Mandala by MuffinTrap

[raw]
made by MuffinTrap for LD26 (COMPO)
Like an ever changing mandala, the material world constantly changes and promises us pleasure in the immediate future. But each such moment appears suddenly and disappears quickly . The ever longing mind remains restless and suffering.

Wise one is not heeded by the promises of wonder, but finds joy in this moment and accepts that suffering comes and goes as the wheel of life turns.

#Update 29.4 23:00 GMT+1
Does not crash anymore if OpenAL context cannot be created.
Made more clear how to start the game.

#Update 02.5 19:45 GMT+1
Removed unnecessary files. Now just 1.2 megabytes.
Made a new build targetin x86, now it should work on 32 bit windows too.


Controls: WASD and P. Collect Green, avoid Red.
Requirements: .NET Framework 4.5

Tools and stuff used: Visual Studio 2012, C#, OpenTK, FamiTracker, bfxr, Audacity.

Ratings

Coolness 26% 1775
Overall 2.78 967
Audio 2.59 624
Fun 2.56 940
Graphics 3.32 363
Innovation 2.39 1048
Theme 3.06 984

Feedback

SuperlevelSebastian
30. Apr 2013 · 00:03 UTC
Can't start it because there's no Win32-version. :(
frr171
01. May 2013 · 02:25 UTC
Awesome music and trippy graphics - although some of the depth seems to be off, which made me a bit dizzy.
Hemuuuli
02. May 2013 · 17:27 UTC
I loved the sense of speed, epileptic spinning and nauseating controls!

Works fine in 32-bit Win7, except music didn't play but I played it manually from the assets directory.
Fritzendugan
02. May 2013 · 18:46 UTC
Very annoying the amount I had to download just to get this app to run. I don't really like to install things onto my computer that I feel like I don't need (.NET frameworks). It wasn't a small or short download, and it required me to restart my computer. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Also depending on those technologies limits your available audience and who can play your game. Might want to consider these things in the future. We work within the toolsets we're familiar with, of course, but perhaps you want to learn some more tools ;P

Anyway, not trying to be harsh, just being honest. As for the gameplay itself, it was an interesting concept. The visuals were enticing. However, I felt as though the player was too far away from the front of the screen, and this made it confusing when I tried to grab the rectangles as I couldn't tell which I had already passed and which were in front of me. Combine that with the fact that the triangles move at variable screens, and I had almost no hope of doing anything other than randomly moving around and hoping I hit green triangles and not red ones. Had you moved the player back to almost on the same level as the "viewing window", I think that would've helped a lot.

Music was very fitting, and the sound effects were effective without hurting my ears, so good job on sound.
Arkazon
02. May 2013 · 19:10 UTC
My eeeyyyeeesss, what have you done? Ahem. Very weird looking game.

I had absolutely no idea where my trianglar character was in relation to anything else, as Fritzendugan says it's basically random whether you collect anything or not since you can't tell where the player is. Other than that the graphics were fun, just needs a little help on the depth perception!
lanz
02. May 2013 · 19:39 UTC
Yes, definitely need depth hints. Otherwise cool graphics and sound. I liked landscape and floating living figures, also loved how PC triangle gets distorted over time.
HelkeGames
02. May 2013 · 19:54 UTC
Nice game, well done!
tankete
03. May 2013 · 00:06 UTC
Not sure I understand how to control the game. Whether I "used" the controls or not, I didn't see any difference. Liked the visuals, though.
🎤 MuffinTrap
04. May 2013 · 12:25 UTC
Thanks for comments, I appreaciate them all.
The depth cue is a sore problem. I think that 3D models for the collectibles, lighting and some distance cues or such would have helped a lot. Had no time to implement because of the problems I had with the sound.

I wanted to create the controls in such a way that the player needs to actively control the ship all the time and use timing instead of going straight to the right position (this does not help much now, that the right position is so hard to see :P)
The .NET framework requirement would annoy myself too. I don't know yet if I can go around it, bundle the required files with the game or target an earlier version that people might already have.
And thanks for the comments on music. I just made it so fast but seems I hit the spot well enough.
I am looking forward to next Ludum Dare and I hope I have gotten rid of the technical problems by then.
ramoncb
04. May 2013 · 22:50 UTC
the controls are a little weird, but love the sound and have graphics quite unique, remind me of Starfox for SNES

good job!
MinionStudios
05. May 2013 · 16:55 UTC
You get 5 for mood... this is a real retro! I went into a trance.
sudorossy
05. May 2013 · 22:31 UTC
Pretty cool!