LudumData

Contamination by schizoid2k

[raw]
made by schizoid2k for LD 38 (COMPO)

Link to my Entry: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/$18772

Link To Windows, Mac, Linux Versions: https://gamesbycandlelight.itch.io/ludum-dare-38-contamination

Link to WebGL version: https://gamesbycandlelight.itch.io/ludum-dare-38-contamination-webgl

A scientist is looking at an experiment, but unfortunately he has a cold and keeps sneezing and coughing into the petri dish. This is adding germs to the experiment.

You control a blue cell that can shoot the red germs before they infect the green cells.

Good cells will split, as good cells do! Germs will attack good cells... and they can attack you!

Controls:

WASD to move in 8 directions

Up/Down/Left/Right arrows (or I/J/K/L on keyboard) to shoot in 8 directions

Spacebar to use Super Cell (if you have one!). This will kill all germs in the dish.

This is my Ludum Dare 38 submission, and I believe my first 3D game. I would be interested in your comments and also your high score!!

Link To Windows, Mac, Linux Versions: https://gamesbycandlelight.itch.io/ludum-dare-38-contamination

Link to WebGL version: https://gamesbycandlelight.itch.io/ludum-dare-38-contamination-webgl

screen1.png screen2.png

Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/contamination

Ratings

Overall 427th 2.925⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Fun 315th 3.05⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 425th 2.65⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Theme 194th 3.6⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 493th 2.4⭐ 42🧑‍⚖️
Audio 341th 2.487⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Humor 272th 2.5⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Mood 445th 2.579⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Given 43🗳️ 52🗨️

Feedback

picapica
26. Apr 2017 · 18:19 UTC
A good concept for the theme, and a nice little game.

The web player there seemed to be cropped a little at the top and bottom, not that it effected the game, but anyways.

Unfortunately I had a hard time remembering how to use both movement and shooting, but it was fun to play several times anyway and at least I managed to get 148 points. Hmm... might try ooone more time...
nikkilak
01. May 2017 · 01:14 UTC
Interesting idea! I like the way you decided to do this game, will play again tomorrow after I've had some sleep :)
JOrbits
01. May 2017 · 18:26 UTC
I easily got over 400 points, getting those powerups feel a bit op, maybe they should not destroy all enemys but give the player a buff in speed and shooting.
🎤 schizoid2k
01. May 2017 · 20:07 UTC
@jorbits Good idea... never really thought about it, but I can see having different types of power-ups.
Historymaker118
01. May 2017 · 20:26 UTC
Well other than the awkward silence after the music failed to loop, and the sneezing sound effect making me feel somewhat uncomfortable, and my poor co-ordination to be able to use the arrow keys and wasd keys to move and shoot in different directions, this was a solid game concept that was well executed in the time you had. I would love to see a version of this with perhaps a slightly more forgiving difficulty curve (once it hit around wave ten, things ended pretty quickly for me), some nicer looking graphics, and a set of sound effects that didn't make me squirm. Congratulations for completing the jam and making a working game, not everyone can do that.
_for_science
01. May 2017 · 20:31 UTC
A fun little shooter, got 331 on my second run. Had zero on the first, because I didn't read up on how to shoot, D'oh!

Overall, I enjoyed it. Love the sneezing setup and sound effect.
I feel that the super cell spawns a little too frequently. The game is still challenging, but that awesome super power stopped feeling special after a while. Also, is there a pattern to how many red cells spawn? Does it just get more difficult over time?
Geckoo1337
01. May 2017 · 20:35 UTC
Atchoo! - Bless you :)

Nice entry with a great mood and a funny gameplay ++
Khorm
01. May 2017 · 20:39 UTC
Really quite liked this, though it felt like after a while I kinda always got one powerup back for every time I used one, and there were way to many red spawning to kill them using the normal weapon anyway. Other than that the gameplay was solid and playing had a nice feel. Oh and I did not enjoy the dingdingding sound between levels, that got annoying fast.

![2017-05-01 22_32_46-Ludum Dare 38 - Contamination (WebGL) by Games By Candlelight.png](///raw/463/3/z/3673.png)
Stanislav
01. May 2017 · 20:48 UTC
nice sounds. Especially sneezing =) But some sounds too loud then shooting.
🎤 schizoid2k
01. May 2017 · 23:47 UTC
Thanks to everyone so far for playing. I appreciate your comments and will return the favor when I play your game. Your comments will help me improve the game in the future... lot's of great suggestions!
icxon
02. May 2017 · 13:20 UTC
A petri dish game, nice! You definitely should add a tabletop under the petri dish with some scientific stuff as decoration. And I think we need more gameplay, like new enemies, obstacles and powerups. Good start on the first 3D game.

Here is my playtest if you interested: https://youtu.be/kPnZAusHqUU
🎤 schizoid2k
02. May 2017 · 13:57 UTC
@icxon I actually did think of a table and lamp for the game, but ran out of time. Something to add for a future version to be sure.

I will check out your game as well.

thanks!
Gris
02. May 2017 · 18:57 UTC
I enjoyed this quite a lot. Is it you sneezing? on the itchio website when you publish your game you can specify the width and height of the window it'll show. I recommend you make it so that it doesn't crop the image. Also I would've prefered shooting with the mouse ;b Overall I liked the game.Congrats!
🎤 schizoid2k
03. May 2017 · 02:04 UTC
Thanks Gris... I did notice the WebGL version was cropped, and I made the change, so it should be ok now. Yes, that is me sneezing and coughing :smile:

Thanks for playing!
Burgee
03. May 2017 · 02:40 UTC
High score - 202

I had a good time with this. I couldn't tell if having a lot of 'good' cells was an advantage or not. Maybe they spawn more super cells? They definitely get in the way!

I ended up dying because a whole wave of red cells spawned on top of me, my fault though, they usually spawned in the same area.

The sound was good to me, not sure what the other complaints were about.

Good work.
simonhutchinson
03. May 2017 · 02:49 UTC
Awesome (yet disgusting) use of sound in a really fun game. I'm not generally a twin-stick shooter kind of guy, but I definitely could get into this one.
blinry
03. May 2017 · 10:03 UTC
337 points on the third try. Love the sneezing! Rarely used other shooting directions than "down". Super cells seemed too powerful. The transition from "easy" to "really hard, I have to super-cell all the time" happened rather fast. Tight controls, and overall a pretty nice game! :)

This is really amazing work for a compo entry, well done!
rplnt
03. May 2017 · 10:53 UTC
Worked well, was clear what to do - a fine game. The sounds were too unpleasant for me. Also the enemies could spawn next to me (maybe even on me) so that drained the health quite a bit. The supercell was quite common later in the game, but I still had trouble surviving even when using it every wave, so I guess that's OK.

The controls were fine, I liked the scheme, maybe would add diagonal shooting (or perhaps it was issue with the web version not registering enough keys).
LooksLikeSomething
03. May 2017 · 11:13 UTC
Nice game! but some sounds are too high pitched, like the one playing when the yellow bonus appears.
lot9s
04. May 2017 · 12:13 UTC
Overall, this was a fun, challenging game! It really fit the theme of Ludum Dare 38, and it was an interesting take on the twin-stick shooter genre.

I wish I had known how to interact with the power-ups the 1st time 'round, though. Also, I know it's been said before, but some of the sounds in the game were just a bit too loud. My sensitive ears would have appreciated lower volume sneezing.
pcmaster
05. May 2017 · 15:40 UTC
I live the sounds :) The shooting was a bit harder due to only 8 directions. But it was fun and I played several times, great job! :)
conrad123
06. May 2017 · 19:40 UTC
This was an interesting idea. I sort of used spray fire for the first few waves, but soon my population was so big that it got hard to control outbreaks. Good work.
Kroute
06. May 2017 · 20:36 UTC
I love the idea. I had fun playing your game, good job !
MiggyG
07. May 2017 · 01:33 UTC
The game was fun, the controls took a little getting used to, but once I did I was grooving! Although in the later stages when they all spawned within the healthy herd the only way to stop them was with the Super Cell and after that I just had to hoard the power up and wait for them to spawn. I think adding different power ups would be great for the game, like maybe an AOE attack or a "pill" that gives the good cells some sort of shield. Anyways was fun to play, great work!
cogcomp
07. May 2017 · 15:25 UTC
Fun little shooter. The audio needs adjusting though. A bit too loud...
Local Minimum
07. May 2017 · 17:49 UTC
I tried it some times but my dexterity doesn't really allow for this type of game-play. I like your take on the theme (I did work during the early parts of my PhD with petri dishes and the fear of contamination during hay-fever season). As some others have commented, the sound was to loud. One of them in particular overshot the volume in a really nasty way. I would have wanted some easier game mechanics though. Maybe your trail was toxic to other cells and you had to kill them off that way? Or something else. Cool concept though.
Bunnery
09. May 2017 · 10:24 UTC
I liked this one! Found the idea original and funny - loved the sneezing! It's interesting to see what other people did with the virus idea - we made a puzzle game around viruses :-) I didn't find it too difficult and there are clear instructions before you start. I like the health and petri meters - and the score. Gives you plenty of information and motivation. Very nice game!
rujo
10. May 2017 · 15:39 UTC
i like it!
the basic gamplay formula is from my all time favourite (Robotron) but the "contamination" addition gives it a great twist!
you should go on and improve it because it has potential!
UncleChris
10. May 2017 · 17:04 UTC
I really like this game, it was quite fun. I had trouble remembering how to activate the super cell, but when I did and everything was awesome. :D Such a fun game. Maybe the coughing needed a bit of variation.

Uncle Chris
🎤 schizoid2k
10. May 2017 · 23:46 UTC
Thanks again to everyone for the votes and comments. I will play and rate your games as well.

I am thinking of continuing development of this game, and I appreciate the encouragement.
canochaba
13. May 2017 · 18:48 UTC
Very fun game, I achieved 280 points and I learned to use the special attack almost at the end xD. Good job!
OccultOne
14. May 2017 · 03:55 UTC
This game has a very solid premise. The core mechanics were solid, though I would have liked to see the Spawn Mechanics improved, as was, I had a super enemy spawn right on my head and kill me after what was a very good run. I think the Audio was a bit of a detractor for me: The sounds were very loud and sharp, and repetitive. I think adding some randomized pitch shifting to each one, including the coughing would help a LOT with that feeling as the game progresses. Good job with introduction of new enemy types as the game progresses!
Kate Kligman
14. May 2017 · 05:31 UTC
Clever use of the theme! I play in grayscale and had some difficulty distinguishing between the red and the green cells. Enjoyed the mechanics, reminds me of microsurgeon for the Intellivision.
LukeZaz
14. May 2017 · 05:45 UTC
Good and simple gameplay, though I couldn't quite tell what the yellow germs were for, and it eventually became impossible to hold back. (Also I could raise my score easily after losing all green germs, as kills still counted!) Audio was well put together as well, though obviously the graphics have something to desire.
KappaIX
16. May 2017 · 19:28 UTC
An interesting idea! Liked the easy to grasp gameplay - but thought that eventually the difficulty ramps up a bit far and you end up shooting a lot of your own cells trying to defend them (maybe kind of the point - but I still had to try and keep them alive).

Well done, thanks for sharing!
Jupiter_Hadley
08. Jun 2017 · 18:08 UTC
Neat idea! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knRl6LSzZ9c