Un-Rooted by Denhette

[raw]
made by Denhette for Ludum Dare 50 (JAM)

Ever brought a plant to the office to cheer the whole place up? Well, if you have, you know how 'bringing a plant to the office' ties in with 'delay the inevitable'!

Jump right into the action in Un-Rooted; the game where you try to keep your precious office plant alive for as long as possible while all your colleagues just HAVE to touch the thing. (And knowing them, they WILL knock it over. I'm looking at you, Steve from HR.)

But while you keep these pesky colleagues away (by body-bludgeoning them of course, how else?) you still have to keep your plant alive and happy* by giving it water!

GamePlay.gif

*plant does not care about being in its pot ****, as long as it has water and it's not on the floor** it's dandy.

**tables, the printer, and dead bodies*** of colleagues are fine

***dead bodies may or may not (read: will) explode after a certain amount of time.

****plant does, however, love its pot a lot, so it will also explode with sadness if the pot falls and breaks.

unknown.png 2.png 3.png 4.png

Controls: WASD/arrow keys => move, Bump into colleagues => immobilize them Touch watering can => pick up watering can

Water can: Hold left click => water Hold right click near source => fill watering can

Shortcuts: M/ESC => return to menu/character select R => restart level

Play the game in your browser here: https://mboeckx.itch.io/un-rooted

Ratings

Overall 807th 3.444⭐ 65🧑‍⚖️
Fun 496th 3.57⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 542th 3.469⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Theme 757th 3.602⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 691th 3.656⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Audio 638th 3.25⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Humor 71th 4.18⭐ 66🧑‍⚖️
Mood 849th 3.349⭐ 65🧑‍⚖️
Given 84🗳️ 114🗨️

Feedback

JCMonkey
04. Apr 2022 · 22:16 UTC
i would like to see borders to keep the player on the screen, and maybe paths for the enemys to go through, which could give you some strategy to the game and make choices. nice game was fun to play.
OrdiNeu
04. Apr 2022 · 22:28 UTC
Lived 93s. The coworkers' text blurbs were pretty funny, as was the flopping about to do stuff. No idea where the explosions came from, lol. Pretty good for 48 hours!
Nate954
05. Apr 2022 · 07:33 UTC
It's hilarious just flinging your body around the room into everyone and everything. I'm pretty sure that I was the reason every single one of my plants died XD Also dang you got a whole character creator into it! Awesome work!!
ColeSlaughter
05. Apr 2022 · 07:34 UTC
Love the gibberish language in this game, lol

This one has a lot of personality, it's great! Weird, ragdoll physics will never not be funny to me, so seeing all these little blockheads wobble all over the place was a real treat for me. :smile:
csLupius
05. Apr 2022 · 07:38 UTC
Interesting choice for character movement, it is definitely harder, most of the time, I was the reason plant died :)
Blue Pin Studio
05. Apr 2022 · 07:41 UTC
Great submission! It gets very hectic very easily haha

I love the whacky atmosphere and the sound effects. There was a little bit of difficulty picking up the watering can sometimes but honestly it was always my colleages that knocked over the plant before it managed to dry up anyway. :P
Henrik Ganard
05. Apr 2022 · 09:41 UTC
I am a sucker for games with weird physics, love to crash around and bring the office into mayhem. However, it was hard and all of my platns had short, but exciting, lives.
OadT
05. Apr 2022 · 09:51 UTC
Wow, how did you managed to implement these super realistic walking animations? Love the chaos that results from the simple mechanics!
Bauke Regnerus
05. Apr 2022 · 11:25 UTC
That was hilarious, graphics, physics, music, everything!
LDJam user 202408
05. Apr 2022 · 12:08 UTC
this game gave me a good chuckle I love it, it's funny how if you try to leave through the window the character looses its mind lol, but I really like this game and the little attentions to details here and there like how you can customize your character, really well done guys
LDJam user 269161
05. Apr 2022 · 12:27 UTC
118 seconds official world record where prize giv pls :smile: Very cool game, very nice animations and I also hate Steve from HR. He is an asshole!
zimennik
05. Apr 2022 · 12:28 UTC
Just a normal day in the office!
Great game idea, gameplay is solid and I just love character "animation" =)
Anaxie Studio
05. Apr 2022 · 12:29 UTC
I love that not even the player character can walk right :laughing:

The dialogue is nice too. Really funny and chaotic.
Xeke-Death
05. Apr 2022 · 14:19 UTC
This was great fun. The controls made it just hilarious and I just wanted to bash into everyone and everything.

I liked the different plants, the character combinations, and the audio. They suited the game well.
The NPCs comments made me want to throw some of them out the window, while others I would let look at my plant. But if they touched it, out the window with them.

My best was 106 seconds. Great game, I had a lot of fun.
Fis
05. Apr 2022 · 15:55 UTC
Quite difficult to keep the collegues from touching the plant - nice usage of glitchy physics, thats always a nice experience.
hechi
05. Apr 2022 · 16:30 UTC
I enjoyed this entry. The clunky controls make the game really fun and chaotic :smile:
LDJam user 279546
05. Apr 2022 · 16:32 UTC
Tougher than I thought. Could only last a minute after a few tries. Good game though!
Andrey_Zhukov
05. Apr 2022 · 16:36 UTC
That was the weirdest game I've ever seen on this LD. An arthouse from the gamedev world. :)
Laurens
05. Apr 2022 · 19:21 UTC
Total chaos! Hahah nice concept though, no way you're stopping them all ;) And yeah I also hate mondays..
Raiponz
05. Apr 2022 · 19:37 UTC
I have a plant at the office, and this game remind me how difficult it is to protect it from the stupidity of my colleagues.
JoeDev
05. Apr 2022 · 21:18 UTC
As others have said, the realism of this game is depressing in its own way hahah. Hilarious, fun physics, and annoying coworkers! Great job <3
Hawkin
06. Apr 2022 · 02:56 UTC
This was so ridiculous and fun! I loved the spazzy way everyone moved about the office.

![end.png](///raw/319/53/z/4cf82.png)

I surely could have done better, but this was my best of several tries :) Loved the character creator!!
Hawkin
06. Apr 2022 · 02:56 UTC
This was so ridiculous and fun! I loved the spazzy way everyone moved about the office.

![end.png](///raw/319/53/z/4cf82.png)

I surely could have done better, but this was my best of several tries :) Loved the character creator!!
teenythanos
06. Apr 2022 · 07:39 UTC
The flavor text combined with the movement and entire concept of the game is absolutely hysterical. "Tell my wife I loved her" / "I've fallen and I can't get up" are just so perfect. This is also exactly how stressed I feel trying to take care of a plant IRL, so you nailed it!!
Trexxak
06. Apr 2022 · 11:16 UTC
Fun with Ragdolls :D Really loved the humour in this one, and the underrated dangers of watering plants without accidently unrooting them. Fun times were had, thank you :D
marcmagus
06. Apr 2022 · 13:56 UTC
Thanks for bringing your game by my stream for playtesting! If you’d like to revisit the play and commentary you can view the highlight at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1447203075

Solid game, I particularly enjoyed that you got *an entire character creator in*. Not sure if the amusing "ragdoll bodies under floaty heads" movement was an intentional design aesthetic or a happy accident of jam timelines but it was entertaining.
Bottled up Dark Peace
06. Apr 2022 · 17:10 UTC
I recorded myself playing, message me on the Jam’s discord @ Dark Peace and I’ll send it to you. This game is the definition of unexpected. From the character creator (why in a gamejam ?? XD) to absolutely everything that this game was. I just dont understand how you can water the plant without touching the desk and making it fall. I think that mechanic should be dropped, the coworkers survival is hard enough.
halflemonstudios
06. Apr 2022 · 20:12 UTC
Haha! Ah that was a solid laugh. And the actual gameplay supported the humour well, it wasn't just standalone. That's something rare to see this well done. I found myself knocking poor plant over a few times just to see the ending lines.
DS Nahogara
06. Apr 2022 · 20:19 UTC
This was so fun, being Shrek and trying to help is the top of the toppest! The art style and the wonky physics are IN point! "Except when i've got through the office wall! and my shrek's head got flying around until coming back to its position"

Fantastic entry! :smile:
Phoenix Fireflower
06. Apr 2022 · 20:22 UTC
Lasted 223 seconds (with a whole lot of luck). The concept is funny by itself, but the rediculous things the "colleagues" say and the text that appears after you've lost made this game hilarious.
🎤 Denhette
06. Apr 2022 · 20:26 UTC
@phoenix-fireflower That's a new record! The previous best was 118 (as far as we know of course, @everyone: feel free to prove us wrong :wink: )! Glad you had fun with it!
Geryon Games
06. Apr 2022 · 22:36 UTC
This is a fun concept. At first I thought that the movement would be too hard, but it is actually really fun and works well.
Zoeluci
06. Apr 2022 · 23:01 UTC
It's definitely a very funny concept, and the weird walking and physichs really surprised me. I think it's diffcult to understand how to control the character, but I assume it was on purpose just to make everything more chaotic. Really funny and unexpected
LDJam user 97711
07. Apr 2022 · 01:18 UTC
the concept of this game is hilarious, and destroying everything in the office with the player is inherently very fun. I had a hard time understanding how to survive more than 10-20 seconds per round, though. overall a really fun experience!
dxk2294
07. Apr 2022 · 04:52 UTC
This is hilarious, I love the art style and the comments made by your coworkers. Great job!
danashrulez
07. Apr 2022 · 11:55 UTC
That was super fun! Ngl I really love the physics, or should I say the lack of physics :P cute cute cute!! It was fun face planting the co-workers to oblivion. Tbf 9/10 times I myself destroyed the plant accidentally!
arya-s
07. Apr 2022 · 14:58 UTC
Holy shit what a game.

I already had a good laugh on the title screen with the character just lying on the floor but I did not expect those kind of game physics.

Hilarious.

I really liked the dialogue bubbles of the coworkers.

Great submission!
Sawyer
07. Apr 2022 · 18:50 UTC
This game is hilarious and very fun to play. The character customization is a nice plus and it feels like a full game.
poupiste
07. Apr 2022 · 18:50 UTC
Funny characters movements ans replicas, loved the total chaos !
fraanns
07. Apr 2022 · 19:03 UTC
Really fun and hilarious entry. Knocking other coworkers over is really fun. Also, really cool that you included character customization. As a suggestion I would try to make the character controller feel more responsive. It is almost inevitable that you knock the plant over yourself.
BangKerpow
07. Apr 2022 · 19:04 UTC
I've never seen a character creator in a jam game before, that's a nice touch. The physics were fun and it had a unique concept.
ReRonin
07. Apr 2022 · 19:06 UTC
@fraanns
>It is almost **inevitable** that you knock the plant over yourself.

It is, isn't it 👀
FallingFlatStudios
08. Apr 2022 · 06:27 UTC
I'm not going to lie; there was a little doubt going into this game; I didn't know whether it would live up to my mountainous criteria for anything concerning media. But, after a few minutes of getting to know the controls, mechanics, and witnessing the act of John Krasinski getting de-atomized by Shrek through sheer willpower, the game really started to click with me, resulting in an experience I soon won't forget.

Don't forget to say hello to my new sleep paralysis demon.

![demon_19.png](///raw/2fe/72/z/4d807.png)

10/10 Nothing will make the screams go away.
Cain Sanches
08. Apr 2022 · 19:25 UTC
I laugh so hard playing omg that was amazing !
elysiagriffin
09. Apr 2022 · 01:51 UTC
Thanks for submitting your game for me to play on my stream!

If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1450167991?t=03h45m21s

Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady

https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
Smoofy
10. Apr 2022 · 00:06 UTC
maybe i'm easily pleased, but personally i love this. the ragdolls, the costumes (i used shrek), the sound effects from the annoying colleagues, it's all great. i especially love the text system. the scenario, unlikely as it is, is funny, the art is great (voxels are yes), and the office was well done. the apparent infinite supply of colleagues is a bit concerning, though (maybe we should dial 911 on that), but all jokes aside, great entry. thanks for suggesting this to me, i love it.
Borabee
10. Apr 2022 · 15:21 UTC
I got to 83s! I think this is the most original take on the theme I've seen so far and the game is just pure chaos! XD Well executed down to the details, with the fun dialogues and I can't believe you managed to include a character creation haha. Really well done, I had a lot of fun!
Lazzor
11. Apr 2022 · 17:43 UTC
Great humour and great fun all around. If I weren't distracted by reading all the jokes I maybe could have gotten further than 143 seconds. But I guess that's not too bad considering I probably watered the game plant more than my house plants... Guess I should do that some time :D
Sarah
18. Apr 2022 · 21:54 UTC
I love the way the characters move around, its ridiculous and a bit hard to control which is part of the fun. I was having a hard time watering it though, but then when someone ruined it, everyone blamed the poor plant xD

Overall, the graphics are cute but the music is a bit loud, but well done!
LDJam user 4886
19. Apr 2022 · 10:56 UTC
What a weird concept :D Reminds me of old PSSSSST! from the Spectrum age, but voxelized and in an office!
Jupiter_Hadley
02. May 2022 · 11:16 UTC
Really challenging game! I included it in my Ludum Dare compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/e8i89EcGrVo