Gate Ball by Zyllen

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

Hi there!
This is a game Inspired by a sport called 'Croquet'.
Hope you enjoy! ScreenShot.png

Description

Hit ball(s) through Gates. Within the time given, make all gates been passed.
Gate can only be passed by balls with the same color.
Clock will count down as soon as you hit the first ball. Make a strategy before you start to hit!

HitBall.gif

Control

  • W.A.S.D to move your stick.
  • Hold down Left Mouse to Aim.
  • Release Mouse to hit the ball.

Screenshots

ScreenShot1.png

ScreenShot2.png

ScreenShot.png

Ratings

Overall 1927th 3.18⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 892th 3.479⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1033th 3.38⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 2538th 1.92⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1242th 3.62⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1900th 2.119⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1303th 3.354⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Given 24🗳️ 19🗨️

Feedback

David Bohan
20. Apr 2020 · 18:14 UTC
Had to play this game twice because the first time I didn't realize that I had to drag the mouse down after holding down Mouse1. I was just moving around with WASD pushing the balls into the goals (which was way easier than shooting them, btw)... but when I played it the second time with the shooting mechanic, it was much more fun. Good work on this game. The sound effects are very nice.
David Bohan
20. Apr 2020 · 18:14 UTC
Had to play this game twice because the first time I didn't realize that I had to drag the mouse down after holding down Mouse1. I was just moving around with WASD pushing the balls into the goals (which was way easier than shooting them, btw)... but when I played it the second time with the shooting mechanic, it was much more fun. Good work on this game. The sound effects are very nice.
Shikto
21. Apr 2020 · 14:14 UTC
I liked the glow effect on ground. Good shader work. Mouse sensitivity was high, it would be better to stay low. If the game teach the player at first gameplay, new player would understand the game better. A good game, specially for the graphics.
🎤 Zyllen
22. Apr 2020 · 03:21 UTC
Thanks for playing my game! Glow effect on ground is made using texture and post-processing bloom effect actually. :D Great advices on Mouse sensitivity and tutorial!
curtamyth
22. Apr 2020 · 06:53 UTC
Cool concept, I enjoyed playing this one! I did accidentally glitch out of the arena twice before falling into infinity. A quick fix might be to reset the stick's position if it falls below a certain height. All in all, great work here!
Cancerous
22. Apr 2020 · 07:50 UTC
Shooting mechanic was pretty difficult but fun to play with. Liked the audio and graphics. Nice one !
🎤 Zyllen
22. Apr 2020 · 11:21 UTC
thanks man ! appreciate all feedbacks. They are all meaningful for me.
Aj Jones
23. Apr 2020 · 03:33 UTC
Liked the shooting mechanic, felt like pool with a twist.
Had a bug though where when i pulled back and released, i went straight through the ball.
But great work nonetheless!
MatheusBorba
23. Apr 2020 · 03:38 UTC
I Like Game, Very good Work
Taximan981
23. Apr 2020 · 03:40 UTC
Cool idea! Didn't really get how it goes with the theme but it was still a fun experience, even if i found i did better when guiding the ball with wasd rather then hitting it. Good job!
Kent Reese
23. Apr 2020 · 03:42 UTC
A cool take on croquet, liked the visual style, though as some commentators have pointed out it's easier to just use WASD than to hit the ball.
pkenney
23. Apr 2020 · 03:46 UTC
Wow a really interesting idea here, and an absolutely fantastic execution on the look and sound. I feel like I would have enjoyed this a lot if the controls had just been a bit smoother. I struggled pretty badly the first few minutes, and I think it was the sensitivity of both the mouse (making it hard to tune my aim) and also the keyboard (making hard to fine tune my position). I think a touch of acceleration on the keyboard controls could help smooth them a bit, I felt like I was "snapping" back and forth between left-of what I wanted, then right-of, back and forth while the clock ran out.

The second thing in controls I struggled with was the pull-back. First time I played, I thought it was kind of like pool/billiards, where I would line up behind the ball, then pull back and shoot. But when I did that, I pulled *WAY* back, and sometimes I fell out of the level and broke the game, other times I lost view of the game because of a wall, but in the times where I did take a shot it seemed like I barely grazed the ball at all or even stopped completely short of it. Later I learned to pre-windup and only THEN approach the ball, but the issue with this method is the suuuuper-slow movement rate you have post-windup.

In the end I did learn to adjust, and I settled on a strategy of going way forward of the ball (but off to the side a bit), and then winding up so I was backed up near the ball, and then inching over to it and releasing. This worked okay and I got to level 4 where I very nearly won.

But I felt like it was a shame, because the game was so interesting, but instead of thinking about the strategy of the GAME, I was thinking about the strategy of the INPUT to the game. I feel like this is a great concept, and I would have really enjoyed it a lot if there was less friction in between my plan and my action.

Hope that's useful feedback! I only go into detail on an input critique like that when I feel like the game has a great idea, so I don't mean it to be too negative. You really hit the target on the look and feel, vibe, and also the game idea, so the fact that I critique the inputs doesn't mean I think it's bad or give a low rating. I just kind of want to play the version with streamlined inputs!

EDIT: Wow just checked and I see this is your first LD, too, nice work!
multiplexor
23. Apr 2020 · 03:51 UTC
Nice kind of snooker game! I like the environment and the overall design of the levels, but I feel that dragging your mouse to aim always makes me miss align my shot and feels kind of bad, if you could shoot just using a key instead I feel it would be much more enjoyable!

Oh, also, iI fell out of the map when tried to shoot a ball and I was too close to the corner :P

All in all, solid game! Keep up the good work!
🎤 Zyllen
23. Apr 2020 · 13:03 UTC
@aj-jones Thanks! Really apreciate your feedback!
🎤 Zyllen
23. Apr 2020 · 13:05 UTC
@matheusborba I'm very glad you like my game. :D
🎤 Zyllen
23. Apr 2020 · 13:15 UTC
@taximan981 @kent-reese I'm thinking a way to make it harder to use WASD to move the ball. Maybe make the ball "slippery" when tring to push it using stick. Thanks for your feedback!
🎤 Zyllen
23. Apr 2020 · 13:28 UTC
@pkenney That is the most detailed, dedicated commentary i have every received! Really appreciated you like my game idea, as well as the sound and graphics. I will definitely upgrade the controls you and others mentioned. Your feedbacks really means a lot for a first time LD participant. Those are really useful feedback, which i learned a lot. Thanks again!
🎤 Zyllen
23. Apr 2020 · 13:30 UTC
@multiplexor Appreciate for your feedback. I'm glad you like my design and environment! Controlls are definitely going to be fixed, as well as the bugs. Thanks a lot
TechnoNugget
25. Apr 2020 · 18:54 UTC
It was satisfying to unlock each gate and complete a level, but I would say it's a bit rough around the edges. Particularly in terms of the controls, and shooting. I found that very frequently (most often if the ball was still rolling) when I tried to line up and shoot the ball, it would slightly nudge the ball to the left or right instead of actually shooting it where I was aiming. As a result I felt that a lot of the times I lost, it was because of technical glitches like this instead of me actually messing up which felt a bit unfair.

In terms of the idea of the game, I think is something very fresh and new as a concept. Simple enough to pick up quickly, but strategic enough to not get boring. I could see it translating very well to a mobile game. Being able to flick the dinger with a touch screen and score a goal sounds like it could be quite enjoyable. I also think you did a great job with the atmosphere and feel of the game. The background and the effects and the choice of music all really fit pretty well together.

Good job! keep up the good work!
legavroche
25. Apr 2020 · 19:06 UTC
The game felt at it's best when I was able to lineup a shot and then the ball positioned itself right onto another gate, but those moments felt few. I think part of it was the difficulty of hitting balls that were currently still rolling. I found myself missing a lot of times even when it looks like it was perfectly lined up. If you refined the controls then I think you'd really have something special. Good job!
LukeBandy
25. Apr 2020 · 20:50 UTC
Unfortuntely, I encountered some physics issues whilst playing; I imagine some of the code needs to be moved to FixedUpdate(). Also I've found that mouse sensitivity is wayyyyy higher when you export to web; it's worth adding in some code to check which platform the game is running on so that the sensitivity automatically adjusts.
ShreyasRao_TS
12. May 2020 · 14:08 UTC
Really good game. Liked the gameplay which was challenging.! Good game!
Also spare a minute and do check out my game(It is literally 1 minute long game):
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/savior