Power in Numbers by amras0000

[raw]
made by amras0000 for LD 41 (COMPO)

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The theme was fairly open here, but I elected to try for two interpretations at once. First, there is the mechanical contradiction of a mathematics edutainment title with strategic and reflex elements. Second, the contradiction of a fairly dark and violent game that tries to act like it's for children. I won't promise that I delivered on either of these fronts, though. You be the judge.

Touchpad Users Beware

this game is built for a mouse. If you're trying to play it on a touchpad, make sure you have a way to middle-click and you can easily left- and right- click simultaneously

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The game has a nominal end goal (a difficult one at that), but it's meant to be enjoyed as a GTA-style sandbox. If you'd rather mess around in the city, taking down civilians who look at you funny and tearing down buildings in your way, I encourage you to ignore the goal the game provides.

If you do want to pursue the end goal, it is reachable, but difficult. All the information you need is provided, but there are some emergent mechanics you may want to explore.

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I provided a post-LD version,

published the morning after the compo ended. There is about an hour's extra work in there. Nothing that changes the gameplay: - the colors are more distinct to avoid confusion between purple and blue buildings - some major (not quite gamebreaking, but bad) bugs are fixed - instructions are presented better

Middle Mouse Click Rotates your Camera.

If buildings are blocking your view, move the camera.

After you start, esc brings up the menu, with objectives and instructions.

Ratings

Overall 328th 3.409⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Fun 398th 3.193⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 218th 3.614⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Theme 283th 3.727⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 430th 3.067⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Audio 266th 3.08⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Mood 173th 3.409⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Given 54🗳️ 51🗨️

Feedback

Cryovr
23. Apr 2018 · 03:18 UTC
Definitely Delivered! i like your theme connection
L14 Game Studio
23. Apr 2018 · 12:39 UTC
I didn't really get the game. Nice design and smooth play. Buildings really annoyed blocking view.
dirtymoonz
23. Apr 2018 · 12:58 UTC
Clever title and an interesting concept! I enjoyed having my large gang demolish buildings.
🎤 amras0000
23. Apr 2018 · 13:49 UTC
@L14-Game-Studio were you not able to rotate the camera?
bcvery1
23. Apr 2018 · 17:00 UTC
Very interesting idea, I liked the chattering noises from the people
quixatocs
23. Apr 2018 · 19:00 UTC
Really like this game and I think it'd be really good for getting folk to see the divisible patterns in certain numbers. A lot of content for a compo too so great job. Thanks for playing my game too :)
LegionGames
23. Apr 2018 · 19:52 UTC
Thank you developer, now I know all of the numbers 0-100 that are divisible by 3. As a side effect I've developed an unnatural hatred towards the number 96 though. On a serious note, it's a really good game. By far the most addictive game I've played from this LD. Got stuck after destroying 16 offices until I performed a grid search of every freaking corner of the map. Considered playing the game on hard after but quickly noped out of that when I saw what numbers are allies & enemies. :D If you're going to work on it more, the main flaw I see in the game is the fact that waiting out the infamy stars is the most efficient strategy (it seems). Other than that, huge kudos for making this gem. :)
Zeriver
24. Apr 2018 · 00:05 UTC
Pretty innovative game, at first kinda hard to grasp but after a while you get the mechanics and you can go around and trash the city. Game has surprisingly a lot of strategic depth, especially on hard difficulty. I like the minimalistic graphics and camera work although game could be a little framy at time. In general pretty fun game with innovative concept and good execution, pretty impressive for LD game!
Lewis Quaife
24. Apr 2018 · 19:06 UTC
Love the feel of this game, but needs to start off a bit easier. Also my view kept getting obstructed.
🎤 amras0000
24. Apr 2018 · 19:30 UTC
@Lewis-Quaife I take it the camera control wasn't sufficient?

Should also be noted, you should have full control over the difficulty :). Police won't spawn unless you get a wanted level (stars in the upper right), and any black-jacket enemies will only attack you if you shout at them. I'm a little confused what the problem is. Thanks for the feedback though.
Alex Ferbrache
24. Apr 2018 · 20:22 UTC
Fun game! I like the genre mash up and think the mechanics work really well. Controls are intuitive and I found myself playing a few times to try to win :smile:

I had some readability problems with window colors, sometimes it felt like lit windows appeared on outward-facing sides of the building so they weren't visible from the street. Also, it seemed impossible to lower a 5-star wanted level if you needed to regroup. Finally, I thought it was a bit unintuitive that the health bar goes up, not down.
Mordokay
24. Apr 2018 · 23:31 UTC
Nice game!... On the beginning I just started walking around trying to do some math but eventually I realized that I was super powerful and started demolishing the entire city!

For everyone who is trying to figure out if a number is divisible by 3 do this trick:

Imagine you have the number 87 = 8 + 7 = 15 = 1 + 5 = 6. 6 is divisible by 3 so 87 is also divisible by 3 :P
boblova
25. Apr 2018 · 00:03 UTC
the game is fun i barely understood whats going on probably cause im not good at math but other than that i had a fun time make a huge gang
Schuster
26. Apr 2018 · 20:39 UTC
Took me a bit to get what to do, but once I realized, it was kinda fun. Nice job
Joe Cowman
26. Apr 2018 · 21:06 UTC
Nice work! I found it a bit difficult to figure out what to do at first, so some more clear instruction would be helpful. Fun and unique concept though!
spthiel
27. Apr 2018 · 14:35 UTC
This is what you call a brilliant concept put into a great game. I really like it.
candlesan
29. Apr 2018 · 21:30 UTC
There's some really interesting elements to this game. The music really sets the mood and the audio when people are fighting is well done as well. I like the art style and the vibe, it all fits together well.
Hare Software
01. May 2018 · 11:49 UTC
Needs a little bit of polish, but overall it's very good!
Jimbly
01. May 2018 · 15:56 UTC
Had a lot of difficulty with the controls, the combination of inverted mouse and not keeping focus on the window meant I kept turn the wrong way, then clicking off of the window, and getting murdered by police while trying to get focus back on the window :(. I managed to destroy 17 buildings, however at some point I just got swarmed with police (maybe around half way?) and then I just kept running for the rest of the game, which did avoid getting hit, but wasn't much fun.

When things got fast paced, I ended up just targeting odd-numbered people, which was much easier than trying to figure out if they were divisible by 3 but not 4 ^_^.

I liked the concept, and despite the control issues, this was pretty fun at the beginning.
ViridianGames
01. May 2018 · 17:04 UTC
Got a handle on the mechanics pretty quick but was only able to destroy six buildings before I was completely overwhelmed by the police. Still fun...if you can quickly factor numbers in your head :)
Chaseplays
05. May 2018 · 23:55 UTC
Good job! I liked the idea, and your combination of genres was fun! I think having a map of the world could have been helpful, as sometimes it got difficult to remember where I had been in the world, although that might just be a matter of preference. Otherwise, nice work!
Linkwin
06. May 2018 · 00:58 UTC
Love the idea and interpretation of theme! I was not able to get very far, I do not understand how to deal with the police, I just kept running... Anyway, I'm interested in the other games you've made, will be checking those out!
irwatts
06. May 2018 · 21:18 UTC
Awesome! I really liked the feel of activating a chain reaction. The required number of buildings to destroy was a little out of my reach, but I had a lot of fun in my attempts. Everything messaged well and played great!
Bernhard
11. May 2018 · 16:41 UTC
I played for quite a while and only saw the goal at the end. Only got a few >_<
But this is pretty amazing. The moment you figure out you can beat up citizen until they have a number that matches to make them join your team is awesome!
Really good entry, congrats!
euske
12. May 2018 · 09:22 UTC
Definitely one of the innovative games. The gameplay is a bit monotonous and the town is hard to navigate (a little minimap would be nice). Not sure if the two genres thing was successful here, but an interesting take anyway.