LudumData

Companion by Akadream

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

"WILL YOU REACH THE END OF THE DUNGEON KEEPING YOUR COMPANION ALIVE ?"

Companion is an Action RPG game where you have to reach the exit of the dungeon along with your companion. Your armor protect you of slimes attacks, but your companion take damages. So you need to protect him ! (slimes are only focusing the companion) Your companion is constantly following you, but take care if you block him between 2 walls, he might lose sight of you.

Controls : * Arrows (Left, Right Up, Down) : Movements * X : Sword attack * C : Open Chest * R : Respawn (when you'r dead)

If you reach the end of the dungeon, just close the game :)

Greetings : * Akadream : The game has been made only by me. I've been somewhat inspired of some pixel art on the web, but every pixel of all assets have been placed by me. I'm not a pixel artist, so it was pretty hard and took me a long time to do many things but it was a good experience.

Hope you'll enjoy the game. Feel free to give some feebacks. I'll probably finish the game developement in the future, so i have to make it better !

Screenshots : TitleScreen.png InGame.png

Youtube https://akadream.itch.io/companion
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/companion

Ratings

Overall 1551th 3.352⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1347th 3.259⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1901th 2.926⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 651th 3.926⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 780th 3.926⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Audio 1046th 3.204⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Humor 1365th 2.717⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1421th 3.288⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 5🗳️ 8🗨️

Feedback

FallingFlatStudios
21. Apr 2020 · 01:42 UTC
Cool concept, I really like the visuals but there is an issue where the enemy gets inside the player making it hard to hit.
🎤 Akadream
21. Apr 2020 · 10:54 UTC
@fallingflatstudios thanks ! Yes i seen it during the game developement. Many things need improvement. I would just knock back a little bit the player when he collide a slime.
jsec
21. Apr 2020 · 11:13 UTC
love pixel arts <3
Game is cool
barret
23. Apr 2020 · 01:11 UTC
had fun playing the game. I did have trouble sometimes when an enemy was right on me, I couldn't really hit them away. I loved the knockback when hitting enemies.

but overall it was fun, it was short and sweet. the graphics were pretty crisp
🎤 Akadream
23. Apr 2020 · 01:24 UTC
@barret Thanks ! I know for some issues we can encounter. That was so hard sometimes to make the right collision between the player and enemies but i done my best :)
Thanks for the graphics, i'm a really beginner and not a pixel art, but i'm learning and i'm already working on a graphic update for the future :)
Flamus
23. Apr 2020 · 19:33 UTC
Very cute game! Good job!
DoctorMozart
23. Apr 2020 · 20:00 UTC
We made similar games! :smile: Very adorable entry, I'm in love with the pixel art. The sound as well was cute. There were some aspects of the game that felt a little clunky, such as the combat and the hit boxes (it can be hard to save the friend if an enemy gets past you), but I enjoyed how you put everything together, and found it a short and solid title. :v:
🎤 Akadream
24. Apr 2020 · 01:16 UTC
@flamus Thanks !
🎤 Akadream
24. Apr 2020 · 01:19 UTC
Oh, that's interesting, i will check your game tomorrow !
Thanks for your feedback. Yeah i know for the combat system i really need to improve and i'm already working on an update. This game was very cool to develop. One of my main goal is for many months / years to develop an Action RPG game in this style. But the point of pixel art was blocking me. But i'm constantly improving this point and i know that i will do my best to make the game of my dream :)
davekingcool
24. Apr 2020 · 14:26 UTC
any chance you could do a webgl version?
Solweak
24. Apr 2020 · 14:27 UTC
Nice game, too bad i was waiting for a badass boss fight at the end, but i guess that just mean i had fun :smile: an wanted to continue. You did very well on the pixel art for a beginner !

Overall it feels really polished !
BattleCat
24. Apr 2020 · 14:31 UTC
I liked this. The graphics are nice and fit the game type, and so do the sounds. Especially the music had a very "dungeony" feel to it. I thought the enemies moved a little too fast compared to how fast you could attack though. I eventually found a rhythm of attack that allowed me to spam attack though, so perhaps you could add an attack cooldown. Other than that, well done.
Nuanda79
24. Apr 2020 · 14:44 UTC
I tried your game! it's a good starting point to a rogue-like game. You can add other enemies and some traps, treasures and shops, secret rooms and an inventory!
Keep it alive!! Good work!
SubtlyDramatic
24. Apr 2020 · 15:17 UTC
Love the pixel art and sounds :) If you get the hit boxes/combat fixed, definitely post the update! I had a little trouble with it too.
tulipekoni
24. Apr 2020 · 15:25 UTC
basic adaptation for the theme done well. Instead of concentrating on the things you did well I'm going to give some improvement ideas since I fell that's more valuable. Here's my feedback: I don't see why you would have two separate action keys for attacking and opening a chest when the same could be achieved with only a one.

I felt frustrated when i couldn't hit the enemy when it was "inside" of the player. For a future coding challenge I challenge you to create a randomized dungeon!

Solid entry! good job :thumbsup:
AmbaDev
24. Apr 2020 · 16:18 UTC
Very good game, a bit on the short side, but understandably so. The level music loop was a bit short and enemy pushback near the walls could be a bit funky, but other than that, great work, very fun!
Kosmik123
26. Apr 2020 · 11:42 UTC
I love the fact that you could leave the companion in one room to keep it save and walk through dungeons being immortal. I see it as a feature, not a bug. What I think is needed is option to change screen resolution.
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 20:50 UTC
@davekingcool Sorry, i'm trying to learn how to do that, but it's not simple
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 20:51 UTC
@solweak Thanks, it's very appreciated ! Yeah, i would make a final boss and a bigger dungeon, but i did not had the time for that ^^
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 20:54 UTC
@battlecat Thanks ! Graphics and the game music was really funny to do. For the movements speed issue, it's because of i'm using integer to manage entities coordinates. But float would be better to create more varieties. My bad for that but i will take consideration of this point the next Jam
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 20:56 UTC
@nuanda79 Thank you ! Yeah, i have so many possibilities to make the game better and i have so many ideas for the future
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 20:57 UTC
@subtlydramatic Yes, it's the point i really have to improve and i will train this point very soon to get a better system.
I'll not make a "fix" for this, because i'm remaking everything to make a biggest and complete game. But it will take me a long time ^^
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 21:00 UTC
@tulipekoni Thanks for your comment !
Yeah, the key management is one the bad thing of the game and i have to make it better. In particular by adding game controller support which is not hard to do. And so yes, it could be more intuitive to get the same button for sword / open chest.

Challenge accepted !
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 21:11 UTC
@ambadev Yeah, you said everything about the game problems. I will work on every point !
For the music, it's very hard when you have to be quick and don't get the best inspiration ^^
Thanks for the feedback
🎤 Akadream
30. Apr 2020 · 21:18 UTC
@kosmik123 Yeah, the next time, i'll get a menu to change the resolution and many others options.
At the beginning, it was a problem, but at then end, i found how to resolve the issue but we could still block the companion. That was finally not a problem, so i let the system as the final release.
Fables
01. May 2020 · 12:41 UTC
Very nice, the levels felt fun to go through and the combat feels like the right difficulty.
I had a few issues where the player/companion/enemies would go off the 'grid' and I wouldn't be able to enter a door unless I first walk into a wall to put me back on the grid.

Gameplay was really nice, good graphics and everything. Nice one :)
🎤 Akadream
01. May 2020 · 23:36 UTC
@fables Thanks ! Yeah, i know these issues, i'll work to resolve them :)
JUSTCAMH
02. May 2020 · 07:18 UTC
Nice little game, I wish it were longer! It was a bit annoying that enemies could stand inside the player and not get hurt, but with some caution, the game is pretty fun to beat. The pixel graphics were very nice, my only critique is that the key counter should be in a proper pixel font, rather than the weirdly anti-aliased font. The tile set and characters are actually rather impressive, I think you're underselling yourself on your pixel art abilities! I also liked the audio, the simple chip tune music is quite nice. If the game was longer, I'd imagine it being a lot of fun with some variation, some larger dungeons and new enemies. Overall the game was pretty neat, congrats! :heart:
🎤 Akadream
02. May 2020 · 10:15 UTC
@justcamh Thanks to your feedback !
Yep, it's too short :c I would like to add a pixel font, but it was a bit to long to implement it. And not only for the key. But yeah, i see what you said.
Thanks for art and audio !

Thanks again !
Reiqy
02. May 2020 · 14:53 UTC
The pixel art is amazing! While the game is actually quite addicting, there's a few minor bugs mostly regarding to the path-finding. The music gets a bit repetetive.
PostMeridianGames
02. May 2020 · 15:08 UTC
Fun little game you have here! It's neither too hard or too easy. I'm a huge fan of The Legend of Zelda games on gameboy. So this had a bit of a nostalgic feel!
In some cases, you can enter specific rooms without the companion, so there's no risk of a game over.
🎤 Akadream
02. May 2020 · 17:10 UTC
@reiqy Thanks a lot ! Yes, there is few bugs i could not resolve before the end of the LD. If i had the time, i would have liked to implement a path finding algorithm to make the companion reach the dungeon alone, and the player should have to protect him
🎤 Akadream
02. May 2020 · 17:11 UTC
@postmeridiangames Thank you ! The big issue for me is that the dungeon was very short !
I'm a big fan of TLOZ and i would have liked to create a bigger dungeon with some puzzles to resolve.
Duke
02. May 2020 · 17:43 UTC
I liked the core concept and the art looked very nice and fitting :) I'm always in for a zelda-like action adventure. I couldn't really enjoy it for long though, since I think the game ran too fast on my 144hz monitor. The characters basically flew at high speed and reacting to the enemies in time was almost impossible. Maybe you can look into that and make the movement framerate independent? (at least if that IS what the issue is)

Other than that, I only have a little nitpick: The key-label in UI was not in a nice looking pixel font. It's always a shame to see anti-aliased fonts in otherwise great looking pixel art.

Keep it up!
zubspace
02. May 2020 · 21:11 UTC
A little fun game you got there! I like the sprites, small animations and the zelda-like dungeons. Fighting with your sword feels powerful, maybe even a bit too powerful. Sometimes enemies get stuck in the wall and sometimes it's hard to hit them if they are right above you. The music is fun and works for this short game, but it gets a bit repetitive.

All in all a nice, little game, which I'd gladly play more of it!
🎤 Akadream
03. May 2020 · 00:01 UTC
@duke Thanks for your feedback !
Yeah, i did not realize that 144hz could impact the game during the developement. Sorry about that !
Yes, i know for the pixel font. I just would have liked to create a complete pixel font for all the game but it was a bit too long.
🎤 Akadream
03. May 2020 · 00:05 UTC
@zubspace Thanks ! Yes, the sword animation was probably the most difficult thing to do for me ! I am a beginner in pixel art / animation so i take a long time to work on graphical aspect.
I don't really know how to fix the issue when an enemy stuck in a wall because the game is already checking all collisions at each frame.. :/

Thanks again !
Mykola
03. May 2020 · 16:47 UTC
Graphics is really nice! I really like the pixel art and animations. Music and sounds are also quite fitting. The idea is very interesting and original. Quite uncommon that in a game you care about HP of another character rather than yours. I do feel that there could be a lot more to it. For instance, I was really lacking healing pickups. Couldn't really make it further than the third room. I think with some pickups, power-ups and abilities it would be a lot of fun. Right now it's a bit repetitive, even though it does look and sounds good. Overall, I should admit that you've done a really good job!

Oh, I also noticed one weird thing that sometimes when the friend is attacked, it stays on spot and doesn't follow the knight.
turritom
06. May 2020 · 18:24 UTC
okay cool, very short game. but it works! i would like to have more puzzles or more different opponents but for the short time a complete game. congratulations!