My Ludum-Dare-October-Challenge-Game Vertical Void DX just got accepted into the AppStore. Get it while it's hot! (And the 50% launch-discount is on :)
Remember, these results are out of 1406 games submitted in total.
Coolness
100%
#40
Humor
3.57
#103
Mood
3.28
#109
Overall
3.51
#111
Graphics
3.71
#149
Fun
3.27
#165
Audio
3.02
#190
Theme
3.39
I'm happy about my 109th spot Overall, and the very good ranking in Humor and Mood. I also got the 1st spot in Coolness, for the 5th time in a row.
In the parallel Kongregate-Contest Boxy The Boxcat reached the 4th place. This is quite frankly amazing, seeing the high-quality game I had to go against :D
It also got several reviews, including this piece on IndieGameMag and this lovely Let's Play:
People love the music. If I knew I'd be able to make such a
well-received track I would've put more time into it than 1 hour right
before the deadline :)
The
response to the music-track has been hugely positive, being described
as "oddly fitting" and "catchy" and *moves head to rhythm*. After
hearing it repeatedly I feel I should've switched the Cello for another
instrument
Humor
I didn't really have humor
in mind per se, just a bunch of interesting/irrelevant stuff to collect
for your home, which I presented in a matter-of-fact deadpan way.
Apparently it worked :)
Kittens
Because
everyone loves kittens. In the end I got up to 8 cats in total, missing
the goal of "1000 Kittens" just short of 9992 cats.
Pacing
Works
well. Note how the game starts immediately, there is no in-game intro.
The title is maybe 2-3 seconds long, and changes with the music. After
some exploring and learning the rules of the game-world you slowly
evolve and learn how to undo said rules, culminating in the ability to
blow up the environment, and ultimate wreak havoc on the human race.
Cuteness
The other general consensus is "it's cute". I didn't expect this at all :D
Reception
Holy hell this is going well. As of writing Boxy the Boxcat is the 2nd most-played-game this LD, it got a rather big piece on IndieGameMag, and lot of Let's Plays. Here's a fun one.
Lasers
This one went really well. The lasers look good, feel right, and the
explosions have a good amount of WHOMPH to them. Note how the just says
"You now have laser-eyes", and the players naturally figured out how to
blow up cars, and then the barrels. I was a bit afraid the latter
wouldn't be readable, but it worked perfectly.
One plan for the
game was to have an evolving home/base, where you would periodically
return to during the game (think the Normandy, or the Bastion). The
"nest" is the result of this, changing each time after the player has
found something. The items are displayed, and the kittens-effects change
from "Feed us!/We're hungry!" to "NOM".
Sadly, players naturally didn't return that often during gameplay. Still, it feels good :D
Tophats
These seem to become my trademark, it's the third time they appear in a game (the others being Badass Locomotive and the spiritual predecessor Let's Protest!)
What went just adequately
Level-design
The
level lacks the usual long-time-polish and testing I put my
level-design-through. It's a bit too big, the hotspots are spaced too
far away from each other in an order that isn't occurring to the player
naturally. The second half is also horribly laid out, with most players
going straight for the other cat, and skipping the melon (which barely
anyone found) (yes there's a melon in this game. Can you find it?)
Cat-speed
One
common complain was that the cat-speed was too slow. This is a common
fallacy in feedback. The cat-speed was actually pretty well, if it would
be faster the game would feel worse. It is the level AROUND the cat
that is wrongly adapted to the speed, requiring the said bit of
tightening.
Pickups
The "pickup-effect" is awesome. I feel I should've added a sound/fanfare.
Timelapse
Decided to set the picture-intervals to a shorter time, resulting in a rather long video. Go see my post on creating timelapses for a detailed breakdown.
Title
For
some reason I thought "Boxy the Boxcat" was too short, and I wanted to
an evolution-referencing subtitle. "Evolution Escapades" was my take on
creating something akin to "Hooky Hijinks", but in retrospect I feel it
doesn't fir at all the rather sombre game (before it admittedly goes off
the rails).
Conclusion
So how does it fare? Pretty well.
Good score, currently 2nd most-played-game this LD, which is quite
frankly amazing. I'll need your help to reach the top!
I also had a great time playing 435 other games so far. Go check out my picks for some nuggets.
Also, I have an actual chance of ranking in the Kongregate-contest. I'd appreciate any quick 4-5 star votes, if you could spare them /puppyeyes/
