Robo Drainer by Hjalte

[raw]
made by Hjalte for LD 39 (JAM)

CONTROLS

  • Movement: AD / Arrow keys
  • Jumping: Space / W / Up
  • Interact: E
  • Restart: R

DESCRIPTION

Your dearest lies weak and pale in a bed. The only thing keeping her alive is the machine beside her, but since the ship wrecked, there has been no power. You must drain the robots roaming the ship to acquire power and keep the machine running!

DOWNLOAD (WIN): http://www.realfast.dk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Robo-Drainer.zip

PLAY IN BROWSER: https://itch.io/embed-upload/555810?color=333333

Screenshot 2017-08-01 03.04.39.png Screenshot 2017-08-01 03.05.06.png Screenshot 2017-08-01 03.05.28.png Screenshot 2017-08-01 03.04.48.png

Ratings

Overall 756th 2.8⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 808th 2.35⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 553th 2.85⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 447th 3.45⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 556th 3.158⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 609th 2.842⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 17🗨️

Feedback

Shinmera
01. Aug 2017 · 18:41 UTC
Could have done with some more variety in the gameplay-- perhaps some way to fight back at a distance, rather than having to sneak up on the other robots until you can hit E without getting blasted. Other than that, I'm not sure if it was necessary to enable physics on the robot bodies. That doesn't really add anything to the game.
tybantarnusa
03. Aug 2017 · 23:03 UTC
This game has potential, and as shinmera said, the gameplay could be extended. I love the smooth animation. It's quite fun, though.
Aurel300
04. Aug 2017 · 11:30 UTC
We streamed your game with Danae plays on Twitch. :) Here's a link:

[Danae streams Ludum Dare 39: Day 1, part 1: Robo Drainer](https://youtu.be/4KfQtLDzK-g?t=36m56s)

I admit I abused the "jump from below and drain" glitch a lot. I think that other than that the only safe strategy is to drain one enemy, go back to the girl, then repeat. A single shot drains my battery, and the controls don't permit enough manoeuvring to avoid the bullets. Another issue was that the goal was not very clear, and the game over screen was confusing – did I win? Was it because I killed all the robots? Filling the girl's battery had no effect… But the graphics were cute :) Good job on submitting a game!
mamoniem
11. Aug 2017 · 15:02 UTC
Funny, little buggy, but nice game eventually.

What i didn't enjoy so far was the speed of the movement, and the little slide in movement, as you know, for a platformer, the character controller is almost everything. But good job for game jam.

-m
ristoretto
11. Aug 2017 · 15:11 UTC
* I really like how the game start with the player next to the bed of a dying person, and how the e button lights up and you try to press it and transfer energy to the machine. It really explains the goal of the game very well.

* The platforming needs a faster jump and the level need to fit better to the height of the jump

* I like how the bodies form the robots are left when you have drained them, it feels a little strange to move them around, but its nice to be able to jump on them.

* When you fall of the world, it should respawn the player or restart the game.

* Nice art and animations :)
ProdigalSon
11. Aug 2017 · 19:32 UTC
The sense of motivation is definitely there, as mentioned in previous comments, because you see your object and you get that feeling of "we have to hurry". The first go around, the robots seemed to not care about me and I was not getting hurt and I thought I had to keep some power to stay alive myself (found out that was not the case, lol) but I feel into deep space and nothing happened :( Thankfully I could restart and then the robots became hostile! :P To increase that sense of "I have to help my loved on", it would be nice to have a meter constantly on screen to let me know where her life support is at and, to increase the bond between the two, make it that my suit also needs power for me to move around. That way it feels like I am giving some of my life to keep my loved one alive. ;) Boom! :D
tjakka5
11. Aug 2017 · 20:08 UTC
I was a bit confused at first about what to do, but it didn't need much of an introduction to figure it out.

My main motivation to go on with this game wasn't necessarily to keep her alive, but i got curious how the rest of the level might look like. Especially after seeing all those breatches in the ship.

The controls worked well, but the jump is incredibly floaty. The enemies were boring, you could stand near the top of them and just drain away their juice, without them fighting back.

The art looks rather nice, it's a shame there isn't any music and sound effects to further develop the mood of the game.

As a suggestion, maybe you could give the player the ability to do certain moves at the cost of some power.
In that case those moves would need to be worth using though.

Overall i like the premise, but it lacks in gameplay.
bombjack
11. Aug 2017 · 20:34 UTC
I liked the idea of the game. The animation of the robot walk is great :)
garethjenkins
19. Aug 2017 · 11:14 UTC
the draining power mechanic in a platformer is awesome -- well done on that!
HuvaaKoodia
21. Aug 2017 · 08:11 UTC
Solid design. Platforming works, but it is very basic. Some special abilities would have improved the draining robots part, like distracting or reprogramming them in order to be able to siphon their power. It is all too easy at the moment. All of a sudden a "She is fine" message just pops up. What a surprise!

I agree with @prodigalson on requiring energy for the main character too. At the moment its fine to run out of energy. It should turn off your oxygen flow too! (or something similarly grim).

In the end I tried to end it all by jumping off the left side of the ship. That didn't quite work.

Ok entry. (Needs audio!)
pcmaster
21. Aug 2017 · 11:16 UTC
I saved her :) The movement was a bit clumsy. I liked the character animation. Audio missing :) Keep it up!