Play Count Down
Lay the Count Down's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #1957 | 3.800 | 3.800 |
| Narrative | #2932 | 2.800 | 2.800 |
| Enjoyment | #3010 | 3.267 | 3.267 |
| Artwork | #3580 | 3.300 | 3.300 |
| Audio | #4742 | 2.733 | 2.733 |
Ranked from 30 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
You are a loyal Bat, servant to the Count. He did not reach his coffin before sunrise, and is now in stasis somewhere in the castle. Your job is to find him, and lay the Count down to rest! You can only hang on to him for a few seconds at a time, and there are numerous other obstacles in your way, and exposure to them will count down to you, or worse, the Count's doom!
(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
*Kenney Assets*
- kenney.nl's Platformer Art Pixel: https://kenney.nl/assets/platformer-art-pixel
- kenney.nl's UI Pack: Pixel Adventure: https://kenney.nl/assets/ui-pack-pixel-adventure
- kenney.nl's Kenney Fonts: https://kenney.nl/assets/kenney-fonts
*Other Assets*
- osadam's Pixel Dungeon Tileset: https://osadam.itch.io/pixelart-dungeon-tileset-from-osadam
- Number Tilesheet: https://opengameart.org/content/pixel-numbers
- Vampire Sprite: https://www.vecteezy.com/png/72636770-pixelated-vampire-character-in-classic-8-bit-style
- ScratchIO's 2D Vegetables: https://opengameart.org/content/2d-vegetables
*Music*
Crow Shade's "Ambient Horror Indie Game Music | Mind's Eye": https://youtu.be/YjOElkwACJw
(Optional) What would you like to be called if GMTK features your game?
Josh Morley & Ed Sforzati
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Comments
Another fellow dracula dev, LOVE TO SEE IT! the gameplay is clearly very well thought-out and executed. I liked the challenge and was all in for it, It was a huge plus for my experience. Lovely game!
Very interesting take on the theme! This works incredibly well as a rage game (or maybe I'm just bad😅) Well done!
Nice little game! This is the second game I've come across with a glide mechanic and it's always super satisfying. I thought the idea was original and this would make a good speedrun game for sure (as long as I'm not the one playing!) I think my poor Count will probably be drinking his blood through a straw for the rest of his days, but I had fun with this one! Keep it up.
I love the ragdoll mechanics! dragging the poor sleepy count around, was honestly the fun part, but the mechanics to control the bat was sadly the frustrating part, it was very difficult to control, what would of made getting the count easier would of been an automatic pickup from the count, instead of a seperate button, that would of been less frustrating.
the count need to stop sleeping at random places lol.
joke aside, it quite hard to control the bat or it might be skill issue :D
I liked the concept, such a nice interpretation of the theme! I felt bad when throwing… ahem, ahem… sorry, putting the count into his coffin :D
i liked the vampire and bat theme and the countdown incorporated with how long you took in the level and also how many times you can hold the vampire. i was hoping for the vampire to wake up so he can move himself though!
It's neat, definitely a fun way to go with the theme. Great job with this!
Thank you for the play, I hope you enjoyed putting that pesky Count in his place!
Ah, dudes, loving the vibes of this!
Have to admit, it's super challenging. I'm embarrassed to say, I couldn't make it pass level 2! I think a bit more of a gradual difficulty curve would be cool. See there were still so many level to discover.
It took a while to figure out building up momentum helps you cover a decent amount of ground. But damn, poor Count is gonna wake up wondering what the hell he went through while sleeping, lol.
Really loved the general atmosphere, the art and music all felt very appropriate. And just the general retro platformer vibe with unique mechanics felt like a satisfying experience. Liked the level design, and can imagine some really cool obstacles being incorporated into this idea.
Think this would also be pretty neat with a controller (not just because I need to spare my spacebar any additional bashing).
Great entry!
Thanks so much for the detailed review!
I agree, this is way more challenging than I expected, and a couple of times I wondered if humanity had strayed too far… (It will not help at all to inform you that this was a gradual increase in difficulty - I would love for you to experience the later levels in comparison! =P)
There actually is controller support, but we redesigned parts of the mechanics to make it easier (I know it does not seem that way) and I forgot to update the controller inputs to support this… As it currently stands, both grabbing and flapping is mapped to buttons on the right side, and it is near impossible to do both! So to save people extra frustration, I decided not to list it. BUT, I will update it after the jam so that people can try again with proper controller mappings!
I truly appreciate the play and thorough feedback! Though I know we lost you today, I hope to see you come back when the controller mappings are fixed! There is so much more to experience!
Really fun concept! I can see this becoming a very popular game on phones or even a party game, endless possibilities and being fun at the same time, all the while fitting the theme. I applaud you mate.
Thank you for playing and leaving a review!
I have been pondering how to make this more accessible, with the mechanics being what it is… Good to know at least one person might be interested!
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Your game looks delectable, but sadly refuses to run on my Linux machine regardless of which way I try do spin it a yarn. I will try to play it on another machine soon!
I need a new spacebar after playing this game. count is a heavy bastard.
Fun game!
My condolences to your spacebar, may it also rest in peace.
As for the Count, I’m glad he’s asleep and didn’t hear the second part of that!
Thanks a lot for playing!
This is genuinely so fun and I really enjoyed controlling the bat!
I'm definitely getting fired when he wakes up
Hahaha, thanks a lot for the review!
I think maybe our “helping” is keeping him down for the count? ;)
Really glad to hear you had fun! Thanks again for playing!
Loved how you implemented the theme haha it is as fun as challeging game to play.
Thank you for the play and review!
I am glad to hear that you found the challenge fun! I also think there is a certain kind of enjoyment with finishing each level!
Thanks again for giving it a go!
A fun interpretation of the theme! I like the movement, its satisfying yet challenging at the same time. And that pesky ragdolling sleepy Count is fun and funny to try and drag around. Nice work!
Thank you so much!
It is refreshing to hear some enjoyment of the movement (albeit a bit tricky for sure).
That sleepy Count is truly a joy to behold, I just hope he does not recall anything that happened to his poor body!
Thanks a lot for the play and review!
I really enjoyed the take on the theme, and i had a lot of fun playing it! It's definitely challenging, but in a way that kept me coming back for one more try. Loved the ragdoll physics and the level design. Great job!
Super glad to hear you found the difficulty just hard enough to want to come back! In also found things a bit punishing, but everytime I got just a little bit closer, it gave me the motivation to try and get it done!
Thank you so much for persevering and leaving a review, it means a lot!
This feels like a really good base for a fun game, or maybe even one of those rage platformers. I personally found it frustrating how short of a time I had to carry the count, and I feel like I would have preferred longer levels with a longer carry time rather than short levels with a short carry time. Overall it's a charming game with potential, but a little too frustrating for my play-style.
Thank you for the feedback!
It did end up feeling a bit like a “rage platformer”, and ultimately we had to choose between making it super hard to carry the ragdoll (dragging up slopes and such) and adding a time limit for grabbing.
Longer levels were on the table, but ultimately they were the biggest crunch, so quality in short won over longer/bigger but less polished.
Despite not being entirely up your alley, we really appreciate the play and great feedback, thank you so much!
Well executed idea! I like the physics of the bat and the Count, it was intuitive but not cookie-cutter wasd. The level design was also great, but it was hard to control the bat and go where I wanted to go at times. Overall very very solid and fun!
Thank you so much for playing!
The bat is very hard to figure out, I agree, but the Count has to get into the coffin somehow…
Super glad to hear you enjoyed the level design, I was worried about a couple of them, but they all have a safe, soft place in my heart now.
Thanks again for the play and review!
I love the ragdoll Count; very cute.
I enjoyed the puzzle of figuring out what the best path was; initially I'd get stuck on a seemingly impossible path, only to realise that there was an alternative, so that was nice level design.
The game does strike me as a bit of a rage game, and it certainly brought that out in me, ha. I'm not sure if it was deliberate, but the bat is nigh-impossible to control, flying at insane speeds sometimes and barely moving at all at others. Perhaps part of the issue was also the controls? Having to have a hand on the mouse meant that I couldn't really mash the space bar as much as I wanted, which probably led to some of my lacklustre lifting power.
I got a bit too frustrated and quit before finishing level 4 or 5, but I had a good time when I managed to pull off a seemingly impossible task!
Haha, thank you, the ragdoll surely was a lot of fun to make, although it caused many issues and very nearly did not make it to the final package…
Indeed there is an element of “rage game” DNA in here, I myself wondered a couple of times if the Count could truly have designed his castle in even more unfriendly ways? Then again, he is THE Vampire Lord, so maybe he just likes things that way.
It is slightly saddening to hear you did not persevere a bit longer, there are some fun level designs later on! ;)
I completely agree though, I find this a bit hard myself, but I strangely enjoyed finally making it through all the “impossible tasks”!
Thanks a ton for playing and reviewing, we truly appreciate it!
Loved the creativity! The game was kicking my butt difficulty wise, but I 'm bad at platformers.
Thanks for the play and review!
This is indeed a hard little platformer, though I appreciate giving it a whirl!
Truly, the difficulty cannot be worse than how punishing your mega-skeletons are?
Thanks again for playing!
Good game, well done! :)
Really good execution, love the feel of the game
Thank you so much for giving it a play!
I am glad you enjoyed it, even though the controls can be a bit hard…
I love the amount of other Vampire games we got, wordplay is awesome!