The Dim
For the Pirate Software 2024/07 2-week game jam. It's my first ever video game, so please leave feedback! Nice, but constructive, and NICE feedback ;) I'd love to get better at this! Oh look, the sun is coming up on this final morning before submissions are due in 2 hours... No regrets! I've had a great time!
Score?
Even if you don't review the game, be sure to comment with your score below! <3
Blurb
Recover long forgotten research as an Alchemist in the Lost City so you can claim the power you've long sought after. But you are surprised to find The Dim living here in the ruins! They stand between you and the research, and you have no intention of leaving without it...
Harness light essence from your enemies to use as your health AND your currency to transmute powerful weapons from the elements. Balance health and power to eliminate the hoards of ever-stronger enemies in your way.
Game Design Document
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR4F9y3nENTenT_KGRQo7wOlRGQfHfxk4_WU...
Credits
We all stand on the shoulders of giants! While this was a solo game dev experience for me, I did source a lot of things that I currently don't have the skill to make. I'm even including things I didn't end up using (marked), but wanted to mention them anyway because they were still an important step in my journey to make this game <3
And almost all of them were free! I think I only spent around $5 total. So I definitely want to give credit where credit is due.
Map: https://cainos.itch.io/pixel-art-top-down-basic
Many Effects: [NOT USED] https://bdragon1727.itch.io/free-effect-and-bullet-16x16
Arrows UI: https://spikerman.itch.io/animated-arrows-cursors
Menu: https://bdragon1727.itch.io/custom-border-and-panels-menu-all-part
Crystals: https://craftpix.net/freebies/top-down-crystals-pixel-art/?num=1&count=34&sq=cry...
Fields:
[NOT USED] https://ragnapixel.itch.io/particle-fx
https://codemanu.itch.io/vfx-free-pack
[NOT USED] https://codemanu.itch.io/pixelart-effect-pack
Player: https://luizmelo.itch.io/evil-wizard-3
Light Essence: https://free-game-assets.itch.io/free-crystals-2d-game-objects
Enemies: https://monopixelart.itch.io/golems-pack
Fire: [NOT USED] https://brullov.itch.io/fire-animation
Status Icons: https://pixerelia.itch.io/vas-basic-spells-and-buffs
Sound Effects: https://kronbits.itch.io/freesfx
Music: https://timbeek.itch.io/royalty-free-music-pack-volume-2
Comments
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Very well done! I enjoy this type of game a lot, and you've done it well, it is kinda tough to see where the boundaries are, I kept getting caught on... stuff as I was moving around. Congrats on submitting a working game!
Good feedback! And thank you for the compliment! <3
I like the scaling fantasy with this one, and the health being a currency is a nice design choice! Also very nice visual effects!
My critiques:
I went off the map (at least the background visuals), needs a world border.
The game gets boring quickly. The movement is slow, and the enemies don't seem to be different other than visually / just increasing in health. Same thing with the auras, they're just different sizes to me and I don't see how they're unique to each other, at least not visually.
Thanks for the feedback!
Where did you go off the map? I have bushes set up around the border for that reason, so I must have missed a spot.
I understand about there not being too many different enemy types. A full version of the game would definitely need a lot more different enemies, for sure!
About the auras: right now, they only scale on damage and radius. Is this what you mean? Were you expecting, for instance, the bitumen fire to set things on fire to differentiate it from other auras?
I went off the map near the top left and up, I think theres an opening at the bottom too, I think just adding world borders is much easier than manually adding those bushes.
And yes thats what I meant with the auras, a better visual indication on what they did would be useful, perhaps health bars would allow that too.
For sure! Good suggestions. I may experiment with damage numbers next time of varying colors to signify damage types. And maybe even visual effects on the enemies (e.g. burning). Thanks for the clarification! <3