Defender. by Tainted_Code | LudumData

Defender. by Tainted_Code

made by Tainted_Code for LD26 (JAM)

------------ WARNING ------------
[THIS GAME IS INTENTIONALLY HARD]

Remember the old days, where games were super hard to complete, but when you did complete them you got a warm and happy feeling inside? Yep. That's what we have done here.

We spent our weekend dedicated to this game. We know it may not be the best but a lot of effort went into this game, and we mean a lot! The graphics artist did a phenomenal job given only 4 shades of a color to work with.

We though when it came to minimalism, the main priorities would be 'controls', 'objectives' and 'theme'. Hence why we chose 1 Control (drag catapult), 1 Objective (defend), and the 4 Color theme.

We'd appreciate it so much if we got your vote. It really means a lot! Anyway, you can stop reading the notes now and actually play the game! ;)

------------ HINTS ------------
[USE THE CATAPULT TO FIRE (HOLD/DRAG)]
[YOU CANNOT HIT BOSS WHILST IT'S MOVING]

Cheers,
Joey + Tomas + Dade

Windows	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12607690/Defender.exe
OS/X	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12607690/Defender_OSx.rar
Web	https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12607690/Defender.html
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-26/?action=preview&uid=5752

Ratings

Coolness	99%	2
Overall(Jam)	3.48	140

Audio(Jam)	3.74	61
Fun(Jam)	3.06	208
Graphics(Jam)	4.43	22
Humor(Jam)	2.26	245
Innovation(Jam)	2.88	300
Mood(Jam)	3.40	138
Theme(Jam)	3.48	197

Feedback

30. Apr 2013 · 02:00 UTC

This is incredible! Great game.

30. Apr 2013 · 02:06 UTC

Love the retro feel. The graphics, the difficulty, the sound, all go together great.

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 02:06 UTC

Thankyou!

cinnamonmelonpig

30. Apr 2013 · 03:23 UTC

wow good thing i got my gaint slingshot set up before I went to bed in my tent ;) super creative and the art is stunning!

30. Apr 2013 · 04:06 UTC

Couldn't figure out how to actually hit what I assume was the enemy, although I think I knocked down one of the towers myself. Is that a thing? Still, the look and sound of the game is amazing, given the constraints. Your graphics artist did do an amazing job.

Pre-post edit: Yeah, now I read that you can't hit the boss while moving. Why not?

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 06:55 UTC

Ahaha - glad you enjoyed! @jpverkamp if you look carefully, he spins very fast when moving so the bullet if deflected. Didn't have enough time to implement the reflection!

30. Apr 2013 · 07:48 UTC

Great graphics.

30. Apr 2013 · 07:49 UTC

Defended! Great stuff, enjoyed that and really loved the style :)

Not too hard once you know how to aim. Could have done with a restart option after being defeated the first time (or even when I won).

30. Apr 2013 · 07:51 UTC

Nice! The first time was difficult. The second time easy. But I liked feeling impotent the first time, even helping the enemy destroying the towers. (stahp!)

30. Apr 2013 · 07:52 UTC

loved the graphics and theme and ominous spinning death cube. gameplay is promising but a little slow, i would like it better if he destroyed the city faster but took fewer hits to kill.

30. Apr 2013 · 07:52 UTC

Incredible pixel art style.
Good work.

matthias_zarzecki

30. Apr 2013 · 07:53 UTC

This gets the Defense-feel quite right.

30. Apr 2013 · 07:54 UTC

Man, I couldn't hit the boss not even a single time! xD I even completely f*cked up a building myself :D

Pretty nice game, a Game Boy frame would have been awesome :)

Thanks!

30. Apr 2013 · 07:55 UTC

great style. straight from a world where the original gameboy had touch controls

30. Apr 2013 · 07:58 UTC

So i think i helped the boss a lot by shooting at buildings instead of him ! For adding fun i think a second catapult or a better reload time would have been great !

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 08:34 UTC

Thanks for your feedback guys! I would have added restart button but this entry was JUST in time with a few minutes to spare - sorry!

Thanks for all your kind words, means a lot!

30. Apr 2013 · 08:35 UTC

Awesome game! Enjoyed the graphics and the theme in the game itself. Is this even possioble for such simple game?!

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 12:00 UTC

Cheers ;)

30. Apr 2013 · 12:35 UTC

Super hard but amazing graphics. Like an alternate dimension gameboy game

30. Apr 2013 · 12:43 UTC

Loved the graphical touches in the game 9the spinning, the passing by tumbleweed, the building decay when being destroyed), and this was extended to gameplay appeal (hitting your own buildings to hurt them). The music was catchy, and while difficult at first, once you had a grasp it was a good time. I would say it might be cool to see this extended with more mechanics, but the simplicity was also appealing. The curve of the aim felt a bit off at times (either in favor or out of favor), though with the 2D structure it was a bit understandable.

30. Apr 2013 · 13:40 UTC

The game boy retro style is very pleasant, but it's too damn difficult to aim the cube. Overall it's good program but not a game :D

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 13:58 UTC

Again, thanks guys!
@Yoni, that was the style we went for! :)

@AestheticGamer, thanks for the kind words and yeah, I had a big problem with this perspective!

@noa Thanks :) It is intentionally difficult, and what do you mean by it's not a game? It's by definition a game :)

30. Apr 2013 · 15:00 UTC

I really loved the overall aesthetic on there. Game Boy!
The game is certainly hard even after playing it for quite some time. The aim is just... well.. plain hard
Core mechanics are simple and effective.
Wish I could easily replay the level since I got beaten so bad several times.

30. Apr 2013 · 15:20 UTC

Great simple game. Found it hard as hell to aim at first, but finallllly got the hang of it near the end. Love the gameboy art style look. How do you do that?!

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 15:31 UTC

@Hardycore - Its a simple CRT effect :) The game was designed with 4 shades of one colour only!

@Psenflip Cheers man - means a lot!

30. Apr 2013 · 17:14 UTC

Ahah !

When I launched the game, it reminded me that gold old GameBoy... I mean the ratio, the 4 shades and the sound...
I wanted to check for sure so I printed screen to paint and checked the resolution...

640x576... the same ratio as the gameboy's 160x144... magnified 4 times :)

Anyway, a very nice game : 4 stars

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 17:21 UTC

@alcazar - I know, it was designed for the original screen size then we scaled it x4 ;) Thanks!

30. Apr 2013 · 17:24 UTC

Hey I really like the graphics style but it's really a pitty that the rope from the slingshot and the text are high resolution. I think you should have work on a small resolution ( the bg size for example ), draw your game in a BitmapData then scaling it to the display size you want. By doing so, the drawn lines pixel would fit the bg artwork. Nice entry, I had fun playing it. I spend my whole first game trying to land one single damage without success. After that my first hit in second game was a misclick o_O. Difficult but fun, especillay when you crush your own city.

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 17:32 UTC

@Benjamin - Yeah. I know, it was my fault. I should have also made movement snap to 4 pixels but I just didn't come prepared I guess! We're remaking this outside of Ludum Dare and making it complete :)

30. Apr 2013 · 18:20 UTC

It's bloody hard, that's for certain. Who outsourced Earth defense to Rovio?? Would have loved some kind of indication where bullet is travelling depth-wise, shadow or something... That being said, graphics and audio are pretty much pitch perfect if nostalgia was the aim. Song is catchy as hell!

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 18:24 UTC

@kyyninen Ahaha! I'm sorry - I've mentioned before how close to the deadline this game was submitted, that was indeed on the feature list! A nostalgic feel is what we were aiming for though, so thankyou! :)

30. Apr 2013 · 20:29 UTC

EPIC. Difficult, as you warned. Great music, art. As mentioned, the shadow indicator would be nice. In trying to get the shots initially, it helped to remind myself that despite the artwork, this is probably a 2D game internally :)

Minor gripes: Didn't see any way to get back to the title screen after a defeat. I had to exit the game and restart. As mentioned, the shadow on terrain would be nice, but I understand how that could take some time. You might have to mask and draw two different versions for the different elevations.

Minor art gripe: the perspective on the buildings looks like you swapped the order at the last second. I approve from a gameplay standpoint -- that last tall building is a kick in the goolies -- but, well, when a game looks so good, these are the flaws you notice.

30. Apr 2013 · 20:40 UTC

Wonderful music and demanding gameplay requiring the player to get hang of the aiming system. After couple of tries I finally got the annoying flying square boss thing.

30. Apr 2013 · 21:30 UTC

I like the look, I like the sounds, I like the polish (the string does look weirdly clean compared to everything else. Your right, it was hard and I did feel good about finishing it. Two sort of things that got to me:

A)It's hard to tell when you have screwed up so badly that you should just restart. Maybe this was deliberate, so take that with a grain of salt.

B)If the theme is "old games are hard", the best old hard games were ones that had very tight and clear controls. They just gave you really difficult challenges. Aiming in 3 isometric dimensions with only 2 dimensions of information and input is much harder than the actual goal.

I think that the overall structure of timing your shots against the enemy attacks is very well executed.

30. Apr 2013 · 21:55 UTC

Limit gameplay. You were right about it being difficult, I don't think I hit him once! The soundtrack and sound effects were great as well as the feel of the game and graphics.

30. Apr 2013 · 21:57 UTC

Nice, although the perspective is a little odd on the catapult so it takes a while to figure out how to aim.

🎤 Tainted_Code

30. Apr 2013 · 21:59 UTC

Thanks guys!

I've previously mentioned about the restarting - the game didn't have enough time to implement that at the end - sorry!

I wanted to add a line-of-sight sort of thing. It would allow better gameplay but once again - time got in the way!

30. Apr 2013 · 22:02 UTC

Nice game. Pretty damn fun. Catapults are always the way to go.

30. Apr 2013 · 22:23 UTC

Awesome!
good music, good graphics.. I love the way it crashes down with mass :)

01. May 2013 · 01:00 UTC

Nicely done. Defended on second try after two building destroyed. I really enjoyed the retro style and the physics.

01. May 2013 · 03:28 UTC

I totally felt like I was back in 1989 playing on my Nintendo Gameboy! Awesome use of theme. 5 stars!

01. May 2013 · 04:11 UTC

Liked the art style and the challenging gameplay.

01. May 2013 · 07:25 UTC

Nice game. I found that it took a little while to get my first hit in but after that I found it a bit too easy to line up my shots. Love the gameboy style feel to it and I think you worked the theme in pretty well!

🎤 Tainted_Code

01. May 2013 · 11:03 UTC

Thanks guys! :)

01. May 2013 · 11:08 UTC

I really liked the use of the original Game Boy palette in your game. It's a bit hard to aim in 2D to hit something with depth at the start but fun nonetheless.

01. May 2013 · 15:58 UTC

Yay, after the 4th time I could defended it, it was fun, I liked the retro style.

01. May 2013 · 21:46 UTC

LOVE the retro style. awesome game. more levels plz :)

02. May 2013 · 05:33 UTC

i defeated myself :(

GeorgeBroussard

02. May 2013 · 08:02 UTC

Music and art were great. Found aiming frustrating due to the angle and perspective and that hurt enjoyment.

02. May 2013 · 19:32 UTC

Very nice looking graphics and good sounding sound. The perspective makes it very hard to aim though.

02. May 2013 · 22:16 UTC

The graphics are superb. Whilst it's true I felt satisfaction from finally hitting the cube, it didn't feel fair. I didn't feel like I was learning how to aim in that really weird perspective so much as feeling around in the dark - every time the cube moved I had to start from the beginning.

02. May 2013 · 23:41 UTC

Really good looking game, the slingshot angle is a learning curve, but that's half the fun, all done well for a 2D perspective. A challenge that I enjoyed greatly, well done =]

🎤 Tainted_Code

03. May 2013 · 00:11 UTC

Thanls for the feedback guys! I've only just started to read a huge book on Game Design and I'm starting to see areas where I went wrong! So thankyou all again for your feedbacl! The next entry will be much more promising!

03. May 2013 · 23:08 UTC

This flying cube is freaking hard to beat!
Good overall performance. I loved the gameboy feeling :)
Thumbs up!

🎤 Tainted_Code

04. May 2013 · 10:06 UTC

Thanks man, means a lot!

04. May 2013 · 20:35 UTC

This game feels pretty cool. The first time is a real pain, but once you know where to position your mouse, it's no real challenge anymore. That you can damage the buildings on your own was really awesome.

04. May 2013 · 20:52 UTC

Looks and sounds great, and as you said, it's pretty hard, mostly because you have to figure out the angle to shoot at.

🎤 Tainted_Code

04. May 2013 · 21:01 UTC

Thanks guys, and I know, the angle is poor :(

04. May 2013 · 21:11 UTC

So difficult, but good! Reminds me of the original gameboy games.

05. May 2013 · 16:30 UTC

I like the graphics and the idea. It's really hard to hit the enemy, it's easier to destroy the towers. If the game window is maximized, you can see the background scrolling outside the striped area.

08. May 2013 · 16:16 UTC

Nice visuals and audio, especially the background music. Nonetheless it is quite fiddly to shoot in the direction where I want to shoot at :D

08. May 2013 · 16:42 UTC

Pretty hard to aim. The art is nice, and I like the surreal scenario, minimalist yet high-stakes: "Ready the slingshot! A cube is mashing!"

08. May 2013 · 19:45 UTC

Loved the visuals and sounds - particularly the sounds - but could have done with some hint of depth.

09. May 2013 · 07:37 UTC

Great graphics. It looks like a mix between Megaman and Evangelion for Gameboy. :D What a pity it's hard to target the cube because of the special perspective.

11. May 2013 · 21:00 UTC

DEFENDED. It is kind of easy, but really freaking cool.

13. May 2013 · 02:23 UTC

Beautifully simple game. Love the graphics and sound. Targeting is super hard, and I unfortunately was defeated many many times. I blew up so many of my own buildings, and more than once saw my projectile pass through the cube which was frustrating.

🎤 Tainted_Code

13. May 2013 · 12:23 UTC

Thanks ladies and gents :) We know, it's super hard and perspective is off (we didn't have enough time to fix it)

@dalbinblue - You can't hit the enemy whilst it is moving (or slamming) but we didn't have enough time to implement something that would show you that in game, sorry!

16. May 2013 · 00:55 UTC

Amazing art style! Had a heckuva time judging whether I'd hit the cube or not. Reading the comments, it may be the deflection thing you were talking about though.

16. May 2013 · 20:31 UTC

The graphics are insanely gorgeous. It got pretty easy the second time since I put a thumb on the screen to mark where my mouse had been last and just kept hitting the cube that way ;)

17. May 2013 · 17:50 UTC

An interesting concept and executed well. I managed to complete it on the first go with one building left.

Also, insane music! I'm leaving this on in the background. :D

19. May 2013 · 16:14 UTC

I ragequit after 10 minutes of hard tries, but the game really hooked me, which is cool :)
Art style is great!