Cardbound by Silvae
The goal of Cardbound is to navigate to the poker chip. Your movement options are based upon the cards in your hand. The game is a mashup of puzzle-platformers and card drafting.
Your first step is to select 5 out of the 10 available cards that you think you will need to reach the end of the level.
Next you'll need to complete the level using only the 5 cards you've selected. If you're not able to complete the level with your 5 selected cards, you can redraw your initial hand and select a new hand of 5!
Music By: Antti Luode
Everything else: me
Controls:
Space bar to pause
Mouse for everything else!
| Windows | https://silvae.itch.io/cardbound |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/cardbound |
Ratings
| Overall | 664th | 3.382⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 687th | 3.221⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 253th | 3.721⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 407th | 3.824⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 972th | 2.691⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 927th | 2.182⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 944th | 2.809⭐ | 36🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 55🗳️ | 19🗨️ |
I enjoyed the music, was soothing. The pause also was really useful to try things out.
Good job!
@Skyc Thanks for the feedback! I originally intended for the game to lean more towards a puzzle game but had to pivot when I realized how large the scope would be in order to implement the required features. You're totally right about the camera thing.
Also... I managed to beat level 2 through some pretty glitchy means, but I can't tell what the intended solution was. The gap above the stairs was too small to go through, so I had to go underneath the level, which was sort of weird. It would be interesting for me to know what I was supposed to do.
I agree with the other comments that it feels more like a puzzle game than anything else, and the camera zoom was a bit annoying.
I think the "platformer" side of the genre mashup was done pretty well, but I wish the cards were a bit more interesting. Usually, cards mean that the game will have some kind of shuffled random element. And usually, a card drafting mechanic means that you're being force to commit to the cards you're drafting for the rest of the game. But the fact that the cards are the same every time and you can instantly redraw means that the drafting mechanic doesn't have any real stakes.
The graphics were pretty basic, but very functional and it fit with the theme of the game. The music fit well, too. I wish the player character had a little bit more personality.
i feel like it's a bit rough tbh when it comes the the abilities of the character mixed with the level design. maybe a flatter level with a focus on jump cards?
overall very cute!
@diptoman Thanks!
@BluShine I think I'll have to incorporate some tutorial levels in my next jam game :). You also make some good points about not having any risk in your card selection. Noted!
@Axe I wanted tricky levels where the solution wasn't straightforward. I think I should have done some (flatter) tutorial levels to set the stage though. Thanks for the feedback!
@nander Perhaps I did make the second level a little too weird haha. Thanks for the feedback.
I agree that the camera is a little tricky and the card-drafting part as it is currently feels extraneous - I think something that would help 'guide' the players a lot in early levels would be to have a smaller subset of actions (and/or guideposts in the level iteslf) so it's obvious what the "correct" combo is. But it sounds like you had that sorta idea anyway and just ran into time constraints. :)
I also think it's a little hard to visualize the actions in hand - the suit/letter combos don't seem unique per action (like there are two different S-Spades in stage 1) and the "hand" organization means the text is covered up sometimes. I like casino theming but it might be easier to have unique icons.
p.s. Having the chara trail be visible is cool! Maybe you can also add icons for where cards were activated.
You've got a very interesting concept here. If you ever decide to expand on it I'll be sure to follow
I especially liked being able to use cards while paused - really nice quality of life mechanic that keeps click accuracy/speed from dominating the game.
I'd definitely like to see more of this - these are probably the highest ratings I'll give out this LD.
Congratulations on the idea!
If you can, check out my entry at this link: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/type-hero-adventures