Sickle & Sword by MSiddeek

[raw]
made by MSiddeek for LD34 (COMPO)
​Two people are lost in the desert. Will they survive the wilderness?

#LD34: Growing, two-button controls
REVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R3YVwt2Jbs


UPDATE: After some helpful feedback, I found cases where the game would get stuck. Pushed a fix for that. Both the original and the new source codes are included.

Ratings

Coolness 10% 2373
Overall 4.08 33
Fun 3.84 71
Graphics 3.53 261
Innovation 4.06 41
Mood 3.88 55
Theme 4.47 12

Feedback

Recursiveanomaly
14. Dec 2015 · 22:31 UTC
Fantastic! The spare aesthetics are spot on, I loved the story moments. It's a little mechanically unclear where your resources are coming from, but that didn't bother me much. When 'The End' came, I was bummed that there wasn't more!
Robin
14. Dec 2015 · 22:54 UTC
Very cool game. Unfortunately I didn't manage to beat the dragon :( I survived 356 weeks, explored 100 square kilometers. I loved the aesthetic and the way the game combined storytelling and gameplay.

Also, I wonder what the statue/tower option does?
siege
15. Dec 2015 · 04:52 UTC
I think I might come back to this one after judging is over.
Yword
15. Dec 2015 · 10:39 UTC
Really additive with lots of branches, will keep playing to find the good ending. Well done!
🎤 MSiddeek
15. Dec 2015 · 10:45 UTC
Errm.. If you made it to the end there's only one ending :(
Wish I had more time to do some branching XD
rzuf
15. Dec 2015 · 10:50 UTC
Superb! I love the graphics - I have a weak spot for old RPGs aesthetics (especially the first 3 Ultimas). Would be great to have some music, but I played the game while listening to atmospheric black metal and it felt kinda right. :D
Kudos for having complete and relatively complex survival game controlled with just 2 buttons.
ianh
15. Dec 2015 · 11:53 UTC
The simple building mechanics were surprisingly addictive! Great game.
Beep2Bleep
15. Dec 2015 · 12:18 UTC
Fun game, took 3 tries but beat it and enjoyed playing the game.
recursor
15. Dec 2015 · 15:20 UTC
Very well done story. I enjoyed having the choices pop up every so often for what they should do next. It definitely pulled me in and I was sad when my first farmer died :( I'll be coming back to this one later. Nice job!
Eingya
15. Dec 2015 · 15:23 UTC
Nice little game, love the minimalistic controls and the resource management mechanics!
Yamzho
15. Dec 2015 · 15:25 UTC
Very nice entry ! I am always astonished how good a game can look with just few pixels and a handful of skills ! Well done !
danbolt
15. Dec 2015 · 15:32 UTC
Awesome! The story bits were capturing, and the gameplay kept me keen.

I was heartbroken when the newborn farmer was slain by snakes, haha.
treslapin
15. Dec 2015 · 15:33 UTC
Makes me want to play again and again. Good job!
JD557
15. Dec 2015 · 15:40 UTC
Awesome game.

I think I've messed up somewhere, as I'm out of materials, but have enough farm, foods and towers to live indefinitely (I'm already past week 400 with only 2 farmers, 1 warrior and 2 towers).

I might try again later.
Zeriver
15. Dec 2015 · 15:47 UTC
Whoaw pretty great game, i enjoy playing narrative games and this one was really fun to play (althought it is a bit too easy for my taste). Also cool graphics, nice retro vibe.
3rdChance
15. Dec 2015 · 15:53 UTC
I really love the game idea. =)
The story is great and you have a lot to decide which makes the game interesting...
sleepYxy
15. Dec 2015 · 16:17 UTC
Wow! What a really nice blend of narrative and the two themes.
It feels like an Age of Empires with only two buttons and simplistic graphics.

The choice between warriors and farmers really added depth to the decisions you make. If you are unlucky and the warriors are out of position during a snake or wolf attack then you can quickly lose the game.

All in all, you made a really well balanced and paced game with a lot of surprises. I wonder if you could add more elements to it and keep it going forever? Keep it up!
ajopart
15. Dec 2015 · 16:45 UTC
5/5. deep, entertaining, clever... perfect entry. some sound would have been the cheery on the cake ! amazing work
ehgoodenough
15. Dec 2015 · 17:08 UTC
Awesome! I love the art style!
Taffaz
15. Dec 2015 · 17:39 UTC
Awesome game, one of the best I've played. Really simple but the story was great.
d_0o_d
15. Dec 2015 · 17:48 UTC
Wow, what an awesome game. The best one I have played so far. I liked the story-telling a lot, reminded me about Superbrothers, Sword and Sworcery, which was one of the greatest Indie games around.

Well done. Really, really good :)
TeamDromedare
15. Dec 2015 · 17:50 UTC
This was fantastic. I too was sorry when I reached the end after beating that Dragon. I was also a bit confused as to where some of the resources came from but that didn't bother me too much in the end. I will play it again no doubt. In fact, I want a continuation of the game. The story was captivating and the only thing that I really can complain about is the graphics but that's mainly because I am missing some animations, but understand that the focus is not with the graphics nonetheless.

Very well done. Will keep playing for sure.

5 out 5 humps for total awesome.
Tyler
15. Dec 2015 · 18:41 UTC
Beautiful! Great gameplay and some really great graphics as well! I beat the dragon first try, but didn't get a chance to see what statues do. Or what would happen if I climbed the tower. Definitely should replay this one!
ahmeni
16. Dec 2015 · 10:26 UTC
Fantastic entry. Solid game, cool mood.
Nattack
16. Dec 2015 · 14:50 UTC
Ohhh It is fantastic. I really love this game :D I survived for 201 days ^^". This game is just beautiful!!
Conk
16. Dec 2015 · 15:25 UTC
Fantastic! I would've liked the option to kill the travelers, destroyed all my food! Overall fantastic, an interesting take on gamepaly
Erlend Aakre
16. Dec 2015 · 15:38 UTC
Really nice game, but seems to be a bug as I ended up with the following state very early after restarting the game: 1 farmer, 1 warrior. 4 fields, 5 shelters. But no children are born, no snakes show up.. at day 1900 and got 260 food.
SkullPixel
16. Dec 2015 · 15:51 UTC
Wow. This in 48 hours? I'm amazed. I hope you win. Darn snakes though... Killed me off.
Tuism
16. Dec 2015 · 16:04 UTC
Whoa! So good! Really enjoyed that you hit both themes so well with this, despite meh graphics that actually works pretty well. I started the jam with a somewhat similar idea (build a town through Y/N decisions), but I realised I didn't know how to implement big interesting systems quickly. Yours works out great!

I really enjoyed the narration that made it super clear what was going on all the time.

Sometimes things seem to appear before the narration, which was a bit weird (like a chest would lie there for a long time before the chest thing said anything).

Love love love :)
Tuism
16. Dec 2015 · 16:06 UTC
Oh one more thing, waiting for a long time with nothing happening was a bit of a bummer, because you literally had nothing to do and sometimes watching your people mill around just isn't interesting anymore.
Ittai Manero
16. Dec 2015 · 16:19 UTC
I love this little game! It is nice to just seat and watch what happens after every decision :D Cool concept and execution!
fullmontis
16. Dec 2015 · 17:24 UTC
Nice little game, with an original use of the themes. I really enjoyed it.
GoldPlatedXplodingFist
16. Dec 2015 · 17:32 UTC
I loved the way you managed to do BOTH themes really well, and i like the thought that a simple decision of this or that can affect life or death of a whole town.
The lack of audio reminds me of text games like Zork and in my opinion adds to the attmosphere.
I lasted 503 days, amazing work :D
uthamon
16. Dec 2015 · 19:03 UTC
Great game, I like the style of storytelling, You magaged to make me care for these little blue guys. 519 days.
psypol
16. Dec 2015 · 21:30 UTC
after 53 days a message said "after surviving 36 days"
maybe a bug ?

i liked the retro aesthetics
Rocketship
16. Dec 2015 · 21:36 UTC
This is so cool. The indirect control of the villagers and the building strategy is so interesting to me. The aesthetic is fantastic also, would be even better with some sound. One of the best games I've played this jam.
alpha_rat
16. Dec 2015 · 21:44 UTC
Really nice entry! I ended up playing way longer than planned! Seeing the stats at the end of my first try and seeing the building and interaction possibilities definitely gave me motivation to try again until completion
MikeTsunami
16. Dec 2015 · 22:04 UTC
Great use of both themes and I like that it can be played over and over again.
Farelle
16. Dec 2015 · 22:09 UTC
wow, quite hardcore gameplay and amazing to have done this in such a short time :)
Krafty
16. Dec 2015 · 22:25 UTC
This was really fun and the story was great! Everything about this was good, although maybe a very simple soundtrack would make it better =D
PowerSpark
16. Dec 2015 · 22:40 UTC
Amazing, I spent so much time on it. Didn't beat the dragon :/
Crashmore Studios
16. Dec 2015 · 22:48 UTC
A very nice little retro throwback. Gave me some vibes of old school roguelikes/RPGs and the sparse graphics and the text really gave me sort of Zork-vibe going on.

The meld between mechanics and narrative was interesting and it did make me interested in seeing what potential branching opporotunities could be found here.

Some of the situations were slightly unclear for me though on how I was supposed to manage from a mechanic standpoint (particularly the dragon), but it still made me intrigued and did make me want to replay.

Very aesthetically pleasing and nice job :).
thedashdude
16. Dec 2015 · 23:27 UTC
I would have liked a fast forward button to skip to the choices on my subsequent runs, but a superb game all around.
IAmSpencer
17. Dec 2015 · 01:18 UTC
I really enjoyed the simplistic graphics, you made great use of the color palette. And I personally don't think the lack of audio hurts this game in anyway, great entry!
pjimmy
17. Dec 2015 · 14:04 UTC
I love this game :D such an original concept, love the strategy component mixed with adventure, unique and awesome, well done :)
BROWNY_09
17. Dec 2015 · 21:34 UTC
This was great! I've played through it a few times now, my best is only 472 days though :( Excellent job man, I had a lot of fun!
JanGames
17. Dec 2015 · 21:47 UTC
Great game, beat the dragon on the first try but it almost got me, didn't get to build any tower. Not sure how to.
SK16 Games
17. Dec 2015 · 23:09 UTC
What a great game! Perfect implementation of both themes! I survived 510 days :)
Galvesmash
17. Dec 2015 · 23:42 UTC
I survived 491 days. The dragon is tough!!

Great game man! I really liked!
My only problem is that the game starts right away, I didn' understand at first.
It neede some music in the background.

Great work man!
LeReveur
18. Dec 2015 · 00:30 UTC
Amazing all the rich content and gameplay with only two choices questions. Well done !
KayZ
18. Dec 2015 · 14:53 UTC
Wow awesome game and quite a lot of content for 48h hours. Survived for 443 days and beat the dragon, but no farmers left.. I guess my village is doomed. Needs a sequel :).
GFM
18. Dec 2015 · 18:29 UTC
I really liked the idea, it's really interesting!

However, the execution didn't live up to it, in my opinion... It's simply too random.

Days would pass and I rarely could take an action. I felt like I had no control of the game at all, which is a pretty bad thing on a survival game...

One way to make it less random would be to allow the player to circle between action targets (e.g., the shelter, the crops etc) and after X days the action would take place. Perhaps each action could have its own cooldown, which the actor would have to wait until doing something else...

So... I apologize if I worded myself in a discouraging and/or impolite way. I really liked this game's idea, so much that I really wanted to give my sincere feedback/criticism...

(I only played twice, but I already spent quite some time playing... Perhaps if I played more I'd have a different opinion. I'll try to play it again later and say if anything changes, for me :) )
Wevel
19. Dec 2015 · 12:00 UTC
Really lovely game, didn't seem like you could defeat the dragon but the graphics and the the story are very nice.
Sir Magic
19. Dec 2015 · 12:18 UTC
Really nice game, loved the idea and the very two touch controls suit it well.
akirassasin
19. Dec 2015 · 13:12 UTC
The game seemed easy for me (maybe rngsus was on my side lol), I just spammed all the newborn into warriors and the dragon was slain. But I really liked the concept! Good work, hope you'll continue this :P
acotis
19. Dec 2015 · 13:52 UTC
Fun play! Never beat the dragon, but I think I'll be coming back for more sometime...
kmakai
19. Dec 2015 · 13:55 UTC
Wow, this is probably my favorite entry I've played so far. Really a fantastic idea, and executed very well. I get a real Black & White feeling from it, which is cool. I would love to play an expanded version, and I feel like this would be particularly suited as a mobile game as well! Fantastic job.
Nooner Bear
19. Dec 2015 · 16:41 UTC
Great all around. I think I'd have enjoyed the game were it not so tightly bound to the two button theme though. Regardless that mechanic made it super easy to play. I'm a fan of these types of village building games.
Pusty
19. Dec 2015 · 16:56 UTC
Nice one. I only survied 342 days but it was really fun! With sounds it would have been even better!
pparke
19. Dec 2015 · 22:56 UTC
Killed the southern dragon with my last warrior and then he died fighting a snake :( Great game!
piper82
19. Dec 2015 · 22:59 UTC
so much replay value. very good job.
Rfdshir
20. Dec 2015 · 14:56 UTC
Nice idea, and story. But movements of the units are too chaotic. I have the impression that the game lives its own life. Good luck ^_^
TeamEagle
20. Dec 2015 · 15:09 UTC
Nicely done, however it kind of felt unfair that the rng could screw you over pretty hard sometimes :P
Allthebees
20. Dec 2015 · 15:20 UTC
This game is incredible! Easily one of the best games I've played so far.
esayitch
20. Dec 2015 · 15:58 UTC
Very clever entry. It kept me hooked from the start :D Needless to say, some sound would have a gone a long way to making this more atmospheric :X
Patomkin
21. Dec 2015 · 10:53 UTC
Amazingly done! I really like the style and the whole idea of growing a village vis simple decisions.
Too bad that all my warriors died to wolves :(
jacklehamster
22. Dec 2015 · 00:17 UTC
Great entry. Simple to play and still has a narrative.
hexagore
22. Dec 2015 · 21:10 UTC
Outstanding. I found this to be very addictive. The simplicity of the controls made this very accessible, and realising that it was up to me to choose wisely between warrior and farmer to let the tribe keep growing added unexpected depth.
coldman
22. Dec 2015 · 21:31 UTC
I love it, maybe one of the best entries I saw so far! It would have been excellent with some music ;) I'm curious to hear what kind of sound would match that game.
AnaglyphCoding
22. Dec 2015 · 22:21 UTC
I found the mechanics of this game very interesting. I got used to the idea of the game very quickly, which is to me probably one of the most important aspects of a game. Didn't have much time to play, but I thoroughly enjoyed the game for the time that I had to play it and will definitely come back to it at some point after the judging has finished. Well Done :D
Hybrog
22. Dec 2015 · 22:59 UTC
Stellar game, love the simplicity of decision making, while still having a surprising amount of depth. The narration was spot-on too, had a nice storybook feel to it. Love this game! :)
Just a heads up though, there's one typo that I saw: at one point 'Sotuhern' is used instead of 'Southern,' specifically after the big battle. Doesn't detract the from the experience, but thought you might want to know about it.
publicidadeba
23. Dec 2015 · 00:26 UTC
Wow, The asthetics is unique as is the gameplay. Never seem nothing like this before. This will hit TOP20 for sure, if not higher. Well done guys.
psychonull
23. Dec 2015 · 03:15 UTC
I couldn't see the graphics and also only one option all the time, I'm not sure if that is a bug or I just didn't understand it. I'm not rating yet and will come back later. keep on! :D
cameronpenner
23. Dec 2015 · 03:17 UTC
Well done! I really enjoyed the story and the automaticness of the villagers. I'm going to play it again now.
Herzucco
23. Dec 2015 · 19:29 UTC
I love how you make this simple gameplay so theatrical.
Drauthius
23. Dec 2015 · 22:07 UTC
The shame was that the village stopped growing after a while, and the only decisions left were whether to raise a farmer or a warrior. I like how the story is told though.
Jezzamon
28. Dec 2015 · 03:45 UTC
This is really quite a fun game! I beat it the first time, and then the second time I played again just to see what happened if I chose almost entirely farmers and chose to build shelters most of the time... turns out you win!

Nice job! Probably the most fun I've had with a Ludum Dare game this time round, which is interesting as I usually like platformers or other games with immediate feedback.
Jezzamon
28. Dec 2015 · 03:51 UTC
Sound effects would have made a big difference in this game, even simple ones made is sfxr
dx0ne
28. Dec 2015 · 11:08 UTC
So much content and depth. Great entry. Would love to see it grow.
vortex
28. Dec 2015 · 19:06 UTC
I really liked your game. The artstyle is really nice.
One thing I didn't like, is that my village died of venom suddenly, without me even expecting it, or being able to do anything about it...
Trasevol_Dog
31. Dec 2015 · 14:49 UTC
This is great!! You totally nailed the two button controls, the game looks super good, it feels polished... Congrats!
avocadojoe
02. Jan 2016 · 13:39 UTC
nice
Instant Noodles
02. Jan 2016 · 15:40 UTC
Very nice,
Just missing a good music to be very very nice ! :)

Nice Theme combo btw. ;)
local minimum
02. Jan 2016 · 15:58 UTC
Very nice graphics! The narrative worked nicely as the game progressed. I didn't get very far though. Something about having only 2 people thus why they would require more than one hut and when the snakes came everyone died. That part felt a bit too sudden. The first encounter should basically be safe I think, and if huts produce offspring independent of population size, then that kind of needs to be explained I think. Great entry though.
torcado194
02. Jan 2016 · 20:29 UTC
wow this was absolutely amazing. it felt like a whole story i was living through, and it really felt like my decisions mattered! Super impressive for 48 hours, one of my favorites so far
ChuiGum
02. Jan 2016 · 22:50 UTC
Really loved the mood! Great aesthetics, and nice concept. Kept me playing for a while!
JoseArias
03. Jan 2016 · 17:55 UTC
I loved it.
swipefaststudios
03. Jan 2016 · 21:11 UTC
Very neat Concept I lasted 64 days! I liked the choices you had to make!
amras0000
04. Jan 2016 · 01:21 UTC
Very well done, this is the best approach to the two-options-at-a-time mechanic I've seen so far (most other games just restrict your options at random, you've ensured that any one choice only has two options). The writing's really nice and atmospheric.

Main complaint I'd have is that it seemed like foraging the trees gave me enough food to cover all my needs until the end of the game. I did build farms and farmers, but having 10 food at regular intervals from the 2 trees in my village would've covered what was consumed by far.

The game could use a fair bit of balancing in general. I pretty much never saw a use for my [non-food] resources except for rock carving, and neither the statue nor the tower seemed to do anything.
You did make up a lot of the balancing issue with the rust and the fact the game ends after the dragon's killed, though. Good job on those.

Very nice game.
denmanlp
04. Jan 2016 · 04:32 UTC
When I got the tower and chose "lookout" and the map zoomed out, that was a great moment. Well done.
caryoscelus
04. Jan 2016 · 08:27 UTC
Very solid & fun, but at some point it gets a bit boring when all you have to do is watch & wait.
tanis
04. Jan 2016 · 10:12 UTC
Beautifully scripted. I liked the story and the game mechanic. The gameplay completely hides away the spare graphics. Loved it and managed to defeat the dragon :)
Bacontree
04. Jan 2016 · 10:43 UTC
This is one of the best two button games I've ever played.
RadMcCool
04. Jan 2016 · 12:39 UTC
Really neat game, would be fun on mobile for the odd wee game.
Waynetron
04. Jan 2016 · 14:10 UTC
The zoom-in effect was tiring and I don't think it added anything.
Very engrossing game.
gallerdude
04. Jan 2016 · 16:50 UTC
Very awesome! Wish I could keep building! I beat the dragon too.
anarbitrarymustache
04. Jan 2016 · 21:36 UTC
Great little entry. A little bit of audio would have helped, but it's was still really enjoyable.
Solifuge
05. Jan 2016 · 01:12 UTC
I pity the poor villagers who live on/inside an onion pile, however famous said onions may be.

Brilliant 2-button hands-off city manager. I loved the look, the tone, and the gameplay. Well done!
🎤 MSiddeek
05. Jan 2016 · 06:59 UTC
Note to future me: I got 154 votes on this entry.
Jupiter_Hadley
16. Jan 2016 · 15:34 UTC
Really neat game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 34 compilation video series, if you’d like to check it out :) https://youtu.be/jZIKMICuSkI