Play game
Crow and Jack and the Snowman Attack's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Concept | #9 | 4.286 | 4.286 |
| Overall | #18 | 3.946 | 3.946 |
| Enjoyment | #22 | 3.786 | 3.786 |
| Use of the Limitation | #33 | 3.857 | 3.857 |
| Presentation | #48 | 3.857 | 3.857 |
Ranked from 14 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Team members
I worked solo
Software used
Godot
Use of the limitation
You have to continuously keep Jack's fire going in order to fend off snowmen and keep the winter away
Cookies eaten
No cookies, but plenty of caramel popcorn, speckled eggs and other snacks were consumed during the making of this video game.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
Wow this is a really a perfectly balanced that is really engaging. Are you a game dev student? All of your games seem to have great design and game play loops. Your genuinely incredibly talented and I want to know what was your strategy coming up with this idea and developing the game?
Oh wow, thanks for the major compliment! I’m not a game dev student, though have been reading and watching game dev related things a lot this year. However, I think that’s all supplemental to the fact that I’ve always had a love for playing games from a variety of eras and genres and more recently I’ve been thinking a lot about why they work or don’t work, or how they deliver the intended feeling or experience through gameplay. I find the “simpler” the game, the bigger the teacher - especially since my own technical skills are currently limited to 2D arcade-like games.
When developing I just try to follow my instinct… “ah this feels a bit boring” or “this only gets fun later, how can I make it fun earlier” or “if I added this element here it’d be more fun”.
This game was actually the third idea I’d had. The first was a basic one where you’re a campfire that moves left to right, collecting falling leaves while avoiding rain to keep your fire lit. Felt that might be too basic, though could be decent with some more elements. The next idea was very different: a Pac-Man-like game but you’re trying to light as much of the stage on fire while avoiding water ghosts who would move around and put out the fire. That felt like it would take me too long to implement (haven’t learnt pathfinding for enemies yet) and I’d end up with a clone of another game. Finally, combining the leaf collecting idea with another arcade game (space invaders) led me to the final product. It was just the right balance of easy-to-implement and unique-to-play. Inspired also by games like Pragmata, Undertale and Truck-kun Is Supporting Me where there is a mini game and a main game going on at the same time. I like stealing ideas from different places (even from non-games) and combining them into my own thing.
Anyway, thanks for playing and giving me the opportunity to talk about this (I love it haha)! I’m looking forward to playing your entry soon when I’ve got some free time over the weekend.
I think your process is really good at cultivating emergent gameplay. That is the coolest thing, to just set up simple intersections of conditions and something unique and dynamic emerges from it.
This is an interesting study for getting players into flow state. Really fun remix of arcade shmup. I submitted a rating in case I'm not back before the deadline, but I'll leave some feedback later when I'm free.
Okay I've had some time to sleep on it, and climb the leaderboard muahaha. It is a difficult game, but there is a VERY high skill ceiling, and each time I play I get a little better. Toby and I are leapfrogging each other on our way to your high score ... better watch out!
TouchStar got me thinking about flow a lot this jam. My working theory has been that the game designer can facilitate the flow state experience by requiring the player to process information at a faster rate than they can consciously manage, and thus must delegate some information to subconscious processing. I think that's how this game does it too. I've really gotta put the theory to the test in my next arcade or physics game.
Congratulations on the strong placement in the jam ratings, you absolutely earned it!!
Hahaha I am so delighted that you and Toby are coming for me! I have an advantage as the developer but also stumbled upon a really effective strategy that I hadn't even anticipated. It was a very cool feeling to be surprised by my own game.
I love that flow state theory! My partner and I recently got into pinball and found we weirdly did way better the less we thought about our actions and the more we let our minds drift onto other things.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, I really appreciate the discussion. And congrats to you too for your very high Presentation ranking - well deserved for such a beautiful experience!
When I was a kid, my baseball coaches found I batted better when I didn't wear my glasses. Sometimes you just gotta vibe.
Play 2 mini games in one time is a very interesting concept, unique one, very soilid entry!!!! Also mast notice the animations especially for crow, decent art!!!
Thank you! That's high praise coming from you, I loved your games visuals.
The crow was quite hard for me hehe! I was trying out a new art style for this one so it was a great learning experience :)
Had a lot of fun playing this game. Proud to say I have 3rd place on the leaderboard. I definitely enjoyed the stress of having to balance looking at both screens although I don't think the player ever needed to move the crow if you put it on the left side then timed gusts of wind. Great work!
Nicely done, BAWzoo! Thank you for playing, I'm glad you had a lot of fun with it.
You're right, staying still and timing the shots is a viable strategy! Though it becomes more difficult the more the time goes on...
An interesting game with a unique concept! Here are a couple of things I'd like to point out.
Overall, this is a genuinely interesting and unique game for the jam, with beautiful visuals and a creative concept. The developer managed to surprise me in a good way!
Great job! =D ❤️
Thanks so much for your feedback! I'm glad you liked it. I am adding a music volume slider in the next update and will keep that in mind for all future projects.
I absolutely love the concept here, having almost two games in one is awesome. I've managed to take the top spot on the leaderboard for now. Everyone else better stay away or I'll be back. Awesome stuff Barrie!
Haha very impressive, Toby! Thanks for playing :D
Sorry Toby, I saw this and felt a little competitive <3
Managed to beat your score but there's no way I'm beating Barrie's lol
Hey I don't know, you just might beat Barrie if I can keep persuading you
(also the skill ceiling in this game is absurd)
Interesting mechanic keep it up!
Thank you! :D
Pretty good mechanic for the crow and pumpkin, a good ass mucis would be great
Thank you! Agree it needs some nice music and sound to finish it off! I blame my time-management skills
Update: I've added some music :)
Hi!
It's such a clever mechanic, and I feel like you really made the most of it! It's entertaining, and it genuinely makes you want to keep improving your score. I also loved the snowmen animations!
Maybe having a real-time score counter would have motivated me even more. I also collected a ton of leaves/fire items, but at some point the pumpkin would still go out even when I had more than six in my inventory.
The little detail with the pumpkin getting brighter and darker really stuck with me! And there's even a nice little message behind it: deal with problems before it's too late, and if you can't handle everything at once, tackle the most urgent one as quickly as possible!
Best!
Thank you for your detailed comment! I'm glad you enjoyed it and love your interpretation at the end. The problem you're describing with the inventory is an unfortunate bug I created very late in development when I added animations to the inventory - wish I'd noticed it sooner!
Really good use of the limitation ! Interesting twist on the space invader with some great looking and cute animations. Takes quite a lot of skill after some time has passed, managed to get 117 seconds !
It's got quite a challenging difficulty curve, but I enjoy when it gets frantic. Still, I definitely would've adjusted it with more time and playtesting. Thank you for playing (and nicely done)!
It’s a good idea, it lasted 180 seconds, but after that it’s impossible to collect leaves - it’s just a wild rain.
Useful feedback, thank you :) At that point the rainfall is at its maximum (so doesn't get wilder at least!) but that definitely could've been tweaked.
If it’s not too much trouble, could you evaluate my game?
Of course! :) Checking it out now!
Super fun and reminds me of an 80’s arcade game. I think the instructions could be a bit clearer/perhaps a small bubble that explains what the objective is. I was a bit confused at the start, but quickly picked it up, so it may just be my own unfamiliarity with this genre! That being said it was: unique, clever, and a good use of the limitation. The art is super aesthetic as well.
Thank you for the feedback! :)