Rail Gun by jharler

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

Screenshot_1.png


Rail Gun

Use the mouse to aim and the left mouse button to shoot. You can toggle the music off with "M" and restart the current level with "R"

The goal is to get all the objects into the spinning target in as little time and as few shots as possible. This is made difficult by the fact that your gun is stuck on a looping rail that never stops. My best time and shot count is 6:52 in 171 shots. Can you beat me?

Please rate and comment with your thoughts and I will reciprocate. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks in advance!


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Software Used

Unity, Blender, FL Studio, Audacity, Garageband, Photoshop.


Ratings

Overall 56th 3.943⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Fun 72th 3.886⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 95th 3.829⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Theme 70th 4.153⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 42th 4.208⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Audio 114th 3.625⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Humor 308th 2.5⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Mood 75th 3.788⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 36🗨️

Feedback

gingerBill
04. Oct 2020 · 23:04 UTC
Fun game! The green things were a little heavy but I did complete the game in the end in about 10 minutes.
Lucypero
05. Oct 2020 · 00:28 UTC
Fun, original game with great graphics :blush:
BobParis75
05. Oct 2020 · 17:56 UTC
funny game & cool graphics
Gurrg
05. Oct 2020 · 17:59 UTC
Love the music, and the game play is unique and addicting. Fantastic job!
MECHORD AND MECHOH
05. Oct 2020 · 18:01 UTC
Cool game. Good graphics and hard
juegoman
05. Oct 2020 · 18:07 UTC
Beautiful game! Mechanics are clean and innovative and there were a lot of levels to exercise them out on. Music was alright. Overall I really like this game.
Vivien Fargette
05. Oct 2020 · 18:13 UTC
Really nice to see multiple levels and clear tutorial. And the game is fun to play even if it sometime feels a bit long to wait to get to the good angle to shoot (but I am being picky here, it is really cool)
Lamasaurus
05. Oct 2020 · 18:13 UTC
I like how it is a non-violent shooter, very creative. Completed the game in 11:07 minutes and 548 shots. In the star level one of the green balls got stuck behind the speed up turret and my rail-gun ended up so fast that it just staid in place in the middle, that was interesting 😅 Good job, on the graphics too, they look very retro-neon, keep up the good work!
Quinn_Patrick
05. Oct 2020 · 18:14 UTC
Nice work, there's a lot I like about this. The graphics look really good, the gameplay is unique and interesting, it utilizes the theme well, etc. My only real complaints are that the music loop is too short (but just having music is pretty impressive) and the gameplay is a bit slow. Just increasing the speed of the player I think would help. Nice work, congratulations on creating a solid entry.
Pincushion
05. Oct 2020 · 18:17 UTC
This was good all around. Good music. Good graphics.

I appreciate the variety of targets and loops. The game was fun until the end.
neonjeff
05. Oct 2020 · 19:10 UTC
Looks great! I wish it was easier to control where I was going on the rail, but it fits the theme well!
WiredSound
05. Oct 2020 · 19:13 UTC
This was good fun! Loved the music, the neon graphics worked nicely.
gamepopper
05. Oct 2020 · 19:22 UTC
I'm a sucker for bright neon glowing games, and I like how you made a twin-stick shooter fit in with the theme. Even having modifiers like changing speed and direction done with shooting pillars was a nice touch. Great job!
peeweek
05. Oct 2020 · 20:24 UTC
Fun Game! I cleared it in 9:55 for 590 shots. Good exploration of the game mechanics and the subject! Congrats!
Tomh
05. Oct 2020 · 21:20 UTC
Very great. I like the simple idea that you were able to polish up and add interesting mechanics into it
GaryS
06. Oct 2020 · 13:00 UTC
Nice take on the theme, it's a great idea. I liked the graphics and enjoyed the gameplay, but it felt to me that I had just as much success shooting indescriminately and waiting for the objects to make their way into the void by chance, as when I carefully tried to set up angles and time shots.
![Rail gun.jpg](///raw/6c3/4/z/39005.jpg)
3mpty
06. Oct 2020 · 13:48 UTC
Nice concept, pretty novel, like the glowtube style, I was expecting it to be simple but was pleasantly surprised by several clever mechanics that expanded on the core idea which was awesome! Nice game!
JRevel
06. Oct 2020 · 14:06 UTC
I like that game a lot ! Fun arcade gameplay, nice esthetics, and fits perfectly with the theme
nonozuchu
06. Oct 2020 · 14:52 UTC
Fun game
🎤 jharler
06. Oct 2020 · 15:36 UTC
@gingerbill Thanks for playing and your feedback. The green "dice" (what they're called in the game code) have an icosphere collider which makes them interesting to try to maneuver. I spent a good deal of time refining them. They were much more difficult at first.

@lucy Thanks for the feedback and for early play testing. Your feedback was invaluable!

@bobparis75 Thanks!

@gurrg Thanks for your feedback. I was worried the music would be annoying, which is why I added the ability to turn it off. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

@mechord-and-mechoh Thanks! I hope it wasn't too hard for you.

@juegoman Thanks for the kind words.

@vivien-fargette Thanks! After over a dozen game jams, I've learned the importance of teaching in-game. :)

@lamasaurus I always like making games my kids can play, and I'm glad someone else appreciate the non-violent shooter aspect as well. Congrats on completing the game! I didn't try to test the min/max speed of the rail, so that's funny.

@quinn-patrick Thanks for the feedback. I feel music/audio is my weakest area when it comes to gamedev, so I'm trying to improve, but I understand your feelings about the loop. I don't spend as much time on the music as I probably should. I will note that I had the player moving much slower at first (thinking the game would be too hard if it were faster), but early play testing showed I should speed it up, so I doubled the default speed on most levels.

@pincushion Thanks for your feedback!

@neonjeff Fun fact, I began the design with the idea that you would move the gun manually with left/right, but that seemed too easy. I felt having the gun move automatically suited the theme better as well.

@wiredsound Thanks!

@gamepopper I really like this aesthetic as well, and as a bonus, it's easy to do! For someone like myself that lacks in art skills, it's a good option. Thanks for your input!

@peeweek Congrats on completing the game! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

@tomh Thanks!

@garys You're right that you can just send the objects on their way moving and most of the time they'll find their way into the target. My 6 year old was able to complete the game because of that. However, you won't get a very good time or a good low shot count if you do that. If you play with the intention of minimizing shots and getting a good time, it becomes a much different experience.

@3mpty I'm glad you like the look and that I was able to surprise you with the mechanics. Thanks for playing!

@jrevel Thanks for your kind words.

@nonozuchu Thanks!
Los
06. Oct 2020 · 17:18 UTC
Fun game and very well made! Well done!
Kpedatte
06. Oct 2020 · 17:22 UTC
Wow that's a really nice game. Game Feel is really nice, art too, music is ok, levels are greats. COngrats that's really good
HumphreysMedia
06. Oct 2020 · 17:32 UTC
What a great arcade game, I found it interesting that the player wasn't stuck in a linear loop, but instead could control the movement in the loop. Art work and sound gave off a retro arcade vibe which I enjoyed, the only thing I feel that could be improved is that when I click to shoot, the bullet fires slightly to the right of the cannon, rather than the center. Overall, great game!
HOOLOP
06. Oct 2020 · 17:41 UTC
Simple and nice gameplay, I almost reached lightspeed (best feature xD) !
DrSnowDude
06. Oct 2020 · 23:23 UTC
Pretty darn fun, all the levels were balanced and super intuitive
gamesplusjames
07. Oct 2020 · 11:08 UTC
This was a lot of fun! Trying to manage the different kinds of objects was a good challenge, and the variety of level design kept me interested to see the next level. A really cool entry and an interesting mechanic! Nice work as always!
gwinnell
09. Oct 2020 · 17:33 UTC
Really love the style of this one man - wish I could have gotten some glow/bloom into my entry! (I tried but it didn't work.) Audio was great, and mechanics made sense for the theme. Variation of levels/rails always kept interesting. (Star was my favourite.) If I had any gripe, I would have liked to see some more progression on the mechanics, perhaps some hazards. That may just be personal preference, 'cause (you might figure) I'm a sucker for the arcade experience. Overall though, a really cool entry! It should place highly. :slight_smile:

`9:51 in 384 shots.`
arkinrev
10. Oct 2020 · 03:34 UTC
That was really fun! Almost 10 minutes for me and 400 something shots. So many interesting interactions with the pillars affecting the rail gun, the shape of the rail itself, and the different physics of the targets. Awesome work!
🎤 jharler
14. Oct 2020 · 19:22 UTC
@los Thank you!

@kpedatte I'm glad you liked it, thanks!

@humphreysmedia I noticed that issue with the bullet origin too but couldn't afford to spend too much time on it. The math was right and at slower speeds seemed to be placed appropriately, so I don't know. I didn't think it detracted too much from the experience.

@hoolop Haha, next up, ludicrous speed!

@drsnowdude Thanks!

@gamesplusjames Always nice to get your feedback James. I'm glad you enjoyed!

@gwinnell I love me some good bloom. It seems to be an easy win for programmer art. Hopefully next time you'll be able to get it to work. I personally know the struggles that come with jamming with your own engine. I had considered adding hazards, but ultimately didn't want to add too much complexity and decided just to polish the mechanics I had. I'm considering fleshing this out into a full game. There's a lot of potential with the base mechanic here.

@arkinrev Nice job! I'm glad you found my game enjoyable. Thanks for playing.
Ale
25. Oct 2020 · 17:20 UTC
That was a unique gameplay mechanic, nice job! The graphics and audio worked well, and the totems were a clever idea to add to the gameplay, although I didn't find myself using them that much.
pkenney
25. Oct 2020 · 23:53 UTC
9:27 to complete.

Nice game! At first I felt like it was chaotic and random, sometimes even the barriers would just push a ball or two in. But as I got better, I was able to make plans and then execute on them better, and I started feeling the groove more. I had fun!

Looked nice, and felt good to play! Music was a nice touch if perhaps slightly repetitive after a while... but a good fit with the graphical look.

Nice entry - contrats.
Zjones
27. Oct 2020 · 22:45 UTC
incredible fun game wouldlove to see this improve on and see in steam. Love the graphics simplistic gameplay. Have u considered letting the bullets rechochet i wondered how the game would be.