CHAOS CONDUCTOR by Cope

[raw]
made by Cope for Ludum Dare 51 (JAM)

Goal:
Survive the DEMON TRAIN as its conductor. Fight off swarms of demons who want to destroy you.
Fuel the train with the essence of demons (the best known fuel source in the west). Every 10 seconds the train loses fuel, so make sure to hold down that refuel button!

Controls:
Use WASD to run and jump.
Aim with Mouse and Left Click to shoot.
Click the Fill Souls button on the train to refuel using soul orbs.

Credits:
Cope – Lead Programmer
Memes – Programmer & Sound Effects
Ricky Owings – Music, Programmer, Sound Effects
TheFlanMan – Art and Graphics
Luxcy -- Sound Effects

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Ratings

Overall 375th 3.703⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 341th 3.645⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 715th 3.177⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Theme 821th 3.403⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 265th 4.081⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Audio 113th 3.983⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Humor 537th 2.914⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Mood 213th 3.867⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Given 80🗳️ 22🗨️

Feedback

lunkums
03. Oct 2022 · 23:22 UTC
I got 4218 feet and 310 kills. Great job guys!
LDJam user 259831
04. Oct 2022 · 01:09 UTC
Cool game! Artwork is gorgeous. Was little confused at the beginning, I thought the souls were projectiles from the enemies, but once I got the hang of it quickly. Good work!
ComicSans
04. Oct 2022 · 01:15 UTC
Agree with Gabriel, it's a bit confusing to start, especially with three different resources to manage, in different places on the screen. I got 819 / 69. Neat idea. Thanks!
JoeDev
04. Oct 2022 · 16:42 UTC
1847 feet! Crikey, good fun and a lot of chaos as advertised haha. The shooting is fun, would have liked a bit more juice but it was really good. Having to keep an eye out for enemies attacking the train was good.
Lady
04. Oct 2022 · 16:43 UTC
Nice game. Took me a few tries to figure out the refuel. I like how you incorporated the theme through time management.
Scratch
04. Oct 2022 · 17:05 UTC
The graphics are really nice! The game is fun, but It's not immediately clear what is the effect of the monsters attacking the train. Also, I'm not sure if the flying demons do anything?
The music is really cool and fits the general ambiance perfectly!
matthiase
05. Oct 2022 · 13:10 UTC
Very good graphics and outstanding music. I like how the music continues between tries. I had to figure out what the "every 10s" were and why i suddenly was game over, but all i had to do was to read the manual.
SLEEPYMENACE
05. Oct 2022 · 13:23 UTC
Cool game with a really neat aesthetic! Got 6365 feet and 440 kills on my best attempt.

It does gets a little bit slow once you realize that the enemies hitting the train don't actually do anything, and neither do the bats as long as you don't jump, so you really only have to stand by the button and prioritize the foot soldiers gunning for you.

Cool music, though, I like how the train honk is incorporated as an instrument!

Overall very enjoyable, and it's easy to see how the concept can be expanded (Co-op, having to repair the train, more weapon and enemy types.) into a really good game! Solid foundation!
Atwooooooood
05. Oct 2022 · 17:25 UTC
I like the music! It really gives the game a unique mood.
Nillard
05. Oct 2022 · 23:29 UTC
Good choice of shotgun for the weapon so the player can focus on everything without too much aiming, or rush for full spread hits. Love the headbashing animation on the middle enemies.
🎤 Cope
06. Oct 2022 · 19:45 UTC
@lunkums @gabriel-chan @comicsans @joedev @lady @scratch @matthiase @sleepymenace @atwooooooood @nillard
Thank you all for your feedback.
Euler Moises
07. Oct 2022 · 13:33 UTC
I really liked the graphics. Reminded me of old PC games. The music is good too.

At first I didn't understand that it was to feed the train, maybe because the signs are too small and it doesn't draw attention.

The colors are very pretty. A good choice of color palette.

Congratulations!
spacecadet
07. Oct 2022 · 16:30 UTC
Cool game! I liked the graphics and the sound design. I think the players projectiles could be a bit more visible and maybe start out a bit less enemies. They become overwhelming really fast.
Paul Avallone
08. Oct 2022 · 02:40 UTC
1287 feet, 89 slain. I love the idea that the train runs on souls. It's a neat mechanic to refuel the train but sometimes it was hard to click on and I would shoot instead. Also it wasn't clear that I needed to hold down the click to refuel instead of just a single click. The horse enemy was really easy to kill and I don't know how I was in danger. Also I wish there was more of a reason for you to move around. I love the art and animation. The music and sound matched well too. Had fun playing. Great job.
beesnorter
08. Oct 2022 · 04:32 UTC
The visuals are great, I really like the way the train and background look. All of the animations for different parts of the game really show the work put in, though the visual clarity could use some work. It's hard to tell what hurts you and what helps you. Great job on the aesthetic!
zoarfy
09. Oct 2022 · 22:00 UTC
You have a really fun game here! The art is awesome and definitely fits the demon train aesthetic (which overall is super well done and fun!)

I like the mechanical tradeoff with needing to refill the train vs wanting to shoot! One piece of advice I would have is making the souls a different colour as at first I thought they were bullets damaging me (since lots of the predominant colors on the demons are red/orange).

The shooting and jumping around is really smooth and the characters/demons all have a really fun design to them.

Thanks for the game and congrats on submitting!
FreeRunner
10. Oct 2022 · 20:46 UTC
A very nostalgic feel, a curious cross between ghouls and goblins and duck hunter :) Very smooth execution and runs very well in a browser :)

Cool music and audio effects. the shooting In particular is a flashback to the days of yonder. What id like to see improved, is higher contrast on the monsters, they tend to blend in with the palette too well :)
Spoons
10. Oct 2022 · 22:06 UTC
Honestly this could be my favorite game of the jam so far. Fun mechanics and the music was really good. I loved how you used the railroad crossing signal as the high hat
SkullSprigs
10. Oct 2022 · 22:25 UTC
FANTASTIC! Incredible music, gorgeous art + animations, with exciting and challenging gameplay! my only complaint is that the UI doesnt exactly suit the art style, but thats such a minor thing. I'm honestly blown away.
Makhan
11. Oct 2022 · 10:40 UTC
Really nice, awesome use of theme and beautiful graphics, well done.
PavelDlouhy
13. Oct 2022 · 08:11 UTC
Great audio and nice aesthetics. Good job!
mr_pyckle
14. Oct 2022 · 04:10 UTC
Really good job!! I didn't get the mechanic of refueling at first but once I did I had a great time. Fun game play and great art style. Good job for such a short time.
VPhyre
17. Oct 2022 · 00:13 UTC
A fun game! The graphics are lovely, as is the music. The gameplay is good too. It would be very interesting to see a fuller, larger version of this game. Good job!
quadtree
17. Oct 2022 · 08:15 UTC
Interesting game, pretty nice graphics. I was briefly confused as I thought the souls were projectiles the enemies were shooting at me, but once I figured it out it was fairly straightforward.