Void Magus by TomKnocker44

[raw]
made by TomKnocker44 for Ludum Dare 55 (JAM)

A powerful magus is trapped in the void. Explore the dungeons and recover lost knowledge while facing hordes of enemies.

Screenshot (28).png

Controls - WASD to move - Left click to fire your summoned weapon - Right click to summon allies - Q to summon tiles - E to open summon menu - ESC to pause

Made by TomKnocker44 (Lachlann)

Music by Nathan Skip

Made with: - GameMaker Studio 2 - Gimp 2 - Audacity - Ableton

Some notes: - You can use any summon at any point as long as you know the pattern (try getting some of the more powerful ones early in a new playthrough!) - Your weapons and summons are upgraded every 5 levels (up to level 50) - This was my first solo jam, and it was a blast!

Update info: - The updated version of the game fixes some lag issues, crashes, and adds a spellbook so you don't have to remember all the spells you unlock.

Ratings

Given 8🗳️ 8🗨️

Feedback

LonelyGameDev
16. Apr 2024 · 06:29 UTC
Played it. the frame rate definitely held it back(Sometimes i felt like you can just turn off the spawners until the player reach a area. or set a limit of enemies)
But there are alot of really good ideas here. I like the spell mechanic where you combine lines to get different spells
I like the semi RTS aspects where you spawn enemies and use spells to try and held your line. so with that you definitely used the theme in the best way possible by introducing it as a unique mechanic

But a fair amount of it is somewhat wasted potential(Don't blame you. it is a jam after all)
With the level design and enemy design really not using the options to it's full potential(wish there where more levels that use the spells you get at the end)
Another thing is the spells. most of the spells used as weapons are very disposable to me. one you get a powerful weapon like the homing axes. or penetrating daggers. there's no much point in the other's

With this I felt like the game should've leaned more into a Tower defence game. where you use spells to create tiles/your own army to defends or attack certain lines. almost like the creeper world games

But other then that. the music and visuals are nice. and definitely get point's for using the theme the best way possible
Also if you do take this concept or plan to add a update. I suggest a spell book so people won't forget. and can look up certain spells they discover
MorePixels
16. Apr 2024 · 06:54 UTC
This was quite fun! I loved the whole drawing out the sigil to get the different weapons and abilities! There was one stage after getting the mana tile though where you need the platform one again and I could remember what it was.

I also initially had a crash after completing the 2nd place but relaunched the game and it worked perfectly so don't know what happened there
James Greenleaf
16. Apr 2024 · 06:57 UTC
Great game! Old school Gauntlet vibes. Felt great to upgrade weapons and kill hordes of enemies.

I got stuck after getting the mana tile though since it didn't work on voids and I forgot what the pattern was to get the regular tile back.
HsG_Gringo
16. Apr 2024 · 07:23 UTC
it was fun! dosnt feel any frame rate problems... summon concept is nice, but i wish there is a spell book or something - got mana tile and was so exited, that competly forgot how to summon regular platform :(
art and sound are simple, but toghether they have very nice "old-game" vibe
🎤 TomKnocker44
16. Apr 2024 · 20:46 UTC
@lonelygamedev @morepixels @james-greenleaf @hsg-gringo Thanks everyone for all the great feedback!

I just updated the game to fix the lag issues and added a spellbook so you don't need to remember all the combinations. I just ran out of time at the end to add it. I would've also liked to have more levels that showcased each of the summons better, but again ran out of time and had to put the remaining ones in the last room. This was my first solo jam, and I think I ended up planning out the game like I had more team members, so a lot of things got cut at the end. A great learning experience though!

I did take a lot of inspiration from Gauntlet, I'm glad people picked up on that!
Yeouseong
18. Apr 2024 · 06:25 UTC
sprites are amazing!! Loved it so far, the spells are quite well made too!
macaroni.dev
29. Apr 2024 · 22:13 UTC
I had a lot of fun! Using the spells and killing enemies was just so satisfying. And I loved the slight 3D gfx you did. Great work!
pkenney
02. May 2024 · 02:16 UTC
Really fun! I felt like I was wildly OP compared to the challenge, but the way the game felt to play, and how much stuff was going on at once on the screen, it just felt FUN so I didn't care that I was crushing it. I did have to think through, but once I could stand on (and later create) mana tiles to spam out an army of ghosts/bats/OMGORBS I felt unstoppable!

Played to the end and enjoyed it all the way. Nice graphics, slapping music, fun game. Well done!