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198 Au's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Soundtrack/SFX | #88 | 3.765 | 3.765 |
| Gameboy Soul | #124 | 3.853 | 3.853 |
| Overall | #266 | 3.127 | 3.127 |
| Gameplay | #281 | 2.882 | 2.882 |
| Secondary Theme Interpretation | #301 | 2.853 | 2.853 |
| Graphics | #329 | 3.088 | 3.088 |
| Quirkiness | #492 | 2.324 | 2.324 |
Ranked from 34 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game meet GBJam's theme
It's a shmup where you fire particles at mercury to transmute it into gold. Unfortunately all the old gold is gone, and new gold must be created.
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Comments
What an intruiging premise! Competent mechanics, solid visuals, and a trippy little song to wrap it all together. 💚
I think the shooting sound could have been a little less prominent and full-bodied. With how often it plays, it can be a little annoying.
All-in-all, good work!
Thanks for playing and kind words. I saw that you're a GBJAM regular. Look forward to seeing you next year!
I look forward to seeing you, too!
Cute li'l shooter game!
Maybe I quit before I got far enough, but it seems pretty easy to just go on forever, especially with the healing clouds. The title screen and game over effects were lovely, though it would have been nice to see some texture for the asteroids you're shooting.
You're right, it's pretty easy to cheese with the iframes and healing. Ran out of time before I could implement progression, difficulty balancing, and some kind of visual on the blobs. I attached a GIF of what I was hoping to do this with them. It doesn't solve the texture issue, but it's a little more fun to look at.
Thank you for trying the game out!
Oooo I like that kind of effect! I look forward to the next project you make!
Super polished!Love the idea of trying to make new gold by firing particles at mercury!
The shooting sound is too loud imo, I could barely hear the music, which is unfortunate since it sounds nice. Definitely needs more content but the simplicity does have a charm to it.
Getting polishing noticed is a very nice compliment. Though, I probably should've traded some of that for gameplay content. Really appreciate you checking out the game!
I like this shmup! But the game feels a little bland without some upgrades. Great job still!
I'm hoping to cook it a little more post-jam, if for no other reason than game design practice. Thanks for checking out the game!
I like classic SHMUP gameplay. But also, lots of SHMUPS add something to spice things up, like boosts and upgrades and other things. Even though you can never "beat" most SHMUPs, there is still a sense of progression. There is not much of that here. You're playing the same game in the first minute and the fifth.
It's true. I had plans for waves/stages but ran out of time, and should've prioritized progression earlier. Thanks for playing!
This was an awesome experience and I loved the authentic border to it to really replicate the GB feel. I liked the sound effects and the music fit the theme well, I found myself bobbing my head to it. The health mechanic is rather subtle and well done, it also teaches the player how to dodge and strategize movement. The game felt authentic and simple with a well established loop and something you could definitely just play around on while waiting in line. Also my wife really appreciated the loss state animation and sound effects.
Overall well done, looking forward to more.
This is a very generous assessment of the game mechanics haha. Truthfully, any good design here was accidental, but I am taking notes about feedback like this. Thank you for the kind words :)
Neat little space shooter akin to Galaga! Even though I played it on my PC for this review I still really appreciate the mobile controls. Controls are smooth, music sounds great, easy to pick up and quite hard to master.
(not very Gameboy-like, however. It's more akin to C64 in terms of how it sounds. Now I'm wondering if there's a game jam dedicated to SPC-looking games.)
I also appreciate the subversion of the theme of creating new gold because there's no more old gold left in the world. Solid entry!
Wow you're right, there's quite a resemblance to Galaga! I thought I was cooking something half modern with the twinkling stars haha. C64 is kind of a big gap in my experience, I don't think I've ever played one or an emulator. I've got to dig into it. I'm reading about its sound chip and it's fascinating.
Rad music!! The audio in general is FANTASTIC. The game itself is a little lacklustre, but even pulling off controls that feel this good in a jam is an achievement. Not to mention mobile support - nice one!!
Thank you! And yeah, definitely need more gameplay.
Finally got around to playing this one, and my first impression after a few minutes is that quite a lot was left on the cutting room floor. What's here is very solid - everything is satisfying from the movement to the booster to the combo scoring for when you take down multiple not!asteroids at once, but it left me wondering if that's it. Without any in-game narrative to contextualise it or progression systems to evolve the gameplay over time, this is just an endless score attack game, and it's too easy & without any noticeable challenge ramp-up to work as that sort of game. Even something as simple as making it a finite number of minute-long waves that have a few more blobs each wave would have been enough structure to really elevate this, as well as giving it a clear end goal.
For your first game (at least according to itch), and solo to boot, this is honestly excellent. The mobile border is *chefs kiss*, and the gameplay is genuinely fun, but it's missing all of that connective tissue and variation that turns a gameplay element into a gameplay loop.
Thank you for taking the time to give my game a critical analysis. Playing games from this jam (including yours) has given me ideas how to approach gameplay progression and variety, while staying within the scope limitations of a game jam, and still have enough time for presentation and polish.
This was the first jam game I managed to cross the finish line with. I've attempted and failed previously due to scope mismanagement. Well, there was still scope mismanagement this time, but I decided I had to submit whatever I had at the end, no matter what. And having stuck to the plan, even having had to cut so much, it's dispelled the apprehension that's kept my itch page empty for so long.
Anyway, I'm thankful for both the constructive criticism and also to hear about the parts you enjoyed. This jam has left me quite inspired and capable. Looking forward to seeing what you'll cook up in the future too!
I liked the idea behind the theme, with mercury being turned into new gold, but I wish it came through more in the actual gameplay.
The side mouse controls are a nice touch though, and give the game a bit more personality.
The controls actually also work on your phone too! When I make something with more gameplay, I'm hoping it will make a nice way to test away from the computer. Agree about needing the theme implementation in gameplay. Thanks for playing!