CCG Shoot 'em Up by Moczan
(the game is playable in a browser, itch.io link provided below)
My first Ludum Dare game ever! A turned based, ccg shoot 'em up turned out to be quite a fun combination to build. Since it's my first endeavour into making a game completely from scratch in 48-hours, I've tried to keep the scope of the game as smallest as possible. I've managed to get the main gameplay loop down, you have few types of cards with varying levels of power, 3 types of enemies and an a simple, infinite, arcade gameplay where you can try and beat your highscore. I hope everybody enjoys my first LD creations and see you all in #LD42!
| HTML5 (web) | https://moczan.itch.io/ldjam41 |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/ccg-shoot-em-up |
Ratings
| Overall | 283th | 3.489⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 356th | 3.256⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 96th | 3.856⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 44th | 4.278⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 194th | 3.6⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 548th | 2.595⭐ | 44🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 19🗳️ | 11🗨️ |
It took me a second to understand the card's effects on a turn but once I got the hang of it was pretty cool. Only got 280 points... Makes me wonder if you have any special enemies past the other fighters that show up later.
The slow down effect at the end of a turn is cool, but it makes its a bit hard to tell where you'll end up since the last turn's movement is still happening...
Minor point, but I did find staying either completely on the left or right felt a bit too safe, since the ships that shoot don't really go to the very edges of the map.
Anyway, good work on a fun and nice looking game.
- sound would have helped a lot in the presentation
- it wasn't clear what cards could be combined/not combined - making this more clear would have really helped - maybe color code them so that 1 of each color could be used or something like that.
This reminded me a bit like Frozen Synapse where you kinda had to gauge and predict enemy movements and take actions accordingly, which is a good thing. A few more AI/enemies types will make this really engaging since the decision making is a bit straightforward right now. As expected, nothing but a nice clean interface from you. Taking advantage of card combos and such is gonna make this game brilliant, great start!
Feedback:
+ The card selection animations feel good and are also simple & streamlined. Handling them felt very smooth.
+ The Game-Boy-esque aesthetic gives it a nostalgic old school feel. If that was what you were going for, nicely done.
+ Player's bullet size & bullet speed could probably stand to be a bit bigger & faster. Easier measuring will allow execution to better mirror player intention.
+ The ease-in/out swaying in the player's movement should probably ramp up and down faster to give a better sense of control and responsiveness.
+ Enemy movement could be a bit more varied perhaps, with some stopping or coming straight down slowly. The randomized spawn points do help, though.
+ Card "types" could use more functional variety to give the tactical aspect some added dimension (i.e. defensive shield, speed buff, slow debuff, etc.).
+ The Bullet Hell card and a few felt more satisfying than the remaining cards, so it may be worth looking into how they feel juicier and/or more useful.
+ There is rather limited feedback in terms of damaging enemies & getting hit, though perhaps this was intended to feel retro when coupled with audio.
+ Perhaps I didn't get to them yet, but there didn't seem to be any way to level-up the cards with "Lv. 1" on them or collect new cards to enhance my arsenal.
+ Having some power-ups would be nice. Perhaps some could be simple boosts in movement/firing rate, while a few others could be new card types.
+ The HUD placement would probably be nicer if it were spread across the top rather than being in the left corner alone.
+ A few key audio effects would go a long way in enhancing the feedback loop for players.
In all, though, this was great. It's impressive how this was done in just 15hrs. Kudos on a solid first entry.
Keep up the good work!
EDIT: I played this on stream, if you'd like to check it out, you're at ~40:00. [Twitch Video](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/254590165)