Level Onslaught by OrciFried

[raw]
made by OrciFried for LD 40 (COMPO)

Cover.png Twitter and Website

Play submission at this link: /level-onslaught

Download the updated version (bug fixes) for windows at the bottom of the same page.

The soundtrack can be found Here

The Game

In this game, you play as an unfortunate guy stuck between two portals that spit out skeletons all the time. You try to destroy the skeletons and yay! You leveled up! You choose one of the upgrades but feel no different. "Oh well, it's probably just a battle ability," you think to yourself. Then some new skeletons come at you and... Oh no... You upgraded the enemies! How will you ever escape (oh, wait, you won't!)!

The theme was met through the way you upgrade the enemies instead of yourself when you level up. So, the more levels you have, the worse it is.

EVIL Christmas .gif

Instructions

The game is played thusly:

Instructions.gif

Prospects of the Game

It is definitely not done in any way and many later enemies are missing animations (but can still hit you!). The time simply did not allow for it.

At the same time, a win condition is not present, which might complicate winning...

Another element that was quite important but did not get in was the concept of traps. Those were meant to be for the opportunity to not get xp from kills but still getting the points. This would counteract the frustration of not being able to do anything about the enemies' power-ups.

Start game.gif

Resources

The game was made with these tools: - Game engine: Unity - Programming: Visual Studio Professional 2015 - Graphics: Photoshop CC (animation done directly on sprite sheet (no onioning)) - Audio: FL Studio for music, bfxr for sfx

No external items were used except audio samples for the music production in FL Studio

Answers to comments:

Thanks for the feedback everybody! I know the game is pretty buggy and lackluster feel-wise. I had to just upload it early because of an important test I wanted to be ready for the next day (driver's license) - sorry for that!

Gameplay:

There's a lot of minor changes that I'll probably fix once the votings are done in the LD jam - so save it in your bookmarks and play it again later (I think it would be unfair to update it now as that would be outside the compo time).

The attack range being farther than the animation was intentional as that would limit player frustration regarding the vice versa concept (the hit box being shorter than the animation). But it was probably too far, anyway.

The stats for the currently implemented units are as follows: - Normal skeleton stats: 5 damage, 10 hp, 3 speed - Christmas skeleton: 10 damage - Boots skeleton: 6 speed - Helmet skeleton: 20 hp

And the player: - Player stats: 5 damage, 40 hp, ~12 speed

Other enemies are just the base skeleton with another skin - did not have the time to finish it.

Menus:

Menu navigation should have been more clear - it is not clear that the buttons can be clicked when gameplay does not include the mouse. This can probably be fixed by letting the user choose with the keyboard. The general travel time through the menus instead of instant respawn should probably be reevaluated as well.

Thanks to @niborious, @Maroovan, @the_BM, @Remco, and @MRUniverse for the valuable feedback :smile:

Ratings

Overall 131th 3.745⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Fun 230th 3.5⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 336th 3.183⭐ 54🧑‍⚖️
Theme 159th 3.83⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 45th 4.167⭐ 56🧑‍⚖️
Audio 76th 3.726⭐ 55🧑‍⚖️
Humor 292th 2.84⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Mood 121th 3.57⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Given 36🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

MasterfulMonkey
03. Dec 2017 · 20:22 UTC
This is actually pretty fun. I like the music!
Darylsteak
04. Dec 2017 · 01:14 UTC
A fun game that put an interesting twist to the classic leveling system. The controls are smooth and the game fits the theme quite nicely.
DrFallos
04. Dec 2017 · 14:19 UTC
good enough. liked graphics and animations
ZAX
04. Dec 2017 · 14:21 UTC
i love this kind of pixel games very much
keep it up !
don't forget to check out my game :)
grostonton
04. Dec 2017 · 14:22 UTC
really awesome graphics and animation here (it's my point of view ^^). But it's really difficult for people like me to really enjoy playing the game, due to my "azerty" keyboard...
The_BM
04. Dec 2017 · 14:28 UTC
Positive:
-music and sfx are perfect ! Which program did you use ?
-it is challenging which is nice !

negative:
-after every death clicking threw the menu´s to start again,should have some kind of instant respawn
🎤 OrciFried
04. Dec 2017 · 14:30 UTC
Thanks for the feedback! I used FL Studio, [bfxr](https://www.bfxr.net/) and [chiptone](http://sfbgames.com/chiptone)

And yeah, the menu traveling is a bit much - I can see that :)
Matthias Schedel
04. Dec 2017 · 14:36 UTC
Nice game - you made some pretty nice graphics :)
SimonTheCase
04. Dec 2017 · 15:11 UTC
Love the graphics! Audio great! Gameplay good! Fits theme & has santa hats - Nice!
R2D48
04. Dec 2017 · 18:50 UTC
Liked the music and sounds effect. Seems too hard for me I can't reach level2
Tom01098
04. Dec 2017 · 19:36 UTC
Really nice graphics and music, love it!
niborious
04. Dec 2017 · 19:40 UTC
I really really like this art style. I got excited when I saw the gifs.
It reminds me of the game Crawl

Sometimes if I tried to dodge after attacking, it would roll in the wrong direction.

The movement does not feel that responsive with dodging and attacking. The way your movement stops when you swing just doesn't feel right. The swing itself should move the character forward in a way that matches the animation.
The dodge felt too slow to be usable, and the sound effect really threw me off because of its volume and it not being in the tutorial section.

Sometimes I would hit an enemy that I'm very close to and nothing would happen. (I think this happens after I get hit or after I dodge).

I got to the second level up screen and it instantly closed (I think from me hitting space to attack).

Do the different upgrades do anything different or are they just visually different?

Again, I really like the graphics, and I think that some game feel tweaks would really compliment them.
MRUniverse
04. Dec 2017 · 20:29 UTC
Great art, very tough. The attack animation makes it seem like your range is way shorter than it actually is.
oxrock
04. Dec 2017 · 20:30 UTC
The only thing I don't like about this game is how bad i am at it! Good job
Talia
04. Dec 2017 · 20:40 UTC
The pixel animations are pretty good! The dodge roll feels a little bit slow though.
The music encourage you to play again, again and again :D
Thomas Molby
04. Dec 2017 · 20:47 UTC
Really cool!, Loved the music and art. The 'back' button confused me for a little while, but I thought opening with a tutorial was a great idea. Also kinda missed a sound when you swing your sword.
Remco
04. Dec 2017 · 20:57 UTC
Nice use of animation! That + music really helps to set the mood. :slight_smile:

I somehow get back to the help-screen instead of the menu each time I die.

(I think I even got a helmeted skeleton to stand on the characters' head at some point, but I overwrote that screenshot and now I can't recreate the situation. But that was funny more than annoying anyway :upside_down:)
kroltan
04. Dec 2017 · 21:14 UTC
Really nice game! But the hit boxes are monstrously confusing. I could never tell when a hit was going to land.
🎤 OrciFried
04. Dec 2017 · 21:30 UTC
Thanks for the feedback everybody! I know the game is pretty buggy and lackluster feel-wise. I had to just upload it early because of an important test I wanted to be ready for the next day (driver's license) - sorry for that!

And yeah, there's a lot of minor changes that I'll probably fix once the votings are done in the LD jam - so save it in your bookmarks and play it again ;) (I think it would be unfair to update it now as that would be outside the compo time)

The attack range being farther than the animation was intentional as that would limit player frustration regarding the vice versa concept (the hit box being shorter than the animation). But it was probably too far, anyway

Should probably be said that all the upgrades have different properties:
- Normal skeleton stats: 5 damage, 10 hp, 3 speed
- Christmas skeleton: 10 damage
- Boots skeleton: 6 speed
- Helmet skeleton: 20 hp

- Player stats: 5 damage, 40 hp, ~12 speed

I've added this to the description, too, so everyone can see the answers.
Maroovan
04. Dec 2017 · 22:52 UTC
The menu is uncomfortable. It took me 5 minutes to figure that the buttons are clickable.
I think if mouse isn't used in gameplay then you don't need to use it in the menu.
Loved the graphics and aesthetics of the game! Sounds and music are gorgeous! They really make the game unique.
Impreesive how you are managed to do it in 2 days. Respect, man!
tinyworlds
04. Dec 2017 · 23:55 UTC
Really fun game, love the pumping music! Didn't get at first that you upgrade the enemies, but I guess that was intended :D Also I have to agree on the menus! Would be way nicer if you could just do it with the keyboard, as you don't use the mouse for gameplay.
All in all a really solid, fun entry!
lautregars
05. Dec 2017 · 01:09 UTC
Really nice animations, you use the motion blur pixel-art very nicely ! The effects makes the game pretty juicy, and nice to watch. It's a bit nervous, just as I like them ; For 48 hours, this is a decent level of polish ! Kudos to you !
Matthew Roelle
05. Dec 2017 · 01:10 UTC
The music is great!
mukult
05. Dec 2017 · 07:25 UTC
Great animations. Awesome music. Good game overall.
SimonTheCase
05. Dec 2017 · 09:30 UTC
Hi. I love your game "Skeletons Simulator Christmas Edition". I love watching the skeletons with the santa hats walk to the right, as if they were chasing someone stuck in a collider. 4.5/5 -not enough hats
![Santasim.PNG](///raw/8ae/9/z/d5a6.png)
SimonTheCase
05. Dec 2017 · 11:18 UTC
Update - I managed to execute the phonies. I have now got all the hat skeletons I want. 5/5

![santa.PNG](///raw/8ae/9/z/d676.png)
SimonTheCase
05. Dec 2017 · 11:22 UTC
![Christmas.gif](///raw/8ae/9/z/d67c.gif)
This is great.
Seththefirst
05. Dec 2017 · 12:50 UTC
Good game.. really enjoyable
Korpokrowa
05. Dec 2017 · 14:18 UTC
I love the idea for the game. Also graphics and music are awesome.
tvance
05. Dec 2017 · 14:51 UTC
The graphics are great. I like the music too. It's a hard game! I need to work on my timing.
Erlatronics
05. Dec 2017 · 17:12 UTC
Cool Pixel art! I think to improve, you might want to make it clearer how the upgrading works. Maybe making those sprites more clear. Otherwise a short but fun game!
FSKR
05. Dec 2017 · 17:46 UTC
timing is everything! challenging one :) reminds me a big of nidhogg. animation of the sword is really slick. good job
adsilcott
05. Dec 2017 · 18:12 UTC
A great concept for the jam-- upgrading your enemies instead of you. Well made, although I had some times where my attacks would miss. Lots of fun and love the graphics!
grey
05. Dec 2017 · 19:32 UTC
I absolutely love it, a great game with a great art-style :smile:
Roberto Romao
05. Dec 2017 · 19:45 UTC
Beautiful game"! Is just a little laggy (chrome here).
The use of the theme is very creative too, good job :D
CremaGames
05. Dec 2017 · 19:47 UTC
Great idea and concept. It's a bit buggy sometimes, specially with the collider but nothing really big. I've had a lot of fun with the game.
Aj Jones
06. Dec 2017 · 00:49 UTC
Love the art and concept, attack anims feel slightly offsync, but you adjust pretty quickly. Great job!
Gareth Spencer
06. Dec 2017 · 20:54 UTC
Very nice art style and animations, good fit to the theme. Great work!
pinneh
07. Dec 2017 · 00:34 UTC
Fun! I really like the idea. You could totally build on this idea and make a pretty sweet little game. Good job!
Antti Tiihonen
07. Dec 2017 · 17:48 UTC
Such a lovely looking and sounding game! The animations are superb and the music is ace. The idea behind the gameplay is great but it's a little bit cumbersome to control the player at times. Feels like it's difficult to nail down the exact timing and distance of the character. Could be just lack of practice but I wish the sword was like 50% longer :smile:
arly
09. Dec 2017 · 07:58 UTC
Slick game! It's has a very cohesive feel to the animation and gameplay, I had a lot of fun battling the different skeletons. I thought the enemy attacks were a bit too instant, a very slight windup would have helped alot. The music also fits very well. One of my favorites!
legulysse
10. Dec 2017 · 14:47 UTC
Animations are excellent !
The physic is a bit confusing though. The high inertia when you stop moving got me hit many times ;_;
Very good concept anyway o/
Franklins Ghost
11. Dec 2017 · 07:29 UTC
Liked the way you used the theme, thought that was fun take on it. Did have issues at times as you've mentioned with the enemy bugging out and me not being able to hit them. Would be nice to see a slightly polished update with these bugs finished as I liked the simplicity of seeing how long you can survive. Also the music was great really helped set the mood. Hope your driving test went well.
GerardB
14. Dec 2017 · 16:25 UTC
Loved the art and the design of the game. The controlls were a bit funky though. Why force the player to only use 1 hand? Great game though. Congrats :)
SecretPocketCat
15. Dec 2017 · 19:12 UTC
Somewhat reminds me of Crawl.
Even though I feel the music is not very fitting, I like the track quite a bit.

The dodge feels alright, but I expected it to give the player some I-frames and pass through them. Also the enemy attacks feel like hitscan. Not sure if they actually are, but it felt unfair to me.
ibrahimshersha
17. Dec 2017 · 09:41 UTC
Loved it so much ,the animations are good,the fighting is good.The rolling animation takes a bit of time if you can fix that ..YUP .It'll be AWESOME.
🎤 OrciFried
22. Dec 2017 · 21:57 UTC
Thank you for all the kind feedback! Thanks for playing my game 😁

And yes, the game needs a lot of bug fixing 😅