LudumData

Let Me Eat You! by v1ru6

[raw]
made by v1ru6 for LD 43 (JAM)

LMEY_.png

You are to help the Eatmes to reach the providential Alwaysfedland. You need a mouse to play.

(Multiple Eatmes may have been injured or died horribly during this development, but officially I deny everything.)

-o-0-o-

Solo jam submission using Unreal Engine 4, and part of an marketplace package.

-o-0-o-

Bugs corrected since the end of LD43 submission:

  • The floor was missing, so Eatmes couldn't move (Thanks to the Del key and the 3am submission deadline ;) )
  • The starting camera angle didn't allow to see the objective "Alwaysfedland"
  • The camera was following the Eatme leader and it was very hard to perceive motion, I unchecked "Follow selected actor" in the marketplace package that I used
  • The Eatme leader was hardly identifiable so I enabled the outline for the selected actor
  • The audio for a not-hungry Eatme was too high pitched, I diminished the pitch in the sound cue
  • There was some collision bugs between Eatmes, I corrected some of them, some still remains. I can't deactivate collision between Eatmes without coding a proper flocking AI, which I didn't have time for during the Jam and would be therefore an additional feature.
  • One UI panel for one ending didn't display properly (the one in case of "Win"), it contains the "quit" button.

Thank you to all that provided with constructive feedback!

Windows https://ecosystemikgameplay.itch.io/let-me-eat-you
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/let-me-eat-you

Ratings

Overall 1007th 2.578⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 992th 2.375⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 799th 2.797⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Theme 854th 2.922⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 946th 2.167⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Audio 578th 2.75⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Humor 342th 3.203⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 818th 2.881⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 42🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

Adam_B
05. Dec 2018 · 14:05 UTC
The sound effects were funny.
Unfortunately, I found the game a little confusing. It would have been good to have a more detailed tutorial on how we're supposed to control the eatmes and avoid predators.
Mekuri
05. Dec 2018 · 17:48 UTC
A fun idea, and the audio was awesome!
A little detail on the terrain would've helped quite a bit. A lot of times I thought my eatmes where standing still, since I couldn't see movement in the terrain. Secondly it took me a while until I realized it was actually a 3d world, not just 2D. Adjusting the start camera angle a bit, would help make this obvious.
I enjoyed playing it, and my best game was with 4 eatmes alive, so I suppose that could've gone better.

Thanks for sharing your game.
ByGGy
05. Dec 2018 · 20:13 UTC
The controls were a pain:
- I could not see who was the leader and therefore didn't know if the selection was working or not
- I wish I could move the camera with the WSAD or arrow keys while moving the blobs with the left button
- I didn't understand why the blobs stopped moving every once in a while (I guess it is because the leader dies, but I cannot see who is the leader, so ...)

Lost really close to the finish line and thought it was intended.

Apart from that, found the sounds to be pretty funny.
Pat Farnach
05. Dec 2018 · 20:47 UTC
Fun idea and funny noises. I echo what @byggy said above -- the controls were a hindrance and it was hard to tell where I should be going or generally what was happening. I really enjoyed the "censored" when the character got eaten. Interested concept -- keep up the good work
🎤 v1ru6
05. Dec 2018 · 22:29 UTC
Thanks for your feedback, guys. I will test all your games this weekend.

So it's possible (hard) to avoid the predators and still loose. It would have been obvious, had I raised the hunger rate a bit.
And there is a sort of post-play after "winning".

@byggy Disabling WASD to control the camera and disabling the leader outline was a bad 2AM "good idea". It's already coded actually. :/
The stop moving is simply due to collisions. In my to do list was a flocking implementation that I never did. I should have disabled collision for the Eatmes.
@mekuri Yeah I should adjust the starting camera definitely , all my friends that playtested had the same issue.
@pat-farnach I struggled 1 hour with particle effects for the eating and then I took a shortcut
jk5000
07. Dec 2018 · 09:56 UTC
What is here is weirdly funny, but somehow the game feels unfinished.
masterkrepta
09. Dec 2018 · 19:38 UTC
I like the concept. I Think it could use some terrain details though, I found it too easy to dodge the predators and a lot of my time was just spent traveling across an empty plain
bitdecay
09. Dec 2018 · 20:43 UTC
I'm a fan of the lemmings mechanic of having a leader and a swarm that follows them. We actually started down a similar road and wanted to do something similar. I had a hard time finding the fun in how the enemies interacted with the player. I just picked a leader and right clicked in Alwaysfedland and just watched the leader and 3 or 4 of the Eatmes b-line it for the goal and win. I think with some variation in enemy behavior and something to force the player to have to make choices would allow this to turn into something solid.
GettingRekt
09. Dec 2018 · 21:21 UTC
I always like a game where the controls are not the standard movement. So I enjoyed the indirect control of the eatmes. Took a while to get my bearings but after that it was a soothing movement. Good job.
MerpADer
11. Dec 2018 · 01:21 UTC
Top ten anime plot twists of all time with that ending. Quality audio performance all around! that was really funny and great submission lol.
Azayiah
11. Dec 2018 · 12:39 UTC
Very enjoyable! Thanks for submitting your great work!!
Guy Withivy
13. Dec 2018 · 09:38 UTC
I loved audio and overall mood. I had some problems to identify what I have to do in order to win. Good job
Zicboy
13. Dec 2018 · 11:22 UTC
I really enjoyed the ending. The mood and audio was on point though the controls had to get some getting use to at the beginning. Thanks and hope you develop a post jam version of this game.
badpaul34
14. Dec 2018 · 11:32 UTC
What are the challenges? I think there is a lack of thinking for the game system. I only have to click on the right area and wait for them to go there.. Even if there is a small micro management to avoid the predators.

And I don't believe that Ludum Dare shall be a place for marketing your marketplace assets..
🎤 v1ru6
14. Dec 2018 · 13:25 UTC
@badpaul34 First and foremost, don't feel obligated to be a D. If you restrict game design and prototyping to challenges, you have much to learn. Maybe the challenge wasn't the point. I could direct you to Stone Librande or Marc Leblanc conferences and tutorials for instance.

And I merely state corrected bugs and packages utilized (and therefore not made during the jam). Where did you see me telling "Buy me stuff! here is the bit.ly link 15% off"?
pkenney
16. Dec 2018 · 23:57 UTC
Nice sound effects! Also a funny humorous vibe to it all. I played to the humorous conclusion, but there were many censorings along the way. Actually I felt like I was going to get over the line with a big herd, but then here came a predator. I decided to get clever, and to select a guy to send off alone as bait, drawing the predator away from the pack.... sacrifices must be made, after all! However this was a terrible strategy idea! I forgot my whole pack would follow this guy, so what happened was they all took a detour, which had two terrible outcomes: firstly they went to the predator together like one big lunch, and second the delay in moving straight toward the green zone meant they clumped up and stalled, which meant more cannibalism. I stuck around for the final grim humor at the end, and was rewarded.

On the critique side, I felt a bit confused initially. I had to manually reoirent the camera and guess that the green line was probably the goal. Once I figured that, I was off to the races. Perhaps it was possible to set the camera up initially to more clearly communicate the objective? I don't know.

Nice job!
pelicanodepico
17. Dec 2018 · 20:54 UTC
I encountered some bugs but it's a cool concept
elysiagriffin
18. Dec 2018 · 21:58 UTC
Hey v1ru6! Thanks for submitting your game for me to play on my livestream!

If you'd like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/346059114?t=05m41s

Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady

https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
static ddq
24. Dec 2018 · 04:56 UTC
pretty interesting game, it feels fun to play