Falling Ecosystem by sprvrn

[raw]
made by sprvrn for LD 42 (COMPO)

ld42_20.gif

Gather resources, build things. The more you mine, the less space you have... Also, beware, the ground is unstable!

Controls: Left click: okay, Right click: Cancel.

LD42: Running out of space

Ratings

Overall 100th 3.827⭐ 158🧑‍⚖️
Fun 185th 3.558⭐ 158🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 111th 3.71⭐ 157🧑‍⚖️
Theme 36th 4.287⭐ 157🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 58th 4.075⭐ 156🧑‍⚖️
Mood 129th 3.49⭐ 148🧑‍⚖️
Given 92🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

Noxalus
12. Aug 2018 · 16:59 UTC
Really nice game! I didn't really understand how to increase the life (or love? :O), but the principle is easy and pleasant to play. :thumbsup:
🎤 sprvrn
12. Aug 2018 · 17:42 UTC
@noxalus Thanks you for playing! I expected people to have hard time understanding the Lives resources :p A small explaination is displayed on over the Heart in the UI ;)

Basically: it's 1 Life of every Tree AND Water you have built.
Noxalus
12. Aug 2018 · 17:49 UTC
@sprvrn Oh, didn't see that neither :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: Thanks for the explanation :wink:
Mucevval
12. Aug 2018 · 19:57 UTC
Weldone! It's a very good game.
kirash
12. Aug 2018 · 20:54 UTC
I love it.
OadT
12. Aug 2018 · 21:20 UTC
Great entry! I like these cute graphics. Maybe I found a small bug: I think the resources don't gets updated when a block falls of.
🎤 sprvrn
12. Aug 2018 · 23:31 UTC
@oadt Ah, yes you might be right... Well it's a not a big deal for the jam version. Thanks for playing!
Sthor726
13. Aug 2018 · 00:56 UTC
Very cool concept and the artwork was very good!
OmnipotentIndie
13. Aug 2018 · 02:45 UTC
Looks good, works well with the concept, and is fun to play. Great job
4thwallstudios
13. Aug 2018 · 03:50 UTC
Awesome concept.
Allan Kong
13. Aug 2018 · 04:53 UTC
Cool farming simulator, my mouse is on fire
Erasmus Crowley
13. Aug 2018 · 07:12 UTC
This game has a very addictive quality to it. I wanted to just keep clicking stuff...

I found the resources to be very confusing. I figured out most of the basic ones, but I never figured out how to get the resource that was required for building quarries, which in turn means I never managed to build towers/castles, so I'm not sure what effect they have on the game.

The mouseover tooltip that was on one resource was nice, I wish there was one for each of the resources.
REBDC
13. Aug 2018 · 07:12 UTC
Nice theme concept and the art is really great. Well done.
star-sought
13. Aug 2018 · 08:38 UTC
Nice game! I had fun playing it. I like the mix of resources and buildings. The sprites and audio work well together, and I especially liked the particle effect when tiles fell down and hit the bottom. Like some of the other commenters, I had some difficulty understanding what things were and how to get them at first. I think more tooltips, and maybe a tutorial level would help a lot if you wanted to continue development. Overall great job!
AVAVT
13. Aug 2018 · 09:00 UTC
Cool game, has an additive feel to it.

It took me a while to figure out how the game works. In my first game I mined a spot at the center of the island, and every went down quickly.

Although the game is cool and I played it to the end, I don't like how the game "progress" or "unfold" to the player. Things like "how to win" or particularly "should I spam mine, or should I wait until the exclamation mark appear?" are not quite clear to the player (I still don't know).

The score need some explaining as well. Maybe instead of score you could just have a "Wonder" building that require loads of resource and player wins by building that? It would be a more "visible" target to aim for.
Noa Calice
13. Aug 2018 · 09:48 UTC
All in all a very solid LD entry :) ! Well done ! I especially like the pixel art style, juicy sound effects and slight screen shake !
Haustgeirr
13. Aug 2018 · 09:50 UTC
Awesome game! Took me a while to figure out the water/tree dynamic but I like having something to uncover. The 'downward spiral' at the end of the game is quite long, as you can't affect built on tiles, so I ended up just watching the world collapse for a while lol. Charming style, addictive game. Brilliant!
🎤 sprvrn
13. Aug 2018 · 10:26 UTC
@erasmus-crowley @star-sought @haustgeirr The resources and how to get it are confusing indeed... I split them in 2 columns: the resources that are spent when you build something (on the left: dirt, wood, rock) and the resources that are not spent (on the right: tree, water, life). Besides, the tree building gives you 2 resources: Wood and Tree ... I maybe should have extend the tutorial a little more!

@avavt What you are saying is interesting. I didn't thought the mining part could be confusing. You can mine whenever you want, but mining the doomed tile is worth it, because it's a resource that are going to waste if it falls. But at some point you have to stop mining and save some free tile for "score buildings".
I should also have add tooltips for the score! Houses and tower "produce" respectively 10 and 50 points.
Good idea for the Wonder building!
rainysolar
13. Aug 2018 · 11:24 UTC
Great city building game! Very solid for this theme. I really like the juicy sound effects. Clicking is really enjoyed in this game. :laughing:
Valden
13. Aug 2018 · 12:05 UTC
Neat game, a nice spin on the idle game formula !
Jole
13. Aug 2018 · 12:54 UTC
Fun game! Sad that you cant play forever. :(
Korso
13. Aug 2018 · 13:11 UTC
Love the style. I only miss some mechanic to restore the first tiles, thus enabling an endless mode. Great use of PICO8 pallete.
pomb
13. Aug 2018 · 14:18 UTC
I really wanted to build a house! but it's quite confusing how to get the resource. Another entry that makes me want to get Pico :D
Albin
13. Aug 2018 · 14:33 UTC
Really fun once you get the hang of it. Graphics are cute too. The only thing i would change is to make it so you can skip turns, especially when you're at the end and the only thing you can do is wait. Other than that the game is great overall. Good job! :D
r3c0d3r
13. Aug 2018 · 15:17 UTC
Gameplay style was quite fun! But it is so sad to watch my city fell down for long time...
manusaiz
13. Aug 2018 · 16:50 UTC
Brilliant entry! Simple bug effective style, gameplay a bit tricky to understand at first, butdefinetly engaging. Had a blast trying to catch up and keep the most dignified shape.
GibletsofJesus
13. Aug 2018 · 17:32 UTC
Absolutely adorable little houses!
AddVector
13. Aug 2018 · 18:31 UTC
Great game! Using the game board as a resource is a very clever mechanic!
M8rix
13. Aug 2018 · 19:02 UTC
Great feedback, game feels superb to play. And the graphics are really neat!
MariosManiatis
13. Aug 2018 · 19:06 UTC
Awesome.
Patrick Woodcock
13. Aug 2018 · 19:23 UTC
Nice. Really cool concept. Took me a while to work out how to get hearts.
Steffo
13. Aug 2018 · 23:26 UTC
Fun game! I got to more than 3000 points!

Just a question: what are the blue tiles? Is it water?
velvetlobster
14. Aug 2018 · 00:50 UTC
Love the pixel graphics, really well done! I think I did not get how the scoring thing works, good game though
minibobbo
14. Aug 2018 · 01:02 UTC
This was difficult to understand at first, but part of the fun was trying to figure out what was going on. I was able to build trees and water which got me houses, but I wasn't ever able to get any oil. I think that was the next piece of the tech tree that I needed.

The sound and the screen shakes were very well done. The whole experience just felt nice.
YamiOG
14. Aug 2018 · 01:36 UTC
It was a pretty nice a tidy game. The gameplay was fun too!
Steffanie
14. Aug 2018 · 02:07 UTC
Cute game! What was the highest score? I feel like I was playing for quite a while and not getting very high. Anyone else?
reuno
14. Aug 2018 · 02:14 UTC
I'm not sure I understood exactly the benefits of each building, but clicking on these tiles was very rewarding!
Jay Elbourne
14. Aug 2018 · 03:22 UTC
This is worth some time to develop further. Has potential and fun to play. Great Job.
Ceuteum
14. Aug 2018 · 03:26 UTC
I really liked the idea of destroying the surface that you're building on, as a mean to advance. It makes the space even more valuable. The graphics are cute, too :)
Ossi
14. Aug 2018 · 06:38 UTC
That was really fun! The graphics are fantastic and you used the theme really well! It was a bit confusing at first until I saw the tooltip for the heart and then things became more clear making it much easier to progress. I think there's a lot of potential for something bigger. That was a really enjoyable experience!
NOTBADGUN
14. Aug 2018 · 09:32 UTC
Awsome pixel farming simulator )
djlink
14. Aug 2018 · 09:53 UTC
great concept, found the whole "waste resources to build stuff" very well translated here, especially with floor disappearing. interface was just a bit confusing at first, this game is worth investing more time into
DangoGameDev
14. Aug 2018 · 09:57 UTC
You really took the theme in a great direction, such a cool game.
🎤 sprvrn
14. Aug 2018 · 10:32 UTC
@steffo Correct that's water!

@velvetlobster Yeah sorry, this is not explained: Houses "produce" 10 points and towers 50 points.

@minibobbo That's not oil, that's water. I drew it I a different color because the sky and the water share the same color... I now realize I should have outline those sprites too... well another UI fail :D
glitchman
14. Aug 2018 · 10:35 UTC
Love the artwork! :art: Overall great job! :clap:
Thomas Lessa
14. Aug 2018 · 13:10 UTC
Great game, like for real. The tiny visuals, coding and theme fits perfect. :clap:
suve
14. Aug 2018 · 13:30 UTC
Nice game, I really enjoyed it! The only feature I've found missing was some kind of fast-forward once there are no more empty tiles. Still, this is really well-polished and extremely fun to play.
gil4
14. Aug 2018 · 14:41 UTC
I enjoyed it a lot, even went for a second run, haha. A good take on the theme, surprisingly well-balanced as well (for a jam, I mean; usually everything is just too easy or too hard) - the last building comes into play late enough to have most of the spaces occupied, making it hard to abuse in getting a higher score. The art is pleasant and sounds are on point as well, making it a solid entry.

If I were to suggest anything it'd be making the last building generate tiles around itself to make the ending more interactive and fun - that way you could have a clearly defined goal to the game, restore the whole playing field and ultimately fill it with those tile generators to guarantee stability and prosperity for the local citizens. :D That'd probably also require being able to destroy whatever you build and tweak the balance quite a bit, so don't consider it anything more than a random thought from another dev passing by.

Oh, and on something more manageable - I'd make the game require less clicks to get through a tile, it was perfectly fine on my first run but got pretty tedious to do on my second playthrough.

Really well done, thanks for the game!
PowLow_Paolo
14. Aug 2018 · 15:52 UTC
Well done! I didn't know what was going on much the first time so watched the YT video. Loved the artwork and overall it's a fun game, fits the theme very well IMO. Nice work
Donitz
14. Aug 2018 · 16:03 UTC
Love it! I'm a huge fan of minimalistic pixel-art (games like Environmental Station Alpha), and this game is simply gorgeous! On top of that the gameplay is compelling as well, forcing you to make some difficult choices whether to mine or just gather resources. And again, the attention to detail (screen-shake anyone?) brings it all home. Good job!

If you made some type of larger sim city styled game in this theme I'd play it.

![quarry.png](///raw/3c8/91/z/193ef.png)
randomphantom
14. Aug 2018 · 16:10 UTC
Neat entry! Graphics were cute and the gameplay was really simple yet its fun to make your tiny city. It wasn't very intuitive though, e.g. with the hearts requiring a tree and a lake. Its also not clear what produces what. Needs some option to speed through the later part of the game too, as you would run out of space.
Traffle
14. Aug 2018 · 16:26 UTC
Nice game!. I really love the simple graphics and sounds, they make it feel really nice.
SergeM
14. Aug 2018 · 19:49 UTC
I like cute style and gameplay. It's so wonderful i want more levels!
beepyeah
14. Aug 2018 · 21:27 UTC
Great game. really smooth ui execution, especially for pico-8!

suggestion: once all available squares are filled, it should go into fast-forward mode, since all there is to do is wait.
KunoNoOni
14. Aug 2018 · 22:47 UTC
I really like this game, this city builder of doom!:smile: The graphic are amazing as are the sounds. I will say at the end when you've built on all the spaces it does get a little boring just watching the the your city fall apart. Then again it's also kinda surreal, knowing that everything created can be destroyed. Congrats on completing your game!
uvwar
15. Aug 2018 · 00:06 UTC
Awesome game! No idea how to make the stone quarry thing, or what it did once I built one, though...
TheCommonThug
15. Aug 2018 · 00:13 UTC
Good stuff. I wasn't understanding the hearts, which I'm sure was on me.
pedroaz
15. Aug 2018 · 02:54 UTC
Really nice game
Bandygrass
15. Aug 2018 · 07:12 UTC
Wow, this looks super polished and very striking visually. Great use of the Pico palette! :D
Shell Pirate
15. Aug 2018 · 07:41 UTC
I liked the minimalistic pixel graphics, especially the palette. The sound wasn't anything special and I think some music would have helped a lot, but considering this is a Compo entry, it is completely understandable. The gameplay has potential. I liked some of your ideas quite a lot, in particular, the way you mined dirt. The decision making of whether to wait and see which blocks will fall and then quickly mine those so they don't go to waste, or mine some other blocks to save yourself the wait was quite a neat mechanic. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a double edged sword as it lead to a lot of downtime where the player does nothing. Another issue I had was the fact that not everything was indicated quite clearly (such as which things you build provide which resources and when exactly in relation to the timer those resources are collected). All of these are excusable for a Ludum Dare game, of course, I'm just pitching in as to how to improve it if you decide to move forward. Good entry!
disco
15. Aug 2018 · 10:37 UTC
Very nice art style, pico8 style is very appealing. the warning sound is a bit jarring. I think this game has some expansion potential.
WongKongPhooey
15. Aug 2018 · 12:14 UTC
It's a really great game! Lots of complexity considering it's Pico-8, and very impressed by the graphics. Well done!
Yami no tenshi 8
15. Aug 2018 · 12:28 UTC
Very good idea, I liked it ! Only thing that could be improved is when all the field is filled, the timer should go down quicker so that we reach the final score more easily.

But I love the polish level of your entry, well done.

Here is my score :

![FallEco.png](///raw/c60/3/z/19bb8.png)
Nadia
15. Aug 2018 · 12:46 UTC
cool concept!
SirMichel
15. Aug 2018 · 18:46 UTC
The concept of this game really fits the theme, however it took me some time until i fugured out what to do and how the differen buildings play together. The artwork is nice and constitent
Lipsch
15. Aug 2018 · 19:18 UTC
Great concept. But I don't see a goal, so it's hard for me to stay at it. But it looks great. Could use some background music and the sounds could be less threatening :p Good Entry!
Drell
15. Aug 2018 · 20:27 UTC
Cool use of the theme and yay pico8! Wasn't quite sure what was going on at first (and at the end) but it was fun so I kept trying to figure out the rules and had a good time. Great job! :D
JamesOliverMusic
16. Aug 2018 · 11:28 UTC
excellent concept and implementation. The only thing missing is music!
Jin9310
16. Aug 2018 · 13:39 UTC
Really sweet little thing. Love the minimalistic approach and overall this comes off very well. Great job!
Jupiter_Hadley
16. Aug 2018 · 13:44 UTC
Cute graphics, fun game! I included it in my compilation video series of the Ludum Dare 42 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/8T98Y6n8oZk
gurkenlabs
16. Aug 2018 · 14:17 UTC
The game was fun until the point where there was no space left. You need to wait for all floor tiles to collapse after that. There should be more feedback when the game is over.
velvetlobster
16. Aug 2018 · 14:28 UTC
It took me a while to get used to the mechanics, but once I understood had tons of fun playing it. Love all the work to me it authentically retro
gurarara
17. Aug 2018 · 02:03 UTC
This game has a nice concept. I like how it makes the player shift priorities as the tiles fall down.
Nick Rafalski
17. Aug 2018 · 02:08 UTC
Very concise and polished sim/management game. I'm always amazed when somebody can pull one of these off for LD and keep it relatively balanced and compelling, without being overly complicated and confusing. You did all of that very well! Almost as an after thought, the art and sound are cute and lovely. One of the best games I've played!
Lou Bagel
17. Aug 2018 · 14:46 UTC
Took a bit of trial and error to figure out, but that is the fun part in games like this. Nice work!
tom7
18. Aug 2018 · 03:24 UTC
I like the idea and graphics, but I can't figure out how to get more hearts! I just wanna build a building! T_T
Drauthius
18. Aug 2018 · 12:18 UTC
Nice entry! You should probably update the description to mention that there is a tooltip for the hearts (the only element that seems to have one).
Amba
18. Aug 2018 · 12:44 UTC
Nice game. The mechanics fit well in theme but i don't get the goal of the game. Graphics and sounds made the game look quite polished. The style is very cool and give a retro vibe. I didn't saw anything like this in the jam yet. Great work! Quite impressed with amount of the content done with the time given.
Abhis1Kadian
19. Aug 2018 · 21:08 UTC
@sprvrn I dig the art style, very nice. Great entry man. Wish u luck
aug
20. Aug 2018 · 02:11 UTC
Great game! The SFX were neat, although some music would've been nice, and the gameplay itself was great (slightly confusing at first but not too hard to pick up). The art was great as well. I would've liked it if you could replace tiles or skip turns if you had nothing more you wanted to do, but overall awesome stuff!
kaiclavier
20. Aug 2018 · 23:46 UTC
Wow, it takes a lot to build a skyscraper. Still not sure what the black resource is after finishing the game twice. The tooltip on the hearts is good, not sure why the other resources didn't have one? I think a quick text guide in the description to clear up what stuff is and what it does would be helpful! My final score was 4820!
LandoSystems
21. Aug 2018 · 03:46 UTC
Very cool game! Simple mechanics with an interesting take on the theme. We did something similar as a simple turn-based strategy. I liked the ability to collect the tiles that are about to drop out if you're fast enough. The art style was very fitting for the gameplay and the sounds were nice, but I wish there was music! Great work overall!
Paden Shorey
21. Aug 2018 · 14:40 UTC
Cool concept but hard to grasp at the start.
coatline
21. Aug 2018 · 20:37 UTC
Nice game! Hard to figure out at the start but it was very fun and I played way too much of it. Great job!
Ethan Kennerly
24. Aug 2018 · 01:36 UTC
When I sacrificed space to build trees, mountains and houses, I felt interested. If you continue to develop this, when I built every kind of structure except the face at the far right, I felt unclear what I needed to build that one.
Noxbuds
27. Aug 2018 · 10:12 UTC
Very interesting way to implement the theme. Graphics were awesome and the sound effects were great, but it could've used some music. Would have been nice if each building tooltip showed what it makes, and the ability to skip turns or get a final score once you've built on every square would be very helpful. Overall though, a very nice submission. Managed to score 5600.
Dev_For_Pizza
04. Sep 2018 · 09:43 UTC
really cool game !