Castle Clocksworth by H-Bomb

[raw]
made by H-Bomb for LD27 (JAM)
Time to storm the Castle Clocksworth!
In this game, the Evil (and Stupid) Lord Clocksworth has accidentally made time repeat itself every 10 seconds. You play as Victoria Steamcroft, a scientist armed with her trusty steam chainsword in puzzle rooms.

The controls are simple:
-arrow keys to move
-space to use chainsword
-brain to solve puzzles

This is our second participation to Ludum Dare Jam. It is stressful yet very fulfilling experience. We are more than happy that we bring this action-puzzle-thingy this far! Hope you'll like it!

We had far more rooms, and props, and ideas... That kind of challenge teaches us not to set our sight too high. Keeping a schedule is hard!

Please tell us what you think of our game! It will help us getting better for the next Ludum Dare.

H-Bomb

Ratings

Coolness 81% 2
Overall(Jam) 3.96 17
Audio(Jam) 3.71 44
Fun(Jam) 3.71 34
Graphics(Jam) 4.60 15
Humor(Jam) 2.81 192
Innovation(Jam) 3.22 183
Mood(Jam) 3.86 35
Theme(Jam) 3.53 97

Feedback

BradleySmith
27. Aug 2013 · 00:59 UTC
This is very very polished, the art and animations are beautiful. Well done! Rated this very high. :)
oxysoft
27. Aug 2013 · 01:05 UTC
Very fun game. I like the idea of not resetting the level unless the player dies. I had no idea what to do at the boss though.
Lars Faust
27. Aug 2013 · 12:01 UTC
The art is great, the sound is absolutely fantastic. The gameplay lacks.

Sort of strange puzzles i have to say, the 10 second timer didnt really have a purpose other than forcing the player to take severel runs on a level and after 15 minutes of trying to figure out what to do at the boss fight i gave up.

So it is a very promising looking game, that couldve used some more developing time in the gameplay aspect, but what LD game couldnt? Good job overall.
lordjosephdeburg
27. Aug 2013 · 15:25 UTC
A good game an nice polish. unfortunately im not good at puzzle games..
kbm0
27. Aug 2013 · 19:43 UTC
Very cool theme and graphics! I spent ages trying to figure out what to do though (didn't read your description until afterwards). Great job and keep at it! :)
Shmarah
27. Aug 2013 · 19:46 UTC
The art and design blows me away; I am in love with the main character. Isn't she adorable? Amazed.
KeithE.
27. Aug 2013 · 19:46 UTC
Man that art! I love the intro and the animations on all the characters. Rated very high! Pretty impressive how polished this experience is.
The only thing I didn't love was the 10 second timer that felt a little arbitrary. It seemed like that was placed over a really cool game to make it fit the theme.
TomCooper3D
27. Aug 2013 · 19:47 UTC
really nice art but i really couldnt figure out the second level. no gear when i kill them all. and i could only move the blocks one space before they would stop i couldnt leave the box
andwhatnot
27. Aug 2013 · 19:48 UTC
Yeah what you did with the theme, and how you fleshed out a narrative around it. A lot of fun!
Starspell
27. Aug 2013 · 19:50 UTC
The text scroll on the opening screen is really very slow. The game itself is incredibly polished. The animations and the characters are fantastic. However, unless I missed something, I found it impossible to get through the 2nd room. There are just too many of them to kill. Nice overall concept however.
anserran
27. Aug 2013 · 19:51 UTC
Great game!
fdevant
27. Aug 2013 · 19:51 UTC
Nice!
Must say that I found the steam sound a bit weird, and the box moving direction mechanic not very transparent but the art and overall gameplay is really pretty.
SkyTheCoder
27. Aug 2013 · 19:56 UTC
Everything except humor got five stars from me. One my of all-time favorite games, not even exclusive to LD27.
Pickens Inc.
27. Aug 2013 · 23:15 UTC
Really want to play this, but when it opens, it gets stuck at loading 262%! Why?
Lokarunith
27. Aug 2013 · 23:31 UTC
I'm delighted, with only 72 hours you did an awesome game, it could be a bit more challenging though. The art is amasing, especially the cute character design, the only thing I didn't get, as some people have comented is the 10 sec. timer, it feels a little bit odd and doesn't add much to the game.
🎤 H-Bomb
27. Aug 2013 · 23:52 UTC
oxysoft > We hade a bug making the boss nearly impossible when we firt uploaded the game, it is fixed! Don't hesitate to give it another try. :)
SkyTheCoder > Thank you very much!
Pickens Inc. > One of my friend had the same problem, but it worked after he refreshed the page a few times.
I will ask our awesome programmer if he can fix it.
Please try this link and tell me if it works!
http://pauljoannon.com/articles/ld27/
ellipticaldoor
28. Aug 2013 · 00:17 UTC
Wow! I love your artwork and chainsaw weapons are always fun ;)
spitfire87
28. Aug 2013 · 00:22 UTC
Overall a great game. Its a bit short and the time travel mechanics could be better exploited in those kind of puzzles but its great for just 72hours ! Well rated.
Lightmare Studio
28. Aug 2013 · 00:22 UTC
Excellent game, definitely one of the best ones I've played in this LD so far!
The only downside I can see is that the character's handling is a bit lacking, and a clear grammar of what will be reset by the time warp and what will not would have helped.

The graphics are simply awesome, excellent pixel art is pretty scarce. I think this game would be worth expanding, adding interactions to the steam chainsaw (the ice bridge is a great idea!), and refining the handling.

Sirs, you have my respect :)
Crazi456
28. Aug 2013 · 00:23 UTC
Great art! Very fun game!
ddionisio
28. Aug 2013 · 00:28 UTC
Steam chainsword, hell yes!!! I love the pixel art, really distinct and polished! Interesting gameplay around 10-seconds as well, though it felt like it was more of something that got in your way. Overall I had fun playing this game! I manage to beat the boss, ha!
sittaman
28. Aug 2013 · 00:29 UTC
Great game, art, sound, story. I actually liked the gameplay and the 10 seconds mechanic. There's much room for improvement. Hope to see this release in the future!
savethejets1
28. Aug 2013 · 01:36 UTC
The pixel art is amazing! the gameplay stumped me a bit though...
PIXEL^3
28. Aug 2013 · 02:19 UTC
Love the pixel art and the puzzles. I'm actually quit amazed at what you could get done in 3 days. The game at great characters and set a good feel throughout. My only problem was during the boss fight it got really laggy for some reason. And every time I died it took it's sweet time respawning me.

-AlucardX60
ericdpitts
28. Aug 2013 · 02:25 UTC
I loved this! Excellent art, fun, simple gameplay, good music. Great job you all! The art design of the boss was awesome.
LionelJitro
28. Aug 2013 · 05:55 UTC
Loving the zelda style game play.

Great theme, great characters, sweet art, awesome music and a full start middle end of the story. Really cool.
DreamTeam
28. Aug 2013 · 09:48 UTC
This is one of the best LD entries I've ever seen. It has tons of charm, catchy music, great graphics, wonderful pacing, a decent challenge that isn't too steep, and a rewarding boss fight. This is seriously a triumph. CONGRATS! -SonnyBone
Nick Weihs
28. Aug 2013 · 10:31 UTC
Cant load the game, is the site dead..?
naufr4g0
28. Aug 2013 · 11:10 UTC
Stunning pixel-art, nothing to say! :)
Game mechanics works fine for me, even if the 10 seconds limit was a bit forced. Anyway a high rate for this.
SanguineTheSecond
28. Aug 2013 · 11:30 UTC
Great audio and graphics, sometimes the mechanics of the puzzles were a bit unclear for me, but that also could've been me.
ShellfishGames
28. Aug 2013 · 14:44 UTC
Great art and soundtrack. The gameplay and especially the ruleset remained a mystery to me for quite some time. Some boxes could be moved, but only in certain directions, and only once.. a little strange, but anyway. Quite a cool game. Sadly it got stuck after leaving the 4th or 5th room, so I couldn't finish it. :/
ZeppelinCaptain
28. Aug 2013 · 14:48 UTC
First jam game I've played, so not really sure how to rate it. Just basically gave it a star less than I would have a compo game in all categories, meaning that I gave you a couple of 4-stars ;)
Amazing art and audio, and some very nice puzzles in there as well.
N0_Named_Guy
28. Aug 2013 · 17:31 UTC
Will post video review when done.
Toshiro
28. Aug 2013 · 23:25 UTC
Are you serious !? What that fucking gaaaame ? That art, that music, that's really impressive ! The polishing is perfect, and I'm in love with the boss sprites <3
You did a really big work, but you did it well. My favorite game !
🎤 H-Bomb
28. Aug 2013 · 23:43 UTC
Please do ^^
angrygeometry
28. Aug 2013 · 23:43 UTC
the artwork is ridiculously good. i found myself dying a lot though. the boss was intense!
theholychicken
29. Aug 2013 · 01:10 UTC
Amazing art and music! I wished there was more background music before the boss battle, and combat could be more fleshed out, but everything is still too terrific!
Beardbotnik
29. Aug 2013 · 02:10 UTC
Fantastic artwork and interesting gameplay with simple controls, though I felt like I stuck to walls quite a bit, which cut into the timer a lot leading to some frustrating restarts. Also there were some times where I felt like I got stuck entirely unless I restart, but I might have just not understood the puzzle.
Venturelli
29. Aug 2013 · 13:28 UTC
I really love your sprite work!!!
fgielow
30. Aug 2013 · 00:08 UTC
Oh, wow! This is one of the best pieces I've seen here! It is really well polished, the inspiration and concept is just amazing! Time repeating at every 10 seconds was really novel, congrats for the great work xD
Mironix
30. Aug 2013 · 00:25 UTC
it's a steam punk zelda! only harder :) cool game.
N0_Named_Guy
30. Aug 2013 · 00:56 UTC
Video review link: http://www.twitch.tv/n0_named_guy/c/2840374
Makio
30. Aug 2013 · 00:57 UTC
Great art and nice puzzle :D
Jupiter_Hadley
30. Aug 2013 · 03:25 UTC
Love the graphics, though I couldnt figure out what to do in only a minute... XD I featured it in a Ludum Dare 27 compilation video, if you would like to check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-HQ96z_y-M
xndr
30. Aug 2013 · 05:11 UTC
Fun game. Beautiful art and music. Thanks!
Ithildin
30. Aug 2013 · 11:00 UTC
Nice job!! The artwork and music are really polished, and I did like the puzzles, even though at times I had some problems with collisions (for example, in the second to last level, once you get the exit door open, depending on if you get to enter close to the arrow tiles, the player gets stuck playing the walk animation unable to move until time runs out)

One of the best entries I've found this edition. Congrats! :D
blackotus
30. Aug 2013 · 14:37 UTC
Beautiful game, great animation, but the last boss was impossible!
🎤 H-Bomb
30. Aug 2013 · 16:12 UTC
blackotus > He's a bit hard, but have you tried to destroy and collect his gears? He's way easier once you took care of his gattling-gun!
FrozenCow
30. Aug 2013 · 19:23 UTC
Damn, nice job. *Really* polished and absolutely finished game! Even a cool boss battle!
villhest
30. Aug 2013 · 19:47 UTC
Awesome game! I really like the nostalgic gameplay, the art and the music, although the music disappeared mid game on one level.
wintermute
30. Aug 2013 · 21:55 UTC
Very well made game, puzzles are ok and graphics+music are nice. However, I could not beat the first boss because the game was lagging too much - is it because of its HTML5inish together with a poor support by browsers?
High marks anyway!
DanHayesGamer
30. Aug 2013 · 21:55 UTC
5/5. Well done!
VeloSpectre
30. Aug 2013 · 22:12 UTC
Well done game! Love pretty much everything about it. KUDOS
Hayawi
30. Aug 2013 · 23:58 UTC
it's nice how there are different levels! the graphics are great and i spent a while on each level
ratalaika
31. Aug 2013 · 11:58 UTC
good job
iiechapman
02. Sep 2013 · 17:19 UTC
Very cute art style , tons of polish! Very well done.
GagaPete
07. Sep 2013 · 18:34 UTC
Is it just me or is there no hint on what blocks can be moved and what not? Otherwise nice game, best graphics & sound combo I've seen so far.
Cosr
08. Sep 2013 · 22:43 UTC
Pretty solid game. It could use a tiny bit of grammar polish.

I felt some of the hit boxes were a little off, particularly concerning the electric zappy things. I kept getting hurt when I put the gear into the one in the third room (first one you encounter I think?). Seems the hit box for the zapper extends past the boxes beside it. It's like a lot of the objects in rooms look like they have a uniform tiled size, but their hit boxes don't match up to that (I think the tiles that push you are a little off too; got stuck on one when I managed to step on it while still be blocked by a red block beside it). It makes the gameplay feel just a bit less polished than it could.

Might have been interesting if the 10-second-reset was a bit more integrated into some of the puzzles (though too much of this might be hard to design), requiring the player to use their knowledge that the room is about to reset to solve them (or even simpler things, like in the bit where the player has to go into a little area to kill a robot, and then can push some block to get out; why bother making the block pushable, when the player is about to be reset to the beginning anyways?). Make it a bit more interesting than just an arbitrary requirement to do some things fast.
Cryovat
16. Sep 2013 · 21:59 UTC
This is hands-down my favorite jam entry. The music and art is amazing, and the gameplay is really fun. And with steam punk added to the mix, oh man. The chain sword is delicious.

Two minor things: It could need some more indication that time is about to reset. Also, what's with the bullets at the end? Are you going shmup? ;)

I would really like to see you continue to develop this. It's got too much potential to leave an LD entry!

PS: Can I have a download for the soundtrack? :D
Jiggawatt
16. Sep 2013 · 22:02 UTC
Doesn't appear like a jam game.
🎤 H-Bomb
16. Sep 2013 · 23:52 UTC
Cosr> Thank you for your comment! I kinda agree with everything you said. ^^

Cryovat > Here is the music!
https://soundcloud.com/studio-h-bomb/sets/castle-clocksworth

I don't think you can directly download it, but I'll see with Max if we can do something about it. :)
We are currently working on another (big) project, but depending on our ratings we might want to continue to develop Castle Clocksworth.

Jiggawatt > What do you mean?
BadgerPriest
17. Sep 2013 · 00:27 UTC
This is fantastic. Tricky but never frustrating, and the art and music are great. The boss fight was very satisfying to beat.
GFM
17. Sep 2013 · 00:57 UTC
Okay, rating this on the last minute wasn't a good idea... I couldn't beat the boss... xD

I really liked this game! The graphics are great!