Links by esayitch

[raw]
made by esayitch for LD30 (COMPO)
So I made a side-scrolling, randomly-generated shmup. Squeezed in a decent amount of content as well, considering the time I got to work on it.

You toggle between controlling two ships, each of them on a different world, and you need to collect as many "Links" as possible. When you collect a Link, however, you also activate its effect.

Most links cause something to happen on the OTHER world, when you kill something. There are 2 others that don't work that way, as well. So in essence, the worlds are connected by what you do, where you kill things, and the currently active Link :).

The game gets gradually harder, but the difficulty can be reset by initiating a boss fight. To initiate a boss fight you simply pick up a special drop. I had time to make only one boss, and he gains HP every time he returns, so always fighting bosses may not be the smartest idea in the long term.

Whatever your playstyle, I hope you enjoy the game, and good luck on your entries!

Instructions:
Arrows - Move.
X - Shoot.
C - Toggle between ships/worlds.

Made with:
Code - flixel.
Graphics - paint.net.
Sound effects - sfxr.
Music - autotracker.py.

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.66 161
Audio 3.13 314
Fun 3.59 156
Graphics 3.12 545
Humor 2.85 263
Innovation 3.53 274
Mood 3.11 451
Theme 3.87 109

Feedback

TheZiggy
25. Aug 2014 · 03:44 UTC
The art looks nice, but I was very confused.
Joshua_S
25. Aug 2014 · 18:01 UTC
I like the way you made every collected link mix up the gameplay very cool.
slowfrog
25. Aug 2014 · 18:01 UTC
Solid shooter with a nice interpretation of the theme.
A few visual clues would make it a bit more enjoyable though:
- better distinguish the currently controlled ship
- show if shots to the boss actually hit or not (or maybe I never hit it)
A bit 'bland' visually: the colors almost look like CGA ;) (Yes I'm old enough to have known that).
Good entry.
wobbleboxx
25. Aug 2014 · 18:02 UTC
I like the style of the game. Not as easy as it looks first :)
pighead10
25. Aug 2014 · 18:03 UTC
Great take on the theme and a fun game.
Goutye
25. Aug 2014 · 18:07 UTC
Little fun game. Interesting concept. Short.
awesomeusername
25. Aug 2014 · 18:15 UTC
Your game is very difficult, but I really like the random effects caused by the links, it really spices things up. I was impressed by how many of them there were, too.
Ervin
25. Aug 2014 · 19:39 UTC
Unfortunately the game didn't load for me - first got "too many connections" error, after that nothing at all...
🎤 esayitch
25. Aug 2014 · 19:46 UTC
@Ervin Weird O.o. It's just basic flash. Did you try resetting the browser or opening the page again?
BillToWin
25. Aug 2014 · 19:46 UTC
Broken link, can't play.
Charlie
25. Aug 2014 · 19:48 UTC
It didn't load for me too. I'll try later
🎤 esayitch
25. Aug 2014 · 19:58 UTC
Hi guys, link is indeed broken for some reason, I'm uploading it to itch.io and a new link should be up shortly. Sorry for the inconvenience.
🎤 esayitch
25. Aug 2014 · 20:01 UTC
New link is up. swfcabin was messing up so I uploaded the file to itch.io. It loads faster too. I assume swfcabin failure is a temporary thing, so when it's back up it can be used to confirm that I didn't change anything :)
elkiwydev
25. Aug 2014 · 20:04 UTC
Can't test it, page doesn't load
xWarZonex
25. Aug 2014 · 20:05 UTC
Nice entry, I liked the concept and execution. The gameplay was addictive and engaging, so good job. I also liked the loop and art style. Really great game!
LostTrainDude
25. Aug 2014 · 20:14 UTC
Really fun and interesting game, I can't stop thinking about how would the multiplayer work on this!
TautNerve
25. Aug 2014 · 21:00 UTC
I enjoyed the little pep talks at the game over screen, very amusing!
The game plays well and is very challenging, it is a great
idea to have the links randomly add gameplay mechanics on
the fly. Very original take instead of just letting you
switch and provide power ups. You can never know what to expect when picking up a link.
Recommended!
BillToWin
26. Aug 2014 · 00:04 UTC
The link worked this time, thankfully considering the name of your game. Amazing amazing amazing. Art, sound effects, music, gameplay mechanic, controls, cheesy backstory, everything is top-notch. A+
nonetheless
26. Aug 2014 · 06:35 UTC
Great idea with the links. Makes it stand out from the crowd ;)
AndyBrown
26. Aug 2014 · 10:34 UTC
Excellent use of the theme. I found myself not wanting to pick up links when I found one that gave a good effect, but I know that's the goal. The gameplay was quite solid, but a bit difficult to multitask at 3 am.
kyyrma
26. Aug 2014 · 17:53 UTC
You really nailed the theme with this one, simply a blast to play. The graphics remind me of old DOS games, which puts a bit of nostalgia as icing on the top :)
mramaizng
26. Aug 2014 · 20:34 UTC
Once I got a hang of the controls, I enjoyed playing. Good design and fun challenge.
bentog
26. Aug 2014 · 20:35 UTC
The concept is pretty interesting, at least for me it was very difficult. Maybe I'm not good at multitasking. The variety of enemies and links made the game feel polished. Nice take on the theme!
Aumni
26. Aug 2014 · 21:17 UTC
Challenging but I really liked the concept. I also liked the gameplay a lot as it was simple but constantly changing due to the different '?' abilities. Fun game!!
SoulGame
26. Aug 2014 · 22:10 UTC
You took the common two screens/worlds kind of game and you brought it to another level in a very interesting implementation. Collect links to randomize rules of connection between the two screens is awesome. Even if it could be a negative rule, you HAVE to collect it in order to increase your score... It's really cruel! But it's also a very neat game design. Congratulations. 4/5 currently, 5/5 with a solid realization.
Snicklodocus
27. Aug 2014 · 17:36 UTC
A fun twist on 2D shooters. Links made you stay alert to both screens. I liked the simple graphics. Great job!
dunin
27. Aug 2014 · 18:11 UTC
NIce stuff, innovation but fun too.
Toubib
27. Aug 2014 · 18:21 UTC
Your game is hardcore, maybe you want to sell it in Korea xD.
Good job, it's a complete game.
mrbungle
27. Aug 2014 · 20:42 UTC
Wow, that's quite difficult - I really can't multi-task! Really nice concept though and everything feels 'right' about the game. Liking the little humorous touches.
nintendoeats
27. Aug 2014 · 20:45 UTC
I quite like this. There are a lot of interesting little mechanical experiments, like the difficulty management and the way that changing links is your score. Compatriate immunity is plainly the best, so I just wanted to use that...but then I wouldn't get any more points!

I'm also impressed with the production values. A clean design means that I've found keeping track of which world I'm managing is much easier than in many similar entries that I've played so far.
jjhaggar
27. Aug 2014 · 20:46 UTC
It's very difficult, but awesome!! :D
owyoow
27. Aug 2014 · 23:16 UTC
Really liked the game. Link power-ups are great. Graphics look good as well. It was a bit hard to see which ship you are controlling.
SelfishGenome
28. Aug 2014 · 10:09 UTC
I liked the use of the theme, made for an interesting take on shooters that make you concentrate more.
nerd burglars
28. Aug 2014 · 16:56 UTC
THANK YOU FOR MAKING A GAME HARDCORE GAMERS WILL ENJOY!! this was not easy, boring, or slow. Very nice entry!
dook
28. Aug 2014 · 21:38 UTC
Just a perfect little game :) Great and original interpretation of the game. Just a few bosses and a bit more variation and this would have great replayability
43iscoding
29. Aug 2014 · 10:31 UTC
Very fun game. Great gameplay. It was interesting seeing this game being played on stream :)
DDFranky
29. Aug 2014 · 10:48 UTC
Nice shmup! The randomness gave at this game a ton of replayability. Too bad there is just one boss. Nice sounds and graphics as well.
ElectricSeagull
29. Aug 2014 · 13:56 UTC
I'm so bad at coordinating the ships, it keeps telling me to be ashamed of myself... Good game.
Otrora Games
29. Aug 2014 · 16:24 UTC
I suck on this one. But it is well done, pretty challenging
jjhaggar
29. Aug 2014 · 17:46 UTC
Really hard (or maybe I just suck at shoot em ups) but I liked it a lot. I'd love a windows executable to play calmly offline :)
synchingfeeling
29. Aug 2014 · 19:51 UTC
That felt awesome! Managed to get to the second beast but had the link where both ships control alike and that was it for me :)
ConflictiveLabs
29. Aug 2014 · 20:49 UTC
Good graphics and sound. Loved that the collected links had a different effect but I was not really fond of giving up the current link effect to get a new -potentially less awesome- one (although there's equal chance of getting a better one).

It's a really solid and fun game!
Artamus
29. Aug 2014 · 22:52 UTC
Nice game, congrats! Very funny.
DragonInstall
30. Aug 2014 · 00:39 UTC
Cool game! Solid concept. Nice simple art. Good job!
KuGrou
30. Aug 2014 · 20:17 UTC
I like the idea, and it controls well. Though I would of liked a stronger visual indication of which ship was in control.
puppetmaster
30. Aug 2014 · 20:24 UTC
to hard for my brain!! :-)
+ cool game play idea
Digiraze
30. Aug 2014 · 21:08 UTC
Very challenging!
andrewkennedy
30. Aug 2014 · 22:46 UTC
That was a lot of fun, the mechanics were simple enough and the player-switching was easy to keep track of (which definitely wasn't the case with a lot of games). The boss fight was fun, and it was neat seeing what all of the different links did!
mrexcessive
01. Sep 2014 · 14:28 UTC
Hi there. Found it too tricky to play pretty quickly, but can see that it would keep an adrenaline junkie flying for a long time. Like the steady buildup of difficulty. Good pixelart and chiptunes. Would have preferred two keys for selecting which ship rather than toggle. Good job!
spotco
02. Sep 2014 · 02:43 UTC
Fun shmup, should be more prominent which "window" is currently focused. Would have liked more interaction/interplay between the two sides.
A few more random thoughts:

Love the autotracker-bu music, make me cry every time. Thank you based autotracker-bu.

Having a big wall of text in the first screen is a good way to make people not read something.
sandbaydev
02. Sep 2014 · 19:43 UTC
Difficult game. I have troubles switching between ships and handling things fast enough. I liked the idea though.

I guess I would have wanted it to be easier :D
- auto-shooting would have made things easier
- maybe no insta-death but rather take damage?
- "repair" those damages...

Nice retro feel in the art style & sounds.
DeathPidgeon
07. Sep 2014 · 07:01 UTC
Challenging game to play, but I liked the game play, it really fit the theme. I liked that sometimes you could control two ships.
KevRevDev
12. Sep 2014 · 03:45 UTC
I really liked this entry. I loved how the links changed up the gameplay, and also counted as the score. So if you wanted a good score you had to keep changing how the game is working. The art and sounds were pretty nice too.
Moosefly
12. Sep 2014 · 21:31 UTC
Got a whopping total of nine links on my best try out of four or so tries. Too bad that last link was "Great minds" which made me steer into a bullet straight away.

Plenty hard, but not annoyingly so. Nice risk vs. reward thingy going on with those links!

Anssi@MooseflyGames