The ducks are taking over!! by JaJ

[raw]
made by JaJ for LD24 (COMPO)
In a prehistoric cave, ancient ducks and other species are rapidly evolving. Kill them before they take over the world!

Left/Right arrows, A/D or Q/D to move
Up, Z, W or Alt to jump
Space, Shift, Control or X to shoot

Enemies evolve depending on your interaction with them. There are 5 areas they can evolve in: reproduction, durability, intelligence, strength and movement. Depending on the way you play (or the enemies you face) one stat may evolve more quickly than another.

There are three levels but you have to select the level before you start, you can't proceed from one level to another (yet). The levels are meant to demonstrate the different enemies and possible level designs.

Ratings

Coolness 79% 2
Overall 3.32 191
Audio 3.57 47
Fun 3.40 109
Graphics 3.73 109
Humor 2.61 204
Innovation 2.60 480
Mood 3.05 170
Theme 2.88 380

Feedback

Th3dz
27. Aug 2012 · 15:40 UTC
Fun. Nice graphics, nice music, audio. Great game!
Blobby101
27. Aug 2012 · 16:35 UTC
Nice. Pulls off the retro vibe really well!
berkano
27. Aug 2012 · 16:38 UTC
Nice! Loved the retro graphics, sfx and music. Needs more levels! (either that or I'm too dumb to get past the first screen)
panzermancer
27. Aug 2012 · 16:39 UTC
This was actually a pretty cool concept, and executed quite well. I just wish perhaps there were more levels.
TheSheep
27. Aug 2012 · 16:44 UTC
Nice shooter and plays well, if only there wasn't some bug that killed me every time I try to leave the first screen -- so I couldn't even go any further. Just stayed on the first screen and killed some ducks, but that got boring very fast, especially since it's trivial to avoid them if you don't want to go forward.
🎤 JaJ
27. Aug 2012 · 16:44 UTC
Thanks! The idea was of course to have more than three levels, but the time just wasn't there. The concept was to go to the next level after collecting a certain amount of diamonds. You can select one of the other two levels by pressing left and right in the title screen, the other levels demonstrate two other enemies too.
dalbinblue
27. Aug 2012 · 16:46 UTC
Fun, cool game. First thing I did though was walk down the hole on the right on the first level (think it was multi-screen).
commanderstitch
27. Aug 2012 · 16:48 UTC
Fun! nice work with the retro feel and graphics! the twist on the theme was cool too. got about 1200 points. heehee.
🎤 JaJ
27. Aug 2012 · 16:54 UTC
I wish it was multi-screen! I didn't have as much time as the previous times I entered, but while the game isn't finished the way I wanted, I see potential so I'm really not sorry for entering!

However, looking at it the day after, I would really like to make a metroidvania out of this instead of a level based game. The fact that enemies evolve depending on how you interact with them could really solve that "backtracking is boring" problem.
kirill
27. Aug 2012 · 19:38 UTC
Like the theme: enemies evolve abilities.
Are those up-down enemies fire hydrants? :)
Lacutis
27. Aug 2012 · 19:39 UTC
Its a fun game with good graphics and sound. I don't really see the tie in with evolution, but it's still fun (and funny).
kirill
27. Aug 2012 · 19:41 UTC
Ps. the way the player moves is sliding, like he's on ice ... didn't fit well with the feel / setting imho.
🎤 JaJ
27. Aug 2012 · 19:57 UTC
@Lacutis: The enemies evolve depending on your interaction with them. I'll give a breakdown:

Reproduction: Rate at which enemies (re)spawn. Can evolve when you kill a lot of enemies.

Durability: Enemy health, evolves when you kill enemies quickly after they spawn.

Strength: Power of enemies and enemy bullets. At a certain point this will also make enemies shoot. Evolves when you don't lose hp for a period of time.

Movement: Effects speed and movement patterns. Evolves when your hit percentage is high.

Intelligence: Influences how much enemies react to you. Evolves when you are close to enemies.

I hope that clears it up. The game might appear to be a lot simpler than it actually is ;)
josefnpat
27. Aug 2012 · 20:01 UTC
Very nice. Nice retro gamer!

And the upgrades made it harder. As said before, needs more levels :)
SecondDimension
27. Aug 2012 · 21:21 UTC
It makes a lot more sense now I've read your explanation on the evolution possibilities. Nice retro graphics and audio, Good job
aare
27. Aug 2012 · 22:42 UTC
The platformer mechanic is very good, and I love the retro feel of the game. Though, I think the level design could be better - imho it should be symmetrical. Something similar to Chrono$Casch f.e.
Zccc
28. Aug 2012 · 01:01 UTC
Very fun to play!
samoojamies
28. Aug 2012 · 06:54 UTC
Nicely catches the NES mood. Lacks a bit variety.
ChronoDK
28. Aug 2012 · 12:38 UTC
This is good simple fun!
tcstyle
28. Aug 2012 · 14:57 UTC
Nice retro-styled game. Had fun.
Sergey Mohov
28. Aug 2012 · 16:25 UTC
Can't open it in Chrome :-(
🎤 JaJ
28. Aug 2012 · 17:40 UTC
That's really weird. Chrome is my browser too, and I tested it in firefox and explorer as well, so chrome itself is not the problem.
Cake&Code
28. Aug 2012 · 21:05 UTC
@TheSheep That hole in the first level isn't an exit, as I too originally thought! The other levels make that clear but it's not apparent at first.

Fun game, kept me coming back for more! I think the AI for movement needs some work still though, since on Level 2 it actually makes them easier when they evolve since they won't walk off their little spawn platforms xD
CappaGames
28. Aug 2012 · 22:24 UTC
Loved the music.
quasist
29. Aug 2012 · 21:00 UTC
Too bad that framerate seems low.
SaintHeiser
31. Aug 2012 · 15:37 UTC
Good visuals, good audio, good gameplay, good game! I like how you play around theme! Nice work!
harusame
31. Aug 2012 · 15:38 UTC
Fun game with a good music and audio ^^ Not very innovative but it's fun ! Great job !
raarlac
31. Aug 2012 · 16:45 UTC
I don't think I understood the concept of the game... Its just walking around and shooting ducks?
The graphics are nice, and the music is flawless.
BrothersT
31. Aug 2012 · 17:08 UTC
Good game! the character feels a little bit heavy, decellerating and acceleration around and such. the art is good, sound's very arcadey and I like the progression of the enemies. the third level is a bit tight and I don't like how the eyes go through the walls, but apart from that, I loved it!
madpew
31. Aug 2012 · 18:35 UTC
Nice little game. Was a bit too easy in the beginning but turned out the be well balanced after the first few "rounds". Well done!
🎤 JaJ
31. Aug 2012 · 21:28 UTC
@raarlac: That's exactly the point, but the ducks are evolving into more difficult enemies depending on how you play.

@harusame: Thank you! I tried to keep my ambition low and focus on fun, so that's good to hear. Next time I'll try for both fun and innovation.
FunByJohn
01. Sep 2012 · 10:37 UTC
Nice game. I've gotta admit in the start I was a little confused about what I was doing, I thought I was platforming only, so I tried to jump into the hole to proceed in the level in the first level, only to realize my sudden death :p I usually don't read the descriptions/instructions, as I believe games should be self-explanatory, or at least explain the rules of the game as the game is going on, which is why I didn't know what I was doing in the start.
KEFIR
04. Sep 2012 · 10:47 UTC
Liked graphics and sound. Perfect retro style!
RawBits
05. Sep 2012 · 03:20 UTC
Hey! This is the best platformer implementation I played so far. You even implemented jumping right! :) Love the NES gfx and the music is really fitting. Not sure what triggers the evolution but it's nicely balanced for a score attack game. Level 1 and 2 are besically the same but 3 gives you some variation. Very good design!

The only thing I miss is the ingame restart option because I don't like dying for playing a new level. Oh, and once I saw a diamond spawned in the wall. Is that intentional?

Anyway, thanks for this little gem! I'll sure play it even after rating ends. :)
marudziik
05. Sep 2012 · 10:45 UTC
Great game, very playable. I just had to play all the levels, though the third one is really difficult. Trying to find flaws here would feel a little nitpicky - it's really a great entry, and feels very complete (even without level progression) - maybe the only small flaw is that if I actually die in levels 1-2, it's because of this damn holes (I go to get some pickup which is just above it and I fall in). Btw. if you added another hole in level one, I don't think anyone would figure that's an exit. :)
patrickgh3
05. Sep 2012 · 20:08 UTC
I really liked the concept of upgrading classic arcade enemy abilities. And the music and sounds gave it a great feel. The game was pretty balanced with cool features. I had a lot of fun.

I'm no artist, but it seemed like the colors are a bit too saturated. If they were a little more greyed out, it probably would have been easier on my eyes.
Kmad
09. Sep 2012 · 13:01 UTC
The game could do with a bit more content and development but it has solid mechanics and is pretty fun.
sev_inf
09. Sep 2012 · 13:30 UTC
Nice idea and cool graphics. A bit easy at first (each level has a spot where you can just stand and shoot and ducks wiill be unable to get you first few minutes).
sirGustav
17. Sep 2012 · 21:25 UTC
awesome retro feel