Neon Level Switcher by theck

[raw]
made by theck for LD35 (JAM)
In Neon Level Switcher we have to survive by moving around a level to find a clean zone. Every few seconds the level on the background be switched to foreground and then, you will die if you were in a zone where now there is a wall.

Every time you survive a level, you will have less time to move around. You will hear a sound warning when there are 3 or less seconds, and a constant beeping when the switch times are lower than 3 seconds (party hard mode).

CONTROLS
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WASD to move
J to select an option on the menus

CREDITS
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- Developed by Xavier (Theck) Borrut
- Engine by Eduard (Nokto) Torras
- Chainmail Pyjama imageb by Cristina Charneco (http://crischarneco.blogspot.com.es)
- Music by Chris Zabriskie (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/)

NOTES & KNOWN ISSUES
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Java 8 is required
There is an error with physics calculations and sometimes you will die if you are moving next to a wall when the level switches.
The font used is too small. We usually scale the game x2 but I wanted to go to 800x600 and didn't have time to create a new al bigger bitmap font (needed to touch some parts of the engine to achieve it)

Ratings

Coolness 26% 1934
Overall(Jam) 2.87 889
Audio(Jam) 3.00 459
Fun(Jam) 2.87 738
Graphics(Jam) 2.87 812
Innovation(Jam) 3.40 277
Mood(Jam) 2.47 931
Theme(Jam) 3.13 692

Feedback

Skruffye
19. Apr 2016 路 17:00 UTC
Good fun and a cool concept. Unfortunately the (seemingly) linear decrease in level times meant that the game kinda started playing itself (switching faster than I could move the character) after about twenty seconds until I died.
Possibly split up groups of levels into finite stages that do the same, but are beatable with enough skill. :)
Great core concept though, good job!
DAT.NOT.MY.GAME!
19. Apr 2016 路 17:53 UTC
Nice gameplay!
blinry
19. Apr 2016 路 20:33 UTC
Crashes on me: "Unsupported version 52.0"
馃帳 theck
19. Apr 2016 路 21:05 UTC
Thank you Skruffye the difficulty curve it's a little bit tricky I know, but no time to adjust it better and I though it will be better to have a difficult one to imagine how a more balanced gameplay will look like, but lasting more time per play.
spiffl
19. Apr 2016 路 21:27 UTC
Solid game. I like the idea, and the graphics and music are nice, and the controls feel good! My main issue is, as others have said, the difficulty curve. It feels like the first 50% of the game is way too easy, where I just find a safe place and then do nothing for 5 seconds, and then it QUICKLY becomes far too difficult. Smoothing it out a bit (start a bit tougher but don't escalate as quickly) would be a good idea, or having a level-based system like Skruffye said. Another fun idea would be if you could see TWO layers into the background so you know what's coming up next and can plan ahead!

Issues aside, I had fun playing this; good job :)
f222
20. Apr 2016 路 07:45 UTC
Very good idea, you have to e really fast and this is quite funny. The only problem for me is the sound, it gets really annoying when you are near 10 point
pixzleone
21. Apr 2016 路 14:26 UTC
Very cool concept, but as stated earlier, gets impossible a bit in. I would advice you to make the player speed increase as the player progresses.
Good job though!
sftrabbit
21. Apr 2016 路 17:23 UTC
Nice idea, but like the others, it got to the point where it was switching so fast that I would just last until a wall appeared where I was (and prior to that happening, it was pretty simple). Definitely fits the theme though!
taviandir
21. Apr 2016 路 17:25 UTC
The idea was cool, I like the idea but:
This is the first entry where the game actually crashed for me. Also way too simple in the beginning - there are spots that don't really get hit - I stood in a specific place even while it switched backgrounds at several times per second and I could just stand there until it crashed.
馃帳 theck
21. Apr 2016 路 19:19 UTC
Good point taviandir I did not tested this (but I though it will happen), surely the error is an integer overflow when you get past 65k points xD

Thank you guys for the feedback, the difficulty curve is shitty and I knew.

The sound was added at the end because I had a problem with the font and the countdown is barely visible and I added it to help the player to know when the background was going to switch and then, I've realized that when there are less than 3 seconds to react it did not work well and I did not have time to find a better solution than adding a constant "WARNING YOUR GOING TO BE FUCKED" sound :S
Squid
22. Apr 2016 路 02:49 UTC
Simple and well done! The speed ends up going faster than you can really react, but up until that point; very fun!
edve98
23. Apr 2016 路 15:30 UTC
I think it's sometimes unfair as in the end it's impossible to go to a safe place if you are in a bad position.
EdoCreate
28. Apr 2016 路 07:12 UTC
Nice game and look cute
Geckoo1337
03. May 2016 路 15:48 UTC
Solid game. I like the prime concept, controls and the graphics. Music is nice. Well done!