Cyan by rxi
For those having issues with the key mapping:
I've made the following patch, download and extract it to the game's folder (so that `pak1` from the zip is in the same folder as `pak0`). You can then edit the `keymap.txt` file to remap the keys:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36451301/ld/ld35/keymap_patch.zip
Note this does not change the behaviour of the controls besides the direct key mapping.
For people who questioned using the `XCV` instead of the `ZXC` keys, see rnlf's post for an explanation of why:
http://ludumdare.com/compo/2015/04/24/why-z-is-a-bad-action-key/
I've made the following patch, download and extract it to the game's folder (so that `pak1` from the zip is in the same folder as `pak0`). You can then edit the `keymap.txt` file to remap the keys:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36451301/ld/ld35/keymap_patch.zip
Note this does not change the behaviour of the controls besides the direct key mapping.
For people who questioned using the `XCV` instead of the `ZXC` keys, see rnlf's post for an explanation of why:
http://ludumdare.com/compo/2015/04/24/why-z-is-a-bad-action-key/
Ratings
| Coolness | 17% | 2115 |
| Overall | 4.02 | 30 |
| Audio | 4.13 | 13 |
| Fun | 3.91 | 52 |
| Graphics | 4.68 | 3 |
| Humor | 2.72 | 284 |
| Innovation | 3.13 | 447 |
| Mood | 3.71 | 80 |
| Theme | 3.89 | 125 |
The tutorial keys should be able to be pulled up - or get back easily to them (kept having issues trying to remember them).
The game is really nicely done good job.
Overall: Perfect!
I couldn't finish it yet, I'll need some more time to adjust to the keys; I would really love UP for jumping and flapping, that'd feel much more natural to me and keep me from entangling my fingers all the time.
Also, it's a bit annoying that you can't do anything without you butterfly form. Every time you need to climb something, it's just high enough to make you unable to jump yourself, and you need to wait for shifting to recharge. (My game has similar mechanic of rechargeable shifting, but I made it optional, you can complete most of my game in any form)
Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. It is very fun to play from beginning to end. The 1UP system felt a bit awkward, but it didn't spoil the gameplay at all. I also liked that you can skip some platforming with careful fluttering, whether you intended it or not.
Great music and minimalist pixel art as well!
(I'll play the game later)
an example of better controls would be hitting the jump button while in midair should just transform you to the bat directly. That would make it a lot more fluid already.
I appreciated the enemy spawns not being random, that would have been very bad :D
regarding XCV, I found myself consistently moving my fingers to ZXC every time I scratched my nose or stretched my hands, so while you're being more open to other keyboard layouts you're also working against hard-engrained muscle memory.
Afaict after you've used up all your bat jumps you get another extra boost which transforms you back into a human, and there's one optional jump that uses that feature. Good on you for not making it mandatory to use the mechanic, but it definitely wasn't obvious or signposted well.
Also, it seems like there was a slight shortcut at one point, but I just barely couldn't make the jump (3 horizontal squares, then a big rectangle to their right, then a jump from the big rectangle onto a platform to the left). Not sure if that was intentionally misleading or if I can make that jump somehow.
Anyway, awesome work. As always you've managed make the rest of us look shite in comparison :P
They way I felt playing you really never benefited much from the humanoid state, more like an evil necessity between the flaps. So maybe that could be balanced if the human state could generate higher speed when running. Just a though.
(I want to use same key for jump /switch.)
But don't let that get you down. Like I said, this was great. The game feels very complete and fun. Awesome job!
However, controls were a bit frustrating. I understand the reasoning for the choice on keys, (actually, for me ZXC would have been even more cumbersome even if I have a QWERTY layout), but juggling so frequently between jump and switch was causing some strain on my left hand's ring and little fingers.
This aside, congrats for an amazingly polished game :D
This is one of the best games I played this jam, but here are a few suggestions anyways! Some noobs (not me) would get really pissed off if they ran out of coins near the end! So that might be a risky mechanic for a LDJAM if you want people to beat your game, but I liked it. Also, the attack launches you forward, which feels great, but gets you damaged by some of the enemies, usually because they are in a group but I think the ghost got me because there wasn't enough knockback. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something to keep in mind. Then lastly, jump should probably morph you into a bird, it's more intuitive that way, as someone else here mentioned.
Can you add your game on indiexpo.net ? (it's free)
So we can include also your game in the video ;)
p.s. write #LDJAM in the game's description
p.p.s. your pixel art is amazing !!! great job !!
I liked the continue system, but would second amras0000's comment about the continues feeling on the cheap side. After my first death I was kind of expecting the next continue to cost say 15 then 20.
You were afraid that it was a rather short, game, and for me I spent around 30-40 minutes not beating it (and then ~7 minutes beating it while writing this). So that says something about your game and about my skill. I didn't get too tired of it, and I'm not very good.
Your graphics were spot on, you had a concrete style, nothing out of place (maybe the tweens on the death screen were out of place, not sure I care though), and everything was cohesive.
Sound wise, nothing stood out to me. The sounds were generated in sfxr, which is alright (in the style of the game), however I never find those super interesting.
The music was good, however now that I think about it, I think its weakest point is the fact that there isn't a ton of space in the song. No chance for it to breathe. It wasn't just one part, I think it was a combination of factors. Every part by itself sounds good.
* Your bass line is super active (and maybe could use a low pass filter? Probably just personal preference at that point)
* Your melody line compounds on top of the bass line
* Drums are a bit present in the mix
* Nothing really has any release, no trails after the notes.
I preferred the winning music (although I'd probably say it wouldn't fit in the main game).
All that being said, I don't think your music is bad, I just think it was a bit claustrophobic.
The level design was well done, the difficulty progression very smooth.
That being said, I wish there could've been bonuses along the way. It didn't seem to have a "plot". The challenges were similar, they just got harder. However, it is a LudumDare game after all (and my game didn't really have level design itself, so who am I to say).
Really well done, I think this entry is spot on.
Other than that, this was a great game! Nice graphics, cool music, and I loved the way you used coins as currency for continues; that was a great way to add some incentive for picking them up beyond an abstract points system!
The game is awesome.... Nice polish and feels smooth! But could have used better control scheme... it just seemed to bug me a lot :)
On the plus side, the audio is nice, and the graphics are 5/5 as usual.
Only thing I missed was Gamepad support.
Top notch entry!
It's true that the controls are slightly cumbersome at first, when you have to switch back and forth between keys to do seemingly a single action (multi-jump). It does get easier when muscle memory kicks in though.
The thing I was most afraid of after a while was falling down, mainly from using the dash attack near platform edges. It did add some sense of urgency though, so not a bad thing.
Super cute graphics, super cool sound and sound effects, animations and juice are extremely well done!
I see a lot of people commenting on the control scheme. While playing, I wondered if it would have been possible to play this game with only two buttons, where the jump button would automatically shapeshift you into a bat if you weren't already. Perhaps such a simplified control scheme would help some players who find it too difficult. But to be honest, even though I'm generally terrible at platformers, I did find it was possible to get used to the controls fairly quickly actually.
Anyway, this is a great game! It's incredibly well made, as the graphics and music are marvellous and it all feels very, very solid. I think the modulation in the song is a clever way to avoid it sounding too repetitive.
Well done :)
Nice to see that the coins have other function than just score. Saved me a couple of times from further frustration, especially on the tight part with spikes in the later part of the level. Restarting the whole level at that point would have been annoying. Sometimes the coins spawned under the platform, especially with the flying enemies, so I couldn't get them. :(
There wasn't a 32-bit Linux build but compiling Juno was easy enough. At first I simply tried to use plain LÖVE but it errored due to lack of juno. Had to google what is Juno to get the game eventually running. Worth it.
About two button controls, I guess it would require some modifications to the level. That's because sometimes you just need to use shapeshift on the ground instead of jumping because flapping is lower. Indeed it would simplify the scheme, but I guess it needs some experimenting (for which there is not usually too much time on LD, I guess).
Finished in 7 mins 43 secs on the first try with 63 coins, 92 in total, 3 continues used and 208 switches. Not quite optimal result. On another (but not second :P) attempt I finished in 3 mins 39 secs, collected 64 coins, 84 in total (thus 2 continues, still not good), and 144 switches.
Overall, a really enjoyable game!
The difficulty level was perfect for me! I liked that the character is kinda floaty in the air, although I wish that platforms were a little less slippery. It was really hard to stay on those small blocks. Also, I kept falling off platforms while trying to kill enemies. But it felt good when I managed to transform and save myself by gliding down onto a lower platform. Music was good, and the pixel art is awesome!
One thing that I disliked about the controls is that you had to keep switching keys whenever you jump. Every jump is pretty much "C, X, C C C C". I think it would be better if you could just press "C" to jump as a human, and then if you press "C" again in mid-air, it would automatically transform you. You could still hit "X" if you wanted to manually turn back into a human, but I can't think of any situation where you would want to hit "X" on the ground to transform instead of doing it after jumping.
Also, I have to say that I really liked your respawning system. Not only can you pay coins to continue, but it also spawns you back at the last "safe" place you stood, and there's even an invincibility timer when you spawn! That's a level of polish that is very rare to see in a game jam. Very nice touch on top of an already fun game!
at first several times, i fell a little bit hard and this controll buttons a little bit Unaccustomed for me (i more usually use z x c) ..so died so many times! but after about 3 times, really get the key to controll. and there are one thing let me so impressed and surprising which is the menment when i died at middle stage and it told me that i could use conins to relife! very happy~ this design is cool and so kind~
also i think this game more let people to explore and built the rhythm by themselves,it is a little bit chanllenge but seems worth to experience!
otherwise,there are some platform which have good vision also let me think there may have some HIDE Area at nearby..ToT but it seems that i was wrong... Fortunately i have enough coins hahah!~:P
( and i just forgot to say that the music is super awesome~ fit the rhythm very much love it)
The controls, on the other hand, are very frustrating. I don't know why but ZXC seemed more natural to me and I was constantly thinking about my next keystroke (something I prefer not to do on platformers). Also had trouble with the attack that rushes the enemy, I could never connect an attack without getting injured myself.
Had a very good time playing it!