Mutagen by Bender

[raw]
made by Bender for LD24 (JAM)
You have to survive in an arena full of monsters. You have the power to assimilate your enemy's special ability once they are dead. You can upgrade your health, damage, get special weapons, but this powers don't last forever...

WASD or arrow keys to move, shoot with the mouse, E to assimilate a monster (then you have ton click on a slot on the bottom of the screen).

Ratings

Coolness 50% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.66 31
Audio(Jam) 3.34 70
Fun(Jam) 3.64 23
Graphics(Jam) 3.74 72
Humor(Jam) 1.74 194
Innovation(Jam) 3.30 59
Mood(Jam) 3.38 43
Theme(Jam) 3.52 40

Feedback

pentaphobe
28. Aug 2012 · 14:22 UTC
Really cool extension of a basic concept.

Well done!
syawqy
28. Aug 2012 · 15:40 UTC
i like your screen effect
Zamando
28. Aug 2012 · 17:14 UTC
Nice concept, and really moody! I like it!
jellonator
28. Aug 2012 · 22:08 UTC
It lags quite a bit, a title screen with options would be nice for a future version. But that aside, I really like the concept and gameplay of this.
Pierrec
28. Aug 2012 · 22:11 UTC
This is the first 5 I give both in Innovation in Theme...it probably means it's the most interesting take on the theme I've seen so far, and it sure is one of the most interesting game. Didn't go very far on my first try. There will be other tries.
Kali Purr
29. Aug 2012 · 01:33 UTC
Wow, this is something I've been wanting to make for a while now. Glad to see it actually be pulled off. I can see this becoming bigger. The only things I'm not so hot on are the music, which is in complete juxtaposition to the actual mood and events of the current game. Also, unless I haven't figured it out, it would be nice to have a way to restart after dying.
The balance issues can be fixed with some work, and the visuals are just right for this. Awesome.
Pixelulsar
29. Aug 2012 · 01:38 UTC
Cool game, I liked the taking abilities from enemies thing.
michax
29. Aug 2012 · 01:41 UTC
Polished entry with nice upgrade system. Really enjoyed playing it!
RosyPenguin
29. Aug 2012 · 02:48 UTC
Very fun and polished! I played through quite a few times until the game froze D:

Overall, I liked the gameplay and interpretation of the theme. I can see you expanding this game even further; there are so many possibilities with this mechanic :D
kato9
29. Aug 2012 · 02:51 UTC
Really cool concept - it's pretty fun too but a little hectic. I actually think it'd be a little funner if you could just assimilate stuff automatically - in the end I was just taking whatever i was closest too anyway so it wouldn't have made a difference.
CappaGames
29. Aug 2012 · 04:24 UTC
Nice game. It might be interesting to test out picking up the upgrades, instead of having to pick it up manually.
TheBallCollective
29. Aug 2012 · 05:12 UTC
Fun game! I liked the idea of assimilating powers from enemies. Nice job!
r3d5
29. Aug 2012 · 05:28 UTC
Very fun! I loved picking up traits from fallen enemies. Good work! I enjoyed it alot
TenTonToon
29. Aug 2012 · 05:30 UTC
Quite fun, but a little too hectic. Sorting through the available abilities is too difficult, especially once your enemies start to shoot you. You should be able to simply grab them by going over them.

If you divided the abilities in different types (weapons, health, speed...) and made recognizable icons for each one (as you did for the weapons), the player could simply gravitate towards those (s)he liked the best.
And then you could add some negatively affecting abilities within the same categories, just to spice things a little bit (à la "Super Crate Box") :)

Congratulations!!
KaaPex
29. Aug 2012 · 06:16 UTC
I like it. But i have some lags.
DalsGames
29. Aug 2012 · 10:02 UTC
Fun!
arzi
29. Aug 2012 · 11:33 UTC
Definitely one of my favourites so far. Excellent art style, very good work on the shadow casts and effects.
CapGrip
29. Aug 2012 · 12:25 UTC
Simple and fun. Good job!
CapGrip
29. Aug 2012 · 12:31 UTC
really fun, great screen effects. Congrats
amidos2006
29. Aug 2012 · 15:33 UTC
nice game :)
Cake&Code
29. Aug 2012 · 16:02 UTC
That was awesome in every way! The visuals were great (I was really digging the shadows), the enemies had variety and style, and the getting of new powers was really fun and kept the game fresh and interesting. You should definitely do something with this, it's got so much potential (much already realized!)
ChevyRay
29. Aug 2012 · 16:43 UTC
Very cool, I love upgrade stacking! These kinds of systems are fun, and I like playing with different combinations.

That said, if you can't find a way to remove the lighting lag completely, take it out. It pretty much made the game unplayable for me (freezing every second or so for a moment), and I'd love to play more.
SecondDimension
29. Aug 2012 · 17:39 UTC
Excellent idea, with some really nice graphics too. If there was an updated version that fixed some of the lag issues I would definitely play this again, well done
raarlac
29. Aug 2012 · 18:55 UTC
Really nice!
nseward
29. Aug 2012 · 19:19 UTC
Very nice. The graphics and sound are both spot on. I like the power ups too.
Graf_Grun
29. Aug 2012 · 19:29 UTC
I liked it but the monster motion and shadow casts could have been more polished.
xhunterko
29. Aug 2012 · 20:30 UTC
Okay, good take on the theme. Oh, sure, now the good music starts. Still tolerable though. Well done!
GreyShock
30. Aug 2012 · 08:29 UTC
I've seen other approachings to this genre during this LD24, but this is the best executed I'ven seen so far. Also loved the lights effect. Pretty Fun! Congrats!
olav_st
30. Aug 2012 · 19:14 UTC
I love the art style! The gameplay and mechanichs were nice. I like how you tied it into the theme. The Audio was good but became a bit repetitive after a while. Other than that, nice job. :)
Switchbreak
31. Aug 2012 · 00:06 UTC
I love the look of this, and the movement feels really good. Nice work!
Eldaryze
01. Sep 2012 · 16:53 UTC
Good concept, good graphics, good audio : great game !
AuxiliumGames
02. Sep 2012 · 02:24 UTC
I like it! Great look and feel/sound overall. Some simple animation for the sprites would go a long way though. Fun to play :D !
thewiseguy99
07. Sep 2012 · 01:16 UTC
Fun game. Really liked the concept. Played well, controls were smooth and responsive. Agree and a menu screen would have been useful. Great effort!
Arc
08. Sep 2012 · 09:52 UTC
Good demonstration of a solid concept: reap the goodies from your trail of fallen. I wish you'd had time to make an 'easy' mode for 'tard gamers like me.
entrusC
08. Sep 2012 · 18:24 UTC
good game - makes a lot of fun! The assimilation of the attacker's powers is a really nice adaption of the "evolution" theme :) Also nice fov implementation even if not really used in the game. ;)
Canard Sauvage
13. Sep 2012 · 20:30 UTC
Really nice effects and I liked it pretty much in every aspect. The only problem was the lag, is it a performance issue (the lighting?) or something else? Extra points for music and sound effects :)
LoneStranger
17. Sep 2012 · 22:25 UTC
I thought this was one of the better games I've played. The controls are a hurdle for me. Not sure if I could eventually get the hang of it, or if another method of shooting would be easier to deal with. I like the idea of choosing your upgrades as a sort of reward for conquering a type of enemy, and the fact that they were not permanent.