Prison of the Dream Weaver by candlesan

[raw]
made by candlesan for Ludum Dare 47 (COMPO)

Title.png CardGameScreen.png

You are caught in the Dream Weaver's eternal prison.

This game is a mash-up of two different game themes. A Binding of Isaac roguelike combined with a mini card game.

Post-Compo Version changes: * Slightly increased initial movement speed of the player and decreased amount of movement speed upgrade * Changed from 10 cards on every upgrade to 7 cards + randomly dropped cards from killing enemies.

Tools: * Unity * Photoshop * Audacity

Ratings

Overall 204th 3.603⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Fun 179th 3.583⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 325th 3.267⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Theme 412th 3.35⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 466th 2.983⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Audio 453th 2.481⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Humor 290th 2.574⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Mood 376th 3⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Given 36🗳️ 31🗨️

Feedback

mikelovesrobots
05. Oct 2020 · 04:42 UTC
Not bad! A binding of Isaac-like! I think this was a more complete game than I'd expected. Character moved slower than I'd like but still fun. I feel like I picked up the card game the second time through the sequence.
Jonathanfdr
05. Oct 2020 · 04:48 UTC
Really funny game!! On beginning I thought that the projectiles were farts xD

I've really enjoyed that mix of cards-game with TBOI. My only critiscim is about the Graphics and the first movement velocity and projectile speed, I thing bouth should set up to higher values.

Btw, well done!!!
Dr_V
05. Oct 2020 · 04:55 UTC
Pretty impressive for a compo game. A few things were a bit intuitive but once you work out how the card game works it all falls into place. Would have liked to see some feedback on enemy hits (flashing etc). Also the randomness of the card game means you have very little choice in how your char progresses which is likely a limiting factor for this design.
rex64
05. Oct 2020 · 05:22 UTC
Jabba the Hutt dealing cards.
I liked it.
The card minigame kinda breaks the game flow it's not such a big deal.
a4x8e6
05. Oct 2020 · 06:51 UTC
Liked the concept, nice loop and feels good when you manage to get some decent upgrades before the next round! Nice artwork too. Always fun when there's a high score table!
Hanra
05. Oct 2020 · 07:51 UTC
Nice and fun, I think the mob AI is fun and the random bonus system is pretty neat too
Wouter Deferme
05. Oct 2020 · 09:19 UTC
This game is very enjoyable to play, well done! The upgrade-system and the scoreboard at the end really invite to play another round.
Ale
05. Oct 2020 · 14:49 UTC
I liked the fart sound effects for the bullets :P

The gameplay was pretty fun, and I like how the enemies actually seemed to have some strategy rather than just walking at you in a straight line. The graphics were nice and the overall theme was cool, especially with the blob monster card dealer.
Yeti Kid
05. Oct 2020 · 21:53 UTC
Really good game, felt the Isaac vibe and tested my Isaac skills haha! Like the card upgrade mechanic really works well! I came 4th on the leaderboard! Well done I really liked the leaderboard it makes you want to play again!
KunoNoOni
06. Oct 2020 · 00:34 UTC
I like the card mini game used for upgrading the player. The game has that 'Let me try once more' feel to it. Controls felt good and were responsive. The art was simple but effective. The leader board was a nice touch.
TheCakeConsortium
06. Oct 2020 · 13:37 UTC
I did not expect a fart sound effect, it made me laugh :laughing: . The game is good and fun, I like the card mechanic progression system, it was challenging and the controls are decent.

The AI is surprisingly smart and knows how to dodge the player (rather than just rushing ahead). Amazing programming work on the AI! (especially in a 48 hour game jam, damn! You one smart cookie :cookie: )
madbookstudios
06. Oct 2020 · 17:54 UTC
Clever concept! The card draw mechanic for upgrades was really cool and felt very thematic - like some sort of mystic creature was drawing your fate with tarot cards. Very reminiscent of The Binding of Isaac too - nice stuff! :D
Hadryel
07. Oct 2020 · 00:35 UTC
Very fun to play! I find it kinda hard at first, using full keyboard for playing, but the development of the difficulty helped to get used to it. Nice work!
Enes Ayyildiz
07. Oct 2020 · 06:16 UTC
Shooting ghosts and catching next level is good and fun. Only in dreamviewers page I confused, then get next level. It is nice to see playing instruction at the beginning.
sanojian
07. Oct 2020 · 10:23 UTC
Fun game and the leader board gives a real incentive to come back. Cool card mechanic. Animated walking would have added a lot.
jd557
07. Oct 2020 · 12:05 UTC
Nice concept.

I like the idea, but the control feels a bit too stiff/slow, so I ended up not playing for long. It's a shame, because I think that if the combat was a bit more fun I would spend a lot of time with this game. :)
squimmy
07. Oct 2020 · 13:50 UTC
This is an interesting idea, but between the randomness of the cards and the slow movement making it hard to avoid enemy attacks, it felt like winning or losing was more a matter of luck than skill.

It's a pity there wasn't some way of better tying together the card minigame and the shooting gameplay. This game also exhibits my pet peeves: mixing pixel art (the player, monsters and environment) with high-res graphics (the player projectices). It undermines the cohesiveness of the game's aesthetic.

These petty complaints aside, you did a good job in not only implementing a complete game but, in some ways, implementing _two_ games!
Florian Piette
07. Oct 2020 · 13:58 UTC
That's such a good game!
I really love the card mechanic, it works very well with the pressure of the Isaac-style fighting. Awesome job, would love to have great and polish graphics to take it to the next level!

Edit: Ok I've been playing it on repeat for 3h now, please let me run away from this cursed dream land
🎤 candlesan
07. Oct 2020 · 18:47 UTC
@florian-piette I'm glad you got so much enjoyment from the game! I'm really glad you liked it!

@squimmy Totally fair critique of the mixing of art styles. That's a good lesson for me to carry forward. I do not have an art background and am not good at looking for those types of things but it is a good rule I could follow in the future.

@jd557 @mikelovesrobots @jonathanfdr I will work on a post-compo version that increases the player movement speed! I developed most of the game with a faster movement speed but then I wanted to make sure the player speed ugrade was desirable - but I probably went too far. I'll increase your initial speed and lower the effect of the upgrade.
sacredbacon
07. Oct 2020 · 23:23 UTC
The card mechanic was very well done, I liked that it counted sequences and sets. Enemy variation was nice too, it kept the game new while looping through the dream. Thanks for the game!
SimplePotential
07. Oct 2020 · 23:36 UTC
Very cool game, very much felt the vibe of Binding of Isaac. Controls were really nice and graphics good. On the mini card game, was there any way to hold and draw certain cards or was it just playing the hand you were dealt? Either way, it was a nice touch for progression. I enjoyed it!
nusan
08. Oct 2020 · 19:57 UTC
Pretty cool game, I could sink a lot of time in it. The combat is a bit awkward but I suppose it's that way so that you really need upgrades to get high score. The card game is a really cool idea and give that "just one more game to see what I will get" aspect, even if I couldn't figure out much of strategy to make my chances better, so lot's of frustration too. Anyway, super interesting entry!
Gurbx
09. Oct 2020 · 19:19 UTC
Always looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Your entries are always so unique. How do you always come up with so good game mechanics? :D

The core loop of the game is really solid. It feels super rewarding and fun trying to get the different card combinations. The general “game feel” of the combat could be improved I think. There are some small things you could do to make it a bit punchier. Adding some screenshake on impacts always helps. Also pushing the enemies back a bit when they are hit would add a bit more impact to your bullets as now everything feels a bit floaty and weak.
automatonvx
17. Oct 2020 · 14:19 UTC
Interesting idea for a mash up. Felt the card rounds were too often, would have liked to get through maybe 4 5 rooms or a full level first. Would also up the overall initial speed of players, enemies, projectiles. The jabba the hut with sleeping mask was a cute character. Could use some polish for the player feel, but time is limited so can't expect too much. Nice work.