LudumData

The Bugs World by gagapete

[raw]
made by gagapete for LD 38 (COMPO)

A screenshot showing abstract drawn bugs running around

The Bugs World is a primitive real time tactics game about bugs. I mean, literally with bugs. May I should write insects but that would destroy the pun. :beetle: The game is meant to resemble the world as experienced the smallest inhabitants.

Gameplay

The game includes three levels. To win them you have to defeat your enemies bugs. When bugs of different teams get close enough they start to fight. Let your bugs collect food to allow your nest to produce more bugs.

Controls

Mouse:
Hold the left mouse button to select bugs.
Click the right mouse button to send bugs to the clicked location.
Hold the right mouse button to drag the camera.
Keyboard:
Use WASD or the arrow keys to move the camera.
Press Q to select all bugs.
Press E to select only inactive bugs.

Links

Play in Browser: Gamejolt
Downloads: Gamejolt, Itch.io
Source: https://gitlab.com/gagapete/ld38
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gagapete

This game is available on Linux, Mac OSX, Windows and also playable on the Web using HTML5. The entry was renamed after submission as I got aware of a movie with a similar name.

Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/the-bugs-life

Ratings

Overall 362th 3.105⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 312th 3.053⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 319th 3⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 336th 3.211⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 410th 2.789⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 24🗳️ 21🗨️

Feedback

LunarFuture
29. Apr 2017 · 20:46 UTC
If this game was released in 3 days, congrats. It reminds me of Swarm Assault that was awesome. I hope this will be the starting of an extended real time strategy game.
Geckoo1337
02. May 2017 · 16:37 UTC
Amazing project. These bugs are really cute. I liked playing with them. I would like to hear some background music just to add something to the mood. I good entry ++
ArcticMattekar
02. May 2017 · 16:57 UTC
I like the idea. I am not quite sure how you win though? I think highlighting the selected bugs with a different color would benefit the game.

Nice work :upside_down:
nilead
03. May 2017 · 09:52 UTC
Not a bad concept, although I couldn't figure out how to win either. Needs instructions in-game XD
Jupiter_Hadley
03. May 2017 · 11:12 UTC
Challenging but nice game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation [video series](https://youtu.be/2umBRLlsy2g), if you’d like to take a look :)
DiegoCTorguet
03. May 2017 · 11:31 UTC
It has some cool points like the controls and the concept, but it is really difficult in all levels.
Maybe you should help the player learn how to play the game with some easier levels.
I missed some SFX but the overall is good.
This can be a funny game, good work!
🎤 gagapete
03. May 2017 · 11:33 UTC
Looks like I failed explaining some of the core concepts of the game so I'll add an explanation to the description. Thank you all for playing and for giving feedback. I'll check yours later if I haven't already.

@arcticmattekar @nilead To win you have to defeat your enemies bugs. You need to collect a lot of food to grow your stock, otherwise you stand no chance.

@jupiter-hadley Thank you for playing and for all the efforts you put into your videos. :smile:
ZebraInFlames
03. May 2017 · 16:53 UTC
Great intrepretation of the theme, and a nice idea! I think the game would benefit tremendously from having some kind of damage and health systems, instead of bugs killing each other instantly. That'd lead to some strategy elements, as it'd be beneficial to have multiple attackers, and it would not only be about who is the fastest in rushing to the food sources.
Stending
03. May 2017 · 21:02 UTC
Simple and yet wonderfully done!
It feels alive, and it's really fine to watch.
And it's quite challenging and well balanced!

Congratulations for this entry, it's really well done, especially for a compo!
🎤 gagapete
03. May 2017 · 21:18 UTC
@diegoctorguet I've just seen your comment. Yeah, I failed to explain the core mechanics. I attempted to explain the gameplay by showing off the AI players fighting on the main menu, but to understand what happens the player would need knowledge about the inner workings of the game like the spawning behavior of the nests. A true tutorial or tutorial styled level progression is necessary.

@zebrainflames Thank you for your feedback. The instant killing kills some of the fun and I'm disappointed that this bug made it in the final entry. The bugs were intended to have 100 health and should get 10 damage per attack. The code that is responsible for that calculation instead sets the hp to -10 resulting in instant death.
A bugfix for this is already on my list for a post compo version.
Simon Rahnasto
04. May 2017 · 21:16 UTC
One of my ideas that we didn't go with this jam was to make an RTS, a genre close to my heart. I really think that you managed to make controls perfect, I really feel like I am in control and the bugs do as I please. One of the key things that lead to this is that you allow for selection of all idle bugs with "E". I am going to stea... uhm... Lend this when I decide to make an RTS myself.

I like how the game is very simplistic and straight to the point, yet still offers a lot of strategic choice. It was very hard and took me a long time before I started to win, but it felt more rewarding this way. The visuals are very nice and coherent and the entire game feels very well made and polished for a 48hour entry, very impressive!
loveapplegames
05. May 2017 · 21:35 UTC
Nice strategy game! I like the way the bugs move. Would like to play the version with hit points, and would also like to see more and bigger levels. If the instant-kill bug is just a simple typo, like a=-10 instead of a-=10 I think you can just fix the bug in the compo version without violating the rules.
spacedoubt
06. May 2017 · 22:58 UTC
Simple, but solid! I managed to win after a few tries! Could definitely be the start of a great game! Great job!
sebbernery
07. May 2017 · 08:40 UTC
That's a good minimalist strategy game. At first, I tried to play without key-shortcut, it's pretty hard, but the E/Q really help !
inventroom
07. May 2017 · 08:40 UTC
A minimalist strategy game! Here’s the quick rundown of my thoughts:

PROS
- Animations for the bugs are cool

CONS
- As mentioned, more instructions in-game would be useful
- Some sort of feedback to see which bugs are currently highlighted would be useful
- Game seems a bit difficult, maybe more rebalancing would be necessary

For full criticism and breakdown of ranking, as well as candid reactions to gameplay, do check out the video~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61YB9mkYfW0
x1212
07. May 2017 · 09:04 UTC
Interesting concept, my only complain would be that it is hard to control your bugs and some sounds would have been nice too.
Other than that good job!
🎤 gagapete
07. May 2017 · 19:20 UTC
Thank you all for your kind feedback. :blush:

@loveapplegames Well, it's technically not a game breaking bug as it's possible to win the levels with this bug. But a post-compo version is about to follow.

@inventroom I love video feedback. Especially as it looks like you invested a lot of time. Thank you.

@x1212 Could you please be more specific what is hard about the controls? I'd love to improve what I can.
wujood
07. May 2017 · 20:01 UTC
Nice game idea! :) "Slalom" was a bit rough though. The timing needed to be very precise to win against the bot :D maybe add some difficulty levels with delays?
x1212
09. May 2017 · 15:15 UTC
@gagapete I guess it mostly comes down to what others stated about missing feedback, about which bugs are selected. Also it didn't feel like I could do much about whether they would go somewhere as one big group or one by one (which seems to be bad when rushing the other bugs ...). The rest is probably just the fault of me being slow and the game being slightly faster than me ...
HuvaaKoodia
11. May 2017 · 19:47 UTC
A functional real time swarm tactics title. The graphics are fine, some audio would have elevated the presentation to a new level.

The design is *overly* simple. There is never any reason to attack the enemies before all the food has been consumed. As such winning simply comes down to quick clicking rather than any interesting strategic thinking. **Rush, my pretties!** :ant: :ant: :ant:

Well put together, but you should revise the design.
mmason
11. May 2017 · 22:44 UTC
Very cool game, I liked the concept but felt it was too static, if I'm careful I can always end up with at least the same number of bugs as the other team and still win. It would be neat if I could build other nests or something like that.
jebouin
15. May 2017 · 05:04 UTC
Interesting game, it's fun to play and the mechanics are simple enough. Maybe too simple, it gets repetitive after a few plays as the best strategy is to gather the most food possible and the AI always does it better than me. It definitely needs more gameplay elements, I hope you continue working on this! :)
ragnta
15. May 2017 · 19:33 UTC
It's a nice game, but I tried 5 times, and I lose every time :( but twice I have more bugs than the enemy.
icxon
15. May 2017 · 20:55 UTC
Can't figure out how to win, assuming me and the enemy have the same resources. It's just a matter of time. I think you should add some sort of tactical possibility to win a battle with a smaller group of bugs. Or let them grow/evolve (different type of food, for instance) so player will have multiple options how to play the game.

Camera move on 'RMB hold' always triggers bugs to move since it's also RMB.

Art style is very consistent, AI and moving logic looks interesting. Thank you! :smiley: