The horse needs help by WhiteFox

[raw]
made by WhiteFox for Ludum Dare 46 (JAM)

Your favourite companion horse, ran loose from your village. You found it deep in the forest, seriously wounded. You have to keep it alive until help arrives!

Ratings

Overall 2449th 2.688⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 2430th 2.469⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 2415th 2.438⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1945th 3.266⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 2187th 2.609⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Audio 1359th 2.828⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 2095th 2.797⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Given 28🗳️ 40🗨️

Feedback

🎤 WhiteFox
20. Apr 2020 · 15:32 UTC
Hey guys! This is my first LD participation with my own first ever game! Although I understand it may be a very basic game, I had fun making it. To be honest, I didn't expect to be able to finish the Jam.
Can't wait to play all the games I see listed this whole weekend.
Any feedback about "The horse needs help" is welcome and will be appreciated.
Lestat
20. Apr 2020 · 19:46 UTC
Cool game, fits the theme. Good job!
Moritz14
20. Apr 2020 · 21:37 UTC
Great job for your first game ever! nice idea!:)
leokrechmer
20. Apr 2020 · 21:48 UTC
Hey! Really like horse model :) And overall mood is so depressive... really nice :)
HackTrout
20. Apr 2020 · 21:49 UTC
Congrats on your first game! I hope you don't mind me giving feedback because it's your first time.

The game is a bit too easy. After I learned the controls I collected as many apples as possible and just stood feeding the horse when he needs them. Instead of allowing the player to collect as many apples as possible, maybe only let them pick 1 or 3 or 5 apples to hold at once? A counter showing the player's held apples could be nice too.

I wish you luck on your game dev journey!!
🎤 WhiteFox
20. Apr 2020 · 22:23 UTC
Thank you guys for trying out my game! @hacktrout thank you for your valuable feedback! Yes, I agree that the game should provide a better challenge to the player. Funny thing is, my only beta tester (my gf) didn't manage to beat the game :stuck_out_tongue:. To be fair she is not a gamer.
thedashdude
21. Apr 2020 · 23:07 UTC
Regardless of simplicity, about half of participants don't turn anything in, so file it as a win.
I think the game would have benefited from a surrounding forest, instead of flat ground. Would have improved the mood, I think. On a technical note, I think you need some subtle light aiming upwards, to keep the apples on the bottoms of trees a little more visible.
Congrats on submission!
Pilarius
22. Apr 2020 · 13:16 UTC
Quick reminder to get more players: Use a thumbnail for your game. Otherwise your game is presented with this grey box. Some great Games are not played because of a missing thumbnail ... You can still change it by editing your submission page :)

![GreyBox.png](///raw/c26/8/z/32518.png)
🎤 WhiteFox
22. Apr 2020 · 18:03 UTC
@pilarius, hey thanks for the reminder. I'll make sure to add a screenshot :frame_photo:, when I get the time.

@thedashdude thanks for the feedback. :thinking: the idea about adding light to highlight the apples sounds promising. I need to try it out. :smiley:
Daniel Michaeloudis
22. Apr 2020 · 21:55 UTC
Good game. simple but fun
JamieOK
22. Apr 2020 · 22:27 UTC
Good job on finishing the Jam! It's a neat little experience. It could benefit from giving the player more feedback, such as showing how many apples they're currently holding. Some more challenge would help too, maybe limiting how many apples the player can carry at once? I just went and picked up a lot of apples and then stood in front of the horse feeding it until help arrived. I like the music and tone of the game though, great job!
Brachistosauro
22. Apr 2020 · 23:16 UTC
Nice! :D Congratulations for your first game
Kent Reese
23. Apr 2020 · 18:15 UTC
A really nice first game, straightforward but really enjoyable. Nice job, hope you keep making games!
Sheepolution
23. Apr 2020 · 22:42 UTC
That is one hungry horse!

Nice game. It was simple but fun. Good job!
NaBo369
24. Apr 2020 · 10:54 UTC
This is actually well done especially considering this is your first ludum dare, so well done on making your first game keep making them!
Also I have got to say that I loved the music, it really set the tone of the game and made it feel a bit more serious.
I hope to see more of your work in the next ludum!
VectorWolf
25. Apr 2020 · 11:25 UTC
Nice game and really fitting the theme. Well done!
joni-jarvinen
25. Apr 2020 · 13:05 UTC
Fits the theme, has nice music and functional visuals. For a first game, it's a very good effort. Some sound effects would've improved things a lot, which is something you should keep in mind for the future.
Chief141
26. Apr 2020 · 10:17 UTC
Its my first ludum dare as well.

The game was fun to play. A bit of polishing would be amazing.

*Tip : Adding header, screenshot and if possible a trailer/gameplay video would be amazing*
Lintfordpickle
26. Apr 2020 · 11:58 UTC
Well done for your first entry, I really enjoyed it.
I also noticed that your game doesn't have a thumbnail defined (so there is no icon on the LDJam.com main page) - you should really add a screenshot ..
Emperor Eagle
27. Apr 2020 · 08:53 UTC
Pretty cool for a first Ludum Dare! I liked how the apples popped into existence on the trees and looked and contrasted well with them. The first person view was smooth, and the instructions were clear. The colours were well chosen too. Some things you could improve: the jump didn't really go anywhere so increase the force, a more diverse landscape, and type of hazard to add difficulty and a better overall mechanic. Great start though! All the best and well done!
SlimBun
27. Apr 2020 · 11:33 UTC
Very cool game, Cool concept. The game is very boring.
Exainz
01. May 2020 · 14:16 UTC
Nice game
nc concept and use of theme
But yeah dont mind of the comments
your game is overall very good and catchy and attractive too
leekanarchism
01. May 2020 · 14:34 UTC
Congrats on finishing your first LD entry!
I enjoyed the idea, and am glad to have helped save a horse's life today :)

I think the thing that would improve it the most is tweaking the difficulty curve -- I found it was quite hard at first until I figured out the controls, but once I fed my horse once the rest of the game was easy. A few things like giving the player a grace period at the start, then making apples rarer / further away as time progresses would help to keep it engaging.

The graphical style is minimal but quite nice and consistent :) Also I like the music! Perhaps a slightly spookier tone than I expected, but it's a good tune.

What a hungry horse...
Dane Tesla
09. May 2020 · 19:42 UTC
Congrats on finishing your first game <3 You did good job! It was a cute and clear experience. The one thing I'd impreove would be mouse countrols, it was a bit wibbly-wobbly for me O-O