Reaper Boy LD40 Edition by jessefreeman

[raw]
made by jessefreeman for LD 40 (JAM)

reaper-boy-test-23-a.gif

ReaperBoy is a classic platformer build for the Pixel Vision 8 Fantasy Console. Navigate the underworld collecting stars in a fast-paced race to escape. Use gravity to help you defeat your foes but be careful.

reaper-boy-test-23-b.gif

Fall too fast and it could prove fatal. As you collect stars, you can use their power to stay alive but the longer you spend in the underworld, the less power you will have. When you run out of energy and die, it's game over!

reaper-boy-test-23-c.gif

Please note, the HTML5 version is there for people that don't want to run the game locally on their computer. There are some known issues with sound and performance depending on the browser. For the full experience, please download one of the desktop builds.

Created by jessefreeman, art by castpixel and built with pixelvision8

Ratings

Overall 206th 3.815⭐ 83🧑‍⚖️
Fun 163th 3.79⭐ 83🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 250th 3.576⭐ 81🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1047th 2.663⭐ 82🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 199th 4.144⭐ 82🧑‍⚖️
Audio 417th 3.269⭐ 82🧑‍⚖️
Humor 571th 2.907⭐ 72🧑‍⚖️
Mood 424th 3.48⭐ 78🧑‍⚖️
Given 9🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

Bocodillo
05. Dec 2017 · 00:06 UTC
I had such a fun time with this game! I loved the mechanic of loop around the edges of the level and falling far onto an enemies head was very satisfying. The art style was great, as was the music, and it all fit together well. Good job!
Xacur
05. Dec 2017 · 05:35 UTC
Very good game, even being black and whit, it looks great and plays very good. The mechanics is very original and fun.
dunin
05. Dec 2017 · 13:51 UTC
Fun game but so short!

nice graphics and scoring mechanic

too bad it doesn't keep your score, I don't remember my best it was ~ 1400
🎤 jessefreeman
05. Dec 2017 · 15:29 UTC
Thanks for the comments so far. @dunin, I know about the score bug. I may try to patch it but I just ran out of time. I didn't get around to adding persistent memory to Pixel Vision 8 so I'll move that to the top of the list.

Also, there was space in the "cart" for at least 30 more levels but I just didn't have the time. I focused on polish in the end so hopefully, that pays off. I'll be cleaning this up after the jam for sure!
DidiGameBoy
05. Dec 2017 · 16:21 UTC
nice little mechanic and cut art! <3
Gruhh
05. Dec 2017 · 16:45 UTC
Good game! I liked the main mechanics of the game. I had that "uou" moment when I realized it. Congratulations.

Bom jogo! Gostei da mecânica principal do jogo. Tive aquele momento "uou" quando percebi. Parabéns.
Drauthius
05. Dec 2017 · 18:24 UTC
Nice. Never managed to get to the part where the falling was fatal though.
GameDevZach
05. Dec 2017 · 21:36 UTC
I've never seen such a physically accurate reaping simulator. I mean, the guy is just cloak n' bones. You can't put much weight into a scythe swing like that. Dropping from the sky just makes sense when you've got to compensate for corpulent human weight.
Lynnaira
05. Dec 2017 · 23:21 UTC
very nice solid little game! the art was very nice and it was a cool mechanic :^)
srakowski
06. Dec 2017 · 02:34 UTC
Really loved the concept and the use of the theme. The aesthetic & graphics are great.
Racso
06. Dec 2017 · 05:06 UTC
A good looking, retro game! The mechanic is interesting and the controls are responsive.

It feels a bit incomplete, however, because of the small amount of levels and the fact that falling too fast doesn't actually prove fatal :P The music is too repetitive, too.
svntax
06. Dec 2017 · 07:46 UTC
The falling to gain speed mechanic was pretty interesting. I really liked the sprite for the big blob monster near the end.
Wolfo
06. Dec 2017 · 12:57 UTC
Damn I love this retro art-style, if you check out my game you'll notice I used a very similar palette :P

The game feels extremely smooth and responsive, loved the characters and level design. Only downside is the short music loop, which became annoying very quickly :<

I enjoyed the game nonetheless, fantastic job!
CremaGames
06. Dec 2017 · 13:45 UTC
Awesome <3

I'd love a longer version of this.
Space Backyard
06. Dec 2017 · 16:52 UTC
Super fun!
NickZangus
06. Dec 2017 · 21:36 UTC
Nice entry! Little but well done! Congratulations!
eri0o
06. Dec 2017 · 22:40 UTC
**Fluid Gameplay and Nice Gameboy Feel!**

![Reaper Boy](///raw/a83/2/z/e0f0.gif)

This game feels great! I made 1380 points, don't know if it's a good score. I liked the game, good art, playing on the browser is something very nice. Very cool! I just wish the game was a bit longer. :]
OldPeculier
07. Dec 2017 · 00:12 UTC
Cool idea, nicely executed. Good fun! I like the PixelVision "Operating System" as well.
Sand-Gardeners
07. Dec 2017 · 09:26 UTC
Great little game! Got me interested in the PV8 SDK ;)
Robert Newman
07. Dec 2017 · 11:29 UTC
really really good game, very fun to play and have recommended to others to give a go. great work!
Liquidream
07. Dec 2017 · 12:47 UTC
Lovely style, beautiful gfx (wouldn't expect any less from @castpixel!).
Really like the gameplay mechanic - never seen that before.
Like others have said, I was left wanting more when it ended - so, looking forward to seeing the finished product some day.
Good luck! :D
Angry Squirrels
07. Dec 2017 · 16:11 UTC
Really nice !
Loved the "portal-like" mechanics. Beautiful yet simple pixel art. The music was nice too but a bit too loud for me.

Really loved it a lot. One of the best i've played. It kept me going till the end. It really felt like a good demo for a real game.
🎤 jessefreeman
07. Dec 2017 · 18:59 UTC
Glad to see everyone likes the game. I should have mentioned that there is a pool of levels. So there are 3 levels types per 4 rounds before getting to the boss.

![reaper-boy-tilemap-1.png](///raw/cc8/1/z/e345.png)

While it doesn't add a whole lot of variety to the playthrough the intent was to make it feel more dynamic and ensure the scoring was different each run. Clearly, I had plans for a lot more levels but just ran out of time. I plan on re-working them and building a much bigger pool of levels in the next build of the game. I also had two additional bad guys a small jumper and a larger (2 hit) walker. Even with 72 hours, it's just not enough time to get all my ideas out.

On the flip side, seeing that people want more levels is a good problem to have :)
Emery
07. Dec 2017 · 23:06 UTC
I really enjoyed this style of game and reminded me a lot of the old retro style games. The art style is fantastic and so is the audio. The idea was really well done and really reflects on the theme of this Jam. Good job.
automatonvx
08. Dec 2017 · 00:55 UTC
Wow great job, cute graphics, fun mechanic, fitting music. Short but sweet
Lex
08. Dec 2017 · 03:45 UTC
I'm really sad it's so short ;<
Traak
08. Dec 2017 · 10:15 UTC
Well pretty hard to understand and to master, but really nice visual and concept
fullmontis
08. Dec 2017 · 18:03 UTC
I liked the graphics and the gameplay, while simple, is engaging. I found the music a little hard on the ears after a while. I also found that the mechanics were a little too simple personally, they didn't get boring because of the shortness of the game, but I think they would get a little tiring with more levels added. But this is my personal opinion, so take it for what it is!

Overall, it was a simple but interesting game and I enjoyed it, good job!
CosmicCrystalGames
09. Dec 2017 · 00:41 UTC
Fantastic, but needs to be longer!
Mike Cullingham
09. Dec 2017 · 01:50 UTC
I really like this one. Crisp low-fi graphics & sound effects. Cool idea. Only loosely tied to the theme (i.e. whether falling speed is "worse" or not is a binary thing), but it's a fun game nevertheless and fun to play. Good job.
saintheiser
09. Dec 2017 · 17:08 UTC
Interesting game mechanics but not all potential showed. I'll be happy if this game will developed into more complex and interesting game =)
MewSoul
09. Dec 2017 · 18:44 UTC
Great entry! I wish I could play more of it! :D
Really fun mechanic to play with, nice to have a boss level as well.
Don't know what to say much more but good job! :)
sayomgwtf
09. Dec 2017 · 20:46 UTC
Short, yet lovely and fun game :) Love the retro feel, loved the gameplay.
Ithildin
09. Dec 2017 · 22:20 UTC
Super solid entry! I really liked the gameplay, but the retro visuals and music definitely stand out as well. I would have enjoyed more levels, with obstacles or other enemy types, but there's already a lot of content for a jam game.

I didn't get to grasp enough the connection to the theme, though. I think I died a couple of times because of collisions, but never got to run out of energy.

Anyway, this is a pretty minor thing. Congrats on a fantastic work!
trabitboy
10. Dec 2017 · 21:14 UTC
Frankly solid . Gameplay is cool, fits the constraint of gb really well . I have a feeling the levels have a random element that served me a really hard level 2 on first go, I am not too keen on that, but overall one of the most polished I try so far ! Bravo
zeu31
11. Dec 2017 · 00:00 UTC
Great game. I loved the art. This mechanic is really fun. The music is nice, but a little repetitive. Good job!
Franklins Ghost
11. Dec 2017 · 07:16 UTC
Nice polished art and the gameplay was really fun to play around with. Liked the way you had to drop down on enemies to pass the level and use that mechanic to move around the screen.
_for_science
11. Dec 2017 · 23:54 UTC
This is a really nice and polished game. I love the pixel art and the retro gameboy color palette. The gameplay felt polished and fun, and I enjoyed the portal-like speed up mechanic to kill enemies. The feel of speeding up and finally hitting an enemy is well realized and has a nice buildup and impact to it.

I always like to give at least some minor criticism, but I really don't know anything that I would change... so, great job! :thumbsup:
dvdfu
12. Dec 2017 · 02:55 UTC
Cool concept! Short and simple, and really easy to learn without instruction. The palette was a cool restriction. Stomping enemies was really satisfying. Wish the concept was explored more, but great work regardless!
Oivin F
12. Dec 2017 · 22:20 UTC
Nice, juicy and polished gameplay!
Graphics are cute in their simplicity.
Sadly, the audio wasn't really for me per se, a little too aggressive samples perhaps, the sound hurt my ears a bit sometimes...

All in all great work creating such a polished game in such a short time!
GerardB
13. Dec 2017 · 13:50 UTC
So stylish and well made. I love it!
bigbazwa
17. Dec 2017 · 19:30 UTC
Fun little game, very polished. Music, sound and graphics all fit very well together. Easy to figure out how to play, well done!
ayame9joe
24. Dec 2017 · 09:28 UTC
The idea is good. Not so related to the theme I guess? A little bit easy to get tired but indeed fun. You may change the sound. It would be better.
tuzepoito
27. Dec 2017 · 14:25 UTC
Interesting mechanics - even though I'm not sure how they fit with the theme. I really liked how you captured the feeling of early Game Boy games: the color, the sprites, the gameplay, the presentation. Only thing that I'd suggest is to make the music less repetitive. All in all it's a cute little retro game :slight_smile: Note: it's probably not intentional but the character reminded me a lot of a French comic book named "La Petite Mort" by Davy Mourier :smile: