Spaceless Space by Maffew

[raw]
made by Maffew for LD 42 (JAM)

Running out of space... In space? Spaceless space.

There are way too many asteroids, blast them, blow them up and ghost them!

Credits: - Maffew - Programming / Art / Everything else - AmosRD (Friend) - Sound

INFO: Play in a browser for ease of access! Take control of a spaceship equipped with 3 asteroid exploding bombs and 3 state of the art ghost formers. How many asteroids can you blast for you run out of space?

Controls: - WASD or Arrow keys to move. - Left click to shoot - Right click to use a bomb (max 3 bombs) - Space bar to enter ghost form (max 3 uses)

Pictures:

1.png

2.png

3.png

Small edit / bug fix: Stats now correctly reset at end of a game

Ratings

Overall 861th 3.139⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1040th 2.737⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 933th 2.842⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 442th 3.684⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 903th 2.974⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 502th 3.056⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 777th 2.917⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Given 16🗳️ 20🗨️

Feedback

Brandon Diaz
13. Aug 2018 · 23:49 UTC
Solid overall, liked the crushing walls mechanic. I noticed a slight issue where using a bomb while ghosted prevented the bomb from destroying any of the asteroids.
Steffanie
13. Aug 2018 · 23:51 UTC
I really like the background track you're using. Well done!
Djibess
13. Aug 2018 · 23:56 UTC
Great graphics style i love it
Kisamegr
13. Aug 2018 · 23:56 UTC
Overall a nice experience.
It bothers me a bit that the player does not turn to face the mouse, but oh well.
Amba
13. Aug 2018 · 23:58 UTC
Love the pulse bomb and how the wall close when losing health. The game is intuitive and enjoyable!
RAFFE
13. Aug 2018 · 23:58 UTC
Nice and a solid game. Good music ! Overall I don't know what else to say than good job!
KMCE
13. Aug 2018 · 23:59 UTC
Really liked concept of the ring being a defense but also the reason for the walls coming in. Really like the background music.
Jamie Reed
14. Aug 2018 · 00:01 UTC
I'm not sure if I'm bad at it or if it's supposed to be pretty short. I managed a to get a score of 401 in a couple plays using the bombs. I feel like there are too many asteroids. I'd like to feel clever about avoiding asteroids and shooting the ones I need to, but there are just too many of them. Maybe the gun could be more powerful. Using bombs and health-shields seems like the only way to get through them. Also, sometimes they're sitting still and then just fly at you really fast.

The controls were clear, the interface was clear, the sound and music were good. The game has a cohesive aesthetic.

Edit: Re-reading I see that "way too many asteroids" is a feature.
FireSlash
14. Aug 2018 · 00:24 UTC
I like the idea, but the execution seems to come down to luck more than anything. Asteroids move in often entirely impossible to predict ways, and shooting them usually just complicates matters. there's usually no path through the field from any position, meaning if your bomb/ghost aren't up there's no winning move.

It'd be interesting to try with fewer asteroids, but I imagine you've gone down this route already in your own experimentation.

The wall crushing mechanic is great, but I think I'd rather see it tied to time than health; as it just makes taking damage far more punishing.

Also noticed a bug where if you're using ghost, the bomb doesn't work. Probably just a collision parenting bug, should be easy to fix.

Asteroids interacting with each other is a neat feature, and might be more enjoyable with a less dense field. I'd also like to have seen a clamp to prevent them from going backwards; I had one shoot up at me from the back out of nowhere!
🎤 Maffew
14. Aug 2018 · 00:56 UTC
@jamie-reed @fireslash Thanks for the feedback. The balancing of the game was pretty tough, it was either very hard / random based, as it is now, or really easy and playthoughs lasted a long long time. I went with shorter games because it was simply more fun. :)
AwiX
15. Aug 2018 · 07:15 UTC
A good game idea, the music should be improved. The graphics are good.
Try our game too, maybe you'll like it)
ParkerDuncan
17. Aug 2018 · 13:14 UTC
I felt like a ran out of space soooo good job! I felt like the weapon could use a buff and the audio mix down could improve but other than that it was solid!
Balance686
18. Aug 2018 · 05:06 UTC
Nice take on the theme (and a funny title :P). I like the pixel work and the music. The pulse bomb kind of feels like an ode to missile command. I like the short grace period you get after losing health as well. It's satisfying dicing up asteroids with that protective shield :P I'd like to see the score oncreen during playing rather than just after the game is over. Good job with this!
Autumnotopia
18. Aug 2018 · 20:57 UTC
A slight twist on a classic game. I appreciate the modification you made to the asteroid style gameplay to make it fit the theme! It did seem like maybe it could have been balanced a little better though, though reading over comments it looks like you've talked about that a little