LudumData

To And Fro by iamwhosiam

[raw]
made by iamwhosiam for LD26 (COMPO)
Having no creative bones in my body and only being good at infinitives, I asked myself, "What is the most minimalistic game you could make?" At first, I thought of a 3D open-world, cover-based shooter, but, as those are so common in jams, I thought I'd go for the least obvious route: a shmup.

Everyone knows the only cool dimensions are the 1st and 4th dimensions. But, while a 4th dimensional game would be a good idea, I've yet to see a 1D game.

So, there. A 1D shmup.

A and D to move left and right. Right and Left arrow keys to shoot. You are the green square. Your enemies are red. You shoot purple. You collect the yellow for POINTS.

Once your accustomed to the game, the enemies speed up.

edit: Also, the green tiles in the middle heal you. Forgot about that. That's pretty important.

Web http://www.thunderwaregames.com/toandfro/toandfro.html
Source http://www.thunderwaregames.com/toandfro/toandfro_src.zip
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-26/?action=preview&uid=14725

Ratings

Coolness 62% 3
Overall 2.34 1252
Audio 2.13 881
Fun 2.24 1154
Graphics 2.16 1186
Humor 2.48 402
Innovation 3.09 588
Mood 2.33 1053
Theme 3.46 632

Feedback

gizmo
29. Apr 2013 路 07:04 UTC
it took me a while to figure out what was going on:) had a good laugh when i finally did :D great idea!
ella guro
30. Apr 2013 路 01:47 UTC
cool idea. a few things: i had a hard time keeping off the wave of guys after a bit. maybe i'm just not understanding the mechanics yet, because i don't know what the darker squares seem to do. also i would make the player's square stand out more & (a minor thing but) ingame when it said "L&R to shoot" it confused me.
馃帳 iamwhosiam
30. Apr 2013 路 18:14 UTC
By darker squares do you mean the green ones in the center? Cause if you are they heal And I totally never explain that anywhere.
Joror
01. May 2013 路 17:56 UTC
Novel concept, but a very hard to read game with all the flickering of the squares.
someone
01. May 2013 路 18:04 UTC
Really have no idea whats happening. It gets hectic too fast so there isn't enough time to figure anything out before you die. The "L&R to shoot" text confused me too.
Exclamation Mark
01. May 2013 路 18:05 UTC
It's a 1D super crate box with 1 weapon, and I like it! Though i couldn't play it without zooming into the browser window its soo tiny. The game could be a bit more visible - maybe if the shots were less flashy so that the protagonist and the enemies would stand out a bit better. Also, i'd change the screenshot you have here - the BEST thing about the game is how simple it is, don't photoshop it to make it look more complex. No one photoshops paper bags on supermodels so don't spoil your work as well ;) You followed the theme, made a game that's hilarious in how it works, and is enjoyable and engaging. Good sir, have my like!
theomnis
01. May 2013 路 18:38 UTC
What just happened? :)
CMaster
01. May 2013 路 18:46 UTC
Blop-blop-blop-blop

Felt like the grid set up made it hard to see you/the enemies past the rather large flickering squares.
TheCze
01. May 2013 路 18:49 UTC
Took me some time to figure out that L&R are the left and right keys and NOT the keys "L" and "R". After that it was a nice game :)
xRich_
01. May 2013 路 18:49 UTC
A little too fast paced to learn still can't quite get the hang of it, I'm sure it's a great game! Gonna keep trying at it! :)
Grouflon
01. May 2013 路 20:27 UTC
I just can't figure it out what I'm supposed to do... I'm not epileptic yet but I might become if I play 5 more minutes :)
Trench
01. May 2013 路 20:29 UTC
Fun little game i enjoyed playing it well done!
Jiddo
01. May 2013 路 21:52 UTC
Another game that hurt my brain from all the flashing details and game elements that are hard to make out. After understanding what was actually going on it was actually a very playable game! Cool concept and great that you have now shown me what a 1D-shooter would be like.
EatenAlive3
02. May 2013 路 22:13 UTC
I had no idea what was going on; this is definitely a 1D game! Haha.
marnaouf
02. May 2013 路 22:26 UTC
Nice fun game and cool concept. Also pretty challenging.
davidpeter
05. May 2013 路 03:38 UTC
Nice concept! Became too easy once I reached the green squares, since it just meant I could focus fire on one side and then switching to the other if it got too close.
Cybearg
05. May 2013 路 04:40 UTC
Very neat concept, though, a others have mentioned, it's difficult to tell what's going on. That could stand to be improved.

Also, I wonder if there is really much strategy or choice available in the game. It seemed to me that I just needed to hold fire for the direction I was going to move to get a square, then the other way, then back and forth until I ran out of life. Is there any way to actually minimize lives lost, or is it an inevitable decline regardless of what you do?
caranha
05. May 2013 路 12:54 UTC
That is a very unique idea, and has a lot with the theme! But the execution leaves a bit to be desired.

The enemies move a bit too fast even in the earlier levels, and the shooting cooldown is way too high, so I die very quickly. The option of holding down a key to shoot would be very welcome.

Also, it was a bit hard to see the enemies, the shot and the player - maybe make a higher contrast between the rectangles and the units in the game?

Anyway, thanks for the cool idea.