The Fox Prince by EighthNote

[raw]
made by EighthNote for LD35 (JAM)
I have made some post-jam improvements! The web player is the original LDJAM version; however, I recommend playing the improved version which can be found in the links section.

--IMPROVEMENTS--
(in the improved version)
- further view distance
- smaller hit box (easier to slip between rocks)
- better obstacle generation algorithm

Avoid the rocks! Press to change form. The fox can duck under logs and the prince can wade through streams. If you touch the bottom of the screen, game over!

Controls: wasd to move, spacebar to change form, r to restart.

Ratings

Coolness 47% 1248
Overall(Jam) 2.58 1082
Fun(Jam) 2.42 1028
Graphics(Jam) 2.54 946
Innovation(Jam) 2.35 1013
Mood(Jam) 2.10 1005
Theme(Jam) 3.38 514

Feedback

Hankenstien
19. Apr 2016 · 02:08 UTC
Good Idea, If the shift was a little faster it would have been more fun
jasonalighieri
19. Apr 2016 · 03:38 UTC
Cool idea! It sort of reminds me of an old Atari/Sega game that AVGN might review though.
kivlor
19. Apr 2016 · 03:39 UTC
I like the idea but streams and logs were too close together most of the time to switch before the next
Decentsauce
19. Apr 2016 · 03:42 UTC
I like how the whole game moves. :) The main problem I have with this game is that you can't react fast enough to the obstacles because you can't see far enough in front of you(especially after you avoided object for some time and are closer to the front) and changing shape is a bit slow. Also if you hit an object in the center you can barely get away from it due to the stun which is kinda annoying. Also the game sometimes generates rock formations which are impossible to avoid. Sound effects would have been a nice.
tweedle
19. Apr 2016 · 03:47 UTC
Man, this game can be tough! Really cool mechanic, but I wish I had a little more time to see what was ahead of me.
Nice use of the theme!
HeliosStudio
19. Apr 2016 · 03:49 UTC
the old infinite runner formula works well enough, and I really like the theme you chose, but it is unfairly hard because of screen space limitations.
Still i did enjoy my 2-3 runs, my highscore is 30 \(^o^)/
batmagus
19. Apr 2016 · 04:05 UTC
Cute concept. The difficult curve feels way too steep to me, especially the way the character moves closer to the top of the screen makes it impossible to react after you're a few seconds into the game. The hit detection also feels quite a bit off.
Casey Jordan
19. Apr 2016 · 04:17 UTC
I'm not sure I agree with Hankenstien. The delay when morphing isn't wholly negative.

It's easy to get frustrated with the delay in changing, but it creates situations where you are punished for not deciding sooner.

Given the simplicity of the game, I think that this is one of the only reasons it was engaging for any length of time. xD

I see where the comment is coming from, but it's one of those "careful what you wish for" situations.

Given you had time to iterate on this, I figure the decision to keep the transformation delay was deliberate. :3
Casey Jordan
19. Apr 2016 · 04:20 UTC
I disagree with Hankenstein. Given the simplicity of the game, the morph delay was one of the only things that kept the game engaging.

It's easy to get frustrated with it, but I'd say it's a "be careful what you wish for" situations, because the game wouldn't sustain my interest for as long as it did without it. That said, it's also probably the reason I stopped playing.

Probably a miss-step for the genre, but it added to the fun in the short term.
wboqm
19. Apr 2016 · 06:04 UTC
Would've liked to be able to weave between the obstacles (rocks), rather than just getting trapped even though you might expect to be able to escape.
Casey Jordan
20. Apr 2016 · 18:13 UTC
Oh! wboqm is right! Colliding with a rock should push you to the edge of the rock, that would create a natural weaving behavior.

Hitting a rock is still punished (because you are moved lower on the screen), but it adds a negative feedback loop.

Maybe this only happens as the fox.
Zerkruemler
22. Apr 2016 · 17:50 UTC
Quite simple game, but clever usage of the shapeshifting theme. Good work.
fin_nolimit
23. Apr 2016 · 19:46 UTC
soooooooooooo addicting!! and hard! lol... very awesome job!
🎤 EighthNote
24. Apr 2016 · 16:10 UTC
thanks for all the feedback, everyone!
iossif
25. Apr 2016 · 22:19 UTC
i liked it but a few tweaks may make it even better. a slightly larger view or smaller hitboxes... just something that gives the player a bit more wiggle room.
James Coote
26. Apr 2016 · 16:14 UTC
Neat little idea.

I think sometimes the random spacing of the rocks meant it was very difficult to avoid them, especially given the speed at which I was running.

Related to that, like others have said, I also found the delay in transforming a little jarring. Reason being that sometimes, I'd have to do two or three changes in quick succession, so close as to make surviving impossible. That's the kind of "difficulty" where it's not really the player's fault or even the player's lack of quick reactions that is more frustrating than fun.

I did start to get the hang of it though the more I played, so maybe just a case of being too difficult at the start / not ramping up difficulty as it goes on?
Spotline
08. May 2016 · 16:54 UTC
Nice idea and setting ! The fact that the more you win the higher your character is in the screen makes it quite frustrating though :( Also the random placement of rocks is sometimes really too random