LudumData

Laser Command by Docjekyll

[raw]
made by Docjekyll for LD34 (COMPO)
***Update: Added difficulty feature post-compo. No game logic changed--it's just like skipping ahead a few levels.***

Laser Command is like Missile Command with a twist.

You have to charge your laser before you can fire and enemies can only be hit by the correct type of laser.


Controls:
- A = charge pink/fuscia laser (release key to fire)
- F or S = charge blue laser (release key to fire)
- mouse cursor = aim laser
(on "How to play" screen, for convenience)
- PageUp = skip one level
- PageDown = go back one level


Technology:
- Phaser = HTML5 game engine (http://phaser.io/)
- Lodash = JavaScript utility library; barely used
- GIMP for image editing
- FL Studio 11 (+plugins) for music
- NodeJS for build process
Self-hosted http://cjdevsite.com/games/ld34/
Itch.io http://docjekyll.itch.io/laser-command
Source https://github.com/jhnsnc/LD34
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-34/?action=preview&uid=41650

Ratings

Coolness 69% 3
Overall 3.67 174
Audio 4.00 29
Fun 3.86 66
Graphics 3.69 198
Innovation 3.53 254
Mood 3.81 72
Theme 3.58 599

Feedback

sanojian
14. Dec 2015 · 07:23 UTC
Nice game. Its fun to line up combo shots. Some kind of score with a multiplier for combos would be fun. Its maybe a little too easy. When I lost on purpose, it still gave me the victory.
Tensoplast01
14. Dec 2015 · 07:40 UTC
Nice game, fun, but the challenge isn't too difficult..
ProjectX593
14. Dec 2015 · 07:43 UTC
The way the music changes based on the laser is great - I found myself keeping my laser charged even if it wasn't needed just to play with the music.
Terrabalt
14. Dec 2015 · 08:03 UTC
Nice game. could be a lil too easy, though
GAFBlizzard
14. Dec 2015 · 08:04 UTC
There's a lot of good stuff going on here! Nice graphics, nice sound loop, and very clever use of the two additional themes that mix in depending on which button you hold down.

I kind of wanted to hear what BOTH would sound like mixed together.

If you wanted to take this further in a full game, you could do neat stuff with combo bonuses and maybe upgrades. I was fun lining up the laser to hit multiple enemies.
ncannasse
14. Dec 2015 · 08:06 UTC
Nice, but the pace is a bit slow. Sound effects would have been better too :) I like to music
ianh
14. Dec 2015 · 08:07 UTC
I really like that thing you're doing with the music! I found myself shooting to the beat. Maybe an opportunity for a musical combo system? :)
John Drury
14. Dec 2015 · 08:09 UTC
Fun! combo shots were satisfying to make. Adding in little variation was great.
Bogden
14. Dec 2015 · 08:54 UTC
Neat, well polished. Would have been neat to see more uses for the 4 bases.
rantt
14. Dec 2015 · 17:36 UTC
I love how you mixed the music in with charging the lasers, very nice touch. Fun game, great job!
Jakob37
14. Dec 2015 · 19:21 UTC
Very nice game! I especially liked how certain parts of the music got louder when you charged the laser.

I missed what you wrote in the description about skipping levels, so it was a bit too easy for me.
hexagore
14. Dec 2015 · 19:56 UTC
Nice music and love the visuals although oh my god is this game crying out for glowing stuff and trails and particles :) Couldn't work out how to skip btw!
pparke
14. Dec 2015 · 21:01 UTC
I enjoyed the laser charging and having to match the enemy with the type of laser used. The music was great. Could have faster progression or more variance in enemy strategies but those are just polishing. Nice work :)
psychonull
16. Dec 2015 · 03:28 UTC
Great game idea. It's really fun to play it. Congratulations!
JamesMowery
18. Dec 2015 · 05:47 UTC
This was very fun. I enjoyed it, so good job. One thing I felt that could have been added, or would have just been cool in general, is if I could have fired both lasers at the same time. Maybe just require it to take much longer to charge, but it could combine into a super shot if you have enough time.
Kenneth Ng
18. Dec 2015 · 07:26 UTC
Love the art. Cool style. Difficult game, but very addicting, ended up playing longer than I thought I would haha.
thecatspajamas
19. Dec 2015 · 09:58 UTC
A fun twist on missile commander. I like that you have to match the color of the enemy, and that different charge levels affect different enemies.
LoneStranger
23. Dec 2015 · 06:20 UTC
Interesting twist on the Command game with the two laser types. I was in no way good enough to get through Easy, but I can see the potential with a little more lead time or some other balancing between charge time/enemy toughness.
loxo
28. Dec 2015 · 21:38 UTC
Good game! I like the simple graphics and the great music. It's fun to play and gets rather challenging in higher levels, but it gets there only slowly. I wonder if some sound effects would improve the game.
Clabbage
29. Dec 2015 · 05:02 UTC
Really fun and pretty game. I loved the sound and audio.
ac7
29. Dec 2015 · 05:57 UTC
Good concept and well-polished given the time constraints. The music was awesome!
commanderstitch
29. Dec 2015 · 06:04 UTC
audio and mood are fabulous! i expected different things as the level progressed, but it seemed like the same things. Still, that music changes were fun!
A Flat Miner Studios
29. Dec 2015 · 06:24 UTC
So much juice packed in here for a mere 48 hours. Music cues based on laser, clean visuals, great twist on the genre. Nice work.
nucleartide
29. Dec 2015 · 07:15 UTC
Fun game. The graphics are very charming, they remind me of carbine rifles in Halo. :D Laser sound effects would be nice. Lining up combo shots is very satisfying.
Efuvex
29. Dec 2015 · 07:39 UTC
Really cool audio :)
Tacohej
29. Dec 2015 · 09:22 UTC
++ Graphics looks great. Very weapon juicy charging animation.
+ Gameplay. The way you charge up and tries to achive combos is great, giving it a more strategic feel rather then just button mashing.
++ Music. Great track, very suiting for the theme. Nice use of different track based on weapon

- To many lives. Even when you are doing terribly, you have a high chance of winning since losing all bases are rare.
- Sound effects - Would be nice!
- Difficulties. For this kind of game, I think only "Normal" would be enough since the game gets harder with levels.

Overall great job!
drinkadriu
29. Dec 2015 · 09:52 UTC
So addictive and interesting
zenmumbler
29. Dec 2015 · 11:14 UTC
Nice missile command and ikaruga mixture. Consistent art style, just missing some good meaty sound effects.
SamH
03. Jan 2016 · 11:00 UTC
Interesting mechanics, it was a pretty enjoyable experience. Aiming was a bit too easy; I’d have liked more diversity in enemy patterns, maybe.
Bocodillo
05. Jan 2016 · 00:34 UTC
Very solid game. Fun, good looking and the music suits it well. Good job!