Birdie Burglars by DDRKirbyISQ
Cocoa Moss presents: Birdie Burglars!
Launch meowmies with your slingshot to stop the birdie burglars!
Trackpad users beware: This game uses your cursor to aim. Mouse or touchscreen highly recommended.
Post-Jam version (v2.01): https://cocoamoss.com/birdie-burglars/birdie-burglars.html
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/birdie-burglars/id1509336732
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cocoamoss.birdieburglars
Jam version (v1.06): https://ddrkirby.com/games/birdie-burglars/compo-version/birdie-burglars-compo.html
Soundtrack download: https://ddrkirbyisq.bandcamp.com/album/birdie-burglars-original-soundtrack
Changelog:
``` v2.01 (Post-Jam) - Fixed an issue on WebGL where the pause button could not be clicked on retina devices
v2.00 - First mobile release! - Completely reworked the menu screen - Added a new ending screen when completing level 4 - Added jukebox screen for listening to the game music - Added an in-game pause/settings screen - Add music/sfx volume settings, drag direction inversion, and drag sensitivity - Added new environmental particles for all 4 stages - Cursor now starts a bit higher up so you don't have to drag as far - Added new title graphic - Added "tap to continue" and "make sure centered" prompts for tutorial - Made levels 1 and 2 a bit easier - Other minor bugfixes and tweaks
v1.06 (Jam) - Added a software cursor (locked inside the game window) to make the mouse cursor hiding behavior a bit less confusing - Ensure internal slingshot cursor position is clamped inside the game window
v1.05 - Fixed a silly mistake in v1.04 that caused a tutorial segment to display before it should have
v1.04 - Fixed accidental looping of certain music fanfares, especially if game is paused - Various aspect ratio-related internal changes in preparation for mobile builds - Tweaked credits screen slightly
v1.03 - HTML5 fix: Now captures mouse cursor during gameplay, to solve issue with mouse inputs outside the game window being dropped - Press escape to unlock the mouse cursor - Very minor timing tweak to one of the tutorial steps
v1.02 - Fixed level 3 using the wrong grass asset - Very slight audio volume tweaks
v1.01 - Fixed a minor audio glitch
v1.00 - First release! ```
Ratings
| Overall | 24th | 4.335⭐ | 87🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 52th | 4.176⭐ | 87🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 602th | 3.6⭐ | 87🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 626th | 3.941⭐ | 87🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 48th | 4.629⭐ | 87🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 3th | 4.635⭐ | 87🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 42th | 4.274⭐ | 86🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 110th | 4.202⭐ | 86🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 44🗳️ | 50🗨️ |
You both know very well what you are doing and I am always amazed how you are able to craft it into perfection in limited jam time.
Loved the game. Excellent work!
Gets really tough!
Very fun and satisfying when you start slinging meowmies at the burglars at high speeds!
_Tip-toe-tip-toe_
What was your gameplan for coming up with music for this one? You had some jazzy tunes early, and the last theme seems like something that would belong in Donkey Kong Country. I thought the soundtrack was great, it was the primary reason I played all the different levels lol. Overall the concept is really engaging. There's a lot of charm to the idea of cats trying to protect a bird. I feel like there's a Looney Tunes with this concept but can't quite remember it..
For this particular soundtrack the main feel I was going for was "sneaky", but in a cartoonish and light-hearted sense. I referenced various stock music such as [this compilation](https://y2u.be/I2m1h0ALpY4) as well as the Plants vs. Zombies soundtrack. You can see this come out in the tracks in different ways:
- Level 1 uses lots of pizzicato / mallets (tiptoeing!) and a slower tempo
- Level 2 is more of a "secret agent" / spy vibe, with a sax, and wah-wah effect on the guitar
- Level 3 uses more pizzicato, but with a higher tempo this time. The piano soloing and jazzy chords seemed to fit well with this tempo and style. I ended up going into a 12-bar blues progression
- Level 4 is more of a "chillout" style vibe to contrast with the previous level's fast pace. I wanted to echo the "winter" vibe
I wanted the progression of the songs to mirror the progression of the gameplay, so the tempo increases throughout the first 3 songs, until "wrapping around" for level 4 which is slower.
Past that a lot of the decisions were entirely spontaneous as part of the creative process.
I would have love to have a bit more features, like different burglars or layouts for the level.
Anyway, great work!
I gave this the highest points out of all games I've rated so far.
Actually, maybe I could implement a software cursor, that might help...
The final level was just frantic, but still doable! The reload mechanic got almost irrelevant at that point, but it didn't matter at all. What can I say, I enjoyed this a lot and I think it might be even better with touch controls on mobile.
As always, a fantastic game.
Otherwise: always appreciate sound controls. The music & effects came in way too loud to begin with.
In the way of constructive criticism, I would say that the difficulty scaling may be challenging to balance in a full release. The hardest level for me was definitely when the number of burglars increased WITHOUT the number of cats increasing (I think level 3). By the last level, the scarcity of your a"mew"nition was no longer a factor, and I found it easier to defeat the horde of enemies than in earlier levels where I had to be more considerate of my time and aim. (That being said, I'm glad the last level was created the way that it was, as it really stretches this concept to its fullest for a game jam). It does feel like adding more burglars, or decreasing your amewnition, are currently the only ways of incrementing difficulty, which would probably not be the most expandable in its own.
But this game is clearly in good hands!
Also, why are the burglars in level 4 so evil? They are GUILTY! As a bird I will keep blaming them.
I love the art style (although I only later realised it was different in every level, apparently the four seasons! :smile:).
I also really enjoyed all the different musics and the funny voice acting when the burglars were tiptoeing closer. :laughing:
In the beginning I was a bit surprised that the meowmies would defend the birdie, but I love the slingshot mechanics which seem to go quite well with the meowmies!
Very well polished game, congrats!
And it didn't let me down. I love everything about this game. Let me recount the ways I love it:
- I love its theme.
- I almost have to stop playing every time I throw a cat at a burglar because the animation is so heart-wrenchingly cute and fierce at the same time.
- The sfx/voices. Tiptoe, tiptoe ~
- The mechanics are superb. Moving, hiding, looking up - it's both engaging and sort of predictable.
- I know that having the cats return is just a fancy cooldown, but it makes *sense* and is much more immersive than a UI element could be.
- I love the little chick. Especially in the "you win" screen, for obvious reasons ;)
- I love that you made four different seasons, and how much that adds to the mood.
Needless to say, this feels like a finished product and not like a jam game. And it's pure sugar. Fantastic job, you two!
In some ways, the earlier levels were harder than the later levels, because there was so much downtime waiting for the cat to 'reload'. The only change I would recommend is reducing the time between when the cat mauls the burglar and returns to your side.
The controls felt a little weird, maybe the inversion wasn't necessary? Either way the feedback felt good and it was super cool to have to conserve cats and such.
Really nice entry, and definitely got harder than I thought it would.. Great job :).
***hangs head in shame***
As for the gameplay, it works really well. I loved the cat animations, they reminded me a little bit of the dog in Duck Hunt. One thing I would change about the gameplay is to invert the direction you have to drag to shoot - while dragging down seems more "realistic", I feel like it makes the control really difficult. Dragging up would allow for much more precise controls, which is really needed when you have only one shot every few seconds.
All in all, I loved it. It's a really well done entry. Great work! ;)
Controls feel a little bit awkward... At least on touchpad. Is aiming really has to be 2-dimentional? You can experiment with allowing just 1 axis for it. That would simplify controls and make experience more dynamic and arcade-like.
I thought the hand painted style was cute, and there's a decent level of polish for a jam game. It did feel a little repetitive for my tastes; I didn't have any clear indication of what a level consisted of so I didn't know the end goal (if it *was* there it wasn't clear to me) and it felt a bit aimless (pun not intended!) as I continued to play.
Overall I think this would probably work best as a casual mobile game and would benefit from a bit more variety and progression feedback, but it is of course a very nice overall package. Thanks for submitting and congratulations on your entry!
great execution of the organic-painterly graphics. Good tension of the enemy waves.
Tried this html5 game between Desktop-pc and mobile chrome browser on android tablet (Samsung galaxy)
One of the great perks for HTML5 in this case is at least I could run this on a mobile browser; This game makes so much sense on a mobile-browser (feels so right!) with regards to the slingshot-mechanic. The Mouse approach of the sling-shot felt like some inverse-control at first (not that it was an issue; still doable, it felt like there's sensitivity in relation to the recoil-intensity between mouse-drag magnitude in comparison to touch-drag magnitude); Like the animations.
note: No issues in control through desktop-pc (I just mention the immediate 'feel' of the slingshot mechanic is quite different between desktop and mobile; both work well!)
Suggestion: if two Meowmies land in same spot then if its possible they could recoil or bounce like billards-ball mechanic? I was thinking if one Meowmie could tackle two burglers in one Meowmie? still no complaints as it is, it seems to have a good balance IMO. nice! :dizzy: