LudumData

Thrust Issues by Gravedrinker

[raw]
made by Gravedrinker for LD28 (COMPO)
One of your spaceship's thrusters broke and now it's on you to explore the dangerous old factory in search of a replacement!

Can you overcome tricky obstacles, boiling hot steam and dangerous machinery; all with only one thruster?

Play now and find out!

* Tricky obstacle courses
* Pilot a vintage self-aware spaceship
* Speedrun timer and saved best-times
* Hand-drawn graphics

Thrust is everything in a relationship they say. Now you too can play a self-aware vintage spaceship with Thrust Issues to be reminded of that.

Hint: Right arrow lets you skip a level


UPDATE: There is a post-compo version available now. Try it out to see your feedback incorporated!

*New, alternate control scheme (left/right arrow)
*New, easier levels to start out with
*Music, sound effects
*Additional assets in the levels

This is my first game jam.

Twitter: @Gravedrinker
Windows http://bit.ly/19OAsrX
Web http://bit.ly/1fihFte
Post-Compo (Dropbox) http://bit.ly/1hgrkBG
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-28/?action=preview&uid=30549

Ratings

Coolness 60% 3
Overall 3.64 109
Audio 1.55 747
Fun 3.61 82
Graphics 3.68 166
Humor 2.99 231
Innovation 3.81 54
Mood 2.97 351
Theme 4.05 22

Feedback

mcapraro
16. Dec 2013 路 05:16 UTC
really neat concept. it was really hard though and i could see the early levels being a little easier to get people into it. overall, a nice innovative piece
Follett
16. Dec 2013 路 12:24 UTC
This was great! Such a good use of theme, art was great and was really fun.
loxo
16. Dec 2013 路 12:26 UTC
Great fun to play game with an interesting concept that fits the theme very well. And I like the awesome style. The game is really hard though.
rubna
16. Dec 2013 路 12:27 UTC
Very good use of the theme! Although, I agree with mcapraro. It was very hard to get even to the first platform! Fun nonetheless though :)
馃帳 Gravedrinker
16. Dec 2013 路 12:36 UTC
Thanks guys. Glad you like it. I didn't realize it was so hard. I was even a bit worried it might be too easy haha. When I continue on this game I will add a few easier levels in the beginning so the player can get the hang of it more easily. Thanks for the feedback.
YellowLime
16. Dec 2013 路 13:48 UTC
Great game! Good, big, hand-drawn art, and very fun gameplay.
I also like that it doesn't have audio(yet?), in my opinion it gives a lot of class to a game :o)
It also has a lot of content! Took me 10-20 min to beat (didn't time :p).

In my experience, once you lift off you either do very good or very badly (I guess its because the thruster isn't powerful enough to break a fall)

When I land upside-down I keep thinking I can flip over again by timing the thrusts :p, while in reality it's the only situation in which you need the restart button.

Thank goodness you can land upside-down in the landing zone and it counts :^)
馃帳 Gravedrinker
16. Dec 2013 路 14:20 UTC
Thanks YellowLime! I did have a few sound effects and music lined up but I didn't include them here because while they were made during the 48 hours they weren't made by me.

Would you say the thruster should be strong enough to break a fall?

And yeah, I thought getting into the landing zone no matter how would be more fun than having to land correctly, especially when trying to beat your own best-time.
Nick Weihs
16. Dec 2013 路 22:17 UTC
Was pretty difficult, but the art really made it enjoyable.
pighead10
16. Dec 2013 路 22:19 UTC
Nice use of the theme! Really gun game. Great art. Shame that there were no sounds.
Atmospherium
16. Dec 2013 路 23:46 UTC
I like this game a lot, despite how challenging I find it. Cool graphics, interesting gameplay. I definitely want to see you develop this further and maybe release it for the mobile market.
DustyStylus
16. Dec 2013 路 23:51 UTC
Haha, any game that has me saying "wu... whooo.... woaaaah... wooooaaaaah" is a winner. :D I loved the graphic style as well. Some sound (in fact, just some basic white noise for the thrusters and a generic 'bonk' collision) would've been a nice addition.
馃帳 Gravedrinker
16. Dec 2013 路 23:56 UTC
Thanks everyone! DustyStylus: I had sounds and music lined up which were made by someone else, but then got the game finished in time for the compo and joined that. And had to remove the music and sounds. :(

Thanks a lot for playing.
Pixelulsar
17. Dec 2013 路 01:04 UTC
Took a bit to get used to it, but it was an extremely fun game, it was a great use of the theme.
loggs2
17. Dec 2013 路 01:04 UTC
This was a great use of the theme. It was very difficult yet really fun and kept me hooked. The art also was very nice. Not sure if you forgot a debug hook or it was deliberate but the right arrow key lets you skip levels...I accidentally did that half way through :(
tgnass
17. Dec 2013 路 01:07 UTC
Neat concept. But really hard though
IHateATMFees
17. Dec 2013 路 02:20 UTC
Nice job....difficult mechanic at first but I got the hang of it.

Was allowing you to skip to the next level by pressing the right arrow key intentional? :)
jsspiegel
17. Dec 2013 路 02:42 UTC
Super charming art and story, and while it could get a bit difficult, it was so fun that I played through to the end!
benjih
17. Dec 2013 路 03:02 UTC
I thought I had it figure until I realised I had to land the thing too. Super fun though.

Congratulations making such a polished game for your first game jam!
kunzbe
17. Dec 2013 路 03:17 UTC
Fun to play, and good take on the theme!
馃帳 Gravedrinker
17. Dec 2013 路 03:50 UTC
Thanks a lot for all the nice feedback. Being able to skip levels with the right arrow was intentional but I forgot to mention it. I added it because some people found the game really hard and I wanted everyone to be able to see the rest of the game.
I improved the game quite a bit since entering the compo by adding sounds and music back in, having a better control scheme and adding more levels (including a few easier levels in the beginning so the difficulty ramps up more slowly). Thanks again to everyone playing, I'm so happy that people dig it.
goyal
17. Dec 2013 路 04:06 UTC
Very well done! Nice use if theme. Its took few tries to get used to how to keep the car under control.
Its nice that you can skip level with arrow keys :p

On the credits screen you mentioned about music but I didnt hear any music throughout the game?
zkenshin
17. Dec 2013 路 04:21 UTC
Great entry, perfect for the theme. :)
rottenmage
17. Dec 2013 路 04:41 UTC
This is great, and funny too!
adnzzzzZ
17. Dec 2013 路 04:46 UTC
This is really nice for a first jam game. Like other people said, it's pretty hard. It would have been a lot easier if you started with the thrusters being closer to the center and slowly (as levels progress) shift to the way they are now (closer to the left/right edges). Since closer to the center = easier to go up. I can easily see this game being even better if you had more thrusters (didn't play through to the end, so I don't know if you actually put in more later). Overall a really nice job!
Jiggawatt
17. Dec 2013 路 05:36 UTC
A game about awkward controls is no excuse for awkward controls.
Tubutas
17. Dec 2013 路 06:24 UTC
Great concept! Tons of fun!
Ace
17. Dec 2013 路 07:40 UTC
Fun idea, and it's really well executed, though something about the controls felt... off I guess.
cwkx
17. Dec 2013 路 08:14 UTC
Great work, at first I just held space but later after taking it slower it got easier. Fun to play :)
cesisco
17. Dec 2013 路 09:30 UTC
Cool game, but i would prefer the left and rigth arrow keys to control the thruster.
xk
17. Dec 2013 路 10:15 UTC
Quite awesome concept. A bit challenging but fun. Graphics are fine and gameplay is smooth. Great game!
Lolshouse Dev Team
17. Dec 2013 路 10:50 UTC
I loved this entry, even though it is incredibly hard. As a concept, it's pure genius. Coupled with that great pun, you just can't go wrong.
ashen
17. Dec 2013 路 11:29 UTC
Great graphic style. The controls where a bit tricky to start with but I soon made progress. No sound on my playing. I really enjoyed playing this, well done!
馃帳 Gravedrinker
17. Dec 2013 路 12:12 UTC
Thanks for the feedback. I uploaded a post-compo version where I used that feedback to make the game easier to start out with. It has an alternate control scheme now, which will also be listed in the "tutorial" text in the beginning. I also added the sounds and music back in which I couldn't use during the compo since it is a one-man show.

Last but not least there are additional art assets in the game, more decorations and some physics-boxes to knock over.

Keep it coming!
Sheepolution
17. Dec 2013 路 12:16 UTC
This is a lot of fun! The physics work really good. Awesome game!
ian_snyder
17. Dec 2013 路 13:35 UTC
Nice game, the post-compo one is MUCH easier to play, but partially because there's a bug where you can use both thrusters :P Good entry :)
馃帳 Gravedrinker
17. Dec 2013 路 13:43 UTC
Thanks ian_snyder, I just fixed that. Glad you liked it.
S0lll0s
17. Dec 2013 路 14:07 UTC
Fits the theme really nice and is a good idea, the controls make the game really hard though, post-compo version is much better to control.
Tonasz
17. Dec 2013 路 15:29 UTC
Ankward controls are ankward but I found them them whole fun - using arrows makes the game unnecessarily easier :) Really enjoyed game and art style.
chamberlainpi
17. Dec 2013 路 15:45 UTC
Nice idea, but gets frustrating really quick! I didn't even know about the "skip level" controls until I decided to try and see if mashing other keys would do anything, I thought I glitched the game for a minute there haha.
Great graphics though, sounds would of been awesome. Nice to see how good it runs in an HTML5 canvas too (it is, right?)
Good job!
vikingpotato
17. Dec 2013 路 16:40 UTC
The controls and handling are pretty hardcore. A good looking game! nice work
sadiquo
17. Dec 2013 路 16:40 UTC
I love it :D but it's very hard...
havana24
17. Dec 2013 路 16:45 UTC
Good use of the theme! But I think it's a little bit difficult!
Dohan
17. Dec 2013 路 18:43 UTC
Tried both versions and, while the compo version controls are a bit hard to master, the post-compo version is really addictive and fun!
Gamelabbers
17. Dec 2013 路 19:36 UTC
Excellent use of the theme :D fun to play (totally love how the eyes keep looking upward!)
dznemotion
17. Dec 2013 路 19:47 UTC
Great fun to play, i liked it!
timtipgames
17. Dec 2013 路 20:24 UTC
Very well done. I enjoyed watching this on stream and playing this myself a lot! The Post Compo controlls are a million times better than the compo version though :)
Good Job!
moop
17. Dec 2013 路 21:30 UTC
Thrust games are always awesome and this was a nice twist. I really enjoyed the art style and the way the ship's eyes point towards the goal was a nice idea.
JohnnySix
17. Dec 2013 路 21:44 UTC
Like the set-up, but the controls are difficult to master, flipping over between with enter could make you flip back to the same side you were trying to flip from. :p

Graphics are nice and the concept is good. :)
cappelnord
17. Dec 2013 路 21:50 UTC
Nice game, but I thought it's a little bit difficult, as it's very tricky to steer the vehicle. But overall it's well done! Pity for the lack of sound :(
gamepopper
17. Dec 2013 路 22:04 UTC
Really neat idea, though a little bit difficult to get to grips with. Decent graphics though.
Sebastian
17. Dec 2013 路 22:17 UTC
One of the best uses of the theme I've seen. Love the art too!
_zulli
17. Dec 2013 路 22:25 UTC
Great game!
Awesome graphics and mechanics. Really addicting!!! Awesome work! Incredible!


If you have time, rate my game too! I would really appreciate it! :D
BradleySmith
17. Dec 2013 路 22:34 UTC
A lot of fun! :D
Jgpicatoste
17. Dec 2013 路 22:40 UTC
Nice design and idea, but it's soooo difficult :o
mize_VS_mildmojo
18. Dec 2013 路 18:01 UTC
Definitely difficult, but as with a lot of difficult games, I started building second- and third-order skills after I'd mastered the basics. This is the sort of game that, with a few bonus "impossible" levels, would inspire a lot of YouTube speed run playthroughs.

Adding the resting places was a great idea. Sometimes I'd get halfway up and just need to reset my attitude and velocity so I could think about the next section of the level.

-mildmojo
primaerfunktion
18. Dec 2013 路 18:19 UTC
This really fun. And hard. Great idea you had there!
馃帳 Gravedrinker
18. Dec 2013 路 19:55 UTC
Thanks primaerfunktion! And mize_VS_mildmojo: That would definitely be cool. During testing I always caught myself trying to beat my best time.
SamH
19. Dec 2013 路 00:06 UTC
It鈥檚 really fun. But it鈥檚 very difficult. But I like the name, so that鈥檚 all right. But then again, it鈥檚 very difficult. Takes some time to learn and master.
HeyChinaski
20. Dec 2013 路 17:31 UTC
Great fun. Really clever idea. Looks pretty nice too. I played through both the compo and post version and enjoyed both control styles. I'm on the fence as to which is preferable though. I found the original far more infuriating but enjoyed the challenge. The more intuitive post compo experience was perhaps more fun though.
Nice work :)
badlydrawnrod
22. Dec 2013 路 17:21 UTC
Very, very difficult but an inspired interpretation of the theme. I liked it very much. Some nice touches in the graphics too, eg, the expression your ship makes when it bumps into something.
samooJAM
22. Dec 2013 路 17:25 UTC
great challenge
WojWorks
22. Dec 2013 路 20:59 UTC
A fun little physics game. That's saying alot cause I usually hate physics games.
Noah Ratcliff
22. Dec 2013 路 22:07 UTC
Loved it! Very fun!
Giovanni Cappellotto
23. Dec 2013 路 00:59 UTC
Really nice concept, and fun gameplay!
murilo
23. Dec 2013 路 20:33 UTC
Holy cow that's different!! Thought it was gonna be another moon lander or something. Kind of hard too! Great game, man!
ehtd
24. Dec 2013 路 01:55 UTC
Pretty clever use of the theme, nice game.
teamMightyFingers
24. Dec 2013 路 13:21 UTC
Wah, great use of theme that turned out unexpectedly fun. Nicely done!
LTyrosine
24. Dec 2013 路 14:45 UTC
Best theme usage so far. Awesome.
zatyka
24. Dec 2013 路 19:09 UTC
Well thought out, and quite fun. Great use of the theme, and really cute graphics. I liked this one quite a bit.
Eniko
25. Dec 2013 路 16:15 UTC
Great game! It's really fun to play although yeah, the difficulty ramps up pretty hard. Was there a way to reset the level I didn't find? Cause that'd have been useful!
馃帳 Gravedrinker
25. Dec 2013 路 19:43 UTC
@Eniko: Yes, the R key. It says that in the "tutorial" in the first room. :)
local minimum
26. Dec 2013 路 17:52 UTC
Took me a while to get started but once I got flying I must say that was a really interesting mechanic.
greytram
26. Dec 2013 路 18:39 UTC
Very addictive game: simple concept but effective!
Balancing thrust is a bit hard but you keep trying and trying!
Oh and I liked the short intro too.
Well done!
f7f5
26. Dec 2013 路 23:57 UTC
This is brilliant! I had a blast playing it. Even without sound, which was a bit of a letdown.
joppiesaus
30. Dec 2013 路 17:14 UTC
Awesome concept, well executed. Really fun, not too frustrating. Such an awesome game, it really fits with the theme. I can play this for hours(I am REALLY bad at this game)! :D
Yoni
01. Jan 2014 路 22:09 UTC
It's really hard to control :( And I think you shouldn't make the "right" key a level skip key, it took me a while to figure out why the screen keeps changing :)
In my previous games I used "N" or "S" as the level skip key.
Colapsydo
02. Jan 2014 路 09:18 UTC
Really nice interpretation of the theme, it results in a fun gameplay. But first controls are not at all intuitive.

You really improved it in the postCompo version.
mmickyman
02. Jan 2014 路 14:49 UTC
Simply fun, looks already polished.
jimmypaulin
02. Jan 2014 路 16:57 UTC
Loved this game! Loved the artwork and how the spaceship's eyes followed the movement around. Really smooth play as well. I perhaps would have preferred a single key for L/R thrust with some other contrivance to ensure you can only operate one at a time. Would love to hear the sound to accompany this gem
Xanjos
03. Jan 2014 路 01:53 UTC
Really hard but interesting concept and a nice take on the theme. I also liked the hand-drawn graphics.
SaintHeiser
03. Jan 2014 路 03:36 UTC
Interesting concept and theme interpretation.
Good job, dude!
goerp
03. Jan 2014 路 12:40 UTC
One of the best ways I've seen to incorporate the theme.
Nice graphics, and funny as well.
It reminded me in some ways of the very old game bugaboo. In a hard physics way you had to get to a point and it was very frustrating, but you had to try again and again and again.
Jeremias
04. Jan 2014 路 21:35 UTC
It's unbelievable hard to control this thing, but anyway, good use of the theme :D
aviktorov
05. Jan 2014 路 15:30 UTC
It's so hard! I can almost feel like I'm in that spaceship! Very innovative, very funny. I do like how you fixed the controls in post-compo version. :)
Ludipe
05. Jan 2014 路 19:18 UTC
Nice concept with awesome graphics. It felt a bit difficult and frustrating to me, it's hard to regain control over the car once you lose it.
Sheepolution
07. Jan 2014 路 02:59 UTC
I excepted this game to end higher. Too bad :( I really liked it!
馃帳 Gravedrinker
07. Jan 2014 路 12:19 UTC
Thanks sheepolution. Yeah it would have been nice to get a higher place but oh well. Maybe it was too hard for some? Almost every comment mentions how hard it is.
Or maybe I should have also done more to get people to notice it? Post more, rate even more etc. Who knows. Maybe next time.