Tiny World War by jimmypaulin

[raw]
made by jimmypaulin for LD23 (COMPO)
Action packed war on a global scale... Will you heroically conquer the tiny planet Gearth? Or will you simply be blown into tiny bits?!!

=== CURRENT BEST: 12.80 seconds by ilo ===

* Top down run and gun shooter with a twist
* Fast paced and gratuitously violent :D
* Achievements for speed runs!

Created in around 20 hours with Flixel, DAME, otomata, sfxr and chums ... Any and all comments gratefully received, please feel free to visit my blog at www.superfluidgames.com and hope to see you for the next Ludum Dare ;D

Ratings

Coolness 91% 2
Overall 3.61 100
Audio 3.00 216
Fun 3.68 50
Graphics 4.05 58
Humor 3.44 52
Innovation 3.33 241
Mood 3.55 59
Theme 2.91 501

Feedback

TobiasNL
23. Apr 2012 路 16:40 UTC
Haha pretty nifty idea:)
Jonny D
23. Apr 2012 路 18:48 UTC
I loved the cute dive and crawl mechanic, but I really wanted a weapon!
馃帳 jimmypaulin
23. Apr 2012 路 19:33 UTC
Thanks for the comments! Yeah I really hoped to make it so you dive atthe enemies and bayonet them or blast them at point blank range- just ran outa time ;)
Casino Jack
24. Apr 2012 路 20:20 UTC
Simple yet fun concept (as much as I would have loved a gun!). Can't seem to get it under 13 seconds.
kratorspore
24. Apr 2012 路 20:27 UTC
Enjoyed this. Thumbs up. good idea.
spooks
25. Apr 2012 路 01:19 UTC
very nice! refreshing!
馃帳 jimmypaulin
25. Apr 2012 路 07:25 UTC
Thanks for all the positive comments! Makes it totally worthwhile ;)

@Casino Jack 13 seconds is damn fast! Glad you enjoyed it
Kendja
25. Apr 2012 路 07:41 UTC
Pretty nice game. But it's a bit frustrating that walls don't stop bullets.

And yeah i want a minigun!

Also, love the art and effects.
馃帳 jimmypaulin
25. Apr 2012 路 08:03 UTC
@Kendja Thanks! Yep I know re the walls. I tried it but it killed performance too much and there was no time to optimise for obvious reasons! Since walls are quite sparse there's plenty of scope to sort that out down the line though. Yeah I think the little dude is desperate to get his tiny weapon out too ;)
Kendja
25. Apr 2012 路 10:02 UTC
@jimmypaulin
We only have 48 hours - so, it's okay ;)
Are you planning to make post-compo version?
馃帳 jimmypaulin
25. Apr 2012 路 11:26 UTC
@Kendja Yes I hope to, depending on the comments here ;) Arming the player is top of list
HeuGamer
25. Apr 2012 路 17:06 UTC
Haha cute and fun to play!
strega
25. Apr 2012 路 17:06 UTC
Cool game. Art and everything worked nicely together. The whole thing is kind of funny as it feels like you're doing a suicide run. Sometimes it can be really easy though, like you can just run on the side and nothing hits you.
Oreganik
25. Apr 2012 路 17:11 UTC
You've got a neat little game packed in here. Love the color commentary. =)
馃帳 jimmypaulin
25. Apr 2012 路 20:04 UTC
Awesome comments, thanks all!! Really chuffed with the feedback so far for this game :D I will play everyone's but the windows ones will take a little longer as I'm mac ;)

@strega Haha yeah it is a bit like a suicide run, the player character is definitely crazier than his fellow soldiers ;) Yeah the balance is a bit off- agree re the sneaky side routes. I tried to block these to encourage player into centre, level design took second place on priority list tho ;)
bastiandantilus
25. Apr 2012 路 20:36 UTC
Still not 100% sure what was going on, but I made it to the end. I've now conquered the world by crawling to the next trench?
馃帳 jimmypaulin
25. Apr 2012 路 21:02 UTC
@bastiandantilus Thanks for the feedback! Wow I haven't made it by crawling all the way without getting blown up ;) Yep its possible but it's kind of supposed to be a time-attack game hence the star rating when u get to the finish. I agree it's a little incoherent, wanted to arm player with a weapon to deploy behind the enemy line etc just ran out of time. Plan to follow this up though so cheers!
orgarus
26. Apr 2012 路 19:26 UTC
NIce concept. NIce graphics, but, man... I WANT a weapon, a pointed stick with a nail in the top would be enough. A weapon please. Please.
Jokes apart, I think that this kind of game needs to leave the player to unleashed the killing machine that has inside.
COngratulations, a great entry. But a weapon please. A tiny one.
uberneen
26. Apr 2012 路 19:41 UTC
The atmosphere was great, just wish my soldier could soldier.
Orni
26. Apr 2012 路 20:30 UTC
cool optics - never thought one could actually create war feeling in such a tiny frame that effectively
Shackhal
26. Apr 2012 路 21:50 UTC
Great job, man! The game is awesome xD
馃帳 jimmypaulin
27. Apr 2012 路 07:31 UTC
Thanks for all the brilliant comments - HE NOW HAS A WEAPON :D Dive at those damnable enemies to bayonet them into a bloody mess :D

This is a great community, thanks again
jim3wg
27. Apr 2012 路 07:44 UTC
Nice art, fun game !
piterlouis
29. Apr 2012 路 15:31 UTC
Nice game, pretty funny. Good work!
trylle
29. Apr 2012 路 15:56 UTC
Very nice! Controls felt good and game was pretty entertaining, although a bit short.

Would have liked a 3x scale mode (or maybe fullscreen?), cos a bit tiny on my monitors.

Also, barbed wire doesn't seem to hurt, just serves as an obstacle. Would be neat if you could run across them at a health cost.
Tom 7
29. Apr 2012 路 16:55 UTC
Graphics are super good. The game plays pretty smoothly and I'm glad there was an end (Hi score 27.42s!) because without a weapon it's pretty much just a dodge-em-up. :) It was really hard to read the text when the screen was vibrating, and it seemed like that box was in the way sometimes in the tutorial. I liked this one.
Andrew
01. May 2012 路 00:14 UTC
I liked the graphics a lot but the game itself seemed a bit too easy. Maybe it was just the path I took.
Shadow
01. May 2012 路 06:55 UTC
Good game. Loved the graphics. It's the first game of its kinda I've seen this LD so kudos for that. Fun.
onehandclap
02. May 2012 路 10:27 UTC
Utterly cool, thumbs up! =D
asfdfdfd
06. May 2012 路 20:34 UTC
Very cool.
Keirua
06. May 2012 路 22:15 UTC
Good realisation, original gameplay and idea ! In a way I really felt connected to my weak soldier haha :)
Puzzlem00n
07. May 2012 路 01:16 UTC
Fastest: 12.88s. I liked the the spam mail satellite thing you added, gave a nice touch.
Hazematman
07. May 2012 路 03:05 UTC
Great idea! I have to say I really loved this game! The pop a text was kinda funny too :P
馃帳 jimmypaulin
07. May 2012 路 07:18 UTC
@trylle That's a great idea re the barbed wire, totally agree it could have a more active role. I wanted to have people getting snared up on it but ran out of time .. now maybe for another post compo! Re the resolution, yes sorry it is a bit small. In fact it is exactly the iPhone resolution and that is no co-incidence as I'm planning to port it ;)
馃帳 jimmypaulin
07. May 2012 路 07:19 UTC
@Tom 7 - Yeah perhaps when the world shakes the text should stand still haha! thanks for the great feedback. I will rearrange the tutorial at some point as I agree it could be improved, especially if new "attacking" mechanics get added to elevate it from dodge-em-up haha!
馃帳 jimmypaulin
07. May 2012 路 07:23 UTC
@Andrew The balance really needs work, thanks for pointing that out though I think it does need some tuning. The randomisation algo could be much deeper, all things to try out.

@Shadow Hey thanks for that! Seems to be quite a few platformers and quirky entries this time. I looked on last LD entries and there seemed to be more top-down games; perhaps people got top-down out of their system last time! I've got an excuse - this is my first LD ;)

@Keirua that is hilarious, I'm glad it managed to convey some emotion haha! I'd like to animate the player much better - guess that would help too
馃帳 jimmypaulin
07. May 2012 路 07:24 UTC
@Puzzlem00n - 12.88! Wow that is seriously quick! I have not done a sub 13s; thanks for spending time with the game and for the feedback re the back-story

@Hazematman - wow, that makes it all worthwhile - THANK YOU
heuermh
10. May 2012 路 05:43 UTC
Had a lot of fun! Usually I don't like games that play in a very small viewport, but it fit well with this one.
Lotsa
10. May 2012 路 17:55 UTC
Really fun and cheery for a war game, quite a nice take. Loving the dialogue.
Beerman
11. May 2012 路 20:49 UTC
That was fun :) Feels like a tiny version of Commando where you forgot your gun.
A few people have suggested the balance needs a little work (but then what's an LD game without balance issues?), but I think I see it as being an excellent first level for a much bigger game. Hope you do more with it.
ilo
11. May 2012 路 21:17 UTC
I managed 12.80, but I think it's more down to the luck of the level layout. It is quite addictive though, and the luck probably plays a part in that.

Are bombs the only danger while prone? Maybe enemy soldiers could chase you with bayonets if you get a little too close (the first time I played I just crawled past everything with ease and wondered whether it was meant to be that way).

Really enjoyed it though - in only 20 hours too! Well done!
馃帳 jimmypaulin
12. May 2012 路 08:42 UTC
@ilo Thanks for the deep feedback that is much appreciated! Yes it is deliberately random re the bombs, supposed to convey the randomness of war a bit, would prob get annoying if the levels took longer to complete but I think it just about gets away with it as is ;)

Correct, the bombs are the only threat when probe. I experimented with having the enemy foot soldier bullets still hit you while prone but it was just too confusing. Liking the idea of a bayonet attack though, that is a very interesting idea, thanks!
Mago
12. May 2012 路 15:27 UTC
Very fun game. I realy like the idea of running and dodging and if you ask me it is good that character don't have a weapon. This is what make this game different from all running and shootings games. Good work!
azurenimbus
13. May 2012 路 19:44 UTC
I think that adding a weapon is not a great idea for this game! You said you ran out of time and it came out like this. But if you ask me, this is how a lot of great original concepts come from. I think it's really neat.

Very solid presentation too, by the way!