Battery Life by Morriekken

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

Battery Life is a game where you play a tiny robot run on a small capacity battery in a constant search for more juice. Your strength is your speed, your agility and an echo-location device thanks to which you know the exact place of replacement batteries. But look out, this maze is dark and full off nooks. Challenge yourself and keep your battery alive as long as possible!

Only need a keyboard (A-S-D-W keys or arrows).

Battery Life Promo GIF1.gif

Credits: Game Designers – Anna Ziolkowska & Rafal Ziolkowski

Level Designer – Rafal Ziolkowski

Game Developer – Rafal Ziokowski

Concept Artist – Anna Ziolkowska

Sound Engineer – Anna Ziolkowska

Ratings

Overall 1904th 3.191⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Fun 2045th 2.894⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 2043th 2.833⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 963th 3.773⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1648th 3.294⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Audio 1469th 2.609⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1769th 2.313⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 2005th 2.875⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Given 28🗳️ 39🗨️

Feedback

ABRDs
21. Apr 2020 · 11:41 UTC
I like the simple mechanics, though i would have loved to have seen some more depth. I was able to to easily understand and master the controls which is great, though once i was in the flow of the game, i began to miss the novelty, as the static obstacles were easy to master. Good work overall!
Optimans
21. Apr 2020 · 11:53 UTC
After you understand how to move, the game lacks a goal.
I hoped that collecting all the batteries would make me win the game, instead they respawn.
Could a be nice implementation, making also the game harder the more batteries you collect.
I also felt very lonely, try looking for a royalty free music track next time since you are in JAM :wink:
SlimBun
21. Apr 2020 · 11:57 UTC
Hello. I really liked the game idea. Unfortunately you didn't manage to make it as good as it could. First of all, the controller are very hard to control, You maybe wanted it to be like that. 2nd, random map generation will be great. 3rd of all, the game is not balanced and is too hard
DemKimos
21. Apr 2020 · 12:40 UTC
Hey there, Team 4boa! Like the simplicity and neatness of the screen, everything is easily identifiable and there really is not much to be confused about. I was going to complain that there was no indication of the battery but I figured that the game is just zoomed in, probably something with the aspect ratios. Anyway, it was fun and humorous. I'd also like to add that music can go a long way. Kudos!
burg113
21. Apr 2020 · 13:59 UTC
I really enjoyed your game. good job; And also the title screen art is incredible.
however the cotrolls seem somewhat inconsisten even though i can't point to anything directly.
It was also kind of weired that sometimes when you would hit a wall from an weired angle, the robot would constantly keep on spinning in one direction. I would have also liked some prosedually generated levels(or at least a handful of diffrent level layouts from which you would get a diffrent one every time).
🎤 Morriekken
21. Apr 2020 · 21:19 UTC
Thanks to everyone for playing and kind feedback. You make make my todo list very happy :)
@abrds - indeed, depth or purpose is something I need to work on
@optimans - Agree, working on purpose and we'll add music to it :)
@slimbun - good point, the game is lacking difficulty selection and map is not the best I agree
@demkimos - Well, UI scaling issues are reason of my constant frustration and misery, but I will fix it :)
@burg113 - Spinning is an accidental feature, I use rigidbody force to move robot forward and once you hit something it can go into spin. I left it on purpose to mimic that robot is breaking down... it's not the best maintained robot after all ;)

Rafal from 4Boa Team
Kaan Alpar
22. Apr 2020 · 14:44 UTC
I like the maze element and having to memorise certain parts so that you don't run into a dead end. But initially I thought I was playing level 1 and I would get to the second level once I collect the batteries but it turns out it's more like a stay alive as long as you can situation. More levels would be nice, great job!
OddSocks
24. Apr 2020 · 11:04 UTC
Not a bad game at all. It would have been nice to have had some random maps, or just a few different variations. Playing got a little tedious after a while, but for a 72 hour game, this was really good. A few bonus pick ups might work well too, like a speed boost, or something to slow battery discharge for a while?
AdrianKrawczyk
25. Apr 2020 · 08:41 UTC
i liked the game idea!
SAVVU
25. Apr 2020 · 10:26 UTC
Great labyrinth game! You could make the visible circle around the character grow as you get more batteries! Overall I had a great time playing and it was fun. Keep on working on it and I wish you good luck!
SleepyStudios
25. Apr 2020 · 15:50 UTC
Always a fan of a game that doesn't need much explanation. I liked the driving around mechanic, it started off difficult at first but after a few goes it felt satisfying to properly turn corners etc.
zoarfy
25. Apr 2020 · 16:01 UTC
Great job! I definitely enjoyed playing your game. I love the concept of having minimal vision as you try to maneuver your way through the maze. It is really thematic and sells the idea really well. I also love the art you made for the cover up above and the gif along with it, super cool. I agree with some other points already said above, some music (even basic royalty free stuff found quickly) wouldve made a big difference. And yea unfortunately the character drift made it quite hard sometimes, you could end up hitting a wall and taking a really long time to turn around. But I totally think with some small tweaks this game would be awesome! Great job and congrats on finishing and submitting your game!
GOD COLO
25. Apr 2020 · 16:06 UTC
I don't know if this is what they call sprite mask, but you've made good use of that! The concept is simple and yet so fun to play! Another thing is the rotate with A and D; this type of movement fits the game!
Greato Jobu! :smile:
AcidmanRPGz
26. Apr 2020 · 02:07 UTC
The controls weren't the best, but I got them in the end. I felt they everything was a bit too small, but other than that, it was fun and I had fun playing it.
TeamJS
27. Apr 2020 · 01:44 UTC
I like concept! The sound design is great with the robot movement and the low battery sound! I like the steering it goes with the concept well, though it was frustrating at times. For a game win, I wish there an end location I was meant to get to. Overall nice work! - J

Fun little game to start! I did encounter what I assume is a bug, where I had a hard time steering after hitting a wall. If it was a feature, it wasn't one I liked. I think this would be better as a series of levels, instead of an infinite run type of game. I felt like I should be trying to get somewhere, not just hunting for Batteries. Overall a good effort for LD46! Very much like the simple art style and easily understood graphics! (I also really liked the blinking intro screen! Nice little touch!). - S
MabraX
27. Apr 2020 · 21:32 UTC
Fun game. I missed some background music. The graphics were simple, but at the same time, nice. It was a little bit hard to control the robot, but I think that was intended. Nice job!
z4v0
28. Apr 2020 · 09:09 UTC
fun game, cool artstyle
JAsonsumm1
28. Apr 2020 · 12:41 UTC
simple but enjoyable. nice job. who doesn't love a maze?! :D
Igor KinGamer
01. May 2020 · 19:02 UTC
Moving the robot is a little awkward, as moving backward is inverted compared to racing games, but you can get used after some time.

I couldn't fully enjoy the game because I couldn't see the entire map, the game doesn't fit on my screen(s).
Linx
01. May 2020 · 20:17 UTC
Very good premise, although done in a very simplistic way. Having an extra mechanic or some more attainable objective would have felt better. Good job, keep it up!
alexbljack
02. May 2020 · 12:07 UTC
It's very self-explained concept, enjoyed playing! You could try to drain battery only when robot moves to give some time for strategic planning.
🎤 Morriekken
03. May 2020 · 15:28 UTC
Thank you for your comments, it is all very valuable and means a lot to me. All you have great ideas - thank you!

@god-colo - yes it is sprite mask :) don't know anything about shaders and tried to make it simple.

@teamjs - re- steering, it's a bug I left intentionally. I imagined it's broken robot, so when poor little guy hits the wall cannot work well anymore. Just hit the wall again straight and it will all be allright :)

@igor-kingamer - what resolution do you use? Did you play html5 or win version?

Rafal from 4Boa Team
Igor KinGamer
04. May 2020 · 00:23 UTC
Ok, now I can say that the game is fun :D

As people have said, more levels would be nice. Maybe the goal could be to survive for N minutes, but then new batteries shouldn't fully recharge your battery, as a cheat would be to wait as much as possible before getting the next battery.

I have 2 screens, 1366px x 768px and 1280px x 1024px. This is how the Windows version looks (scaled down 4x):

![1.1[-4].png](///raw/b21/z/33b7f.png)
![1.2[-4].png](///raw/b21/z/33b80.png)
Screen 1

![2.1[-4].png](///raw/b21/z/33b81.png)
![2.2[-4].png](///raw/b21/z/33b82.png)
Screen 2

This is how the web version looks:

![Web 1 [-4].png](///raw/b21/z/33b84.png)

But now I was able to play, it's fine in fullscreen mode:

![Web 2.1 [-4].png](///raw/b21/z/33b85.png)
![Web 2.2 [-4].png](///raw/b21/z/33b86.png)
🎤 Morriekken
11. May 2020 · 17:56 UTC
@igor-kingamer - thanks a lot, your feedback is very valuable for me. I'm working on implementing some post LD ideas. There is a story being born as well but we will see where it is going to go. Browser version has some simplifications (UI Scaling and movable map) to avoid different screen ratios nightmare.