LudumData

Evo by DaveDobson

[raw]
made by DaveDobson for LD24 (COMPO)
Written in JavaScript using the CraftyJS library for sprite management, sounds, and game functions (i.e. an HTML5 game).

The object of the game is to hatch creatures from the eggs and then get one of them to the nest to carry on the next generation. Some levels include mutations you can apply to your creatures in case you need them to evolve more useful traits. Some of the mutations need to be activated by clicking on the creatures. The rest of the rules and behaviors are left for you to discover.

The game includes ten levels; I wish I had more time to make more of them. All levels are solvable.

Tested in Chrome and IE9 on Windows 7 and Chrome on Mac OSX. The sound was a little unreliable in Windows Firefox, but it worked OK otherwise.

HINT: Some folks are having trouble with the fourth level, the first one with the unicorn guys. There's a very hard way to do this level and also a fairly easy one. If you think the timing is close to impossible here, you're doing the very hard way. I have a spoiler video linked above that shows the "right" way.

POST COMPO BUG FIX: I figured out why the sound wasn't working in Firefox (also Opera) - I hadn't connected the .ogg files I made to the source so that they loaded. This was a 31-character-long one line addition - otherwise I've changed nothing. If you use Firefox or Opera and want to hear the sounds, please use the Post-Compo link above.

Web http://planktongames.com/ld24
Source (JavaScript) http://planktongames.com/ld24/evo.js
Post-Compo Sound Fix http://planktongames.com/evo
Spoiler Movie for Level 4 http://youtu.be/tTIcf_Z91p4
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview&uid=10977

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.75 44
Audio 2.77 242
Fun 3.58 55
Graphics 3.34 216
Humor 3.15 89
Innovation 3.83 40
Mood 3.11 145
Theme 3.10 294

Feedback

K1NET1K
27. Aug 2012 · 03:27 UTC
The graphics are quite sharp :)
zakchaos
27. Aug 2012 · 03:31 UTC
An Excellent mechanic, the way you teach by doing in the first few levels is inspired. Your graphics and sounds were very excellent, and polished, and the mechanics were cool and fun. i got stuck on the first unicorn mutation, i could figure out the logic of it, just couldnt get the timing done. all in all, I think you could really make something excellent out of this with a bit of time, it feels like it has been built for touch controls which is an excellent idea!
Senekis
27. Aug 2012 · 04:00 UTC
Really nice job! I think this has a lot of potential. The difficulty curve is good. My only complain would be that timing plays a huge factor in the game and that's not good for a puzzle, where brain should beat reactions.

But yeah, great job!
Datw
27. Aug 2012 · 16:25 UTC
Yeah, timing is an issue if you want a puzzle game. Personally, I didn't quite like the sound effects, but that might just be me.
LogGiant
27. Aug 2012 · 17:41 UTC
I thought it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately I use Firefox, so I didn't get any music or sounds. But I was too busy playing to notice until after I finished.
jplur
27. Aug 2012 · 17:51 UTC
Solid game with a lot of thought put in to the level design, appreciate it!
sfernald
28. Aug 2012 · 05:20 UTC
Wow, I bookmarked this baby! Fantastic game: quirky, original concept, fun as hell, deceptively tricky. You have a winner here. I don't know if there are other games out there like it but if not you should do a version for the app stores. I think it might do well.
sev_inf
28. Aug 2012 · 05:24 UTC
Awesome idea. 5 overall, fun, innovation and theme. But some background music will be nice. You should really make a sequel/post compo version, I will play it with a great pleasure.
🎤 DaveDobson
28. Aug 2012 · 05:36 UTC
Thanks for the nice comments, everybody. I think I've identified where the timing complaints are coming from - it's level 4, the first one with the unicorn guys. There's a very hard way to do this level and also a fairly easy one. If you think the timing is nearly impossible, you're probably trying to do it the very hard way. I've made a spoiler video which shows the easy way here: <a href="http://youtu.be/tTIcf_Z91p4">http://youtu.be/tTIcf_Z91p4</a>
🎤 DaveDobson
28. Aug 2012 · 05:36 UTC
That was messy. It's here:
http://youtu.be/tTIcf_Z91p4
sanojian
28. Aug 2012 · 05:46 UTC
Great puzzle game! One of the most fun games I have played so far. I like the quirky sounds too.
nseward
28. Aug 2012 · 06:44 UTC
You named yours the same as mind. I feel bad because yours is way cooler. Everything is good in this game. The sound, graphics, and game play. You rock!
defiantburrito
28. Aug 2012 · 06:47 UTC
Pretty fun! Reminds me of Lemmings quite a bit. I think this is a pretty solid puzzle mechanic - I feel like you could make a lot of levels out of this. Good work!
The Jahn
28. Aug 2012 · 09:55 UTC
The screen transitions are great, and I like that you opted to teach the player via level design at first. That's something I've seen in surprisingly few entries so far.

The different variations probably could have been introduced a bit better, however - as you realized from the comments the unicorn guys' function wasn't an intuitive one. Beyond that, it's an all around great game.
zachstronaut
29. Aug 2012 · 14:55 UTC
Holy crap, you made like a real game with a great progression of levels and depth of gameplay. The whole unicorn thing is hilarious.
Sergey Mohov
29. Aug 2012 · 21:14 UTC
Really nice. Also it's funny how your game is everything mine's not. It looks like it could use some polish, but you have plenty of levels with real progression and explore the mechanic pretty deeply, while mine looks more or less polished, but doesn't have enough content in it. Well, that's what you get in 48 hours, I guess. Anyway, nice entry!
gnx
29. Aug 2012 · 21:47 UTC
Clever and really playable puzzle game.
There are lots of puzzle games in LDs usually and only few are fun to play. This is one of them.
Tempest
30. Aug 2012 · 07:33 UTC
+ Excellent! Love how many different levels there were!
+ Very cute characters
+ Great mechanic/puzzle of hatching specific mutations. Very lemming-ish.

Enjoy it immensely.
Skulls
30. Aug 2012 · 08:45 UTC
I really enjoyed that game, the puzzles were fun and innovative and the characters were cute. My advice to improve the game would be to
juaxix
30. Aug 2012 · 11:24 UTC
I love this kind of puzzles, you nailed it, now you only need to improve the graphics and add some fx, music,etc.
Josh @ Dreamland
31. Aug 2012 · 05:55 UTC
Great graphics, great introductory sequence, good puzzles. Funny use of unicorns. I didn't hear any sound; apparently that's some sort of glitch as they are mentioned in comments and in your description.
Maxium
31. Aug 2012 · 07:16 UTC
Nice game I thought the progression of the mechanics were great and your instruction page was clear and concise :)
pknowles
01. Sep 2012 · 05:10 UTC
An interesting and fun game. Great puzzle design!
Fadobo
01. Sep 2012 · 18:42 UTC
Everything I wanted to say is already said in the other comments. So I just leave my: GREAT GAME here :)
Jorjon
01. Sep 2012 · 18:59 UTC
Excellent game! Very polished. Although I'm not a big fan of puzzles, this was incredibly solid. Good job.
repstyle
02. Sep 2012 · 00:03 UTC
Nice puzzle game here. I don't feel the theme in but it's enjoyable.
🎤 DaveDobson
02. Sep 2012 · 18:34 UTC
Thanks for all the very nice and helpful comments. For people who had the sound problem in Firefox or Opera, I've posted a fix above (post-competition). I hadn't connected the .ogg files I made to the source so that they loaded. This was a 31-character-long one line addition - otherwise I've changed nothing. If you use Firefox or Opera and want to hear the sounds, please use the Post-Compo link above
Jacic
03. Sep 2012 · 02:59 UTC
The first 3 levels were basically "click all the eggs". I didn't really need that much tutorial I guess. The rest is nice, especially the graphics.
CataclysmicKnight
03. Sep 2012 · 03:59 UTC
I couldn't get the timing on the unicorn level, but I think it's got a lot of potential, and great start on a puzzle game :)
Zelen3d
04. Sep 2012 · 17:31 UTC
I love the absurdity of your game! The flying sound, and the way that the unicorn thing spears other creatures so they can pass to the next height, I rofled. This is really well polished, to the slightlest animation of the level appearing and the TADAM and NEW LEVEL sounds.
You should ABSOLUTELY make this into a full game and try to get some profit.
caranha
04. Sep 2012 · 22:19 UTC
The game was fairly challenging, and I found the puzzles to be innovative. I didn't like the "flying" mutation too much - the timing was hard to get, but that might have been just me.

The walking beanies looked kind of mean :-)
Misfit
07. Sep 2012 · 14:20 UTC
Cool puzzle game. Level design and gameplay were my favorites. Good job!
infernet89
07. Sep 2012 · 21:45 UTC
Nice mechanic, but use timing for a puzzle game is a thing that i don't like so much..
Teknik
09. Sep 2012 · 01:22 UTC
very fun game. love the unicorns skewering the other creatures to transport them. great game for the compo!!
evilseanbot
12. Sep 2012 · 23:07 UTC
Really fun, espicially liked the unicorn mechanic. I think the main problem is the difficulty spike on level 4: what was originally "Click on eggs to pass the level" becomes this rather tricky thing with a new mechanic. I think changing one of the preceding levels to use the unicorn power and hint at level 4's solution would've done the game a lot of favors.
Lacutis
14. Sep 2012 · 21:16 UTC
Wow, really liked this game. I liked the mechanics although it would be interesting to see where you could take it.
The timing and pace could be adjusted, but given the constraints it was made under I think its great. Only thing that bit me is that I accidentally clicked skip at one point and there is no way to go back or go to a level select screen.
airdeck
15. Sep 2012 · 15:04 UTC
Really fun, puzzles were good. I wish there were more levels so I could keep playing!
Canyon
17. Sep 2012 · 03:43 UTC
I like the graphics and the sound.
This game is reliant on action mechanics when it is really a puzzle game. So even after you know how to solve a level, you have to have quick reflexes to actually beat it.
I think it would be stronger if it focused on one or the other.

I love the spawning sound.
tcstyle
17. Sep 2012 · 19:31 UTC
Very interesting puzzle concept. Getting the right timing is pretty dificult.
🎤 DaveDobson
19. Sep 2012 · 16:35 UTC
Thanks to everybody for playing and rating and for all the good suggestions. I'm inspired to keep working on this; I hope I can get some better art and more levels.