LudumData

The organ trees by elFlashor

[raw]
made by elFlashor for Ludum Dare 52 (JAM)

Harvesting not fruits and vegetables, but... organs...?

A roguelite organ fest where you grow trees from your fallen enemies' organs, then harvest the result for more money, more power, more... blood?

Unlock tools that allow you to fertilize the dead body's organs, so they can grow into healthy meat trees! ^^

Your best friend is the store, shown upon dying! All the cool kids use the store.

Controls:

  • Arrow keys/WASD to move
  • space/mouse click to attack
  • E to interact
  • Use your mouse during the harvesting interface to select tools, and interact with the organs.

Fertilizing tutorial

When opening the body fertilizing the first times, you will see this message: Tutorial01.jpg But fear not! All you have to do is die, and you'll get to the store where you can buy tools, like this one: Tutorial02.jpg This will open the full fertilizing interface: Tutorial04.jpg At first all actions will shown as question marks: Tutorial05.jpg You can experiment and try, but if you're feeling less adventurous, look for some knowledge book upgrades, like these: Tutorial03.jpg

As for actual "fertilizing": red organs are broken and cannot be used anymore, green ones are "validated" Tutorial06.jpgTutorial07.jpg And validated organs will make the body grow into a tree once you're done with it! Protect these are they are very valuable! Tutorial08.jpg When fully grown, interact with them to gain precious money to unlock more upgrade! Tutorial09.jpg

I had planned an overarching goal, an ending boss, something like that, but didn't have the time, since I started on the saturday and basically lost a day... (there is still a slight chance of a big baddie spawning though, watch out!)

Didn't make the cut (due to time)

  • Harvesting on bodies that save their data when you leave to come back to it a bit later (sorry :()
  • A final boss (something to end the game, to avoid that neverending loop as it is right now)
  • More enemies variety
  • A tutorial! And clearer harvesting UI.
  • Sound
  • Animations, transitions...
  • Pause menu, main menu, settings, all that...
Link https://elflashor.itch.io/organ-trees
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/52/the-organ-trees

Ratings

Overall 659th 3.091⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Fun 563th 3.091⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 347th 3.394⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Theme 580th 3.424⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Humor 394th 2.917⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Mood 621th 3.048⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Given 65🗳️ 49🗨️

Feedback

profan
09. Jan 2023 · 20:50 UTC
I like the setup and the idea of the game, but it was quite difficult for me to grasp the mechanics as I was playing the game, some things like the hammer I managed to get to do things, but it was often far from obvious what tool should be used where and if you could even actually do anything with certain organs right now or not? :D

And the looping back/starting over when you spend points bit was also a bit disorienting, like it just threw you back into that screen at some seemingly arbitrary moments?

I like the idea though!

Just wish the bit with using tools was a little more fleshed out/going to the "shop" was less disorenting, though the billboarded sprites looked pretty slick :)

Good work! (and sorry to hear you lost a day!)
🎤 elFlashor
10. Jan 2023 · 11:21 UTC
@profan Thank you for the comment, and thanks for playing! I probably made the harvesting mechanic way too complex for the little amount of tutorial I was able to put in, unfortunately :( It is supposed to be a journey of experimenting, failing, unlocking new tools, and trying again, but I didn't have enough time to make the UI and mechanic clear enough 😅
But thanks for playing, and I hope you still had a little bit of fun with it! :)
fallcresthero
10. Jan 2023 · 13:39 UTC
I love the overall look and feel of the game.
There is more to be done for a fighting system in this game.
There is no way to predict incoming attacks, and too little instruments in players hands to make fights (which are the biggest gameplay part) into something really exciting.
Would like to see how this game will evolve in time because I think it has a great potential. Keep up the good work.
🎤 elFlashor
10. Jan 2023 · 13:47 UTC
@fallcresthero Thank you for your feedback! Initially I wanted the fertilizing/harvesting loop to be bigger than the fighting part, but I wasn't able to course-correct with so little time remaining. The upgrade system was meant to have various weapons, and fleshing that out would have allowed to flesh out the enemies behavior and fighting clarity. But as you said, right now it's a bit muddy, I agree.
Thanks for playing!
kr4ft3r
10. Jan 2023 · 14:19 UTC
Good job on visuals, it does look really pretty, but as you are aware the actual mechanics of what to do with bodies is too complicated. I tried following through with textual explanation but this is more of a thing that requires a video tutorial. And since player's are expected to experiment by clicking various question marks and whatnot, well it's a shame but this "body surgery simulator but you have to learn what to do AND there are enemies while you operate" approach is too demanding for a LD game. If at least the game would pause during the operation it would be more playable, as it is the mechanics are too frustrating. So, points for originality, great graphics, but the idea is too out there, and main progress is locked behind a too steep learning curve. Making a complex LD game is not a mistake in itself, but it should demand less from players. I hope you had fun making it though.
🎤 elFlashor
10. Jan 2023 · 14:30 UTC
@kr4ft3r Yes, you exactly pointed at the biggest issue, indeed 😅 If I had more time to put into it I'd try to simplify that whole loop, as it stands right now maybe I can just pause the game while in harvesting, but the whole starting idea was to be frantic and force the player to be quick and make mistakes because of stress... Maybe adding so ways for the player to fight that would help...

But thanks for playing and thanks for the feedback!
GoldRanger
10. Jan 2023 · 16:27 UTC
I think comments here are valuable and already pointed out the main issue so let me be the common LD comment.
Really really great feeling on the graphics about the scenes combining with the camera movement. indeed not enough tut and having no sound to build up the mood drive player's passion out quickly. but can see a lot of potential and the heart/effort you put into this game :)
🎤 elFlashor
10. Jan 2023 · 16:38 UTC
@eggshelldog Thank you for your "common LD comment" 😁 I truly agree, more juice and little details like that would have been really nice to sustain the player's interest in face of a complicated and hard to understand prototype... Ah well, maybe next time if I find a couple of people to team with! 😅

Thanks for playing and thanks for the kind words!
LDJam user 251967
10. Jan 2023 · 20:48 UTC
Great game!
Xandruher
10. Jan 2023 · 22:32 UTC
I pretty much like everything in that game. It was just a bit stressful esp. when you do the operations. Prob. slowing down time or a pause would help here.
Back2Zero
10. Jan 2023 · 22:42 UTC
This is awesome! Took me a little bit to figure out how everything worked, but once I did I had a ton of fun.
Ra_sio
11. Jan 2023 · 03:33 UTC
Nice art awesome game :)
🎤 elFlashor
11. Jan 2023 · 08:01 UTC
@taikinaaa @back2zero @ra-sio Thanks for your kind words, and thank you for playing !

@xandruher Being stressful was the intended idea behind the operations part, so in a way I'm glad it worked :D But yeah, you're probably right that it could be nice to have a bit of a breather from time to time for that... Thanks for playing!
IndivisibleParticles
11. Jan 2023 · 12:09 UTC
I really like the look of the game, those 2D sprites in 3D space, it looks very interesting. I also like the camera movement. You incorporated the theme very creatively. Game mechanics could be explained a bit better, player doesn't have much time to try things out in the game and learn what to do. I think this game have potential. If you will work on it more, maybe try to create more depth with sprites, especially on the edge of the map. It could look very cool if it's in more layers. Like bushes separated from trees and a bit in front of them and so on. Nice entry.
🎤 elFlashor
11. Jan 2023 · 13:14 UTC
@indivisibleparticles Thanks for your feedback and for playing! The lack of explanations is definitely the first and foremost point of feedback I got, and I completely agree. And for the graphics, indeed it is very barebones, but didn't have any more time 😅 We'll see if I can work on it more!
Thanks :)
TRUEchips
11. Jan 2023 · 14:53 UTC
I like the idea, though the execution could be better. I would say why, but the others already did - namely - the lack of explanations. I'm not going to subtract any points for it tho, cuz you had no time.
hmrpf
11. Jan 2023 · 18:53 UTC
Very interesting, and i can see clearly a more finished version. I like the stress you got from trying to harvest organs while not getting hit. And I'm sure it will be way more fun when the data will be saved as you mentioned.
I'm also glad i'm not the only one with organ haversting :D And I wondered a bit how to implement mini games to remove the organs and finally did just a drag and drop. I really like your take on this. Good job !
JavaSaurus
11. Jan 2023 · 19:36 UTC
Very nice take on the theme, really enjoyed it. I like the graphics, they work well with the atmosphere. And yes, it took some time to figure it out, perhaps you could create a youtube video showing some gameplay? :)
🎤 elFlashor
11. Jan 2023 · 19:41 UTC
@hmrpf @javasaurus Thank you for your comments and for playing!
A youtube video would be nice, but a new version with something understandable right away would be even better :smile:
LDJam user 252856
12. Jan 2023 · 05:51 UTC
Great looking game. Though the price for tools is a bit extreme and the combat isn't very fun because it seems like you can only trade with the enemies as they have greater reach than you. The best part is definitely the graphics.
pndaa
12. Jan 2023 · 10:23 UTC
I liked the 2D/3D graphics. The ground doesn't looks good though.

Like already mentioned, it would be better to not have to start again each time we quit the UI.

I also didn't understand the difference between harvesting a stomach or a bowel. Do you earn more money?

I plaid until I got a bug. I was stucked on that screen after buying an upgrade, I believe it was the knockback one:
![2023-01-12 11_12_18-The organ trees.png](///raw/126/z/563c5.png)
🎤 elFlashor
12. Jan 2023 · 10:53 UTC
@offdutyextractors @pndaa Thanks for playing and for the feedback! Indeed the collisions could need some improvement, you're right. Actually you're not really "harvesting" organs, you're more prepping them up for sprouting into a tree, which, once you harvest, gives you various amount of money depending on which organs you validated. Yeah, a bit convoluted, I had big plans in communicating that nicely but couldn't fit it before the deadline 😅

Thanks again!
deadjolly
13. Jan 2023 · 02:54 UTC
The art presentation was well done, I like the 2.5d aesthetic, however, I would tone the camera way down. For the environment, it would have been nice to just have foreground elements to hide the fact you were in a box, felt like I was in a diorama. The fighting was decent, but the respawning/harvesting of bodies was confusing.
Hawkin
13. Jan 2023 · 23:14 UTC
I spent a good bit of time playing, at least 8 rounds of hacking, so you know that it was at least fun at its core!

I really liked the art and scene design. The 2.5d sprites almost felt like a toybox, which added a sense of playfulness to the whole thing. I also think that the balance of fighting and harvesting was nice, since it created a sense of urgency to the surgery task.

I do think that the progression could have used some tuning. For example, I bought all the basic tools (I thought) and every knowledge book, and still I was lacking some skill to harvest organs? Maybe I missed something really obvious, but it seems to me like you should have helped the player get to the second half of your game much sooner! What was I missing?

![Untitled.png](///raw/319/53/z/56632.png)

A few other things needed just a bit of polishing, like the movement felt very slippery (like ice skating). So while it was fun zipping around (weeeee), it didn't quite help me fight better. Also, some warning when enemies are spawning, as they can spawn just about on top of you.

Edit: I spent a little longer, bought a few more things. THEN I actually read your tutorial, and realized I could have had a better start :) One thing I noticed by comparing my screenshot, though ... am I supposed to have the grabby tool?

![2.png](///raw/319/53/z/56636.png)

Once I used the pouch to harvest intestines, and grew some organ trees, the game got a lot more interesting. So anything you can do to get your player there faster might be better! But it depends on what your vision is, not necessarily mine :)
🎤 elFlashor
14. Jan 2023 · 09:32 UTC
@deadjolly Thanks for playing and thanks for the feedback!

@hawkin Thanks for the detailed feedback! Indeed the lack of clarity on what exactly you're supposed to do during the harvesting makes it hard to project yourself into the state of mind of "I jus need to wait to have enough money to buy the proper tools". I should probably have unlocked a basic "harvesting" tool right off the bat, or almost, like after the first round. But thanks for sticking around! Obviously more polishing would have been nice, but well 😅 I'll probably do a v2 just to be able to adress this, and speed up the loop, indeed! Thanks for playing!
Amolker
26. Jan 2023 · 11:26 UTC
That was hard to understad what happening at first, but then I understood and it became very exciting and recklessly. Really like the pixel art here! Some fitchures are missing, but I REALLY like the concept.