Ludum Bark Beams by CullenCoyote

[raw]
made by CullenCoyote for LD31 (JAM)
Play as a dog who shoots bark beams at all the enemies on the one screen!

Note: This game is meant to be difficult! The style is meant to represent arcade, wave-based classics, and thus, you will die a lot! The game is very forgiving however with a score based off of total death counts and therefore, infinite lives. Have fun, and thanks for playing!

Gameplay video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0vACUVIXSs

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall(Jam) 3.48 274
Audio(Jam) 3.08 364
Fun(Jam) 3.41 232
Graphics(Jam) 3.05 612
Humor(Jam) 2.95 319
Innovation(Jam) 3.11 454
Mood(Jam) 2.98 547
Theme(Jam) 4.06 104

Feedback

WatercressStudios
09. Dec 2014 · 04:53 UTC
Charming little game. Quite difficult, but entertaining, nonetheless!
sharp911
09. Dec 2014 · 04:54 UTC
Interesting concept. Would have like to be able shoot in all directions. Just being able to shoot left and right makes it very diffecult.
SinistraGames
09. Dec 2014 · 04:58 UTC
I gave this game a very high score. I know that there are games out there that looks like it has much more effort put into them. But, the thing is, this style is so well done! So I can't score this game low on any aspect. I adore the sound. The style of the game is simplistic and retro. Worked great with the theme. I would only like some music, and this would've been quite a nice game for an old computer, haha!
LandoSystems
09. Dec 2014 · 04:59 UTC
That was a strangely enjoyable game. Liked the style, very atari-esque in both art and sound. Great that the player doesn't lose progress after being killed. Loved the interpretation of the theme with the zoom-out zone changes. Great work!
Gigawicket
09. Dec 2014 · 05:00 UTC
Very addictive! Great use of the theme. No up/down attacks took some getting used to but overall a fun game. Had to keep going to see what the next screen was, but ultimately gave up after 9.
rjhelms
09. Dec 2014 · 05:02 UTC
Great graphical style, cool interpretation of the theme - good fun.

The first round was a little frustrating because the tiny playfield made getting a good shot on the enemies hard.
TheGreenTie
09. Dec 2014 · 05:03 UTC
Oh golly. How long is this? I played 'till stage 11. Pretty, pretty fun.
The barks are oddly amazing.
HotBoxGames
09. Dec 2014 · 05:04 UTC
This made me lol, good bark sounds
🎤 CullenCoyote
09. Dec 2014 · 05:29 UTC
@TheGreenTie
So close! At 12 is the boss!
@Everyone
Thanks so much for the input! For a post-jam version I will be cleaning up the things that were rushed, adding the music, potentially four direction attacks, and local multiplayer.
sorlok
09. Dec 2014 · 07:00 UTC
First game I saw that actually had a clever take on the theme! Very fun, very balanced, very clever! Great job!
gmaker
09. Dec 2014 · 07:23 UTC
really really hard game for me! but simple and cool idea! great job!
Demy
09. Dec 2014 · 07:28 UTC
Cool game play idea and nice theme realization.
RetributionStudios
09. Dec 2014 · 22:44 UTC
Hard and beautiful, a great game indeed. Keep it up!
hbocao
09. Dec 2014 · 22:47 UTC
I liked it from the very beginning where I must input the controls to progress. Kudos for that. And the game is simple yet very addictive and challenging. The way you played with the theme was pretty clever. Awesome job!
lukepilgrim
09. Dec 2014 · 22:49 UTC
haha wow! challenging, much fun and nice theme interpretation! I really enjoy playling this, because its so simple, but yet challenging. guess this makes it one of my favourites now :)
caryoscelus
09. Dec 2014 · 22:53 UTC
Simple, straightforward, working, fun.

lonely2012
egooze
09. Dec 2014 · 22:57 UTC
Very nice idea and great sounds + graphics :)
karlipoppins
09. Dec 2014 · 23:09 UTC
A nice game, quite difficult but with a very forgiving death. I was able to stay behind the last boss and just kill him easily. Missing some music!
lexi
09. Dec 2014 · 23:21 UTC
I thought this was a great game! I liked the simplistic graphics and sounds quite a lot. I thought the restriction of the shooting direction just added to the game.
ViKing Games
09. Dec 2014 · 23:38 UTC
The gameplay is good, I was fine with only shooting left and right and it was fun to see the stage expand as I beat levels, even if I died a lot at first. The variation in enemies was fantastic. The sound is good, it's too bad you didn't get music in. The graphics were alright, but the background and tiles needed some work.

Oh, and the final boss was hilarious, but too easy. It's hard to be hit by him if you're in the center.
Recursiveanomaly
10. Dec 2014 · 00:05 UTC
Fear rainbow dog, destroyer of the world! Only being able to fire left/right felt artificially constricting. I liked how the screen got bigger and you never lost your sense of progression. I loved when you got the player to put his fingers on the controls at the start. Fun game!
mahu
10. Dec 2014 · 00:24 UTC
Addictive! =) great! the bark sounds hahahha!
eerongal
10. Dec 2014 · 00:45 UTC
Love the dog "barking"
twelveplusplus
10. Dec 2014 · 01:20 UTC
this was pretty hard. it reminded me of an atari with mode 7 graphics. haha
Magicolo
10. Dec 2014 · 01:21 UTC
-Excellent way to cope with the theme :)
-The controls could be more responsive :(
-No music :(
-SFX :)
Flying Jester
10. Dec 2014 · 01:29 UTC
Why can't you bark up?
🎤 CullenCoyote
10. Dec 2014 · 01:30 UTC
@Flying Jester
I was trying to emulate a certain breed (no pun intended heh) of old school games
Murchurl
10. Dec 2014 · 02:31 UTC
I like it how when you progress the level grows but it's still one one screen great idea!, Audio could do with improving, graphics are nice and i enjoy the gameplay. Nice entry!
MrShoestore
10. Dec 2014 · 02:32 UTC
really like. and my dog approves as well. love the zoom out.
bushmango
10. Dec 2014 · 02:39 UTC
Thanks for commenting on my game, Four Seasons!

I shoudn't like your game, because yours is about a dog and mine is about a cat, but I really do like it! I love how the screen slowly zooms out. I'd love to see more variation to the map as it zooms out though. Great sounds.
🎤 CullenCoyote
10. Dec 2014 · 03:22 UTC
@Thanks everyone!
Mixer
10. Dec 2014 · 03:55 UTC
Interesting little game! I really didn't like the fact that you couldn't look up or down.. made it very difficult. Good game though.
p1x3lruckus
10. Dec 2014 · 04:02 UTC
I really enjoyed playing this game, the dfficulty was satisfying, the graphics where simply but adequate and the harsh audio added to the mood. The only improvement I could make is more enemy variety, I think fighting only a few kinds of enemy got tiring, but still, a great little game.
Ossi
10. Dec 2014 · 04:07 UTC
This game is great! Simple graphics and gameplay but it goes a long way. It's very challenging and the slow zoomout after every round is a really good use of the theme, as it not only adds more places for you to escape danger but more places for danger to find you! I like the subtle details of the dog stopping for a second to bark, feels like he's putting a lot of energy into the bark beams! The level with a lot of dog enemies is really hard though, that one took a while to get through since their barks seem to cancel your own when they collide. Great work, I really like this a lot!
Jaenis
10. Dec 2014 · 06:12 UTC
Nice game, cool idea of dog protecting it's territory and expanding it :)
Mase
10. Dec 2014 · 06:26 UTC
I played until level 11... now I see in the comments that level 12 is the boss. Alas.

The zoom is a clever way of handling the theme. The, uh, calibration bit at the beginning was nice as well.
mathias234
10. Dec 2014 · 12:23 UTC
Annyoingly hard... atleast since you only got two directions
badlydrawnrod
10. Dec 2014 · 19:38 UTC
Apparently my dog can't bark up and down. I enjoyed the early 80s sounds. It reminded me of some of the early games on the original IBM PC, back when I was still dodging dinosaurs.
ehtd
11. Dec 2014 · 02:50 UTC
I had my doubts at first with the incredibly small canvas, but was amazed when it grew. What I didn't liked was the sliding of the dog, you can have the precision required to fight when you only can shoot in two directions.

I suggest to make the movement more response or add shooting directions.

Great job.
hazryder
14. Dec 2014 · 20:21 UTC
Pretty fun little arena shooter, very challenging but I found myself quite hooked. The player movement is a little slidey but apart from that this is a great game.
BoxedMeatRevolution
14. Dec 2014 · 21:00 UTC
Fun game! The old Atari style graphics and audio were great, and I felt the difficulty was fine considering that you got right back into the game after death. Also, the Mega-robo-rainbow dog boss was a nice touch :D
Dir3kt
17. Dec 2014 · 08:20 UTC
Good use of the theme!
Jupiter_Hadley
21. Dec 2014 · 20:41 UTC
Challenging but cool game! I Included it in part 13 of my Ludum Dare 31 compilation video series, if you would like to check it out :) http://youtu.be/yuPvpTdD-O8
janovbyrnisson
26. Dec 2014 · 14:25 UTC
Nice game. Well done! :)
redoxkun
29. Dec 2014 · 11:25 UTC
Very fun to play. Love that sound effects. Nice!