Ourobos by SinclairStrange
WHY DO I PUT MYSELF THROUGH SO MUCH PAIN! I know why, 'cause when you look back at what you've created, you feel so very accomplished.
Anyway before I go on about the game, I highly suggest you download and play the WINDOWS version! The web/flash version is cut down and runs slower, so if you want the true awesome experience play the WINDOWS version!
So it's done, it's done! A mini-pocket Metroid styled game. What perfect thing for growth than a Metroid style game. A game where you grow bigger, stronger and more powerful.
There is a loose story line about a growth virus in there but sadly I didn't have enough time to flesh it out. I'd rather stick in a few bosses instead! :P
Controls:
Arrows = Move
Z = Shoot
X = Jump
Enter = Pause/Item/MenuScreen
-/+ = Change Volume
(Press Esc while on main screen to return to main screen.)
(You can change the controls by pressing 1,2 or 3 at the title screen. This will change the keys to A-S/Shoot-Jump or the WASD and KL)
So, it's done. It's a pretty large game considering it was made in under 72 hours, so have fun peeps! Now it's time for a nap and then to play all the lovely games other peeps have made! ^_^
-Joel
Anyway before I go on about the game, I highly suggest you download and play the WINDOWS version! The web/flash version is cut down and runs slower, so if you want the true awesome experience play the WINDOWS version!
So it's done, it's done! A mini-pocket Metroid styled game. What perfect thing for growth than a Metroid style game. A game where you grow bigger, stronger and more powerful.
There is a loose story line about a growth virus in there but sadly I didn't have enough time to flesh it out. I'd rather stick in a few bosses instead! :P
Controls:
Arrows = Move
Z = Shoot
X = Jump
Enter = Pause/Item/MenuScreen
-/+ = Change Volume
(Press Esc while on main screen to return to main screen.)
(You can change the controls by pressing 1,2 or 3 at the title screen. This will change the keys to A-S/Shoot-Jump or the WASD and KL)
So, it's done. It's a pretty large game considering it was made in under 72 hours, so have fun peeps! Now it's time for a nap and then to play all the lovely games other peeps have made! ^_^
-Joel
| WINDOWS | https://www.dropbox.com/s/o946hd777dc2lzp/LDj34Ourobos.zip?dl=1 |
| NEWGROUNDS | http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/667468 |
| WALKTHROUGH (spoilers!) | https://youtu.be/UTKTVYG8SYY |
| Original URL | https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-34/?action=preview&uid=44332 |
Ratings
| Coolness | 81% | 2 |
| Overall(Jam) | 4.28 | 13 |
| Audio(Jam) | 3.99 | 73 |
| Fun(Jam) | 3.99 | 49 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 4.40 | 71 |
| Humor(Jam) | 2.57 | 563 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 2.76 | 757 |
| Mood(Jam) | 4.07 | 55 |
| Theme(Jam) | 2.67 | 1017 |
I accidentally deleted my save when I was trying to exit the game, though. Escape is a horrible button for that.
And Ghostbomb, I quickly edited so now it's the delete button, hopefully that'll be better :)
Very cool, but i'm a fan of metroid, so, for me it's prety awesome :D :D :D
How did you pull this off?
Still, I'm quite amazed by how much content there is. There were quite a few different enemy types and weapons!
The graphics were great and I really liked the music! It gives off a really metroid-ish vibe!
However, one bug (feature?) really destroy this game... I don't believe it was intended to the combuster require ammo to shoot, since I am able to shoot it even without ammo. But, it's required. This make farming for health or ammo impossible.
So I simply had to keep running and trying to avoid enemies at all cost. I understand that this kind of thing happens in jams, so yeah... I can live with that. XD
All in all, amazing job!! :)
awesome work :)
Criticising such a wonderful effort seems cruel, but I did have a few problems that could be addressed. Firstly, it seems you can't jump when holding the down key, which makes hitting the many doors set into the floor annoying. Also, I had a similar experience to GFM, not finding any save points between the lava zone and the ice boss. I'm sure they must be there somewhere, but they could stand to be easier to find.
I didn't get to finish the game this time, but I definitely want to come back to it and give it another shot, when I get the chance. Wonderful showing!
Where did the theme come in, btw?
You get your 5 starts now. :3
Definitely getting back to this later, top notch game, even regardless of the 72 hours time constraint.
It's a really nice entry with a welcome retro feel. And I love Metroid games (+1 for making it happen in 72 hours...).
Great job!
The graphics are pretty. The music melds well with the environment. The variety of enemies were welcome. The audio logs were a nice touch as well.
Please consider making a post compo version with the bugs fixed before you work on that sequel?
Cause I'd play that.
Overall: Frustrating. Would be difficult but fair if you fixed the bugs. There is some fun and a "must finish" factor though. Good entry.
Well done!
The game is excellent, a good metroid tribute, great mood, excellent level design, beautiful music and GBC graphics... I still have to complete the game (according to your map, I miss two rooms only, but darn, these "metroids mobs" at the end are though!). I like how the game change from one zone to another, gameplay wise (the first two are platform shooter oriented, while the third one is more puzzle/speed oriented, and the last one seems to be more about avoiding enemies with the shield than killing them).
If this game doesn't end in the Jam podium, then I don't understand LudumDare :).
I'll have a series of minor complaints/remarks if you plan to do a post-compo version of the game (and you should, as it's really awesome!) :
-When entering a new room, would it be possible to make the hero move according to the direction already pressed? I played the browser version, but I have to release/press again an arrow key to keep walking when changing room (it seems nothing, but it's kinda annoying when you spend about 1 hour exploring the game world)
-When we load a saved game, the current health and ammo isn't fully restored (very annoying at the end game: I save with 999 ammo and 140 health, but I restart with only 250 ammo and 100 health. That's what actually had me quit the game before completing it - I'll need about 999 ammo to finish it, but I don't have the patience to farm it again)
-For those who faced the "first gun no longer shoot bug", just press enter to display the map and press enter again to continue playing: the gun is now firing again, even with 0 ammo (so you can open doors ;))
-The way to reach the missile launcher is a bit unfair: one fall = too many rooms to walk again, IMHO.
-I find the jump movement a bit short when not underwater (underwater it's very smooth) - would it be possible to jump a bit higher? That would make some tricky jump less tricky at some places.
-That being said, again, the game is very excellent. The level design is very interesting and well done, it doesn't feel like a 72h game but rather a month-long level design and development.
Congrats!
By-the-way, what tools did you use to create the game? HaxeFlixel?
The game is excellent, a good metroid tribute, great mood, excellent level design, beautiful music and GBC graphics... I still have to complete the game (according to your map, I miss two rooms only, but darn, these "metroids mobs" at the end are though!). I like how the game change from one zone to another, gameplay wise (the first two are platform shooter oriented, while the third one is more puzzle/speed oriented, and the last one seems to be more about avoiding enemies with the shield than killing them).
If this game doesn't end in the Jam podium, then I don't understand LudumDare :).
I'll have a series of minor complaints/remarks if you plan to do a post-compo version of the game (and you should, as it's really awesome!) :
-When entering a new room, would it be possible to make the hero move according to the direction already pressed? I played the browser version, but I have to release/press again an arrow key to keep walking when changing room (it seems nothing, but it's kinda annoying when you spend about 1 hour exploring the game world)
-When we load a saved game, the current health and ammo isn't fully restored (very annoying at the end game: I save with 999 ammo and 140 health, but I restart with only 250 ammo and 100 health. That's what actually had me quit the game before completing it - I'll need about 999 ammo to finish it, but I don't have the patience to farm it again)
-For those who faced the "first gun no longer shoot bug", just press enter to display the map and press enter again to continue playing: the gun is now firing again, even with 0 ammo (so you can open doors ;))
-The way to reach the missile launcher is a bit unfair: one fall = too many rooms to walk again, IMHO.
-I find the jump movement a bit short when not underwater (underwater it's very smooth) - would it be possible to jump a bit higher? That would make some tricky jump less tricky at some places.
-That being said, again, the game is very excellent. The level design is very interesting and well done, it doesn't feel like a 72h game but rather a month-long level design and development.
Congrats!
I fell through a door into a black screen and gut stuck there.
I'm giving this lowest score for innovation & theme, highest for everything else (except not rating humour) as well as 3 over all.
You made me play a super awesome pocket Metroid, while I could've reviewed another 100 smaller games in the same time! You also likely hurt yourself quite a bit making it this massive, while heavily shooting past the theme. You can argue about an unfinished story line and a 'growing' character all you want, it's missing the mark by miles for me.
Just collecting a few tokens that unlock abilities doesn't cut it. If you had at least changed her sprite during the process (even a palette swap would've done fine!) or added a little more context to her 'growing' I might've given a slightly higher theme rating (like Metroid Prime Corruption for example actually has a phazon tumour growing inside Samus with each upgrade). This way it's really not connected to growing any more than the coins collected number rising in a Mario game. 4 instead of 5 areas was totally fine. One innovative area instead of 4 done-to-death areas would have been much better.
TL;DR: I want to see you flex your innovation muscles instead of overstraining your creation capacity.
Now that this is out of the way, here some nit picking on the game itself to consider for the sequel - unless you can already proudly boast about having it on the to-do list or even implemented:
The title screen was horribly underwhelming for what follows! Make sure it shines bright on part 2.
It would've been great if the game remembered the 123 control settings. I often had to restart twice because I forgot to hit 2.
With enter and escape you already used a total of 4 buttons (disregarding directional inputs here). Add a quick toggle for weapons in the next game. Switching via menu is tedious.
As mentioned before, one screen transition lead me to a dark/black checker pattern screen upon using it for the first time (the bottom right door downwards into the lava area).
I didn't know what the third upgrade actually did and I could not find one weapon and one upgrade (those were cut with the 5th area or still hidden elsewhere?).
Killing something above the camera creates quite a heavy particle rain.
Shooting backwards during a skid but forwards again afterwards, while well intended, became a nuisance upon fighting the Metroid replacements. It made it really hard to hop around them and change direction to shoot without moving towards them again too much. Made me decide to rush this whole area with the shield instead, which is rather sad (stocked up on 999 ammunition before).
The game is in desperate need for more refined controls. There are already a lot of nice details in there, but things like turning around while crouching would really make it feel a lot better and also play easier. A Megaman like dash slide (down+jump) would also be a great fit for this game (unless it's the upgrade I was missing).
The whole planet exploded with all those survivors still on it! Success!? D:
As already mentioned by others: the jump didn't feel quite right. I get that it's quite important to get back down quickly for a lot of situations, but you can get short/fast hopping done as well as more relaxed feeling jumps.
Either experiment with a floaty jump (hold jump to extend the apex), make a slightly longer jump default and add fast falling (press down to fall quickly), add short hopping (quick jump tap only makes you jump very little) or in fact all of it. I feel like you already have a little of the floaty jump in there, but it's just not pronounced enough - and fast falling might be annoying due to the shooting down mechanic (but you could add some recoil or just override the fast fall with a float while shooting). I hope jumping will feel better on the sequel.
That's all i can say.
Level design is very good, boses are cool but pretty weak for me... Every boss a beat with first time.
Nice work, dude! Seriously!
I played it until the end, so I can't say it's bad, but it's also nothing special.
I can't really fault it, really good job.