Ludum Bear by DifferentName

[raw]
made by DifferentName for LD35 (COMPO)
Ludum Bear is the Ludum Dare game where you're a Were Bear!

WASD or Arrows to Move.
Spacebar to Attack
Hold Spacebar and a Direction for about a second to transform into a Bear!
Kill Ghouls!
Press T to get rid of the tutorial text. Sorry it keeps popping up when you die. It was added last minute.

---Resources Explained in a Long Paragraph in Case You're Interested---
Pick up glowing orbs to regain Health or Elemental points. The red/pink circle in the top left shows your health, and empties as you take damage. The outer panels (which I now realize look remarkably similar to the old game Simon Says), are your Elemental Points. When you hold Spacebar and a Direction to transform into a bear, the Direction you hold determines the Element and Bear that you'll transform into. You need to have resources for that element to turn into that bear. Your points for that Element will drain away over time, and are lost when you take damage, returning you to human form when it's empty. You can turn into a different bear to kill more ghouls so they drop more glowing orbs.

Created in GameMaker Studio
Art Drawn in Adobe Flash
Music Created in LMMS
Sound effects made on bfxr.net

Ratings

Coolness 63% 3
Overall 3.21 466
Audio 2.88 385
Fun 3.34 325
Graphics 3.06 443
Humor 2.93 216
Innovation 2.97 548
Mood 2.93 477
Theme 3.74 215

Feedback

qikcik
18. Apr 2016 · 07:58 UTC
Very good Game (it was great to see how the game was created on twitch.tv)
cgriff
18. Apr 2016 · 17:53 UTC
Solid entry, might have been nice if the collision detection was a little sharper.
TheDanielBerry
18. Apr 2016 · 19:09 UTC
This was fun to play, however I wish there had been more granularity when it came to the player interacting with the ghouls. Also I had no clue when my life was decreasing or how the power ups worked. Otherwise this was a good solid game that fit the theme perfectly.
Elemental Zeal Games Studios
18. Apr 2016 · 19:11 UTC
Pretty neat idea!
IDidGame
18. Apr 2016 · 19:12 UTC
Was kinda turned off at the start but then just kept on playing. The combos are pretty cool.
i killed 673 ghouls
LudumAnthony
18. Apr 2016 · 19:49 UTC
The actual game mechanic for shapeshifting was pretty cool, but the game became stale pretty quickly.
Populous90
19. Apr 2016 · 14:08 UTC
The game looks REALLY, REALLY well, plays really well, feels well, and sounds well. The whole game is really good except that I got frustrated with the controls because they were challenging, but I think that's what you were going for and it worked. Overall good game.
Haighstrom
19. Apr 2016 · 18:21 UTC
Loved the animations and the fact that it's a GIANT SMASHING BEAR. Was cool when I got the giant white bear which was even more full of smashing than the brown bear. Didn't really get the orbs/panel display but enjoyed the game anyway. Overall I liked this game a lot due to the fun of BEARS SMASHING stuff.
🎤 DifferentName
19. Apr 2016 · 19:21 UTC
@Haighstrom, You can hold attack while holding a different direction (up, down, left, or right) to become one of 4 different bears. Each is associated with it's own resource. Sorry I didn't have time for a tutorial to explain that. The display panel thing was made pretty last minute, too.
Pestel Crew
20. Apr 2016 · 18:26 UTC
Nice idea with different directions and colors pickups
Cowa
20. Apr 2016 · 19:10 UTC
I really liked the panda's round kick :D
The game is fun!
Cerno_b
20. Apr 2016 · 19:15 UTC
Nice one! Is there an end to it? I got swarmed to death. I like the different shapes with their unique attacks. I wasn't able to find a good strategy though.

How do you pronounce your game anyway? Ludum Bah-ray? ;)
Dmitrix
21. Apr 2016 · 02:44 UTC
I hope you continue to bear down on this game.
🎤 DifferentName
21. Apr 2016 · 03:42 UTC
@Cerno_b There's no end, just a ghouls killed counter. I'm thinking I should have had the enemies come in waves, so you could at least say you got to wave 10 or whatever. I pronounce it Ludum Bear (Bear like the animal), but I understand some people prefer Bah-ray. :)
blackoptics8
21. Apr 2016 · 17:57 UTC
great entry ;D it does have one of those gameplay flaws of being able to go around in circles and let enemies pile up in the center and just taking them all out at once but other than that the theme was prevalent and mechanics were unique.
Ironhead
21. Apr 2016 · 18:00 UTC
1037 ghouls killed. Pretty fun game. Polar bear was my favorite. Cool variations on combos.
qu2
21. Apr 2016 · 18:16 UTC
Nice shapeshifting mechanic, but I wish there was more variety. Well done though.
jakass
22. Apr 2016 · 17:20 UTC
cool!
Pietro Ferrantelli
30. Apr 2016 · 09:01 UTC
Super fun game, it kept me engaged a long time and I managed to kill 589 ghouls at my third try. I also loved the funny title, the pretty unique artstyle and the music. The mechanics are simple but super efficient, which is what I love as a designer and a player, gamefeel is really cool thanks to the VFX and SFX and there is a nice level of polish.
Green Soda
08. May 2016 · 06:08 UTC
nice game! :)) it's interesting as well... solid entry
theholychicken
09. May 2016 · 23:40 UTC
The pun! Oh the pun!
Swiping swarms of ghouls is great fun, and the increasing difficulty made sure I got swarmed to death eventually.
The four direction meter is really innovative, and have to love panda mode!