Space (Realistic owl physics)

Owls don't breathe underwater and they starve within 10 seconds, so make sure to stay stocked up on fish.

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POSTJAM ADDITIONS:
Online scoreboard!
The hurricane has subsided slightly, the owl has doubled its energy efficiency overnight, and fish have grown fatter.

New control scheme:
WASD (Unable to submit score with this)
Press T to switch.

Also 90% sure I fixed the audio bug, but correct me if I'm wrong. This fix is in both the compo and PostJam build.

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Note about the Mac version: A friend of mine bundled the game with Wine for me. I have no idea if it actually works.

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Postnote:
I didn't like the theme very much, and I had a hard time brainstorming for game ideas, so I decided to take the opportunity to have lots of fun programming instead.
While the game lacks any kind of victory condition or goal, I certainly had a great time programming it and its whacky nature (except for the part where I spent 3 hours ironing out a bug in my first SAT collision implementation ever, but hey - it worked out in the end).

Any criticism is happily received.

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Made with SFML: http://sfml-dev.org/index.php
And (Shameless plug): https://github.com/BarrensZeppelin/BZeps-SFML-Snippets
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarrensZeppelin

Windows	http://autistklassen.dk/BZep_LD31_final.zip
Mac (I Think)	http://autistklassen.dk/Owly.app.zip
Source	http://autistklassen.dk/BZep_LD31_source.zip
Windows [PostJam]	http://autistklassen.dk/BZep_LD31_PostJam.zip
Scoreboard [PostJam]	http://autistklassen.dk/LD31Scoreboard.php
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-31/?action=preview&uid=8838

Ratings

Coolness	100%	1
Overall	2.98	781

Audio	2.54	655
Fun	3.06	581
Graphics	3.26	446
Humor	3.14	199
Innovation	3.06	610
Mood	2.93	561
Theme	3.64	498

Feedback

Eponesh

08. Dec 2014 · 15:05 UTC

The idea is excellent, good mechanics, the game is difficult. Score is not updating and after 7-8 attempts to play shows a blue screen.

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

08. Dec 2014 · 15:12 UTC

Thanks. I'll try to track down the nasty bug, and I guess I should've made it more clear, that you actually have to return to your nest.

ViliX64

08. Dec 2014 · 15:25 UTC

As mentioned before: nice mechanics!

chadheim

08. Dec 2014 · 15:30 UTC

Good idea, freaking hard though. Maybe make the wind now so harsh?

Madball

08. Dec 2014 · 15:31 UTC

This game is too realistic! Come on, I have never been an owl, and the first owl simulator I play is set up during a hurricane! Are you kidding? Real owls die in hurricanes, do you expect me to do better?
I mean, the game is difficult. After several attempts, I was able to get 43 score with 3 cash-ins. But other than the difficulty, I have no complaints. The game seems complete, polished and bugless. It could be a bit more varied, though.
Runs on 32-bit, but after 7-8 attempts the sound stops playing.

inkeystring

08. Dec 2014 · 15:32 UTC

I like it..made me laugh...love that you're at the whim of the wind. It's tough...but I like tough.

DaRaziel

08. Dec 2014 · 15:33 UTC

Nice entry! I like it alot. The idea is great, the flight and wind mechanics are solid, the graphics are also nice (i like those refelctions on the water) and the sound fits in there too. I also had to laugh a lot when i smashed my owl against the rocks for the first time.

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

08. Dec 2014 · 15:57 UTC

@Madball Appreciate the comment. ;)

I can't seem to reproduce the bug though, will look further into it during the day. :(

Regarding difficulty, I totally agree that it's way too hard. I guess I've sinned the usual Ludum Dare sin.. After playing for 48 hours, you get quite good at the game.. ;)

Surprised that you actually seem to enjoy the game. ^^

Resonious

08. Dec 2014 · 16:30 UTC

This game is actually kind of hilarious. I enjoyed it, good job haha. Also props for implementing collision yourself.

brainstorm

08. Dec 2014 · 16:35 UTC

Innovation 3/5: A classic game. But this one have a hurricane.

Fun 3/5: Too difficult to control.

Theme 3/5: t simply is run in a single screen.

Graphics 5/5: The best thing of the whole game.

Audio 2/5: 2 sfx. Better than nothing.

Humor 4/5: Owl + hurrican = What the heck?

Mood 3/5: I don't really know what's that category. If someone could explain it to me...

Overal 3/5: Not a bad game, but it needs a better control.

Donutttt

08. Dec 2014 · 17:54 UTC

Man that's a crazy owl, I like it. Controls were a little tricky but that was part of the fun. Nice work!

Pietdagamer

08. Dec 2014 · 18:15 UTC

Lovin' the owl physics :)

Sri Harsha Chilakapati

08. Dec 2014 · 18:16 UTC

The idea is great, but I can't open RAR on mac. (Yes, I know the game is windows only, but I play windows games using Wine emulation layer)

SirJavaGaming

08. Dec 2014 · 18:16 UTC

Greate graphics, but the game is very hard. I always crash, which is a bit frustrating. Whats about music?

angela

08. Dec 2014 · 18:23 UTC

I like the concept and gave you high points for innovation, but its hard to learn to control. I think you should increase the time it takes to starve, at least at first, to give the player time to learn the controls.

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

08. Dec 2014 · 19:44 UTC

@Sri Harsha Chilakapati
Added a zip just for you. ;)

@SirJavaGaming
The game is indeed way too hard. :(
I was planning to add this windy sound, that had its volume changing according to the wind force, but I just never got around to it..

@angela
That's a great idea actually, that would definitely have solved a small part of the difficulty level. :)

abdurrahmankh

09. Dec 2014 · 21:33 UTC

nice idea, I dont think its implemented very well but I loved the idea and the mechanics(the wind and stuff). sometimes the wind get too powerful you cant do anything, hard games are one thing. but loosing control sure doesnt feel good.
If the physics was a bit better It will make a very cool game.

two minor stuff:
1- I think arrows is better for the game, or any game that depends on space bar.
2- jumping sound doesnt fit.

I wish you good luck.

barryrowe

10. Dec 2014 · 03:05 UTC

Overall good concept. Really really difficult immediately. I like difficult games, but I fear this one might fall on the side of punishing instead of just difficult. The drowning bar and death animations are a good touch.

Mike Mezhenin

10. Dec 2014 · 18:55 UTC

TWENTY THREE HELL YES.
Although I didn't get how the orange bar is refilled.

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

10. Dec 2014 · 23:12 UTC

@Mike Mezhenin
Owh. I should probably have added some sort of in-game tutorial. I usually do that for LD games, don't know why I forgot it this time. :(

(For reference, the orange bar can be refilled by eating fish.)

Crushenator

11. Dec 2014 · 00:01 UTC

Wow this was intense. tough gameplay but I always say better too hard than too easy.

Jim Haslett

11. Dec 2014 · 00:20 UTC

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. The screen shakes, I hit space, and I'm flung off the screen instantly.

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

11. Dec 2014 · 09:39 UTC

@Jim Haslett
Is this the Mac port? o:

BadPaul34

11. Dec 2014 · 12:49 UTC

Great graphics, but very very confusing :D
And I get many crashes and bugs ^^

Odefus

11. Dec 2014 · 23:56 UTC

An owl diving after fish? What kind of madness is this!? In all seriousness the wind is so hard and everything moves so fast that its very hard to score at all. I found my best bet was to try and hover at some point and hope some coins hit me in the face.

Concept is good though and with some tweaking it could be a very fun game. I did have fun with the game even as it is.

Pickens Inc.

12. Dec 2014 · 17:31 UTC

These Owl Physics! Fun, I like it, but difficult!

Mach60KAS

14. Dec 2014 · 22:18 UTC

Interesting game, though I think "realistic owl physics" might not be the best descriptor. :I Graphics were nice, I liked the reflections! I recommend toning down the hurricane a little, though - it's hard enough trying to catch the fish, let alone not becoming red paste on the cliffside. Still, great effort; keep it up!

Caliber_Project

15. Dec 2014 · 05:34 UTC

Unique entry to the theme. You weren't the only one who had a difficult time to whip up an idea for the theme, but you created a unique game. It was frustrating to navigate the owl in a good way obviously, so this was a nice design choice, given the theme provided.

YO, THOSE REALISTIC OWL PHYSICS!

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

15. Dec 2014 · 22:47 UTC

@Caliber_Project

Thanks for the nice feedback. :)
I think I missed my original thought of the hurricane being predictable in some sort of GUI way, and made it the annoying loss-of-control feature that it is right now. Right now you get punished for playing the game.

Nielz

19. Dec 2014 · 06:08 UTC

Nice!

pcmaster

19. Dec 2014 · 15:34 UTC

I always flew to the side, very difficult.

DeathBySnail

19. Dec 2014 · 16:15 UTC

Rotate the owl. Good stuff.

xaedes

19. Dec 2014 · 17:39 UTC

The compo version was very hard to control. But with the WASD-Control of the post-compo it was managable for me and got really addictive. The online score didnt work btw =(.
Reminds me off flappy bird =) As well as the sounds.
Great Game!

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

19. Dec 2014 · 17:57 UTC

@xaedes Happy that you cared to try both versions. :)
If you used the full WASD-Control scheme the online scoring is not supposed to work, as it is a bit easier to control and thus unfair to put against the scores of people who used the original control scheme. ^^
Thanks!

ramonparaiba

19. Dec 2014 · 20:53 UTC

Hey bro, your game is nice..

Rothens

19. Dec 2014 · 21:19 UTC

Excellent! :D

01rafael

20. Dec 2014 · 22:19 UTC

Owl is cute! xD

schnerble

21. Dec 2014 · 02:18 UTC

... must... stop... playing! :) This is great! It's very hard, but the mechanics work very well. I spent ages on the original, and then remembered about the post-jam version - which is definitely a bit easier, but I always had the most trouble with the underwater time, which I think is about the same.
Three things: - it's very hard to come back once you're off the right edge; - I saw a bug that teleported me from above the screen to underwater; - I saw another bug where the second play of the post-jam version showed only a dark blue screen, but was still running.
Anyway, great work - a simple idea and very well done!

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

21. Dec 2014 · 11:22 UTC

@schnerble You're definitely right in the things you say. I should probably have tweaked the underwater mechanic in the Post-Jam version too.
I think the right edge simply is a design flaw. It's really poorly implemented anyhow.

Thanks!

freaknarf

21. Dec 2014 · 12:02 UTC

Very good ! It reminded me worms 2 because of the wind effect :) good concept, sfx and visuals glitches makes it really enjoyable !!!
How did you manage to do the "game over glitches" sir BarrensZeppelin ? Also i think online ranking is wrecked or something :)

ShellfishGames

21. Dec 2014 · 12:09 UTC

Difficult indeed. :D Needed quite a few tries to even stay in screen for once.. and a few more to make it back to the nest. So much wind!
The owl physics are spot on though. Watched a documentary on the topic once and they explained it pretty much as it is in the game. Also the title screen is lovely. :)

🎤 BarrensZeppelin

21. Dec 2014 · 13:00 UTC

@freaknarf I'm thrilled you liked it! And about the glitches, do you mean screen shake? Screen shake is pretty easy to achieve if you have some sort of camera functionality implemented in your graphics library. Simply offset the center of the camera by a random (small) amount each frame while still keeping track of the actual center. This is of course a really simple solution. There are a lot more complex and elaborate methods out there. :)

@ShellfishGames We must've watched the same documentary ;)

Poupi

25. Dec 2014 · 01:49 UTC

Really nice ;)