Starbeard: The Curse of the Space Whales by Those 30 Ninjas

[raw]
made by Those 30 Ninjas for LD28 (JAM)
Starbeard: The Curse of the Space Whales follows a crew of space pirates in their journey across the stars. Seasick Dan, the powder monkey, forgot all the armaments except for a single harpoon. Now, trapped in a nebula and surrounded by vicious space whales, Starbeard and his crew will need to fight their way free with all they've got: just one harpoon.

Instructions:
WASD or Arrow Keys to move
Mouse to Aim / Left mouse to fire - your harpoon will bounce!
Mouse to aim projectile shield (when you have no harpoon)
Bump the harpoon to pick it up.
Collect loot at the x marks as you defeat foes.

Get the highest score you can!

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall(Jam) 3.64 76
Audio(Jam) 3.26 152
Fun(Jam) 3.75 37
Graphics(Jam) 2.95 341
Humor(Jam) 3.31 78
Innovation(Jam) 3.46 75
Mood(Jam) 3.32 134
Theme(Jam) 3.66 46

Feedback

ezolotko
16. Dec 2013 · 13:40 UTC
Wow, cool mechanic
ob6160
16. Dec 2013 · 19:22 UTC
Interesting concept nicely executed.
TobiasNL
16. Dec 2013 · 19:33 UTC
Nice! Good sounds and music, and the gameplay mechanic was very smooth and interesting. Really like the gold turtles (which I think should give more points when they die) Got to 910.
tiffi
16. Dec 2013 · 19:34 UTC
Really the best game under all these "you only get one shot" games! Good job
ThatGuy
16. Dec 2013 · 19:36 UTC
Fun and well made mechanic. This game could easily be expanded into much more, given more time. Great work!
KumoKairo
16. Dec 2013 · 19:36 UTC
Definitely my vote!
Sounds, gameplay and graphics are absolutely beautiful
postmodestie
16. Dec 2013 · 19:37 UTC
Very nice! Simple and, as stated before, well executed in all departements! Funny: the ship colors reminded me of CGA-graphics. :)
Static_boy123
16. Dec 2013 · 19:38 UTC
I really liked the mechanic. I think the bouncing was especially good, and the sounds were just great! I think the game would be a little better with different art, but I also recognize that you were going for a certain art style.
Overall, very good!
Jago
16. Dec 2013 · 19:39 UTC
Nice work! It was very fun game to play. Music was nice and graphics fit the theme very well.
d_0o_d
16. Dec 2013 · 19:47 UTC
Yeah this was fun. You implemented the theme very good.
baton4ik
16. Dec 2013 · 19:53 UTC
Amazing game. It's fun, the graphics and sounds are beatiful.
scriptorum
16. Dec 2013 · 19:54 UTC
Everything about this game is great. Best game was 3080 points and then I got killed by these evil giant red jellyfish things.
iamwhosiam
16. Dec 2013 · 20:37 UTC
now this is my kind of game :)
van noctar
17. Dec 2013 · 02:48 UTC
Really good collisions!!! Mouse and keyboard is a good control system. And sounds are very pretty!
ahnt
17. Dec 2013 · 02:51 UTC
Great idea, had a lot of fun with this one!
30dogs
17. Dec 2013 · 06:22 UTC
We had very similar ideas! You guys executed it extremely well. Pretty much everything is awesome. The jagged edges of the map to make the bounces more unpredictable is brilliant.
01rafael
17. Dec 2013 · 16:18 UTC
Oh damn whales! :)
Great game! No comments, you are great guys!
havana24
17. Dec 2013 · 16:20 UTC
Cool game! :)
AndreRodrigues
17. Dec 2013 · 16:48 UTC
Hey, we have very similar games. =)

It's funny how we came up with similar game elements but took a very different approach to them. I really like some of the touches like using diagonal walls so the harpoon has a little more complex trajectory to it.
JaJ
17. Dec 2013 · 16:51 UTC
This is great! Really fun and great sound!
Cake&Code
17. Dec 2013 · 17:07 UTC
Amazingly well-designed concept, I love that once you've shot the harpoon you get shields to defend yourself. The movement is drifty but I'll forgive that since it is supposed to be space.

This definitely needs some polish and post-LD work! It would be a lot of fun as a fully realized game.
cobhc6
17. Dec 2013 · 17:53 UTC
Really nice game you made here!
bitserum
17. Dec 2013 · 17:55 UTC
Nice, fits the theme very good, its hard and fun. Good job.
I just love when it bounces in some weird way and gets triple kill.
Venturelli
17. Dec 2013 · 18:01 UTC
Wow! I played this for a LOT longer than I thought I would! Super fun and funny game, you really had a good time doing this and it shows :D 5/5
local minimum
17. Dec 2013 · 18:13 UTC
I guess I'm lucky getting this as my first "you only get one shot" game here. If all others are like this, then maybe the theme was OK after all. A small comment. For us with laptop + left handed right hand on WASD and left on mouse is a bit uncomfortable.
Benjamin
17. Dec 2013 · 18:14 UTC
Very neat design. The game is very fresh and this universe ( space whale, pirate talks & stuff ) is fun. The harpoon mechanic could have became boring with time but you guys had this genius idea of non-flat border. I like the fact it's shaped like a treasure map.

The game still have rythm problem : You should autospawn monsters everytime the screen is empty. Clearing waves very fast is more secure but you also get those boring waiting time when nothing is on screen.

The difficulty curve itself is weird sometime there's huge jeelyfish spawn and sometime you have to wait 10 seconds on a blank screen to see a lonely whale pop.
Dyn
17. Dec 2013 · 18:17 UTC
Good game with great sounds!
vapgames
17. Dec 2013 · 18:26 UTC
Space Pirates!
Hypermagical
17. Dec 2013 · 20:00 UTC
I like the dotted lines.

I really like the interpretation of the theme. It's a fun twist on the shooter-in-a-box gameplay.

I'm rubbish at the game, but that's all my fault. Well, except for the bit where it's easy for whales to sometimes spawn right on top of you, but at least there's a little bit of warning there.
acp_ld
17. Dec 2013 · 20:20 UTC
really well done game
LatFoued
17. Dec 2013 · 20:29 UTC
Very nice concept. the gameplay was smooth and the music enjoyable. Good work
Nazariglez
17. Dec 2013 · 20:38 UTC
Lol! quite original, i love it!
oskardevelopment
17. Dec 2013 · 20:50 UTC
Cool mechanics, nice esthetics and a fun game! A more interesting game than most I've played as of yet! :)

Thanks for playing my game, I've added controls tutorial at the top of the entry as to make it easier for other players in the future.

Good luck!
Coblynau
17. Dec 2013 · 20:55 UTC
Good all round game, well done :)
TeamRoboto
17. Dec 2013 · 21:34 UTC
Game mechanics are really cool and fun. You can get really skilled at bouncing the harpoon and that is a big plus! Got to a score of 850 and died by a whale spawning very close. Easier to keep control of the harpoon by bouncing it horizontal as the sides are pretty much flat.
Raiyumi
17. Dec 2013 · 22:58 UTC
Solid gameplay and sounds. :)
Toureiro
17. Dec 2013 · 23:18 UTC
Loved the concept, the mechanic and the look/sound! Great entry! One of the best I've seen so far.
Cake_Catastrophe
17. Dec 2013 · 23:58 UTC
OK, guys, we can all stop voting now. This is clearly the Best Game.
ENDESGA
18. Dec 2013 · 00:02 UTC
I LOVE the mechanic with how you have to pickup your bullet to shoot it again! Very nice!
Graphics are clean and simple :) and music is a tad quiet, but it's good enough :)
Sweet game!
AaronGordon
18. Dec 2013 · 00:05 UTC
Nice! Simple mechanic but great use of sfx to reinforce it getting stuck.
Jejeboy
18. Dec 2013 · 04:39 UTC
Very good design choices. I really enjoyed lining up the enemies.
MatrixBai
18. Dec 2013 · 08:28 UTC
Greenpeace will sue me for killing big amount of whales. Really funny game.
glovecat
18. Dec 2013 · 10:34 UTC
I really enjoyed this game. I would play this game forever. Excellent WC game if you would launch it for a tablet or smartphone :D
Diptoman
18. Dec 2013 · 10:41 UTC
Mechanic's great, the best I've seen so far with the one shot mechanic. And overall it's real fun, awesome job!
LTPATS
18. Dec 2013 · 20:35 UTC
This was really fun, loved the "one retrievable bullet" mechanic! Music was nice and the sound effects helped round it out nicely.
Static 64
18. Dec 2013 · 20:40 UTC
Wow! I wasn't sure what to expect just looking at it, but that was fun! The mechanic is great, one of the best implementations of the theme I've seen!
whiteknife
18. Dec 2013 · 21:10 UTC
Fun mechanic and definitely felt very pirate-y. Great job!
OriginalBigDan
18. Dec 2013 · 23:48 UTC
Annoyingly addictive and 6 times as good when you realise you can move around and collect the harpoon! (Duh! My bad!)

Great music and sound effects! I would love to see some powerups and alternative weapons.
Kayelgee
19. Dec 2013 · 00:15 UTC
I really like what you've done with the art :D
The game is pretty fun and it's a really good one shot mechanic.
javifugitivo
19. Dec 2013 · 04:56 UTC
Nice mechanics! Nice sounds! Aaaaarrrrrrrr!
sekaru
19. Dec 2013 · 06:47 UTC
Fantastic mechanic! The music and sound assets are pretty cool too.
SecondDimension
19. Dec 2013 · 13:12 UTC
This was really enjoyable to play, definitely a top score for fun. Great work here
occash
19. Dec 2013 · 20:06 UTC
Nice game)thank you for good graphics and sound!
LastResortGames
19. Dec 2013 · 20:37 UTC
Great Job. I loved the trail you left behind you!

Side Note: Since you used Unity I suggest making a Linux build. The Web player does not work on Linux Machines.
somepx
19. Dec 2013 · 22:43 UTC
A very fun entry! Adorable graphics, retrieve-the-bullet theme works fine! (err, I used that too) :D
peacegiverman
20. Dec 2013 · 00:14 UTC
I really like the UI, the way the game is played on a map and the ship leaves a trail. Very nice.

The game's fun too play, though I'd like it if the ship was a bit faster or had less drag. As it is it feels a bit heavy.
archaeometrician
20. Dec 2013 · 02:57 UTC
Great game ! The mechanic is indeed very interesting !
Venks
20. Dec 2013 · 08:08 UTC
Really like the art style. It's very inviting and I couldn't resist trying this one out.
SonnyBone
20. Dec 2013 · 08:38 UTC
Man, this is deceptively fun. At first I was like, "Well... ok this is a bit slow." THEN TURTLES SHOWED UP! HOLY CRAP THE STRATEGY WHEN YOU GET 3 OR 4 TURTLES ON THE SCREEN AND WAVES OF WHALES AND OCTOPUSESSSSESES!

The game is really fun, has a great difficulty curve and pacing, and the audio fits well. You have this crazy concept of a snowglobed space pirate boat shooting a huge harpoon that's bouncing around a scroll boundary hitting flying space whales and turtles with rotating shields. It's crazy as hell and I love it!

The only bad thing is the graphics don't really do match up with the rest of the experience. With some better art and some more polish this would be AMAZING. It's still awesome fun right now, though. GREAT ENTRY!
JacksGamesSucks
20. Dec 2013 · 14:00 UTC
nice, interesting little game. good job!
2HitAdam
23. Dec 2013 · 10:03 UTC
Super fun. This is honestly just a graphics overhaul away from being a really neat game!
Ras Lyon
27. Dec 2013 · 14:38 UTC
That's fun, I like the bouncing of the harpoon. I wish I was better at judging how it would bounce. Like a trajectory guide or something. Fun!
lucentbeam
27. Dec 2013 · 20:27 UTC
Really nice work. I love the dashed line, map/scroll background, and 'X's. Makes for a clever and nicely unified theme.
samooJAM
28. Dec 2013 · 09:45 UTC
Pleasant gameplay
Tex Killer
29. Dec 2013 · 00:32 UTC
Nice take on the theme... the cursor could be centered, though: the harpoon aparently goes to the top-left corner of the cursor instead of the center
pjchardt
30. Dec 2013 · 02:46 UTC
Like the mechanic of one bullet and the way the bullet bounces around the screen. This led to a lot of depth. Felt a bit sluggish and unresponsive at times but the core of the game is very interesting!
lordjosephdeburg
02. Jan 2014 · 19:20 UTC
A lot of fun. Great use of mechanics, has a lot of potential in my opinion on the marketplace too. Nice Jam Ninja
zkenshin
05. Jan 2014 · 20:01 UTC
Great idea, lovely game play.
Well done.