Unnatural Selection by Porter

[raw]
made by Porter for LD24 (COMPO)
The idea behind "Unnatural Selection", was that in the near future, those without money would be forced to fight for their lives in a spectator sport. With inspiration from the Hunger Games, politics, and the NES classic "Shatterhand", I was aiming to create a deadly arena that is constantly evolving.

Every 30-60 seconds, an alarm sounds, and you must return to the safe room. Once there, the outside will explode, and the arena will morph into a new, more powerful form. If you don't make it back in time, you die (or would had I finished).

I unfortunately didn't get to implementing attacks or health, as the core mechanics took a long time to create, and I'm no artist, so that was taxing. All in all, I feel the project came out AMAZING for what I usually do in 48 hours, and I can't wait to carry on with this project and launch it for Halloween.

As far the the theme goes, the idea was a play on "Natural Selection". Additionally, the goal would be to evolve your skills faster than the growing arena, by collecting credit orbs which could be spent on upgrades. I didn't get that far, so for now, the evolution simply lies in the arena, and the play on Natural Selection.

Platform - Flash / AS3

Libraries / Frameworks - FlashPunk, My Personal Platformer BolierPlate Code (included).

Graphics - Can't believe I did that good. Photoshop, and practicing my pixel art. 1000x better than my norm.

Music - Composed during the competition using My Korg X-50 and Sonar 6 LE

Ratings

Coolness 42% 691
Overall 2.61 569
Audio 3.62 45
Fun 2.17 632
Graphics 3.63 129
Humor 1.41 591
Innovation 2.93 336
Mood 2.92 235
Theme 2.43 552

Feedback

jplur
27. Aug 2012 路 02:11 UTC
I like the idea, would of been nice to see it completed.
馃帳 Porter
27. Aug 2012 路 02:18 UTC
I plan on finishing it, for now, some much deserved relaxation :) Thanks for the comment.
pereubu
27. Aug 2012 路 13:07 UTC
nice concept, i just want to see moar now D:
RobProductions
27. Aug 2012 路 17:19 UTC
Cool, but I have no clue what that game was supposed to be about until I read the description on this page. Looks like a cool idea, definitely post the finished version!
pjchardt
27. Aug 2012 路 17:20 UTC
You captured my childhood! The music, graphics, etc. are all really well done. The controls are nice. The idea of the morphing room is interesting. Unfortunately as it stands now, not much interesting for me to do. But I am glad to hear you will be finishing this, it has great potential.
Spaceoff
27. Aug 2012 路 17:23 UTC
Not much in terms of gameplay BUT, this game is really, really swell so far. Concept is good too but if you're going to continue with it, give the player a reason not to camp at the safe room - for ammo, perhaps?

Loving both the graphics and sound. This bags the mood category too... Theme however, it's a pretty weak link.
fruitfly
27. Aug 2012 路 17:23 UTC
you definitively should follow up on this concept after the compo. nice pixel art (especially the character animation), nice sound and a great overall feel.
Pacifist Games
27. Aug 2012 路 17:24 UTC
A neat idea!
In the future you should think about what motivation the player has to actually leave the safe room. I mean, you could stand in there all day and never have to worry about the explosion.
馃帳 Porter
27. Aug 2012 路 17:27 UTC
Not camping the base is in the design document, I simply didn't get far enough. The idea was, is that the arena will evolve into not only different layouts, but significantly harder layouts. You would need to explore the arena to collect a currency of sorts, which would then allow you to upgrade yourself each time you visit the safe room. The rounds also weren't going to start until you left the room, and the doors were going to shut behind you, locking you out until the alarm goes off.

Thanks for the kind feedback everyone, sorry I didn't get to combat and actual goals!
Accidental Rebel
27. Aug 2012 路 17:51 UTC
Same with Rob's experience. Without reading the description, I had no idea what I need to do. No goal, no instructions. But yes, would love to definitely try it once the other stuff are implemented.
Drabiter
28. Aug 2012 路 01:08 UTC
If only you'd implemented the orbs, then it'll be fun and playable :) Good luck before halloween!
Topher Florence
30. Aug 2012 路 02:08 UTC
Really great aesthetic, you should expand this into a full game.
mdkess
31. Aug 2012 路 03:51 UTC
Cool, the engine seems solid, I have this bookmarked for later. I really hope that you continue it, I can definitely see this going places.
Jezzamon
01. Sep 2012 路 03:11 UTC
I recommend next time thinking of a more original name. Mainly 'cause 7 other games are titled unnatural selection. :D
caranha
01. Sep 2012 路 04:44 UTC
Well, the game is kinda fun, even if in an unfinished state. The platforming is quite solid, and the music is cool too.

I really like the "go back to the safe room every X minutes" mechanic, even if it doesn't really have a lot to do with evolution in its current state.

I would love to see you keep working on this game. Good job!
Switchbreak
01. Sep 2012 路 17:18 UTC
Interesting start, I liked the arena mutations.
90sml
01. Sep 2012 路 18:42 UTC
Too bad you didn't manage to implement the game mechanics, the idea is cool and it looks great
Moops
01. Sep 2012 路 22:42 UTC
Very neat retro-style graphics.
AuxiliumGames
02. Sep 2012 路 01:28 UTC
Very cool! Looking forward to a more complete version.
nseward
04. Sep 2012 路 16:05 UTC
This is a great start. Great job with the concept.
Fadobo
05. Sep 2012 路 14:36 UTC
Seeing the Screenshots I doubted it was created in 48 hours, then I realized that it is very unfinished. The stuff you have is still really awesome. The character looks really good, the music kick ass and the idea seems worthy to be expanded on. Would love to see more!
ncannasse
12. Sep 2012 路 11:27 UTC
Too bad it was not finished :'(
pardue
16. Sep 2012 路 17:36 UTC
Great start, you should defiantly finish this game.