LudumData

Fireman vs Fire vs Snowman by scriptorum

[raw]
made by scriptorum for LD31 (COMPO)
Have you wondered who would win in a fight of firemen vs fire vs snowmen? Is that why you're mind-controlling one of each of type, forcing them into a pixellated battle in three different alternate universes? You're kind of a jerk. But justice will be served, because I saw the Matrix and when you die in the mind control thingy you die in real life thingy.

Thematic disclaimer: This game has three screens, but you only play on one screen at a time. If that's not enough for you thematic lawyers, all three screens are on one screen. What what what? That's deep!

Hints:
- Press 1-3 to choose which screen is active, and whether you control a fireman, fire, or snowman.
- You only interact with the active screen. Inactive screens are safe.
- Everything has a counterpart of a different type on the inactive screens.
Web http://www.egotron.com/share/LD31/index.html
Source https://github.com/scriptorum/LD31
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-31/?action=preview&uid=17811

Ratings

Coolness 56% 3
Overall 3.25 500
Audio 2.78 519
Fun 2.94 699
Graphics 2.94 655
Humor 2.84 335
Innovation 3.60 240
Mood 2.76 706
Theme 3.50 690

Feedback

Matthew Rayfield
08. Dec 2014 · 05:00 UTC
Okay I liked this! I thought at first you might play with the idea of controlling multiple screens at once. But it was easier that you didn't.

I only got 14. It gets tricky pretty quick.

Like the little musical touch.

Would have loved to see some kind of movement from one screen to another. Not sure how that would work though...
scias
08. Dec 2014 · 05:07 UTC
It's like rock paper scissors, but way cooler, and actually challenging. What needs some work is the overall feel of the game, one way to improve this that i thought of is by implementing some sort of dynamic music that scales in intensity as you progress. Good luck!
Aevek
08. Dec 2014 · 05:22 UTC
I liked it. It took the rock paper scissors mechanic in a really cool way, and I liked the skill it took once the score got high to avoid the matches you'll loose. I would have liked to see the three screen mechanic played on more, maybe have the ability to have 2 screens active at once or similar? Great job though, I had a lot of fun.
karol
08. Dec 2014 · 05:22 UTC
The entire game was supposed to be on one screen. You have three. :D
sepharoth213
08. Dec 2014 · 06:10 UTC
There are three screens! The game has an interesting kitsch art style, but it's not my cup of tea. It is also pretty confusing what is even going on on the three screens, I have to say I was having a hard time understanding what was going on.
maxyan
08. Dec 2014 · 06:27 UTC
Interesting idea, nice graphics. Well done!
wandersenus
08. Dec 2014 · 09:03 UTC
nice game!
MaesK
08. Dec 2014 · 16:35 UTC
Great mechanic! I like how all of them move at the same time, so changing screens seems natural to the player. Good work!
🎤 scriptorum
08. Dec 2014 · 20:18 UTC
My best is 106. Here are two game facts from under-the-hood:

1. The game queues up 2 spawn events for every 1 kill, but the queue caps at 3. What this means is it's actually possible to reduce the population by making ~5+ kills in rapid sequence.

2. The game never spawns a prey on your active screen, and it always spawns a full set of the three types. So by hanging out on a screen that has no prey, you're increasing the chances that the other two screens have a large number of prey.

Knowing this, my strategy is cycling all the screens, 123. Either I'm carefully eating all prey on one screen and waiting for the spawns before moving on, or when the time is right, I'm trying to get 5+ at a time, rapidly cycling as needed to make kills faster than the spawn rate.
mrexcessive
09. Dec 2014 · 12:19 UTC
Hi there. Interesting mechanic. Like that you get to try out all three in the paper/scissors/stone chain. Flipping back and forth depending on what's there, fun, but a little bit hard. Like the SFX
Insality
09. Dec 2014 · 16:06 UTC
wooh, great idea and gameplay ;]
Murchurl
10. Dec 2014 · 01:44 UTC
Interesting concept, felt a little like rock, paper, scissors! Graphic are fancy, nice job!
Code Medicine
10. Dec 2014 · 02:05 UTC
Took me a bit to actually figure out what my objective was, once I did it was pretty interesting. The sound when two objects of the same type is a bit painful. Couldn't break into the 20's myself. It almost seemed like I had no urgency to switch screens unless I was out of moves. Humor was spot on, from the description right into the game.
FerraWare
10. Dec 2014 · 03:17 UTC
3 screens > 1 screen :P

Nice game, kinda repetitive, but was pretty fun at first!
ruerob
10. Dec 2014 · 08:25 UTC
Nice little game. I like your entire game on one screen explanation.
gene-z
10. Dec 2014 · 21:14 UTC
Good Idea, congratulations
deathray
11. Dec 2014 · 05:36 UTC
High score of 14. Definitely high marks for innovation!
Sublustris
11. Dec 2014 · 07:12 UTC
Nice :) meditative game mechanics :)
ciaodavinci
11. Dec 2014 · 07:21 UTC
Interesting concepts here but I'm not sure exactly what I need to do or who's side I'm on.
Hellequin
11. Dec 2014 · 08:14 UTC
I liked this game! Nice graphics and gameplay
Gins
11. Dec 2014 · 08:56 UTC
People may complain that your game is on three screens, but those three screens are all on one screen, so theme accomplished.

Interesting idea and very simple to pick up and play! Like the graphics and the sound a lot.
spotco
11. Dec 2014 · 09:50 UTC
Would have been more fun to add in more characters per screen, and earlier (thought this was the direction the game was gonna go)