Critters Inc. by stefenism


WEB BUILD IS POST SUBMISSION DEADLINE
You've been hired!
Unfortunately at this job poor performance could mean certain death. Use your mighty leaf blower to move around and ship out "The Merchandise" and make sure to filter out the bad seeds into the incinerator. Try to have fun and avoid that nefarious pink slip.
WASD to move
Mouse to point
Left click to Blow
Right click (+ hold) to suck
visit us on itch!
https://stefenism.itch.io/crittersinc
| Windows | https://stefenism.itch.io/crittersinc |
| HTML5 (web) | https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/703051 |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/critters-inc |
Ratings
| Overall | 374th | 3.63⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 519th | 3.37⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 199th | 3.652⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 631th | 3.37⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 285th | 3.978⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 354th | 3.386⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 435th | 3.205⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 457th | 3.432⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 41🗳️ | 13🗨️ |
This was a really strong entry, with nice graphics and a strong idea. Actually several strong ideas: the shipping, the super duper, the blower/sucker, it all came together really nicely into a cohesive interrelated game.
I do want to say I had some frustration with the blower. It seemed kind of random. Sometimes a creature would go flying across the room, other times they would not move at all. I tried to get a screenshot of a really clear case of where I expected a critter to move but it didn't, and I only got this mediocre one: https://imgur.com/7CwdByR
The other issue was that I kept getting guys stuck on the edge of going in. Instead of feeling like a smooth operator, I was usually stymied by a corner blocking the shot. Then I'd come around the side and blow, but he'd blow past the opening entirely. I guess I wished the openings were a bit more forgiving - that would have made the game easier of course, but I wanted the challenge to be about the higher-level positioning and not the jank of the edge case of getting the dude in the door.
I'm drilling into the nuance of the feel only because this is a great game that I enjoyed a lot, and I think it could be ridiculous-level fun if I felt smoother at the controls.
Really nice job here!
Edit: went back to test a little more about the feel nuances I mentioned. Here's a better screenshot of the corner thing - this critter doesn't go in from here: https://imgur.com/a/PziH1 Then the time I'm using the blower and not sure why the monster isn't being moved is here: https://imgur.com/a/JtX3t
Overall nice job!
There is a bit of a learning curve that you need to help players through.
Usually the mechanic felt great, but once and awhile the suck or blow did not really do what I expected it too.
Anyway, it was still a fun experience. However, the fact that when my clones dies, there leaf blower is still working is quite weird.
Overall, though, quite enjoyable and a nice idea.
[Check it out here!](http://nicegames.club/2017/12/nice-plays-ludum-dare-40-games-2017/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BGt66ZnLME