lights out by Waterman7

[raw]
made by Waterman7 for LD28 (COMPO)
You only get one bullet. You only get one light.
You only get one ally in need of your protection.
Danger lurks in the shadows.

EDIT:
Thanks for all the feedback so far! I guess some more explanation is needed, so here we go:

- Charge your shot by holding down the left mouse button, shoot by releasing it. A faster bullet deals more damage.
- The blue cross guy is NOT your enemy; he heals you when close enough to you. Leeches will try to kill him.
- The goal is to collect as many yellow orbs as possible before dying. They will spawn at random positions, so always keep moving.
- More leeches are spawned as you collect orbs.
- There is a way to feed your ally, so he grows stronger.

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.34 238
Audio 1.32 782
Fun 3.16 313
Graphics 3.52 224
Humor 2.15 538
Innovation 3.43 185
Mood 3.27 198
Theme 3.73 76

Feedback

benedict
16. Dec 2013 · 04:48 UTC
This is a good jam entry! I liked a lot of things about it. The mechanic is nice, and there's a definite tension while you're lurking about the maze.

The things that I had trouble with were that I could never find more than one orb in every play-through. Killing the monsters was also a little frustrating. When I had a fully charged shot I felt like I was penalized for hitting the enemy because first they wouldn't die, and second my bullet would go way far away most of the time. The AI was also frustrating when they would camp on the bullet after you missed a shot. It'd be great if there were a way to lure the enemy away from the bullet so you could sweep in, reclaim the bullet, and then kill the enemy.

Anyways, this is a great entry. Congrats on finishing!
renewable69
16. Dec 2013 · 17:22 UTC
The ideas great, and the graphics are really nice, keep it simple usually works. Would be good with some sound though.
Sheep
17. Dec 2013 · 10:33 UTC
The game was a bit slow, but besides that it's a nice concept, and a fun game.
jomomomo
17. Dec 2013 · 20:31 UTC
Nice job
Alexbrainbox
17. Dec 2013 · 20:32 UTC
I enjoyed this entry a lot. Not many games run smoothly on my poor ol'e laptop, so props for that ;)

I like how the game feels quite well polished and sets a good atmosphere. Some people say it was slow, but I like the pacing of it personally. Improvements might include some sounds or possibly more detailing in the world. props!
Keith Evans
17. Dec 2013 · 20:34 UTC
Its a small detail but I really liked the way you presented your menus. Nice amount of polish. Also liked picking back up my one bullet. Good job!
lantto
17. Dec 2013 · 20:47 UTC
Great mechanics and visuals. Took a while before I understood that you could charge your shots but after that it was very fun to hunt down and kill the enemies. I would love to see levels or some kind of progress.
ratboy2713
18. Dec 2013 · 01:13 UTC
I liked the idea, though I wasn't quite sure what was friend and what was foe. Killing the leeches was difficult, but I don't think unfair. A good game.
Nichii
18. Dec 2013 · 15:45 UTC
Great concept, nice game. If you can fix the frustrating AI and actually make the first level easier so that first timers can learn how to play even more complex levels.
Alink
18. Dec 2013 · 15:53 UTC
Impressive number of new good mechanics in that one bullet idea: giving more light when fired, the charged shoot (almost didn't notice it), the bouncing, the enemy trying to catch the bullet instead of you. Also visually well done.
JaymeeMak
19. Dec 2013 · 07:09 UTC
I really liked the visual tone set by this game, and the mechanics were mostly smooth and fun to play. However, I had a pretty hard time figuring out how to fight the monsters, and what the yellow dust-stuff was. Some additional instructions would have been great; but this is a solid entry!
Nelien
19. Dec 2013 · 23:26 UTC
Neat game! Have you tried ours? It's got some very similar concepts, you'll see what I mean ;).

Once I read your instructions everything was clear, I wish there was sound though, and your ally got stuck a lot on walls so I had to escort him, which is a bit frustrating. But overall a great little game!
Almax27
20. Dec 2013 · 14:55 UTC
Awesome stuff, feels very polished. I too didn't realise I could charge my shot for the first few mins, but fun nonetheless :D
Diptoman
23. Dec 2013 · 16:50 UTC
This was a great idea, with so much incorporated into that one bullet, it's a source of light as well as a weapon. My ally almost always got killed, and it was hard to retrieve the bullet since the leeches got attracted to it, so had a hard time there. But the graphics and all were really polished, just needed some sound!
lasergans
25. Dec 2013 · 12:01 UTC
Great idea! is fun too play. Has to potential to be brought further!
psc1997
25. Dec 2013 · 12:14 UTC
Good idea ;)
When there is more enemies the game is harder ;)
I like game mood, but may includes some sounds ;)
joekinley
28. Dec 2013 · 23:31 UTC
Uh very intriguing lighting thingy. The title screen already with the lighting was brilliant. So was the game.
It was unfortunately too hard to figure out how to kill these leeches. I am in fact still not a hundred percent sure how I did it, and what the difference between the red and the blue ones was, but it was quite a nice experience.
Pitty there was no audio at all, could have been a quite immersive little game.
Good job though, I liked it a lot.
cappelnord
28. Dec 2013 · 23:32 UTC
Fun game, better more engaging then I thought! Good, that you posted more explanations, they were needed!
KEFIR
29. Dec 2013 · 14:48 UTC
I really like this simple art style! Really nice concept. I think you should add more action and make full game of it!
Grafter
01. Jan 2014 · 20:25 UTC
Good Game, liked the idea!
tklovert
02. Jan 2014 · 01:52 UTC
Good work using multiple of the obvious YOGO's. I get sick of YOGO life/bullet by themselves, but they work together well.

The look of the game was really amazing.

The only problem I had was in conveyance. I couldn't tell anything at all about the game without reading the instructions. I know that sounds stupid, but some things could have been a bit more apparent via coloring schemes and maybe a few in game instructions.

Either way, this is a strong entry.
huhwhozat
02. Jan 2014 · 03:43 UTC
I really like this concept. I would have liked to see more life for your ally though, especially as he doesn't run away on his own. He dies a bit too easily I feel. Give this game some sound and music and some progression with levels and/or more enemy types, and you've got a very nice webgame with a possibility for a wide appeal!
stefan
04. Jan 2014 · 00:03 UTC
I like this game: it is fun to play and the graphics are very nice. It feels and looks very polished. For future versions you may include sound and some more levels, that would be great :)
euske
04. Jan 2014 · 03:36 UTC
I can't download. It says "forbidden, 403" :/
Jeremias
05. Jan 2014 · 12:07 UTC
I like the atmosphere. Very interesting gameplay. It's a bit annoying that you friends follow that slow and sometimes stuck at the corners, but protecting them and feeding them with the particles was fun. The light leeching mechanic is a very interesting concept, especially that enemies try to catch the bullets!
yapshuter63
05. Jan 2014 · 15:13 UTC
Cool! Somehow, without graphics, this game managed to be atmospheric...
pl0xz0rz
05. Jan 2014 · 15:37 UTC
Good jam entry! YOGO bullet that doesn't feel like a cheap take on the theme.