Rocket Punch by piscythe

[raw]
made by piscythe for LD 41 (COMPO)

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The random generator I used gave me 'Space Flight Beat 'em Up', so I made a game where you are a rocket that punches other rockets and then steals their fuel. Also there are aliens attacking you. This is all somehow Elon Musk's fault.

Controls: Arrows/WASD to move (moving up costs fuel) Z/J to punch (punching costs fuel)

Tips: Enemies deal collision damage to you and each other. Big rockets are hard to destroy with punching, but fold quickly if knocked into something. UFOs are entirely immune to collision damage - you have to deal with them the hard way. You take damage if you leave the screen, but skirting the edges can get you out of a tight spot.

If you're interested in survival times, my record is 372 seconds.

Ratings

Overall 426th 3.261⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 314th 3.326⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 475th 3.109⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 361th 3.565⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 503th 2.848⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Humor 167th 3.196⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 490th 2.739⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 37🗨️

Feedback

sirikan
23. Apr 2018 · 22:12 UTC
Couldn't get this to run on Windows 10. It just crashes when I try to start it. Are there any run times I need to install to play it?
🎤 piscythe
23. Apr 2018 · 22:38 UTC
@sirikan ...Apparently I just didn't upload the right thing 😳. The new link should work.
sirikan
23. Apr 2018 · 22:48 UTC
Thanks for the quick fix :). Game was a lot of fun, I liked the twist on missile combat :D
Hare Software
24. Apr 2018 · 01:24 UTC
Had no idea what to expect when I read the description, but I can only say I am pleasantly surprised! Great job on both the concept and the execution.
fitz13
24. Apr 2018 · 04:00 UTC
Definitely something I didn't know I wanted until I had it.

My only critique would be that the punch controls could be more satisfying. It might be as simple as changing which key punches.

But, even so, very fun, and handled the theme incredibly well.
Goat Toaster Games
24. Apr 2018 · 07:09 UTC
Haha neat idea! Very interesting. I love how much personality there is in this little punching rocket. Nice work!
Lost Dutchman Software
24. Apr 2018 · 15:50 UTC
I survived for 71 seconds!
tomdeal
24. Apr 2018 · 22:48 UTC
64 seconds, cool game! One really minor thing, you should add a "how to control the player rocket" text/image on the start screen. Other than that, I liked the animation and the impact of the punches, pushing the other objects away. well done!
incobalt
24. Apr 2018 · 22:58 UTC
This works pleasantly well. I'm terrible at these kinds of games, though.
Colin Misbach
25. Apr 2018 · 02:21 UTC
Awesome idea!

If I were to state my one concern, it would be that there wasn't more things to interact with. I get that it's a game jam, but if you were to expand on it, that would be my advice.

The graphics and animations work well together, but I wish there was some music/SFX.

Nice work!
Slashee the Cow
25. Apr 2018 · 04:30 UTC
I'm not sure if I'm crazy or what, but sometimes it seemed like my fuel was going down very slowly when I was doing stuff, and sometimes it seemed to be going down very quickly when I was barely doing anything (and not getting attacked). It's a fun little idea though, nice job.
🎤 piscythe
25. Apr 2018 · 05:26 UTC
@sirikan @hare-software @lost-dutchman-software @incobalt Thanks for your feedback!

@goat-toaster-games The character concept is the entire reason I picked this over my other game ideas.

@tomdeal I really should have thought of that while I was hastily throwing together the title screen.

@fitz13 I'm not sure that changing the key will do it, but I agree that there's room for improvement with the punching. The funny thing about the theme is that I think this is also a better use of LD39's theme than my actual LD39 game.

@colin-misbach I also wish I'd been able to put in audio and more content, but time limits and life got in the way. Did you last long enough to see the red UFOs? It takes about 150 seconds before one shows up.

@slashee-the-cow Unless you're flirting with the edge of the screen too much, I'm as mystified as you.
Colin Misbach
25. Apr 2018 · 22:23 UTC
@piscythe Yep, I saw the UFO's, I tried to beat-em-up but I don't know if I was doing anything. (maybe that's one other thing that was missing, some sort of reaction to the punches to signify that it is stronger or weaker)

And yea, it's tough to implement lots of stuff in a game jam, I can't really blame anyone for that reason.

Thanks for taking the time to read my comment!
theslate
26. Apr 2018 · 01:07 UTC
Noice! You combined rockets and punching quite well. I punched many a rocket. Way to go.
Shellfish Games
26. Apr 2018 · 16:57 UTC
Ha, nice one! Great way to handle the theme I must say. Some simple sfxr punch sound effect, and maybe a little screen shake, would have helped a lot with making it more satisfying I think, but for 48 hours this is definitely something.
notpresident35
26. Apr 2018 · 17:02 UTC
Good job! I like the idea of a boxing rocket! It's a good genre combination! I also like the art style! It does get rather exponentially hard though. The number of aliens increases very fast as the number of rockets goes down, and the aliens have too much health to actually deal with them when they start showing up in massive numbers. Some ways to help counter that would be to increase the number of large rockets coming in at the same time or make the aliens have less health and/or drop more fuel to make it worth fighting them.

Good job, and good luck!
mic_matrix91
28. Apr 2018 · 12:37 UTC
Survived for 190 seconds! Funny game, I liked the idea! Good job
bentglasstube
02. May 2018 · 08:49 UTC
Really interesting concept with the mashup, and I loved the art. Game gets pretty repetitive really early because there is a lack of variety in the enemies.
StrangerYann
10. May 2018 · 11:30 UTC
It's pretty neat - it's simple and daft but it made me giggle ^^# - shame you couldn't squeeze any music in there but in the meantime you made something entertaining, good job :-D
Steve Sparkes
15. May 2018 · 19:54 UTC
A great entry! I really do love the first time the fists burst out of the rocket. The UFOs were really tough to beat, but punching missiles into them to destroy them was great! At least I hope that was a mechanic, because that's what I was having fun doing haha. Keep making games!