True treasure of Kartoffelschloss by mortus

[raw]
made by mortus for LD26 (COMPO)
Instructions:

Arrow keys / WASD - move around
Z / Q - dagger
X / E - sword
C / F - halberd
Left mouse button - bow

After 4th level double tap a direction button to attack

Advice on controls:

When wall-jump, vertical momentum does not reset, so for best wall-jumping results try to press jump second and later times when you're still moving up fast enough.


Description:

It may not look like a minimalistic game at first, but try playing few levels and you'll probably see how I tried to follow the theme.
If you complete the game, you will see it even better I think, and it's not long at all (7 short levels). It becomes most minimal at the last level.

//

Not everything went smooth with the game, I couldn't spent amount of time I hoped I will on development and it's easy to notice.

I've spent more than half a day on graphics and it was not enough, graphics is one of the weakest parts of the game I think.

One of the biggest problems (surprisingly for me) was platformer mechanics. If it wasn't a LD compo, I think I'd use Box2D for it and it would work so much better. But, as I've mentioned before, I don't like using any libraries during competitions like this. So please, pretend that platformer mechanics is without flaws when you vote. :D

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.37 361
Audio 2.75 532
Fun 3.07 478
Graphics 3.48 271
Humor 2.79 241
Innovation 3.01 649
Mood 3.11 386
Theme 3.30 790

Feedback

Magnus
29. Apr 2013 · 06:34 UTC
Not bad, at first I thought it was the complete opposite of minimalism, but that was a cool approach to it.
acronaut
29. Apr 2013 · 07:05 UTC
Nice execution on minimalism theme mechanic.
more challenging on further stages.
morbidbuilder407
29. Apr 2013 · 07:07 UTC
5th game i have tested and best one so far.. Thnk you for including player guides to your game.. Good stuff..
Zillix
29. Apr 2013 · 07:11 UTC
played all the way to the end. man, I do not want to let this guy pack for me on a trip! really unique interpretation of the theme. awesome job! I rather liked the graphics as well
aduros
29. Apr 2013 · 07:13 UTC
Great graphics! Interesting take on the theme.
Sebastian
29. Apr 2013 · 07:15 UTC
Hey, I thought this was a pretty cool game. Interesting way of including the minimalism theme :)
There were a couple of small problems like I was able to just walk straight over the first set of spikes. I also experienced some problems with wall jumping and some animation problems if I changed directions while still holding the other button down. Still nothing major and I had a good time playing!
graytest
29. Apr 2013 · 09:17 UTC
Cool game. Controls could maybe have been a bit better (jumping felt a bit sluggish), but overall I really liked it!
Chman
29. Apr 2013 · 09:23 UTC
The concept (moving weapons as you go - reversed minimalism) is really good, the graphics are nice, but the game is somewhat ruined by bad controls and weird movement physics. That's a bit sad because there's good potential here.
shotiris
29. Apr 2013 · 10:20 UTC
Awesome man :)
evelyn-jolli
29. Apr 2013 · 10:23 UTC
liked the concept. the controls, wall jumping in particular made me give up on the game at level 4.
jacklehamster
29. Apr 2013 · 10:24 UTC
Nice idea. I got annoyed with the controls at first, but after getting a hang of the double jump it got better.
Mythalore
29. Apr 2013 · 10:31 UTC
I didn't really get what was minimal about it, but the game is solid. Nice one.
orangepascal
29. Apr 2013 · 10:34 UTC
felt a bit slow and generic, but interesting result as you continue
Andrei Barsan
29. Apr 2013 · 11:30 UTC
I like the idea of heading TOWARDS minimalism. The platforming controls could be a tad tighter though. And the camera feels a bit laggy. But I liked the graphics and the sound effects. Dein Spiel gefällt mir. :D
8BitPimp
29. Apr 2013 · 11:37 UTC
Nice solid game. Funny and cute at the same time, I really like the snails and their draw style. The physics could use a little work however, as it feels like I am on the moon.
B
29. Apr 2013 · 12:08 UTC
Interesting approach, definitely original and innovative. Like you said, graphics need a little more work :)
Griz
29. Apr 2013 · 12:24 UTC
"graphics is one of the weakest parts of the game I think."
haha, can't really agree with you on this one.

Every part feels solid and the game has much to offer.
Quite enjoyed it.
Muu?
29. Apr 2013 · 12:25 UTC
Insightful game.
Tinco
29. Apr 2013 · 13:09 UTC
Nice little game, but I couldn't get past the wall jump in level 4, so apparently I can't get to the best part :(
muton
29. Apr 2013 · 13:18 UTC
Yeah, this is really good - I like the premise and everything works!
rujo
29. Apr 2013 · 13:41 UTC
nice one, reminds me of wonderboy in monsterland *nostalgic-sigh*
Tiago Ling Alexandre
29. Apr 2013 · 13:44 UTC
Nice approach to the theme. Long and hard game too (the wall jump is kind of tricky to master). On chapter 3, i got trapped inside a wall and couldn't return to the level.
Adipson
29. Apr 2013 · 14:28 UTC
year...it'a a Wonderboy'like ! fun ! good works
donan
29. Apr 2013 · 14:35 UTC
The game its really interesting. I like the choices and how the game raises the difficulty level. I think controls might have been better without the use of the mouse at the same time, and the weapons on different keys, cause you gotta stop moving to attack(its hard to move and use weapons at the same time with one hand)
JaJ
29. Apr 2013 · 14:48 UTC
Nice! Theme well used. The controls, especially the walljumping wasn't perfect though, and some weapons were too similar for my taste. I'm sad I dropped the bow first.
martijn
29. Apr 2013 · 14:54 UTC
Great graphics
LrdKzrth
29. Apr 2013 · 15:09 UTC
Charming approach and an enjoyable game.
theomnis
29. Apr 2013 · 15:57 UTC
You will have to pry my halberd from my cold dead hands!
Hiku
29. Apr 2013 · 17:06 UTC
Really, really good.
Mnemusyne
29. Apr 2013 · 17:18 UTC
I like the camera movement, very smooth.
TheSheep
29. Apr 2013 · 18:09 UTC
The controls are kinda hard, especially using the mouse and two sides of the keyboard at the same time. Wall jumping was too tight.
Webravenz
29. Apr 2013 · 18:28 UTC
nice game, had problems with controls too ... two many buttons and hard to wall jump, but nice graphics ;)
mrexcessive
29. Apr 2013 · 18:30 UTC
Take your point re. physics. It has sections where you have to die before you know how to proceed, perhaps reasonable but can get frustrating... maybe I'm not proceeding with sufficient caution...
sparkleswirl
29. Apr 2013 · 19:28 UTC
Hint for people w/ wall jumping troubles: do a wall jump right before you hit the apex of your first jump.

Of all the LD48 games where the core mechanic is "you lose something after every stage" (and there are so many of them!) yours I think is the best. The game is fun, it's excellently done and while all the other games ended with you losing your items/abilities I did not see Chapter 2 coming at all. The wall jump is a little awkward because your vertical momentum doesn't reset when you wall jump (you need to reset the character's vertical speed to 0 when you do a double/wall jump because otherwise if the character is falling you won't get much added height) but that's really the only complaint I have with the game.
hgouveia
29. Apr 2013 · 22:36 UTC
Very well done, love the graphics
vladimirdlc
30. Apr 2013 · 00:46 UTC
I liked it, I did not thought that it would end with that progression, interesting.
namuol
30. Apr 2013 · 03:50 UTC
Glad to see an entry about minimalism in the sense of decluttering. The "feel" was a bit sluggish for my taste in platformers but I can fogive it for the multitude of mechanics presented within it.
Misfit
30. Apr 2013 · 13:19 UTC
Nice little game. Everything works great, but jumping needs more gravity?
Linus Lindberg
30. Apr 2013 · 14:50 UTC
Great idea and presentations but the controls feel a litte off..
EdoMiyamoto
30. Apr 2013 · 15:49 UTC
It's a bit slippy but it's good !
EatenAlive3
30. Apr 2013 · 22:35 UTC
I loved it! Controls in the final level were a bit difficult, but I think the movement was intended. So many controls! :P
CherryNukaCola
01. May 2013 · 07:28 UTC
Wow. That was great. Clever use of theme and I really liked the game's message. Thank you!
numpad
01. May 2013 · 07:49 UTC
Good one! Nice idea with the minimalism. Didn't like the graphics. But nice levels.
Vaalen
01. May 2013 · 08:05 UTC
I have been blocked in a hole during the chapter 2 and it was impossible to escape so I restart the game. Except this, it's very good game.
robotality
01. May 2013 · 08:36 UTC
I liked the "remove your stuff" idea. The controls are a little bit strange which ruined the game a bit for me.
Jod
01. May 2013 · 10:30 UTC
Very well done, I loved dropping my weapons one by one and even ascending to... what, exactly? :)

Awesome.
intripoon
01. May 2013 · 11:23 UTC
Awesome game!
fullmontis
01. May 2013 · 11:37 UTC
Only thing I don't like is the fact that some weapons are impossible to use unless you get hit in return (like the knife). And maybe it needs some balance tuning. Other than that I really like the concept.
Diamonde
01. May 2013 · 14:03 UTC
This is indeed a true treasure. Very deep game and varied gameplay as well!
At the beginning of this compo I had the very same idea about leaving an item every level instead of gaining one, but didn't know hot to follow it through. You, however, did it brilliantly! :)
IceCliff
01. May 2013 · 14:12 UTC
The loosing weapons really annoyed me! :P
BrothersT
01. May 2013 · 14:51 UTC
Nice! I like it.
DaanVanYperen
01. May 2013 · 15:21 UTC
Wall jumping is fun!
kreischweide
01. May 2013 · 15:40 UTC
Not bad at all! You can feel the strugles with the platforming part here and there. But knowing that no framework was involved its quite impressive!
Wiering
01. May 2013 · 15:55 UTC
It was fun for a while, but frustrating to keep having to shoot each enemy like 10 times, and keep having to start over.
Dining Philosopher
01. May 2013 · 16:13 UTC
Nice! I really like the 'story', the later stages surprised me. The graphics are good, it's the audio that could use some improvement if you ask me ;-) It took me a while to figure out the wall-jumping.
Casino Jack
01. May 2013 · 16:46 UTC
The controls felt quite fiddly at first, but I got the hang of it by a few levels in.
oskardevelopment
01. May 2013 · 17:32 UTC
Charming game with personality and I personally like that you allow the user to make choices at each step which affects the gameplay. Choices are awesome!
Lizzip
01. May 2013 · 18:28 UTC
Nice indeed. Couldn't quite get the hang of the damn wall jumping though
LTyrosine
01. May 2013 · 19:08 UTC
Amazing game, loved the music, loved the graphics, mood and the powerful message it delivers. One of the gems of LD26 for no doubt.
Frozen Fractal
01. May 2013 · 19:11 UTC
I like the idea of the player becoming less powerful over time, rather than the enemies becoming more powerful. The physics are a bit floaty and the camera is too laggy; I frequently had to stop and wait for it to catch up before I could see where I was going. Wall jumping is too hard for me to pull off... Oh, I like the sound effects! They remind me of Commander Keen, especially the slugs.
Travis Irby
01. May 2013 · 19:46 UTC
Wow you got a lot done and its a fun little game nice job!
goerp
01. May 2013 · 19:54 UTC
I'm not sure if box2D would be much better. Wall jump isn't very real.
Anyway, I like the game and I think it is a nice take on the theme. The graphics are cute and the music has a nice old school pulse sound.
BradleySmith
01. May 2013 · 22:12 UTC
This is a very polished game for 48 hours, well done!
MinionStudios
01. May 2013 · 22:24 UTC
Fun game! love the optional weapons, but hate losing them. The controls are strange to use because of the key bindings (I prefer wasd and the action keys are too close)
PPLo
01. May 2013 · 23:20 UTC
I liked it. And I liked the conclusion!
Every level I was wondering what's gonna be abandonned next.
Good work!
lightnarcissus
02. May 2013 · 03:42 UTC
Mechanics particularly the controls feel a little slow but besides that the game is good fun!
cwilloughby
02. May 2013 · 04:58 UTC
Cool. Like the ideas and approach. Controls were very touchy. Camera lag was noticeable. Liked the decisions and audio.
enzo
02. May 2013 · 05:20 UTC
It was pretty straightforward for the first few levels, and then-holy shit, whaat?? Amazing twist
berareu
02. May 2013 · 09:45 UTC
Really great, I loved the twist!
jijaweb
02. May 2013 · 17:54 UTC
Cool game!
Rafael Sales
02. May 2013 · 19:05 UTC
Good game. Awesome art! Congratz!
Ithildin
02. May 2013 · 21:33 UTC
Graphics were quite good, and I like that you have to choose at the end of each level, a smart design decision =)

The bow felt a bit unresponsive at times, though, as if there was some kind of cooldown. Still, congratulations on a nice job :)
JohnnySix
02. May 2013 · 21:39 UTC
Cool game, loved the twist on the theme. I really liked the music too - the simple music with the noisy chip-tune was perfect. :)
alwaysinbeta
02. May 2013 · 22:36 UTC
Wow great game. Took a little while to get it. I thought the ending to chapter one was going to be the end, but there was much more to come. Fantastic!
KEFIR
02. May 2013 · 23:10 UTC
Really nice complete entry! Enjoed playing it!
Alexander
02. May 2013 · 23:55 UTC
Wall jump is tough
Pixelulsar
03. May 2013 · 01:02 UTC
Nice way of interpreting the theme, I love how cocky character was. Wall jumping did not feel right.
davidpeter
03. May 2013 · 02:07 UTC
Awesome. Excellent play on the theme.
kurrik
03. May 2013 · 06:56 UTC
Nice, I like how you didn't go for the obvious "make a simple game" approach to the theme. Wall jumping got a bit frustrating though.
dremelofdeath
03. May 2013 · 08:33 UTC
Very cool... Very deep. Really enjoyed the ending. The controls were a little weird when there was no gravity, but I was essentially unstoppable at that point, so it didn't matter. *spoiler alert* Giving up hatred was a fantastic idea for the ending.
patrickward
03. May 2013 · 14:00 UTC
Neat twist on the minimal theme. I love the concept and the graphics. The controls felt a little frustrating at times, but that may also be part of learning the game. Impressive that you did this without a framework. Well done!
runonthespot
03. May 2013 · 18:57 UTC
The art is especially great- enjoy the little bow and arrow too :)
Martin Vilcans
03. May 2013 · 21:35 UTC
The controls are extremely frustrating. I almost gave up after failing a wall jump for the 10th time. I'm glad I didn't because this is a great interpretation of the theme.
iossif
03. May 2013 · 22:51 UTC
i loved the snail enemies :D
somehow the walljump did not really work for me though. in the level after i lost the 2nd weapon i got stuck :(
SmilingCat
04. May 2013 · 13:34 UTC
Lol, first thing I thought when I started this game was, "I don't need all of these weapons!" I liked how the game slowly started whittling down your arsenal.
PabloAlexandre31
04. May 2013 · 17:03 UTC
Nice Game! I found the gameplay cool, the commands are difficult in sometimes, because i had use keyboard and mouse, but in overall, it's nice :)
Xgor
04. May 2013 · 18:30 UTC
Pretty cool, the engine is could use some polish though, the jumping (And flying) felt kinda stiff though.
elbowroom
05. May 2013 · 08:58 UTC
Very good. I did not find any flaws in this game. I guess you could say it was flawless? I liked the concept of losing everything to gain everything and the way the gameplay and level design worked with the concept to create a good experience. Most of all, I liked that it didn't end abruptly or too soon like some compo games do for understandable reasons.
mollymus
05. May 2013 · 10:35 UTC
Wow, I loved this game! Very cool! Played it through and enjoyed every minute!:)
hypp
05. May 2013 · 12:07 UTC
Nice one! And a creative way to deal with minimalism!
howieV (binarygirl)
05. May 2013 · 13:00 UTC
i couldnt grasp the up wall jump enough to progress till all the weapons were gone (if thats what happened ) believe me i tried hehe good game man :)
GranaDa
05. May 2013 · 19:32 UTC
Loved the "walk" animation of the player. Good thing to leave weapons behind. Good job!
GaTechGrad
06. May 2013 · 00:04 UTC
Interesting concept of having to give up a weapon after each level. I couldn't make it past the last? level where you only have the dagger.
sP0CkEr2
06. May 2013 · 03:39 UTC
really like the game -- great idea on the theme -- great effort.
WiseGAMER
06. May 2013 · 12:21 UTC
Nice game! I loved the approach to the theme.
KunoNoOni
06. May 2013 · 21:53 UTC
really cool game. Nice use of theme.
someone
06. May 2013 · 23:09 UTC
Interesting idea. Fun game. Good job.
Catman
07. May 2013 · 07:32 UTC
Fun mechanim, nice graphics, good mood. Controls were a bit stiff, tho.
brookman32k
07. May 2013 · 12:03 UTC
The enemy sprites are nice ;) The game places nicely but I had some trouble first with the keyconfig. Maybe it would be easier to change the active weapon and only have one attack button (or two, one for melee and one for the bow).
RealyUniqueName
07. May 2013 · 18:39 UTC
In early levels enemies takes too long to die )
Yarek
07. May 2013 · 19:09 UTC
I like this game, it's kinda fun and well done :)
Zener
08. May 2013 · 16:35 UTC
Very good graphics, I like to have multiple weapons and platformers mechanics are quite good too.
scriptorum
08. May 2013 · 19:58 UTC
But I need my hatred! It makes me stronger!
smotko
08. May 2013 · 22:37 UTC
I liked the idea of removing weapons each level, mostly because all the choices were overwhelming at first. The controls felt a bit awkward (I wish I could jump with space and using the mouse for just the bow was not as fun). Wall jumping was a bit of a pain, but I liked the game overall. Well done!
Fnkee
09. May 2013 · 00:31 UTC
Wonderful. At first I it didn't seem minimalistic at all, but as I played through the game, I understood your way of implementing it. Very unique, and with great story. Also, neat music. Good job!
Alex Shestakov
09. May 2013 · 05:42 UTC
Incredibly hard and confusing wall-jumps (so I dropped trying it on the 3rd level), but overall feeling is that you've done a great job creating several levels and tons of graphics! :)
GeorgeBroussard
09. May 2013 · 07:59 UTC
Graphic nice. Jump mechanics were too slow and floaty, imo. Controls were tough to handle. Would have preferred a weapon switch button and an attack button?
Ernyz
09. May 2013 · 11:06 UTC
Great game, i especially liked your approach to the theme :)
RobProductions
09. May 2013 · 19:37 UTC
Great concept!
Norritt42
09. May 2013 · 20:52 UTC
It was really hard to jump. Game did brake when tabbing. i total I did enjoy the experiences though. I just like to give you some to work on. :)
dick_claus
10. May 2013 · 03:31 UTC
Like the level without a body. Nice game.
GameRespect
10. May 2013 · 18:07 UTC
Simply love it. The aesthetic, the music, the concept.. I'm honestly jealous i didnt think of a concept of minimalism this good. Awesome job!
kill0u
10. May 2013 · 18:36 UTC
Nice theme interpretation. Controls can be improved ;)
avidgamerNino
10. May 2013 · 22:02 UTC
good job! I enjoyed you taking the steps into minimalism. I do not need any hatred
Jellycakes
11. May 2013 · 03:28 UTC
Was nice, quite a popular interpretation of minimalism which made for some quite difficult (and frustrating) gameplay. Really well done, some nice polish there.
arrogant.gamer
11. May 2013 · 06:18 UTC
This was a very fun, very clever, and very complete entry. This game presented me with a slow release of awesome, culminating in a great ending. As I discarded my weapons I thought, "oh yeah this is the 'minimalism' I guess." Only when I gained psychic powers did I begin to suspect what the true treasure might be.

Games like this -- that ask me to play a genre I'm familiar with in reverse -- are truly awesome. Reminded me of Death Death Evolution from a previous Ludum Dare.
Almax27
12. May 2013 · 11:12 UTC
Found the floaty jump kinda slow and frustrating but really liked how the game progressed. Good work :D
Yezu
12. May 2013 · 16:19 UTC
Nice take on the theme. The controls are irritating though...
Doublecaster
12. May 2013 · 16:52 UTC
This game was fantastic. Very interesting approach to the theme. Also the graphics were really good, I couldn't never do so good looking graphics in such a short time.
De10ter
13. May 2013 · 15:41 UTC
I nearly stopped playing due to the wall jumping frustration, but glad I kept on going, I enjoyed that.
twelveplusplus
14. May 2013 · 20:54 UTC
yes, wall jumping was a bit wonky... prety fun game though.
omaha
15. May 2013 · 04:43 UTC
Absolutely loved the in-game tutorial.
ncgames
16. May 2013 · 01:32 UTC
nice. solid concept stripping abilities each level
frogmaster
16. May 2013 · 15:34 UTC
I like the walljump system. You also did a nice effort on theme. Plus a really nice ending. Good job!
thatwhichis
16. May 2013 · 20:47 UTC
Really nice message, and a good response to some continuing controversy in game development. :-D
Madball
17. May 2013 · 12:35 UTC
Lolwhat? It`s almost the same idea as mine! And it`s 100th game I`ve rated.
Graphics are great, and storytelling is solid. The theme approach is very original :P.
Mind attack was overpowered. I can shoot once and kill very many enemies. And weapons gone too fast.
Gravity controls weren`t comfortable. The player seemed to go vertically faster and easier than horisontally...
And I expected a level when you can`t attack at all.
Puccini
17. May 2013 · 18:54 UTC
A lot of controls... I don't like the physics... but it's a good game.
Xanjos
17. May 2013 · 22:44 UTC
Took a while to get used to the wall jumping but the losing stuff as you progress mechanic was pretty cool and the ending was actually quite interesting.
Codexus
18. May 2013 · 10:19 UTC
Cool little platformer! The wall jumping was a bit too hard.
ghostinthesoft
18. May 2013 · 10:37 UTC
so much in so few time, great job
henrykun
19. May 2013 · 20:05 UTC
great game, it looks like you put a lot of effort on it. Challenging and fun, i like it.
whiteravens
19. May 2013 · 22:42 UTC
Great, but the controls are sometimes stiff and unresponsive. Still a great game nonetheless.
AdventureIslands
20. May 2013 · 17:12 UTC
Interesting take of the theme, bit similar to my game except yours had a nice aesop.

This was otherwise very well done, but the controls and physics were really wonky.
shawn42
20. May 2013 · 19:14 UTC
Very nice! I had a lot fun with the challenges. It's always good when you forget that you are rating games and just get sucked into one. The wall jumping felt a little strange; eventually I got the hang of it.
ryuurei
20. May 2013 · 19:47 UTC
This was incredible fun. The game itself was enjoyable- a nice little platformer. Stabbing away at monsters was pretty fun, but it was really entertaining as things get more minimal. A great way to tackle the theme, very creative, and a lot of fun. I really can't say anything bad about this. It was very entertaining, and I'd love to play more games like this.