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In a Heartbeat's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| End-of-life plan | #1 | 4.450 | 4.450 |
| Jam Authenticity | #3 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Theme relevance | #14 | 4.150 | 4.150 |
| Overall | #22 | 3.733 | 3.733 |
| Sound | #23 | 3.400 | 3.400 |
| Fun | #76 | 2.900 | 2.900 |
| Graphics | #83 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
Ranked from 20 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Source Code URL
https://howeverice.itch.io/in-a-heartbeat
End life plan
I will archive it (on archive.org) after the submission review period. and the source code and source map files will always be available in the game, if you want to mess with that. I might also archive a copy of tiled as well, so that you can edit it no matter what, if servers happen to go down.
EDIT: And maybe a QOL update sometime after the jam.
Transparency note
For licensing on stuff I don't own and used in this game. check the credits file, you can find it for download standalone (it's also found inside InAHeartbeat.love), or open credits menu with the button the title screen mentions.
The game idea came to me during the middle jam as soon as I saw the main page (just before the time extension). The utility code used for the game is pre-jam or permissively licensed (see first paragraph).
There's 4 songs used, 1 being pre-jam (ending_music.ogg). 1 during the jam. then 3 from OpenGameArt (15._rush_point.mp3, arcade_acadia.ogg. see the first paragraph about crediting info)
The win sound (flag.wav in game files) was pre-jam. the explosion sound is pre-jam and has the source sounds credited (see the first paragraph). every other sound was made during the jam.
All levels, graphics, characters, sprites and tilesets (except one case coming up) were made during the submission period.
The credits and title screen are derivative from earlier pre-jam works. the sprite for the bomb is also (heavily) derivative work from another pre-jam project; the sprite derived from the currently unused (now removed) saw sprite.
Some logic and algorithms were inspired or copied from older works. mostly it's original though.
I don't know if modified libraries used in pre-jam count, but there's mentions in the credits about that (see the first paragraph).
I'm hesitating to set the AI generation disclosure on this game. I haven't really used AI code. only used it a couple of times (3/6 only were useful results) for results with a typical search engine couldn't find simply (mostly searches for how Box2D and Love2D works).
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Comments
Sounds amazing! Good work :D
I really love the music and most of the sound in general, except for the bounce pads panned in stereo. Not a huge fan of that, as it is a rather bass-y sound. They are also always right by the player, so they should never be panned hard left or right. It works a lot better with the bombs and cannons as they actually can be outside of the screen when they make the sound, and it's a more mid-high end sound which doesn't feel as unbalanced. I also really like the art, which
That being said, I have some issues with the gameplay. The first being the first thing I noticed: the double jump window feels way too small. I get you don't want the player to be able to double jump too far apart and just skip past an entire screen-width worth of level. i wouldn't wanna skip past the levels either, as I quite like the level design. That is up until the Cannonbomb level. For a game that describes itself as "Super Mario Bros but Speedrun", having a level where heavy bombs are shot at you, keeping you from running forward. And then not having enough time to even get to the next heart. It does not feel g- wait, has anyone else complained about this?
> CTRL+F: Bomb
>I forgot you could run faster with X
Oh. One sec then, let me replay.
Okay I'm back, that was way easier! I'm glad I gave it another go because those last levels were good! I wish you'd show the player the controls in-game as well, especially since starting the game leaves the main itch-page. I would personally like it more if the bounce pads didn't slow you down, I wanna go FAST.
This was a lot of fun, thank you!
I added in-game controls in a menu in my current build. It's the default option on the main menu. probably also should add it to the pause screen too and figure out a way to get these into a level, thinking of a dialog that pops up for the first time.
i now feel like a Super Mario Bros. speedrunner.
although that would be probably even more difficult but whatever
good job! :D liked the game very much
This is kinda funny the game this was inspired by Super Meat Boy (the 1st one) one of the developers said (heavy paraphrasing) "It's kinda like like tribute Super Mario Bros." (I might edit this reply with proper clip link)
EDIT: I also forgot what is really funny is. I created this around the same time a new Super Meat Boy game came out (Super Meat Boy 3D).
The graphics are really cozy. I would like everyone to note how this simple set of ms paint graphics blows any asset pack away in terms of character and flair. Obviously the creator of this game is a good artist so not everyone's ms paint graphics would look this good, but think about it if you are an asset pack user.
I did improve some things over time in development of this game.
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this grass used to look horrible for example
EDIT: for some reason this grass doesn't show up in comments when I post it.
EDIT 2: I would recommend most people drawing pixel art to use something between 64x64 to 80x80. this gives you plenty of space to draw detail.
Great game, I forgot you could run faster with X and was stuck at the bomb level for a while lol... but other than that, very fun and challenging. Always good to have a "run fast before the lava gets you" type of level, though I was expecting it to go upwards! Controls were a bit weird sometimes but good job!
Great game! It was fun to play, but it would be better with in-game controls instructions and less finicky double jump mechanics
Each level felt different and the game had really good variation, really good game design! I had an issue where I couldn't double jump sometimes, so I had to restart a couple of times. Otherwise fun!
Need improvement it will be better
good game
Cool little game. I think the movement felt a little too slippery, otherwise good job!
Planning on doing a QOL update so this stuff is good to know. maybe including I might include map pack loading and a time attack.
I won! The bomb level and all the ones after it were really tricky. I found that the sprint really helped there.
I love all the animations. They were very endearing.
Cute little platformer game! I like the little hints and text down button, very nice flair for hints. I got rekd by those bombs! Lmao
Well done on your jam game! In particular you did a good job on the sound design, it fits the game well.
The game was frustratingly difficult for me. I got stuck on the third level for several minutes and had to throw in the towel. There we a few things that were really off when it comes to the movement, the floor is too slippery and the double jump only registers within a very small timeframe. Getting these things right is really essential for a platformer game. In the future both of this issues could be mitigated by letting a few people that dont usually play games try your game, that usually gives a pretty good indication of the difficulty.
To end on a positive note, I (seemingly) didnt experience any issues running the game, and the fit with the theme is good. Congrats on finishing your game!
Way to go with this game! It was a lot of fun even though it got quite difficult at times. Is there a trick to dealing with the bombs?
Be careful they set 0 when they hit you (which means about a second left before explosion). the physics give options to deal with bombs, run on 'em, dodge 'em, jump on 'em.
Got it, I was having trouble with the damage I got from hitting them the first time, mainly due to the confined space, but usually I just ran on top of them.