Sammy's Playground by ThatSommeS

[raw]
made by ThatSommeS for Ludum Dare 56 (JAM)

Overview:

In Sammy's Playground, players take on the role of Sammy, who's drawing some of his favorite tiny creatures and letting his imagination run wild. The game draws inspiration from MOBAs, Incremental games and Auto Chess

Itch.io link in the Links section to play the game. Browser, Windows and Linux builds available.

Gameplay:

Controls: Mouse and Keyboard (can use + and - for speed control, and esc for menu) Objective: Send out creatures, wait for them to die, upgrade them. Rinse and repeate

Tools:

This game was developed in the Godot game engine We also used Asperite, Gimp, hand drawing, and a digital camera for the art assets. Bfxr, and Audacity - sound effects Post-it notes for projectplanning

Theme Interpretation:

For the theme, we imagined tiny imaginary creatures fighiting eachother in an endless battle. To add scale and understanding, we added the story of Sammy, and him using his "god" powers to help in the fighting.

Team:

Developer, Artist, and Game Designer - MightyPossum LinkedIn

Developer, Artist, and Game Designer - Ranzor LinkedIn

Developer, Artist, Game Designer, and Sound Designer - Eyelax LinkedIn

Known Issues:

Projectiles can hang for a short time after hitting or missing their target. The web build has some weird memory leak. Works perfectly on desktop. So if you like the game and want to play longer, download it from itch.io

Post Sumbission Close

Fixed a small bug where both player powers would become unlocked if you purchased just one. And removed shooting sound from the web version (still in the desktop versions and original version) as it caused memory overload in the browser Original build still available on itch.io

Screenshots

Screenshot 2024-10-08 001931.png

Screenshot 2024-10-08 001941.png

Screenshot 2024-10-08 002002.png

Screenshot 2024-10-08 002014.png

Screenshot 2024-10-08 002023.png

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Ratings

Overall 765th 3.326⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 763th 3.152⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 775th 3⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 920th 3.043⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 824th 3.13⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Audio 669th 1.848⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Humor 922th 2.023⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 943th 2.935⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 27🗳️ 22🗨️

Feedback

Maksim Shalaev
08. Oct 2024 · 20:07 UTC
Cool cool
spacecadet
08. Oct 2024 · 20:38 UTC
Interesting idea. I like the feel of progression throughout the rounds. For me the gameplay is a bit lacking and it gets a bit boring after a few rounds as there is not much else to do than watch.
TheFruckets
08. Oct 2024 · 20:39 UTC
Really cool game
Love the graphics and upgrades
Got lost in the game and almost forgot to review I was so invested.
Just wish there was more that just collect upgrade and start game I wasnt able to complete but overall was a fun game
BYK
10. Oct 2024 · 21:59 UTC
Very cool game ! I love the progression system, very rewarding and addicting
Samuel Hollywood-Summers
10. Oct 2024 · 22:07 UTC
This seems to be an interesting idea, but I think the gameplay and controls need communicating better: My slime would always attack a second skeleton (I assume) that was off-screen to the right, but I couldn't change the view to see more.
Karamelika22
10. Oct 2024 · 22:08 UTC
It's a very interesting style of play, I liked the art and the idea of the game. The upgrade system surprised me))
Deantwotwo
10. Oct 2024 · 22:10 UTC
Love me a good auto battler haha was fun! I would add a x3 option, and also I was never really sure what I was upgrading, so some text would be helpful!!
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:12 UTC
@samuel-hollywood-summers Yeah, we're working on communicating controls and functions better. Middle mouse and Right mouse buttons can be used to pan. Wheel can be used to zoom. Thanks for trying
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:16 UTC
@maksim-shalaev :cool: :cool:
CallumLarge
10. Oct 2024 · 22:16 UTC
Cool game, loved the visuals and the concept. I felt the gameplay was a bit lacking but has potential, having some stuff to do throughout the round other than watch would be nice. Good job!
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:18 UTC
@spacecadet Thank you for playing! We would have love to add more content, but with this style of game, there's a good bit of waiting. But the key to progression is timing the use of the "God Powers" and as you progress they are very actively used.
Cliff Coffee
10. Oct 2024 · 22:18 UTC
Fun game. Incrementing through the level via the upgrade system definitely had me hooked in for a while and I lost track of time! So well done there! I thought the upgrades felt good and varied enough and pretty well balanced overall.
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:19 UTC
@thefruckets Thank you for the kind words and for playing our game! If we were to expand on the jam version we would definitively add more interactions.
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:20 UTC
@byk Thank you for the kinds words and for trying our game!
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:21 UTC
@karamelika22 Thank you! We appreciate your kind words!
Samuel Hollywood-Summers
10. Oct 2024 · 22:21 UTC
Thanks, I've been able to give the game more of a proper go now!
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:23 UTC
@deantwotwo Thank you! As do I, glad I was finaly able to convince the other guys to join me in making something like this xD The upgrades all have hover labels, we could have propably designed those better :laughing:
Psst! Don't tell anyone, but I added a cheat (ctrl + alt + F2) which speeds up the game even more. But I wouldn't use it in the web build :sweat_smile:
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:24 UTC
@callumlarge Thank you for your feedback! When you unlock God Powers and start timing them, you will get very busy. If you want to progress faster
🎤 ThatSommeS
10. Oct 2024 · 22:25 UTC
Thank you @cliff-coffee, I definitively did not spend way to much time on balancing and ended up having to cut features, definitively.
allov
10. Oct 2024 · 22:43 UTC
I had to stop cause it become clear you have to grind it out, but I really liked what I saw here. Should have a third speed settings XD.

The upgrade system is well balanced I think, at first I kinda ignored the slimes in favor of the bigger strong units, but I had to go back and get more soakers, and overall dps.

I could definitely see this as a reverse tower defense roguelike. The active skills add a much needed strategy layer.
NickHellquist
11. Oct 2024 · 15:06 UTC
Like the idea, the upgrades felt powerful enough where you got clear progression. Liked the art, but would have been nice with some more SFX! Overall a nice auto-battle game that could definetly be expanded into something real good :)
🎤 ThatSommeS
11. Oct 2024 · 19:14 UTC
@nickhellquist We actually added much more SFX, it's in the desktop build (original build) bit Godot web build crapped put because of it for some reason...
Riv
13. Oct 2024 · 17:31 UTC
I really love the art, and the mechanics are pretty good! Good job!
William Corrin
14. Oct 2024 · 03:38 UTC
The ghosts are OP, I love them :heart: This was a very entertaining game. I always love these kinds of auto battlers with a fast forward button. Nice job!
HCS_Hades
14. Oct 2024 · 16:55 UTC
Works well - sent many many little critters to their death haha! Lots of room to expand and add new features too
Trusty
15. Oct 2024 · 02:45 UTC
Fun game with a lot of interesting aspects. The progression felt smooth. Thanks for the game.
t-pirozzini
15. Oct 2024 · 03:32 UTC
I played this much longer than I'de like to admit haha! I gave up after getting to that final death wave/boss. Great job on the artwork and progression. Each time I was about to give up I felt like I was able to move a bit further. You kept me playing so you earned a high rating! Thanks for making this!
nrankin13
15. Oct 2024 · 22:00 UTC
It takes too long to get each round really going, and some music/sfx (even just some basic attack sounds) would have been welcome. Overall, though, I enjoy the different monsters and the animation is smooth. Good job!
Pachino55
22. Oct 2024 · 22:59 UTC
Interesting idea, very cool game, nice job!
Sibi
22. Oct 2024 · 23:04 UTC
Okay I should really go to bed now :D
I just couldn't stop without finishing this game. It got quite grindy (and laggy) towards the end and could use some more active abilities. But damn this was the perfect game to play while watching some youtube.
![playground.png](///raw/34e/c/z/69099.png)