Heart of the Forest by hregrin
EDIT: I wrote a post-mortem on my first LD participation. You can read it here: http://ludumdare.com/compo/2016/04/19/its-dead-jim-a-ld35-post-mortem/
EDIT 2: I added a WebGL version on itch.io! I changed main controls to WASD (instead of ZQSD) but directional arrows still work (or layout change if possible). Also playing it full screen kinda breaks it. I can't embed it here since it's more than 960px in width, but go play it there and come back to tell me what you thought!
The heart of the forest has been corrupted, and you are the one the Spirits chose to cleanse it. Use their powers to fight the corruption!
Heart of the Forest kind of a shmup. There a quite a few missing elements (sound, feedback,...) and a whole lot of incomplete stuff (animation, UI,...) due to time constraints. It is my first released game, and I've had to learn quite a lot on the fly.
But despite its flaws, I am definitely proud to have made it to the end and to be able to present you this game.
EDIT 2: I added a WebGL version on itch.io! I changed main controls to WASD (instead of ZQSD) but directional arrows still work (or layout change if possible). Also playing it full screen kinda breaks it. I can't embed it here since it's more than 960px in width, but go play it there and come back to tell me what you thought!
The heart of the forest has been corrupted, and you are the one the Spirits chose to cleanse it. Use their powers to fight the corruption!
Heart of the Forest kind of a shmup. There a quite a few missing elements (sound, feedback,...) and a whole lot of incomplete stuff (animation, UI,...) due to time constraints. It is my first released game, and I've had to learn quite a lot on the fly.
But despite its flaws, I am definitely proud to have made it to the end and to be able to present you this game.
| View on itch.io (WebGL/Win/Mac/Nux) | https://hregrin.itch.io/heart-of-the-forest |
| Original URL | https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-35/?action=preview&uid=59845 |
Ratings
| Coolness | 66% | 3 |
| Overall(Jam) | 3.09 | 682 |
| Fun(Jam) | 2.85 | 754 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 3.62 | 382 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 2.47 | 956 |
| Mood(Jam) | 2.91 | 686 |
| Theme(Jam) | 3.26 | 616 |
Sound effects can easily be generated with sfxr or downloaded from the web and there is lots of royalty free music available.
It would help to move your character away from her shadow when flying, that should give a good indication of what's happening there.
Just by adding some sound and visual effects when the arrows hit an enemy, when the hero is hurt and just few more details on the animal form (distance to the ground for the eagle, wolf claws more visible)
Continue to work just a little bit on it and it will be very fun ! :D
As a few recs, maybe have the character separate from her shadow more when she flies and maybe if that's no bother try a vertical screen? it greatly improves visibility of the upcoming enemies imho
The main character model is cute. What animations that existed were smooth, movement felt good. Controls felt good.
The things I would suggest (feedback on hits primarily) is something you've already identified as something you'd intended to do but ran out of time for. That's good! You should continue to work on this and implement that feedback for the player and sounds. You seem to be aware of what elements make for a good experience for the player, which bodes very well as you learn.
Congratulations on your first game! There's a lot of stuff to be proud of here :) Keep learning, you're gonna do great in the next LD.
It is hard to control, because the movement feels inertial. Shmups ideally should have no inertia.
Eagle form is too short and feels like an afterthought to the game. In contrast, wolf form is actually useful, because I couldn't dodge bullets properly with that control.