LudumData

Tiny Runner by Jarcas Studios

[raw]
made by Jarcas Studios for LD26 (COMPO)
This is a minimalist endless runner. The playfield is technically only 20 pixels wide, but I've scaled that up to 40 to make it at least somewhat visible/readable on modern displays.

Object of the game: See how far you can run (your distance is displayed at the top)

Press Up/Down to jump over/duck under walls

Press SPACE to configure your power suit to match the color of the force fields

Press R to replay after game over

--------------------------

I ended up using Unity3D, the free RagePixel Unity add-on to draw and animate sprites, and the free Orthello Unity add-on to handle font/text display.

Was a busy weekend. Total dev time was somewhere around 7-8 hours I believe. I ran out of time, so I wasn't able to add sounds or tweak the difficulty curve like I wanted to. All the same, I think it's a pretty playable game.

Web (Unity) http://www.jarcas.com/LD26/
Source http://www.jarcas.com/LD26/TinyRunnerSrc.zip
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-26/?action=preview&uid=20322

Ratings

Coolness 77% 2
Overall 3.22 501
Audio 1.31 1077
Fun 3.14 416
Graphics 2.75 770
Humor 2.03 710
Innovation 3.11 573
Mood 2.74 696
Theme 3.93 207

Feedback

DustyStylus
29. Apr 2013 · 10:04 UTC
Tough little game! I like the challenge and concept though. Maybe add the "R to replay" to the instructions text as the in-game pixel font looked a bit like P at first.
Hyaku
29. Apr 2013 · 12:27 UTC
Great little game.

Very simple but somehow more complex and original than the tipical endless runner.
With some sound would be a lot better.

I want this game on my android !!!
8BitPimp
29. Apr 2013 · 14:20 UTC
simple but solidly produced. Really looks like something from the DOS era I think.
Gremlin
29. Apr 2013 · 14:26 UTC
Tiny little Unity camera! Chrome resizes it just fine though, so I zoomed in to make the pixels a bit more readable on my 1080p display.

It's the times where I have to switch colors twice while sliding under a wall that tend to end my runs.

Part of me wishes that I could see two barriers ahead instead of just the current and the first upcoming one, so I could anticipate what's coming next and get into even more trouble as I over-anticipated and switched too soon. Kind of works against the minimalistic purity of one focus, though.

The timing between the barriers is about perfect, but I'd also almost want them to be more spaced out but everything moves faster, to get a better sense of speed. That would probably work against my sucky reflexes, though.

Pity it doesn't have audio.
JonRB
29. Apr 2013 · 14:57 UTC
Cute and indeed simplistic. Not sure how to handle both obstacles appearing at once.
PushmePullyu
29. Apr 2013 · 15:14 UTC
A minimal clap to you sir. *cl*
EdoMiyamoto
29. Apr 2013 · 15:22 UTC
It's soooo minimal
Infin8
29. Apr 2013 · 15:42 UTC
It could fit on a wristwatch! It was hard on my tired eyes though. Great game overall
🎤 Jarcas Studios
29. Apr 2013 · 15:45 UTC
@JonRB, you just have to be jumping/ducking while you are the appropriate color. So, if it's a wall on the bottom with a red force field on top, then you have to be jumping while you are red to match the color of the force field.
Alucard J
29. Apr 2013 · 17:09 UTC
Apart from the actual size of the window, this is done well.
@SamPotasz
29. Apr 2013 · 18:57 UTC
Cute! TIP to future players: Just zoom in with your browser and it works great
michail
29. Apr 2013 · 20:10 UTC
Good one and fine approach to the theme - to bad there's no sound!
dem0
29. Apr 2013 · 22:20 UTC
Really simple yet addicting
Jellycakes
29. Apr 2013 · 23:37 UTC
Pretty nice, very tiny! A little bit bland without sound though. But still pretty cool. Nice one!
AnTiCamPr
30. Apr 2013 · 21:22 UTC
Very nice game! Fits the theme perfectly and you still made the game have a nice feel and I feel I could play this a lot on a mobile device. I just wish it had audio.
NicoSaraintaris
01. May 2013 · 14:55 UTC
Nice take on the theme. The matching part is a good feature to avoid getting repetitive too soon. Congrats on this!
hypp
01. May 2013 · 17:05 UTC
I could play this one forever. Really minimal and fun!
cinnamonmelonpig
01. May 2013 · 17:09 UTC
creative!
Stryphe
01. May 2013 · 20:03 UTC
Have you thought about putting this on a Pebble watch?
🎤 Jarcas Studios
01. May 2013 · 20:11 UTC
@Stryphe, I'd love to release this on some kind of platform with a miniature display, but I don't think this would work on Pebble. If I understand correctly, Pebble is based on e-ink (not LCD or LED or whatever). And last I heard, e-ink displays still have pretty horrible refresh rates, and games like this need a high frame rate since things are moving so fast.
TheCze
02. May 2013 · 01:55 UTC
Impressive for 7-8 hours work. I liked the death animation.
eedok
02. May 2013 · 01:56 UTC
Turning the comments into a leaderboard got 230: http://puu.sh/2L83U.png
zatyka
02. May 2013 · 01:58 UTC
Nice use of the theme. I played a few rounds, and definitely enjoyed myself. I imaging this being a mini-game in warioware type game with similar mini-games.
rogueNoodle
02. May 2013 · 15:39 UTC
I was doing pretty good until I had to turn red AND slide at the same time... great entry!
LTyrosine
04. May 2013 · 15:49 UTC
Woa never saw so little Unity player hahaha... nice one, congrats.
Sebastian
06. May 2013 · 18:38 UTC
Very cool little game! Once I turned some music on it became very addictive (lack of music is my biggest and possibly only criticism).
eedok wants to turn the comments into a leader-board so here we go:

eedok: 230
Sebastian: 402
euwaku
11. May 2013 · 04:59 UTC
You certainly earned the weirdest/smallest resolution award for a unity game :D
TurboDindon
11. May 2013 · 19:25 UTC
The size of the game is very amazing and original!

- SEPHY (@sephyka)
Tifu
11. May 2013 · 21:25 UTC
266! Good take on the theme, very challenging having to change colours! :D
Dietrich Epp
12. May 2013 · 06:14 UTC
Fun and very minimal. Wish it had sounds.
Sylvain.p
14. May 2013 · 18:38 UTC
It's really what we can called a small game.
JohnnySix
14. May 2013 · 19:38 UTC
Seems overkill using unity for this, but it's bang on theme haha. Bonus points for the teeny weeny layout. :D It took a while to figure the colour change thing - I kept trying to jump the barriers unsuccessfully. If anything playing through the Ludum entries has taught me, it's that I suck at playing video games.
rzfmzn
15. May 2013 · 00:59 UTC
Loved it =OD
Gratz =O)
mrspeaker
15. May 2013 · 08:06 UTC
Such a great idea. Wish it had a bit of audio, but other than that I flippin' loved it!
Dotanukii
20. May 2013 · 06:22 UTC
Goes with the theme really well. I love the color aspect, it gives it a nice twist. Good job!
berareu
20. May 2013 · 11:25 UTC
Cool! The color-matching mechanic makes the game a lot more interesting than the usual runners!
GeorgeBroussard
20. May 2013 · 20:10 UTC
I liked the vertical runner idea. You could make a solid game out of this with more work and polish. Would work on it more. Drop the Tiny and just make a cool vertical runner?