Friend of Tokyo by cdata

[raw]
made by cdata for LD25 (COMPO)
This is a JavaScript-based browser game. It has been tested in Firefox and Chrome, and on a few iOS and Android devices. I hope you like it!

Ratings

Coolness 52% 3
Overall 3.16 274
Audio 1.50 562
Fun 2.98 297
Graphics 3.64 128
Humor 2.34 422
Innovation 3.51 111
Mood 2.45 539
Theme 3.60 189

Feedback

loren
17. Dec 2012 · 04:40 UTC
Very fun, I liked the graphics too
Somfunambulist
17. Dec 2012 · 04:42 UTC
Really nice game! The imagery is very nice, and the gameplay is simple and yet novel. I really dig that skull that slowly appears, I would love a tshirt with that on it.
Wuhao
17. Dec 2012 · 04:43 UTC
how do you win? or lose
deathray
17. Dec 2012 · 04:44 UTC
Very cool concept, and I love the graphic style.
I haven't figured out anything deeper than (1) pick the row with the tallest things, (2) mow it down. Good potential.
Might be a nice touch to show the monster eagerly waiting behind the scenes while you are looking over the board.
Manuel777
17. Dec 2012 · 04:45 UTC
I like it, I managed to score 4958120 on my first run, I dont know if thats a lot.. it needs highscores :)
netgrind
17. Dec 2012 · 04:47 UTC
I loved the slick minimalism of the city.
GeorgeBroussard
17. Dec 2012 · 10:10 UTC
Like the art. Felt like a version of whack-a-mole but the delay between whacks was not great. i'd almost prefer a higher action game where the skill comes from reflex or something like that. It warrants further dev though to see if you can make it challenging. After a while I just clicked on the next row as fast as I could and paid little attention to what was on them and seemed to keep up. Love the giant dino idea. Keep working on it.
emveyh
17. Dec 2012 · 10:11 UTC
Graphics are nice. Is there a way to lose the game? I played for 5 minutes, just clicked randomly through the city and nothing happened
🎤 cdata
17. Dec 2012 · 18:30 UTC
Thanks for all of the feedback, guys!

As far as winning or losing is concerned, it is a puzzle game (a la Bejeweled or Tetris). This means that your goal is to get the most points (there is no 'end'). Losing is inevitable, and happens when the game field overwhelms you at some point. The bars at the top left mark how close you are to losing, but it isn't especially clear that this is the case.

This also underscores the need for some kind of high-scores list. It is a small feature that would have added a lot to the game. Thanks to Manuel for that suggestion :)

Regarding George's comment, I wanted to inject more strategy into the choice of lane, but sadly ran out of time. My plan is to make it so that after the fourth building of a giving color that you hit in a row, you change direction. This opens the possibility of getting combos of 5 or more buildings much more likely. As it stands, it does feel very whack-a-mole-ish. I am inspired by your encouragement to improve the game after judging is completed. Thanks!

I should also suggest as an incentive that there are three potential endings to the story that you can reach based on how you lose, for anyone who is interested in that stuff ;)
NuSan
17. Dec 2012 · 21:05 UTC
Nice game, very minimalistic in a good way
Cthu
17. Dec 2012 · 22:09 UTC
Didn't work on my opera (Uncaught exception: DOMException: INDEX_SIZE_ERR), but was fine in Chrome. Really dig the art style and premise, this has potential for a nice mobile game.
raarlac
17. Dec 2012 · 22:51 UTC
Great game, but it should be more difficult.
BenW
18. Dec 2012 · 05:41 UTC
Neat game I feel like it goes on a bit too long though.
BarrensZeppelin
18. Dec 2012 · 13:17 UTC
great graphics style! played this on my android device.
SecondDimension
18. Dec 2012 · 17:20 UTC
Excellent stuff, I liked the idea of managing the different coloured bars (types of civilization), it meant I chose my lanes with greater care to try and maximise destruction of the leading colour.

I think that idea has real potential in a puzzle game. What would be cool is if the different coloured bars had direct effects within the game; like too much Red meant little military units attacking your monster, too much Blue meant commercial gain so buildings built quicker... something like that. A full version would be worth a purchase on the app store!
pythong
18. Dec 2012 · 22:04 UTC
you say losing is inevitable, but i had like 200000 points without having the feeling of losing o.O. Do the towers grow faster? I just kept destroying buildings from one side - which means that i attack each field after ten rounds, independent of their color. do the buildings grow faster?
🎤 cdata
19. Dec 2012 · 05:22 UTC
@Cthu: I have fixed the Opera bug. Thank you for reporting it!

@SecondDimension: Thanks for the feedback - I really like your idea regarding the visual effects of a certain sector getting too powerful, and I am glad you enjoyed the mechanic.

@pythong: Strictly speaking, the game difficulty increases linearly every ten rounds. It is possible that this is too slow for most players to notice. To answer your question: yes, "increased difficulty" in this case means that towers grow and respawn more rapidly.
Per
19. Dec 2012 · 13:44 UTC
The city planners should really start to think outside the box, literally :)
Nice graphics!
Could be a little more challenging though..
Add some cute crash and scream sounds and you will improve the evil feeling :)
CappaGames
19. Dec 2012 · 18:49 UTC
It needs a bit more variety, but i like the idea. Good game.
tomvert
20. Dec 2012 · 12:56 UTC
Well polished presentation.
permanente1600
20. Dec 2012 · 16:11 UTC
Im a sucker for isometric games. this was really a great concept. My one comment on it was that the difficulty level never seemed to pick up. I had little trouble just going forever.
Asamak
21. Dec 2012 · 21:28 UTC
great game with a total simple concept and intuitive handling.
add a way to win the game and some strategic elements, that people have to think more about the next move and it will be the perfekt pause game like minesweeper or solitar. ;)
Houly
23. Dec 2012 · 17:06 UTC
Nice little game. Great graphics and playing godzilla is always great :)
Drabiter
26. Dec 2012 · 00:30 UTC
Good game! fun for wasting time :)
arhpositive
31. Dec 2012 · 10:13 UTC
Nice idea and implementation, a bit easy to get the game going for a long time, though. :) The base puzzle idea is solid and it can be improved to make a good iOS game in my opinion.
mikemacdee
31. Dec 2012 · 23:09 UTC
cute idea, although i'm not too sure about the colors' significance. I figured the red "missile" buildings were defenses that would hurt me, but they didn't seem to.
recursive frog
02. Jan 2013 · 02:32 UTC
This was a neat idea, but I feel like it really needed some sound effects to sell it, and also perhaps to be a bit faster paced. The game seemed to last a very long time, and I was beginning to want it to end so I could see my score and try again.
fishbrain
04. Jan 2013 · 12:42 UTC
Interesting idea.
chrismwaite
05. Jan 2013 · 12:06 UTC
Nice concept and fun to play (especially once I figured out the bars at the top left). I think its crying out for sound effects and some obstacles/powerups.
frosty
05. Jan 2013 · 21:45 UTC
I like this. =) With some sounds and bigger clickable arrows, this could be pretty addictive.