Dude Launch by smizmeal

[raw]
made by smizmeal for LD30 (COMPO)
Dude Launch is an arcade-y type game featuring:
- a giant sea of rolling
- an oscillating moon, within the reach of a hair's-breadth
- a lonely boat of dudes who are trying to defy gravity and jump across the gulf of space onto the moon (safely)

Instructions:
- Launch Dudes to the Moon! (safely)
- CYAN means safe, RED and BLUE mean death.

Modes:
- Normal Game: There are 10 levels. Can you beat it?
- Endless Mode: What's the highest score you can get?
- Infinite Dudes (Sandbox Mode): Launch as many dudes as you want, no regrets!

Controls:
***warning: similar to QWOP, because steering a boat and ladder while launching dudes ain't easy***
- Press and HOLD A to accelerate the boat to the left.
- Press and HOLD L to accelerate the boat to the right.
- Press and HOLD S to rotate the ladder left.
- Press and HOLD K to rotate the ladder right.
- Press SPACE to launch dudes.
- Press ESC to quit the level.
- Press M to mute the music.

Ratings

Coolness 74% 3
Overall 3.30 454
Audio 2.93 416
Fun 3.40 279
Graphics 2.53 902
Humor 3.87 30
Innovation 4.02 58
Mood 3.16 411
Theme 3.43 417

Feedback

EatYourBeef_Doug
25. Aug 2014 · 11:03 UTC
Really original control/ gameplay mechanism, great job!
panurge
25. Aug 2014 · 15:11 UTC
Very creative and intuitive control scheme. This could be expanded into a full game with a bit more story, obstacles etc. It's really fun as it is and there's something strangely beautiful about seeing a host of little naked dudes caught up between the moon and the sea - Calvino would have approved. :)
carlmartus
25. Aug 2014 · 15:29 UTC
Nice flow
badlydrawnrod
25. Aug 2014 · 15:47 UTC
Is it wrong that I enjoyed squashing the dudes? Very original concept.
Tate
25. Aug 2014 · 16:18 UTC
Cool stuff. I'd love to have the ability to change the controls (like left hand controls the boat... right hand controls the ladder). Great idea overall though.
tillrobby
25. Aug 2014 · 17:37 UTC
Very funny game :D And really original :) Great job.
StrideWide
25. Aug 2014 · 18:09 UTC
This game has an awesome premise, I approve.
nikki93
25. Aug 2014 · 18:50 UTC
Funny stuff. Almost cracking up again (I say again because the last game I played was hilarious too). I managed to land a few dudes. What was real fun was going into infinite dude mode, making the boat move real fast and just spamming dudes everywhere.

Maybe a little more explanation as to what constitutes a safe land exactly? Seemed a bit random to me.
andrewkennedy
25. Aug 2014 · 23:09 UTC
Hilarious, love the name and concept :P. I did think controlling the boat and ladder was a little tough.
evilentity
26. Aug 2014 · 00:47 UTC
Damn nice idea, but i find the controls unusable.
Zigsfi
26. Aug 2014 · 01:11 UTC
Any game that involves launching dudes (Mount Your Friends, anybody?) is a winner in my book.
Empyrealhell
26. Aug 2014 · 04:47 UTC
It would have been nice to have an alternate control scheme so I didn't have to switch my keyboard layout just to play the game. Once I got into it, it was hard to tell when my guys would actually go to the moon, and when they would seem to just fall helplessly off the end of the ladder. With the long time in between attempts, it got really frustrating when the ladder was almost touching the moon, but you still lost the guys.

Great concept, the controls were actually kind of fun to play around with, but lack of accessibility and high iteration time on game feedback kinda killed it for me.
PeteGrammarman
26. Aug 2014 · 06:20 UTC
Shooting naked men into the sky under moonlight makes for a very good game apparently.
SteveSalmond
26. Aug 2014 · 08:56 UTC
I can safely say that I've never enjoyed launching dudes off a ladder more.. :)
alpha_rat
27. Aug 2014 · 13:40 UTC
Great idea overall! The gameplay is challenging but intuitive
Very original and fun
Ofursnati
28. Aug 2014 · 15:06 UTC
Different and original. I like it.
xRubbermaid
28. Aug 2014 · 15:18 UTC
Definitely one of the most original games I've seen this compo. Throwing naked men at a giant rock is exactly as fun as it sounds.
LexGear
29. Aug 2014 · 10:29 UTC
This was tons of fun. A++ for everything. Only thing that lets it down is the graphics. But the DUDE fireworks at the end makes up for it. :D
lkr
29. Aug 2014 · 18:17 UTC
That was an original take on the theme :)

Made it to level 7 before I lost too many dudes to complete the level. Then I sent the rest of my dudes into space, because - well - I could. Fun was had, even in defeat :)

Nice and catchy music also!
havana24
30. Aug 2014 · 19:26 UTC
Nice concept and nice use of the theme! I think you should revise the controls, they're not so smooth... However the game is enjoyable! :)
jukimv1986
04. Sep 2014 · 23:50 UTC
You got time in 48 hours to implement several playable modes!? Wow, amazing! A very innovative take on the theme, though I had a hard time with the controls. Keep it up!
Blobby101
05. Sep 2014 · 00:00 UTC
Pretty fun and interesting game! Controls were a little bit awkward, was expecting to use A and D for the boat and W and S for the ladder, Worms style. Good start though! I actually quite liked the complete lack of explanation as to why I was launching these dudes xD
Riley Adams
05. Sep 2014 · 00:22 UTC
Really inventive gameplay!

I had a hard time with the controls, but with "similar to QWOP" in the description I imagine that's not entirely unintentional :P
okmmjyygv
11. Sep 2014 · 21:48 UTC
Very innovative. I like it a lot. Good job!
ElectricSeagull
11. Sep 2014 · 21:48 UTC
I love it! Really imaginative idea/setting and fun gameplay. The game over screen and the Italo Calvino quote are nice touches. I'd love to see more of this.
martim00
12. Sep 2014 · 22:49 UTC
I really liked this game. The minimalist art and retro music are so cool! nostalgic feelings here...
sandbaydev
15. Sep 2014 · 19:14 UTC
Cleverl little game. I would have liked more polished controls: ladder steering, movement... felt not so "under my control"... not so sure about S/K buttons for that either. I dont know why my lads got crushed by the moon, but I guess that's the risk moonlanders must take... :D