Samurai's Legacy by Simone

[raw]
made by Simone for LD 43 (COMPO)

Best platformer you ever tried! (especially if you never played one)

Samurai's legacy is a zen game about the necessity of sacrificing yourself for the greater good.

The absence of a "YOU LOST!" screen and the relaxing music make this game perfect for 5 minutes of meditation and peace.

Hopefully, soon there will be a WebGL version too (UPDATE: I tried the WebGL version at work, on a medium-low pc and it was very slow and clunky... download the windows/mac version if you a "slow" experience).

Screenshot2.png

Screenshot1.png

Screenshot3.png

Tool used:

Unity

Blender

Gimp

cgMusic

bfxr

Ratings

Overall 104th 3.733⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Fun 150th 3.522⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 191th 3.333⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Theme 25th 4.222⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 89th 3.878⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Audio 76th 3.625⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Humor 351th 2.202⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Mood 120th 3.533⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Given 23🗳️ 23🗨️

Feedback

qtm
02. Dec 2018 · 18:02 UTC
Nice in its simplicity! Couldn't figure out how to pass the second gate thought, so there wasn't much game after the tutorial :)
Erendelous
02. Dec 2018 · 18:21 UTC
Oh, It's absolutely amazing! Maybe, backgrounds could be better, but models and animations, and, the most important, theme integration are so cool!
quantumpotato
02. Dec 2018 · 18:57 UTC
Models look nice. Played a number of games with this mechanic before. You have a sword - would be nice to slash your previous lives and remove them to avoid getting stuck. I think you could do more with this like slashing an old samurai to send him + his sword towards an enemy.
Landing detection on platforms is wonky, are you using 3D hit detection?
🎤 Simone
02. Dec 2018 · 21:33 UTC
Thank you everyone, feedback are much appreciated!
The sword is there 'cause I thought it was going to be cool to have some action.
With ctrl you can even swing it ;)

Then I saw the deadline approaching and I decided to move to a more "zen" experience, without any action (deleting the previous lives was an option, I tried to implement, saw that it was going to make a mess, 'cause of my spaghetti coding, and left the option out).

The hit detection is handled by unity, unfortunately I'm just an amateur.
Zhorky
02. Dec 2018 · 22:05 UTC
Had a lot of fun on your game. Especially on building impossible structures with dead ninjas :laughing: I highly recommend taking a look into unity lighting a bit more, because i know the game could look even better than it already does. Great game.
oxrock
02. Dec 2018 · 23:34 UTC
The game looks and sounds nice considering it's a compo entry. I like the idea and it hits the theme well, but the floaty jumping makes movement feel dissatisfying to me. With platformers, move feel is paramount.

I'm not trying to dismiss your effort though, I think it's a good entry overall and and I'm sure others will as well. Just trying to help you elevate it. :v:
Jannick Larsen
03. Dec 2018 · 00:25 UTC
i like the concept!
shulgaboy
03. Dec 2018 · 00:53 UTC
The idea is interestingly implemented. The only problem I had is that you used mesh collider, right? My character would always get stuck on a sword or grab the platform with the sword etc.
teo989
03. Dec 2018 · 00:57 UTC
Really cool game, nice models and asi you said relaxing music :) It would be nice to be able to clear the dead with maybe the sword. But that is just a tiny thingy. The whole game is really satisfiing to play O:)
And @qtm You have to sacrifice yourself on the left platform.
DougDevs
03. Dec 2018 · 01:54 UTC
Great translation of the theme into mechanics, complimented by the level design. I liked the 3D assets, and the music wasn't bad either. Well done!
Funkyjive
03. Dec 2018 · 02:01 UTC
Brilliant idea, with great execution. Love the low poly style.
pandan
03. Dec 2018 · 02:49 UTC
The mesh collider was kinda annoying, but I love the concept!
That secret skip you put on level 2 was fun too :spy:
(treetop skip)
foxor
03. Dec 2018 · 03:03 UTC
Very nice and atmospheric
scarfdev
03. Dec 2018 · 03:06 UTC
The visuals and music are nice, but the character is very floaty, taking a very long time to land, especially during the falling section. Sacrificing yourself takes a very long time as well considering how often it needs to be done. Collisions could be very weird, such as the second stage, the top of the gate was very strange. During the last stage i jumped while walking towards a corpse and jumped much higher, bypassing the last gate. Interesting concept to have the player be the one to kill themselves, unlike similar platformers that rely on spikes or hazards to produce corpses.
tomcat94
03. Dec 2018 · 03:08 UTC
Alright, just finished it!

Using sacrificed samurai to gain height, press buttons, and protect against projectiles is an interesting premise. The level design is good in that it introduces those elements gradually. A nice detail would be if the sacrificed samurai turned into stone when sacrificed.

The platforming, also as mentioned, could stand to be a little tighter. I missed a jump or two, but it's serviceable enough. I also didn't even realize the gates could be turned off with the buttons, I just made a pyramid of sacrificed samurai and jumped over them.

I think the only way this could have been better is if it limited the number of sacrifices you could make per level. That way it avoids exploits like jumping over gates and forces players to think about whether they should sacrifice or not.

The others have mentioned this already, but you managed to convey a theme with minimal aesthetics very well. I make a lot of animations and models in Blender so I know how much of a pain it can be to rig and animate, so congrats on finishing those in time for a compo entry!
pandan
03. Dec 2018 · 03:15 UTC
@tomcat94 yes the turning into stone would have been better! I was just about to suggest that too :P
f4kethis
03. Dec 2018 · 19:05 UTC
Great concept and well executed. I enjoyed playing through it. The physics were a bit floaty and I managed to box myself in with corpses a couple of times, but it's a solid game.
Duck_Games
03. Dec 2018 · 19:08 UTC
Great concept. Love the music and the art style. Sometimes collisions would be a bit buggy, and the play would not register as grounded for a couple of seconds. Also if you jump and die sometimes the corpse would float in midair. Apart from bugs the game is great and very zen.
Game-mon
03. Dec 2018 · 19:21 UTC
In my opinion, this game is truly amazing! I like the mood most of all, the graphics and audio are great. The level design is also cool! Congrats :D
David Hunter
03. Dec 2018 · 20:47 UTC
Very nice
Gri-Bel
03. Dec 2018 · 21:49 UTC
GREAT GRAPHICS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Borja
03. Dec 2018 · 22:01 UTC
Great graphics and sound! The main mechanic is intuitive and innovative. Well done!
jhell
03. Dec 2018 · 22:16 UTC
Very impressive art, especially the animation. Good job on the mechanic, simple but straight-forward, and also the level design was good! The gravity felt a bit "floaty" but maybe that's just me. Good job!
BoyzAndGirlz
03. Dec 2018 · 22:33 UTC
Great graphic, great concept. At the beginning, i didn't understand the switch behavior. I was making towers of dead samurai.
A liked the dragons sculptures.
arkinrev
04. Dec 2018 · 06:07 UTC
That was a lot of fun and I like the mechanic of sacrifice that leads to progress. I would have loved a star rating or something for completing levels since I'm fairly sure I performed poorly, trying to build a massive staircase out of dead samurai, just to see what I could do. Fun game!
Sir. Syko
04. Dec 2018 · 12:28 UTC
Very nice submission! The jumping is a bit clunky specially with the houses but the sacrifice mechanic is really good and well applied. Good job keep up the good work :wink:
Jungle
04. Dec 2018 · 18:31 UTC
I really like this one. Fits theme very well and is funny to play. Congratulations.
Zombie Virals
04. Dec 2018 · 19:05 UTC
Great job!! Would have been fun to fight some enemies, but having to kill myself to get through the game was very enjoyable and more like a puzzle at times!! Music was very pleasant too, low poly graphics are fine because it did run smooth on my computer, controlled smoothly and that is all that matters!!
prema
06. Dec 2018 · 12:19 UTC
I think, this is beautyfull game. We somehow had the same idea how to implement the theme:) Maybe your way is more fun (feel free to compare, we will be honored). I really liked the level design, music, and the mood. Art style is also very good. As aforesaid, the jumping feels quite odd, but it can be caused by the enviroment models. Good job!!! :)
gwinnell
06. Dec 2018 · 13:25 UTC
This is really nice! I really like the level design and the progression - good use of using stuff that's offscreen. Well done!
morriss
06. Dec 2018 · 13:53 UTC
Others recommend your game is to try, indeed as expected dynamite
MZA
06. Dec 2018 · 15:03 UTC
Its a fun platformer. Thoroughly enjoyed it. You can mix things up by introducing a set amount of sacrifices and make it a bit of a puzzler.

On the first sandy level where you have to follow the arrow and jump on the tree bark, The sign was not immediately obvious. This was becasue it blended perfectly in with all the colors and I was focussed on whats in front of me rathar than behind me. So i made a Samurai pyramid to get on top of the tower - which is more fun than the straight-forward path.

The collision detection needs fine tuning but still very fun to play.
Pandanym
06. Dec 2018 · 15:45 UTC
The concept is a classic, but the execution is lacking in some areas. Like jump detection for example. Now it's not very important, since it's a compo game and the graphics are nice ! You "themed" your mechanic well, as I haven't yet seen seppuku used to portray it. Great entry, and thanks for making this game !
🎤 Simone
06. Dec 2018 · 17:29 UTC
Thanks everyone for the feedback and for the nice comments :)
I know that the jumping around is still quite odd, despite I tried to make it satisfying for like the whole Saturday morning. Hehehe... But for being my very fist plarformer I'm still happy enough with it. Next time I will make sure to rock the movement feeling.

@prema I can't see your game... Can you link it?
prema
06. Dec 2018 · 18:01 UTC
@simone https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/ronin-sacrifice-the-story-of-a-rabbit

Its weird, I thought, I thought that I was linked to it. Have fun:)
yyam
06. Dec 2018 · 18:34 UTC
Really good game! We had very similar ideas ;) The levels are well designed and introduce concepts at a perfect pace. One thing to improve is the actual platforming, at the moment it feels a little janky and hard to control. Great job overall!
ruba
06. Dec 2018 · 18:43 UTC
I enjoyed to play this game! Very nice work for first platformer.
honey
06. Dec 2018 · 19:32 UTC
Hey, great idea! Just jump up and fall down should be much faster I think, left/right movement is alright, but overall platforming experience is quite laggy and weird. That being said, I very much appreciate the work you spend on modeling - you've done a great job and the visuals are pretty impressive! Looking forward to your next projects!
Nick Rafalski
06. Dec 2018 · 19:52 UTC
Great game! I loved how the controls were very forgiving and the hitboxes for the ledges were big. The concept is also very well executed. I've played a few similar games where you need to die and use your corpse to advance in the level, but this one is probably the best implementation of the mechanic. The music and art are both very cute as well :)
julianeder33
06. Dec 2018 · 21:16 UTC
Nice Game! You had lots of levels and many assets, that is very cool. Bit depressing tho...
oda
09. Dec 2018 · 16:24 UTC
Great game!
Graphics are amazing, nice music too. Overall physics and hitboxes make the game a little bit harder than intended, but that's great for a first plateformer and level design is really nice!
SubtlyDramatic
09. Dec 2018 · 22:48 UTC
I really like your samurai and music! I can tell you put a lot of work into this and you did a great job! I'm excited to see what you expand on and how the game plays after you've added everything that you didn't have time to add for the jam. :)
saoi-games
10. Dec 2018 · 06:08 UTC
Thank you for sharing your game with me. I played it on my stream tonight at https://www.twitch.tv/saoigames

I have rated your game, but all of my feedback was captured in the stream.

You can hear my comments in the archive at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/347128584
Jupiter_Hadley
20. Dec 2018 · 14:20 UTC
Neat puzzle game! I included it in my compilation video series of games from the Ludum Dare, if you’d like to take a look :) https://youtu.be/a-epgKaAyrI
schmavery
21. Dec 2018 · 19:05 UTC
Nice gradual introduction of puzzle elements and creative premise. The mood is very consistent and I was impressed by how many different interesting levels you were able to create!
Linus
22. Dec 2018 · 14:12 UTC
Good game with a nice take on the theme. It was a bit glitchy sometimes and there was no way to reload the game if you got stuck which would help if you sacrificed yourself at the wrong position.

The puzzles were interesting and the arrows were helpful but the collision detection felt off sometimes because it was hard to jump over the other dead samurais.

Well made, music was good but you could have mixed in some more sound effects. Good job! :smiley: