So this time I'm going to try to make something with RPG Maker for the competition and I have to ask because I wasn't able to find an answer on this:
Are we allowed to use scripts made by other people? Because they can vary a lot: They range from simple effect assets to scripts for making cutscenes. If anyone has previously used any would you mind sharing what's considered "okay" and what's considered "not okay because you didn't make it" ?
Are we still doing that thing with one final hour for submission after the time runs out?
Are we still doing that thing with the extra hour of submission after time runs out?
Greetings to all!
So while browsing games to rate have you ever noticed that zero option?
A present icon? It's as if even the person who added it to the menu wasn't paying much attention. But anyway, it's for games that have received "zero" or very few ratings. Of course this doesn't necessarily mean that it's full of just bad games, some people can get unlucky or _forget to rate people on the first day and get buried as a consequence.
So I'm going to write a series of posts this month to help promote games that unfortunately wound up somewhere they don't deserve.
To kick things off let's start with Arden's Artisan Artefacts:
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/ardens-artisan-artefacts
A very bizarre take on the theme but a very unique game in its own right.
I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with @blinry , (personally I myself wasn't) but he and his "team" have made some very good games even in past jams so I'd highly advice you to check them out:
https://ldjam.com/users/blinry/games
They use a rather obscure tool called the LÖVE engine which requires you to download it's runner from the website, which by the way is cross-platform. So I can't really get mad at that. It has a flash-esque feel to it which is personally something I don't mind in the slightest.
The idea is to build "Sacrifice Statues" for "various occasions!", be it for banishing demons or appeasing the tooth fairy. Intentional or not AAA has this very "flash game" feel to it gameplay wise as well. I first thought what I was getting into was a simple dress-up variant but only a few seconds in I realized just how wrong I was. The"sacrifice totems" you build are barely about design, since these customers all have very specific requests you're given varying constraints:
Take for example the first order you'll receive:
On the right side is a shelve full of items to choose from, but I had to cut it out of the image because of the website deeming the image size too large. So I took a couple of mops and made this:
Other categories beside weight include: - cuteness - hardness - shininess - and even shape!
I'll reiterate it's not a game about designing what you want, it's about designing it as the customers want but while taking quite a few "artistic liberties".
The main issue I had is that from the image you'll notice that there's a base for this one, but in later levels you'll have to hang them down a chain for instance. That wasn't a big problem, what was though was the way pieces attach to each other. You can't move the base or chains so if you want to tear something apart you have to start from the very edges, and even then you might run out of shelve space. And yet for the most part I was having too much fun to complain about it, I'll just assume they can fix this post jam.
There's minimal writing but they take every opportunity they get to squeeze in some golden humor.
So I'd recommend checking out this game to all of you who've noticed this post and giving them a rating. I don't think they appear in zero anymore because I kind of "rescued" them before writing this but still they deserve all the attention they can get! Thank you for your attention and have a great day (^_^)
Greetings to all!
So while browsing games to rate have you ever noticed the zero option?
A present icon? It’s as if even the person who added it to the menu wasn’t paying much attention. But anyway, it’s for games that have received “zero” or very few ratings. Of course this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s full of just bad games, some people can get unlucky or forget to rate people on the first day and get buried as a consequence.
So I planned to start this as a blog series during LD 43. Unfortunately I recall having a lot work pile up, and wasn't really able to continue it. So I figured, hey, why not continue this for later jams? So here we are once again, to take a look at another hidden geme (get it? gem + game). This one's called Pheonix Egg.
Not the Phoenix Egg, not some Phoenix's Egg, just Phoenix Egg. The game is available to play here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/phoenix-egg
Being a compo-entry, it's a solo submission. Most of zanyg's previous submissions are also of a similar style: small pixel characters in a big world, it's almost like a metaphor.
In Phoenix Egg, you control a character simply known as "the alchemist", a shady guy who isn't afraid of knocking people out cold just to grab a few regeants for his latest concoction. He controls with WASD, has an affinity for wall-jumping (essential skill in the profession) and has the rare talent of being able to juggle objects with his sword.
(Does this look like the face of mercy to you?)
The objective is simple, grab the egg and exit out the door. Or so you would think. This game is not easy, in the slightest. To be frank this is a combination of both deliberate choices, as well as shortcomings in design. But I think it makes for a very unique experience, you probably could only see in a compo/jam environment.
The Phoenix Egg emits a heat, so direct contact is out of the question. The alchemist needs to use his sword to juggle the egg around. The egg is also fragile, but quite resilient for the average egg, being able to take up to 4 hits (on the floor, per level) before breaking. Not to mention the guards, who also juggle their own eggs (to throw you off?) and have more powerful swords. As for reaching the door, the alchemist and the egg need to reach the exit, the level (there are about 5) won't end until both of them are at the door. This is what I consider to be the "intentional" difficulty.
Moving on to the "bug or feature?" category, let's talk about scale. The alchemist is really tiny, and so is everyone else. The alchemist is really fast and bouncy and so is everyone else. You'll have to knock-out neutral NPC's with your sword to even see yourself. You can't do this for the guards though I'm afraid! Guards can only be knocked back, they ~~die~~ despawn when their decoy eggs crack. It would have been nice if there were particles or maybe something like an arrow over the player, because it can get really hard to track the alchemist at times. There's an effect when the player dies (upon the egg cracking), but it's so small you barely notice it. It doesn't even make a sound. At this point you might be thinking that you have to start all over, but in fact there is a button to restart the level. The Help button, and this isn't stated in-game.
All this being said, it's not impossible. I myself was able to get to level 3. While there's only one track, upto where I played anyway, it's pretty catchy. The levels are small but nicely designed, often leading to a lot of chaos as you wrestle guards through tight corners. As I alluded to above, wall jumping isn't some gimmicky trick, it is vital to kiting enemies or maneuvering to catch up to the egg in certain levels. It's outright impressive how much this game is able to accomplish, with so little.
So I’d recommend checking out "Phoenix Egg" to all of you who’ve noticed this post and giving it a rating. Thank you for your attention and have a great day (^_^)