Catching Life by Fadobo
This is a small arcade / puzzle mix I came up with for my first ever Ludum Dare 48.
The game is XNA 4.0 and Windows only unfortunately. Sorry about that :(
Please read the HOW TO PLAY.txt for instructions, but here is a small rundown:
(ARROW KEYS) Select solar system. You should start selecting the one with a planet with a small aura around it
Tap (W) or (SPACE) quickly to evolve the planet. Once fully evolved, a rocket will automatically start traveling to the closest Planet.
Use (D) and (A) to spin planets clockwise / counter-clockwise.
Try getting a rocket to travel to the wormhole before the time runs out
Enjoy! :)
*UPDATE 2* I realized that it might be difficult to understand the concept in the beginning, so I added a short How To Play - Video to the links.
*UPDATE* I re-packaged the installer of the game, so it should now run in English instead of German. The link is updated, but except the installer, the game is completely unchanged! Unfortunately due to the confusing nature of XNA I wasn't able to deploy a simple .exe file. Sorry :(
The game is XNA 4.0 and Windows only unfortunately. Sorry about that :(
Please read the HOW TO PLAY.txt for instructions, but here is a small rundown:
(ARROW KEYS) Select solar system. You should start selecting the one with a planet with a small aura around it
Tap (W) or (SPACE) quickly to evolve the planet. Once fully evolved, a rocket will automatically start traveling to the closest Planet.
Use (D) and (A) to spin planets clockwise / counter-clockwise.
Try getting a rocket to travel to the wormhole before the time runs out
Enjoy! :)
*UPDATE 2* I realized that it might be difficult to understand the concept in the beginning, so I added a short How To Play - Video to the links.
*UPDATE* I re-packaged the installer of the game, so it should now run in English instead of German. The link is updated, but except the installer, the game is completely unchanged! Unfortunately due to the confusing nature of XNA I wasn't able to deploy a simple .exe file. Sorry :(
Ratings
| Coolness | 64% | 3 |
| Overall | 2.72 | 512 |
| Audio | 2.29 | 410 |
| Fun | 2.59 | 482 |
| Graphics | 2.47 | 536 |
| Humor | 1.58 | 545 |
| Innovation | 3.25 | 193 |
| Mood | 2.18 | 593 |
| Theme | 2.47 | 534 |
I liked the idea of the gameplay, i've never seen something lke that.
@commanderstitch: I added some instructions above. You have to select the right system and quickly tap W to launch the rocket.
@Kuulog: Yeah, it's a bit off, but the slowdown-time is on purpose. I wanted to add circular movement for rotation on the XboxPad Thumbstick, but ran out of time.
@juaxix: to put it simply: tap W until the rocket goes into the wormhole. Rotating planets helps to get there faster.
@infernet89: Really? I am using German Visual Studio, so that is most likely causing it. Wasn't aware it's German everywhere. I will try to change it tonight and upload an .exe version (with a seperate XNA 4.0 Redist)
It looks more like infestation than evolution though :D Makes me think about independance day you know "They're like locusts. They're moving from planet to planet... their whole civilization. After they've consumed every natural resource they move on... and we're next."
Anyway, I think you could probably make the concept "evolve" by setting some gravitationnal traps for your rocket like a solar system to avoid or finding the right timing to go through an area.
Good game (:
I was hoping it would be more puzzley though.
If you designed the universes yourself it probably would be.
The random generation leads to some universes that are super easy to complete and some that are impossible.
I think it would be nice if the rocket keep monitoring the distance of surrounding planets so you can rotate them after the launch.
About turning the Rockets: Yeah, close to the end I thought about changing the system slightly (i.e. rocket always going to the closest planet at any given time, not just at launch) but there was just no time to try.