The Joys of Being Undead by CodeRaurus

[raw]
made by CodeRaurus for Ludum Dare 50 (COMPO)

"Your life has been wonderful, denying the fate of a mere mortal. But there are those who are jealous... And they are coming for you..."

screenshot-5.png

Controls provided at start.

Tools: - Godot - Aseprite - FL 20 - ChipTone

Fixes after submit: - Fixed game breaking on reload after defeat - Fixed screen fade - Fixed healing phylacteries - Fixed playing enemy animations - Fixed soul and score reset

Ratings

Overall 211th 3.617⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Fun 274th 3.417⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 297th 3.317⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Theme 534th 3.017⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 106th 4.016⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Audio 121th 3.667⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Humor 242th 3.02⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 137th 3.638⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Given 32🗳️ 37🗨️

Feedback

squaxcom
04. Apr 2022 · 09:25 UTC
Feels like a solo tower defence game, had a lot of fun playing it. Very nice graphics/animation. Is it possible to lose though? I lost all my crystals on the first level but was still able to pass.
Lawrence
04. Apr 2022 · 16:21 UTC
It's an interesting idea and nice looking, pity that it's so short, I would've played more levels.

Good job!
🎤 CodeRaurus
04. Apr 2022 · 16:44 UTC
@squaxcom Thanks for playing! Unless something is bugged, you can lose. Then enemies go after you when crystals are out.

@lawrence Thanks for playing! Yeah, I wanted to (and probably will) make more levels but ran out of time.
LDJam user 258516
04. Apr 2022 · 18:04 UTC
![cic.png](///raw/4d1/f3/z/4aa57.png)

Stunning pixel art! The music and art are amazing together, and the gameplay is really fun. Too bad there aren't more levels, I would gladly play.

A tip: I think it's interesting that you give a different background on itch.io, because sometimes it mixes with the game's BG.
circle
04. Apr 2022 · 18:11 UTC
I love the little corpses that are left when enemies die. It's all very macabre, what with playing this evil looking lich thing. The graphics overall are very strong, the game looks really good, and they add a lot to the mood. Clear areas to add to would be more levels are more types of enemies. You could also include an upgrade system to your player character. I'm unsure if adding more tower defense elements to the game would increase fun though, for example I think being able to place turrets in a game like this would remove from the innovative approach of the player character being the primary defense. This advice is all, obviously, only if you choose to continue updating the game. For other critiques, perhaps the player character could have had another method to defeat enemies than just being near them? Something to make the player a little more actively engaged in defending, or to act as a trump card. On that note, the ability to heal your towers is a great addition and I'm a huge fan. On my overall opinion of the game, this is a very impressive entry, and I quite like it. Quality game. My ending score was 1900. Not sure if that's low or high, probably low, I lost some towers at the end.
🎤 CodeRaurus
04. Apr 2022 · 18:37 UTC
@very-bad-bunny-studio Thanks for playing! I guess you'll have to stay tuned for more levels. Good catch that itch.io background btw, total oversight from me. Should be better now.

@circle Thanks for playing and the feedback! Yeah, I also feel character progression is the way to go. That could even affect corpses and towers, potentially. Yesterday I was thinking what kind of crowd controlling or mobility devices there could be, like two-way teleporters or something. I could try adding something for better player engagement, got few ideas while writing this. Scoring system is still incomplete, unfortunately.
LDJam user 234567
04. Apr 2022 · 18:57 UTC
I love graphics and music.

Tower defend are not my favorite but great job!
LarsDu
04. Apr 2022 · 19:22 UTC
Great atmosphere and mood.
rhewid
04. Apr 2022 · 19:46 UTC
Gameplay is really fun. Could use some upgrade system where you have to decide if you spend your souls for healing or improving death. Interesting tower defense mechanic and I dig the graphic style!

![joy.png](///raw/0b3/21/z/4ad03.png)
🎤 CodeRaurus
04. Apr 2022 · 20:15 UTC
@fifut @larsdu Thanks for playing!

@rhewid Thanks for playing! Yeah, even in its current state there is so much excess souls available. I have to brainstorm something.
LDJam user 279610
05. Apr 2022 · 01:19 UTC
Great take on tower defense. I like the added mechanic of being able to block the path of the heroes. I really would like more than 3 levels, level 3 feels like the tutorial is over and it's just getting interesting!
🎤 CodeRaurus
05. Apr 2022 · 05:44 UTC
@david-york Thanks for playing! Sadly I didn't have enough time to implement more levels. But I want to see them as well, so probably there will be more in the future.
Marc Grabow
05. Apr 2022 · 15:49 UTC
Great art style and fantastic overall job for a compo entry, congrats!

The difficulty level is very linear, as it is not getting harder later on. I didn't even know those dudes wanted to destroy those thingies, maybe an intro level would be good where a guy destroys one of them and that has a negative effect on you, so the player learns when playing the first time?

![Screenshot 2022-04-05 234626.png](///raw/194/3/z/4ca94.png)
smiley
05. Apr 2022 · 15:56 UTC
Victory \o/

nice graphics and easy game play. Just too short :)
PurpledArtFrog
05. Apr 2022 · 16:18 UTC
Good stuff :thumbsup_tone1: Was it on purpose that you can block with yourself?
boaromayox
05. Apr 2022 · 16:23 UTC
First thing I'd like to mention is the pixel art is gorgeous!

Another thing I like about this game is that you don't need to press a button to attack, kind of like a long-range version of a bump system, except you don't get hit if you face the enemies head-on. One of the perks of being undead, hee. :sweat_smile:

Anyway, the gameplay is simple and nice, and the music fit the atmosphere of the environment well.
eLeDe
05. Apr 2022 · 18:23 UTC
Simple and funny! I delay the inevitable too much that I get victory hahaha. Good job!
🎤 CodeRaurus
05. Apr 2022 · 18:31 UTC
@marc-grabow Thanks for playing! That's a nice idea, I'll think about it.

@smiley Thanks for playing!

@purpledartfrog Thanks for playing! I'm still thinking about the blocking, whether it should or shouldn't be a thing. But I was aware of it, yes. And it can cause some issues. If it stays, I want to implement repathing for the enemies.

@boaromayox Thanks for playing! Nice of you to acknowledge the aura. You have to be one dead undead to reach such power.

@elede Thanks for playing! The inevitable is delayed once more!
caudatecoder
06. Apr 2022 · 07:31 UTC
Nice looking little game!

I really like where the theme lead you. I'd like to see how this idea can be explored deeper, making the undead help the player in some way. A few more levels would be great too but I understand the limitations. Great job anyways!

I was recording my playthrough. Here's a link in case you'd like to see it: https://youtu.be/6O1eFU0xLWM
Your game starts at 1:28:56
recursor
06. Apr 2022 · 16:00 UTC
Saw you streaming further development of this game, so I came to check it out. I think there is some interesting strategy in that both you and dead heroes can block the path of live heroes. I can see why you are working on it more as there is potential. Nice job.
🎤 CodeRaurus
06. Apr 2022 · 18:03 UTC
@caudatecoder Thanks for playing and the coverage! Some cool games on the video, awesome how there are so many of them in these events. I'm developing this further, stay tuned!

@recursor Thanks for playing and dropping by the stream! Kind words, appreciated.
BoClow
11. Apr 2022 · 06:14 UTC
Cool concept! Graphics were pretty and it was nice spin on the tower defense genre. I wish it would have been longer and it seems to have potential. Good luck with future development!
VixenMink
13. Apr 2022 · 19:02 UTC
Nice tower defense game. That last stage I keep letting one of the staves die but the other 2 will live on forever. Pixel art on all the characters and world are on point and I enjoyed the look.

Same as what others have mentioned that there is a wish it was a bit longer but from watching your stream today, I know that some is coming. Thanks for hanging out with me this morning and good luck developing!
🎤 CodeRaurus
17. Apr 2022 · 08:46 UTC
@boclow Thanks for playing!

@vixenmink Thanks for playing and dropping by the stream! Yeah, letting one go is the strat in the last stage, isn't it.
BinaryPrinciple
19. Apr 2022 · 03:31 UTC
Why is this game so pretty? Why does are the sounds perfect? Why is the mechanic simple but fun? So many questions, all I know is that this game has a lot of potential. I enjoy keeping the balance of your health since you have to loose some to attack the enemies. I see room for adding special potions that can spawn minions, or setup sometype of tower defense.
Well done!
🎤 CodeRaurus
22. Apr 2022 · 07:08 UTC
@binaryprinciple Hehe,thanks for playing and the feedback! I'm thinking about adding more functionality to corpses.