LudumData

Life is Fleeting by Sarah Alexa

[raw]
made by Sarah Alexa for Ludum Dare 51 (COMPO)

screenshot-1.png

A farming sim based around not having enough hours in the day to do everything. Days last 10 seconds and you have to plant seeds, maintain crops, harvest, buy seeds and some gifts to give your loved one with the goal of progressing your relationship enough to accomplish your life goals. Make sure to remember to collect your tools each day or you'll have to spend half the day going back for em!

In Life is Fleeting you cannot die. When you accomplish your life goals and complete the game, you can see how much money you've earned, how many crops you've harvested and how many days you've lived on the farm.

The whole idea of this game is to take a relaxing farm sim and add a slightly more frantic nature to things while still maintaining chill vibes and simplicity. When I saw the theme "10 seconds" this for whatever reason is what came to mind. I've been needing a little more peace recently and this felt like the perfect thing for me to work on.

screenshot-2.png

If I had a little more time I would definitely create a longer main song to play along with and songs for the title and win screens. I would also animate the player's love interest/partner and clean up sprites and give the player character a redo but I'm quite happy with it. Most of all, the buildings and fences would have collisions enabled but at the very least, 10 seconds a day makes it a little less noticable!

My confidence as a game dev has been rather low for a long time now so I'm just hoping to have made something half decent. At the very least, I never thought I'd be able to complete a game jam entry within 2 days and I managed it in 32 hours!

screenshot-3.png

Anyways! Thank you for taking a look and I hope you get a few minutes of fun out of all of this! I've really enjoyed this jam. It's my second Ludum Dare and I'll 100% be back for more!

HTML5 (play in browser) https://fruittea.itch.io/life-is-fleeting
Download https://fruittea.itch.io/life-is-fleeting
Download https://fruittea.itch.io/life-is-fleeting
Download https://fruittea.itch.io/life-is-fleeting
Single project file and project folder as a zip https://fruittea.itch.io/life-is-fleeting
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/51/life-is-fleeting

Ratings

Overall 315th 3.25⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Fun 267th 3.262⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 332th 3.071⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Theme 226th 3.619⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 304th 3.25⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Audio 293th 2.929⭐ 44🧑‍⚖️
Humor 207th 2.743⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Mood 246th 3.218⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Given 37🗳️ 62🗨️

Feedback

minidavid
02. Oct 2022 · 23:37 UTC
fun
🎤 Sarah Alexa
02. Oct 2022 · 23:44 UTC
Thank you!!
LDJam user 272447
03. Oct 2022 · 11:41 UTC
Pretty intense! Very impressive to get all those mechanics in there in such a short time. Before playing I couldn't imagine how this would work but I thought the 1-button approach was a smart way of doing it. The fact that you kinda ice-skate around was sort of equal parts frustrating and fun! I'm also not sure my relationship with Robin was the most healthy as I just disappear for weeks, then pop up with a gift and immediately skate off. Great work!
🎤 Sarah Alexa
03. Oct 2022 · 19:27 UTC
Thank you so much! Yeah the movement is something I'd loved to have worked on more to make it more responsive because sometimes you just want to turn and you skid about. Maybe I should have added a skid effect every time you turn 😅. At first it was slow and much more manageable but then I realised you'd spend half the day just getting to a single place.

Wonder what the gifts you buy are too! They seem to do the job! 😂

I appreciate the kind words! I'm just glad to have improved on my dev skills a little!
Turquoise Moon
03. Oct 2022 · 19:57 UTC
It's a fun little farming sim. I love the art style! It was a little difficult to select the tile that I wanted to interact with. Maybe selecting the tile under where the player is standing would be a bit easier?
Also, what type of plant are we growing?
🎤 Sarah Alexa
03. Oct 2022 · 20:33 UTC
Thank you! I did think of having the tile the player is on being the one to select but it ended up making things a little tougher to see what you were doing. Maybe next time I can add an option or make it mouse cursor and range based!

We are growing Turnip Cats! Only the best vegetables on this farm!!
M4ttU
03. Oct 2022 · 22:21 UTC
Would there be any inspiration from Robin in Stardew Valley by any chance ? It's probably one the most high-octane game I've tested so far but it was really enjoyable.
Great job!!
M4ttU
03. Oct 2022 · 22:21 UTC
Would there be any inspiration from Robin in Stardew Valley by any chance ? It's probably one the most high-octane game I've tested so far but it was really enjoyable.
Great job!!
milq
03. Oct 2022 · 23:00 UTC
Amazing art for the short time they give at Compo! I love the interaction with the characters and, although I found it a bit hard to handle the player, I'm hooked on the game! Great game!
🎤 Sarah Alexa
04. Oct 2022 · 00:35 UTC
@m4ttu A friend said the same thing! It wasn't a deliberately inspired thing but the game itself was definitely going for that whole kind of feel Stardew Valley and games like it have. Maybe somewhere in the back of my head so I'll pretend I meant it! Thank you very much!
🎤 Sarah Alexa
04. Oct 2022 · 00:37 UTC
@milq Thank you very much! The movement is something I'd definitely tighten up a bit if I'd had a bit more time to polish things up a bit more. Wish I'd thought to add skid marks when your character turns while I was making it!
EX3D0
04. Oct 2022 · 04:55 UTC
Definitely a neat idea! The art was pretty solid (honestly gave me strong RPG maker vibes) and the gameplay reminded me a lot of Stardew.

I found the player is a bit hard to control and selecting the tile to interact with was a little difficult but it was a really neat concept.
Delpod
04. Oct 2022 · 13:38 UTC
I had fun playing it. It didn't have any danger, I knew I couldn't lose the game, it would just take me more time to do it, but the music and the fact that day resets every 10 seconds made me kinda speedrun it. The only problem I had was with selecting tiles, as it would make more sense if the selection was at the feet level. Nice game
🎤 Sarah Alexa
04. Oct 2022 · 20:55 UTC
@ex3d0 Thank you. If I was working on it for longer I'd probably have gone over the art a bit more to make it all look a bit more natural and connected so things don't look so grid like. That's maybe one of my next things to practice at for tilemaps so I can throw stuff together a bit quicker!

@delpod Thank you very much for all the nice things said! Tile selection I'm just happy works tbh as it's my first time ever even approaching something like it.

I have been mulling around with the idea of making it mouse/floating cursor based with a range limit from the character to make it a bit easier and faster to select stuff so I think next time I have a go at this sort of thing, that'll be what I do. That or I might do some fancy auto selecting stuff so instead of having to move around so much, you can just mash space and it'll change to another tile.

The tile selection seems to be a common sentiment and when rushing I had the same issue! Ty for the feedback! :)
Aaron Smith
04. Oct 2022 · 21:01 UTC
I shocked how you managed to get almost all of the core mechanics of a farming sim into a loop this small. Nicely done! It's so weirdly stressful until you get comfortable with letting go. It's like a nightmare about SDV or AC at first, but it turns out okay once you let go a bit.
muzakefron
04. Oct 2022 · 22:36 UTC
fun game!!! slippery controls on a grid-based game felt a little frustrating, but i rly enjoyed all the farming mechanics enough 2 make it 2 the end! great job!!
Pixelydian
04. Oct 2022 · 23:25 UTC
Stardew Valley speed running! :laughing: So at first I thought the controls were a little slippery but as I played I thought, this actually fits really well with the high pace, get it DONE vibe. I like that I didn't have to put in an input to pick up objects or switch tools - with the high pace gameplay, that would have been frustrating. Pixel art is cute! And you had a good layout of the map. Very well done, and huge congrats on submitting a compo!
![2022-10-04 18_18_51-Life is Fleeting by Sarah.png](///raw/954/14/z/52305.png)
vidarn
05. Oct 2022 · 10:58 UTC
This was wild! I love how the game is very chill and extremely hectic at the same time :laughing:
I liked the colorful graphics and all the little details, like how the plants animate when you walk across them, or the screenshake when you forget to bring the watering can :sweat_smile:

Also, I think the music fit very well. It was groovy but energetic.

I didn't mind the lack of collisions. For some reason, I found myself avoiding the buildings and fences even though I guess you could technically walk through them.
LDJam user 299879
05. Oct 2022 · 16:02 UTC
This is fantastic! The mechanics are great, everything works perfectly well (the slippery mechanics might feel a bit unpolished but I though they were quite fun), and Robin is life goals! The artworks is cute and the music, while kinda short and a bit repetitive after a while, still sounds great and fits the mood very well. Really enjoyed this!
Quoclon
06. Oct 2022 · 05:08 UTC
I'm surprised at how much time I sank into this. It took me a minute to understand where all the tools an resources are, and how to farm, but once I got the hang of it I felt like Bill Murry in groundhog day. Honestly, what kept me going was was desire to win Robin's affection. Having Robin in the game really gave me that goal!
🎤 Sarah Alexa
06. Oct 2022 · 15:33 UTC
@aaron-smith @muzakefron @pixelydian @vidarn @waterfowler @quoclon

Thank you all so much for your fe3edback! By far the most and the best feedback I've ever received for any game I've made! It's all very encouraging and has made my week!

All great criticisms too and stuff I'll hopefully manage to start nailing down faster in future projects! Thank you again!
JuanRod707
06. Oct 2022 · 20:20 UTC
Wow you got so much stuff done for the game is amazing. The game itself it feels like stardew valley on roller skates, its challenging but fun. Nice work.
cyberfrank
06. Oct 2022 · 20:25 UTC
It was a lot of fun! There wasn't any sense of danger or other consequences with the 10 second mechanic other than walking a bit more each time. A counter to this could be that you need to deliver your harvest before a given day. But everything felt clear and nice, including what the final goal was. One thing I missed was the final physical action of selling your harvest instead of it happening automatically. Also, perhaps some simple sound effects for when you are planting/selling/watering etc. to make it feel more tactile. Good entry!
Flying Dog Fish
06. Oct 2022 · 20:27 UTC
Pretty farming game! The controls are a bit awkward though, it's really hard to position in the right spot for tool use.
exaggegen
06. Oct 2022 · 20:41 UTC
It's good that the number of days is added as a kind of record that can be beaten. It really increases the interest when you realize you already have ideas for developing strategies to win faster than just growing a coin garden. Sliding seems uncomfortable, but it just forces you to try to react faster in order to plant more seeds.
🎤 Sarah Alexa
06. Oct 2022 · 20:46 UTC
@juanrod707 Roller skates... I should have given the character roller skates! Thank you so much!

@cyberfrank Tbh that's entirely by design. I felt like having a lose state on a game like this would be a bit frustrating. I was thinking about making it so the relationship status decays every few days if you don't give another gift in time but I didn't have quite enough time at the end to add and see if it was a good fit. Selling the harvest was actually planned too but with the lack of time I wasn't too sure if that would be a step too many. Sound effects I just didn't have time for.

Great feedback and all very fair. Thank you for the very thoughtful comment! All stuff I think I'd throw in there if I had another day on it!

@flying-dog-fish Yeah it's a bit more frantic as is. The best way for framing is grab tools and tap away at that space bar like crazy row by row to get it all done in time. Thank you for playing!!

@exaggegen That was my hope. 3 stats you can use to try and beat your own scores!
Excy
06. Oct 2022 · 21:39 UTC
Man it's really impressive how much you got done for the compo, great work.
🎤 Sarah Alexa
06. Oct 2022 · 21:43 UTC
@excy Thank you! I will say though it's absolutely crazy what you and Cral achieved with your game!
arkinrev
07. Oct 2022 · 01:34 UTC
So I was jamming along to the music, speed-running my Stardew farm, and then I realized, I should have been buying gifts! Went shopping, and showered Robin with gifts. She liked it. Good work!
MsPlanlos
07. Oct 2022 · 12:10 UTC
Cute graphics and fun gameplay! (:
LDJam user 240168
07. Oct 2022 · 12:13 UTC
Nice game idea! Found the controls a bit too slippery, hard to precisely aim at the farm, so I ended up just running around the farm and spamming spacebar :) Would be nice to have some visual effect when a new day starts, otherwise this instant teleportation looks a bit confusing.

![2022-10-07-151201_894x542_scrot.png](///raw/82a/a3/z/52b15.png)
lesinvisible
07. Oct 2022 · 17:48 UTC
Very impressive scoup for the compo game! I really liked the frantic gameplay and overall presentation. The only issue, as was mentioned previously, controls are slippery.
vipbasil
07. Oct 2022 · 20:14 UTC
A hardcore startdewwaley in a roguelike lite janra, interesting approach. 10 s is to short, but the mechanics a quite interesting.
Shibaya
07. Oct 2022 · 20:40 UTC
Love those Stardew Valley vibes! Great game!
Jimbly
07. Oct 2022 · 22:16 UTC
Fun vibes! I managed to accomplish my life's goal. You definitely succeeded in taking something relaxing and making it more frantic =). Would have liked a little more feedback on actions. Quite liked the visual style.
Dis0rder
08. Oct 2022 · 21:17 UTC
Oh, wow... I think I might've eaten some seeds I shouldn't have! :cyclone: :small_red_triangle: :small_blue_diamond: :star: :snowflake: :large_orange_diamond:

![farmmbbb.png](///raw/e4c/2/z/52e27.png)

Don't know whether it's my browser to blame (I run Firefox 105.0 on a Ubuntu-machine) or some weird chaos magick going on...

But something is up! :sweat_smile: I think even the collision-elements were broken since I could walk through the buildings, but couldn't enter. (Either that or I was actually moving around in my astral body!)

At least I was able to dig patches and plant seeds but not much beyond that. :pick: :seedling:

---

This was quite a different experience! Probably should try the desktop-build later to see if my machine would deal with that one better.

But yeah, it's already evident that you've managed to create a lot for a COMPO-game! The graphics are nice and there's already a foundation of a game established here.

Good job!
Jag
08. Oct 2022 · 22:55 UTC
This was a very interesting entry. I'm amazed you accomplished all this within 2 days, that's really an achievement. I really like the Stardew Valley vibe this game has, and for me those games are usually a bit too slow, so I like this fast paced growth and relationship building. Felt almost like an action game! I think the player controller would have been better with less acceleration because at the moment it feels like sliding on ice. Also, I think it would have been nice if we didn't have to get the hoe and watering pot every single start of the day. All in all, a really great compo entry. Great job!
LDJam user 304711
10. Oct 2022 · 04:36 UTC
It fits very well. I really like the concept to plant trees and gift robin! 10 seconds of Days kind of make the game harder to play but thats what makes the game fun. I would say the little details like the grass waving and many more proves that you really pulled off your effort on the game. Nice work!
🎤 Sarah Alexa
15. Oct 2022 · 15:00 UTC
@dis0rder I suspect it's some of that crazy browser OS combo or something because I've never seen anything remotely like that! If those are just 2 screenshots spliced together to make it easier to view, it looks like the font just doesn't work or is swapped out on your system. Maybe some Construct 3 compatibility issues there!

Collisions to stop you walking through stuff weren't added as I just didn't have the time before the compo ended, I let that slide since the 10 second days let you focus on that stuff a wee bit less but you cannot enter buildings so no worries there!

Thank you for the nice comments and hopefully if you tried on desktop Construct 3 fonts treated you better!
PoshDan
17. Oct 2022 · 10:51 UTC
I like that corporeal realm is more of a suggestion in this game.
You kinda need to float through everything to get anything done within 10 seconds.
That being said, I still felt like 10 seconds was just a little short for any 1 task. Perhaps targetting the tiles with the cursor would've helped, as I found i spent a bunch of time on moving into position.
The amount of art in here is impressive for a compo game!
Hekateras
21. Oct 2022 · 20:43 UTC
This is incredibly impressive for a Compo game. I didn't get very far, but I do enjoy the idea of "farming sim but even more hectic", and the graphics are cute. If I had to suggest a single feature that would drastically elevate playability of this while hopefully staying in scope, it would be if the game had isometric movement/movement was on a grid. I wasted far too much time simply sliding past the things I was trying to till/water/harvest and trying to target the correct tile, grid-based movement would have made that easier.