Platelet Commander by dandeliondino

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

Command platelets to make and upgrade blood clots. For full screen, see the same version on itch.io.

10/4/2022 - uploaded 2 minor bugfixes (details here)

Source code on github

Gameplay Instructions

In this light-hearted microbiology sim game, you guide platelets through leaving the bone marrow and finding a blood vessel injury, to plugging the wall and strengthening into a proper blood clot.

It is web-only and played entirely with the mouse.

  • Access the in-game reference by right-clicking on a cell or item.PC02.png

Leave the bone marrow

Platelets mature and bud from the megakaryocyte every 10 seconds. - To start the game, click and drag a budding platelet to an empty space in the main blood vessel PC01.png

Move around and get activated

  • To move, left-click on a platelet, then click on an empty space in the blood vessel. PC05.png
  • Left-click on a potion to add it to your inventory.PC03.png
  • Click and drag to apply the potion from your inventory to the platelet or platelet connection. PC04.png

Make a clot

  • To begin making your clot, left-click and drag from an activated platelet to a neighboring cell. Note: Once a platelet joins a clot, it can no longer move.PC06.png
  • To upgrade the connections in your clot, apply powerup potions. These are secreted by platelets after they have begun forming the clot.PC07.png

Notes

Thank you so much for playing! I am a beginner and solo game dev and this is obviously "programmer art", but I started learning game dev last year in order to make medical games and it is a huge pleasure to share this with you all.

Feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Known bugs (to be fixed in an update after the jam):

  • ~~There is dead space under the score at the top of the screen where you can't click... it also happens to be where right side of the injured vessel wall is. This means that you may not be able to plug the injury, but you can still play around making clots and raising your score.~~ (fixed)
  • Clicking to make connections can be tricky, especially in a crowded space. If it doesn't work the first time, try again.
  • (If there are any Godot programmers reading this who can tell me why RandomNumberGenerator .randomize() does not work inside of instances in web builds, please absolve me of my 2:59PM frustrations!)

Credits

This was a solo jam entry created in 3 days. Art was made by me with exceptions noted (certain UI elements). Incredibly grateful to the organizers of the jam and everyone who has donated their time and resources to making game dev accessible to all of us.

Ratings

Overall 819th 3.275⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1130th 2.625⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 189th 3.81⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1109th 2.816⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 381th 3.9⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 979th 1.813⭐ 18🧑‍⚖️
Mood 875th 3.111⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Given 20🗳️ 15🗨️

Feedback

Sean Esopenko
04. Oct 2022 · 00:08 UTC
Can you share instructions on how to play? I like the concept and really want to figure out how to play it.
🎤 dandeliondino
04. Oct 2022 · 00:40 UTC
Thank you for trying it and asking! I was probably typing them at the same time you were commenting -- they're up here now.
MossGames
04. Oct 2022 · 17:31 UTC
I really enjoy these science themed game. Really liked the aesthetics. Didn't quite understand the instructions and video would have been much better but I understand with the time constrains.
Martta
04. Oct 2022 · 17:41 UTC
Nice aesthetics and music. I was sad to see that the game was bugged (the dead space). To be honest, the gameplay loop was not that fun nor balanced. But I have to give credit for creativeness! And there are so many different mechanics working flawlessly, pathfinding, drag and drop, inventory system, musics, graphics etc. and you did everything this alone! I can not imagine how you had time for all this. I could see that with little more polish this could actually teach you so many things about biology. :)
LoneWolfDev
04. Oct 2022 · 17:52 UTC
Cool concept! Rating it for what it is, a serious game, did not really have much fun, but actually learned a lot. I think is a really good way to teach how the clotting process works. Happy to see these type of games on jams too, great job!
KeithSwanger
05. Oct 2022 · 07:04 UTC
It was interesting to see how you implemented biology into game mechanics. I also really like your use of color, nice and contrasty. Although it would have been nice to have a win condition, I enjoyed playing! Nice job!
MsPlanlos
07. Oct 2022 · 12:16 UTC
Very original idea and nice graphics! (:
BigYellow
07. Oct 2022 · 12:49 UTC
Very high quality for the publishing. But what if I can get some tutorial for this gameplay will be great. whatever, nice job!
alpacalypse
07. Oct 2022 · 12:52 UTC
This is good-looking and free of control issues so a great outing for a first jam. As a game it could have had a success state, or a more clearly communicated success state.

Also maybe a failure state if you do what I did and see if you can block the blood vessel entirely.
nardandas
07. Oct 2022 · 17:57 UTC
I played a bit and upgraded all my clots, but they never really seemed to be in danger of breaking nor did I get to a win state. I like the weird setting and idea but I think I just didn't "get" it.
Blue Pin Studio
10. Oct 2022 · 02:12 UTC
I remember learning about these spikey guys in biology, they pierce the blood and cause it clot. I was unable to do it though. Highly ambitious game with lots of cool art! :D
BayLock
12. Oct 2022 · 05:18 UTC
Great game !! really good concept. Got stuck in middle for a while but figured out the way later. Awesome work for a limited time jam. You should go with this concept further. A little more work from the SFX sides would have done wonder, but then again the time was limited so I can understand the complexity. Overall really good job. Please do check out my submission as well.
Falk Hoeppner
13. Oct 2022 · 03:47 UTC
I love a good science game, and this one is very nice! Not sure how to win the game once I got the clots in place and upgraded, but its a very cool concept and I love this game.
ChuChuGeralt
13. Oct 2022 · 15:51 UTC
Stopped the blood flow, waiting for disaster to happen.
![sadasdsdfsdfdsfsdf.PNG](///raw/a15/01/z/531b2.png)

Really nice concept and a creative idea to implement the 10-second-rule!
bison warlock
13. Oct 2022 · 19:02 UTC
really love the aesthetic and the graphics are amazing!! i love the pixel art and i think it's well done for someone who considers themselves a beginner!! i love the colors you chose, too.

unfortunately, even with the instructions, i still felt very confused about how to play the game and wasn't sure how to form the clot, so i had to quit the game after 5 minutes of trying to figure out what to do. however, i do admire that you made a medical game and it's something that can be applied in educational settings to pique interest in those learning about the subject at hand.
1Kirik3
17. Oct 2022 · 19:38 UTC
I love concept of this game but it's hard to understand what you gotta do without in-game tutorial. In borders of jam it's a really good work (i also describe relaxing music).