Spectra by red-stake

[raw]
made by red-stake for Ludum Dare 54 (COMPO)

Shoot and don't get hit. Should be easy, right?

Install instructions

Unzip the .zip file (right click and select "Extract All...") and run the .exe to play

Controls

WASD (or ZQSD) to move LMB to shoot

Development Info

  • Engine - GameMaker
  • Sprites - GM Sprite Editor

Unfortunately I didn't have time for sound.

Screenshots

spectra screen1 resize.png

spectra screen2 resize.png

Ratings

Overall 81th 3.9⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 13th 4.2⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 220th 3.275⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 124th 3.9⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 75th 3.975⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 36🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

PowerOfSin
02. Oct 2023 · 15:59 UTC
Wow, this is a blast to play. The aesthetics, controls and the feedback are very good.
A shame you couldn't add sounds, would have made it even more satisfying.

I did get stuck in the walls a few times when shape changed, though, which I doubt was intentional.
And shooting at the big cube with the powerup shakes the screen so much I couldn't tell what was going on xD
🎤 red-stake
02. Oct 2023 · 16:10 UTC
Thanks so much :) Yes, sounds would've made the game much better but I find designing repetitive sounds (shooting, dying) really challenging, and so I didn't have the time to do them. And, yeah, the wall sticking is a bug.

Thanks for the kind words about everything, especially the aesthetics, I hoped people would like it!
xinux
02. Oct 2023 · 16:15 UTC
Highscore: 51.6s!
Juicy, cute, awesome level transitions! Just really missing sound.
LDJam user 374467
02. Oct 2023 · 18:12 UTC
this is really very fun, really loved the arena changing shape dynamically. maybe tone the screen shake down a little, shooting the big square almost made the game completely unplayable. Some arcade like music and sound effects really would make this a perfect little time waster. loved this submission
Stronf
02. Oct 2023 · 19:34 UTC
saw entries with similar ideas, but the style and change of pace, shape, and colors was very cool. Sad you didn't have time for sound, it could have a great contiuation, well done
Francisco Lucas
02. Oct 2023 · 21:38 UTC
Very beautiful and well-made! I spent a good amount of time playing, and it was fun. My record was 41 seconds!

![imagem_2023-10-02_183528620.png](///raw/cc6/32/z/5e01c.png)
LDJam user 142558
03. Oct 2023 · 05:22 UTC
Love the execution of the changing walls and the effects really make it fun to play! :D
![spectra.png](///raw/edc/22/z/5f0b1.png)
Tudvari
03. Oct 2023 · 19:14 UTC
58.8 seconds! :) Though I cheated because I realised that I'm not good enough to normally play this game. :laughing: So I camped in a corner, which made it so easy... up until a point where I got stuck to the wall due to ... well, not moving in a changing environment :smiley: and then the first charging square killed me. It was fun! :smiley:

Very interesting concept, I'll give it a try later on, maybe I can beat master my technique to reach a bit further. And the colors are really pretty, wish it had sounds & music. Keep up the good work, cheers! :)
LDJam user 280036
04. Oct 2023 · 07:02 UTC
59 seconds :) This would be absolutely killer with music and sfx. The visuals are wonderful, feels nice to play.
LDJam user 371996
04. Oct 2023 · 12:56 UTC
65 seconds. There is even a boss! Amazing.

The graphics are simple yet delicate. I really love it.

Screen shake is a highlight.
kuggenhoffen
06. Oct 2023 · 05:11 UTC
Awesome game. Somehow feels super satisfying to play and the whole design and look of the game fits together really well.
orangeoceans
08. Oct 2023 · 05:36 UTC
52 seconds. The gamefeel is amazing! I love the screenshake and the pixel effects and the background colors.

I think a cool additional feature would be if the colors had an effect on or correlation with the action
wisstopher
08. Oct 2023 · 20:19 UTC
Lovely little entry, felt really polished. Would have liked some sound in there, it would have taken it to the next level. Even without it its really impressive. Great jam!
Mastoast
09. Oct 2023 · 11:32 UTC
The game really looks fantastic ! nice work on feedbacks and the background, and also on the level shape-shifting, all the rendering is so cool.
As other said, sounds and music for this kind of game could really bring more fun, but i agree with you on what you said in the comments, making a sound for a very repetitive action in the game can also make it unpleasant

I think Vampire Survivor could be a good reference in this case, because it only plays a sound when you kill an enemy, and the sound itself is a quick percussive sound (kind of a popping popcorn sound :smile: ) and so is not too aggressive with repetition

But anyway, very solid entry, good job
pkenney
11. Oct 2023 · 01:42 UTC
I made it to 54.5s, just after the square-box mini-boss.

Wow, this had a great vibe! The cycling colors, the shifting shapes, the tight controls and the chunky graphics all really came together nicely. If this had great crunchy sfx it would have really gone to 11.

I think I would have played more if the restart loop didn't go so far backwards on hit, but maybe it had to be that way.

Difficulty was well-balanced though. Game's telegraphing did a great job of letting me see a moment ahead, and yet still created many VERY close calls. There was also a nice non-uniform pacing that emerged... if I stayed on top of keeping everything clean, I could keep it under control. But once I missed one thing, it threatened to snowball.... until I cleaned up again and got back to baseline. Then, the game had waves that were tougher that would force such spikes on me even if I didn't mess up, so the pacing was never flat.

Well done, really nice entry!
SimonLarsen
11. Oct 2023 · 18:15 UTC
Great entry. Gameplay is simple but very engaging. I like the visuals but the very low resolution combined with the extreme screenshake made it disorienting at times. Reducing the screenshake a maybe increasing the resolution a bit would help a lot. Good job nonetheless!
hanadulcet
12. Oct 2023 · 04:34 UTC
I enjoyed this game - I liked the general aesthetic and it felt nimble and agile when trying to move, dodge, and shoot all while the shape surrounding me shifted. I definitely agree with above folks that some audio feedback would help out, but otherwise I still found myself trying to survive for longer over and over again!
Lone_Wolf
12. Oct 2023 · 18:17 UTC
The lack of sounds is a shame, they could add a lot to this.

After my first few tries the hexagon/pentagon shapes you sometimes see reminded me of a song that would probably go really well with those. So I started [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juZUdf_A3lM) in the background and did another game. Instant 9/10 experience, all it was missing after that was some gunshot sounds and maybe editing to sync the music with the bullet fire or enemy spawn rates.

![GODMODE.png](///raw/ffb/42/z/6036b.png)

You could probably make a pretty good post-jam game out of this, great work!