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Pirate Software - Game Jam 16

Hosted by Pirate Software · #PirateJam
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A jam submission

Hero's SwordView game page

The legendary hero's sword was stolen and hidden. It must get back up to the hero.
Submitted by lowpolyfire, Knightlord1 — 10 hours, 42 minutes before the deadline
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Hero's Sword's itch.io page

Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous.

  • The game actually plays very well in the browser. The GDD is written very well and acts as a great base for the games development. I like the interpretation of the jams theme with you as the sword. Here and there some smoothing out for the collision of the sword and it works quite well. The inspiration of Jump King is clearly visible and with the aiming system you have a unique take on it, an additional jump charge mechanism would be awesome to create different jumps. The bouncing off walls feels good and gives further depth to the game, maybe a fully charged jump would make it stick in that piece of wall but only another fully charged launch would release it as well, so it gives a high risk high reward kind of experience. The color palette is extremely good and the art is well made. The sword is fitting to a heroes sword and the darker colors of the environment. I enjoyed playing the game and would like to see more of this.

Link to your Game Design Doc on Google Drive.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NA5tjQox-iGY1PMNvRBFEG01SDK-HzOEuZATwQmRsuU/edit?usp=sharing

Have you checked that your GDD is publicly accessible ?
Yes

Is your game set to public on itch.io so we can see it?
Yes

Summarise your game!
Hero’s Sword is a platformer game where you launch/throw yourself (the sword) at the walls to climb and get back to the surface to get back to your master. You only need to left-click in the direction you want to go. The direction arrow will tell you if you are able to jump.

Please explain how your game fits the theme:
You are literally a legendary magic sword that's been captured and weakened. You can only muster enough energy to make jumps. The tip of the sword is sharp enough to lodge itself on most surfaces, but not all.

Is there anything you'd like the judges to pay particular attention to?
Any input on how to make the game more fun or harder would be good. Performance issues are a game engine quirk with web builds there's nothing more that we can do to improve it.

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Comments

kvnms1 year ago(+1)

I enjoyed it. I can see some people finding it a bit frustrating, but it's my kind of game. I love physics based platforming, and I thought the level design was pretty clever (though it could've been more forgiving). Good choice of music as well, it's a must to have something with a slow tempo when the game demands patience. It added to the atmosphere a lot as well, I'm glad you guys chose to publish the game with music.

As for things that could make the game more fun, I immediately think of an arc direction indicator, and a way to control the strength of the jump. I have no idea how hard those would be to implement though, and I think the game is fine for what it is anyway.

Reply
Atemly GamesSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Congrats on finishing the jam!

I enjoyed this game, and certainly more than Jump King - because I'm good at this one. The little animation on the sword were a nice touch and I really like the direction indicator, it helped a lot. I absolutely got some Jump King vibes when falling, or missing a jump. I always felt like the missed jump was fair because I could view the approximate arc of the sword thanks to the indicator and the terrain.

I didn't really run into any performance issues on Web (Firefox) however, the audio for the game is very very quiet. I needed to turn it up quite a bit. The audio itself matched the theme of the game well. 

I think that that the main way to make it more difficult is the level design.  For a Jump King like game it really needs to be fair. I felt like there could've been more recovery zones, so it wouldn't feel punishing when you fell, and include more level gimmicks (ex. the rebound stone was nice). Because you are a sword you could also cut through bats/enemies in the air while moving around or slice ropes that change the level layout and make things more or less difficult.

Great job!

Submitted
Kershuffle
Reply
lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for playing.

I’m happy you like the direction indicator feature. It was an early concern that it would be difficult to imagine the exact angle of the jumps. The jumping is certainly more forgiving or more predictable than Jump King’s.

Performance issues seem to be a hit or miss on different systems, it’s a bit weird. For the audio, I get it. On my computer, increasing the volume would have not been kind to my ears. After submission, I did find it really quiet on some other systems. When possible, I’ll upload a new build fixing the issue.

Level design is definitely a part of the game that will need more work. Thank you for the suggestions.

Reply
qtipbluedogSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Ah this is a cake wa-. Oh shit I can't stick in stone huh? Interesting twist on Jump King mechanic. Nice art work and calming music to quiet my frustrations as I drop down the level. AAAAHHH oh music nice. Finally made it though! Great job on this entry.

Submitted
Front Loaded
Reply
lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago (1 edit) (+1)

Thanks for playing. I’m glad you liked the music choice. It felt like the right option for this kind of game.

Reply
mangorichgamer1 year ago(+1)

A very good game, with a simple unique mechanic.  Different wall types was a nice touch.

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lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for playing. I’m happy you liked it.

Reply
MewtSubmitted1 year ago (1 edit) (+1)

It certainly took me a while but I got to the end, it was a fun yet calm experience. I fell down quite a bit a few times, almost gave up but was determined to see if there was a top 🤣The rocks that bounced you off the walls were a nice addition. I think this was a very well made game in two weeks!!

Reply
lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for playing and congratulations on making it to the top. I’m glad you liked it.

Reply
jSpeakSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

I'm really bad at these kinds of games, unfortunately. But I like how sticking into walls adds a little leniency. I really like the art atmosphere too. Nice job!

Submitted
Blob TD
Reply
lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for playing. I’m usually not too good at this kind of game too, but I had fun making it. It’s a little less punishing than “Jump King” and the likes. The beautiful art is the work of my teammate @Knightlord1. I’m sure he appreciates the praise.

Reply
Munkkipulla (TeesseGames)Submitted1 year ago(+1)

Immediately interesting mechanic. Felt good to throw the sword. Sometimes got stuck in the air. Really cool music and sound choice. Needed a bit more "happenings" but a really really cool game nevertheless. Congrats!

Submitted
The Inheritance
Reply
lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for playing. The sword getting “stuck” in the air is definitely something I’ll have to improve. Other obstacles or modifiers are things that I am willing to explore.

Reply
Perihelion707Submitted1 year ago(+1)

Very cool simple and to the point, my only complaint is that it is really quiet and theres no settings to turn the volume up

Submitted
Featherweight
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lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for playing. Volume controls are definitely missing. I’ll make sure to add them later on.

Reply
Tootsiepooh1 year ago(+1)

This was very fun! I can totally see a game like this expanding on many fun mechanics especially as the sword might find ways to grow stronger. Maybe it can unlock basic elements like fire, electricity, stuff like that for a short time, like fire can be used to melt large ice blocks for example, maybe only if it can gain mana from a source and perhaps nearby runes and sigils can drain that mana (to add difficulty).

I didn't have any performance issues.

I could easily see something like, blocks that you maybe have to pierce into twice in order to break them to continue through the level. Especially in a game like this where you have to focus on being able to aim correctly. Maybe there are ways to force the runes and sigils at a radius to completely destroy them or nullify their effects for a short time, making you a little more powerful in specific areas of a level in order to do something a little more powerful (larger/onger jumps, breaking hard blocks, etc).

Maybe some areas have particularly more runes than others, making jumping even more difficult around that area. That could be followed up with finding a way to destroy some of them and returning to that part of the level to be able to beat it.

There is definitely a lot that you can do with this game! I'm excited to see it develop more!

Reply
lowpolyfireDeveloper1 year ago(+1)

Thank you for playing, and thanks for the feedback. I’ll play around with some of your suggestions.

Reply
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