The Colosseum by CryoGenesis

[raw]
made by CryoGenesis for LD28 (COMPO)
----The Game----

In this game, you will fight waves of enemies with your weapon. You can stab and slash your enemies using the movements of your mouse (no clicking). Every so often, you gain enough XP to level up. Levelling up provides you with a new weapon which is better and regenerates your health. Be careful, enemies spawn faster each time you level up.

You have one life. You have one weapon. Make it to level 10 and you will be granted your freedom on the order of our great emperor.

----Combat Information----

There are two attacks that you can simulate using mouse motion. One is a stab, the other is a slash. As you progress levels, the weapon changes. The damage the weapon does depends on how you use it. For instance, stabbing with a spear does more damage than slashing with a spear. Another example would be a warhammer. Slashing with a warhammer does more damage than stabbing with it.

You must use your own initiative to determine which kind of attack to use. Some weapons do equal damage with both attacks.

Also, stabbing and slashing speed is taken into account when hitting an enemy. The faster you stab and slash, the more damage which is inflicted upon the enemy.

----Development Info----

This game was written in plain Java, with no other libraries apart from the standard Java ones. All of the art was hand-drawn, using a graphics tablet, and is available as a stand-alone download.

After my last submission and feedback, I have made sure that I included the things people said I missed. This included 'juice', art and sounds.

----Errors----

You need an updated version of Java, if the applet fails to load.

If the load bar stops and doesn't continue after 3 seconds, you may need to restart the applet (due to github server stuff).

You need to have a screen resolution bigger than 800x600.

--------------

I would appreciate if you could comment what was good/bad about the game! It will help me improve.

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.29 268
Audio 2.36 573
Fun 3.52 114
Graphics 2.61 658
Humor 2.70 316
Innovation 3.52 142
Mood 2.63 588
Theme 2.51 700

Feedback

dcolgan
16. Dec 2013 · 03:08 UTC
Very cool mechanic! I feel like this could be expanded on into a larger game.
oxysoft
16. Dec 2013 · 03:10 UTC
Repetitive but very innovative gameplay
disdanes
16. Dec 2013 · 16:17 UTC
It took me a little while to understand how to attack, and I didn't know if I was doing any damage, but once I started upgrading weapons the game became very fun, overall good job!
Fadobo
16. Dec 2013 · 16:20 UTC
Really cool mechanic. It's a bit too much after a while, but there is definitely more to it.
Doubstract
16. Dec 2013 · 16:33 UTC
Very cool!
dooglz
16. Dec 2013 · 17:02 UTC
Very enjoyable
Donutttt
16. Dec 2013 · 17:06 UTC
At first I thought I didn't know how to attack. Once I levelled up things made more sense. Fun game, I especially liked the level up animation.
YellowLime
16. Dec 2013 · 17:08 UTC
Doesn't stick to the theme much, but has very addictive (and violent :^y) gameplay
zconnelly13
16. Dec 2013 · 17:16 UTC
Haha, this was really cool. I love the attack mechanic and the way your enemies move is so creeeepy. I loved it overall.

bit.ly/18RddR1
windwalkerranger
16. Dec 2013 · 17:28 UTC
Cool but a little bit on the easy side :) I must admit I felt like swinging my weapons hollywood style which was fun and led me to my freedom :)
Capitals
16. Dec 2013 · 17:58 UTC
I love the progression and swinging game mechanic even thought it can be a bit clunky.
Cheshyr
16. Dec 2013 · 17:59 UTC
dying in the coliseum is a form of freedom. analog combat mechanics are difficult to pull off; well done.
kratorspore
16. Dec 2013 · 18:05 UTC
Great attack mechanic and challenging game-play. Very satisfying thunk when you stab your enemies. Top notch!
Marcellus
16. Dec 2013 · 18:07 UTC
you just invented wiimote for computers. great concept.
vanaficionado
16. Dec 2013 · 18:07 UTC
Very original! Cool mechanic! This game better place well!
peacegiverman
16. Dec 2013 · 18:21 UTC
I liked the combat mechanics. It's fun and simple and it could work very well as a touch-enabled game. The screen shake effect is nice and the audio is well placed.

I think you could have added some more "juice". I don't get enough feedback when I hit an enemy without killing him. Also, it seems that collision detection is skipping objects sometime when you swing. Another thing that would have been nice to have are some animations when you pickup XP balls (the attraction is great, btw). And it bothered me a bit that intro and instructions were in such low resolution.

All in all, I liked this game. 4/5 :)
Brian Mayberry
16. Dec 2013 · 18:38 UTC
Insanely fun!
ThatGuy
16. Dec 2013 · 18:56 UTC
Very fun game mechanic, I was just a whirlwind of death and destruction. Felt a little unbalanced, them with no weapons and me with a giant flaming sword. Very well done, and you should continue development of this game.
adnzzzzZ
16. Dec 2013 · 19:58 UTC
Sprites for the weapons were nice, for the rest (enemies, player, background) not so much. The camera shakes really help the game feel a lot better and more addictive. The response on the attacks could have been a bit better for when you're missing (sometimes they don't connect at all, I assume you have to be over a certain velocity or use stab/slash properly depending on the weapon). Other than that great job!
ENDESGA
16. Dec 2013 · 20:21 UTC
Definitely an interesting game!
joekinglake
16. Dec 2013 · 21:19 UTC
The control scheme.. Oh god it's wonderful. This is fantastic, at first i thought it was a nice demo, then POW.. I levelled up and i was hooked. Amazing job here.
X-0r
16. Dec 2013 · 21:23 UTC
Swinging the weapons serves for a lot of realism :P I hardly ever used the stabbing attack, due to the masses of enemies.
Nice entry! =)
pighead10
16. Dec 2013 · 21:42 UTC
Felt like it was missing music. I think that large hordes of enemies that died in one hit would have been better than these bobbing heads which were annoying to kill. Overall, a fun mechanic.
timtipgames
16. Dec 2013 · 21:43 UTC
Had a lot of fun playing this. The fighting mechanic could make for some nice "skill" based duells :)
eternalmajin
16. Dec 2013 · 21:50 UTC
(Web version in case it matters)Very neat combat mechanic. I had some issues with hitboxes where I would swing through an enemy and seemingly not touch it. I would have liked a few other enemy types, maybe ones with weaknesses to one attack over the other.
Eric
16. Dec 2013 · 23:21 UTC
This game is Awesome! It sucked me in! Just one more level up, just one more level up. I actually started shouting "there are so many!!!!"
Sean Noonan
17. Dec 2013 · 03:24 UTC
Good stuff! I played to the end :) I found the feedback loop to be a little too favoured towards the player. I kept getting stronger, but the challenge didn't increase, which started to lead to boredom. If it wasn't for my curiosity in seeing what the next weapon was, I would have stopped at about the fourth wave.
finefin
17. Dec 2013 · 10:21 UTC
couldn't use WASD to move (on a mac), so the enemies pushed me into the walls. on second try I managed to upgrade my weapon (more than once?!). pretty violent - I like, I give 4/5 stars overall ;)
headchant
17. Dec 2013 · 11:20 UTC
Somehow a really cool idea. Needs more different gameplay elements but it is fun. Keep at it!
KumoKairo
17. Dec 2013 · 14:04 UTC
Nicely done!)
howieV (binarygirl)
17. Dec 2013 · 15:56 UTC
good work man.. loved the way you kill them.. i also wrote mine in java but think im going to learn a diff language for the next one as the security things and update are driving people nuts i think ;p
Jellycakes
17. Dec 2013 · 20:38 UTC
Really cool, I thought the swinging and stabbing mechanic felt really satisfying and was really fun to play. I'd like to see this expanded, as I think I'd probably sink a lot of hours into it if it was. Nice job!
megaelliott
17. Dec 2013 · 20:44 UTC
Fun to play, especially the breadstick phase! Who doesn't love slapping people round the face with a loaf of bread? It got a bit repetitive late into the game, but I'm sure with more development time it would be awesome! Overall 4/5
Recursiveanomaly
17. Dec 2013 · 20:46 UTC
Lots of fun to swing, although at times the controls react a little strangely. If you can get a good swing going then it is nice. Sometimes when you go to the next stage the enemies just spawn on top of you and you go from full health to dead without any chance to do anything, which can be frustrating. Great job!
Toureiro
17. Dec 2013 · 21:19 UTC
Loved the physicality of the game. Congrats!
j_stirk
17. Dec 2013 · 22:14 UTC
Very fun and addicting. Feels a bit clunky as an applet as it's easy to loose mouse focus, but the mechanic is really cool. Sometimes it's also a bit frustrating if you get knocked around and pushed off screen - very disorientating until the camera catches up.
Piat
17. Dec 2013 · 23:19 UTC
Very fun little game, good mechanic that could be refined to be great. I would recommend making hits more apparent, its not obvious if the players attacks are doing damage. Good opportunity for multiplayer i think.
Gas
18. Dec 2013 · 00:59 UTC
Nice game! I liked the fact that I was always wondering and hoping for something good next(I was like "ATOM BOMB PLZ" haha) but yea the game was really awesome! looking for votes on my game as well: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-28/?action=preview&uid=20784
conormn
18. Dec 2013 · 04:09 UTC
Really really fun. Great job, seriously keep going with this!
MatrixBai
18. Dec 2013 · 08:54 UTC
Great game, give me lots of Kung-fu feeling.
PaperBlurt
18. Dec 2013 · 12:47 UTC
Is it karate monkeys?
Good work, and fun top-down!
scoobyben
18. Dec 2013 · 16:28 UTC
The upgrade mechanic kept me playing, but the zoom level and shaking of the screen were really disorientating and a bit unpleasant. Could just be me
Daniel Debert
18. Dec 2013 · 16:51 UTC
I liked it!
AtomicVikings
18. Dec 2013 · 17:56 UTC
is sure is satisfying to stab them in the face! nice work on the gameplay. I can only wish for more audio :)
pele
18. Dec 2013 · 18:30 UTC
STAB!! STAB!! Hahahah so much fun
MrTedders
18. Dec 2013 · 19:47 UTC
FUn game in the way of mechanics. Just ever so slightly clunky but otherwise great work!
javifugitivo
19. Dec 2013 · 04:06 UTC
Very cool!
archaeometrician
20. Dec 2013 · 03:01 UTC
Nice game ! The difficulty is just perfect I love it !
Venks
20. Dec 2013 · 08:08 UTC
Very odd game, but none the less I'd love to see what it would be like if it was expanded upon.
mortus
20. Dec 2013 · 15:15 UTC
Great mechanic! I didn't found stabbing any useful at all though, and slashing could win you a game even almost without moving sometimes.
pkenney
22. Dec 2013 · 19:35 UTC
This was fun! The way I ended up playing was a bit spammy, and I wasn't sure which type of attack I was doing, or whether I was going to damage an enemy. My weapon could either pass through, or hit them, so I'd just wave repeatedly. Perhaps if I'd understood more clearly then I could have played more carefully.

The screen shake is a nice touch, game some visceral feel to the attacks.
zkenshin
23. Dec 2013 · 04:07 UTC
Really fun entry, would love to see a bigger game with this sort of mechanic polished up. Great job. :)
Husky
24. Dec 2013 · 08:14 UTC
This is fun!
And so much violence lol :D
BradleySmith
04. Jan 2014 · 21:55 UTC
Good fun! :D