Zzard by Peping

[raw]
made by Peping for LD25 (JAM)
Humans sent rover Curiosity to collect proof of life on planet Mars. You are Zzarg, purple Martian, with a simple mission: hide proof of life on Mars from Curiosity's sight.

Ratings

Coolness 62% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.43 75
Audio(Jam) 3.37 71
Fun(Jam) 3.06 115
Graphics(Jam) 3.58 103
Humor(Jam) 3.21 69
Innovation(Jam) 3.53 44
Mood(Jam) 3.00 122
Theme(Jam) 3.19 183

Feedback

TehSkull
18. Dec 2012 · 07:45 UTC
I like this game. It's just not very fun. Everything else is in top form though.

I think the gameplay being so strict and pixel perfect takes away from the fun.
Jlebow
18. Dec 2012 · 08:59 UTC
Nice start. Great art. Could be fun with more time to polish.
Monxcleyr Productions
18. Dec 2012 · 09:19 UTC
I like how you handled the theme, very creative. Fantastic art as well.
The mechanics leave a little to be desired, and the levels could use some tweaking for difficulty. Nice start!
Wukkopi
18. Dec 2012 · 14:54 UTC
Nice game.
DaviDeMo
18. Dec 2012 · 19:01 UTC
haha, very fun =)
Starspell
18. Dec 2012 · 19:05 UTC
This is a great concept and I love the idea. Not really fitting directly with the theme - but who cares.

The graphics and audio are great. I can see you put in a load of work into the view paths and the wheels and instruments of the rover - it looks great.

My biggest problem with the game is that it's sooo slow paced. It would be fine as a default speed but really, you need a speed up button.
Ed Okonik
18. Dec 2012 · 19:13 UTC
Good fun and nice original gameplay idea.
shaneshanekavanagh
18. Dec 2012 · 19:25 UTC
Some real pretty well polished menus and game art. Cheers!
master4523
18. Dec 2012 · 19:37 UTC
Slick and neat design. Nice audio and graphics too. When you die you get back to the main menu and "New game" is selected by default. Usually when I die and want to continue I'll just press Enter, but then I'll have to start over again from the first level, kinda annoying. Anyway, that was fun :)
🎤 Peping
18. Dec 2012 · 20:00 UTC
@master4523 We thought that when player presses Esc, he doesn't want to retry...

@Starspell Slow paced? People usually complain gameplay is too fast... :D I think it's just right.

Anyway, thanks for all suggestions! :)
sev_inf
18. Dec 2012 · 20:14 UTC
Awesome idea! I'm 100% sure that this is what really happens on Mars right now.
Aslai
19. Dec 2012 · 02:17 UTC
I thought that this game was very fun and well done, but it doesn't really fit the theme all that well. It would be nice if Curiosity gave some sign of where he was going to move before he moved though.
Amos Wenger
19. Dec 2012 · 03:46 UTC
Nice game, I was surprised (in a good way) at the objective, and I like it. However it gets old fast, and I wish I could glide along the rocks instead of having to carefully avoid them by fear of getting stuck.
Hume
20. Dec 2012 · 13:17 UTC
Good job. Good idea and execution. Tutorial level is good. Hand drawn style is great. Although technically, the General is the villain.

I didn't see a way to beat the third level.
bradleypollard
20. Dec 2012 · 20:31 UTC
It's pretty tricky, at least first time playing a level, because you have to predict where the rover will take pictures AND where it will move. Maybe a drawn on path would aid the player at least in the early levels? Concept and art are cool though.
🎤 Peping
21. Dec 2012 · 10:27 UTC
@Amos Wenger: Yeah, we will do that gliding thing next time. :)

@Humme: Technically, you are the general giving orders to Zzard. Like giving orders to units in Command and Conquer. ;)

About the hints of direction of the movement - it's part of a gameplay. You must guess the way Curiosity will probably go. When you are replaying level, you know where it is going and you can hide trash ahead of time. :)
Bobrocket
21. Dec 2012 · 23:02 UTC
very good start!
NiceAlexanderAS
23. Dec 2012 · 14:20 UTC
hehe cool idea!, very fun!, nice work! :D
Joozey
30. Dec 2012 · 19:57 UTC
Well executed game! I enjoyed it until the end. Story could be a little more worked out, and the items in the levels could be a bit more varied, but great job as it is!